30 THE OXALATE OF MANGANESE. 



peared. The three brothers had witnessed the conflict from their 

 place of confinement, and with much labour had succeeded in releas- 

 ing themselves from their bonds, when they went to the battle ground 

 and commenced pulling the quills from the apparently lifeless bodies, 

 but no sooner had they done this than all instantly returned to con- 

 sciousness. When all of them had become well again they wished to 

 express their gratitude to their preservers and they offered to grant 

 whatsoever they should desire. The three brothers therefore re- 

 quested to be sent back to their own country. A council was accor- 

 dingly called to decide upon the easiest mode of doing so, and they 

 eventually determined upon employing a whale for the purpose. The 

 three brothers were then seated upon the back of the monster and 

 proceeded in the direction of Nasquawley : however, when they had 

 reached about halfway the whale began to think what a fool he was 

 for carrying them instead of turning them into porpoises and letting 

 them swim home themselves. Now the whale being a '"Soch-a-li- 

 Tiyah " or great spirit— that is the highest of all animal spirits — but 

 of course inferior to the " Hias Soch-a-li Tiyah," who is the Great 

 Spirit over all things, was able to do this at will, and he accordingly 

 tnrned the three brothers into porpoises. This therefore is the way 

 that the porpoises first came into existence, and accounts for their 

 being constantly at war with the seals, one of which species was the 

 cause of their first misfortunes. After the three brothers had so 

 strangely disappeared their mother came down to the beach and 

 remained there for days watching for their return and bewailing their 

 absence with tears. While thus engaged one day the whale hap- 

 pened to pass by and taking pity on her distress he turned her into 

 that stone." 



NOTE ON THE OXALATE OE MANGANESE. 



BY HENBT CROFT, D.O.L., F.C.S., 



PBOrESSOB OF CHEMI8TKY, UNIVEESITY COLLEGE. TOEONTO. 



Head before the Canadian Institute, December 20th, 1856. 

 In Gmelin's Handbuch, Vol. IV., the oxalate of the protoxide of 

 manganese is described as having been obtained by Graham, com- 

 bined with 5 equivalents (24, 16 per cent.) of water, by precipitation 



