IMAGE EVALUATION 
 TEST TARGET (MT-3) 
 
 V. 
 
 /. 
 
 O 
 
 
 ■^^ % J 
 < ^^^i 
 
 i< 
 
 Ua 
 
 
 1.0 
 
 I.I 
 
 1.25 
 
 1^ 
 
 2.5 
 
 1112 
 
 22 
 
 IM ^ 
 
 40 IIIII2.0 
 
 1= 
 
 U III 1.6 
 
 Photographic 
 
 Sciences 
 Corporation 
 
 i\ 
 
 4^ 
 
 Li>^ 
 
 :\ 
 
 \ 
 
 ^<^ 
 
 .V 
 
 
 .<^ 
 
 S 
 
 <^^ 
 
 Q> 
 
 23 WEST MAIN STREET 
 
 WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 
 
 (716) 872-4503 
 

 0^ 
 
 CIHM/ICMH 
 
 Microfiche 
 
 Series. 
 
 CIHM/ICMH 
 Collection de 
 microfiches. 
 
 Canadian Institute for Historicai Microreproductions Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques 
 
 1980 
 
Technical and Bibliographic Notes/Notes techniques et bibliographiques 
 
 The Institute has attempted to obtain the best 
 original copy available for filming. Features of this 
 copy which may be bibllographicaliy unique, 
 which may alter any of the images in the 
 reproduction, or which may significantly change 
 the usual method of filming, are checked below. 
 
 D 
 D 
 D 
 D 
 D 
 D 
 D 
 D 
 D 
 
 D 
 
 D 
 
 Coloured covers/ 
 Couverture de couleur 
 
 Covers damaged/ 
 Couverture endommagAe 
 
 Covers restored and/or laminated/ 
 Couverture restaurte et/ou pelliculAe 
 
 Cover title missing/ 
 
 Le titre de couverture manque 
 
 Coloured maps/ 
 
 Cartes gAographiques en couietr 
 
 Coloured ink (i.o. other than blue or black)/ 
 Fncre de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire) 
 
 Coloured plates and/or illustrations/ 
 Planches et/ou illustrations en couleur 
 
 Bound with other material/ 
 ReliA avec d'autres documents 
 
 Tight binding may cause shadows or distortion 
 along interior margin/ 
 
 La reiiure serr^e peut causer de I'ombre ou de la 
 distortion le long de la marge intirieure 
 
 Blank leaves added during restoration may 
 appear within the text. Whenever possible, these 
 have been omitted from filming/ 
 II se peut que certaines pages blanches ajout^es 
 lors d'une restauration apparaissent dans le texte. 
 mais, lorsque cela Atait possible, ces pages n'ont 
 pas At* filmAes. 
 
 Additional comments:/ 
 Commentaires supplAmentaires.- 
 
 L'Institut a microfilm^ le meilleur exemplaire 
 qu'il lui a 6tA possible de se procurer. Les details 
 de cet exemplaire qui sont peut-Atre uniques du 
 point de vue bibllographique, qui peuvent modifier 
 une image reproduite, ou qui peuvent exiger une 
 modification dans la methods normale de fiimage 
 sont indiquAs ci-dessous. 
 
 Th 
 to 
 
 D 
 D 
 D 
 D 
 D 
 D 
 D 
 D 
 D 
 D 
 
 Coloured pages/ 
 Pages de couleur 
 
 Pages damaged/ 
 Pages endommag6es 
 
 Pages restored and/or laminated/ 
 Pages restaur^es et/ou peiliculAes 
 
 Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/ 
 Pages d6color6es, tacheties ou piquies 
 
 Pages detached/ 
 Pages d^tachdes 
 
 Showthrough/ 
 Transparence 
 
 Quality of print varies/ 
 Quality inigale de I'impression 
 
 Includes supplementary material/ 
 Comprend du materiel supplimentaire 
 
 Only edition available/ 
 Seule Mition disponible 
 
 Pages wholly or partially obscj'ed by errata 
 slips, tissues, etc., have been refilmed to 
 ensure the best possible image/ 
 Les pages totalement ou partieilement 
 obscurcies par un feuillet d'errata. une pelure. 
 etc , ont 6ti filmies A nouveau de fa^on A 
 obtenir la meiileure image possible. 
 
