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Tous les autres exemplaires originaux sont filmAs en commenpant par !a premiere page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration et en terminant par la dernidre page qui comporte une telle empreinte. Un des symboles suivants apparaitra sur la dernidre image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbols — ^ signifie "A SUIVRE", le symbols V signifie "FIN". Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre filmAs d des taux de reduction diffArents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul clichA, il est filmA A partir de Tangle supArieur gauche, de gauche A droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images nAcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mAthode. rata > elure, A 3 ' 1 2 3 32X 1 2 3 4 5 6 D > A CRUISE AMONG HAIDA AND TLINGIT VILLAGES ABOUT DIXON'S ENTRANCE. BY GEOKGE A. DORSEY, Pii. D., FIELD COLUMBIAN MUSEUM, OHIOAOO. REPRINTED FROM APPLET0N8' POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY FOR JUNE, 1398. 7 ' Reprinted from ApidetoniC I'njmlar Science Monthly for Jinit, ISOH. A CRUISE AMONG IIAIDA AXD TLINCIT VILLAGES ABOUT DIXOX^S ENTRANCE.* Bv GKOKfJE A. DOKSEY, Pir. I).. hlKI.I) CDLrMIilVN MISIIIM, CIIUA /~\X .May 11th of this year, accompanied by Mr. E. P. AUcn, the V-/ nniseuni pliotographer, I k^ft Chicago for a four months' tour among the Indians of tlie far West. The object of the journey was to secure material for the Department of Anthropology, more espe- cially to get such ol)jects as could be worked into groups to illus- trate the culture history of the Western Indians, and also to secure material to rejn'csent the physical characteristics of certain of these races. Between Chicago and the Pacific coast we visited three great families of Indians: the Blackfeet of ^Montana and Canada, the Flatheads of Montana, and the Kootenays of British Columbia and Idaho. Wlien we reached Victoria, on June 19th, we had before us two groups of Indians on the northwest coast to visit — the Ilaidas and the Tsimshians. As may be seen on an ethnographical map of the Northwest, the Plaidas and Tsimshians arc only two of five great stocks which are to be found on this coast. Beginning with the north are the Tlin- gits, who occujiy the islands and coast of southern Alaska. Just to the south come the Ilaidas, who live on Dall and the Prince of Wales Islands of Alaska and the Queen Charlotte Islands of British Columbia. Xext come the Tsimshians of the Xass and Skeena Bivers and the neighboring coast and islands. Below them are the Kwakiutls, inhabiting the coast from Gardiner Channel to Cape Mudge on the mainland and the west coast of Vancov v-r Island. From a Icctuio dolivcicd in tlic Kiclil Coliiinhiiin Museum, Xovom))L-i- (5, IS'.tT. CoPYllIlillT, 18118. IIY 1). Al'I'l.KTON AND COMPANY. 2 CRUISE AMONG HAIDA AND TUN HIT VILLAGES. The fifth and last group is the Salish, inhabiting the eastern half of Vancouver Island, the southwestern corner of the mainland of British Colui:nl)ia, and parts of Washington, Idaho, and Montana. It is not an easy matter to reach the Queen Charlotte Islands. The Victoria steamers touch at the town of Skidegate once a month, but remain for a few hours only, and the facilities foi getting away from Skidegate are limited to Indian canoes. Furthermore, Skide- gate and vicinity have been pretty thoroughly investigated by an- thropologists, and we were especially desirous of visiting Masset, a Stueet in Masskt. Queen Cliarlottu Isluiuls. remote Haida village on the northern shore of Graham Island, the largest of the Queen Charlotte group. This village is visited by steamers but once or twice a year, when the supplies are taken over for the Hudson Baj' Company's post. We finally decided to take •one of the British Columbia steamers, and land at Port Simpson, the chief town of the north coast and the one nearest to ^fa^set. There we hoped it would l)e possible to secure some sort of a sailing vessel with which we could make our proposed journey. After eight days of steaming along that most wonderful of inland seas we landed at Port Simpson, six hundred miles from Vic- toria, on June 30th. The prospect, after a few hours' survey of the barren beach and of the bay devoid of boats, was not cheerful; nor did the perpetual patter of the rain, nor the thick depressing fog. 1 . ;■ CRUISE AMOXG II AID A AND T LIN GIT VILLAGES. t nor the forh.ni, deserted appearance of the town, contribute greatly to encourage a belief that our mission was to be successful. One thing, however, was in our favor: the Hudson Bay officer from Masset was in Simpson and was ready to return to liis post. This fact, in the end, proved greatly to our advantage, for by his efforts we were enabled to secure one of the boats which liad been used by the Caiuidian surveyors in running the international boundary line in LSD.