38 REPORT—-1890.

‘SSS Sa

—" a —
-su-mat ma-yé - is ya a @, f= Mae So Ne ee ne he-
= -sitcha-witlmé - is ya 4 Bessa =- Soho siete hé-
G ———— = = ier a2 Se
CL = See Sere a eee pt eee ee ae es SS ee
ya a - 8 na wal héi ho.
ya amar’ na wal hei ho.

T.e., Get ready, all you tribes. He says my property will be rushed down the river.

The chief of the Kayé’/kath gave this song to the Ahau'sath at a pot-
latch, who, in their turn, gave it as a present to the Ts’éca’ath chief. It
seems that the Nootka do not use dancing-aprons as the Kwakiutl do.
In the potlatch dances men, women, and children dance the same dances.
It is stated that the Ahau':ath at one time made
different dances for men, women, and children, but
this was an exceptional experiment. In former times
the privilege of performing a certain dance was rigidly
guarded, and many wars were raged against tribes
who performed a dance to which they had no right.

Some persons tattoo their crest on their bodies.
An old man of the Hopetcisa’th tribe, for imstance,
has a wolf tattooed on his belly and breast. The
hands of women and men are frequently tattooed.
I observed one man who had a line tattooed connect-
ing both eyebrows. ‘The same person had the upper
half of his moustache pulled out. It is stated, how-
ever, that these practices have been recently intro-
duced (fig. 15).
if I may remark in this place that the copper plates

which play so important a part in the customs of the
northern tribes are not used by the Nootka.

Fia@. 15.—Nootka
Tattooing.

GAMES.

The games of the Nootka are identical with those of the neighbouring
tribes. A favourite game is played with hoops, which are rolled over
the ground. Then a spear is thrown at them, which must pass through
the hoop (nutni'tc). A guessing game is frequently played between two
parties, who sit in two rows opposite each other. One party hides a
stone, the men passing it from hand to hand. The other party has to
guess where it is (@éetszk ths). The following song, although belong-
ing originally to Cape Flattery, is used all along the west coast of Van-
couver Island in ne ing the game lehal :—