 Th 
 po 
 of 
 fill 
 
 Or 
 be 
 th( 
 sic 
 oti 
 fin 
 sio 
 or 
 
 Th 
 shi 
 Til 
 wh 
 
 Ml 
 dif 
 en 
 be< 
 rig 
 rec 
 mc 
 
 This item is filmed et the reduction ratio checked below/ 
 
 Ce document est film* au taux de reduction indiquA ci-dessous. 
 
 10X 14X "BX 22X 
 
 y 
 
 12X 
 
 16X 
 
 20X 
 
 26X 
 
 aox 
 
 MX 
 
 28X 
 
 32X 
 
ra 
 
 I«tail8 
 M du 
 nodifior 
 ir une 
 ilmage 
 
 The copy filmad her* has been reproduced thanks 
 to the generosity of: 
 
 Library DiviMon 
 
 Provincial Archives of British Columbia 
 
 The images appearing here are the best quaiity 
 possible considering the condition and iegibility 
 of the original copy and in keeping with the 
 filming contract specifications. 
 
 L'exemplaire filmA fut reproduit grAce 6 la 
 ginArositi de: 
 
 Library Division 
 
 Provincial Archives of British Columbia 
 
 Les images suivantes ont At* reproduites avac le 
 plus grand soin, compte tenu de la condition at 
 de la nettetA de l'exemplaire filmA, et en 
 conformity avac les conditions du contrat de 
 filmage. 
 
 BS 
 
 Original copies in printed paper covers are filmed 
 beginning with the front cover and ending on 
 the last page with a printed or illustrated impres- 
 sion, or the back cover when appropriate. All 
 other original copies are filmed beginning on the 
 first page with a printed or illustrated impres- 
 sion, and ending on the last page with a printed 
 or illustrated impression. 
 
 The last recorded frame on each microfiche 
 shall contain the symbol ^^- (meaning "CON- 
 TINUED"), or the symbol V (meaning "END"), 
 whichever applies. 
 
 Les exemplaires originsux dont la couverture en 
 papier est imprimAe sont filmAs en commenpant 
 par le premier plat at en terminant soit par la 
 dernlAre page qui comporte une empreinte 
 d'impression ou d'illustration. soit par le second 
 plat, salon le cas. Tous les autres exemplaires 
 originaux sont filmAs en commen9ant par la 
 premiere page qui comporte une empreinte 
 d'impression ou d'illustration et en terminant par 
 la derniAre page qui comporte une telle 
 empreinte. 
 
 Un des symboles suivants apparaitra sur la 
 derniAre image de cheque microfiche, seion le 
 cas: le symbole — ^ signifie "A SUIVRE", ie 
 symbole V signifie "FIN". 
 
 Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at 
 different reduction ratios. Those too large to be 
 entirely included in one exposure are filmed 
 beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to 
 right and top to bottom, as many frames as 
 required. The following diagrams illustrate the 
 method: 
 
 Les cartes, planches, tsbleaux, etc., peuvent Atre 
 filmAs A des taux de reduction diffArents. 
 Lorsque le document est trop grand pour Atre 
 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 
 iilustrent la mAthode. 
 
 srrata 
 to 
 
 pelure, 
 in A 
 
 D 
 
 32X 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
Boas.] 
 
 422 
 
 [Xov. IS, 
 
 Notes on the Ethnology of British Columbia. By Dr. F. Boas. 
 (Read before the American Philosophical Society, Notember JS, 1SS7.) 
 
 Note.— Tlic Tmllan words iire spoiled aecfpi-diiig to tlio system used liy the nuieiui of 
 Ethnology : (i is the Cicnimn ch in ISaeli ; e is iho English .sh. 
 
 In the following rt'inarks I intend to give u brief summary of the results 
 of my journey in Hritish Columbia. The principal purpose of my re- 
 searches was to study the distribution of the native tribes, their etlinologi- 
 cal character, and their language.^. T arrived in Victoria in September, 
 1880, and spent most of my time among the natives of the cast coast of 
 Vancouver island and of the mainland opposite ; but in the course of my 
 journeys I came in contact with several individuals of the Tliiigit, Tsimp- 
 ehian, and Bilqula tribes, and I studied particidarly the language of the 
 last, of which I had obtained a slight knowledge from a number of men 
 who were brought by Captain A. .Tacobsen to Berlin. Among the linguistic 
 results of my journey the most interesting are the discover)' of three 
 unknown dialects of the Salish stock and the establishment of the fact 
 that the nibjula, who are of Salish lineage, must have lived at one time 
 with other Salish tribes near the sea. 
 
