ON THE ETHNOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. 543 



here.' ^ The mother searches all round for some trace of her child. She 

 walks all night, and early next morning comes upon the girls' tracks. 

 Presently she finds the dead body of her child on the ground, but the two 

 tlkoi women who had taken it had entirely disappeared. 



Storii of SmEmEfsB'n and Kaiq, the SkunJc and the Mink. 



Near by the village of Stapas (Gambier Island, Howe Sound) stands 

 a large isolated boulder. This rock a very long time ago, the old 

 Indians believe, was a big tld' anuhautil' q or potlatch- house, owned by 

 Mink (Putorius (Lutreola) vison) and his sister Skunk (Mephitis mephitica). 

 It was transformed into a huge boulder after the occurrence of the 

 events in the following story. One day Kaiq (Mink) called his sister 

 SraEmEtse'n (Skunk) to him and bade her store up all her tsu'som - in a 

 number of boxes. SmEmEtse'n did as she was instructed, and filled 

 several boxes with the pungent fluid. These Kaiq fastened down in an 

 air-tight manner and stored them in a pile in one corner of the house. 

 After this he sent out invitations to all the animals and birds and fish of 

 the district to come to a big potlatch he was going to hold. On the day 

 appointed the guests ga,tiiered iia Kaiq's tla amikautu' q. The building 

 was big enough to hold them all easily, but unfortunately for the Whale 

 the doorway was too narrow for him to get through. Kaiq, prepared for 

 this dilemma, requested him to put his head and shoulders in and remain 

 in that position. With some difficulty the Whale complied with Kaiq's 

 request, and jammed himself in so tight that later, when he wished to 

 retire, he was unable to do so. Now the Mink was on very bad terms 

 with his neighbours the Wolves — indeed, he mortally hated the whole Wolf 

 family, and had actually killed one of them a few days before the feast. 

 He now takes the tail of the dead Wolf and winds it round his head like a 

 wreath and opens the proceedings with a dance. The song which Kaiq 

 sings as he dances is all about the tsu'som of his sister. Skunk. The visitors 

 presently remark to one another, ' What a dreadful song Kaiq is singing ! ' 

 Kaiq, however, continues to dance and sing, making his way gradually 

 i-ound the building towards the corner where the boxes of tsu'som were 

 stocked. When he is close to the boxes Skunk quickly opens them, as 

 she had been previously instructed by Kaiq, and lets the tsu'som escape. 

 No one .suspects the vile purpose the two have in view. They think they 

 are unpacking their blankets and other presents to give them. But 

 presently the pungent, suffocating effluvium fills the whole building, and 

 they realise, too late, what has been done. Unable to get out because of 

 the huge form of the whale blocking the doorway, after many frantic 

 struggles they nearly all succumb to the terrible choking stench, four of 

 them only escaping alive. These ai^e little Louse (MEtcin), who crawled 

 into a crack in the building and thus avoided the effects of the effluvium ; 

 little Wren (Qit), who escaped through a knot-hole in the side of the 

 building ; Cod (Ai'Et), who also managed to save his life by throwing 

 himself into the water, and who has had in consequence to live ever since 

 at the bottom of the sea ; and Mallard, the duck, who flew up to the roof, 

 and thence out through the smoke-hole, in consequence of which all 



1 



Hence, say the Indians, arose the custom among them of picking up and 

 throwing away any bones they found lying in their path. 



'^ The offensive yellow fluid which the skunk secretes for its defence against its 

 enemies. 



