234 THE BIG CANOE

In every Chilcat family there is a tradition of
blanket-making to be upheld. A chieftain’s daughter
is not exempt. During Kali’s girlhood she was trained
in all the simple things she must know before she
could begin to weave on the loom. Though she was
of royal birth, she spent many long hours at work
with the other maidens. From the first, there was
much that the impatient, wilful girl disliked about
the tiresome tasks; much that she refused to learn;
much that she neglected whenever possible. Never-
theless, she was forced to practise until she was fairly
well versed in each small detail, for every chief-
tainess in her tribe for generations had been famous
for the perfection of her weaving.

After she had successfully completed a small sha-
man’s apron, she was permitted to begin a blanket of
her own. Very beautiful was the pattern on her pat-
tern board, the result of many hours of careful plan-
ning; very intricate was it, also, for awkward young
fingers like Kali’s.

At first the princess worked slowly and _pains-
takingly, and her weaving was fine and even; but
as soon as the Chilcats settled down in their village
for the winter and the time of feasting and ceremonies
began, the blanket was neglected.

During the long weeks of fun and merrymaking,
Kali worked with ill-concealed impatience and dis-
like for her weaving and the blanket grew but little