 Though the culture of these tribes seems very uniform, closer ino'.iry 
 shows that they may be divided into four groups — the northern one com- 
 prising the Tlingit, Ilaida, and Tsimpshian ; (ho central comprising the 
 Kwakiutl and Bilqida ; the southern comprising the dill'erent tribes of the 
 Coast Sp^lish ; and the tribes of the west coast of Vancouver island. All 
 these tribes are divided intogentcs ; ))Ut, while among the northern tribes, 
 the child belongs to the gens of (he mother, among the southern ones it 
 belongs to that of the father. The arts, industries, folk-lore, and other 
 ethnological phenomena of these groups are also difFerent, and the groups 
 have evidently influenced one another. 
 
 I shall .Irst show some of these differences by considering the folk-lore 
 of a few of these tribes. 
 
 The principal legend of the Tlingit is the well-known ra\en myth. It 
 is not necessary to dwell upon this myth, as it is known by the reports of 
 many travelers. Vemianow, who lived for a long time among the Tlin- 
 git, considers the raven as their supreme deity. It appears from the 
 myths which I collected that besides the raven the eagle is of great im- 
 portance. One of the legends tells how the raven obtained the fresh 
 water from a mighty chief called Kanuk. This Kanuk is identical with 
 the eagle. Traces of the raven legend are found among ail tribes as far 
 south as Komoks. The Kwakiutl consider the raven the creator of the 
 sun, moon, smicI stars. 
 
 The raven legend is not found among the Salish tribes ; their supremo 
 deity is the sun, who is called by the Skq6mic the great wandering chief, 
 andagrfot iiumberof mythsrefertohim. Among the northern tribes of this 
 group and among the Kwakiutl the Identity of the sun and the deity is not 
 
 wim\ 
 
1887.] 423 fi,„„, 
 
 80 clciU' ; lliey call the latter Kants'ouinp (that is, "our fatlior"), or Ata 
 ("the one ul)()ve "), or KiUame ("tlie cliief"). His son, Kaiiikila, de- 
 8('en(hHl from heaven to llic earth, and was born again of a woman. 
 When he was grown up, lie traveled all over the world, transforming men 
 into aiumals, and making friends with many eliiefs. The .same legend is 
 known {.) the Salish and the West Vancouver tribes. The Komoks call 
 the deity Kwmsnootl (that is, "our elder brotlier ") ; the Ivauitcin, Q.'ils ; 
 the West Vancouver tribes, Alis. He is their culture-hero. In the so\ith. 
 srn part of Vancouver island it is said that he gave men the fire. The 
 Kwakiutl say that he created the salmon, and gave the law of the winter 
 dance. 
 
 These two traditions— the raven legend and the legend of the sun and 
 the son of tlie deity— are mixed in numerous tribes, particularly among 
 the Kwakiutl. Tlie Ilihiula, on the other hand, have both these legends, 
 but a third one in addition. They say that four men— Vulatimot, Mas- 
 masalaniq, Matlapalitsek, ^ratlapeeqoek- descended from lieaven after the 
 raven bad liberated the sun. Then the tradition goes on : And Vulati- 
 mot thought, "Oil, might Masmasiilaniq carve men out of cedar !" and 
 ^lasmasalanici carved men ; and Yulalimot thought, " Oh, might ^Masmas- 
 alaiiiq make a canoe !" and Masmasalaniq made a canoe, etc. Yulalimot 
 gives .Masmasalaniti h,.s thoughts, and -Masmasalan! [ accomplishes them. 
 Thus these two spirits created men and gave them their arts. It is 
 remarkable, liowever, that by some individuals Vulatimot is described as 
 the raven himself, and he is represented in this way in masks, paintings, 
 and carvings. ^ 
 
 From these few remarks it will appear that the mythology of each tribe 
 can only be understood by studying it in connection with that of his 
 neighbors. 
 
