Part 1 (2/2)

THE SUMMER HOME OF THE SESHAHTS

There is an island larger than the rest, called Ho-moh-ah, where once the tribe of Seshahts made their summer home. It lies well out to sea, and on the sheltered side the Seshahts lived. The chief of the tribe was Shewish. His house was large, so large that when he called his people to a great potlatch, they all could find within its walls an ample s.p.a.ce to feast and dance. His house like all the old time dwellings was built on simple lines, the three great roof-logs each of single trees, upheld by posts of ample girth. The sides and roof of wide-split cedar boards were adzed to lie close, and fastened into place by twisted cedar rope. Within, on either side was raised a wooden platform two feet high. This platform and a portion of the floor adjoining it in sections was part.i.tioned off by screens of cedar mats. Each section was the home of such as claimed close kins.h.i.+p with the chief. The centre of the lodge for its whole length was common to all who lived therein. The people cooked their food upon the common fire, the smoke of which curled up and found an exit through the smoke hole in the roof. The section tenanted by the family of Shewish lay furthest from the door. No feature except one marked it as different from the homes of lesser men. A pictographic painting--the Coat of Arms of the great family of Shewish hung upon the wall. The picture told in graphic form how came the name of Shewish to be famed among the hunters of the whale. It also told the legend of the THUNDER BIRDS.

[Ill.u.s.tration: HAND ADZE MADE AND USED BY INDIANS OF BARKLEY SOUND]

THE LEGEND OF THE THUNDER BIRDS

NAMES OCCURRING IN ”THE LEGEND OF THE THUNDER BIRDS”

Kulakula is the [1]Chinook word for Bird.

Tee-tse-kin or Tootooch is the name given by the Barkley Sound Indians to the Thunder Bird, a mighty supernatural bird in Indian mythology.

Howchulis, the land of the Howchucklesahts, is better known by the name Uchucklesit, a safe harbour on the west side of the Alberni Ca.n.a.l at its junction with Barkley Sound. Uchucklesit is now the centre of an important fis.h.i.+ng industry.

Quawteaht, is a great personage in Indian mythology, a beneficent being, and considered by many to be the progenitor of their race.

[1] CHINOOK, is a jargon or trade language still used on the coast of British Columbia both by the white men in conversing with the Indians, also by the latter when talking to members of a tribe speaking a different dialect. Chinook is a combination of English, French and Indian words.

THE LEGEND OF THE THUNDER BIRDS

The figure at the base of the pictographic painting represents the mammoth whale upon whose back the whole creation rests. Above the whale are seen the head and wings of the giant Kulakula the Tee-tse-kin the Thunder Bird which dwells aloft. When he flaps his wings or even moves a quill the thunder peals. When he blinks his eyes the lightning strikes. Upon his back a lake of large dimensions lies, from which the water pours in thunder storms. He is the lone survivor of four great Thunder Birds which dwelt upon the mountains of Uchucklesit. These mighty birds sustained themselves on whales, which they would carry to the mountain peaks, where Indians say, the bones of many whales have been found.

One time the ”Great One,” Quawteaht desiring to destroy the mighty Thunder Birds, entered the body of a whale, and swimming slowly approached Howchulis sh.o.r.e. The Thunder Birds espied it from their high retreat, and sweeping down made ready for the fray. First one attacked and drove his talons deep into the whale's back, then spreading his broad wings he tried to rise. Then Quawteaht gave strength to the great whale, which sounded, dragging the Tee-tse-kin beneath the waves. Up came the whale; a second Thunder Bird with all his force drove his strong claws deep into the quivering flesh. Then Quawteaht a second time gave strength and down the mammal plunged dragging with him the second Thunder Bird. A third was drowned in manner similar. Thereat the fourth and last Tootooch took wing and fled to distant heights, where he has ever since remained.

This is the story of the Thunder Birds.

[Ill.u.s.tration: WOODEN SCOOP FOR BALING THE WATER OUT OF A CANOE]

HOW SHEWISH BECAME A GREAT WHALE HUNTER

NAMES OCCURRING IN THE LEGEND OF SHEWISH

The Killer Whale or Ka-Kow-in has a large dorsal fin shown in a conventional manner in the pictograph between the Thunder Bird and the face of the Indian girl, sister to Shewish. The Killer Whale was often used as a family emblem or crest and as a source from which personal names were derived.

Klootsmah or Kloots-a-mah plural Klootsmuk the Indian word for ”married woman” but used in the legends for girls as well as women.

According to Gilbert Malcolm Sproat who lived in Alberni in the early ”sixties” the term used for a young girl or daughter was ”Ha-quitl-is” and for an unmarried woman ”Ha-quatl.”

Toquaht--the home of the Toquaht tribe of Indians, an old settlement on the north sh.o.r.e of Barkley Sound between Ucluelet and Pipestem Inlet.

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