SELISH MYTHS. 39 



same time striking him upon the nose and splitting his 

 body lengthwise, one-half falling upon the floor, while the 

 other half sprang upon the fire, grasped the sacred rattle 

 and passed up through the smoke-hole and onward to the 

 summit of a high mountain. 



Then the Salmon took his wife, and after giving the 

 heads of the wolves to the Louse, and the backs and rumps 

 to the Flea, returned to his own home. 



There was a village near the base of the mountain upon 

 which the Wolf took refuge, and every night the people 

 could hear him howl. Then the Coyote said, "I wonder 

 what can be wrong with the Wolf, he is crying so much." 

 Then several of the people went to find the Wolf's lodge 

 to take him some food, but he could not be found. Soon, 

 people were attacked by the Wolf at night, and so many 

 were killed that the Chief said, "Let us move away to 

 another camp, if we stay here we shall all be killed." Then 

 the Coyote said " You must all go, but let me remain, I 

 will kill the Wolf. " The tribe then moved away and the 

 Coyote, who was a Shaman, transformed himself into a 

 little boy. He dug a pit in the ground at the bottom of 

 which he placed a log of wood, which he transformed into 

 a dead man. Then the Coyote sat at the mouth of the 

 pit and cried. When the Wolf heard a child crying, he 

 came down from the mountain and, seeing the little boy, 

 said, " Coyote, 1 know that is you, what is the matter with 

 you?" But the Coyote only cried the harder and pointed 

 down into the pit. Then the Wolf approached and asked, 

 " Is that your father ?" when the Coyote assented by nod- 

 ding his head and crying still louder. Then the Wolf 

 jumped into the pit, which the Coyote at once caused to 

 sink deeper and deeper, so that the Wolf should not escape. 

 The Coyote then took his knife and, as the Wolf jumped 



