IMAGE EVALUATIO*^; TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I If 1^ in I ^ a ill 1.8 1.25 1.4 1.6 ^ 6" - ► V <^ /; oS» ■ :> > ■> 7 .V .%..^' Hiotographic Sciences Corporation 33 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY. 14580 (716) 873-4503 ^ V iV qjj :\ \ % .V ^ «? TV 6^ ^ CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHIVI/ICMH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical IVEicroreproductions / Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques Technical and Bibliographic Notaa/Notea tachniquaa at bibliographiquaa The Inatituta haa attamptad to obtain tha beat original copy availabia for filming. Faaturaa of thia copy which may ba bibliographically uniqua. which may altar any of tha imagaa in tha raproduction, or which may aignificantly changa tha uaual mathod of filming, ara chackad below. □ Coloured covera/ Couverture de couleur r~1 Covera damaged/ Couverture endommagAe □ Covera restored and/or laminated/ Couverture restaurAe et/ou pelliculAe D Cover title missing/ Le titre de couverture manque I I Coloured maps/ Cartes giographiquas en couleur Coloured ink (i.e. other than blue or black)/ I I Encre de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire) □ Coloured pletes and/or illustrations/ Planches et/ou illustrations en couleur n Bound with other material/ ReliA avec d'autres documents [~71 Tight binding may cause shadows or distortion D D along interior margin/ La reliure serrde peut causer de I'ombre ou de la distortion le long de la marge intAriaure Blank ieaves added during restoration may appear within the text. Whenever possible, these ' eve been omitted from filming/ II se peut que certaines pagea blanches ajoutAes lors d'une restauration apparaissant dans le texte, mals, lorsque cela Atait possible, ces pages n'ont pas AtA filmAes. Additional comments:/ Commantaires supplAmantairas; L'Institut a microfilm* le meilleur exempiaira qu'il lui a At* poaaibia de ae procurer. Lea ditaila de cet exemplaire qui aont paut-Atre uniquea du point de vue bibliographique, qui peuvent modifier une image reproduite, ou qui peuvent exiger une modification dans la mAthode normale de f ilmage aont indiqu6s ci-dassous. □ Coloured pages/ Pages de couleur □ Pages damaged/ Pages endommagAes □ Pages restored and/or laminated/ Pages restaurAes et/ou peiliculAea I — I Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/ D Pages dAcolorAes, tachatAes ou piquAes Pages detached/ Pages dAtachAes j~n Showthrough/ Transparence □ Quality of print varies/ QuaiitA inAgala de I'impreasion I — I Includes supplementary material/ Comprend du materiel supplAmentaire Only edition available/ Seute Edition disponibie Pages wholly or partially obscur9d by errata slips, tisoues, etc., have been refilmed to ensure the best possible imagV Las pages totalement ou partiallement obscurcies par un feui'iet d'errata, une pelure. etc., ont At* filmAes A nouveau de fapon A obtenir la meilleure image oossibie. T t( T P o fi G b tl SI o fi si o T 8 T d b ri ri n This item is filmed at the reduction latio chocked below/ Ce document est film* au taux de rAduction indiquA ci-dessous. 10X 14X 18X 22X 26X 30X y 12X 16X 20X 24X 28X 32X Th« copy filmed h«r« hat b««n raproducad thanks to tha ganarosity of: Library Division Provincial Archives of British Columbia L'axamplaira film4 fut raproduit grAca A la gAnArositi da: Library Division Provincial Archives of B'itish Columbia Tha imagas appaaring hara ara tha bast quality possibia consSdaring tha condition and lagibility of tha original copy and in kaaping with tha filming contract cpacifications. Las imagas suivantas ont AtA raproduitas avac la plus grand soin, compta tanu da la condition at da la nettatA da l'axamplaira filmA. at an conformity avac las conditions du contrat da filmaga. Original copias in printad papar covars ara filmad beginning with tha front covar and anding on tha last paga with a printad or illustratad impras- sion. or tha back covar whan appropriata. All othar original copias ara filmad beginning on tha first paga with a printad or illustratad impres- sion, and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrated impression. Les exemplaires originaux dont la couverture en papier est imprimia sont filmAs an commenpant par la premier plat at an tarminant soit par la darniAre page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration. soit par la second plat, selon le cas. Tous las autras axemplaires originaux sont filmAs en commen^ant 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. The last recorded ftame on each microfiche shall contain the symbol — ^ (meaning "CON- TINUED "), or the symbol V (meaning "END "), whichever applies. Un des symboles suivants apparaitra sur la derniAre image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbole ^^> signifie "A SUIVRE", le symbols 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, tableaux, etc., peuvent Atre filmAs A des taux de reduction diff Arents. 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'imagas nAcessaira. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mAthoda. 1 2 3 32X 1 2 3 4 5 6 T] BAi THE COAST INDIANS OF SOUTHERN ALASKA AND NORTHERN BRITISH COLUMBIA. By Enngn ALBERT P. NIBLACK, U. S. Txvj. BASED ON THE COLLECTIONS IN THE U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM, AND ON THE PERSONAL OBSERVATION OF THE WRITER IN CONNEC- TION WITH THE SURVEY OF ALASKA IN THE SEASONS* OF 1885, 1886 AND 1887. H, Mis. 142, pt. 2 15 'jsia Jl 9896 11 V I / ( SYNOPSIS OF CONTENTS. 1. Chorooraphy of Soothkrn Alaska and Northern British Columbia ; Progress of Ethnological work in tliis region, — Scope of this paper,— ClaM- sification of Indian stocks, — History. n. Environment: Organic and inorganic Ciiaracterihtics ok Indians: Physical, emotional, intellectual, moral, and icsthetic characteristics. III. Rboulative Organization : Consaugiiineal,_Poliiical, and Industrial. Ori- gin of "mother-rule" and "father-rule" — Toteraisni and Tribal organ- ization : Tliugit, Kaigani, Haida, and Tsiinsliian Totems — Origin of Totemiam— Chiefs and petty chiefs, freemen, and slaves — Division of labor — Inheritance and rightii of property. IV. MCTiLATIONs: Lip, ear, and nose ornaments; tattooing; painting the body. Ornaments: Necklaces, pendants, and bracelets. Primitive clothind : M>ceremonial blankets and head-dresses ; the art of weaving ; modern dress ; rain cloaks; armor; helmets and head-dresses ; masks; batons; blank- ets; coats; leggings; slave-killers; ceremonial paraphernalia in general. V. Food: Its preparation and procurement. Implements and Weapons: In- dustrial implements and tools ; hammers and mauls ; n izes ; knives ; scrapers; mortars and pestles; wedges; chisels; drills; paint-brushes; weapons of war and of the chase; clubs; daggers; bows and arrows; ■pears; fur-seal spears; aalmon spears; fishhooks; fish-rakes; tish-bas- kets; lines; lloats; drag-nets; dip-nets; weirs ; bird and other laud traps ; canoes; canoe outfits; canoe-making. Hunting and kisuinu: Salmon; halibut; herring and eulactaon ; spawn ; sea otter; seals ; deer; mountain goats and sheep ; bears. VI. LandwORKs: fortifications. Temporary dwellings: Tents and snmnier honses. Houses : Details of honse constrnction. Villages : Names of villages; groups of villages; residence. VII. Arts astd Industries : Raw 'materials ; ropes and cords ; mats ; baskets ; dishes ; spoons ; liousehold boxes and chests ; zradlos ; bototehold uten- sils; paints ; metal working; lumber and wood-work. Paintings, draw- INOS, AND carvings; TotCDiic and commoniorative coluiunH. Music: Singing; drums, rattles and whistles. VIII. Productions: Rearing and cultivation. Loco.motion : Cauoo travel. Wealth: Currency; property in land; coppers; slaves. Trade: Ex- change of commodities. IX. War AND Peace: War customs: scalping; duels. Peace cnstonis : treatiesof peaoe. X. Vices and Demoralisation dk the Indians : (iiinibling ; run* ; Iioochi- noo; tobacco; immorality. XI. 8HAMANISM : AVitofauraft trial : superstition; sickness and death ; medicines; treatment of the siok. sei7 228 SYNOPSIS OF CONTENTS. XII. Mortuary Customs: Ancient sepulture; depositorieH of Mhea; mortnary colnmns ; ouatoms of the Tlingit, Haida, and Tttimsbittu ; modern «;uh- toins ; Christian burial ; Shaman burial. XIII. Frasts. Dakcbs. Ceremonies. Potlacubs. Theatricals. Initiatory ceremonies: Marriage; childbirth; naming; piercing the ears and nose; tattooing; paberty; bringing out ; Helf-namiug ; chief tainoy ; glo- rification of the dead. Festive Cerbmoniks : Welcome; trade; honse- bnilding; potlaches; ceremonial dances ; "cultua" dances; theatricals. XIV. Ornbral Character of the Traditions. Myths and Folk-lorc— Bin- LIOGRAPHY. XV. Obneral Notes: Relations and affiniticH of the Tliugit, Haida, Tsimshian, and Kwakiutl— the Haida — Roiiiark^ on the Maori of New Zealand — the Kaigani — Ethnological work to be done.* * To complete, in a measure, the study of the ethnology of this region, there should be added neveral other chapters. The data nt hand does not, however. Just yet warrant this undertaking. Chapter xiv, and others of the above, are very incom- plete. In itself Chapter xiv would take several volumes to cover the ground satis- factorily. A synopsis of the chapters needed is appended to indicate their scope. XVI. Creed and Cult: Superstitions; religious beliefs and practices; religious organization: regulative, Shamanism; operative, fetichism. Shaman- istic priestcraft ; paraphernalia; religious rites of the Shaman. Secret and religious organisations in the cribo; the relations of the ceremonies to the religious beliefs. XVIF. Language OF the VARIOUS Indian stocks : grammatical structure ; vocab- ularies; dialects; linguistic attinities of the different stocks. XVIII. Ethnical affluities aud relatiouships'of the various Indian stocks of the North West Coast as far as indicated by all the foregoing. The collection made by Lieut. George F. Emmons, U. S. Navy, in south- eastern Alaska, now in the possession of the American Museum of Natural History, New York City, has been drawn upon for twenty or more illustra- tions. His collection admirably supplements that in the National Museum, and it is to bo regretted that the two collections have not btieu brought to- gether. AUTHORITIES QUOTED. Dixon (Oeorge). A Voyage Koiiud the World. London, 1789. Portlock (Nathaniel). A Voyage Round th« World. Loudon, 1789. Vancouver (Oeorge). A Voyage of Dimsovery to the North Pacific Ocean and round the World. 3 vols. London, 179H. Mackenzie (Alex,). Voyages from Montreal through the Cuutinciit of North America in 1789-'93. l,ondon, 1801. Iiang8dorff(G. H. von). Voyages and Travels (180:V-'07). 2 vols. Loudon, 1H1;{-'14. Lisiansky (Urey). A Voyage Round the World in the Years 1803-'0r). London, 1814. Dnnn (John). History of the Oregon Territory. London, 1844. Simpson (Sir George). Narrative of a Journey Round the World, 1841 and 184'i. London, 1847. Poole (Francis). Queen Charlotte Islands. London, 1872. Dall(W. H.). Alaska and its Resources. Boston, 1870. Bancroft (H. H.). Native Races, vol. I, Wild Tribes. San Francisco, 1883. Petroff (Ivan). Report on the Population, lud 'stries, and Remurcos of Alaska. Washington, 1884. Dawson (O. M.). Report on the Queen Charlotte Vdands. B. In Geological Survey of Canada. Montreal, 1880. Powell (J. W.). Annnal Reports of Bureau of Ethnology. Washington. Swan (J. O.). Publications, Manuscripts, Notes, Letters, and Collections in National Maseum. Port Townsend, Washington Territory. Boas (Dr. Franz.). Publications, Notes, Letters, etc. Worcester, Mass. Frazer (J. G.). Totemisra. Edinburgh, 1887. Other brief references are made in foot uotes in the text. Tlie ,ibove are tln> prin- cipal authorities quoted. 889 EXPLANATION OF PLATE I. General view of Kasa-an Village, Prince of Wales Island, Alaska. From a photograph by the author. Tliis gciicral view is hIiowii in ilctail in Plates II and III. Tlu' villnge is on the iiortli shoii- of Skowl Arm. a hrancli of Kasa-an lijiy, al)out four niik's from tlit? entranoe. The present rliii'f is Satral)-tan. a neplii'w of tlu' former well-known Chief Hkowl. The population is alNiut l.")0 souls. It is not in the regular .steamer traek and is seldom visited, hut it is esiKHiially rich in ethnological material. The inhahitants are Kaigani of the Haitian stoc-k, and .s])eak the Haitian language with little motliticatioii. Their customs are similar to the Haidan, hut have Ih^u much nioditied hy the influence of the TUngit. ! I T Report of N»t'on»i MuMum, 1888 -NiblieW Plati I. 1^ V THE COAST INDIANS OF SOUTHERN ALASKA AND NORTHERN BRITISH COLUMBIA. By Ensign Albert P. Niblack, U. S. Navy. I. ;'', ¥ "t CHOROGBAPHT OF SOUTHERN ALASKA AND NORTHERN BRITISH COLUMBIA. From Paget Sound in Washington Territory to Mount St. Elias in southern Alaska, the coast line is broken into a continuous archipelago. The Cascade Mountains, running throughout this territory parallel to the coast line, leaves, adjacent to the Pacific, a strip of country about 150 miles broad and 1,000 miles long, called generally "The North West Coast." Through the narrow channels of this archipelago winds the steamer route to Sitka, a route unparalleled for its length and the wild magnificence of its scenery. Warmed by Asiatic currents and moistened by a phenomenal rain fall, this region is less rigorous in its climate than generally supposed. Thickly wooded with pine, fir, spruce, and hemlock, the vogetation spreads from the water's edge to the snow line limit of the loftiest mountains. The forests are stocked with game and the waters with food fishes. The soil, though not deep, is fertile, and would itself suppor*^ the native population without the other gifts with which nature has so lavishly endowed them. In every crevice in the rocks, where the soil is scantiest, a stunted tree rears its head. In the spring the flrre^ts are gay with ferns, shrubs, and brightly colored wild flowfc.3, and in the summer a large variety of edible roots and berries are found in profusion. Dotted throughout this region are the winter villages of the Coast Indians, whose ethnic variations are somewhat marked as we go north, but who differ as a group quite materially from the hunting Indians of the interior, and more sharply from the Eskimo. In contrast with the fierce, revengeful Tinne, they are generally mild in disposition. In physical characteristics they are shorter, the cheek bones are less prom- inent, the nose is straighter, and the face rounder and fuller. From 232 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1888. the Columbia River to Mount St. Elia« these Coast ludians have marked ethnic affiliations, but the linguistic variations are great, and in the Houthern region are now the subject of systematic iTovcrn mental investi- gation. Comparative philology and mythology, a study of the primitive cus- toms and habits of the geographical and linguistic groups, and com- parisons of the ethnological material and collections from this region, can alone throw light upon the history Aud ethnic affinities of the various Indian stocks. ETHNOLOGICAL BESEABOH IN BBITISH COLUMBIA. In British Columbia, the philological and mythological part of the work has been commenced by Dr. W. F. Tolmie and Prof. George M. Dawson, in connection with the geological and natoral history survey of Canada, and is now the subject of special investigation by a commit- tee of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, under a grant for the purpose. Dr. I.anz Boas is conducting the work for the committee in the field, and the result is being from time to time pub- lished. For Washington Territory and Alaska, this investigation is in the hands of the Bureau of Ethnology of the Smithsonian Institution. SCOPE OF THIS PAPER. The facts here published were gathered by the writer in the summer seasons (May to October inclusive) of 1885, 1886, and 1887, while on duty in the survey of Alaska now being carried on by the officers of the Navy, under the direction of the U. S. Coast and Geodeticj Survey. The material presented has little bearing on the philology and mythology of the region embraced in the survey. Sucli work must come later, be undertaken more systematically, and carried on in the winter mouths, when the Indians are located in their permanent villages. The writer is indebted to Judge J. G. Swan, of PK)rt Townsend, Washington Ter- ritory, for valuable notes on the Saida of Queen Charlotte Islands. His collections from the North West Coast, under the direction of the Smith- sonian Institution, form the bulk of the ethnological material in the National Museum from the region about Dixon entrance, and have been freely used in the accompanying illufstrations. CLASSIFICATION. A provisional classification of the Indians of the North West Coast, from Puget Sound to Cape St. Ellas, based on philological considera- tions, would, according to Dr. Franz Boas, divide them into three groups, as follows : Group I. Salish, Kwakiutl, and Wakashan (Nutkan). Group II. Tsimshian. Group HI. Tlingit and Haidii, m ■A THE INDIANS OF THE NORTHWEST COAST. 