 Certain mythological ideas, however, are common to all tribes of the 
 north-west coast. The myth of the creation of the world is very uniform 
 among all tribes. The northern group say that in the beginning it Avas 
 dark until the Raven lil)erated the sun. The southern tribes say that 
 there was a sun from the begincing, but that daylight was ket>t in a box- 
 by the chief of the sun, and that it was liberated by the Uav;... After it 
 had become light, the earth, trees, fire, and water were made. It is 
 rcmarkal)lc that all these were obtained from some chief who retained 
 them for his own use. Nothing was created. Thus the earth was pre- 
 pared for man, who descended in the shape of birds from heaven. When 
 tliey arrived on the earth, the birds threw otl" their skins and became 
 men. These became the ancestors of the genles, and each of them 
 received a certain tract of land when the great transformer, Kanikila, met 
 him. Subdivisions of the gentes derive their origin from one of the de- 
 scendants of these first men. It is told, that in olden times certain men 
 descended into the sea, or went up tlie mountains, where they met with 
 some kind of spirit, who gave them his emblems. Thus they became the 
 ancestors of subgeutes. 
 
Bons.] 
 
 424 
 
 [Nov 18, 
 
 Before Kanikila's arrival, animals had the shape of men ; but even after 
 they were transformetl tiiey were abh; to ai)pear in the shape of men by 
 taking oil" tlieir bliuiliets. Tlie northern tril)os who il> nut know the great, 
 transformer, say that men nerc triinsformetl into animals at the time of 
 the great Hood. 
 
 All tribes consider the sky a solid vault, which can be reached in the 
 far west. After having crawled through a hole in the sky, another land 
 is found, with forests, mountains, ponds, and lakes, in which the Sun and 
 many other spirits live. Tliore is another very remarkable way of reach- 
 ing this Liml. The man who intends to go there takes his bow and shoots 
 one arrow into the sky ; then Ue shoots another one, which sticks in the 
 lower end of the lirst one ; and so he goes on shooting until a chain is 
 formed reaching from heaven to earth. I believe that this tradition be- 
 longed originally to the tribes of the 8alish slock. The Okanagan myth 
 told by (Jatschet in Globus, 1887, Vol. ')2, Xo. 9, belongs to this gronp of 
 legends. It is told in a great number of nioditications among the tribes of 
 Vancouver island and the neighboring coast. One of the most important 
 of these is : IIow the ilink, tlie son of the Sun, visited his father. 'I'his 
 tradition is told by the Ivwakiutl and nibp.la. .Mink made a chain of 
 arrows reaching to the sky, and climbed up. Wiicn lu' arrived in heaven 
 he found his fat lie r, an old man, sitting near the fire. The father was 
 glad to see him, and asked him to carry tlie sun in liis stead. ^Sliiik com- 
 plied with this request, and ne.xt morning his father gave him liis nose 
 ornament, the sun, and said to him, " Do not go too fast, and don't stoop 
 down, else you will burn the earth." Mink promised to obey, and 
 ascended slowly his path ; but wiien it was near noon, clouds obstructed 
 his wa}'. lie got impatient, and wanted to see wliat was going on, on the 
 earth. Ho began to jump and to run and stoop down ; then the earth 
 began to burn, the rocks to crack, and the ocean to boil. AVhen Mink's 
 father saw that his son disobeyed his orders, he pursued him, tore him to 
 pieces, and cast him into the ocean. There he was found by two women. 
 
 Another interesting tradition is told by the Komoks, which in some 
 respects resembles a well-known myth of the Tlingil.' In olden times 
 the gum was a blind man. lie used to go out lisliiug during llie night, 
 and early in the morning his wife called him back. One day, however, 
 ehe slept too long, and when she came down to the shore the sun was 
 high up in the sky. She called her husband, but before lie could rettirn 
 he had melted. His sons wanted to revenge his death, and made a chain 
 of arrows reaching from heaven to earth. They climbed up and killed 
 the Sun with their arrows. Then the elder brother asked the younger 
 one, " What do you intend to do? " lie said, " I will become the moon ;" 
 the elder one said, "And I will become the sun." 
 
 Another remarkable tradition is toUl by the same tribe. The son of the 
 Sun ascended a chain of arro'. s into heaven, and nmrried Tlaici's daugh- 
 ter. Tlaiq tried to kill liis soninlaw, but did not succeed in his atteihpts. 
 The latter, in revenge, killed Tlai<i. I consider the last-mentioned tradi- 
 
1887.] 
 
 425 
 
 [ Boas. 
 
 tioris of great imi-ortance, as both evidently refer to the killing of the old 
 sun and the origin of llie new one. 
 
