THE INDIANS OF THE NOETHWEST COAST. 301 



slaughtered for their hides when driven down to the shore by heavy 

 and long-continued snows. The deer-call is made from a blade of grass 

 placed between two strips of wood, and is a very clever imitation of the 

 cry of a deer in the rutting season. The wolves play great havoc in 

 this region with the deer, and it seems remarkable that they exist in 

 such numbers with so many ruthless enemies. 



Mountain goats and sheep. — On the mainland these are shot with very 

 little difficulty if one can overcome the natural obstacles to reaching 

 the lofty heights which they frequent. 



Bears. — The brown and black bear are the two species quite gen- 

 erally found in Alaska. Both are hunted with dogs, shot when acci- 

 dentally encountered, or trapped with dead-:Calls. The brown bear 

 ( Ursus Bichardsonii) is from 6 to 12 feet long and fully as ferocious as 

 the grizzly. The hair is coarse, and the skins, not bringing a good price, 

 are generally kept by the Indians for bedding. This fact, coupled with 

 the natural ferocity of this species, has led to the brown bear being 

 generally let alone. An accidental meeting in the woods with one of 

 them is regarded as a very disagreeable incident by an Indian. When 

 women and children run across bear-tracks in the woods, in deference 

 to a generally recognized superstition, they immediately say the most 

 charmingly complimentary things of bears in general and this visitor 

 in particular. Petroff gives the origin of this custom as follows : 



The bear was formerly rarely hunted by the superstitious Thlinkit, who had been 

 told by the shamans that it is a man who has assumed the shape of an animal. They 

 have a tradition to the effect that this secret of nature first became known through 

 the daughter of a chief who came in contact with a man transformed into a bear. 

 The woman in question went into the woods to gather berries, and incautiously spoke 

 in terms of ridicule of the bear, whose traces she observed in the path. In punish- 

 ment for her levity she was decoyed into the bear's lair and there compelled to marry 

 him and assume the form of a bear. After her husband and her ursine child had been 

 killed by her Thlinkit brethren, she returned to her home in her former shape and nar- 

 rated her adventures.* 



This legend is found in other forms throughout the coast, and occasion 

 will be taken in another chapter to comment on it further. In conclu- 

 sion, it may be said that the brown bear are expert fishers and frequent 

 the* streams in the salmon season along their well-beaten tracks, which 

 form the best paths through the woods. 



The black bear [Ursus americanus) is, on the other hand, rather timid 

 and eagerly hunted, not only for his valuable black skin, but for his 

 flesh, which, when young and tender, is very palatable. In the spring 

 they are readily killed along the edge of the woods, when they come out 

 to feed on the first sprigs of skunk-cabbage and other plants brought 

 out by the warm sun. Later in the summer they are found along the 

 streams, where they feed on the dead and dying salmon. 



Taking it altogether, the Indians are expert fishermen but poor hunt- 



*Petroff 'a Report, p. 168. ^ 