233 " Tt seems that the languages eunraerated above represent as mauy different linguistic stocks, so far as our limited knowledge extends."* A classification based on other than philological and geographical groupings is out of the question at present. A comparative study of the customs, habits, mythology, and beliefs of all the tribes of this re- gion can alone form the basis of an ethnological classification. Charts I and II show the location of the different Indian stocks on the North West Coast. This paper deals principally with the tribes around Dixon entrance, and in our own Territory of Alaska, of which Chart I shows the geographical grouping into stocks. The Kaigani, on the southern part of Prince of Wales Island, are a branch of the Haidan stock. On Annette Island, at Port Chester, will be seen the location of the Tsimshian emigrants. This is a colony that, in 1887, under the leadership of the missionary, Mr. Duncan, abandoned MetlahKatlah- British Columbia, owing to difficulties with tin civil and eclesiastical authorities. The Indians seem very largely to have sympathised with the Rev. Mr. Duncan, as they voluntarily followed him to our own Ter- ritory, where the settlement is called Hew Metlah-Katlah. In Chart II no attempt is made to enumerate the tribes comprising the different stocks. It is interesting, however, to observe that the Bilqula are Salishan. t HISTORY. European civilization has borne with crushing force upon the Indians of the Northwest coast. Demoralized and staggered by contact with the whites, the remnant of the former population is just beginning to rally from the blow. Nothing places the Northern tribes higher in the scale of intelligence than the philosophy with which they are adapting themselves to their changed environment, retaining their advantageous native customs and accepting from us only whali contributes to their comfort and welfare. The greatest curse to them has been alcohol, and against this temptation they seem absolutely unable to struggle. The early European voyagers to this region have preserved in their narratives rough accounts of the habits, customs, and actual condition of the natives. Our earliest acquaintance dates from the visit of Ber- ing in 1741, coming from the north, tn 1774-'75 the Spanish navigators, Juan Perez and La Bodega y Quadra, coming from the south, explored the coast to the northward. In 1778 Captain Cook, having with him Vancouver as a midshipman, made his celebrated visit tr this region. After that several mercantile companies sent ships thither to trade. • Science, vol. x . No, 299, p. 194. t"Amoug the liiiKiiistic results of my jouruey the most interesting are the dis* covery of three unknown dialects of the Salish stock and the establishment of the fact that the Bilqula, who are of Salish lineage, must have lived at one time wi^h other Salish tribes near the sea."—NoteK on Ethnology of liritith Columbia (Am, I'hilolitg. Soc, Nov. 18, 1887, p. 42vM, by Dr. Frnuz Hoas. 1 Hi' 111 234 EEPORT OP NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1888. notably Captain Meares (1786), of the East India Company, and Cap- tains Portlock and Dixon (1787), of the King George's Sound Com- pany. In 1788 several American ships, representing a Boston com- pany, also appeared on the coast. In 1789 in the Washington, Captain Oray explored the east coast of Queen Charlotte Islands, and, in 1791, Captain Ingraham anchored in a harbor in the southeast part of this same archipelago. In the same year, Marchand, representing a French ctmpany, also traded with these islanders. In 1792-'94 Captain Vancouver made his admirable reconnaissance of the coast in search of a northwest passage to the Pacific from the Atlantic. In 1793 Mackenzie descended the Salmon Biver and reached salt water in latitude 52° 21' N., in the country of the Bilqnla. With the formal occupation, by Bar.4uoff, of a fortified post at Sitka in 1800, the natives of the Northwest coast may be said to have entered upon a new phase in their civilization, due to contact with the whites. A few years later this post was destroyed and the occupants massa- cred by the Tlingit; but, in 1805, Bardnoff and Lisiansky re-established it on the site now occupied by the town of Sitka, called by them New Archangel. From this time to the purchase of Alaska by the United States in 1867, the history of this region is largely the history of the Russian -American and the Hudson Bay Comi .^ny, the latter of which still continues to be such a powerful commercial factor in British America. ■i I and Cap- and Com- ►8 ton com- u, Captain d, in 1791, art of tliJH a French lissance of c from the iached salt 3t at Sitka ve entered ;he whites, uts massa- established them New the United ory of the ir of which in British n. \ENVlltONMENT—OROANlC AND INORGANIC; AND CHARACTERISTICS OF THE INDIANS-l'HTSICAL, EMOTIONAL, INTELLECTUAL, MORAL, AND ^ESTHETIC. ENVIRONMENT. The physical character of the region occupied by the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian is similar in general to that of sonthern British Colum- bia, but for local reasons this area has a peculiar climate. A branch of the warm Japanese current sweeps along the coast, and, coming in con- tact with the colder air and water of the north, gives rise to excessive humidity, producing in summer the rains and fogs, and in winter the snows and sleets, that are so prevalent in this region. Thermometrical observations, extending over a period of fifty years in the region about Sitka, give the lowest winter temperature as 4P Fah. below zero, the mean winter temperature being about 33° Fah., the same as in [Washington, District of Columbia. In the summer, on the contrary, [the rainy and overcast days so predominate, that the temperature never Irises above 90° Fah. The maximum recorded about Sitka is 87° Fah. [With an annual rainfall of from 60 to 95 inches and an average of be- tween one hundred and ninety and two hundred and eighty-five days in th" "<»ar on which rain has been known to fall,* the climate may be said to have its drawbacks. The shortest winter days are from four to five hours louec, while the summer nights are correspondingly brief. In the long summer days, when the weather is fine, the atmosphere is won- derfully clear, and the scenery fairly sparkles with an excessive brilliancy due to exceptional hygrometric conditions. The territory is very broken and subdivided. It is densely wooded with spruce, hemlock, white pine, fir, birch, alder, and underbrush, the vegetation crowding down to the high -water line. It is also very mount- ainous, and indented with bays and arms of the sea. The waters are deep and the tidal currents swift, the tides rising and falling twice a day through a range of from 12 to 21 feet, making navigation in places extremely hazardous. Travel is entirely by water, the villages being on the water courses, and the canoe here reaches its highest develop- ment. Huge landslides in the face of the mountains, snow capped ranges with sparkling glaciers in the sides and valleys, rtoating glacier ice in the bays and straits, and the bright green vegetation everywhere, all these give a characteristic beputy to the scenery of this region. * Dall, Aiiiska, p. 451. 335 II \ H! I ;! I. m 236 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSKTTM, 1888. Tbepriucipal fur-bearing animals are the brown and black bear, wolf, the cross, red, and silver fox ; beaver, mink, marten, and land otter, while in the mountains of the mainland are wild goats and sheep. Cod, her- ring, trout, and eulachon abound in certain localities, but the staple supply is furnished by the halibut and salmon. To complete the pict- ure there must be mentioned the innumerable tiocks of wild ducks and geese in season, the lonely herons and cranes, the omnipresent gulls, eagles, hawks, crows, and ravens, the skimming surf birds, and, in the woods, not generally seen from canoes, grouse and a variety of smaller members of the feathered tribe. In Dixon Entrance, Clarence, Sumner, and Chatham Straits, and par- ticularly in Frederick Sound and Stephen's Passage, Alaska, is the breeding ground for whales, which may be seen spouting in schools of six or seven. Wherever the whale is, there also is found the whale- killer ( Orca ater). These run also singly or in schools, and are the mer- ciless enemy of the whale. The dorsal fin, projecting so prominently above the surface of the water, gives them a characteristic readily seized upon by the^native artist, who never omits this appendage from his conventional drawing or carving of this animal. The presence of the bear, eagle, raven, wolf, orca, whale, and other representatives of the animal kingdom in this region, and the know. ledge of their peculiarities by the Indians, explain the prominent part they play in the mythology of the coast, as stated in Chapter vii. PHYSICAL CHARAOTEEISTICS. The Indians about Dixon Entrance are unquestionably superior in physique to the coast Indians to the southward. As among themselves the physical superiority rests with the Haida. This may be due to real ethnical dift'erences, but is probably accounted for in the fact that natural conditions in the Queen Charlotte Islands and around such an exposed arm of the sea as Dixon Entrance have produced a finer and more robust people than those in less exposed regions. While there is considerable uniformity in the general physical characters of all the stocks on the northwest coast, a practised eye can detect the differences between them, Langsdorlf (1805) says of the Tlingit : They do not appear to have the 1 . ist affinity with the Mongol tribes ; they have in general large, fiery eyes; a small, flat, broad nose; and larf^e cheek-bones; indeed, in all respects, large and strongly marked features.* In general amongst the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian, the hair is thick, stiff, coarse, straight, and black. It is worn short by the men, excepting the shamans or doctors, and long by the women. Instances cited t of auburn tresses and golden curls are ascribable to intermixt- ure with Europed.v of Chief Skowl lying in state (1887), as pictured in Plate LXVII. The two carved columns in the lower right-hand corner (Fig. 1) are enlarged views of two i-ommemorative mortuary columns shown in the general view. The nature and object of these are explained in the text. ! -iht!; fi'li vj. Rtportol Nationil Muicum, 1688.— Niblick. Plate AND, Alaska. )luinn nmikt'il }\v of the east- he hirge house lK)ily of Chief aived cohiiiins juiiuemorative ?ct of these are Pfc ''i. W; :'-1-.- s :<_ •■■y*'.'!',>r;i-f;V •'''■:h'^:«'-'.r.':A mmm mmm .-•"•5 CO 3 < Q Z (O ul -I < 5 ul U z 0. uT «3 z CO < I- a: < z cc Ul I- co UJ I I- ul I ' H'li k EXPLANATION OF PLATE III. View of the Western Part of Kasa-an Village, Prince of Wales Island, Alaska. From photographs by the author. Tlie lower vu-w is tlic I'Xtieuu' Ii'lt dC I'lati' I t'liliUKeil. and joins on to the left of the upper view. Both to^;etlu'r re])resent the grave-varil of the village of Kasa-an. Rtport nf Natiunil Muf*urr, 1866. -Nibltek. PLATE III. ISLAND, Alaska. on to tlic left of .;e of Kasa-an. < d z < -1 < UJ o z <3 < Z < < < a. z ir UJ H O) u UJ X 5 UJ THE INDIANS OP THE NORTHWEST COAST. 237 The habit of plncking the hair from the face and body obtains among the younger men, but the older ones suffer it to grow and wear a scanty beard and mustache, never however attaining any considerable length. Amongst the latter, also, long years of service in canoes has impaired their powers of locomotion and misshapen their legs, rendering them decidedly awkward on shore. This, by comparison, gives the body a long and large appearauce. The head appears unusually large, dne both to a real disproportion and to the ciass of bushy hair and the high cheekbones of the men. Their noses are less flat and fleshy than those of the Indians to the south. The teeth are white and fine, but in old age are much discolored and worn. The wraring down of the teetli comes from eating dried salmon on which sand and grit have been blown during the process of drying. The hands and feet are small and well shaped, especially amongst the women. As they all go barefooted a greater part of the vear, their feet are callous, excoriated, and wrinkled by exposure. The women are comely and flne lookiiif n youth and in early bloom usually have rosy cheeks. In complexion both ?exes are surprisingly light colored. This is in noway due to intermixture with whites. Dixon (1787) says that they were " very little darker than the Europeans in general.* Langsdorflf makes the same statement.! The Haida are markedly fairer skinned than the others, but still the dark tinge is quit*^ apparent, and exposure always adds to it. The habit of frequent bathing in botu winter and summer hardens their physique. ,. As soon as a child is able to leave its cradle it is bathed in the ocean every day without regard to season, and this custom is kept up by both sexes through life. This, with ^cant wrappings, kills off the sickly children, and hardens the survivors.f The scanty clothing worn by the men, their reckless expoonre in all kinds of weather, and their ignorance of hygienic laws of ventilation and sanitation in their dwell- ings, bring in their train a long series of ills. They are not particularly long-lived, although grey-haired people are not uncommon. Rheumatism and pulmonary diseases are their worst ills. Small-pox has ravaged the coast terribly. First intro- duced amongst the Tlingit by the Spaniards in 1775,§ it worked its way down the coast, breaking out from time to time in later years, de- populating villages and proving a fatal scourge to the natives of this region. No one thing contributed more to dishearten and subjugate these Indians than the ravages made by this fell disease. Weak eyes and blindness are aue to exposure and to the smoke of camp and household fires. Debauchery by bad aloohol, worse Whisky, and the native " hoochinoo " has added its quota to the physical misfor- tunes of the Indians, while venereal diseases are extremely destruc- tive. ' Dixon, VoyftgCH, ji. ii'iS. tliiingmlorff, VoyiigiM, Pu, :i, |». U'^, I I.inififldorH", Voyages, Part ii., pit. IW, U3, iind 135, \^ Portlock, Voyage (1787), p. 271. ■■■■■■■IPI 238 REPORT OF NATIONAL. MUSEUM, 1888. « Their habits of life are quite regular, aud, when undisturbed by war, they carry on a definite routine throughout the different seasons, col- lecting food, fars and raw materials at one season to serve them for the next. EMOTIONAL CHABACTEEISTICS. They are self-possessed, diguitied and reserved, although much less tac- iturn than the hunting Indians of the western plains and the interior. They have the usual [udiau stoicism under suffering, and bear extremes of cold, heat, hunger, aud exposure with fortitude. They are quite venturesome, going well out to sea in their canoes. The Kaigani go out to Forrester's Island for birds' eggs every spring, 20 miles off the coast. Dixon (1787) states that he sighted a Haida canoe 8 miles out at sea, and, though caught in a fog, it reached land in safety, as he afterwards met the same party close in shore.* They often make trips of hundreds of miles in their canoes along the coast and interior waters, although in early days this was not so feasible, owing to the warlike relations of the diiferent tribes. They are fou of parade and display, aud are scrupulous observers of ceremony and etiquette. Many of their deadly feuds originate from trifling causes based on breaches of etiquette or custom. Dancing and singing are a part of their cere- monies of welcome, trade, and war, and to the early voyagers to this region the Indians seemed entirely given over to these exercises. Their narratives express generally the impression that these natives were aggravatiugly and immoderately fond of dancing, because they could not trade with them until they had finished singing and feasting. They are equally fond of long speeches aud addresses — it all being intended to impress the observer with the rank, importance, aud influence of the individual who provides the entertainment. They are also great stick- lers for justice and for custom. When smarting ander the sense oi a real injury or imaginary wrong they are cruelly and unreasonably revengeful, although ordinarily friendly. They impressed the early voyagers as being somewhat hospitable and generous, although this was largely, as now, founded upon the expectation of an equivalent return. Their bravery is relative. If stronger tban an opponent, their war like demonstrations are quite pronounced, but i i the presence of a supe- rior force they are inclined to be submissive .^nd peaceful, although ready to take an underhand advantage. Ambush, surprise, and supe rior numbers are the favorable conditions of coast Indian warfare, and no mercy is shown to women and children, except perhaps to make slaves of them or to hold them for a ransom. While slavery was prac ticed, before its abolition by our Government in 1867, slaves were treated with cruelty. If, is the universal testimony, as voiced by Portlock (1787), that " they treiit their wives and children with much affection and tenderness.'" Pixon, Voyage, p. 311. t portlock, Voyaj,es, ji. liiOO, THE INDIANS OF THE NORTHWEbT COAST. 