■238 EEPORT — 1888. 



in the same gens, or phratry, are strictly proliibited, there exists no such 

 law among the Salish. 



T have not found any trace of a division into gentes among the 

 Kutonaqa. 



Mythology. 



It is one of the most interesting problems of ethnology to study the 

 ■development of a system of mythology. On the noi-th-west coast of 

 America this study is the more interesting, as we can show how legends 

 migrated from ti'ibe to tribe. The great hero of the mythology of the 

 northern tribes is the raven, who created daylight, mountains, trees, men. 

 These raven legends have spread very far south, being even known to 

 the Cowitchin of Vancouver Island, and probably still farther south. 

 The hero of the mythology of the southern tribes, on the other hand, is 

 the great wanderer, the son of the deity, who, on his migrations all over 

 the world, transformed men into animals, and animals into men. It 

 appears that this legend, which is known from the mouth of the Columbia 

 to Bella Bella, originated with the Salish tribes ; however, we do not 

 know how far it extends inland. Another legend belonging to these 

 tribes has spread far north. It refers to a visit to heaven, and the mar- 

 riage of a young man to the sun's daughter. Traces of this tale are 

 found among the Tsimshian. The myths of the Kutona'qa and of the 

 Okanagan refer principally to the coyote. I shall proceed to describe 

 ■briefly the myths of the various tribes, at the same time pointing out 

 their connection among each other. 



The Tlingit say that the world was originally swinging to and fro in 

 space. There was something underneath it that was to serve as a rest 

 for the world ; the latter approached it, but never succeeded in joining it. 

 All animals tried in vain to fasten the world to it. At last a female 

 spii'it, Harishane'ko (=the woman under us), smeared her belly with deer 

 tallow, lay down under the world, and when the latter approached the 

 underworld again the tallow fastened both together. The earth is con- 

 sidered square, the corners pointing north, south, east, and west. In the 

 north there is an enormous hole into which the water of the ocean gushes, 

 and from which it returns, thus causing the tides. There is another idea, 

 to the efEect that the world is sharp like a knife's edge, but this seems to 

 be said more in a moral aspect, the meaning being that the road of right 

 doing is narrow ; whoever does wrong falls from the road and dies. The 

 earth rests on Harishane'k5, and when the latter moves there is an earth- 

 quake. The moon is the sun's husband. There is a chief in heaven 

 called Tahi't, the ruler of those who fall in war. These fighting souls 

 produce the aurora. It is worth remarking that this belief is also found 

 among the Eskimo. On the same level with the earth, but outside its 

 borders, is the country of those who died of sickness. 



The creation legend of the Tlingit is as follows: — In the beginning 

 there lived a great chief and his sister. The chief killed all his sister's 

 sons as soon as they were born. One day when the woman went to the 

 beach mourning the death of her children, a seagull advised her to swallow 

 three stones. She obeyed, and after a few days gave birth to three boys, 

 the oldest of whom was Yetl, the raven. He wanted to avenge the death 

 of his brothers, and challenged his uncle. The latter tried to drown Yetl 

 by making the waters rise until the whole earth was covered. He kept 

 himself afloat by means of his hat, which grew higher as the waters were 



