o 



54 fc REPORT — 1900. 



Mallard-ducks since that time always fly skyward when they first rise on 

 the wing. 



After this trick of Kaiq and his sister, his tld'anibkauta' q with all its 

 contents was transformed into a big boulder, and the tail of the whale 

 may be seen, as the old Indians think, to this day stretching out as a 

 lateral projection beyond the centre of the rock, 



Te Sia'tlinEQ, the llain-Man. 



Sla'tlniEa lived in a big house apart by itself. The inmates consisted of 

 liimself, his son, and two old women, the name of one of whom was Cauk' 

 (skull). Not very far away in a neighbouring village lived Skauk", the Raven. 

 For some time past Skauk- had been trying to find some way to induce 

 Sia'tlmEQ to make some rain. The season had been extremely hot, and 

 the sun had dried and scorched up everything. Evei-ybody had suffered 

 f^reatly from lack of water, all the streams in the neighbourhood ha.ving 

 been dried up for some time past. But nothing he had done hitherto had 

 induced Sia'tlmEQ to take any notice of him or open his door. It was the 

 opening of the door of Sla'tlmEQ's dwelling that caused the rain. If the 

 door stood ajar it rained softly ; when it was half open it rained heavily ; 

 and when it was wide open it came down in torrents. Skauk' sat in the 

 sweltering heat, parched like the whole land with thirst, revolving in his 

 mind how to get the rain-maker to open his door, and so save the people 

 from perishing. Said he to himself, ' I must try and steal his son and 

 then I can make terms with him, so that we shall not be subject to these 

 terrible periods of drought.' But Sla'tlmEQ's house was very strongly 

 built, and for a long time Skauk- does not see how he can manage to 

 effect an entrance. At length he forms a plan. He calls to him To'tlum, 

 the Ilea, ME'tcin, the louse, and Qud'tEU, the mouse, and reveals to them 

 his intention and asks for their aid and co-operation. They promise to 

 assist him and do what he desires of them. One evening they all set out 

 together in a big canoe, To'tlum, ME'tcin, and Qoa'tEn bringing with them 

 all their relations, so that the canoe was full. They presently arrive at 

 Sla'tlmEQ's house, which contains no opening save the door, which is 

 fastened very securely from the inside. It was dusk when they arrived, 

 and Sia'tlmEQ and his household had just gone to bed. ' Now,' said 

 Skauk- to the others, ' you must manage to get in and keep Sia'tlmEQ 

 and his household from going to sleep till towards morning. They will 

 then sleep the heavier, and we shall be able to do what we want without 

 wakinw any of them. I will wait outside, and when you have wearied 

 them out and at last permit them to go to sleep Qoa'tEn must open the 

 door and let me in and I will carry off the boy, and then we can make 

 our own terms with his father.' Responded they, ' Oh, we'll get in all 

 ri"-ht. Strong as Sia'tlmEQ has made his house, he cannot keep us out.' 

 Thus saying, To'tlum sought and found a crack in the boards and, 

 creeping through this, was soon in, followed by all his people. ME'tcin 

 and his people did the same, while Qoa'tEn and his friends found a knot- 

 hole, through which they forced their way. When they were all inside 

 they proceeded without delay to make things uncomfortable for the 

 inmates. The fleas got into their blankets and bit their bodies, the lice 

 into their hair and did the same there, and the mice kept up such a 

 scratching and gnawing that fro'm the three causes together it was im- 

 possible for any of them to go to sleep. They tossed and turned, scratched 



