520 KEPORT— 1900. 



the third brother into a whale and secures him in the same manner as the 

 salmon had been fastened, only with a stouter line. No very long time 

 after this Snu'k-um seeing the whale in the water came down and seized 

 it as he had the salmon. Again the two remaining brothers are cast into 

 a deep sleep. When the Sun had got up as far as the line permitted he 

 was jerked back again to the water screaming. This continued till the 

 brothers presently awoke. The eagle could not get away from the whale 

 now because his claws had become entangled in the skin. So the two 

 brothers pull on the line and bring the whale to the shore. Qais now said 

 to the Sun : ' Don't try to get away, I want to have a talk with you ; that 

 is why I set those traps for you.' When the Sun perceived that he had 

 been outwitted by Qais he consents to stay a little while and talk with 

 them. Qais now questions him concerning the place where the salmon 

 come from. Snu'kum points across the water and tells them the home of 

 the salmon is a long, long way off in that direction. Qais tells hiin that 

 he wants to go to the salmon country, and asks what he must take with 

 him on the journey. The Sun instructs him to gather a great quantity of 

 'medicine,' and take that with him and all would be well. Qais now 

 releases the Sun, who flies off into the clouds. Qais then set about 

 gathering herbs for the ' medicine ' which Snu'k-um had said was 

 necessary for him to take, after which he and many of his people set out 

 in their canoes for the salmon 'country. For many days they paddle in 

 the direction pointed out by Snu'k'um and finally come to an island. 

 This they are prevented from approaching by enormous quantities of 

 floating charcoal which block the progress of the canoes. One of the 

 young men, thinking the charcoal is compact enough to sustain him, 

 jumps out of the canoe upon it, but instantly sinks through and is 

 drowned. After much trouble they get away from the obstruction and 

 paddle round to the other side of the island. Here they perceive what 

 looks like a settlement. They see smoke of all the colours of the rainbow 

 rising into the clouds. This is the country they are seeking, the home of 

 the salmon people. They draw into the beach, which is very broad and 

 smooth, and leaving their canoe go forward towards the settlement, Qais 

 taking with him his medicine. When they arrived at the village Qais 

 presented the chief, whose name was Kos (spring salmon), with some of 

 the medicine. Now at the back of the village was a creek in which Kos 

 kept a tcea'k' (salmon trap), and just before Qais and his followers landed 

 Kos had bidden four of his young people, two youths and two maidens, 

 to go into the water and swim round and enter the salmon trap. Obey- 

 ing, they walked into the sea with their blankets drawn up over their 

 heads, and as soon as the water reached their faces they bacame salmon 

 and leaped and sported together just as the salmon do in the running 

 season, making their way in their frolics towards the trap in the creek. 

 When, therefore, Qais and his followers had landed and met the salmon 

 chief, he ordered some more of his people to go to the trap and take out 

 the salmon and cook them for his guests. This they did, cutting them open 

 and spreading them on a kind of wooden gridiron to roast. ^ When the lish 



' This gridiron was formed as follows: A shallow trench was dug about twenty 

 inches wide, the length varying with the number of fish to be roasted, in which a 

 fire of dry wood was kindled. On either side of the trench stakes were driven in at 

 intervals. These were about three feet high. On the top of these, and parallel 

 with the trench, were then fastened slender poles, and across these again directly 

 over the flames other transverse ones. On these latter the split salmon were laid 

 and roasted. 



