swANToNl COSMOLOGY 459 



where there was a large lire iuul he hciinl thclirocnicklehesaid. "Out to 

 tlie end of my hook" (Axtt'qli cu'di). Tliis wa>s in order that the spirit 

 in the fire niio-ht help him. If, after he had sat still for a while, the 

 corner of his mouth twitehed, he said. "lain in luck." for lie knew 

 that he had eauj^ht soniethinjr. and wlien he went out to his line tlierc 

 was sure to he a large halibut on the end of it. Witii the Tlingit the 

 right .side is always the lucky one, and, if a person's mouth twitches 

 toward anyone on that side, it means that that person will liriTig him 

 good luck. Twitt'hing to the left indicates bad luck. 



Food products collected at low tide, especially mussels and clams, 

 were talked to, so that they would not bring sickness ui)on those eat- 

 ing them. If a person took tobacco just after eating mussels he 

 would be poisoned and was sure to die unless small cuts were made 

 on top of his head and urine poured into them. While digging for 

 dams that draw down out of sight vapidly they said, "Do not go 

 down so fast or you will hit your mother-in-law in the face." The 

 abalone was very highly esteemed as an article of adornment, but the 

 writer does not know whether it was per.sonilied or addressed. The 

 first of all abalones. a very large one, is said to have been pulled up 

 from under the sea 1)}' a poor fisherman. 



To a large fiy that "makes worms in salmon" they say, when cut- 

 ting the fish, "Do not harm us. Do not let the worms get in. Do 

 not poison us." 



The little water beetle (tsli'mile) that moves about upon the surface 

 of fresh water was said to carry away anyone who urinated upon the 

 water where it dwells. Small bone figures of this beetle were passed 

 over sore places by shamans, to heal them. 



In olden times people talked to anything that was carved like or in 

 any way resembled a human being. If they saw such an object when 

 they were traveling about, they spoke to it. If a man dreamed that the 

 carving on his house post started a ceilain song, inunediately on 

 awaking he started that song himself. If the owner of a house dreamed 

 that a dead man started a song to his carved post, the house owner 

 began singing it next morning as .soon as he awoke. The tigure of 

 anything .seen by a person which sul)se(iuently i^-.ivc him good luck was 

 often painted on the front of ahouse. Such paintings, when placed near 

 the corners, were called qlengu'kc ("spread out on the corners"). 



After a man had hunted for some time in vain he would go ashore, 

 make a fire, and i)ut greasi; on the bow of his canoe so tliat the heat 

 would cause it to .soak into the wood. At the same time he talked to 

 the canoe. Grease was burned into the canoe all around and when- 

 ever a crackling .sound was heard he said, "That is for luck," because 

 he knew that the place whence the sound came was where the seal he 

 was about to get would lie. Th(> hunter also took his spear down 



