EELLS ON THE TWANA INDIANS. Ill 



into the water, and then all three became changed into something like 

 the fish called a skate, went underneath the water like a fish, and were 

 seen no more. 



They also say that one woman, called Jane, now on the reservation, 

 could, before the whites came, make certain blocks of wood which she 

 had, and which were a foot or two long and about a foot in diameter^ 

 dance by means of her tamanamus without touching them, but cannot 

 do it now, and since the whites came she has taken them off into the 

 woods and buried them. 



They also say that a long time ago a man who lived at Union City, 

 and was very successful in catching porpoises, had a brother who was 

 his enemy, who lived up the river, and who tried to injure him, but could 

 not. He especially tried to injure him by seeking to prevent his catch- 

 ing porpoises, but could not. Failing in this, he made a wooden por- 

 poise, put his tamanamus into it, and put it into the water, where he 

 thought his brother would catch it. His brother at Union City found 

 it, and thinking that surely it was a porpoise, caught it, but found 

 really that it was too strong for him, and that he was caught by it, for 

 it took him north under water to the unknown place where ducks live 

 in summer, which is also inhabited by a race of pigmy men a foot or 

 two high, between whom and the ducks there is war. He helped the 

 pigmies, killed many ducks and ate some, whereupon the pigmies called 

 him a cannibal, and became enraged at him. At last, a whale caught 

 him, and brought him back nearly to Union City. He very much 

 wished to be thrown out on dry land or in shallow water near the land. 

 But his wish was not granted, for by some means the whale vomited 

 him up in deep water, and he swam to land. This is the reason why the 

 dentalia, the species of shell formerly used as money, are found in deep 

 water, for they were vomited up with him. If his wish had been 

 granted, and he thrown on dry land or in shallow water, they would 

 have been found there. 



Many of these things have caused some white people to believe that 

 their religion was a kind of spiritualism. 



For a long time it troubled me to know what was meant by the word 

 " tamanamus", it being most generally used in connection with the work 

 of the medicine-men over the sick. It, however, means more 5 anything 

 supernatural, except, perhaps, the direct work of God and Satan. 



The noun good tamanamus hence means any spirit between God and 

 man, and an evil tamanamus any between Satan and man. It also 

 means any stick, stone, or the like in which this spirit may dwell, and 

 also the work of trying to intiuence this spirit. The verb means to 

 work in such a way as to influence these spirits, and is done in sickness 

 by medicine or tamanamus men, but in other cases, as described above, 

 by individuals alone, or in companies ; so that a tamanamus is often the 

 work of people tamanamusiug. 



I have sometimes asked them whv their tamanamus does not affect 



