repeat the wailing afterwards at intervals, sometimes for several years. It seems to be in compliance with custom and independent of grief, which is often sincere and deep.

The wooden vessel used for a certain purpose, and of which every Eskimo owns one, is invariably placed over his remains and usually broken. Other property is left about him, differing in amount according to the panic, if any, caused by sickness at the time; to his whole stock of worldly goods or to the grief of the mourners. The personal property of a wife goes back to her relations if they claim it, or is given away to the community. The house-fellows or the community, rather than the relatives, are the inheritors of property; which is more likely in the latter case to go to brothers than to children or wife of the deceased. These house-fellows being the persons who joined forces to build, and who jointly occupy and own the house, form a little society subsidiary to the village commune. These subordinate groups have in domestic affairs considerable importance. The most important, oldest or wealthiest individual takes precedence of the others, and has always assigned to him the corner of the sleeping platform or space at the right hand of and next to the door. He settles disputes, directs the course of domestic affairs of the common household, meets strangers, assigns them their place on the sleeping platform and offers them refreshment by the hand of his wife. There is a certain allegiance due him by all inmates who also have certain duties toward each other.

This imperfect attempt at conveying some idea of the social thought and feeling of a barbarous people, may be followed hereafter by additional matter of a similar nature, but for the present I will close by sketching the daily round of an Eskimo housewife in early winter. Rising in the early hours when first a faint glimmer through the parchment cover of the smoke hole indicates the peep of dawn, her first care is to remove the necessary wooden vessels before alluded to, to the antechamber of the house where their contents are preserved for tanning and other useful purposes. This done she removes the cover of the smoke hole and searches the hearth, where carefully covered embers should still be glowing, and if they are not extinguished, carefully gathers them together, places some light dry sticks upon them and going outside arouses the sleepers by pitching down a quantity of fuel through the aperture in the roof. Before coming in she arranges some bits of wood or boards so as to aid the draught through the

smoke hole, and brings from some adjacent running spring a kettle of water for drinking and cooking purposes. Returning, the beds and mats are rolled up against the wall and the inmates perform their very simple toilets which consist chiefly in putting on their clothing, all of which except a pair of deerskin socks is usually removed at night. A few touches to their hair, a dry wash with a bit of cotton rubbed over the face, or at most with a little fine snow in lieu of water; after which bunches of dry grass are arranged in their boots to fit the foot, the boots are put on and tied, and they are ready for the day's work.

Meanwhile the housewife has prepared the materials for a meal of boiled deer, or seal flesh or of boiled fish with oil. The morning meal, always hurried, is seldom delayed to roast meat or fish on sticks, as at the evening meal. The house-fellows make short work of their breakfast and immediately disperse to visit their traps or pursue the avocations of the day. The remnants of the meal fall to the share of the dogs, the wooden dishes are usually hastily cleaned, and the mistress of the house sits at her daily work. This at this season usually consists in preparing deer skins for boots or clothing, or cutting and sewing the skins into garments. From time to time during the day a morsel of deer fat, a bit of dry salmon or some other fragment of food is incidentally discussed, but without any regularity. Since most of the women are similarly engaged in the morning there are usually few visitors until the middle of the day is passed, unless some girl bringing her work with her, comes in to sew in company with others, if her own house be empty of female associates. Chitchat, scandal and very small small-talk make up the bulk of the conversation, broken only by directions in regard to work from the more experienced work-woman to the younger ones. As the day draws into afternoon some stranger from another village may present himself, when with few words he is directed to a sitting place, one of the women removes his wet boots and places them, and the straw pads they contain, in the smoke to dry, and something in the way of refreshment is at once offered to him. Silence reigns for a time when slowly, bit by bit, and at long. intervals, the stranger tells the story of his journey, the latest news in his own village, and any messages he may bring to the household.

As night comes on, the sewing is laid aside, the smouldering fire is built up to throw out a generous blaze, and one of the

household goes up on the roof to look for the returning hunters or trappers with their spoils. Fur animals are the property of the trapper, but he can only claim exclusive right to the skin, sinew, fat, tongue, head and belly pieces of a deer. The remainder is distributed to any who may need it, or reserved as the common property of the house-fellows, if there are no other applicants. The wife receives her husband in silence, removes his belts and gun case, puts his boots to dry, offers him a bit of meat and fish, and when he has taken his accustomed place, calls his attention to the stranger while she prepares the evening meal. This is the event of the day. The oil lamp is trimmed and lighted; conversation becomes general; all eat together, served by the mistress of the house, and when the repast is over, tales have been told, and the fire burns low, the larger embers are tossed out of the smoke hole, the coals carefully covered, the parchment replaced to keep in the warm air, beds are unrolled, clothing doffed, and the inmates lay themselves head to the fire; the light is put out, and in a short time the silence is only broken by an occasional nasal indication that the hunter is enjoying his well earned rest.

