THE INDIANS OF CAPE FLATTERY. 9 



of Biblical Literature, I showed some of the chiefs the cut of the Babylonian cheru 

 bim, which came very near their idea of its real form. It was perfect, they said, with 

 the exception of not having the Ha-hek-to-ak around its waist, and of having feet 

 instead of bird s claws, which they think are necessary to grasp whales. But when 

 I informed them that there were no whales in Babylon, they were fully persuaded 

 that the identity was the same, claws being given to the T hlu-kluts who live near 

 water, and feet to those living in the interior. Of their religious belief in this 

 thunder-bird, I shall make further mention in their ta-ma-na-was ceremonies. In 

 the design the T hlu-kluts is represented as holding a whale in its talons, and the 

 accompanying figures are the Ha-hek-to-ak. These animals the bird is supposed to 

 collect from the ocean, and keep concealed in its feathers. 



Fig. 1. 



Thunder-bird of the Makalis. 



Among the most remarkable specimens of their painting which I have seen, was 

 a design on the conical hats worn during rain, and another on a board in a chiefs 

 lodge, afterwards placed at the base of a monument erected over his body. The 

 circular design for the hat was said to represent a pair of eyes, a nose, and mouth. 

 The other was a rude one, in which eyes are very conspicuous. The form of these 

 designs is a distinctive feature in Indian painting, but I never could learn that they 

 attached any more meaning to them than we do to the designs on a shawl border, 

 or the combinations of a calico pattern artist. 1 



I have painted various devices for these Indians, and have decorated their ta-ma- 

 na-was masks ; and in every instance I was simply required to paint something the 

 Indians had never seen before. One Indian selected from a pictorial newspaper a 

 cut of a Chinese dragon, and another chose a double-headed eagle, from a picture 

 of an Austrian coat-of-arms. Both these I grouped with drawings of crabs, faces 

 of men, and various devices, endeavoring to make the whole look like Indian work ; 

 and I was very successful in giving the most entire satisfaction, so much so that 

 they bestowed upon me the name of Cha-tic, intimating that I was as great an 



1 The constant recurrence of certain conventional figures in the ornamentation of all the tribes from 

 Cape Flattery to Sitka would seem to indicate a symbolical meaning, now lost. Examples may be 

 found in the Clyoquot puddle; iu the trencher and dish; aud two of the masks, post. (G. G.) 



2 June 181 9. 



