WAS-Q or WASGO. The Sea Monster

References:

Plate 8, Figure 6. Tattoo Mark. Wasgo in Wolf form. Haida.
Plate 11, Figure 4. Carved Slate Box. Haida.
Plate 15, Figure 2. Carved Chief's Club. Nootkan.

Was-q or Wasgo is a mythological being of the prehistoric
period. He was believed to be the ancestor of wolves, indicated
by the conventional shape of his elevated nose and the insignifi-
cant tail, with frequently a wolf body. However, after the
present genus of wolves had developed, Wasgo was transformed into
"Scana," the Killer Whale, whose strong, sharp teeth and powerful
jaw conform more to the carnivorous animal than to those of a sea
mammal. Consequently some representations emphasize the head and
body of a wolf combined with a large dorsal fin. They also in-
dicate his power to hunt equally on land or water by figures show-—
ing him carrying two whales, one between his ears, the other se-
cured under his tail. (For further details see "Whales" and
"Wolves.')

The following Haida legends tell how this formidable being
came to his end:

The first relates the capture of this monster by a man who
placed a split cedar tree under water held open by a spreading
stick. A child was placed as a bait in the trap, to which Wasgo
was soon attracted. The man swiftly knocked out the spreading
stick; the tree snapped back and the doom of the monster was
sealed. The man proceeded to prepare the skin which he then
wore each night, thereby catching abundant fish, which he laid
on his village beach. His mother-in-law claimed magic power
and pretended that it was she who thus fed her people; but the
man exposed the fraud and so shamed his mother-in-law that she
fell dead on the spot. (Boas, 1927, p. 160).

The second tells how in the long ago three men lived at an
ancient village three miles west of Skidegate, 9. C. I. One day
they left their village and went over many hills to a far dis-
tant lake. When the time came to return one man, Coon-ahts,
was missing. Long his companions spent searching for him in
vain; finally they gave him up for lost and returned sorrow
stricken to. their village.

Now Coon-ahts knew that the monster, Wasgo, lived in this
lake and could reach the sea by its outlet where he was able
to catch whales for his food. Wasgo was so powerful that he

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