239 turbed by war, it seasons, col- serve them for oiuch less tac- id the interior, bear extremeK 'hey are quite he Kaigani go JO miles oflF the loe 8 miles out in safety, as he ften make trips interior waters, to the warlike de and display, ette. Many of on breaches of ?t of their cere- oyagers to this sercises. Their se natives were ause they could feasting. They being intended influence of the ilso great stick er the souse ol d unrcasonabl:^ sssed the early though this was iiivalent return, lent, their war seuce of a supe iceful, although >rise, and supe [ndian warfare, •erhaps to make I very wns prac ►7, slaves were r87), that "they d tenderness." i , i». am). In the approach to i^olitical and industrial equality of the sexes, and in the respect shown for the opinions of their females, these Indians furnish another refutation of the old misconception concerning' the systematic maltreatment of the women by savages. Such a thing is incompatible with the laws of nature. Good treUment of the female is essential to the preservation of the species, and it will be found that this ill-treatmenfis more apparent than real. By nature they are rather indolent, but their love of the power and the display incident to wealth has changed their disposition since 1775, so that they have become more enterprising. Originally the chiefs conducted the trade of the tribe, but in time the natural abilities of the other sex in driving bargains has resulted in the predominance of the influence of the women in such matters. They endeavor to impress others with their importance, wealth, and powers, but are guarded in their expressions of wonder, surprise, or enjoyment at what they see elsewhere. They have come now to rely upon European medicines in sickness. When through carelessness, recklessness, and ignorance of the laws of health they come to grief, they incontinently dose themselves with all sorts of patent medicines which they buy from the traders. Missionaries have been comparatively successful amongst them, the Greek and Presbyterian Churches having made considerable progress with them. The opportunities for long addresses, prayers, experience meetings, and singing in some of the Protestant forms of worship ap- peal strongly to native predilections, the influence of the Greek Church being principally about Sitka. The missionaries, however, discourage their dancing, and have influenced them in many localities to cut down the totemic columns and abandon cremation for inhumatiou-at-Iength as practiced by the whites. INTELLECTUAL CHARACTERISTICS. ' One sees many strikingly intelligent and attractive faces amongst the older men and women, where exiierience has given decided char- acter to their exjjressions. The stolid, imperturbable moodiness attrib- uted to the Indians of the interior here gives place to a more alert ex- pression of countenance. They acquire knowledge readily, and the children at school make fair progress. They are quite ingenious, and especially handy with tools, picking u[) a trade with surprising readi- ness, and turning their hands to almost any sort of business. They are quite imitative and progressive, but have shown good sense and conservatism in retaining many native implements and methods where better adapted to their needs. They have a keen appreciation of the value of money, work for wages, and have considerable business judg- ment. It would seem that, with their ideas of acquiring wealth, we have little to teach them in habits of thrift. Of necessity, they have a good kuowledgii of the topography and hydrography of their region, AV k w w I 1! 240 RF.POUT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1888. aud of the habits aud best modes of capture of all sorts of inariue aui- luals. On shore they are rather disappoiating as hunters, as they are not at all cool headed. Their superstitions, beliefs, and practices of witchcraft, sorcery, slavery, and shamamism do not necessarily place them on a '.ery degraded intellectual plane when we compare their practices and beliefs with those of other savage tribes. They possess a fair knowledge of human nature ; have good 'oratorical powers ; are communicative when diplomatically approached ; have a keen sense and appreciation of the grotesque ; and have a great sense of wit and humor, as they laugh immoderately at the antics of the dancers, the witty remarks of the clowns, aud the grotesque carvings erectec* in ridicule of the whites or of their neighbors. Placing implicit confidence in the truth of their legends and the reliability of their carved columns, they have an immense respect for graphic characters. Anything writ- ten on paper or carved is per se credible, and they attach the greatest value to a letter of recommendation written by a white man, irrespec- tive of the sentiments expressed by the writer. . MORAL CHARACTERISTICS. Judged by our standard, these Indians of the north have fallen by the way side. Judged by their primitive ethical conceptions, as compared with those of the surrounding tribes when they first came in contact with the whites, they may be said to be distinguished by the great prog- ress they had themselves made iu morals. When first visited by the early voyagers these Indians, like all others on tiie coast, were bold, arrant thieves. With them it was not dishonorable to steal, aud, if caught, restitution settled the matter. On the other hand, they dis- criminated, and seldom or never stole from a guest, and never robbed one of their ow4i totem. With them, to-day, an unwatched carai) or an unlocked house is sacredly respected, and the most valuable property cached iu the woods, as is the Indian custom, is as safe from other In- dians as if guarded night and day. Unfortunately, white men have set some very bad examples in this respect, and the Indians have been more often sinned against than sinning. They have great respect for the aged, whose advice in most matters has great weight. Some of the older women, even bond women in former times, attain great influence in the tribe as soothsayers, due as much to their venerable appearance as to any pretense they may make of working medicine charms. They are remarkably fond of and indul- gent to their children, rarely chastising them. As between the sexes, the rights of the women are respected and the terms of equ£\lity on which the men and women live are very striking to most visitors of this region. Although marriage is essentially by purchase, and the question oi morality and immorality of the wife .solely one of sanction by tin- husband, yet even this restriction is centuries in advance of tlieir northern neighbors, the Aleuts aud Koniagas, with whom promiscuity wmmm T'iK INDIANS Ob' TUF, iNOKTHWEST COA8T. 241 t' nuiriue aui- I, H8 they are practices of essarily place soDipare their :ood 'oratorical «he(l ; have a great sense of )f the dancers, ngs erectec* in icit confidence »rved columns, Lnything writ- the greatest man, irrespec- e fallen by the 3, as compared ame in contact the great prog- ; visited by the ast, were bold, steal, and, if liand, they dis- 1 never robbed led camp or an liable property from other lu- e men have set aus have been I most matters )nd women in isayers, due as hey may make I of and indul- 'een the sexes, of equality on visitors of this id the question uction by tin- i^an.ce of their m promiscuity and the most bestial practices obtain. Early voyagers invariably mention the modest, reserved, and decorous bearing of the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian women. Unfortunately, in recent years, the pur- chase of women and the practice of sanctioned prostitution have, under the spur of artificial needs of finery and luxuries, had a most demoral- izing effect on them, and, with the rum question, are the serious problem which confronts the friend of the Indian. In their inveterate addiction to gambling and their craving for tobacco and alcohol they possess f simply the vices inijident to savagiam. In their disregard for the lives "and feelings of slaves, and in their practices of compounding murder and other crimes by the payment of indemnity to the relatives of the injured, we see simply the operations of custom, which with them has the force of law. Murder, seduction, wounds, accidental killing, loss of articles belonging to another, refusal to marry a widow according to law, casus belli in general, any wrong may be righted by payment of an indemnity in the currency of the region. Sir James Douglas, Governor of the Hudson Bay Company about 1840, says : If unmarried women prove frail, tlie partner of their guilt, if discovered, is bound to make reparation to the parents, soothing their wounded honor with handsome presents. A failure to do this would cause the friends of the ott'ending fair one to u^e force to back up their demands and to revenge the insult. It must not, however, be supposed they would be induced to act this part from any sense of reflected shame, or from a desire of discouraging vice by making a severe example of the vicious, or that the girl herself has any visitings of remorse, or that the parents think her a bit the worse for the accident, or her character in any way blemished. Such are not their feelings, for the offender is simply regarded as a robber who has committed depredations on their merchandise, their only anxiety being to make the damages exacted ns heavy as possible." Petrotf illustrates as follows the curious custom of paying for in- juries: Wars are frequently avoided by au indemnity arrangement, and they go so far in this system of corapeusation that they demand payment for losses from parties who have been in no way instrumental in causiug them. For instance, an Indian at Sitka broke into the room of two miners in their absence, emptied a demijohn of liquor, and died in consequence, and the relatives of the robber demanded and received pay- ment from the unfortunate Caucasians. If a man be attacked by a savage . 17* II. M1.S. uii, pt. L' — k; I'etrofl" Report, p. 16.5. V7\ 242 REPORT OF NATION>VL MUSEUM, 1888. I ! soming the proposed victims. A narration of the exactions of the Indians for damages on u ^ count of the accidental deaths of relatives in the employ of whites would fill a chapter. -^KSTHETIC CHARACTERS. These Indians are exceedingly fond of singiug and dancing ; have considerable iirtistic taste in the use of colors ; are advanced in the arts of carving; and have fair abilities in drawing and designing — all of which will appear in subsequent chapters. Their carvings in slate show the height to which their art rises, and would seem to easily place them at the head of the savage tribes of the world, especially when taken in conjunction with their industrial development. They bathe frequently in the sea, but on the other hand continually daub their faces, bodies, and heads with grease and paint, although this latter fashion is now dying out and has almost disappeared, except as an occasional custom. They were formerly indifferent to the stench of de- cayed animal and vegetable matter about their houses and villages, but the influence of the whites has wonderfully improved them in this respect. They are still, however, indifferent to all sanitary laws of ventilation, and their fondness for putrid salmon noses and herring roe is very trying, while the smell of rancid grease destroys the {es- thetic value of many otherwise interesting curios from the region. A visit to an Indian house is to the uninitiated still somewhat of an ordeal, although nothing to what it formerly was. Through living in such in- timate relations in the houses, there is an absence of a becoming sense of modesty in family life, although the offenses are chiefly to be laid at the door of the men, who in the summer months go almost naked, whereas the women dress very much the same in all seasons. GEWERAL CONSIDERATIONS. Contact with the whites has staggered and arrested these Indians in their development. They are now adjusting themselves to a new mode of life. Although much reduced in numbers, they are far from being near extermination. Much is to be hoped for in the recent establish- ment of industrial and other schools and in the general interest now taken in the Indians. In the prohibition and prevention of the sale of liquor to them a great step has been taken. Much more needs to be done in the suppression of prostitution, in the recognition of Indian rights to hunting and fishing grounds, and in medical assistance to a people childishly ignorant of the simplest laws of health. Their Indian doctors are fast disappearing, and with them much of the degrading superstition of an ethnical group capable of almost any rise in the scale of civilization. in. REGULATIVE ORGANIZATION: CONSANGUINEAL-POLITICAL— IN- DUSTRIAL. Government does not l)ogin in the ascendency of chieftains throngh prowess in war, mt in the slow special i/atlon of executive functions from communal associations Ibased on kinship. « • * Evolution in society has not been from militancy to in- lustrialism, but from organization based on kinship to organization based on prop- [)erty, and alongside of the specializations of the indnstries of peace the arts of war iiave been specialized." GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. On the northwest coast totemism permeates the whole tribal organi- sation. The ceremonies at birth, initiation, naming, matrimony, feast- ing, dancing, funerals, and all other social occasions, all have for their ^bject, in some way, the identification of the individual with his totem ^nder its specific name. A totem is simply an organization of con- languineal kindred into a recognized gronp or baud, but with its defi- lition and practical workings we have more to do later. Amongst the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshiau, the orgauizatian is )ased on mother-right; that is, birth rights, such as rank, wealth, prop- erty, etc., are received from the mother. Amongst the southern tribes )f British Columbia father-right is the form of social organization, [n the lowest and rudest forms of primitive human society we have jimply the recognition of the maternity of a child, the paternity either not jeing known, or not considered. Matriarchy, this tracing of descent in the female line only, "mother rule," finds its most primitive form in bhe trib..j organization of some of the Australians, where the tribe child recognize a group of mothers (a subi)hratry), their issues, as |it were, being pooled. The evolution of patriarchy, the recognition of jdefinite male descent, "father-rule," is obscure, but its most primitive [form is also found amongst some Australian tribes, where a group of fathers belonging to a sub-phratry have the monopoly of ])rivileges nth the women of a corresponding female subphratry, although the tribes may be a.thousand miles apart and speak different languages, t IS we advance from matriarchy towards patriarchy, we find, at the )undary, tribes wavermg between female and male descent, or in which * MaJ. .1. VV. I'owell. An. Rep., Uiin-au of Kthnology, I, p. 83. t Fra/.er, Totemisin, p. «>7. m ^S r:'. V I 244 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1««8. the maid and female line have equal rights, but everywhere mother rule seems to have preceded father rule. «'The couvade or custom in accordance with which the husband takes to his bed and is treated as an invalid when his wife has given birth to a cliild is perhaps a fiction, intended f;o transfer to the father those rights over the children which under the previous system of mother-kin, had been enjoyed by the mother alone."