 Visits to the Sun, or to Iho deity wliicli lives In heaven, are frequent in 
 the folk-lore of all these tribes. The Kwakiutl. for instance, tell of a 
 chief's son who ascended to heaven and married tlie deity's daughter. 
 Tiieir son was the Haven. 
 
 Tiie fact that the same mythical beings are known to a great number of 
 tribes sliows that the folklore and mytlis of the tribes of the northwest 
 coast liave spread from one trii)e to anollicr. The raven legend seems to 
 have belonged to the Tlingil and their neigiiljors, l)ut traces of it are found 
 farsoutli. On the otiier liand. the sun legend s-eems to have oritrinated 
 with tribes of Salish lineage ; but parts <.f this tradition are at the present 
 time told i)y tlieir northern ncighi„„s, and faint traces are even found 
 among the Tsimpshian and tlie Tlingit. 
 
 A number of spirits occur in tlie folk-lore of most of the tribes of Xorth- 
 wesl America. One of tlie.e is tlie Tsonokoa, who is evidently a mytlii- 
 cal form of the griz/ly bear. She is a woman livinir on liigli mountains, 
 or, in some insiaiices, in heaven. She visits the villages in order to steal 
 fish, whicli she puts into a basket that she carries (m her back. One tra- 
 dition says that a man wounded and pursued her. At last he arrived at 
 her house in heaven. He was called in in order to cure her, and did so by 
 extricating the arrows, which none (.f her companions were able to see. 
 In reward she gave him her daughter, the water of life, and the fire of 
 death, and on his return he liecame a migiity cliief Another spirit, which 
 is known from Konioks to J3i!(pilii, is Komoko.i, a, water spirit, tlie 
 father of the .seals. ]\rany legends tell of men who visited him, or of his 
 visits to villages where he married a woman and becime the ancestor 
 of certain gentes. The Sisiutl, a double-headed snake, is known to all 
 tribes^ from Puget Sound and Cape Flattery to the northern tribes of 
 the Kwakiutl. It is the emblem of many gentes, and its most remark- 
 able quality is that it can assume tlie shape of any fish or snake. 
 
 I have to say a few words about the dances, particularly the cannibal 
 dances, of these tribes. The legend ascribes the origin of the latter 
 to a spirit, IVuibakualanusiuae. This being lived in the forest. Once 
 a man came to visit him. and when the spirit was about to devour him, ho 
 made his escape. Baciiiakualanusiuae pursuing him. When the spirit had 
 almost reached him, he threw a stone behind him, which was transformed 
 into a large mountain. The pursuer had to go all around it, but again 
 he approached. Then he poured out a little lishoil which lie chanced to 
 carry. It was transformed into a lake. Again the spirit approached, and 
 now he threw down his com)), which was transformed into a forest of 
 young trees. He reached his house, and locked the door. When the 
 spirit arrived, lie gave him a vessel filled with dog's blood, and said, 
 " Come in. This is my son's blood. You may eat liim. " But when the 
 spirit accepted the invitation, he threw him into a pit, which he filled with 
 fire, and thus killed him. His ashes were transformed into mosquitoes. 
 
Bofts. ] 
 
 420 
 
 [Nov. IS, 
 
 1 .^ 
 
 Tk'sidcs this spirit, tlic cnmc, rtiul tlie so culled " Iliiintiii," cnii become 
 tlio genii of the ciuinilnils. The right to become ciiiiniiml is liereditivry in 
 c( rtnin gentes, l)iit every indiviiluivl lias to acquire it by being initiated. 
 For this i)ur|)ose ho goes into liie woods, wIkm'o hn lives for three or four 
 months. .Vfter this time, he approiiches the village, whistling and sing- 
 ing; tlien tlio people know that lie has become a cannil)al (llamats'a). 
 The next morning they go into the woods in order to fetch him back. 
 They sit down iil a scjuare and sing four new .songs whicii are composed 
 for the occasion. Tlie first song h;is a slow miwement, the second is In a 
 five-part measure, while the third and fourth have a quick movement. As 
 soon as these are sung, the new llamats'a makes his appearance. He is 
 surrounded by ten men, who carry rattles, and is accompanied by them 
 to the village. All those partaking In the ceremony wear head-rings and 
 neck-rings mad(! of nemlock branches. Four nights the new llamats'a 
 dances in the house of his father. On the fourtli night he suddenly leaves 
 the house, and after a short time returns, carrying a corpse. As soon as 
 the old cannibals see this, they rush forward and cut the corpse to pieces, 
 winch they devour. This custom is principally practiced among all tribes 
 of Kwakiutl lineage ; but it is also found amor.g the iliUpila and Komoks, 
 who have evidentl}' adopted it from the Kwakiutl. Similar customs pre- 
 vail among tin; Tsinipshian. G. ]\I. Dawson says that thej' have four 
 dillerent systems of rites of religious character, which he calls Sindialait, 
 Mihla, Noohlem, and Hoppop. The third of these arc dogealers, while 
 the last are the cannibals. 
 
