POWELL] MYTHIC TALES, 47 
great warrior and a terrible man; I will go to To-go'-a (the rattlesnake), 
my grandfather, who will protect me and kill my enemies.” 
To-go'-a was enjoying his midday sleep on a rock, and as the tsd-a-vwits 
came near her grandfather awoke and called out to her, “Go back, go 
back; you are not wanted here; go back!” But she came on begging 
his protection; and while they were still parleying they heard Kvwi!-na 
coming, and To-go'-a said, ‘Hide, hide!” But she knew not where to 
hide, and he opened his mouth and the tsd-a-vwits crawled into his 
stomach. This made To-go’-a very sick and he entreated her to crawl 
out, but she refused, for she was in great fear. Then he tried to throw 
her up, but could not, and he was sick nigh untodeath. At last, in his 
terrible retchings, he crawled out of his own skin, and left the tsd-a-vicits 
in it, and she, imprisoned there, rolled about and hid in the rocks. 
When Kvwi/-na came near he shouted, “ Where are you, old ts6-a-vwits ? 
where are you, old tsé-a-vwits ?” She repeated his words in mockery. 
Ever since that day witches have lived in snake skins, and hide among 
the rocks, and take great delight in repeating the words of passers by. 
The white man, who has lost the history of these ancient people, calls 
these mocking cries of witches domiciliated in snake skins “echoes,” 
but the Indians know the voices of the old hags. 
This is the origin of the echo. 
THE SO'-KUS WAI'-ON-ATS. 
Tim-pwi-nai!-ro-gwi-nimp, he who had a stone shirt, killed St-kor’, (the 
crane,) and stole his wife, and seeing that she had a child, and thinking 
it would be an incumbrance to them on their travels, he ordered her to 
kill it. But the mother, loving the babe, hid it under her dress, and 
carried it away to its grandmother. And Stone Shirt carried his cap- 
tured bride to his own land. 
In a few years the child grew to be a fine lad, under the care of his 
grandmother, and was her companion wherever she went. 
One day they were digging flag roots, on the margin of the river, and 
putting them in a heap on the bank. When they had been at work a 
little while, the boy perceived that the roots came up with greater ease 
than was customary, and he asked the old woman the cause of this, but 
she did not know; and, as they continued their work, still the reeds 
came up with less effort, at which their wonder increased, until the 
grandmother said, “ Surely, some strange thing is about to transpire.” 
Then the boy went to the heap where they had been placing the roots, 
and found that some one had taken them away, and he ran back, ex- 
claiming, “‘ Grandmother, did you take the roots away?” And she an- 
swered, ‘No, my child; perhaps some ghost has taken them off ; let us 
dig no more; come away.” 