* In the evolution of social organization, therefore, matriarchy uaturaliy precedes patriarchy. In the recognition of pater- nity and in the accumulation and inheritance of property from botli father and mother, or either, we find the beginnings of patriarchy and of the evolution tlrom '< organization based on kinship to organization based on property." The recognition of property may be in itself the first step in this evolution. With the development of the institution of marriage, man's positioa in the community becomes fixed by kinship. In the segregation of blood relatives, based on either matriarchy or patriarchy, we get the household. In the organization of consanguiueal kindred, we have the basi^ of the communal organization. In this stage, "There is no place in a tribe for any person whose kinship is not fixed, and only those persons can be adopted into the tribe who are adopted into some family with artificial kinship specified. The fabric of Indian society ib a complex tissue of kinship. The warp is made oi streams of kindship blood, and the woof of marriage ties." t What has here been briefly said with regard to the origin and de velopmeut of the patriarchal form of social organization from the ma- triarchal is peculiarly pertinent to a study and comparison of the ethnical affinities of the tribes of the northwest coast. The southern tribes have very few of the customs and traditions peculiar to the northern, ana their social organization is different, "mother-rule" be- ing peculiar to the northern group and " father-rule" to the southern. Dr. Franz Boas says : On uccount of philological cousiderations, T tliink that thu social organization of the Kwakiutl was originally patriarchal, or it may bo more correct, to say that the male aud female line had eqnal rights. This opinion is foun.led on the fact that even among the tribes among whom matriarchate prevails at present, the same terms are nsed for denoting relationship in the male and female lines. t No satisfactory inferences as to the influence of these various north- west coast tribes on one another in traditions, customs, a^id social organization can as yet be drawn in view of the meager data we have. There is no more promising field for sociological study than in this re- gion. In the ceremonial institutions, in the elaborate dance parapher- nalia, in the carved heraldic columns, in the wide variations in the mortuary cust>oms, in all the practices cf tribes of highly imaginative and inventive Indians, we have here similarities and differences so be- •P'razer, Totemisni, p. 78. t Major Powell, in An. Kept., tinreaii of Ktlinoly, I, \t. (il*. t Hi'imvv, Vol. xn. No. '299, p. 19.".. THE INIHANS or THK NOIMHWKST COAST. 24r. various north- wildering, that it iHdiflHcnIl to trace the mutual iuHuences of the ditler- eiit ethuic groups. In nothing, however, more thau iu the totemic or- ganization do we recognize these ditt'erences. ■- < TOTEMISM. The organization of consanguineal kindred is variously called the totem, the clan, the totem clan, or the gens (plural, gentes). Frazer, iu his work on Totemism, thus defines it : * A totem is a class of material objects which a savage regards with superstitious re- spect, believing that there exists between him and every member of the class an in- timate and altogether special relation. * • • The connection between a man and his totem is mutually beuolicent ; the totem protects the man, and the man shows his respect for the totem in various ways, by not killing it if it be au animal, and not cutting or gathering it if it be a plant. Considered in relation to men, totems are of at least three kinds : (1) The clan to- tem, conmion to a whole clan, and passing by inheritance from generation to genera- tion; (2) the sex totem * * * ^3) The individual totem, belonging to a single individual and not passing to his descendants. * » • TAe clan to<«»i.— The clan totem is reverenced by a body of men and women who call themselves by the name of the totem, believe themselves to be of one blood, de- scendants of a common ancestor, and are bound together by common obligations to each other, and by a common faith in the totem. Totemism is thus both a religious and a social system. In its religious aspect it consists of the relations of mutual re- jspect and protection between a man and his totem; in its social aspect it consists of |the relations of the clansmen to each other and to men of other clans. In the later liistory of totemism these two sides, the religious and the social, tend to part com- !>any. " * * On the whole, the evidence points strongly to the conclusion that the ttwo sides were originally inseparable ; that, in other words, the fnrther wn go back fthe more we should lind tliat the clansman regards himself and his totem as beings of the same species, and the less he distinguishes between conduct towards his totem and towards his fellow-clansmen. Tribal Society. — These totems, clans, or gentes are sometimes organ- ized into groups called phratries, the union of the latter forming the tribe or people. We have, therefore, (1) the household or family ; (2) the totem ; (3) the phratry ; and (4) the tribe. On the northwest coast the household is not the unit of the totem or of the phratry, as more than one totem is represented in each ; the father belonging to one totem and the mother and children to another. Besides this, a brother and his wife may belong to the household, or a sister and her husband ; thus numerous totems may be represented under one roof. The practice of totemism on the northwest coast has not yet received the thorough study it deserves. It remains, for some organization, governmental or incorporated, to systematically collect the data nec- essary for a complete tabulation of the phratries and gentes of all the trib>. J, and an exposition of their mutual relations and significance. In (/Dunectiou with this, a study of the totemic carvings, legends, myths, and folk-lore, must be prosecuted. The lists of totems from time to time published have served so far to obscure rather than elucidate the sub- Totemism p. 1, «(j. 1 !' ■ I 246 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1H88. n: !i ject, owiug to the apparent waul of agreement of auy two writers. The tendency to generalize from a study of one tribe alone has added to the confusion. Thorough and systemacic collection of data at each villagi' can alone give a reliable groundwork for generalizations. This work must be undertaken soon, or it will prove either incomplete or too laU' altogether. The exceedingly imperfect data given here will at least serve as a pre- liminary sketch of the tabulation. OONSANGUINEAL OROANIZATION. Totems. — From their nature, totems are in a state of flux. Clans tend to become phratries split up into sub-phratries ; sub-phraties decay and finally disappear. An individual distinguishes him8eU,becomes wealthy, and hence a leading man in the village. His totem, or indeed his in- dividual crest or sub-totem, may have been an obscure one. As he rises, its importance in the tribe rises with him. Under his successsor, the totem widens its numbers and influence, and finally eclipses other clan totems, which eventually melt away or are incorporated with it. In the course of time, either by the accession of other totems or else by its splitting up into sub-totems, it came finally to bo ranked as a phratry, then a sub-jihratry. In this evolution we see the sut)toteui grow into a clan totem, then into a phratry or sub-phratry, when decay sets in, and it " melts into the vast reservoir of nature from which it sprang." On the northwest coast we see only a few of the stages in this evolu- tion, but by a study of totemism as it exists in all parts of the world the curve of the rise and fall of totems has been so accurately plotted, that there will probably be found in this region no wide variations from the general system. Tlingit. — Amongst the Tlingit two exogamoi.s groups of gentes exist, that is, they^ are'divided into two phratries. The individuals composing the gentes in one phratry can only marry individuals in any gentes of the other. These phratries are popularly called the Raven and the Wolf. Much confusion arises from the fact that in the Wolf phratry we have the Wolf totem, and in the Eaven phratry the Baveu totem. Frazer says of this : Considering tbe promiueut parts played in Tlingit mythology by the ancestors of the two phratricH, and considering that the phratries are also names of clans, it seems probable that the Raven and Wolf were the two original clans of the Tlingitu, which afterwards by sub-division became phratries*. Through popular misapprehension the origin of these two phratries 'Frazer, Totemism, p. 62. This seems to be further borne out by the testimony ol' Lisiansky, Yoyag., p. 242, Sitka (1805). "Tbe tribe of the wolf are called the Coquebans, and have many privileges over the other tribes. They are considereil the best warriors, and are said to b'' scarcely sensible to pain, and to have no fear ol death. If in war a person of this tribe is taken prisoner he is always treated well and is generally set at liberty." ^ THE INDIANS 01' THE N0KTHWE8T COAST. 247 writers. The |i8 added to the It each villugt^ IS. This work lete or too late ■serve as a pre- X. ClaDS tend ties decay and [comes wealthy, indeed his in- re cue. As he his successsor, r eclipses other orated with it. items or else by >e ranked as a ) the sabtoteui ry, when decay i from which it es in this evola- rts of the world urately plotted, wide variations I of gentes exist, luals composing n any gentes of Raven and the e Wolf phratry B Baveu totem. by the ancestors of uatues of olans, it ms of the Tlingitii, >e two phratries »y the testimony of >lf are called tho ley are considercl 1 to have no fear of Iways treated well is assigned to the tradition of the two mythical beings or heroes, TMl and Kanuk, whose struggles, valor, and beneticeuce endowed the Tlingit with the good things of life. In his frequent transformations Tetl often adopted the form of tiio raven, giving to the Raven phratry the apparent right to claim descent from the great Tvtl. Some authori- ties claim to identify Kanuk, the other godlike personage with the progenitor of the Wolf phratry ; but Dr. Franz Boas claims through his [ interpretations of the Tlingit legends that " this Kanuk is identical [with the eagle,"* and also that the Tlingit use the title Eagle and Wolf 'without discrimination in designatinj^ the so-called Wolf phratry. May not this be due to a possible amalgamation of the Wolf anu the Eagle totem at a remote period antedating the growth of the totem into a phratry. Tliis amalgamation takes place in the course of time in all Indian communities having a totemic organization. The partial list of Tlingit totems as verided by the writer is as follows : •■■ii riiratriifl. 1 Wolf or Eagle. Itnveu. Totems. Wolf. Kuvi'ii. Bear. Frog. Eagle. Goose. Whale. Bcavfir. Shark. Owl. Porpoiso. Sea-lioii, Puffin. Salmon. Orca. Dog-flsli. Orca-bear.t Crow. The above totems are divided into sub-totems with special names denoting locality and collateral relationship. The vocabulary of titles, sub-titles, etc., is a large one, and needs in itself special study. The data has not yet been collected to enable us to give an adequate idea of the complexity and ramifications of the Tlingit totemic organization. Kaigani. — The principal totems are the Crow, Raven, Brown Bear, Beaver, Eagle, Wolf, and Whale. In addition are also found the Seal, Orca (Killer), Gull, Crane, Frog, Shark, and others. Boas adds the Sparrow-hawk, Codfish, and Skate. The two exogamous groups or phratries amongst the Kaigani are the Wolf and the Eagle, according to Boas, designated as the Is^dtVWnas and TakHl iVnas. The division of 'Notes oa Ethnology of British Columbia, before Am. Philoa. Society, November 18, 1887, p. 42*2. tAt Fort Wrangell several households of the Orca and Bear totems have beeu amal- gamated into one called by a different name from either, viz, NSna&'ri, 248 HKI'OKT MP NATIONAL MI'MKITM, \XHK \\ ! < the above uaiuud tuteiiiM into the two groiii>.s is not known delluitob enough by the writer to warrant giving the list. Enough is known however to illustrate several anomalous groupings. For instance, the Kaven and Bear totems belong to the Eagle phratry, whilst amongst the Tlingit they belong to the opposite or Eaven phratry. In consequence of this, when, for instance, a Kaigani of either of these totems goes to Fort Wrangell (Stikiue) or Tongass (Tunghoash), he becomes a member of the opposite phratry, and can only marry in what, in his own village, would be his own phratry. This illustrates very forcibly that it is the gens or totem which counts. Once a Bear always a Bear; whereas the phratry is in one sense limited or local. The obligations attaching to a totem are not, therefore, contiued to tribal or national limits, but ex- tend throughout the whole region. In childhood a transfer can be made from one totem to another. Supposing a chief desires his son to succeed him and to belong to his own totem ; the babe is transferred to his sister to suckle, and is figuratively adopted by her. In this way the son acquires the totemship of his father, and at an early age is taken back by his own mother to raise. Dawson cites these cases of transfer as often effected among the Haida to strengthen the totem of the father when its number has become reduced and there is danger not only of loss of prestige but of extinction. The ties of the totem or of the phratry are considered far stronger than those of blood-relationship. A man can not marry in his own totem whether witLin or without his own tribe, or his own phratry within iu^ owu tribe. There is nothing to prevent a man from marrying hi"; fv^at cm jsin, and much to prohibit his marriage to a most remote connect io?i or an absolute stranger. The children always take the mother'^ iotem amongst the Tlingit, Kaigani, Haida, and Tsimshian, unless transferred to the father's by a fiction. Thus "mother-rule," or matriarchy prevails. Wealth and chiefship descend in the fumale line in a most curious way, as explained hereafter in dealing with the subjects of chiefship and inheritance. Dawson, speaiking of the intertribal relation of totems, says : Au ludian on arriving afc a strange village where he may apprehend hostility wonld look for a house indicated by its carved post as belonging to his totem and make for it. The master of the house, coming out, may, if he likes, make a dance in honor of his visitor, but in any case protects him from all injury. In the same way, should an Indian be captured as a slave by some warlike expedition and brought into the vil- lage of his captors, it behooves any one of his totem, either man or woman, to pre- sent themselves to the captors, and, singing a certain sacred song, offer to redeem the captive. Blankets and other property are given for this purpose. Should the slave be given up, the redeemer sends him back to his tribe and the relatives pay the re- deemer for what he has expended. Should the captors refuse to give up the slave for the property offered, it is considered rather disgraceful to them. This, at least, is the custom pursued in regard to captives included in the same totem system as them- selves by the Tsimshiaus, and it is doubtless identical or very similar among the Haidus, though uo special information on this subject was obtained from them.* * Dawson, Report, B, p. 134, TIIH INPIANS OF TIIK NOKTIIWK.ST COAST. 2V.) [)wii d«liuitol> igh is known instance, the t amongst the 1 consequence ;oteuis goes to nes a member 8 own village, that it is the whereas the 8 attaching to imits, but ex- ansfer can be ires his son to is transferred In this waj' y age is taken ses of transfer 1 of the father jer not only of tern or of the d-relationship. or without his :e is nothing to to prohibit his stranger. The ingit, Kaigani, :'s by a fiction. and chiefship ained hereafter ace. Dawson, id hostility would tein and make for dancn in honor of ae way, should an light into the vil- r woman, to pre- tifer to rodeem the Should the slave itives pay the re- give up the slave . This, at least, u system as them- milar amonH. i'HE INDIANS OF THE NOKTHWEMT COAST. 251 all recogoized ih and natural [ason, accoQut Jit from natural lisijas undoubt ^f experience in the possibility )n dreams. The |tnarryiug bride illustration of , we must have ames and cou- ede a belief in ural objects. It f the belief last ulityof savages ited as a partial arm is ordinarily sociological unit, ugh inheritance, > others, is nomi and his power i.s influence, to hih> Now and then, I absolute or des ship, in itself, a.s Bank is priii- he latter in itself alities count for 1 and consensus it is about what argain, int 'iguo, the heads of the ge. Their rank of the chi«f in understaudinj:, its, and the gen la of which thtv Ti are the recognized head. Indeed, each household is in itself a subor- dinate government. The head of it, through heredity, wealth, ability, or otherwise, simply is recognized as a petty chief in the village. The head chief merely overshadows in the extent of his influence the petty chiefs. Often reverses of fortune turn the tables, and some decline in influence while others rise. Often the alliance of the medicine men is gained by purchase or by the sacrifice of private property, and the '. chiefs and shamans combine to uphold each other in the respect and fear of the community. Many bitter feuds grow out of the rivalries of house- holds and geutes in the struggle for power and influence in the tribe. Often a man is strong enough, like Chief Skowl of Kasa-an, to crush out all opposition, or even, like Chief Skiddaus,* to extend his influence beyond his own village through the ownership of valuable lands, or through the necessities of war, and have his suzerainty recognized by the chiefs of other villages. In a strict sense, however, the village is the tribal unit. Alliances of tribes have always been oaiy temporary, and no lasting federation bas ever been formed. Simpson, who visited Alaska in 1841, saye, of the rivalries of Chiefs Shakes and Qualkay, at Fort Wrangell (Stikine), " though Shakes way the principal chief, yet he had comparatively little influence; while the second ruler in the tribe (Qualkay) possessed a strong party in the village."t A chief, as a rule, is not treated with any very marked deference on i ordinary occasions excepting by his own household, but in ceremonies a degree of state was formerly kept up, to Impress visitors or strangers with the iraportauce and high rank of the dignitary. In the ceremonies at the conclusion of peace Ixii^een the Eussians and Indians at Sitka (1804), Lisiansky states that the Indian chief who acted as an ambassa- dor was either borne by his slaves upon a mat-carpet or rug, or carried on the shoulders of his attendants, as become his rank, and not due to any infirmity of the chief, for In the ceremonial dances which followed he took a promhient par*^. 