-,. So the Janet, the largest of the boats, was taken out of the si.- d and put into the water, and after two days' soaking it was found that the leakage could easily be kept in check, and she was pronounced seaworthy. Our party numbered five: .^Ir. Stephens, the merchant; Mr. Chapman, our skipper; Mr. Deans, our guide; Mr. Allen, and myself. Upon looking at a map of this region it would seem that the voyage from Port Simpson to Masset ought to be made with no diflfi- culty, but Masset is almost seventy miles due west from Port Simp- son, and the prevailing wind hereabout is from the west, and it blows with such force and persistency that Masset must be reached in a roundabout way. Long experience has taught that it is best not to attempt to make a direct passage, and that time is saved by sailing from one island to another along southern Alaska until Point Chacon or even Cape Muzon is gained. From either of these two points Masset is reached usually with but little difficulty. An- other reason in favor of this circuitous route is the fact that out from the northeast corner of Graham Island projects a long sand bar, many miles in extent and known as Rose Spit. Over this long, low- lying reef the water breaks with great fury and the tide currents are almost irresistible. Rose Spit is the terror of the N"orthwest coast, and many are the schooners and canoes which have met an untimely end on its treacherous sands. All this we knew when we set forth from Simpson at noon on July 3d, but little did wo realize what all this meant. There cer- tainly was nothing auspicious in our departure, as we started forth in the midst of a fog and drizzling rain, and after six hours we had only made North Dundas Island, not more than fifteen miles from Simp- son. But, notwithstanding the fickle wind and the drizzling rain, the evening and night were happily spent. We had left behind us steamships and towns and civilization, conventionalism and restraint; we were now fairly out of the world. We were to see no boat but our own, nor a living being save at Masset. On the following morning we were to make our first acquaint- ance with a specimen of the tides of this region. An early start had been our ])laii and our hope, and to this end we had our boat loaded. 4 CHVISE AMOXG IIAIDA AND TLIXdir VILLAUKS. were all ahoiivd, had one sail up, and were ready to push off, l)nt the .laiict wouldn't push. AVlien a tide lias to fall twenty-two feet within two hours it ean't afford to lose any time, and eonseqnently it did not wait for ns, and the Janet was hard af^round and firm as a rock, and so we waited for the tnrn f»f the tide; we waited just five hours. On aceonnt of this niisliap the hest we eould do that day was to make Cape Fox, but that was not without some compensation, for we IIaida Woman uv Massit Wdavinii a IJaskit. thus s})ent the niulit of Jtily 4th on Alaskan soil, liy two o'clock on the following day we had gained ('a])e Xorthuinlierliiiid and were snugly anchored in a cove on Kelp Island. The weather now was all that we could ]iossil)ly wish, the sky was as clear as crystal, and far away on the mainland to the east we could see the sun glistening on the myriad ice-bound ])eaks of the coast mountains, while about us in every direction were the forest-covered tops of half-submerged mountain peaks wliich make up this sea of islands. The afternoon was one long to be remembered. Tents, blankets, and clothing were put out to dry, while we ramljled through the forest, following paths tt * VliCISK AMOXa HMDA AXl) TLIXaiT VILLAGE'S. 5 « made hy deer and hear down to the springs near our cain]). 