ON THE ETHNOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. 373 



AGENT NOUNS. 



The prefix of agency « (77m, seen in the Sk-qo'mic, appears also in the HalkOme'lEm 

 dialects, In Tcil'Qe'uk we find it under the form Wcs, thus : — 



ZflAi-kwaie'liH, or Z«/i«-n!e'tla, a dancer. 

 /<?;i«-kekEla'k, a deceiver; Zi7^*-E'tcEtc, a stutterer. 

 ZM/«-ah;Vwa, a hunter ; Z«fo-ste'lEm, a singer. 



Almost any verb of action may take this prefix, and thus form a noun of this 

 class ; but the same idea may be otherwise expressed. Thus I find s'I-u'eUw, a 

 shooter, from hvEle'U, to shoot ; e'wEsaiw, a guide, from ewES, to guide, direct, or 

 instruct ; su'ksak-wai, a fisher, from sa'k-wai, a fish ; and lukElu'kEm, a diver, from 

 lu'kEm, to dive, In these latter two we see another of the rules reduplication plays 

 in Salish. 



SYNTHETIC AND INDEPENDENT NOUN FORMS. 



I have pointed out in previous reports that synthetic or incorporative nouns, as 

 distinct from independent nouns, form a very limited class in the Salish tongues of 

 British Columbia ; and that they are apparently restricted to terms expressive of the 

 parts of the speaker's body. In Tcil'Qe'uk these are generally attenuated forms of 

 the corresponding independent nouns. A few, however, are formed from different 

 roots. The following will sene to exhibit their use in Tcil'Qe'uk, and at the same 

 time illustrate the particularity and nicety of certain forms of expression :— 



' I hurt my head ' (by something falling upon it, such as a bough of a tree, &c.), 

 Lam-kwEl sqaius ; here the poun is the full independent form. 



'I hurt my head' (by passing under something, such as a low doorway or bough), 

 tas-Eluk-tcil (synthetic form, abbreviated from independent form, k-eEk-Eluk, crown 

 of the bead). 



' I hurt my head ' (by accidentally striking it on the ground as I lay down), las- 

 a'lukEl-tcil (my vocabulary does not furnish me with the independent form of thig 

 . noun). 



• I hurt my ear,' tas tel k'wol ; rerhatim, ' hurt my ear.' 



' I hurt my left ear,' mauk'tl tEl skii'lla (synthetic forip). 



' I hurt my right ear,' mauk'tl tEL siii'lja (synthetic form). 



' I hurt both my ears,' mauk'tl tEL k-wolkw61 (independent form reduplicated). 



'To wash one's face,' SoQ-oc-Em (synthetic form extrepiely attenuated. This root 

 is seen in the Interior tongues), from SoQii't, to wash. The change in the verb from 

 .(it to -Km marks the verbal noun or gerund. It has also a causative or active force 

 when the object is specified, as here. 



' To wash one's body," SOQ-(JA-Em (synthetic form extremely attenuated). 



' To wash one's h^nds,' SOQii-^cis-Em (s}'nthetic form seen in all compounds for 

 ' hand' or ' fingers'). 



' To wash one's f eet,' SoQ-HytZ-pm (synthetic form abbreviated from independent 

 form, ts'ke'Hyil). 



' To wash one's head,' SoQ-e'Ek-Em (synthetic form abbreviated from independent 

 stem, k-eEk'Eluk). 



' To wash one's back,' SOQ-owe'tc-Em (synthetic form; independent form wanting 

 in the vocabulary). 



' To wash one's chest,' SOQ-e'lEs-Em (synthetic form slightly abbreviated from 

 independent form, se'lEs). 



It should be understood that every one of these incorporative expressions could 

 be, and often are, rendered by the full form of the verb and the full independent 

 noun, as: SoQa't-tcil tEl tsEa'tsus, I wash my face; SoQa't-tcil tEl ts'ke'Hyil, I 

 wash my feet, &c., &c., but the incorporative forms are the more elegant. 



COMPOUND TERMS. 



The Tcil'Qp'uk vocabulary furnishes numerous instances of this class of word. The 

 ipethod of formation is very similar to th^t \yh;ch obtains in English. Tijp 