4. In early days thecLief traded for all his tribe or houcebold, subject however, to the approval of those present ; but in recent years, with the aboHtion of slavery and the influence of the whites, the authority of the chiefs has been very much weakened. Instances are not rare where medicine men or shamans have been head chiefs of villages. frecwe. .—Below the chiefs come the freemen, who are the ordinary people of the tribe composing the different households. Above these in one sense, or above the petty chiefe for that ma; ter, come the shamans or medicine men. This rank, however, is in no sense political. They are simply a class whose fanctious are largely religious. Slaves.— On our acquisition of the territory of Alaska in 1867 the practice of slavery received its death-blow amongst the Indians. Pre- • Poole, Queen Charlotte Islauds, British Colnmbis, p. 108. t Simpson, Journey Ronnd the World, Vol. i, p. ai2. \ LiHiansky, Voynges, i>. 2M. 252 REPORT OF NATIONAIi MII8KUM, 1888. n ' I I' viously to that the Kussiaii aulhuritic^ had Hongbt to ameliorate, iu .some degree, the hardships of this wretched class in the vicinity of Sitka, but it was still in practice when we took possession. The slave class has now gradually been absorbed into the body of the freemen and slavery is a thing of the past. Formerly wealth consisted largely in the possession of slaves. Simp- sou estimates that in 1841 one-third of the entire population of this region were slaves of the most helplesss and abject description. Though some of them were prisoners of war and their descendants, y^f the great supply was obtained by trade with the southern Indians, ^ which the Tsirashian acted as middlemen. They were kidnapped ov captured by the southern Indians from their own adjacent tribes and sold to the Tsimshian, ..ho traded i^hem to the northern Tlingit and in- terior Tinnd tribes for furs. The last-named had no heref^itary slaves, getting their supply from the coast. Dunn states (1834) that at Port Simpson, British Columbia, '' A full-grown athletic slave, who is a good hunter, will fetch nine blankets, a gun, a quantity of powder and ball, a couple of dressed elk skins, tobacco, vermilion paint, a flat file, and other little articles." * Slaves did all the drudgery; fished for their owner; strengthened hia force in war; were not allowed to hold property or to marry; and when old and worthless were killed. The master's power was unlimited. If ordered by him to murder an enemy or rival, his own life paid the forfeit or penalty if lie either refused or failed. The children of slave women by the master were slaves. In certain ceremonies it was customary to give several slaves their freedom ; but at funerals of chiefs, or iu ceremonies attending the erection of a house by a person of consequence, slaves were killed. Slaves sacrificed at funerals were chosen long before the death of their master and were supposed to be peculiarly fortunate, as their bodies attained the distinction of cremation, instead of being thrown intothe sea. Simpson (1841) says of Chief Shakes at Wrangell (Stikine), that be was " said to be very cruel to his slaves, whom he frequently sacrificed in pnra wantonness, in order to show how great a man he was. Un the recent occasion of a house-warming, he exhibited as part of the festiv ities the butchery of five slaves ; and at another time, having struck a white man in a fit of drunkenness and re- ceived a pair of black eyes for his pains, he ordered a slave to be shot, by way at once of satifying hie own wounded honor an<\ ^,,u»Iogizing to the person whom he had assaulted. His riva' \Quulk>iyy ou the contrary, was possessed of such kindness of heart, uhafc on ^laud holi- days he was more ready to emancipate his slaves than to destroy them ; yet, strange to say, many bondmen used to run away from Qualkay, while none attempted to escape from Shakes; an anomaly which, how- ever, was easily explained, inasmuch as the one would pardon the recaptured fugitives, and the other wonld torture and murder tbera."! •Dnnn, Orfigon, p. 273. tSimpHnn..Tonrnev, Vol. i, pp. 212, 213. THE INDIANS OF THE NOKTHWEST COAST. 253 orate, m some 'of Sitka, but lave class haa ill and slavery ilaves. Simp- lation of this description, icendants, j'^t rn Indians, ^ > kidnapped ov ent tribes and riingit and in- ef^itary slaves, 4) that at Port I, who is a good wder and ball, a flat file, and 1 strengthened or to marry; r's power was eal, his own life The children I ceremonies it t at funerals of ise by a person t funerals were supposed to be n of cremation, jfChief Shakes il to his slaves, er to show how se-warming, he slaves ; and at cenness and re- ive to be shot, u\ ^iuilogizing alkuyV f>n the Oii <^iaud holi- destroy them ; from Qualkay, ly which, how- Id pardon the rderthera."t p. '212, nx The practice of killing slaves in ceremonies and for reparation in [quarrels was quite common among the northern tribes, and namerons instances might be cited. At Howkan, in one of the Indian houses, may [be seen a couple of large wooden images each representing a wolf, with luman face and real human hair on the head. This was to remind flaves that, if they escaped from their owners, they would become ■ansforraed into creatures like those depicted, half man, half wolf. Poole (1863) says that the Haida, Chief Elue, informed him "that iiSjiorae years previously his brother-in-law, in those days the greatest ^hief on the coast, had been entrapped by the Fort Rupert Indians on is way home from Victoria and scalped and killed, with all his males, lis females being divided as slaves among the victors."* This example is cited to show that it was very questionable if the northern Indians ade very good slaves, being so warlike, and preferring, as they claim, leath to slavery. On the other hand, the southern tribes were more [ocile, the Flatheads forming the principal part of the slave popula- ;ion of the northern Indians. In case of the liberation of a sl^ve, he as adopted as a freeman into the clan to which his mother belonged lither by birth or as a slave. Civil Oovernmont. — There are no stated periods for councils or deiib- irativo gatherings. A household consultation or u meeting of the gena ir of the chiefs takes place under the spur of necessity. Women have IsuR'iy ri3 much to SDy as the men on other than ceremonial occasions, IMii- idvice is frequently followed, particularly in affairs of trade. > uti rs affecting one oi more gentes or the village, representatives ^ ^ V vrii;U8 houseboUls or gentes meet more formally. They squat irouni .' y'^-j cross legged, delivering formal speeches in turn, which re heard »vith rapt attention and .ipprovcd of by grunts, murmurs, ud uplifting of hands. In ;.ih'»8 such as witchcrift or offenses of edicine men, sentence to d^ .'^ yr to fine is adjudged by the leading men of the village after trial. Under most circun: stances, however, be law of blood revenge, an " eye for an eye, " leaves little need for ■other than family councils, a3 they are purely totemic offenses, and are rranged by the injured gens, INDUSTRI.iL OKOANIZATION. Divinion of Lftlor.—As between the sexes, the women attend mostly to the common household duties, but tl .e men have a fair share of the I outside work about the house and camp. A chief is usually more or I less waited on by his dependents. When slavery was in vogue, this class I performed all the menial drudgery. The libdrated slaves still occupy i a somewhat dependent position. Tiio men are the warriors and hunt- ! cr.s, though an old woman of rank usually steers the war canoe. In ordinary lian.sit tho women assist the rfien in peddling, and the owner •IVmiIp, (Jiifcn Ch.Trlnffc l-liinds, (i. W>. WMf rem 254 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1888. iili' orthe mostexperieuced person steers. In the season of hnnting fur-bear- ing animals, the women and children (and formerly slaves) take charge of the camps — fishing, drying fish, and gathering and drying berries for winter. Altogether the division of labor is upon equitable and economic principles, and the women by no means do all the drudgery. During the runs c'^ salmon, herring, and eulachon, and in fact at all *imes during the Si . reason, special employment is dropped, and all the natives alike c. j in the work in hand. In addition to the food supply, materials a.c collected to be worked up during the winter months, by those specially skilled, into various useful and ornamental objects. Diflferent men and women acquire adeptness in different arts and industries, and devote their leisure to their trade. Some of the men are expert house-carpenters, canoe-builders, basket-makers, tan- ners of hides, hewers of wood, metal workers, carv ers of wood, stone, horn, bone, slate, manufacturers of metal implements, ornaments, house- hold utensils, etc.^ and are regularly paid for their services. This is especially true of the wood-carvers, who make and paint the totemic and mortuary columns. Othersenjoy prestigeas successful huntersof certain animals or expert fishermen. Some of the women are expert basket- makers, carvers of household utensils, weavers of cloaks and mats of cedar bark and wool, and maVrrsof dance and ceremonial costumes. Generally the men are carvers and the women weavers. Dnnn (1834) says of the Tsimshian, and it applies also to the Haida and Tlingit, " Every chief keeps an Indian on his establishment for making and re- pairing canoes and makinjj masks for his religious representations; this man they call the carpenter. " * Portlock (1786) says of the Tlingit, "the women are the keepers of their treasures, "t In fact, as before stated, the women are practically on an equality with themeu in the industrial organization, and whether her advice in all matters is sought or not, she is quite apt to give it. Gases of "hen-pecked" husbands are not rare. Inheritan ?. — In this totemic organization some singular features present themselves. Blood relationship is cut across in an arbitrary way, giving rise to peculiar customs and laws. As before stated, first cousins may marry, but totally unrelated persons in the same phratry may not. In a war between gentes or phratries, a groom, while cele- brating his nuptials, may be called upon to fight his father-in-law on account of some trivial feud. Property is inherited by the brother of the deceased, a sister's son, a sister, or the mother, in the order named, in the absence of the preced- ing. As a rule the wife gets nothing. She h.is her own dovvry and personal property. Whoevej inherits the property of the deceased, if a brother or sister's son, must either take the widow to wife, or pay an indemnity to her relatives in case of failure to do so. In case the heir is already married, the next in snocesaion takes her; for instance, the 'Dnmi, Oregon, p. iWI. t PoHlock, Vo.vuKas, p. 21H). THE INDIANS OF THE NORTHWEST COAST, 265 iropped, and {brother may inherit the property and the nephew get the relict. In [case there is uo male relative to marry her or in case an indemiyty is [paid, the widow may marry any other man. Sometiives an adopted [child or the sou adopted by a sister of the deceased may be the heir. iThe heir of Chief Skowl of Kasa-an (Kaigani) was his sister's son, ^ahattan, who is now chief of th*- • Jlage. Should a boy be killed by iccident, the indemnity is paid, by a reversal of this rule, to his mother's )rother, the boy's uncle. Property inherited is taken possession of by jbhe heir as soon as the body is burned or enclosed in the burial box. It becop^es bis duty within a year to give a great feast and erect a lortuary column in honor of the deceased. This ceremony is called glorifying or elevating the dead, and is one of the principal ones in this region. Lisiansky (1805) says of the Tlingit about Sitka: The rigbt of succession is from uncle to nephew [meaning sister's son], tbe dignity )f chief to yon excepted, which passes to him who is the most powerful, or has tbe Igreatest number of relations. Thuug;- the toyons have power over their subjects, it lis a very limited power, unless when an 'ndividual of extraordinary ability starts up, Iwho is sure to rule despotically, and, as elsewhere, to do much mischief. These toy- f ons are numerous ; even in small settlements there are often four or five.* SUMMAKV. The industrial or^iization is not difterent from the political, and lost of the laws and customs which control thom in their actions are rounded on totemic laws, traditions, legends, folk-lore, and super- gtitious. For this reason the regulative organization, while not exactly peak, is at least not well differentiated. The actual function or occu- Ipation of the individual, both as a member of a household and of the Itribe, is partially developed, although there are no real craft classes. j Organization is based on kinship, and descent is in the female line. Totemism cuts across blood relationship and its chief bearing is on [ marriage. Most of the ceremonies have a bearing directly on totemism, and have for their object the identification of the individual with his totem. •Lisiansky, Voyages, p. 243. IV. PERSONAL ADORNMENT: MUTILATIONS, LIP ORNAMENTS, TATTOOING, AND PAINTING. ORNAMENTS, NECKLACES, PENDANTS, AND BRACE- LETS. DRESS, ANCIENT, MODERN, RAIN, IfAR, AND CERE MONIAL. MUTILATIONS. The practice of mutilation is older than recorded history, Man never jias been satisfied with either his structure or appearance, and has con- stantly e;ideavored to improve upon both. On the northwest coast the mutilations are of the head and face, the practice of flattening oi- com- pressing the head being, however, peculiar only to the southern tribes of -this region. Mackenzie, in his visit to the Bilqnla, in 1793, described their heads as " wedge-shaped." This does not, however, obtain among the Haida, Tsinishian, and Tlingit, but they pierce the ear and the sep- tum of the nose, and in addition the women slit the lower lip. Zip, nose, and ear ornaments. — While amongst the Eskimo the men pierce the lip and wear the sleeve button-shaped^brets of bone, shell, ivory, or stone, amongst the northern Indians the women alone wear the lip ornament. Between these two geographically are the Koniagas and Aleut. With the Koniagas both sexes pierce the septum of the uose and the under lip and wear ornaments in them. Beginning with the Yakutat* and running as far south as the Kwa- kiutl,t we find the custom amongst the women of wearing a labret in a slit cut in the lower lip. It is symbolic of maturity, the incision first being made either in childhood or else at puberty. In either case it is done with some ceremony, which is described in Chapter xiii. A cop- per wire| or piece of shell or wood is introduced into the fresh incision to keep the wound open. The object inserted is gradually enlarged until an artificial opening of some size is made. Wiien maturity is reached a block of wood is inserted. This is oval or elliptical in shape, and amongst the Haida and Tsinishian quite elongated. With the Tlingit, on the other hand, it is almost (circular in shape. In general it is hollowed out on both sides, and grooved on the edge like the sheave /' i * Dall, Alaska, p. 428, and Jiaiicroft, Vol. i, Native Races, both state that the Ya- kutat do not now wear ^Uo lip ornaiiiont. Dixon (1787), howovov, in Voyajjos, )i. 172, niinntely detw-iibeH the cimtoni as then in vojtne !inionj{8t tlieiii. t SimpHon, .Tournoy Round the World, p. 