ON THE NORTH-WESTERX TRIBES OF CANADA. 455 



sidered as an interesting phase in the development of totemism. Some 

 of the more complicated institutions of this class may have originated from 

 similar concepts. 



A few of the tribes have certain privileges not shared by the others. 

 This is particularly the case of the Sqoa'eqoe, the curious feathered head 

 with prominent eyes which I have described on a former occasion ('Proc. 

 U.S. National Museum,' 1888, p. 212), and which is the crest of certain 

 families among the Catloltq (Comox) and Nanairao. This cx'est belongs 

 originally to several tribes of the mainland. The Sqoa'eqoe are believed 

 to be a supernatural people living in lakes. When a person succeeds in 

 bringing one of them to the surface of the water he and his descendants 

 acquire their protection and assume their figure as the crest of their 

 family. It belongs to the Sk'au'elitsk, Ewa'wus, and Ts'akuii'm. The 

 Sk'au'elitsk tell that their ancestor, K-ulte'mEltQ, had two sons and two 

 daughters. The latter went fishing every morning. One day they canght 

 first each a trout. Later on they felt that they had caught something 

 heavy, and on hauling in the line saw the prominent eyes and the long 

 feathers of the Sqoa'eqoe. They called their father, who carried him 

 home, but soon the being disappeared and only his dress remained. 

 K'ulte'mEltQ's descendants married in the Stsee'lis, QmE'ckoyim, Snanai'- 

 muQ, Sk'oa'nic, K'auetcin, and (^Jatloltq tribes, and thus the use of the 

 Sqoa'eqoe was disseminated. The Ewa'wns tell that an orphan boy went 

 swimming and diving every day in order to get strong. One day he 

 made a fire near a lake and accidentally spat into the water. When he 

 dived he was almost drowned. At the bottom of the lake he found the 

 Sqoa'eqoe trying to heal a sick girl of their people whom the saliva had 

 hit and made sick. The boy washed her and she recovered at once. 

 Then they gave him the Sqoa'eqoe. The Ts'akuii'm say that their 

 ancestor found the Sqoa'eqoe. 



In the above list of tribes the Kni'kotlEm of Tcane'tcEn have been 

 omitted. They are descendants of slaves of TlpElk'e'lEn, chief of the 

 K"oa'antEl, who established a fishing station at the site of the Kui'kotlEm 

 village, and ordered part of his slaves to live at this place. Five gene- 

 rations ago, when wars were raging on this part of the coast, they became 

 free, and continue to occupy their old village. They are, howevei*, not 

 considered as equals of the other tribes, and never owned any land. They 

 do not claim to be the descendants of a mythical ancestor. Their present 

 chief is named T'E'lk'Es. 



The tribal traditions of these people are evidently founded on his- 

 torical events. This becomes particularly clear in the cases of the 

 Stsee'lis and of the Tc'ilEQue'uk". The tradition of the former says that 

 TsTi'tsEmiltQ, the ancestor of the tribe, was sent down to StsEe'lis from 

 heaven. One of his descendants built a fish weir on one of the tributaries 

 of Harrison River, and thus deprived another tribe on the upper reaches 

 of the river of its food supply. K'ulk'E'mEHil, chief of this tribe (who 

 were descendants of the marten and of the mountain-goat), sent his sons 

 down the river to see why the salmon did not come as usual. They found 

 the weir and tried to destroy it, but were captured by Ts'a'tsEmiltQ's sons, 

 who invited the tribe to descend from the hills and to live in StsEe'lis. 

 They followed the invitation, and ever since have lived with the StsEe'lis. 



According to tradition the Tc'ilEQue'uk" spoke, until the beginning of 

 this century, the Nooksak language, which prevails farther to the south. 

 The tribal myth states expressly thab the tribe was originally a mountain 