IN

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THE SEWELLEL OR SHOW'TL.

BY S. K. LUM.

'N the deep evergreen forests of fir, clothing the western slope of the Cascade Mountains, in Oregon and Washington Territory, is found a singular animal, Haplodon rufus, the natural history of which is but little known to scientists.

It is called by various names in the different localities it inhabits; considering it as new, each settler has named it after some better known animal he fancied it resembled. In Southern Oregon, it is found in moist situations on the tops of the Siskiyou and Rogue's River Mountains, and is there called "mountain beaver." On the head-waters of the many streams flowing westward to the Willamette River, it may be seen in great numbers, and is there called "mountain boomer," "ground hog," "gopher," "badger," &c. North of the Columbia River it inhabits nearly all the streams rising in the Cascade Mountains and flowing westward to tide water, also, on the Cowlitz and other tributaries of the Columbia, and in the vicinity of Shoalwater Bay. There it often goes by the Indian name of Shote or Show'tl. Its special habitat is the broken hilly

country forming an elevated bench some two thousand feet above the level of the sea, and lying along the western base of the Cascade Mountains. It is semi-aquatic in its nature, and its haunts will always be found where veins of water beneath the surface of the ground are abundant. It usually selects the open glades of the forest, thickly grown up with fern and sallal (Gaultheria shalon). It is emphatically a burrowing animal, and here the ground will be seen perforated with holes. Generally a little hillock of excavated reddish clay marks their entrance, but, sometimes, only a hole large enough to admit the animal passes directly downwards, the earth seemingly having been removed.* Beneath the ground, the various openings connect, and form a perfect "plexus" of passages, often nearly parallel with the surface, and only a foot or so in depth. Horses and cattle frequently

fall into these places, to their great annoyance, and the farmer in plowing such lands for the first time, finds much difficulty in getting his team to work. These underground passages, no doubt, extend to great distances, in proof of which, water has been seen falling into a hole in one place, and coming out at another a fourth or half a mile distant.

In many instances I found water coursing its way through these passages which had been worn by the water large enough to take in the body of a cow. Then, again, pools of water appeared beneath the surface of the ground, where the show'tls, young and old, took pleasure in sporting and performing their ablutions. The show'tl's food is the various vegetation of the locality, including shrubs, herbs, roots, etc. These it gathers in a hurried manner above ground, and drags them to the mouth of its burrow. It has been observed to ascend a bush two or three feet, cut off a limb quickly, and retreat with it to its hole. Often, a mass of dried sticks and rubbish may be seen about the entrance to the

* Perhaps such holes are made by the animal burrowing to the surface from below. -ED.

hole, being the refuse of the gathering. I have known it to take possession of a field seeded down to red clover, forming numerous burrows, and seeming delighted to feed upon this herbage. Its strong and sharp teeth seem eminently adapted to cutting off sticks, as in the beaver, although I have observed none more than one-fourth to one-half an inch in diameter, cut off by them. Ferns, sallal and hazel form a large part of its food, which it masticates very fine, as may be seen by inspecting the contents of its stomach.

In general form and color, the show'tl has much the appearance of a huge meadow mole, thirteen to fourteen inches in length from the tip of its nose to the end of its tail, of a reddish color, and weighing three to three and a-half pounds. The males are larger than the females. The tail is short and almost hidden by the long hairs surrounding it. The eyes are small, and apparently but little use is made of them while passing through the burrows. Their whiskers are long and strong, extending laterally beyond their bodies. They have also bristles springing from their fore legs outwardly; these answer in a great measure the use of eyes by touching the walls of their burrows and thus directing their course in the dark.

Its fur is similar to that of the musk-rat, and but for the tail might easily be taken for the skins of that animal. It has no scent or musk that I can appreciate. I consider the flesh good eating, although it is not generally so esteemed by the people. The Indians eat them, and formerly made great use of them as food. Since the disappearance of the Indians from large sections of the country I think the show'tl is increasing in numbers. It is nocturnal in its habits, doing most of its excavating, feeding and moving about during the night. It is occasionally, however, seen above ground in the day time; when so seen it is extremely shy and wary, and will never be caught far from its hole. They move about considerably during the day time, as is evinced by being frequently caught in steel traps. They are pugnacious fellows, and will seize the nose of a dog, inflicting a severe bite. Enemies they have, no doubt, as minks have been caught in their burrows on the uplands, and wildcats, fishers, and other rapacious animals abound in their neighborhood.

I have found them associated with the digger squirrel (Spermophilus beecheyi), with which they seemed to be on friendly terms; indeed, the appearance and plan of the burrows of these two ani