130 



MYTHOLOGIG TEXTS. 



II. 



Kiii'm k'lekA tchu'shni; tsiiyuak hu'ksa ts6;iatk pi' I kiii'm, nanuktaa 



Fisli remain forever; therefore those dead (exist) as liBh, as all kiuilH of 



(lead (people) ouly 



kia'm, ndnuktua maklaksni ts6katk. Ha' n' hii'nk hu'nkiash shladt sku'k- 



tish, all kinds ofludiaus dead. If T (of a deceased) should behold the 



o sliash, k'lakAt iil hii'nk sla6k; ha'toks ui shuishaltk, tchek giug kd-i 



spirit, would die I it through bat if Z recur to magic then not 



aeeinc ; aoogs, 



siugat nis. 



be may me. 

 kill 



jSrOTES. 



My eflforts towards obtaiuiug- exhaustive texts from the natives coucerning their 

 belief in the transinigTation of huTnan souls were not crowned with entire success. 

 Of the two items obtained, No. II is intended as a eomineutary of Xo. I, both treating 

 of the i)rosence of human souls in lish. The cause why so many Indian tribes shun 

 the flesh of certain fish lies in the fact that these species were seen feeding upon the 

 bodies of drowned men and swimming nroiind tliciii. This iiuluced the belief that 

 man's soul will pass into the oi-ganisms of these tinny inhabitants of the wave, even 

 when death has resulted from other causes than from drowning. According to Uill, 

 the M4klaks believe that the sonls or spirits of the deceased pass into the bodies of 

 living fish; they become inseparably connected with the lish's body and therefore 

 cannot be perceived by Indians under usual circumstances. But iu otui status only 

 they become visible to them; when Indians are bewitched by the irresistible, magic 

 spell of a conjurer or of a wicked genius. Then they enter into a tamti-nuash-dream, 

 and when they see a dead person's spirit in such a dream, they are almost certain to 

 die from it. Only the interventiou of the conjurer and of his soug-medicinc can save 

 them from perishing; rigorous fasting and ascetic performances cannot be then dis- 

 pensed with, and with all that no certitude of his final rescue is to be had. 



Here as elsewhere the pronouns huk, hiinkiash etc., are inserted instead of the 

 Hiiprouounceable name of the deceased, and mean: dead person, spirit. 



129,2. pil maklaks; only dead Indians, not dead white men, because during 

 their life-time these did not believe in the skii'ks; this belief is a privilege of tlie 

 Indians. 



129, 2. Hushti';/ak etc. This sentence runs as follows : Tche'ktoks hushti'/a ak 

 nish, huk tche'k nisli siuksh shanaho'li, wakiauhua tchek i>'nash (or pu'sh) nu'sh shui- 

 shaltki giug shanaluVli: "if he (the bad genius) makes me only dream iu tliat luaiinei-, 

 then he intends either to kill me, or perhaps he wants me to keep the song-medicine 

 for myself." To keej) the song-medicine, sluiishla, is to undergo fasts and iiscelic |)er- 

 formauces under the suj)ervision of souus conjurer for an almost unlimited time, li\e 

 years at least. 



129, 3. 4. Uii'toks 111' shliiat etc.: if J should see (tin; dead) while 1 am uicake. 



129, 1. Sku'ks kiiim, a com])ouud word, may be rendered by spirit-fisli, letiferou.s 

 ii.ili. 



130, I. Jviii'iii k'leUa. (!tc. 'J'lie lallicr obscuit- sense nl lliis sl;ileiiic,iit iiiiiy bi" in;id»« 

 compreliensJble by the following: "\Vheii lish are deuil, llic^ ;iic dciid turexer; Iicimk 



