LEGENDS OF VANCOUVER

fortunate possessor of the talisman. There
was one particularly efiective joint that had
been treasured and carried by the warriors of
a great Squamish family for a century. These
warriors had conquered every foe they en-
countered, until the talisman had become so
renowned that the totem pole of their entire
“clan” was remodelled, and the new one
crested by the figure of a single joint of a sea-
serpent’s vertebra.

About this time stories of Napoleon's first
great achievements drifted across the seas; not
across the land—and just here may be a clue
to buried coast-Indian history, which those
who are cleverer at research than I, can puzzle
over. The chief was most emphatic about the
source of Indian knowledge of Napoleon.

“I suppose you heard of him from Quebec,
through, perhaps, some of the French priests,"
I remarked.

“No, no,” he contradicted hurriedly. “Not
from East; we hear it from over the Pacific,
from the place they call Russia.” But who
conveyed the news or by what means it came
he could not further enlighten me. But a
strange thing happened to the Squamish
family about this time. There was a large
blood connection, but the only male member
living was a very old warrior, the hero of
many battles, and the possessor of the talis-

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