700 REPORT— 1898. 



mentioned amount ; also that a further grant of 50/. may be accorded to 

 it in aid of its investigations, which promise to be of increased importance 

 and value during the ensuing year. 



APPENDIX I. 

 Haida Stories and Beliefs. By C. Hill-Tout. 



Co$mo(/onical Myth and Story of the Oriijin of the Haida People. 



In the remote past Sha-land ruled in his kingdom in the grey clouds that 

 overshadowed the vast deep. All below was a dark and watery waste. 

 At this time Yeflfh, the Raven, was the chief servant of Sha-lana. One 

 day Yetlth ventured to interfere with the conduct of affairs in Cloudland, 

 and was cast forth into the outer world. The Raven flew back and fore 

 over the deep until he became weary. He grew angry at finding no place 

 where he could rest, and beat the water with his wings till it flew up into 

 the clouds on either side of him ; and when it fell back again it was 

 transformed into rocks, upon which he rested himself. These rocks grew 

 and extended themselves on every side until they reached from North 

 Island to Cape St. James. Later these rocks became changed into sand, 

 upon which a few trees eventually sprang up and grew, and thus were the 

 Queen Charlotte Islands brought into existence. The Raven now desired 

 someone to assist him in his kingdom, so one day he piled up on the 

 beach two large heaps of clam-shells near by the present site of Sisk, and 

 then transformed them into human beings, whom he made his slaves. 

 They were both of the same sex and female. In a short time these two 

 slaves became dissatisfied with their condition, and complained to their 

 creator, the Raven, that he had mismanaged aflairs in making them both 

 of the same sex. The Raven listened in anger to their complaints, but 

 finally altered their condition notwithstanding, and changed one of them 

 into a man, by casting limpet-shells at her. Thus were the progenitors of 

 the Haidas created. The Raven, growing weary of his lonely life, took the 

 woman for his wife, but as she bore him no children he wearied of her and 

 sent her and the man to a spot now called Skidegate. Wearying of his 

 loneliness once more, he determined to revisit his former home in Cloud- 

 land and secure, if possible, a beautiful wife fi'om among the daughters of 

 the heavenly chiefs. One bright summer morning he started off on liis 

 long journey. He soared upward over the lonely sea until the land he 

 had created appeared to him to be a small mosquito. At last he came to 

 the walls of heaven. He concealed himself until the evening, and then, 

 assuming the form of a bear, scratched a hole in the wall, and thus made 

 his entrance into his former home. The place had greatly changed since 

 he had been an inhabitant there, and consequently he took time to con- 

 sider everything that he saw, so as to form a similar kingdom on his return 

 to earth. There he found that everyone was considered a god or chief, 

 and all were submissive to the Chief of Light, who still held supreme 

 power as of old. He also found that the Great Chief had divided his 

 kingdom into villages and towns, into lands and seas, and had created 

 a moon and stars, and made a great luminary to rule over all, which 

 was called Jine the Sun. At last he was caught by the hunters of the 

 King and brought into his presence. As the Raven appeared to be a 



