ON THE ETHNOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. 361 



necessity. Consequently we find these utensils habitually formed on a 

 larger scale among the Tcil'Qe'uk than among the other tribes. They 

 had enormous cedar troughs, 10 or more feet long and 2 or 3 feet wide, 

 called skive' 1st fJ ; big maple dishes, called kamo'molp Id'tsel. Besides 

 these were the ordinary hckld'tsel, or big platter ; and the me'mel Id'tsel, 

 or small platter ; the qsl'EQEJr, or wooden dipper or spoon, and the qd'lo, or 

 horn- spoon. 



Dress, 



The dress of the Tcil'Qe'uk was similar to that of the contiguous Salish 

 tribes described by me in former reports. 



Ska7nanism. 



Shamanism was prevalent among the Tcil'Qe'uk, and exercised a perva- 

 sive and paramount influence in their lives. The shamans were of three 

 classes : the sQEld'm, or doctor, the term signifying ' to heal or make well ' ; 

 the o'lia, or soothsayer, from u'lta, ' to dream ' ; and the yeu'toa, or witch, 

 or sorcerer, from yeu'wa, ' to bewitch or enchant.' The last was of either 

 sex ; the others were invariably men. The office of the snEld'm, despite 

 his title of ' healer,' was not to attend to or cure wounds or such bodily 

 injuries ; that was one of the functions of the o'l^a. There is great sig- 

 nificance in this fact. An external wound or injury was a matter of 

 comparatively simple import ; there was nothing mysterious about it. 

 It was the natural result of a known and comprehended cause. The 

 functions of the sQElam were rather to restore health and vigour to the 

 body when prostrate or suffering from some inward sickness or malady, 

 as when under the supposed influence of some spell or enchantment. He 

 was pre-eminently the ' pathologist ' of the tribe. Pathological conditions 

 among the Tcil'Qe'uk, as among other primitive peoples, were regarded as 

 the result of maleficent and mysterious agencies, which could only be 

 controlled or counteracted by incantations and rites performed by one 

 versed in the 'mysteries,' as a sQEla'm. He alone had power to restore 

 a lost soul or spirit, which, according to their belief, might leave the 

 body, thereby causing sickness and fainting, and, if not restored in time, 

 death ; or drive out a disease caused by a magic spell or by witchcraft. 

 To effect the former he would go apart by himself, crouch down, and cover 

 his head and shoulders with a mat, and permit himself to pass into a 

 trance state, when his soul, it is said, would leave his body and go in 

 search of that of the patient. All the conceptions of the after-life of the 

 Indians are derived from the descriptions given by the SQEla'm of these 

 visits to the spirit-world. They are, consequently, rarely uniform or con- 

 sistent. To effect the latter he beats a stick or board, and sings and 

 dances round the patient. To acquire these powers he usually underwent 

 a long and secluded training in some lonely spot in the forest or on the 

 margin of some lake. This training consisted in prolonged fasts, trances, 

 body washings and exercises, accompanied by invocations of the Mysteries. 

 His ' medicine,' or ' power,' it is believed, was bestowed upon him by his 

 guiding spirit or spirits, who appear to him and instruct him in dreams 

 and visions. Another of his functions was to conduct the mortuary sacri- 

 fices. He is, 2Mr excellence, the ' Master of the Mysteries.' 



Not only the shamans, but every other Indian, had one or more guiding 

 or protecting ' spirits.' Their belief in these and their general belief in the 

 ' mysteries ' are based upon their philosophic conceptions, if such they can 