 According to my inquiries, this refers to the follow ing tradition : A man 
 went out hunting. After some time he saw a vliiio bear, and pursued it 
 until it disappeared in a mountain. The hunter fallowed him, and saw that 
 It was transformed into a man, who led him through his house, which 
 stood in the interior of the mountain. There he sa v four groups of men, 
 and what they were doing. Tiie first were the Jltftla, the second were 
 the Nootlam ("dog-eaters"), tlie third were the '\Vihalait (" the canni- 
 bals"), and the fourth were the Semiialaidet. Four days the man staid 
 in the house. Then he returned ; but when he came to his village, he 
 found that he had staid in the mountain four years. The bear had told 
 him to do as he had seen the men in the mountain doing. Since that 
 time the Tsinipshian eat dogs and l)ile men. There arc no reports that 
 cannibal ceremonies exist among the Ilaida and Tlingit. 
 
 The masks which all these tribes use in their dances represent spirits or 
 some of the heroes of their legends. Most of the winter dances are pan- 
 tomimical performances of their traditions. At the great feasts other 
 masks are used, which refer to the tradition of the gens of the man who 
 gives the feast. The use of masks is most extensive among the northern 
 tribes. The variety of masks of the Ilaida, Tlingit, Tsinipshian, and 
 Kwakiutl, is wonderful, but the more southern tribes have only a very 
 limited number. Among the Nanaimo their use is the privilege of certain 
 gentes. The Lkungen of Victoria use only very few masks, which they 
 destroy by fire as soon as a death occurs in their tribe. 
 
1887.] 
 
 427 
 
 [Bons. 
 
 Besides the dances nnd the use of masks, other customs arc common to 
 all tribes of tlio noitli-west coast. One of the principal of tliese is tlio 
 useof copper-i)hilcs. Tiiese have frequently been dcscriljcd as l)eing used 
 instead of monej', but tliis is not tlie case. Tliey are manufactured from 
 copper found on tlie upper Yukon, luid given as presenta by one tribe to 
 another. The Indians value a coiiper-plate tiu; more, the more frequently 
 it has been given as a present. Every single plate has its name aii<l its 
 own house, and is fed regularly. No woman is allowed to enter its house. 
 Almost ev<'ry tril)e 1ms a tradition referring to tlieir origin. Some say that 
 a man wlio visited tlie mooir received it from the man in the moon. Others 
 say that a chief living far into the ocean gave it to a man who came to 
 visit him, etc. Similar legends refer to the Ilaliotis shells which are used 
 for ear and nose ornaments and bracelets. 
 
 The so-called Potlatch is a feast celebrated by all these tribes. A chief 
 invites all his neighbors, sometimes to the number of a thousand and more, 
 to his house, and presents every one with blankets, skins, and nowadays 
 even with money. The Salish tribes have a kind of scaffold in front of 
 their house, which is used at these festivals. The chief and two of his 
 slaves are standing on it, and distrii)uting the blankets among the guests. 
 Small festivals of this kind are celeltrated very frequently. An Indian 
 who has l>een unsuccessful in hunting, and feels ashamed on this account 
 or for any other reason, gives such a festival to restore his honor. 
 
 In the beginning of these feasts four songs are sung, and four different 
 kinds of dishes are served. Tlien one of the guests stands up and praises 
 the liberality of the host, who, in his turn, replies, praising the deeds of 
 his ancestors. In this speech he frecpiently uses a mask representing one 
 of his ancestors. 
 
