Project Gutenberg's Indian Legends of Vancouver Island, by Alfred Carmichael

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Title: Indian Legends of Vancouver Island

Author: Alfred Carmichael

Release Date: January 3, 2005 [EBook #9459]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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[Illustration: THE LONE INDIAN]

INDIAN LEGENDS OF VANCOUVER ISLAND

TEXT BY ALFRED CARMICHAEL

ILLUSTRATED BY J. SEMEYN

BY WAY OF INTRODUCTION

The unsophisticated aboriginal of British Columbia is almost a memory
of the past. He leaves no permanent monument, no ruins of former
greatness. His original habitation has long given place to the frame
house of sawn timber, and with the exception of the carvings in black
slate made by the Hydah Indians of the Queen Charlotte Islands, and
the stone hammers, spear and arrow points, fashioned in the days
before the coming of the white man, the mementos of his sojourn in
British Columbia are only relics in wood, bark or reeds.

In the Alberni District of Vancouver Island there are two tribes
of Indians, the Seshaht and the Opitchesaht. During the winter
season the Seshahts live in a village which occupies a beautiful
and commanding site on the west bank of the Somass River.

Some thirty years ago when I first knew the Seshahts, they still
celebrated the great Lokwana dance or wolf ritual on the occasion
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