'J'lie forests were a revelation — hatlied in an almost eternal mist wliieli has been tempered hv the mild .lapan oci'an currents, they are iii- deserihably green, (iiant eediirs, tirs, spruce, and hemlock fairly cro\\w minutes, the air filled with s])ray, our boat half full of water at times, we passed twenty-six hours of wretchedness, misery, and abject fear. At times wc were only a few feet from waves which, had they broken a little nearer, would have tilled our boat and lowered us away to the bottom of the sea. On the following afternoon w'e hegau to put miles between our boat and Tow Hill, and were uearing the mouth of jNfasset Inlet. A Tattdoki) IIaida of Masskt. 6 CRUISE AMOXU JIM It A AXD TLIXdlT VlLLAdKS. With one more tuck wo have roiiiulcd the point aiul nro headed duo south, and a t'avorahle tide hears us rapidly A AND TLINU'IT VILLAdKS. 7 Tl 10 '4, leff of tlic Haidii nati(»ii on tlio (^iiceii Cliiirlott(! IsIjukIh Ilaidiis miirihcrod Hcven tliuiisand in 1H40, and counted over thirty villages. To-day tlioro arc two inlialdtcd viliajics and less than one thcMsaiwI Hai aliorigines all over the con- tinent. The totem poles drop one l»y on. . the great massive houses of the old tinu'S, with their mighty cedai beams, slowly succund) to the wind and the weather;, the eld grave posts totter and fall, but their ranks are not tilled up. In their stead are little stuffy, y»'Oj)ped-up cottages with iron stoves and glass windows, and hy the side of this modern ^illage is the v irMe burying ground with marble columns brought from Victoria. ^Masset is the CIvdc of the coast, and in the fall and winter the little street along the water's edge is lined with great cedar logs, which are being chipped, steamed, pressed, and fashioned into canoes, some over fifty feet long. Strong and well built, the Haidas make journeys in them of hun- dreds of miles — tluy are the vikings of tiie New World. Another important industry of the town consists of weaving cedar bark into mats and baskets. These mats are strong and well made, and serve innumerable purj)oses, the chief uses being for the floor and for the outside covers of bundles and packages. But their prin- cipal utensil for carrying is the white basket nuide of closely woven splints of maple. The real interest in ^lasset, as well as that of other Indian villages of this region, lies in the past; and to the past we turn. Beginning with the ancient customs, we look in vain for the gteat labret or lip ornament of old, which formerly played such an im])ortant part in the fashion in deformity. We did see one woman with a tiny plug in her lip, but from this one can form no estimate of the extent to which this custom was formerly carried. Of the tattooing little remains, for the custom luis long since been given up. But the majority of the middle-aged men and women have their arms and legs tattooed; and by dint of much persuasion and a piece of silver we induced a decrepit old man to leave his house long enough to enable us to carry away the photograph of his totem, which was tattooed on his breast. The physical characteristics of the Haidas are peculiar and are to be explained by the circumstances imder which they li^'e. With but little exposure to the sun their complexion is very much lighter than that of the coast tribes, and indeed often for fairness com- S VEUISE AMONG HAIDA AND T LI NO IT VILLAGES. pares very favorably with that of the Europeans. They have a full, broad face, large eyes, a nose rather delicately molded, and promi- nent cheek bones. The hair is jet black, thick, and heavy. The men usually keep the hair plucked from the face, but where the beard is allowed to grow it is generally thin and scant, and is almost confined to the mustache. With both sexes the hair grows low over the forehead. Twice while in Masset we encountered faces which in their features seemed unusual and out of place. On inquiry we learned tliat they were both slaves who had been taken in war from the coast Indians long ago. Owing to their almost constant seafaring life, the ITaidas have long and powerfully developed arms, while their legs are propor- A Ti.iN(iiT Shaman's Ckave dN Dikk Is^land. tionately sliort. A siiigh' ghnice at a llaiila walking is sutlicicnt to coiiviiicc uiic that he is iiiurc at lioiiic in a candc than nn the hm.l. Of tlie ancient houses in ]\rasset not one remains in good condi- tion, lint stately oven in its ruins still stands tlu^ historic li()us(> of old Chief AVclia. It is cuniposod of massive beams and walls of great, wide, rough-hown cedar ])lanks. Its entrance is still guarded by the ever-present totem pole, which is one of the best in the vil- lage. The interior is even more interesting than the exterior, for it reveals the massiveness of the timbers a)ul the solidarity of these houses. When one looks upon such a structure as this and comjiares it witli the ramshackle cottages of to-day, the feeling forces itself CRUISE AMONG HAIDA AND T LIN GIT VILLAGES. 