of an important potlatch, and I remember well the din made by the
blowing of horns, the shaking of rattles, and the beating of sticks
on the roof boards of Big Tom's great potlatch house, when the
Indians sighted the suppositional wolves on the river bank opposite
the Village.

In those days we were permitted to attend the potlatches and witness
the animal and other dances, among which were the "Panther," "Red
Headed Woodpecker," "Wild Swan" and the "Sawbill Duck." Generally
we were welcome at the festivals, provided we did not laugh or
show sign of any feeling save that of grave interest. Among my
Indian acquaintances of those days was Ka-coop-et, better known in
the district as Mr. Bill. Bill is a fine type of Seshaht, quite
intelligent and with a fund of humour. Having made friends, he told
me in a mixture of broken English and Chinook some of the old folk
lore of his tribe. Of these stories I have selected for publication
"How Shewish Became a Great Whale Hunter" and "The Finding of the
Tsomass." This latter story as I present it, is a composite of three
versions of the same tale, as received, by Gilbert Malcolm Sproat
about the year 1862; by myself from "Bill" in 1896, and by Charles A.
Cox, Indian Agent, resident at Alberni, from an old Indian called
Ka-kay-un, in September 1921. Ka-kay-un credits his great great
grandfather with being the father of the two young Indians who with
the slave See-na-ulth discovered the valley now known as Alberni,
while "Bill" gave the credit to the sons of "Wick-in-in-ish."

The framework for "The Legend of Eut-le-ten," was related to me by
Rev. M. Swartout in the year 1897. Mr. Swartout was a missionary to
the West Coast Indian tribes. He spoke the language of the natives
fluently, and took great pains to get the story with as much accuracy