The Haida did not look for natural causes to account for the
death of these powerful creatures, but adopted the mythological
belief that the Mythical Raven entered the belly of the victim
which frantic with pain rushed ashore to its death, while the
invisible Raven walked quietly out of the Whale's mouth, trim
and ready for his next adventure!

Plate 5, Figure 5 is of interest in showing (though in minia-
ture size) one of the huge ceremonial dance masks, characteristic
of the Kwakiutl people. The original, in the Provincial Museum,
Victoria, B. C., measures six feet two inches in length by one
foot two inches in height and breadth. The lower jaw, the flip-
pers and tail are separate movable pieces, which, by their skil-
ful manipulation by the wearer of the mask, contributed to its
imposing effect as he advanced towards and receded from the on-
lookers in the course of the Dance illuminated only by flickering
ipaligeLayelaitse

Among other legends concerned with the Killer Whale was the
belief that the same Spirit could be Wolf on land and Killer
Whale in the water; and it is suggested that the widespread cus-
tom of throwing remnants of whale flesh and blubber into the
sea was to return the Whale Spirit to its natural element. Re-
presentations of this mythical monster (see "Wasgo') showing
the combination of Yolf and Killer Whale are reproduced on Plate
8, Figure 6; Plate 9, Figure 4; and Plate 15, Figure 2.

Another myth relates that it was the Wolf Spirit which first
appeared to man and revealed the details of the Whale Cult, traces
of which, together with associations with the Wolf, extend (though
with a still unexplained wide gap) from Behring Straits and Green-
land to their reappearance among the Nootkan people. The details
of this Cult were elaborate, and included prolonged preparations
and ceremonial observances during the Whale hunt period. Only
the Nootka Tribe was courageous enough to hung this formidable
creature.

Plate 15, Figure 5, shows this dangerous whale hunt woven
on the curiously shaped hats worn by these Coast Tribes. It
was. the only design allowed to decorate these hats by the Nootkan
Tribe, who considered the Killer Whale to be the "King's" or
"Chief's" fish. No one but the Chief was allowed to launch the
first harpoon in a hunt even though the near approach of the
whale might threaten the lives of the occupants of the canoe.

The artistic design of a whale, the crest of the owner,
(Plate 10, Figure 5) is not carved but painted in red and black
on the sides of a Kwakiutl drum; each end also shows the painted
outlines of a "Chief's Copper" on which this same crest is de-
picted. The drum consists of a square chest, of which the cover

S aoen