324 EEPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1888. 



Fig. 284 represents Eooyeh, the mischievous raven that possesses the 

 power of changing itself into countless forms, and which has, from the 

 creation of the world, been the benefactor of mankind, but which like- 

 wise delights in playing pranks. Endless legends are told of his ad- 

 ventures. 



Fig. 285 represents cirrus clouds : 



The center figure is T'kul, the wind spirit. On the right and left are his feet, which 

 are indicated by long streaming clouds; above are the wings, and on each side are 

 the diiferent wiuds, each designated by an eye, and represented by the patches of 

 cirrus clouds. When T'kul determines which wind is to blow, he gives the word and 

 the other winds retire. The change in the weather is usually followed by rain, 

 which is indicated by the tears which stream from the eyes of Tlcul. 



These legends illustrate how pregnant with meaning is every carving 

 and pictograph of this prolific people, and what work must be embodied 

 in the task of tracitg them out and comparing them with those of ad- 

 jacent regions. No idea of the ethnical affinities of the various stocks 

 can be formed without comparative mythological study, and the sooner 

 the work is undertaken the better. 



Carvings. — Fig. 286 is a carved wooden rattle, which is pictured in 

 other positions in Figs. 287, 288, and 290, Plate Liv. According to 

 Judge Swan, the carving on the breast of the bird represents the 

 sparrow-hawk, the bird itself representing Hooyelu the raven. The 

 tail of the raven is carved to represent a bird's head, carrying in its 

 beak a frog. The frog is supposed to possess a subtle poison in its 

 head, which, when sucked out, enables a medicine man to work bad 

 spells. The figure on the back is Oolalla, or Ka-Tca-hete, the whist- 

 ling demon, who lived in the mountains and was once traveling in his 

 canoe when he was capsized and nearly drowned. He swam ashore 

 and ran into the woods for shelter. He occasionally descended to the 

 villages and stole the children, which he took into the woods and ate. 

 Ka-Jca-hete afterwards turned into a land-otter. This type of rattle is 

 found quite generally among all the northern tribes, and is carried by 

 the chiefs in the ceremonial dances. (See Plate ix.) The carved col- 

 umns in front of the houses may be divided into two classes, totemic 

 and commemorative. 



Totemic columns. — These are the very tall ones erected in front of the 

 houses, and are generally surmounted by the clan-totem of the chief 

 occupant. Those below may represent the totem of his wife (and hence 

 of his children), or illustrate some legend intimately connected with or 

 referring to the totem of the owner. Some columns are purely legendary, 

 but refer to the totem of the owner, and are in this sense totemic. 

 Amongst the Tliugit the phratry totem often surmounts the column 

 with the clan and other totems represented below it. None but the 

 wealthy can afford to erect these carved columns, and the owner of one 

 is thereby invested with so much the more respect and authority that 

 he becomes, as the head of the household, a petty chief in the village. 

 As heretofore and hereafter described, the ambition of a life centers iu 