9 upon one that in this respect as in many others the Haidas have given up the substance for the shadow. It is sad to relate, but it is true, that tlie day is not far distant wlien there will not be a single totem pole in British Columbia. I believe I am safe in saying that another one will never be erected. The old ones do not fall of their own accord as fast as they are cut down; for, strange as it may seem, the natives actually cut down one or more poles every winter for firewood, and in this they are encour- aged by the missionaries. The totem pole is a coat of arms, it is an epitome of the owner's mythical ancestry; from its curious con- ventionalized animals or hieroglyphs we read into the past, of the time of their garden of Eden, and of their struggles and friendships with the monsters of the deep and the creatures of the land and air. The totem pole stands immediately in front of the dwelling, and in its more ancient form was even ti7\ intrinsic part of the house, for an oval opening at the base of the pole served as the entrance. In addition to the totem poles there was erected in former times an additional pole at one side, near the front of the house, which answered the purpose of a mortuary or memorial column. This pole is usually quite plain, and is surmounted by the crest of the man in whose honor it was erected. Several of these are still standing at Masset, one of the best preserved being the bear column in front of old Chief Edenshaw's house. Farther down the beach we came to another pole which was surmounted by a conical structure which bears a close resemblance to a Ilaida hat, and, in fact, they relate in Masset that it actually is intended to represent a hat. This pole is not duplicated elsewhere on the Queen Charlotte Islands. Of the ancient burial columns but two remain standing, the others having been pulled down and the dead buried in the little modern cemetery. The first column is single and stands near the water's e(lg(\ On the side facing the village and near to the top a r<'ctangular cavitv had been chiseled out within Avhicli was placed the box containing the body. The other burial structure is in the form of a double column or two i)osts, whose tops are united by a hollow, boxlike crossbar. In such l)urial columns as this were usu- ally jilaced two or more l)odies, and in some even entire families. ]More photograjilis, purchases of relics, and measurements of heails, and we were ready to leave this half-modern, half-barbarian, half-dead, half-alive village, for others which knew neither teacher nor preacher, but which were long since abandoned and given over to solitude, to moss, and cedar trees, to snails and hoarse-throated ravens. Skirting along the western half of the northern shore of Graham Island, we made oiu" first stop at Yan, about three miles fiom Masset. 10 CRUISE AMONG HAIDA AND TUNG IT VILLAGES. Here, as elsewhere, we encountered a Inxnriant vegetation Avhich covers every inch of the soil, and even mounts to the top of the bnrial columns and to the decaying rafters and beams of the great old houses. Probably the most interesting object we saw at Yan was a mortuary column, the crossbar or the coffin-box support of which was of a single board, and most handsomely carved in to- temic designs. After pushing and crawling for an hour through wet underbrush, made up largely of salmon and rose bushes over three inches in diameter and from fifteen to twenty feet high, we were off again, and that night, with the friendly assistance of a Eon-BHAPED Rock roNTAiNiNo Bvriai, Hotse of a IIaida Shaman. favoraltlo tide, wo dro])ped down into Virago Sound and anchored in front of the old moss-covered village of Tvung. This w^as one of the best of the old villages along this coast, but is now completely deserted. We found much to interest us. The totem pole with the moon symbol was the first we had seen, nor is it reproduced else- where on the island; but what proved of special interest were sev- eral very old graves which faced the beach on the east side of the village. These were the