'MH, Vol. i. (Itjil). t Van<'Ouvfir, Voyages, Vol. ii, p. 40H, states that the eopiicr or brass "corrodes the lacerated parts, and by eonsinniiij; tiie llesh'ijradnally imreiiHeN ll rilice until it Ih HuHieieiitly larjjo to uilniit tlie wooden appendn-^e." ?, TATTOOING, ;, AND BRACE- HE MONIAL. jT, Mail never }, and has cou- west coast the ten in g oi- com- outhern tribes L793, described , obtain among w and the sep- V lip. kimo the men of bone, shell, len alone wear i the Koniagas septum of the th as the Kwa- ing a labret in le incision first iither case it is r XIII. A cop- e fresh incision liially enlarged en maturity is itical in shape, ^ed. With the >e. In general like the sheave itate that tlie Ya- iii Voyages, p. 172, r lii'Hss "rovrodcs I'H (III' oi'idi'c iiiilil 256 1 EXPLANATION OF PLATE IV, Chief Kitkun, of the Haida Village of Las Keek, Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia. From a photograph in the U. S. National Muse.im. Kitkun is liere selected as a type of the Haida Indian. Tlie rank which he held in 1873 was that of a petty chief of the Aillage. his brother, Chief Klue. l)eing the head chief. On the death of his brother, Kitkun Ix'canie liead chief of tiie village, assuming the hereditary title. Chief Klue. The tattoo mark on the breast repre- sents Kahatla, the cod-fish, and that on his arms Cheena, the salmon. The de.sign on his back is shown in Fig. 2, Plate V, and represents Wasko, a mythological being of the wolf si)ecies. ill 1 Report of National Museum, 1888 — Niblack. PLATE IV. Islands, British £ which he held Khie, \mng tlie f of tlie village, le breast repre- jn. The design a mythological ^HIEF KiTKUN, OF THE HAIDA VILLAGE OF LAS KEEK, QUEEN CHARLOTTE ISLANDS, BRITISH Columbia. ■ ill 1'; I. f : ■ ! h V Ml I 1 !'■! I EXPLANATION OF PLATE V. Haida Tattooing. From photographs by the author and sketches by James G Swan, of Port Townsend, Waihington. Fig. 8. Design copieil from tlif hack of Ciiief Kitkun, representing Wasko. a myth- ologiciil being of the wolf .specii s. Fig. tin. Tattooeil 'lesigi: on the back of tiie Haida (nliown in Fig. 4) representing the Thiin. Design on the leg of the Haitla (shown in Fig. 4),»half way between the knee anil thigli, representing tiie sijuid octopus. Fig. 3c. Design on tlie skin of tlu- Haida (sliown in Fig. 4) just below the knee, repres* nting Tliinkostan. the frog. Fig. 4. Young Hilda from C^ueen Cliarlotte Islands, British Columbia. The tattoo mark on tiie breast repre.sents Hoorts, the bear, and that on liis fore-arm Koot, ihe eagle Rtport of N«n8 to wear in the lirst incision. No - that this custom is dying out, a form of it is seen ill tl'.e piercing of itie lip with a small hole and the insertion of a silver tube or bar (Plate xi). Piercing the nose. — Both sexes pierce the saptum of the nose and in- sert orna;j»ents, originally of copper, bone, wood, or haliotis shell, but now of silver, such as rings or bars or tufts ot red woolen yarn, wi^h pe 'dent shark's teeth. The Tlingit wear a silver or bone ring through the nose, as seeu in several accompanying plates, but formerly the cus- tom cf wearing an ivory stick or pin obtained in some localities. Piercing the ears. — Both sexes pierce the lobe of the ear and wear or- naments as in the nose. Around the rim of the ear additional holes are jiierced. Men of rank have as many as five or six of these latter. For- merly, according to Dawson,t " these held little ornaments f' '-med of plates of haliotis shell, backed with thin sheet copper or the sii.dll teeth of the tin- whale." This custom is also fast dying out. i^ aougst the older men and women one still sees these practices, but iu a modified and less pronounced form. Tattooing.— Thi» practice is found rarely among the Tlingit, if at all, and only occasionally amongst the Tsimshiau, although it crops out here and there, in a very mild form, all along the coast. With the lliiida alone, of all the Indian stocks, tattooing is a fijie art, and is com- nioii to both sexes. The figures are conventional representations of llu'ir totems, pricked in charcoal, lignite, or black pigment, and serve to itkiitiify the iudividual with his or her totem, Tlie men have these de- 'ij;!i3 tattooed on their breasts, on their backs between their shoulders, 1 the front part of their legs below the thighs, on the shins below the 1 knee, and on the back of the fore-arms. Occa^iionally the men also have these designs on the cheek and back of the hai*.ds, although rarely seen * l.a P6rouBO, Voyage, torn, ii, p. "itW, H. Mis. 142, pt. 3 17 t Dawfiou, Roport, B, p. I0i>, 258 REPORT OF NATIONAL MU.^EUM, 1888. II 1. now.* The women tattoo the same ass the mi n, excepting that the de- signs on the upper part of the leg are said to le omitted. The designs on their fore-arms invariably extend down ove.'' the back of the hands and knuckles, and this alone serves to distingt ish the Haida women from those of other tribes on the coast. Plate iv shows the tattooing on KUkUn, Chief of Laskeek, Queen Charlotte Islani\s, British Columbia. Plate V shows the details of tattooing, which subjeit will be found more thoroughly treated in a paper by Judge J. G. Swan, in the Fourth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology, pp. 66-73. Fig. 2, Plate v, is the design on back of Kitkim. Frequently the tatrooing on the hands represents finger-rings and bracelets. A Haida woman who had on her person a figure of a halibut laid open, with the face of the chief of her tribe shown on the tail, told Poole that it would protect her and her kin from drowning at 8ea.t • • * Judge Swan says: It shoald be borne ia mind that, diiriug tbese festivals and masquerade perform- ances, the men are entirely naked, and the woiueu have only a thort skirt reaching from tbe waist to the knee; the rest of their persons are exposed, and it is at such times that the tattoo marks show with the best eft'ect, and the rank ,ind family connec- tion are known by the variety of designs. Like all the other coast tribes, the Haidns are careful not to permit the intnision of white persons or strangers to their Tomana- wos ceremonies, and as a cousoqueuce but few white people, and certainly none of those who have ever written about these Indians, have been present at their opening ceremonies when the tattoo marks are shown. * * * As this tattooinu; is a mark of honor, it is generally done just prior to a Tonianawos performance, ,ind at the time of raising the heraldic columns in front of the chief's houses. The tattooing is done in open lodge and is witnessed by th« company assembled. Sonjetimen it takes sev- eral years before all the tattooing is done, but when completed and thu body is well ornamented, then they are happy ;iii(l can take thoir sea'.'; it.uoiig the eiders. The design is carefully drawn in charcoal or lignite (ground in water) on the body and tlien pricked ia witli needles. It takes some time to finish a design, but once completed tiie status of the individual is fixed for life. Painting the body. — From tlio Yakutat, throughout the region south, the cur.tom obtains, on ceremonial ocicasioiis, of painting the face and body a variety of colors, and daubing the hair with red, black, or brown pigments. This custom is now becoming rare. On ceremonial occa- sions of importance the white down of eagles or other birds is pow- dered over the paint on the body and head, giving a polite coat of tar and feathers. In war various hideous and grotesque patterns were formerly adopted for the face, such as a circle of black with a red chin, giving to the wearer the appearance of having on a mask. The colors on the body are removed in lines by brushes or sticks in order to trace the pattern '>f the totem of the wearer, similar to the tatooing on the body. Amongst the Tlingit this in effect takes the place of tattooing; eometimes Nowadays it was th coat daily abilities, whom he These bad ural uglinesi (lid not seen their natura Before t toilets. I of adornin In war an fled the v the body i principal black pail the moun brownish- the skin i a protecti Boot, like skin witt iiewed. In gen( gus; whi and powd Hair,— the hair git, this worn sho who nsua in one pi lier custc says: "1 ii bunch tied at tl The hi as illusti Kmmon£ Figure 1 •Seen by the writer at Knsaan village (Kaignni) 188."). Tht^practice of tattooing is dying out and only found among the older peoiile. tPoolo, Queen Charlotte Islands, p. 311 [18G4]. THE INDIANS OF THE NORTHWEST COAST. 259 eoiuetiiues the desiguH are laid over the other paint with charcoal. Nowadays the paiut is washed off after the ceremouies, but formerly it was the custom throughout the coast for the rich to reuew the coat daily, while the poor would have to manage according to their abilities. Vancouver thus describes the war paint of the Nass, with whom he had a hostile encounter : These bad contrived so to dispora of the red, whitj, and black as to reuder the uat- ural ugliness of their counteuances muio horribly hideous. This frightful appearance (lid not seeiu to be a new fashion among theto, but to have been long adopted by their natural ferocious dispositions.* Before the advent of looking-glasses the Indians made one another's toilets. A chief was served by his slaves or his wife. This custom of adorning the body with paint served other than aesthetic purposes. In war and ceremouy it added to the effect on the observers ; it identi- fied the wearer with his totem, and finally served as a protection to the body against mosquitoes and the weather. This last named is the principal use to which the custom is now put, viz, of wearing a coat of black paint on the face and hands. This must be distinguished from the mourning paint made from charcoal. The other referred to is a brownish-black paint, now commonly worn to .prevent ih(^ burning of the skin in hot weather from the gkre of the sun on tht >ter, and as a protection against mosquitoes and sand-flies. This coat c< tisists of a yoot, like burnt cork, made from a charred fungus, rubbed into tlio skin with grease. This gradually turns black and is frequently i-e- iiewed. In general the paints used were charcoal, charred and roasted fun- gus; white, red, and brown earths (ochres); lignite, vegetable juices; and powdered cinnabar. Hair. — As mentioned, ochres and bird's down are used for dressing the hair for ceremonial occasions. Portlock says that among the Tlin- git, this was only practiced by the men.t Ordinarily the hair is worn short by the men, excepting the shaman^ and long by the women, who usually wear it done up in two plaits down the back, but sometimes iu one plait, or "clubbed" behind and bound with red cloth. The ear- lier custom was somewhat different, according to Portlock (1787), who says: "The women wear their hair either clubbed behind or tied up in a bunch on the crown of the head ; the men wear theirs either loose or tied at the crown." The hair is dressed with combs of a somewhat conventional pattern, as illustrated in Figs, lie and lid, which are from two specimens in the Kmmons Collection in the Museum of ^Natural History, New York. Figure lie is made from a small, thin piece of bone, while lid is carved !•!. il ;f * Vftnoouver, Voyage. Vol. n, p. 337. t Portlock, Voyage (1787), p. 890. i II ' :ii 260 REPOKT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1888. from w.lar wood and oruauieuted with a totemic design. Figure lie is a Rtoue comb in this same collection. Pig. lie. Bo^B COMU. (Tlingit. Kuunoiia Cullection.) Fig. lid. Wooden Comb. (Tliiifit. KiiimoQS CoUectioQ.) Fig. 11«. Stone Comu. (Tliiifit. Kniriiuns Cullet'tiun. ) ORNAMBNTS. With the practice of mutilations comes the adorn aieut of the person with ornaments fashioned from a great variety of materials. It seems that, not content with the facilities ottered naturally for securing theisc to the person, mutilations were often practiced solely to enable tlie wearer to attach ornaments to the ear, lip, nose, or cheek. Labrets or lip ornaments — These are made of stone, wood, bone, shell, ivory, silver or copper, sometimes of one material only, sometimes of a combination of several. In form they vary from a pulley-shaped dm' ifl a collar butt/on, and in size from 4 inches to a Kuiall cylinder of one-eighth inch in diameter. The labret shown in Plates XLix ami uru lie is lie person It seems pjug tbeisc uable tLic one, sbel), itues of A aped diisc. f'linder of XLix auil f ■i't i i ! :' i I ! Vii h I I' E I f . ! r i ■ 1 ,; i > i ''1 1 !'>M;: i , ; •■i :.'] 1 1! J4 i' EXPLA' ATION OF PLATE VI. o o s ^ s ^% ^ ^ 9 £ i ^ o ^ 5^ O //CU T (f: 1 "^ ^•'-e Wx // # Fig. Fig. Fig. Fig. Fig. Fig. Fig. Fig. Fig. Fig. Fig. Ancient and Modern Metal Ornaments from the Northwest Coast. .5. Copper Bkacelets. same as those worn in Alaska. Cat. No. 20627. U. S. N. M. KwaikutI Indians, Bella Bella, British Colunihia. Collected by James G. Swan. 6. Copper Bracelets. Inlaid with shell. Cat. No. 19.529, U. S. N. M. Tlingit Indians, Fort Wrangell, Alaska. Collected by James G. Swan. 7. Copper Bracelet. Inlaid with shell. Cat. No. 20()37. U. S. N. M. Tsim- shian Indians, Fort Simpson, British Columbia. Collected by James G. Swan. 8. Bracelets. Of twisted copper wire. Cat. No. 56468. U. S. N. M. Kwa- kiutl Indians, Fort Rupert, British Columbia. Collected by Jan es G. Swan. 9. Copper Necklace. Ancient form. Cat. No. ■!8715. U. S. N. M. 3Ia.sset Indians (Haidan stock). Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbij>. Collected by James G. Swan. 10. Necklace. Of copjier wire, ancient form. Cat. No. HK746. U. S. N. M. Masset Indians (Haidan stock). Queen Charlctte Islands. British Colum- bia. Collected by James G. Swan. 11. Hair Ornament (Tchenes). Of steel, highly iiolished. inlaid with haliotis shell. Ancient form, worn by young girls, and valued at one to two slaves. Cat. No. 10313, U. S. N. M. Tsimshian Indians, Nass River, British Columbia. Collected by Lieut. F. W. Ring. U. S. A. llo. Hair-pin. Of iron inlaid with shell. Cat. No. 19.528. U. S. N. M. Tlin- git Indians. Fort Wrangell. Alaska. Col'ecled by James G. Swan. 12. Ear-R1N(js. Of silver, modern tyiie. Cat. No. 19.5.52. U. S. N. M. Tlingit Indians, Sitka, Alaska. Collected by James fi. Swan. 13. NosE-RlNCis. Of silver, modern type. Cat. No. 19.551, U. S. N. M. Tlingit Indians, Sitka, Alaska. Collected by James G. Swan. 14. Ear-rixos. Of silver, modern type. Cat. No. 19.5.50. U. S. N. M. Kaigani Indians (Haidan stock). Prince of Wales Island. Alaska. Collected by James G, Swan. Report of National Museum, 1888.— Niblack Ancient *nd Moijern Metal Ornaments from the Northwest Coast, •t EXPLANATION OF PLATE VII. k >h Bone and Shell Ornaments from the Northwest Coast. Fig. 19. Eak and Nose Ornaments. Of shark's teeth. Cat. No. 72993, U. S. N. M. Auk Indians, Admiralty Island, Alajska. Collected by James G. Swan. Fl^. 21. Ear Pendants. Of skeins of red worsted, ornamented with abalone shell Cat. No. 8888:5, U. S. N. M. Masset Indians (Haidan stock), Queen Char- lotte Islands, British Columbia. Collected by James (}. Swan. Fig. 22. Necklace. Of dentalium shell with i)endant of abalone. Cat. No. 88885, U. S. N. M. Masset Indians, Queen Charlotte Islands. British Columbia. Crtllected by .James G. Swan. Fig. 23. Ear Pendants. Of red worsted and abalone. the latter carved to show wearer's totem. Cat. No. 20674, U. S. N. M. Collected by James G. Swan. li; B»portof National Muieum, 1888.— Niblack. , Plate VII. Bone and Shell Ornaments from the Northwest Coast. L in the 6 and appei Nose or ring A in i sbnpe ina( ear i^ the usnnlly a red worst piece of l iiioant to Fig. 17, 1 of a diffei Ear on ver ear-ri As nieuti oruatneii. Fig. 12rt ii ill the Ml and detsij Koniagas type 8om< Hair 01 liiiir-pia f iis inlaid ' ^ Kg. 12 Ear Orna vTiirigit. Kmmoi tmn. ) piece of al Columbia of twisted same kind and looks THE INDIANS OK THE NORTIIWK8T COAST. 2(i\ h in the figure of the "Bear Mother" is a good illnstration of the size iind appearance of thin appendage ah worn np to recent year». Nose ornamenta. — Fig. 13, Piute vi, is the general type of silver nose- ring.^ in nse around Dixon Entrance. It is often worn in this same shape made of bone. Another favorite ornament both for tlie nose and ear is the shiirk's tooth, as shown in Fig. 20, Plate vii. As sin^h it is usanlly ait.iched to the hole in the nose or lobe of the ear by a yarn of red worsted. Sometimes the red worsted is alone worn; sometimes a piece of bone triangular in shape replaces the shark's tooth which it is meant to imitate. A bone or ivory stick or cylinder was formerly worn. Fig. 17, Plate vii, is an illustration of a primitive bone nose ornauiont of a different type from any of these mentioned. Ear ornaments. — Figs. 12 and 14 represent the common types of sil- ver ear-rings now worn in the northern region around Dixon Entrance. As meuticiiHl above, sharks' teeth and red worsted are favorite ear oruameii. . 'hese are illustrated in Figs. 20, 21, and 23, Plate vii. Fig. 12rt is a Tlingit ear ornament of ivory from the Emmons Collection lit the Museum of Natural History, New York. In its ornamentation and design it sbuws the effects of intercourse with the Aleut and Koniagas to the north. Fig. 12b is a pin or peg of ivory or bone of a type sometimes worn by the Tlingit and Haida. Hair ornaments.— Fig. 11a, Plate Vi, is an iron hair-pin from Fort Wrangell, Alaska (Tlingit.) It [» inlaid with haliotis and highly polished. Fig. 11, Plate VI, is au iron "tcheue" rp% highly polished and inlaid with A1 haliotis shell. It is worn by young girls as an ornament in the hair. This specimen is from the Nass Indians (Tsimshian), but they are also found amongst the Tlingit and Haida, and were formerly valued at from one to two slaves. 4 Bed is the favorite color for cloth If or ribbon used by the women for If dressing their hair, as described If previously. Necklaces.