578 REPORT— 1892. 



Magpie. — TLe magpie, called dndn, tries to pick out the eyes of the 

 coyote while the latter is lying down apparently dead. 



Owl. — The owl {hu'pi) is represented often as an old woman who 

 steals childi-en. She helps to kill the chipmunk, and is herself killed by 

 the coyote, who helps the children she carries in a basket at her back to 

 escape. 



8now-hird. — The snow-bird (nishd'Et) is represented as the wife of the 

 rabbit, whom she helps to kill the moose. 



Tomtit. — The tomtit (mitskd'Jcas) is the grandson of the frog ; after 

 killing the caribou he is killed by the wolf. In another tale be induces 

 the moose to come across the river to him, and then kills him with a 

 knife. 



Fish. 



Trout. — In one of the tales the coyote changes himself into a trout 

 (g'u'stet), and is caught by the Indians, who are about to hit him on the 

 head with a club, when he calls out that he is the coyote, and not a fish ; 

 whereupon they laugh much and let him go. 



Whale, or Big Fish. — The big fish {guwi'tlkd gid'hqo) swallows the 

 black bear. He is finally killed by the bird called yamd'hpdtl. 



Insects. 



Btitterjly. — In one of the tales the coyote tries to run off with the 

 butterfly (Jcoli'M), thinking it to be a woman. The butterfly, however, 

 turns out to be a man, and the coyote is ridiculed. 



Cricket. — The cricket (dqlco'Mldkd'wdm) is represented as the younger 

 brother of the coyote, who carries him about with him, and is at times 

 advised by him. He is sometimes mentioned as having a broken leg, 

 and in one story the coyote breaks his own leg so as to be like his brother. 

 The cricket seeks to kill the coyote, but is at last killed by him. 



Mosquito. — There was originally one mosquito {gdtsfsd'tld), who was 

 fed with blood by the spirits until his belly became so large that it burst, 

 and from it came forth the myriads of mosquitoes that exist to-day. 



Reptiles. 



Frog. — The frog (wE'tdJc) is the grandmother of the chipmunk. In 

 one tale he takes to wife two of the children of the grouse (t'd'nkuts). 

 The most interesting exploit of the frog is the race with the deer. The 

 method of procedure is the same as that by which the tortoise wins in 

 the ' Uncle Remus ' story. The frogs, in large numbers, are stationed in 

 hiding at various points in the track, and when the deer approaches them, 

 hop on ahead, so that the deer always sees the frog ahead of him. They 

 look so much alike that he never suspects the trick, and consequently the 

 frog wins the race. 



Toad. — The toad {Icd'ho) appears in a tale with the eagle, and is killed 

 by the chicken-hawk. 



Turtle. — The mud-turtle (lid' ad') appears in a tale with the beaver 

 chief, whom he kills by cutting off his head. He is afterwards thrown 

 into the river, and escapes. 



Other characters appearing in these tales are Indians, white men, 

 giants, spirits, the heavenly bodies, &c. 



