death are the fruits of such promiscuous intercourse, to such an
extent that their utter extinction from these causes is inevitable,
unless they are speedily removed. Their only hope of long surviving
lies in the careful training of the young children by the
missionaries. The habits and associations of the adults are too strong
to be much affected by their labors.

* * * * *

Legends and Traditions.

The mind of the Indian is full of weird strange fancies and
imaginations. Groping in darkness, in almost total ignorance of the
discoveries of science, with nothing to guide or correct him, it is no
wonder that in his blind struggles to solve the great problems which
are more or less a mystery to us all--the origin of man and original
creations--that he has wrought out the incongruous mixture of
ignorance, superstition and vulgar imagination which mainly compose
their legends and traditions. Some of them are doubtless based upon
actual occurrences in the remote ages, which they have interwoven with
their own fancies; others upon the exploits and experiences of their
ancestors; though the greater number are pure fictions, fairy tales
and hobgoblin stories, handed down from generation to generation. It
would require a large volume to contain them all, and years to
translate them with accuracy. I can therefore only give a few examples
from those most frequently narrated, which I had from the lips of
Edensaw, the oldest and ranking Chief of the Hydah nation, and
Goo'd-nai-u-uns, wife of Goo-gul, well known as a gifted relator of
their legends and traditions. Ne-kil-stlas is their great creative
geni, who, by transforming himself into men, women, children, beasts,