 I mentioned above that the social institutions of the northern group and 
 those of their southern neighbors are different; therefore tlieir mortuary 
 customs and marriage ceremonies are also difrerent. The northern tribes 
 burn the corpses of all men except medicinemen. These are buried near the 
 shore, and the corpse of the son is always deposited on top of the corpse of 
 his father. It seems that some of the Kwakiutl tribes used to burn their 
 dead ; but by far the greater number of tribes of this stock cither hung 
 up the dead in boxes in top of trees, the lower branches of which were 
 removed, or deposited these bo.xes in burial-grounds set apart for this pur- 
 pose. Chiefs are buried in a separate place. Food of all kinds is burned 
 for the dead on the shore. 
 
 I shall describe their mourning ceremonies as illustrative of those in use 
 of most of the coast tribes. The mourning lasts for a whole year. For 
 four days the mourner is not allowed to move. On the last of these days 
 all the inhabitants of the village have to take a bath. On the same day 
 some water is warmed and dripped on the head of the mourner. For 
 the next twelve days he is allowed to move a little, but he must not walk. 
 Nobody is allowed to speak to him, and they believe that whosoever dis- 
 obeys this commaud will be punished by the death of one of his relatives. 
 
ItoilZ.] 
 
 428 
 
 [Nov. 18, 
 
 Ho is fed twioc ii diiy by an old woiniui, iit low wiiter, with sulinoii 
 ciiusiit in t!>o prec(Mlii)g year. At the end of the first month ho de|)()sit9 
 his clolliinj? in the woods, iind tlicMi he is allowed to sit in a corner of the 
 house, hill must not spe.ilv to the otiier peopl(!. A separate door is ent, as 
 he is not allowed to use the liouse door, llefore ho leaves the house for 
 the first time, he must approaeh tiic (h)or three times and return without 
 going out. Then he is allowed to leave the ho\ise. After four months 
 he may spoak to other people. Alter ten monllis his htiir is cut short, 
 and the end of tlie }-ear is the end of the mourniiii,' period. After the 
 death of a cliief, his son i;ives a great festival, in which he takes the 
 ofih'o and name of his fitiier. At lirst, four mourning songs are sung, 
 which liave a .slow movement, and liien tlu; son of the chief stands up, 
 holding the copjjer plate in his hand and saying, "Don't mourn any 
 more. I will he chief. 1 take the name of my father." 
 
 Tlie marriage ceremonies of liio Kwakiiitl tribes are very remarkable. 
 The dowry of the bride consists of l)r,ic(dtts made of licavcr toes, copper- 
 plates, so called " butloiililaiikets," and the (Jyisersial. The latter is a 
 board, the front of which is .set wilii sea otter teeth. It is intcMided to 
 represent the human lower jaw ; and the meaning is, that the bride will 
 have to speik or be silent, as her husband may desire. IJeforc and after 
 the marriage, the son-in-law gives many presents to his wife's father. 
 If the woman intends to return to her parents, her father must repay all 
 he has received fnmi his son inlaw. This is (h)ne fre([uenlly, in order to 
 give an opportunity to the father in-l;iw io sliow his liberality ai\d wealth. 
 As soon as he has paid the husband, tiie latter repurchases his wife. The 
 use of tlie Oylserstal is very limited. I found it only among the Kwakiutl 
 proper and Nimkii^h. 
 
 I do not intend to describe the houses, the hunting and fishing, and 
 industries of all these tribes, neither will I attempt to discuss the character 
 of the art products of the dill'erent groups. I Iiave endeavored to show 
 in my remarks that the culture of the Northwijst Amoric^an tribes, which 
 to the superficial observer seems so uniform, originates from many dilfer- 
 cnt sources, and that only a thorougii knowledge of the languages, folk- 
 h)re, and customs of these tribes and their neighbors will enable us to 
 trace at least part of their obscure history. 
 
[Nov. 18, 
 with siilinoii 
 
 1 lio llc'|)0sit8 
 OIIKT of tlio 
 
 »<>r is (Mit, us 
 
 K.' llOlISl! for 
 
 ui'ii wiilioiu 
 "iir months 
 3 cut short, 
 After tho 
 I) taki's tlio 
 ' II ro sung, 
 slaiida lip, 
 nioiirn tiny 
 
 oniarka!)lo. 
 •'s, copper- 
 
 liiticr is a 
 ntciulcd to 
 
 ln'iili! will 
 i and aft or 
 X''s fatlier. 
 t ropay all 
 M order to 
 ud wealth, 
 vife. Tiio 
 
 KwakiiUl 
 
 iliing, and 
 oharacter 
 d to show 
 es, wliicli 
 iny diirer- 
 ,ges, folk- 
 ble us to