— Fig. 22, Plate Vii, is a necklace of red beads and dentii- lium shell strung alternately and further ornamented with a square piece of abalone shell pendent. This specimen is from Masset, British ('olumbia(Haida), as is also that shown iu Fig. 9, Plate vi, which is made of twisted copper wire and is of a very primitive type. Fig. 10 is the same kind as that shown in Fig. 9, but it has been oxidized by the heat !iii(l looks somewhat like iron wire instead of copper. Fig. 12a. Kak Ohnament. iTlingit. Knimons CnllM- tion. ) Fif;. 12A. Eak Ohsamknt. (T)ingir unit H;li(lii. Knimonn ColI«c> tion. ) ).\ , i 1 M || ■i ■ ■ ■' -.::' -I I \ : '■ i. ait I :|i5 fi;< y mi:u m' \k ii i\ 262 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1888. Fig. 16ft. InoN Bbacklet. (Tlingil. Kminoni t'ollnction. ) Finger-rings. — These were formerly made entirely of copper, boue, shell, or black slate, and were ornsimented with totaniic designs, Jew silver has so generally displaced all other materials that the prim tive types are rarely seen. Braoelets.—Fig. 5, Plate yr, is a pair of copper bracelets from Bella Bella, British Colnmbia, (Kwakintl) similar to tho&e ^orn north. Fig. 6 represents a pair from* Fort Wraugell, Alaska, {^Iso of copper, in- laid wjth haliotis shell. F\^. 7 is one 8imil»r in styl^ to that shown in Fig. 6, from Fort Simpson, British Columbia (Tsimgbian). Fig. 8 rej*- resents a very primitive type of copper bracelet of twisted copper wire, from Fort Rupert, British Columbia (Kwakintl), but similar to those worn north. Fig;. 16ft is a Tlin^it iron bracelet of nauve workman- ship, from the Emmons Collection. Plata viii represents the types of silver bracelets worn on the northwest coast at the present day. They are made from silver coin, and have re- placed those of bone, horn, copper, shell, and iron formerly worn. Fig. 24 represents the coin hammered out into a flat strip of the re quired width with ends rounded into shape. Fig. 25 represents the same bent nearly into shape by gentle hammering. In its flat shape the silver has little or no elasticity or spring, so the next step is to round the bracelet out on the inside, as shown in croiS«- section, Fig. 26. This is done by means of a hammer and a blunt cold chisel. In the process of hammering the bracelet curls up more and laore, and is beaten out thinner and broader. This ecoiicuii/ss silver, and gives elasticity and clasp to the bracelet. The next step is to carve the design on it as shown in the liuii vogue, but Figs, 27 and 29 are tlie prevailing patterns. On the larger bracelets the totemic design of the wearer is usually carved. Fig. 31 represents the design on Fig. 2!) rolled out, and Fig. 32 the same for Fig, 30. The former design repre- sents the Bear, and the Litter the Thunder Bird. Fij^a. 27, 28, and L'i' areTlingit, Fig. 30Haida, but the same types are found amongst ;iii tlie northern tribes; the Uaida being the n.ost expert silversmiths, iw tliey are also in general the best carvers on the coast. Dixon (1787) states that the Tlingit and Haida wore large circuhir wreaths, of copper about the neck, evidently of native manufactnie. With the introduction of inm by Eur«)peans bracelets of iron wire aoi.ie- what took the place of the more expensive cop]»er omc, to be in turn later suecoedetl by those of silver. The present custom is to wear Ill- ! ' EXPLANATION OF PLATE VIII. I i It » !' General Modern Type of Haida, Tsimshian, and Tlingit Silver Bracelets. Fig. 24. Strip of Silver, liamniercd from a coin ; first step in makii)g the braet'let rejireseuted in finished state in Fig. 27. Fig. 2.5. Second Step in makino liu acelet. Fig. 2(). Third Step in makixu Bracelet. .Strip hammered to concave section. Fijg. 37. Finished Bracelet. Cat. No. \mii), U. S. N. M. TUngit Indians, Alaska. Collected by James G. Swan. Fig. 28. Bracelet. VVith clasit. fat. No 4i)201. U. S. N. 'SI. Tlingit Indians. Sitka. Alaska. Collected by John J. McLean. Fig. 29. Sprino Clasp Bracelet. Cat. No. 1J»."):52. U. S. N. M. Tlin«it Indians. Alaska. Collected by James (J. Swan. Fig. 30. Bracelet. I^n-gest size. Cat. No. 2()2."")1.U. S. N. M. Haida Indians. Queen Charlotte Islands. British Cohunbia. Collected by James G. Swan. Fig. 31. Deskin on Bra('ELET, Fig. 29. Thunder-bird or Eagle. IloUed out im- pression. Fig. 32. Deskjn on Bracelet, Fig. 30. Hoorts, the Iwar. Rolled out impression. I ■' & M: Roporto? National Museum, 1888.— Niblack. • Plate VIII. ( gi^lii!ti:il5iiiii!l'iiii!'!!l!!i^ General Modern Type of Haida, Tsimshian, and Tlinqit Silver Bracelets. W' 1^ tl^ ; " 1 II" ' *P J. :■ '1 r 1 1 > 1 I ": HI i! i' 11 '1 I ! :■ 'I THE INDIANS OF THE NORTHWEST COAST. 263 bracelets and ear, uose, aud tiujfer rings of silver. The natives prefer silver to gold. Their fondness for red worsted as ear ornaments has also been alluded to, and is well illustrated in Plate VII. DRESS. Primitive clothing. — What early attracted the traders to this region was the character of the clothing worn by the natives, consisting of valuable furs roughly sewn together, seal and sea-otter being the most (jommon and the most sought after. The costume of the men was scanty, consisting of an under coat, a cloak, and sometimes a breech clout, although the last named seemed to be a very unimportant and often omitted article of dress. Dixon (1787) describes their clothing as " made of such skins as tancy suggests, or their success in hunting fur- nished them wiih, and sometimes loose cloaks thrown over the shoulders and tied with small leather strings. * » * The dress of the women differs in some respects from that of the men. Their undergarment is made of fine tanned leather, and covers the body from the neck to the ankle, being tied in difterent parts to make it fit close. * • • The upper garment is made in !'..ich the same manner as the men's coats, ..nd generally of tanned leather, the women not caring to wear furs. * * * Over this is tied a piece of tanned leather like an apron, and which reaches no higher than the waist."* In other words, both sexes wore a cloak and an under garment or coat reaching to the waist. To this the men added a belt or breech piece, and the wonten a skirt or gown reaching to the calf or atdde. Both sexes went barefooted, although wearing, as now, in very cold weather, a kind of moccasin. Sea-otter skins were a staple article of trade amongst the Indians themselves, and were stored in large quantities, being the basis of wealth and the unit of value. The eagerness of Europeans to trade for them led to the exhaustion of the stock on hand, the sacrifice of their clotluntr, the practical extinction of the seaotter, the adoption by the J-ulians of European clothing, and sub- stitution of other standards of value and wealth. Gar- ments of fur are still worn in cold weather, the skins of the less valuable animals, such as the rabbit, squirrel, and goat being used. ThCvse skins are fastened together with cords of twisted linen or finely spun vegetable fibre. Figs. 21rtand 216rei)resent two varieties of boiie fids or awls for prii-king the holes in the skins to enter the thread for sewing. Ceremonial blanket — These northern Indians, particularly the Chil- kat tribes (Tlingit), have possessedfrom time immemorial the art of weaving twisted bark thread and the wool of the mountain goat into blankets. These they value must highly, ami persojfs of rank and FiK8. 21a, 216. BOXR AWI.H. (Tlingit. einmiins Collei- tiiin. ) "Dixoii, \'ii,viij;i'. i>. '~Ml>. r I \ I I ' i ' ■j ' i ^ " , 1 X f il 264 REPORT OP NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1888. llliH 11 I I wealth wear them ojily on extraordinary c^^asions. They are com- monly C.I lied Ghilkat blankets, and form heir .ooms in every wealtby family. One of these is pictured in Plate x, Jbig. 33. To-day they are worth from $25 to $40 each. Dawson states that the Haida obtain them from the Tsimshian. The warp consists of ♦^^wine of finely shredded ^jedar bark spun into a thread or cord. The woof is of yarn spun from the wool of the mountain goat. (The details of the weaving are shown in Plate x, Fig. 33a.) Mnch confusion exists on this point- The mountain goat resembles our domestic animal in external appear- ance, but has beneath the hair an inner coat of white, soft, silky wool, while the mountain sheep (big-horn) has a thick covering of hair like a deer. The fringe on the side is shorter than on the bottom. Tbe wool is woven into a pattern representing the totem of the owner, dif- ferent dyes being used in the wool, the conventional colors being black, yellow, white, and sometimes brown. The black is obtained from char- coal and the yellow dye from a moss called sekhone (Tlingit). The blanket is woven in different designs skilfully blended into a complete pattern, as in tapestry, Fig. 33. A ceremonial coat or gown similar in design is also woven in this way. A specimen is figured in Plate x, Fig. 34. The details of the method of weaving both these garments are shown in Fig. 33a, same plate. Chief^a ceremonial head dress, — In connection with this blanket and coat or gown, a conventional head dress is worn by the chiefs in this northern region. These are shown in Plate x. Fig. 35, and consist of a cylindrical wooden frame aboutlO inches high, with an elaborately carved front of hard wood, beautifully polished, painted, and inlaid with aba- lone shell and copper. Pendent behind is a long cloth, on which are closely sewn the skins of ermine, which form an important item iu a chief's outfit. Around the upper periphery of the headdress is an elaborate fringe of seal-whiskers. In ceremonial dances the space within this fringe and the top of the head-dress is filled with eagle or other bird's down, which falls like snow in the motions of the dance. This costume is completed by leggins of deer's hide, ornamented with tlie beak& of puffins, which rattle with the movements of the wearer. These are shown in Fig. 36, Plate x. The costume complete as worn by a chief is figured in Plate ix. Amongst northern tribes these ceremonial blankets are worn by the chiefs. Amongst the Haida, women of rank also wear them in the dances. In all its details, the costume showa in Plate ix well illus- trates the height to which the native arts of weaving, inlaying, carving^ and dyeing had risen on this coast before being influenced by the ad- Vent of the whites. The dress of a Ghilkat chief, encountered by Vancouver at Lynn Canal in 1794 is thus described by him : His external robe was a very fine large garment that reached from his neck down to his heels, made of wool from the mountain sheep, neatly variegated with several ! I ; I Hi m EXPLANATION OF PLATE X, J'JtfZ' Details of Chief's Costume, as shown in Plate IX. From photographs and sketches by the author Fig. ;3;5. Ceremonial Blanket. AVora 'oy Indians of rank and wealth on the North- west coast, conmionly called a "Chilkat blanket." Ix'cause the best specimens come from the Chilkat conntry. although other trilies are more or less exjjert in weaving them. The wai'p is composed of twi.sted cord or twine of ce(lar hark til)er, and the woof of worsted spini from the wool of the mountain goat. Brown, yellow, black, and white are the colors used, and these are skillfully wrought into a pattern rejiresenting the totem or a totemic legend of the owner. The details of the weaving are shown in P''ig. JWrt. The design on both the Manket and the cere- monial shirt represents Hooi'ts. the i)ear, Fig. 84. Crkicmonial (taumext or Shirt. Woven as described aliove. The trim- ming on the collar and culfs is sea-otter fur. Fig. 35. Chief's Ceremonial Head-Dress. Carved from hard wood, beautifully inlaid, jiainted. and i)olished. The erect fringe on the up|)er circumfer- ence is formed by seal whiskers set into the frame. The pendent trail is made from three lengths of ermine skins, there being about ten skins in each row. The top of the head-dress is tilled with birds" down on ceremonial occasions, and in the motion of the dances this sifts through and falls like snox^ alxmt the person of the dancer. Fig. ;i(i. Blc'Kskix Legoinhs. With three rows of pulHn beaks, which rattle with the motion of the wearer. This style of legging is also made from ordi- nary cloth, or from the woven blanket stuff, similar to Fig. 88. I I ! Report of National Museum, I888.~Niblacl<. Plate X. m Details of Chief's Costume, as shown in Plate IX. feH: colon, dyed ol shape I niimbei vnrioac An( seen t Tbesi yellow otter, t Thif Kwak follow Thee froni tfa wrough colors, purpose The theTsi kuitl, j cedar the 801 be said inakiD{ fibre, and thi but tb( tiuguis and tb' other i Queen ship, earliesi and id liar net most ol been tl have in liar cus Mod4 strippe •Vane t Lisia T THE INDIAN^ OP THE NORTHWEST COAST. 265 colon, and edged aud othorwiMe decorated with little tufts or frogs of vroolen yarns dyed of various colors. His head-dress was made of wood, much resembling in its shape a crown, adorned with bright copper and brass plates, from whence hung a number of tails or streamers, composed of wool and fur wrought together, dyed of various colors, and each terminating by a whole ermine sicin.* Another variety of this blanket is described by Lisiansky (1805), as seen by bira near Sitka: These l>lanket8 are embroidered with square figures, and fringed with black and yellow tassels. Some of them are so curiously worked on oue side with fur of the sea- otter, that they appear as if lin mI witli it, and are very handsome. t This is not unlike a blanket described by Vancouver, as worn by the Kwakiutl, Johnstone Strait, Britisli Columbia (latitude 52<^ 20' N.), as follows: Thecl )thing of the natives here was either skins of the sea-otter or garments made from the pine bark. Some of these latter have the fur of the sea-otter very noat ■ wrought into them, and have a border to the sides and bottom decorated with various colors. lu this only they use woolen yarn, very fine, well spun, and dyed for that purpose, particularly with a very lively and beautiful yellow. t The art oficeaving. — These fine bark garments are found also amongst the Tsimsbian, who either made them or traded for them with the Kwa- kuitl, giving in exchange sea-otter skins.§ In general, while the art of cedar bark weaving was understood throughout the coast, and while the southern Indians had some knowledge of weaving in wool, it may ba said that the northern Indians were more expert in weaving wool and making baskets of grass, and the southern Indians in weaving bark fibre. To-day, at the two extremes, we And the northern Tlingit tribes, and the Makah Indians of Cape Flattery, the expert basket makers, but the character of their work is sodifterent that it can be readily dis- tinguished. The southern tribes are also the expert cedar bark weavers, and the northern Tlingit the best weavers of wool. Wherever these or other arts may have been developed, it is amongst the Haida of the Queen Charlotte Islands that we find the best specimens of workman- ship. Originally the wealthiest stock on the coast, they have from earliest times been remarkable for their readiness to adopt the customs and ideas of others, and to develop and adapt them to their own pecu- liar needs. The Tsimsbian seem to have acted as the middlemen, for most of the trade and intercourse of the Haida with the other tribes has been through them. In this way it will be found that the Tsimsbian have influenced the Haida not a little in the development of their pecu- liar customs and ideas. Modern dress.— The change in ordinary dress, as the Indians became stripped of sea-otter and seal skins, consisted largely in the substitution * Vancouver, Voyage, Vol. iii, p. 249-50. t Lisiansky, Voyage, p. 238. { Vancouver, Voyage, Vol. il, p 281. M6»rf-,l»- 325. lI ^ i 1 I 266 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1888. • \ of oloth for garments and Eurupeau blankets for fur cloaks. Langs dortt" says of the Tlin^fit in 1806: The clotbiug of t.l>«H« i> .nni« ii, very aiinple, cousitttiug of a ooveriug uroimd the waist, and aa outer garmeut iua5 i •- 1 li i 3 ( : 1 ^■' 1 1 r 1 1 i '^ ' \- 1 1 i '■ 1 •-■1 : ' i' • ; , p ■' t 1 J ; ' i j ■ i !'(- - Ai,i m [ EXPLANATION OF PLATE XI. - -' Modern Tungit Male and Female Costumes. The costuuu' of tlif inaii i-t niore or i.'ss ceic'iiioiiiiil, as the native (h'PHs lins re- cently liecn jj;ent'riil!y tibiindoneil .ind Karojn jiii ilothes adupteil. The (h'ess of the women is tlmt now generallv worn by all tin nortiiern IiuUaii w(jnien. The plate represents the eostume of ten oi' twenty years ago. and in this sense is modern. The labret. ii stnaJl cylinder of silver with a Ijroad head, is the niodei-n .style of lip-orna- ment, ditferiny malerially irom the large ones worn until a few yeai's ago. i mm \ Report of National Museum, 1 888 — Niblack. Plate XI. Modern Tlingit Male and Female Costumes. S '. 