THE INTERIOR OF OREGON. 449 



and made perfectly dark, when a small hole is made in the top, 

 and the spirits descend through it in the shape of small bits of bone : 

 these are received on a mat, a fire is made, and the spirits belonging 

 to a number of their friends already dead, are picked out. The 

 medicine-man then selects the particular spirit of each individual pre- 

 sent, makes all sit down, takes the bone representing his spirit, and 

 lays it on the head of the individual, among his hair, with many invo- 

 cations and grimaces, till it is supposed to descend into the heart of the 

 individual, and resume its former place. When all the spirits are thus 

 restored, the whole party make a contribution of food, and a feast 

 ensues, of which the remainder belongs to the medicine-man. If, per- 

 chance, in selecting the spirits of the dead, a living one should be taken 

 up, it is thought that the living person would immediately die. 



Tohua is the name of another ceremony, only performed early in 

 the spring, for the purpose of insuring abundance of deer, fish, berries, 

 and roots. This consists in taking up heated stones, and plunging 

 them in water, out of which they draw them with their hands. It is 

 only performed when they have eaten nothing for a day, or are, 

 according to their acceptation of the term, " clean." If they have 

 violated this rule, they believe that the hot stones will burn their 

 fingers. This ceremony is said to last several days, and includes 

 singing and dancing, walking barefoot and nearly naked about the 

 village, and many other such like pranks. The medicine-men also 

 enact the same kind of mummeries over the sick as have been hereto- 

 fore described. 



They have, in common with the other tribes, many traditions con- 

 nected with the rivers and remarkable features of their country. In 

 these the prairie-wolf bears always a conspicuous part. This wolf 

 was not an object of worship, but was supposed to be endowed with 

 supernatural powers, and to exert them in many ways. On one occa- 

 sion, it is related that the wolf was desirous of having a wife, and 

 visited the tribe on the Spokane for that purpose, demanding a young 

 woman in marriage. This request being granted, he promised that 

 the salmon should be abundant, and for this purpose he raised the 

 rapids, that they might be caught with facility. After he had been 

 gratified in this first instance, he made the same request of the others, 

 among them, of the Sketsui (Coeur d'Alene) tribe, who were the only 

 ones to refuse; he thereupon formed the great falls of the Spokane, 

 which have ever since prevented the fish from ascending to their 

 territory. 



Among the Flatheads they have names for the months, corresponding 



VOL. IV. 2N2 57 



