562 REPORT—1899. 
clam shells inside my skin, and when the knife is nearly through to the 
shell beneath I shall open my eye and you will see a great flash of light in 
the sky. You must be close by, and when you see the flash you must fly 
over the house and attract their attention. They will leave me for a 
moment and run out to try and shoot you. When they are gone I shall 
seize the opportunity and open my clam shell and fill it with tire. I shall 
then clear away the soil from above the passage I have made from the 
river to the house, rush down it, and come out in the deep water of the 
river above the dam.’ 
Eagle approved of the plan, and promised to do his share according to 
his brother’s instructions. All that night Beaver worked at his dam and 
the passage. By morning all was ready. When one of the women went 
down to the stream to fetch her water next morning she found to her 
surprise a large lake where before was only a small stream. She dropped 
her pail and ran home, and told the people that a beaver was in the stream. 
Everybody rushed for his spear, and all made for the stream. Some one 
suggested breaking the dam and catching him in that way. This they 
did ; and when the water was getting low Beaver came out of his house 
and swam about as if trying to get away. He played with them for a 
little while before he would permit them to spear him. Finally they 
speared him and carried him with great rejoicings to the house. Every- 
body now wanted his teeth, or his tail, or his claws. They presently set 
about skinning him, but as the point of the knife touched the shell 
hidden beneath the skin of his breast Beaver opened one eye. Now, the 
boy who was holding his leg saw the action, and told the others, who only 
laughed at him. Just at that moment Eagle, who had seen the signal, 
came soaring over the house, making a great noise, which diverted every- 
body’s attention from Beaver. ‘An eagle! an eagle! Shoot it! kill it!’ 
shouted everybody, and all ran for their bows and arrows except the boy 
who was holding Beaver’s leg. 
This was the moment Beaver had planned for. Shaking himself free 
from the boy’s hold he took out his clam shells, quick!y filled them with 
fire, and before the boy had recovered from his astonishment plunged head 
foremost down the passage hole and made for the river. The boy’s cries 
speedily brought the people to him, and he told them what had happened. 
They now tried to dig out the hole down which Beaver had disappeared, 
but they no sooner tried than the water rushed up and stopped them. 
Beaver reached the stream safely, and from thence made his way to the 
Fraser, where he was joined by his brother Eagle. As they returned 
down the river Beaver threw fire on all the trees they passed, but mostly 
on the cottonwood trees, and thus it was that the wood from these trees 
was the best for making fire with from that time onward. He continued 
to do this till he had reached the coast again, and all his fire was gone. After 
this he assumed a human form and taught the Indians how to make fire 
by means of the drill worked between the hands. He also taught them 
how to preserve the fire when once secured in the following manner. He 
procured a quantity of the inner bark of the cedar tree and made it into a 
long rope. This he then covered with the bark of some other trees which 
burnt less readily. When one end of this rope was lighted it would con- 
tinue to smoulder for several days, according to the length of the rope. 
When the Indians were travelling and likely to be away from camp several 
days they always carried one of these fire-ropes, called by themselves 
Patla/kan, coiled round their shoulders. 
