Legends of Vancouver · Chapters
Chapters explained
Chapter companions for Legends of Vancouver by E. Pauline Johnson.
Chapter 1
Biographical Notice
This biographical notice outlines the life and career of E. Pauline Johnson (Tekahionwake), daughter of Chief G. H. M. Johnson of the Six Nations Indians and Emily S. Howells. It details her limited formal education, early reading habits, rise as a poet and public reciter, travels across Canada and England, her love of nature and adventure, and her final years in Vancouver, where she died in 1913 and was buried in Stanley Park near Siwash Rock.
Chapter 2
Legends of Vancouver
A collection of Indigenous legends from the Vancouver area, as told by Chief Capilano to Pauline Johnson, blending oral tradition with the natural and cultural landscape of the Pacific Northwest.
Chapter 3
The Two Sisters
The chapter recounts the Indigenous legend of 'The Two Sisters' (known to settlers as 'The Lions of Vancouver'), in which a great Tyee's two daughters, coming of age, request that their father invite their hostile northern enemies to their coming-of-age feast. The Tyee agrees, the feast becomes a great peace, and the Sagalie Tyee transforms the sisters into the twin mountain peaks as eternal guardians of peace and brotherhood.
Chapter 4
The Siwash Rock
The chapter recounts the Squamish legend of Siwash Rock, a stone monument to 'Clean Fatherhood.' A young chief defies the four men of the Sagalie Tyee while swimming to purify himself before his child's birth, and is transformed into an enduring rock as a reward for his devotion.
Chapter 5
The Recluse
The narrator recounts a legend told by Chief Capilano about a Squamish chief who was banished for ten years after fathering twins, believed to bring evil to the tribe. The chief built a solitary lodge by the Capilano River, surviving through hunting and fishing, until two children—his sons—found him and called him back to the tidewater. The legend ends with the chief returning, and the narrator reflects on the beauty of the tale.
Chapter 6
The Lost Salmon-Run
The narrator encounters an elderly Indigenous woman (klootchman) who has been absent from the salmon fishing season because she became a grandmother to a girl-child. She explains her preference for a girl by telling the legend of 'The Lost Salmon-Run,' in which the Great Tyee's wife was expecting a child. The Great Tyee wanted a girl, but the tribe demanded a boy. The medicine men decreed that the tribe could not have both a boy-child and a great salmon-run; they chose the boy. As a result, no salmon came that year, bringing starvation. Since then, the tribe has valued girl-children, who will become mothers and ensure future abundance.
Chapter 7
The Deep Waters
Pauline Johnson recounts the Squamish legend of the Deluge, contrasting it with the Iroquois flood story. As relentless rain raises the sea, the tribes build a giant canoe and a massive cable to anchor it. When the waters overwhelm the land, all the children are placed in the canoe with a young mother and a brave young man, while the adults sacrifice themselves. After the flood subsides, the canoe is guided to Mount Baker, where the survivors repopulate the earth.
Chapter 8
The Sea-Serpent
Chief Capilano recounts the legend of the Salt-Chuck Oluk, a sea-serpent born from the greed of a young man named Shak-shak during the Fraser River gold rush. The Tenas Tyee, a generous and clean-hearted boy, volunteers to kill the monster. After four years of daily swimming and searching, he pierces its heart, cleansing the waters and ridding his people of the disease of greed.
Chapter 9
The Lost Island
The narrator's old tillicum laments the loss of Indian lands, culture, and traditions, comparing them to a legendary lost island in the North Arm. He recounts a vision of a great medicine-man who, foreseeing the white man's arrival, prayed for his strength and courage to be preserved for his people. The medicine-man then paddled to a mysterious island, where his strength left him, and he died. Ever since, the tribe has searched for the island, believing it holds their lost courage and bravery. The tillicum has twice seen only its shadow.
Chapter 10
Point Grey
A young Squamish friend tells the narrator the legend of Homolsom Rock, a stone at Point Grey that was once the Tyee of the West Wind, a cruel storm god who challenged the Sagalie Tyee. The Four Men, sent by the Sagalie Tyee, turned the West Wind into stone, decreeing that he would serve mankind by granting favorable winds to those who touch the rock with a paddle-blade. The narrator reflects on the enduring power of the rock, fed by the unspoiled sea.
Chapter 11
The Tulameen Trail
The narrator describes a journey through the Dry Belt valleys, focusing on the haunting music of the Tulameen River. An Indigenous legend explains the river's voice: a young girl's spirit is trapped in its waters after she is killed by her brothers' arrows meant for her lover, a Tulameen brave. The story recounts the war between tribes, the romance between the chief's daughter and her father's enemy, and her tragic death, after which her spirit remains in the river.
Chapter 12
The Grey Archway
The narrator encounters an old tillicum on a steamer who tells the legend of Yaada, a Haida maiden who must choose between a wealthy old medicine-man and a poor young fisherman named Ulka. She proposes a stone-throwing contest to judge their worth. The medicine-man uses magic to open the Grey Archway, but then uses evil magic to cause Ulka's stone to kill Yaada's mother. Yaada accuses the medicine-man, and she and Ulka leap into the sea, becoming two silvery fish that still swim together.
Chapter 13
Deadman’s Island
Chief Capilano recounts the Squamish legend of Deadman’s Island, where a fierce war between northern and southern tribes led to a heroic sacrifice: two hundred young warriors gave their lives to free their captured families. The story is framed by a peaceful twilight conversation between the chief and the narrator, who reflects on the island's history and the blood from which the scarlet fire-flower grew.
Chapter 14
A Squamish Legend of Napoleon
Chief Capilano tells Pauline Johnson the Squamish legend of how Napoleon Bonaparte lost a magical talisman—a joint from a sea-serpent's vertebra—that had been sent to him by a dying Squamish warrior's women. The charm ensured victory until Napoleon lost it before the Battle of Waterloo, leading to his defeat. The tale blends local oral tradition with European history, highlighting the transmission of knowledge across the Pacific.
Chapter 15
The Lure in Stanley Park
This chapter recounts the Coast Indian legend of a witch-woman turned to stone in Stanley Park, whose evil soul lures unwary travelers into endless circling. The Sagalie Tyee's Four Men transform kind souls into the Cathedral Trees to counteract the stone's evil, illustrating the Indian belief that good ultimately prevails and that kindness is the highest virtue.
Chapter 16
Deer Lake
This chapter recounts the story of the first Chief Capilano and his pursuit of a giant seal using a treasured elk-bone spear passed down through generations. After losing the spear and rope when the seal escapes into False Creek, Capilano searches for them in vain. A year later, drawn by a forest fire's red glow, he discovers the seal's carcass at Deer Lake with the spear and rope still embedded, restoring his spiritual power. The chapter also describes a massive migration of beavers fleeing the fire, and concludes with Capilano's lifelong search for the hidden river connecting Deer Lake to the sea.
Chapter 17
A Royal Mohawk Chief
This chapter recounts the historic ceremony in 1869 when Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and son of Queen Victoria, was inducted as a chief of the Mohawk tribe of the Six Nations Iroquois. The narrative describes the journey to the Old Mohawk Church, the elaborate native ceremony involving the three clans (Bear, Wolf, Turtle), and the bestowal of the name 'Kavakoudge.' It highlights the respect British royalty showed for native customs and the enduring loyalty of the Iroquois to the British crown. The author reveals a personal connection, as her father, Onwanonsyshon, was the chief who escorted the Prince.
Chapter 18
Endnotes
The endnotes provide brief references and annotations for terms and concepts mentioned throughout the book, including deities, animals, currency, and a poetic allusion.
