ON THE NORTH-WESTERN TRIBES OF CANADA. 579 
Of the first halibut caught in the season the stomach is eaten first, 
then the pectoral fins, next the head. The rest is divided. If this were 
not done, the halibut would disappear. : 
Hunters carve the figure of any remarkable animal that they have 
killed on the butts of their guns, or on their bows. 
The souls of hunters are transformed into killer whales ; those of 
hunters who pursue land animals become wolves. Only when a killer 
whale or a wolf dies can their souls return and be born again, Hunters 
have the bow seat of their canoes ornamented, and a hole cut in the centre 
of the seat. It becomes their dorsal fin when they become killer whales 
after their death. It is believed that, after the death of a hunter, the 
killer whale into which he has been transformed will come to the village 
and show itself. When a great number of killer whales approach a village, 
it is believed that they come to fetch a soul. 
Not only hunters are transformed into killer whales. I was told that 
at one time a killer whale had been killed, the flipper of which showed a 
scar as though it had been burnt. Not long before this event a girl had 
died who had at one time burnt her hand. She was identified with the 
killer whale. 
When a wolf has been killed, it is placed on a blanket. Its heart is 
taken out, and all those who have assisted in killing it must take four 
morsels of the heart. Then they wail over the body : 
AlawéstEns hégyésd qEns nEmoqtséqdé—i.c., Woe! our great friend. 
Then the body is covered with a blanket and buried. A bow or a gun 
with which a wolf has been killed is unlucky, and is given away by the 
owner. The killing of a wolf produces scarcity of game. 
Wolf’s heart and fat are used as medicines for heart diseases (see 
Sixth Report, p. 613). 
Women are forbidden to touch a wolf, as else they would lose their 
husbands’ affections (see Sixth Report, p. 613). 
The screech owl is believed to be the soul of a deceased person. The 
pees catch them, paint them red, and let them free, asking for long 
ife. 
The root of the bracken (Pteris aquilina, L.) is believed to know 
everything that is going on in the house in which it is being roasted. It 
must be treated with great respect. If a person should warm his back 
at the fire in which it is being roasted, he will have backache. Parents 
of twins, and people who have had sexual intercourse a short time pre- 
viously, must not enter a house in which the roots are being roasted. 
When a person dreams that he goes up a mountain and the latter tilts 
over, it signifies that he will die soon. 
The gum of the red pine is chewed. That of the white pine is not 
used by girls, because it is believed to make them pregnant. 
The world is described as a house. The east is the door of the house ; 
the west is the rear of the house. North is called ‘up the river,’ south 
‘down the river.’ In the north of the world is the mouth of the earth. 
There the dead descend to the country of the ghosts. 
The part of the beach immediately to the west of Fort Rupert, in front 
of the place where formerly the village of the sub-tribe Kué’qa stood, 
is called the village of the ghosts, who are believed to reside there from 
time to time. 
PP2 
