g4 THE INDIANS OF CAPE FLATTERY. 



a bone in its mouth, and finally dropped it ; nor is it entirely uncertain that the 

 circumstance so affected his superstitious imagination that it caused a reaction 

 in his system, and promoted his recovery. The same effect might perhaps have 

 been produced by a smart shock from a galvanic battery. It is thus, without doubt, 

 that the persons going through the ordeal of becoming tamanawas, or medicine 

 men, have their minds excited by any animal they may see, or even by the creak- 

 ing of a limb in the forest, and their imaginations are sufficiently fertile to add 

 to natural causes, fancies that appear to them to be real. If there is anything 

 connected with their ceremonials approaching to our ideas of wors'hip, it must be 

 during the secret portion, from which aU except the initiated are rigorously ex- 

 cluded ; but I have no evidence that such is the fact, and believe, as the Indians 

 state to me, that the only time they address the Supreme Being is by themselves 

 and in secret. 



As their general tamanawas ceremonies are based upon their mythological fables, 

 it will perhaps be well first to relate some of those legends before describing their 

 public performances. 



The Makahs believe in a transmigration of souls ;^ that every living thing, even 

 trees, and aU sorts of birds and fishes as well as animals, were formerly Indians who 

 for their bad conduct were transformed into the shapes in which they now appear. 

 These ancient Indians, said my informant, were so very bad, that at length two men, 

 brothers of the sun and moon, who are termed Ho-ho-e-ap-bess or the " men who 

 changed things" — came on earth and made the transformations. The seal was 

 a very bad, thieving Indian, for which reason his arms were shortened, and his 

 legs tied so that only his feet could move, and he was cast into the sea and told to 

 catch fish for his food. The mink, Kwahtie, was a great liar, but a very shrewd 

 Indian, full of rascalities which he practised on every one, and many are the tales told 

 of his acts. His mother was the blue-jay, Kwish-kwishee. Once, while Kwahtie 

 was making an arrow, his mother directed him to get some water, but he refused 

 until he should have finished his work. His mother told him to make haste, for she 

 felt that she was turning into a bird. While she was talking she turned into a blue 

 jay and ffew into a bush. Kwahtie tried to shoot her, but his arrow passed behind 

 her neck, glancing over the top of her head, ruffling up the feathers, as they have 

 always remained in the head of the blue-jay. Those Indians that were turned 

 into wolves formerly resided at Clallam Bay. One day their chief Chu-chu-hu- 

 uks-t'hl, came to Kwahtie's house, who pretended to be sick, and invited the wolf to 

 come in and take a nap. This he did, as he was quite tired. When he was fast 

 asleep Kwahtie got up and with a sharp mussel shell cut the wolf's throat and 

 buried him in the sand. Two days after this a deputation of the wolf tribe came to 

 look for their chief. " I have not seen him," said Kwahtie. " I am sick and have 

 not left my house." The wolves retired ; and shortly another, and then another 

 deputation came. To all of these he gave the same answer. At last one of the 



' The term " transmigration of souls" is not strictly correct. The idea is that the pre-human, 

 or demon race, was transformed into the animals and other objects whose names they bore and still 

 bear. The soulfj of the present race are not supposed to undergo transmigration &. G. 