burial places of medicine men or Shamans, and quite different from the oi'dinary grave. Instead of a single pole in which the body is placed through a hole in the top or at the side, or from the double-pole platform grave which we saw at Kung, we found a little honse built of short cedar logs. Inside was placed CRUISE AMONG HMD A AND TLINGIT VILLAGES, ii the Shaman in a long coffin-box, reclining at full length with his rattles and other ceremonial paraphernalia about him. With one had been placed several very fine masks, but they had almost entirely crumbled into dust. The grave of the old chief at Kung was the best I had seen. Four short, stout posts had been firmly planted in the ground, and on the inner corners of each grooves had been cut out to receive the beams that supported the little house, in which lay the chief in state. The structure was nearly biu'ied in a thick growth of vegetation, and much work with the axe Avas needed before the beautifully carved posts could be rendered visible to the camera. Leaving Kung at ten o'clock in the morning, we set out for the I'lUAVf: (IF A H.MDA CiiiEK. Qiiceii Clmrldtte Islmuls. extreme northwestern shore of the island, and that night anchored in a little cove on Xorth Island. "We were now on deserted but historic ground, for it was hr-e in 17S7 that Dixon first traded with the ITaidas, and in one day secured over three hundred sea-otter skins, which to-day are so extremely precious. This was the open- ing of the fur trade on the Northwest coast, and from this memora- ble day's trade sprang up a commerce in furs which has continued down to the [)resent time. Fortunately for us, one of the old houses had been re-roofed by some previous visitor, and so we found within dry cedar planks upon which to spread our blankets for the night. 12 CRUISE AMOXG 11 AID A AND TLINQIT VILLAGES. On the following morning we crossed over to the old village of Kiooste, where there is much of interest; but the ])lace is so over- grown with underbrush that it was only with the greatest difficulty that we could get from one house to another. Kecrossiug the strait to North Island and anchoring our boat to a piece of kelp, we ex- plored the little egg-shaped rock of Gorgie Sethlingun Nah, or Gorgie's Coffin House. Gorgie was a famous Shaman of Kiooste, and when he died was laid to rest in a handsome little house on the summit of this island. By much hard work we were able to reach the top of the rock, but the house had tumbled into ruin, and two hats were all that remained to tell of the former glory of Gorgie. Next day we explored the cave of Skungonah. Skungonah was a hermit who lived over a hundred years ago and dwelt here alone, living on raw fis' and birds. But in after years the great cave became the burial ground of Kiooste. We were now obliged to return to Masset for provisions. Leav- ing Masset at half past ten in the morning, we entered the harbor of Old Tongas at half past nine the sa' le night, having made eighty miles in eleven hours. AVe were now in the country of the Tlingits, and before us was Old 'J'ongas — old becaiise it was long since abandoned, and its in- habitants had formed another or New Tongas. Tongas is the south- ernmost of a chain of Tlingit villages which extends as far north as the Aleutian Islands. Like the Ilaidas, the Tlingits are slowly but surely disa])poaring, and the time must soon come when the race will be otitirely extinct. There is but little of interest to-day in Old Tongas except the totem poles and the old ruined houses. Totems with the Tlingits play the same important jnirt in their civil and religions life that they do among the Ilaidas. Even the corner posts of their houses an; carved into totemic designs. Comparing their totiMU poles and memorial columns with th()S(> which we saw in the Ilaiila villages, it becomes a])parent at once that the symbols are more boldly exe- cuted and the conventionalism ](>ss jn-onounced. The figm-es are not blended and combined as they are among the Ilaidas. We noticed also that the human figure is repeated mer and over again, and is always ])ortrayed with a boldiu'ss and Jidelity that are worthy of the iiighest praise. One of the unicjue features of Old Tongas, and one we saw no- where else, was the ruin of a house which still retaine*! its old front porch nuide up of heavy logs; while in front, leading up to the porch, was a pair