8 THE INDIANS OF CAPE FLATTERY. 



the various dialects of the coast tribes, Ka-kaitch, T'hlu-kluts, and Tu-tutsh, 

 the latter being the Nootkan name. This giant lives on the highest mountains, 

 and his food consists of whales. When he is in v^ant of food, he puts on a garment 

 consisting of a bird's head, a pair of immense wings, and a feather covering for his 

 body; around his waist he ties the Ha-hek-to-ak, or lightning fish, which bears 

 some faint resemblance to the sea horse {hippocampus) . This animal has a head as 

 sharp as a knife, and a red tongue which makes the fire. The T'hlu-kluts having 

 arrayed himself, spreads his wings and sails over the ocean till he sees a whale. 

 This he kills by darting the Ha-hek-to-ak down into its body, which he then seizes 

 in his powerful claws and carries away into the mountains to eat at his leisure. 

 Sometimes the Ha-hek-to-ak strikes a tree with his sharp head, splitting and tearing 

 it in pieces, or again, but very rarely, strikes a man and kills him. Whenever 

 lightning strikes the land or a tree, the Indians hunt very diligently with the hope 

 of finding some portion of the Ha-hek-to-ak, for the possession of any part of this 

 marvellous animal endows its owner with great powers, and even a piece of its bone, 

 which is supposed by the Indians to be bright red, will make a man expert in killing 

 whales, or excel in any kind of work. Those Indians, however, who pretend to 

 possess these fabulous relics carefully conceal them from sight, for they are con- 

 sidered as great " medicines," and not to be seen except by the possessor. A tale 

 was related to me, and religiously believed by them, respecting the possession of a 

 quill of the thunder bird by a Kwinaiult Indian, now living, named Neshwats. 

 He was hunting on a mountain near Kwinaiult, and saw a thunder bird light on a 

 rock. Creeping up softly, he succeeded in securing a buckskin thong to one of its 

 wing feathers, fastening the other end at the same time to a stump. When the 

 T'hlu-kluts flew oif, the feather was drawn from the wing and kept by the Indian. 

 The length of this enormous feather is forty fathoms. Neshwats is very careful 

 that no person shall see this rare specimen, but his tale is believed, particularly as 

 he is very expert in killing sea otter, which abound on that part of the coast. 



I saw an instance of their credulity on an occasion of a display of fireworks at Port 

 Townsend a few siunmers since. A number of the rockets on bursting displayed 

 fiery serpents. The Indians believed they were Ha-hek-to-ak, and for a long time 

 made application to the gentlemen who gave the display, for pieces of the animal, 

 for which they offered fabulous prices. So firm is their belief in this imaginary 

 animal, that one chief assured me if I could procure him a backbone he would 

 give two hundred dollars for it. One of the principal residences of the T'hlu-kluts 

 is on a mountain back of Clyoquot, on Vancouver Island. There is a lake situated 

 in the vicinity, and around its borders the Indians say are quantities of old bones 

 of whales. These, they think, were carried there by the T'hlu-kluts, but they are 

 very old, and it must have been many years ago. I have not seen these bones, but 

 have heard of them from various Indians who allege that they have seen them. 

 If they really do exist as stated, they are undoubtedly the fossil remains that have 

 been deposited there at a time when that portion of the continent was submerged, 

 and respecting which there is a tradition still among them. The painting above 

 described, although done by an Indian, does not fully represent the idea of the 

 Makahs respecting the T'hlu-kluts. But, having by me a copy of Kitto's Cyclopsedia 