of ])rimitive ste])s hewn out of a solid log. In an- other place, almost entirely obscurecl by veuetation, we came upon a recent house grave surmounted l)v a cross, showing that the 14 CRUISE AMONG HA ID A AND TLINGIT VILLAGES. inHnenct' of missionaries! had been felt here before the town was deserted. At ten o'clock we started toward the east again. We had been disappointed in not finding the grave of a Shaman or medicine man. It is no easy matter to secure osteological material from the Tlingits, for nntil within a very few years the dead were cremated. This rule, however, did not apply to the Shamans, for it was believed that their bodies would not burn, and consequently they were placed in little house graves usually erected upon some lonely rock or pic- turesque promontory. We had been slowly working away at the oars, for the wind had completely died away, and were rounding a point on Duke Island, when we espied one of these little houses perched far up on a rocky point which was piled high with innu- merable drift. We were soon ashore with the camera aiul found our- selves well repaid for our pains. The house was about thirty years old, and its roof was covered with a thick growth of moss. It was about five feet high and nearly six feet square. Removing a portion of one of tlie walls, Ave could see the body, which had been carefully wrapped in several cedar-bark mats, and tied into a neat bundle with stout cedar-bark rope. 0\'er the bundle were branches of bog myrtle, and under the head was a box. Removing the wrapping still further, we disclosed the desiccated body of a woman doctor. In one hand she clasped a long knife, its steel blade entirely wasted away, leaving only the handle. In the other hand was a beauti- fully carved wooden pipe inlaid with finely polished abalone shells; but her real title to distinction lay in the immense wooden plug or labret which still remained in her lower lip. Throughout the entire Xorthwest coast the labret was a mark of honor, and the larger its size the more honor it conferred, for every time a new labret of larger size was inserted it necessitated the giving of a great potlatch, or present-distributing feast. It is related that in the olden times disputes between women were often settled by one of the disputants, scornfully pointing one hand at her enemies and laying a finger on her own labret, declaiming in a manner at once emphatic and con- clusive, " My lal)ret is bigger than yours." Our next stopping place was New Tongas, which we reached at six o'clock on the following afternoon. We were soon ashore, but our expectations were not fulfilled, for in this town of 'Ntw Tongas there was not a single living soul; ii'.l were away at work in the salmon canneries. The location of the town is most delightful. It stands on a little island facing a long, rocky beach. At the rear of the village is a dense forest of cedars, pines, and spruces. The architecture dis- played in the houses is not of the usual white man's cottage order. CRUISE AMONG HAIDA AXD TLINGIT VILLAGES, 15 but the plans of the old times have been followed, so that the houses bear a superficial resemblance to their former dwellings. In the place of massive beams and three or four foot cedar planks, how- ever, are light frames and thin, narrow weather-boards. Most of the houses have two or more windows, which are often boarded up and are generally without glass. In still another respect this modern village has preserved one of the old-time features of house building. "VVe looked in vain for any chimney, but found instead a square opening in the center of the roof, partially covered over, through which the smoke makes its exit. Of the many interesting totem poles two may be noticed par- ticularly. The first stands by the side of the present chief's house, and has been erected within a few years. The designs are well made and of an unusual character. The other lotem pole is one of the largest in Alaska, and was put up during the life of Ebbits, a Tongas chief Avho was named in honor of one of John Jacob Astor's captains. A tablet near by reads: "TO THK MEMORY OP EBBITS, HEAD rUIEF OF THE TONGAS, WHO DIED IN IK8II, A(iED 100 YEARS." At one o'clock we started for Simpson. The run of twelve miles was made in about two hours, and within less than half a day's time we were aboard the magnificent steamer Islander, bound for Port Essington.