'f S t -• I I ■ I : : ; i ' ^ i Mi hi i ; \ \ ■ I\ 'i ? k ii i I II 'III [I! H ^1 EXPLANATION OF PLATE XII. /^^ > JX '^^^ r\^^ Ok. ^ (^..cA 370 Twined Grass and Spruce Root Hats from the Northwest Coast. Fig. i5T. Twined liASKi-yiKY Hat. T.viiiiim; consists in weiivinjj; tlic woof-strands around a series of war[)-stran(ls. Two nietliods are eiiiployeil in tiiis lia(. Tile letter (i (Fig. SD marks the Ixmndary lu'tween the cniwn and l)rini. Above ii Charlotte Islands, H-nisii Columl)ia. Collceteil by Janie>(i. .Swan. Fig. 38. Twined Baskf.tuy Hat. Fig. : «<• shows the methol of |ilaiti»>K oed^' bark fiber. This hat ditTers from Fig. :'" ►iily in ■■wirig lower and flailRiiH. Fig. 39. PAUASol.-SHAl'liU Hat. (Jrnaniente 1 with j totemu design at the t(j(»«i»4 jiaint'd in solid color on tlie renia'n«»er •»: tlie outside surface. I iift. >»■«. \'iH2. U. S. X. M. Tlingit, Alaska. ('ob«-ted by Dr. StukeU«\ Fig. 10. TwiNE') Hasketky Hat. With wooden appendagt's represi>»>m»jt th«- U lU of the ravi-n " Hooyeh." from photograj)!' in L'. S, N*t«<,>«Mtl ?te»s.um, Tlingit Indians. Alaska. ! I I ill Report of National Museum, 1888. — Niblack. Plate XII. ['■■ ■•^i * i TwiNEO Qr«$s ano ^i>«i>ct ftoOT Hats from the Northwest Coast. IIP' I I I'll ! il ' 1: I •' ' : : hi n iltul c kercl place with rainy sions, a moi heigb botbi tall c variel repre being of tb€ and £ crowi of rat and 8 m6th( O. T. Fig. 3 introd variet offbj ing III is stit being also f( bark i mater in dot thus I twiMe( come tion in and o head* trated totem forme elsewl Rai worn seen i they { was t< THE INDIANS OP THE NORTHWEST COAST. 267 aiul caps are worn, but the wouieu use ganerally ouly a black silk baud- kerchief. The grass hats are still seen on the coast iu out-of-the-way places, particularly around Dixon Entrance. These are cone shaped, with considerable spread, being particularly adapted for protection, in rainy weather, to the elaborately dressed hair worn on ceremonial occa- sions. In the north, the truncated cone-shaped form is surmounted by a more or less tall cylinder, iu the ceremonial hats reaching an absurd height; in the south, it becomes more parasol-like in shape, although both styles are found throughout the whole coast, exceptingthat the ver^' tall ceremonial hat is limited to the north. Plate xii illustrates the varieties. Fig, 37 is the usual type, ornamented with the toteraic device representing the Raven, painted on the hat in red and black, the detail being shown in Fig. 37d, which is a top view of Fig. 37. The details of the weaving or twining are illustrated in enlarged section in Figs. 37ft and 37c. The hat naturally divides itself into two sections — the crown and the rim — the dividing line being at a in Fig. 37. The metho«l of making the crown is the same as that used in the Haida basketry, and shown in 376, while the rim is woven by a variation in the above method shown in Fig. 37c. These figures are from an article by Professor O. T. Mason on Basket Work, in Smithsonian Report, 1884, Part ii. (Jf Fig. 37c he says: "It shows the regular method of twined weaving, the introduction of the skip-stitcL or twilled weaving into the greatest variety of geometric patterns, and the ingenious method of fastening off by a four-ply braid showing only on the outer side." At the divid- ing line, marked a, on the inside, a cylindrical head-band of spruce root is stitched to make the hat fit the head, a string passing under the chin being usually added. Fig. 38 is an ordinary type of spruce root hat also found on the coast. Amongst the southern Indians, where cedar bark is so much used, these two styles of hat are reproduced in that material, which, not being tough enough to twine, is woven, as shown in detail in Fig. 38e. This is the same pattern as their mats. The hats thus made are light and flimsy and soon lose their shape, whereas the twined spruce root ones and the baskets both retain their shape and be- come water tight after a preliminary soaking. Fig. 39 is another varia- tion iu the shapes found on the coast. It is often painted in solid colors and ornamented on top with a totemic design. Fig. 40 is a ceremonial headm a sketch in Lislansky's Voyage, p. 160, Plate i. The method of wearing it is shown • Vancouver, Voyage, Vol. ii, p. 339. 'I t ' ii ^ ; 11 ■ .:.M H ' 270 BEPORT OP NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1888. il I , l-'f in Fig. 61, Plate xiv, which also shows the mask aud helmet in place. The partA are very heavy and clumsy, uud the ino'^t that can be said in their favor is that they protected the vital parts from injury. With the introduction of iron and of Dre-arnis the Tlingit iidopted a new form of protection, consisting of a buckskin strip around the neck, with iron i)lat<;s attached pendant down the breast.* Helmets and head-dretises. — The chief's ceremonial head-dress has already been described, and is illustrated in Fig. 35, Plate x. In Plate XIII a variety of helmets is shown. Fig. 41 represents a wolFs head, the wearer or owner belonging to the Wolf totem. It is so light that it could not have served as a protection of any kind, and hence is cer- emonial in its nature. Fig. 42 is a thick massive helmet similar to the one illustrated in Plate xiv, Fig. 47. Fig. 44 represents the Bear totem, while Fig. 45 is carved in representation of the Beaver. On the rim of the latter four copper plates or shields are painted. These two helmetA (Figs. 44 and 45) are similar in shape to the grass hat shown in Fig. 40, being that of an oblique truncated cone surmounted by a tall cylinder, and evidently represent the ancient form of helmet worn by the chiefs aa seen in the carved columns and other old-time pictographs. They are now worn only in the ceremonial dances, the two illustrated being of light cedar wood and of rather recent make. Another variety of bead dress is a ring of shredded cedar bark, twisted into a rope, stained dull red with the juice of the bark of the alder, and made into a circular grommet like a crown Plate xviii. Some of these are orna- mented with bows, rosettes, and tassels of the same material, the finest and most elaborate being found amongst the Haida, although clearly borrowed or copied in design from those of the Tsimshian and Kwakiutl. With the latter these are only worn in the winter religious ceremonies, and their use is considered improper on an> other occasions, whereas the Haida wear them in any of their dances without the peculiar signi- ficance attached to them by other tribes. ifa«^.— What has been said in a general way of helmets and head- dresses is equally true of masks, with the addition that the latter are found even in much greater variety and more ingenuity is displayed in constructing them. The writer has endeavored to trace the origin of the custom of wearing masks in ceremonies to the original practice of wear- ing th< m in war as a protection. In this view, the simplest form is that shown in Figs. 48 and 50, Plato xiv, the former being a side and the latter a top view. The top rim is thinner than the lower part, aud has several grooves or peep-holes cut in it to enable the wearer to see through, as shown in the plate. The front is carved or painted with the totemic representation of the owner. Fig. 60 shows a projection on the inner side (front), which consists of a leather becket or eyelet, covered with a wrapping of grass or cedar bark, and let through the front of the mask, being secured by a knot outside. This goes m the ' Lisiansky (1805), Voyage, p. ^38. IMAGS EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) .'*. V m A % 1.0 I.I ■dm 2.2 2.0 1.8 1.25 1.4 1.6 ^ 6" - ► v] <^ /a -> ^e-: ^•V'^ /(S 7 Photographic Sciences Corporation 33 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. M580 (716) 072-4503 V ^^ lun\l)ia. Collected hy James (i. Swan. WooDKX Hei.mkt. similar to Fig. 4T. Plate XVI. Cat. No. 74:^41, U. 8. N. M. Tlingit Indians. Sitka. Alaska. Collected hy Jolm J. Mtlx'an. WooOEX .\HMoK. Made of hanl wimmI vcmIs woven togetiier with twine. Detail in Fig. 4(5. Another view is given in Plate XViF'ig. .">;{). showing metluMl of securing it to the body. Cat. No. 4!t'Ji;{. U. S. N. .\i. Tlingit Indians. Sitka, .Alaska. Col'i-ctems of wealth and inllu- ence. Cat. No. Hit(i:t,-.. U. s. N. M. Sk.dan Indians, t^neen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia. Collected by Janies (i. Swan. Report of National Museum, 1888.— Niblack. PLATE XIII. MM:: miMSMi mm^im r-mwmm •f?^8WW|ffllBH^5R '•'"' K^mffSJ^PMW' r'vfi." WooDE I Helmets and Cuirass, or Body Armor. ■> "ill r • : !■ ■ i. V:il j eg w r!! Ji i, !; I ' 'i ii h .1 \ i 4 \i ■I :( HI n . H :i I'- ' , 'A I 1 J T i i !j L 'I' EXPLANATION OF PLATE XIV. Tlingit Wooden Armor Fig. 47. Wooden Helmet. Swuri'd to the head l»y straps fasteiietl under tiierhiu. From Li.'iiaiisky. Voyage. Plate I. Fig. 48. Wooden Mask OR Visor. Showing holes for ey s. Side view. From Lisi- ansky. Voyage. Plate I. Fig. 49. Body Armor. Made of slats of wikkI fastened together hy twine woven around and In'twecn them. From Lisiansky. Voyage. Plate I. Fig. 50. Mask or Visor. Showing lH>cket or strap, whitli is held in the teeth to keep the mask in i)laoe when worn in fighting. IMade of one piece of w thickiieHM>H of ihokmi' liidc Worn iiiiilt-r tlu> iirinor (Khowii in Fig. i>.S) an an udditional protection to tiie hoily. The l<'ft sidi' ha.s an arni-Iiol*'; tlie right Hide is <»jh'1). Jn-ing wcnred hy strii|«s under tlit' right arm. Cat. No. UJO.IMT. U. S. X. >I. Tlingit Indians. .Vlaslca. Ijoanod hy Max B. Ricliardson. Fig. 53. Armor ok Wooden Rons. Inside view of Fig. 4;$. Plate XIII, showing straps l)y wliicli it is s«'enred aroimil the waist, ('at. No. 41)218, U. S. M M. Tlingit Indians. Alaska. <'ollected hy Jolin J. MeLean. V m Report of National Muiaum 1688.— Niblick, Plate XV. r > •Wl Ti I . I , I . I , I M ■ 1 . 1 1 1 . rrmt. Wooden and Leather Body Armor. :; :l *!; ; i^ r VA fi ! \ is 1 1 . n m '^ THE INDIANS OF Till:: N0KTIIWE8T COAST. 271 month of the wearer, and is firmly fcripped in the teeth to hold the mask iu place. Above tliis becket the mask is rooc^sed or hollowed slif^htly, to give a clearance to the uose of the wearer. Altogether it may be seen to be a very clumsy method of protecting the face. Other kinds of masks were worn to protect the fuce iu war, having the addi- tional objects of representing in f ><')ir carved outlines the totem of the wearer, or, by their hideousueas ai. : Totesqueness, of striking terror to the enemy by lending to the effect of their menacing gestures the ap- pearance of some suporhuma" being. Often these masks were so mas- sive as to be worn without Imets or hoad pieces. Straps or thongs of leather fasten them to the head, or a loop of cedar bark cord iu th*) hollow side of Ihe mask is held :a lUe tooth. The ceremonial masks are uarvPil from spruce or j'ellow cedar and are generally very elaborate, being highly colored in grotesque or hide- ous designs, and often inlaid with abalone slicM or copper. The eyes are pierced througlt to enable the wearer to see about him, and the mouth is also usually cut through, or, if not, teeth are carved or inlaid in bone. Lips, teeth, nostrils, and eyeliday we have the ooart sword as a survival of the sword or rapier carried by gentlemeo of other periods. In the same way, Fig. 63 is a Tlingit ceremouial dance wand in the shape of a dagger; aud Fig. 64 is a Haida baton (called by them Taskear)^ in the shape of a war lance of earlier days. Fig. 55 is a fragment of an ancient Haida baton {Taski or Taskear,) the lower part being missing. The top Hgure of the carving represents the raven, below that the crow, and then the whale. Be- tween the whale and the next lower figure, which is Skarmon, the spar- row-hawk, is a spindle and socket, which pull apart. The sparrow-hawk rests oj Skillik, the ceremonial hat, which in turn rests on Tsing, the beaver. This baton is carried in the hand by the chief on the occasion of a great potlacch or feast. At a given signal the two parts are sepa- rated and the distribution of presents begins, the chief retimiing one part in each baud. Fig. 57 is a carved caue or wand from VWcouver Island, British Columbia, inlaid with pearl shell, and is the finest spe- cimen of native carving from the southern Indians in the Museum. Figs. 61, 62, aud 65 are types of the Haida chiefs' batons or Taskears ; they are held in the hand on occasions of ceremony. At a potlatch the chief calls the name of the recipient of a present, and then thumps on the floor if the gift is satisfactory to the guests, as explained later on. In the totemic theatrical .exhibitions these batons indicate the totem aud rank of the bearer. When a chief dies and is laid out in state the baton stands near his body. In Fig. 61 the top figure is a chief wear- ing a ceremonial hat, or SMllik, similar to the grass hat in Fig. 40. The lower carved figure is the frog. In Fig. 65 the upper figure is Koot^ the eagle, and the lower Tsing, the beaver. Rattles, Snappers, and Whistles. — In dealing with ceremonial parapher- nalia it might be well to describe here all the accessories of ceremo- uial costumes, such a!^ the accompanying rattles, snappers, drums, whistles, etc. These, however, are reserved for Chapter VII, where they are dealt with as musical instruments. Ceremonial Blankets. — In connection with Plates ix and x, a very well-known type of chiefs ceremouial costume has been described in this chapter. The Ohilkat and cedar bark blankets are important factors in all ceremonial dances and functions. Other forms of ceremonial blankets or mantles are made from Hudsou Bay Company blankets, with totemic figures worked on them in a variety of ways. The usual method is to cut out the totemic figure in red cloth and sew it on to the gan^^ent (or- namenting it with borders of beads and buttons) by the nietho U\ w II ■ ■WOSSUOUK.^ ■Bin 1! ! i I ' ^ki U: 11 lit' W . I' 111 ^1- ) « ij. .j I i I n EXPLANATION OF PLATE XVIIi ! I Chief and Shaman Ceremonial Batons. Fig. 61. Chief's Baton (taskear). Cedar wchkI. Carried on ceremonial occasions to denote rank. Lower figure, a frog ; upi^er, chief with ceremonial hat. Cat. No. 89097, U. S. N. M. Haida Indians. Slsidegate. Queen Cliarlotte Islands. Collected by James G. Swan. Fig. 63. Chief's Baton (taskear). In dancing or when i)residing over a feast the chief thum|)s on the floor with his baton to emphasize the time or to at- tract attention when al)out to speak. Cat. No. 89095. U. S. N. M. Haida Indians, Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia. Collected by James G. Swan. Fig. 63. Dance Wand. Carried in the hand. Ornamented with human hair. Cat. No. 137169, U. S. N. M. Hoodsinoo Indians (Koluschan stock), Alaska. Collected by Paymaster E. B. Webster, U. S. Navy. Fig. 64. Dance Wand. Of wooil, in imitation of ancient war spear. The carved head is ornamented with human hair. Cat. No. 74r»37, U. S. N. M. Haida Indiajis. Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia. Collected by James (i. Swan. Fig. 65. Chief's Ceremoxiai. Baton. Carved. Upj)er figure. Ktxit, the eagle ; lower, Tsing, the leaver. Cat. No. 89098, U. S. N. M. Haida Indians, Skidegate, Queen Charlotte Islands, British tJolumbia. Collected by James G. Swan. Fig. 66. Shaman's Baton or Wand. Supjwsed to ]iossess magical ix>wers. Carried by medicine man in his ceremonies. Cat. No. 89100, U. S. N. M. Haida Indians, Skidegate, Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia. Col- lected by James G. Swan. ^} -V :fl Report of National Museum. I88B.-Niblack. PLATE XVII. Chief and Shaman Ceremonial Batons. If i I ' ^ili' -•■^ls 'I' Si f 4au,.li m'-r\7v' m^ I ' h .^1 ^*w: '■I i 1 1 I ' 1 M \ I 'v J I !| EXPLANATION OF PLATE XVIII, 67 . © 68 69 7lA V 7A S A Red-cedar Bark Paraphernalia from the Northwest Coast, and Ancient Rattle. Figa. 67, 68, and 69. He.\d-Dresses. Of cetlar-bark n>|ie, stained red witli tlu' juice of the alder. Worn in the winter ceremonial dani-es of ilie Kwakiutl and other southern coast Indians. This style Iwrrowcd by the northern Indians and worn by them in their ceremonials, but not with the same significance as in the south. Cat. Nos. 20H4H. 20910, Hoodsin(x> Indians, Admiralty Island, Alaska. Collected by James G. Swan. Fig. 70. Necklace. Of cedar-bark roiie. like those above, witl) i)endent tassels of cedar-bark twine. Worn over right shoulder and under right arm. Figs. 67, 68, 69, 70. are Cat. Xos. 129r)i:i-l.j, U. S. N. xM. Talcomk, sub- tribe of Bil(]ula Indians, Vancouver IsUuid. British Columbia. Col- lected by Dr. Franz Boiis. Fig. 71. Girdle or Necklace. Of cedar-bark roj)e. W^orn around the neck with the pendant down the back of the wearer in the south previous to going on a wlialing expedition. Amongst the Ilaida it is simplj' a ceremonial ornament. No number. Fig. 72. Sash. Of cedar-bark rope. Worn over the shoulder. Ornamented with gulls' down. Cat. No. 72701. U. S. N. M. Stikiiie Indians. Alaska. Collected by James G. Swan. Fig. 73. Rattle. Ancient form. Made of wood with pendent beaks of the puffin This type of rattle is mentioned by many of the early voyagei*s, Nt> number. Tt Report of Nitionil MuMum, 1888.— Nibliok. Plate XVIII. 1! i : } h uh :\ ; ■ ii I ; i ii. Red-cedar Bark Paraphernalia from the Northwest Coast, and Ancient Rattle. J ;#' ' ill iF i ' v! i * 1 V i! Report c EXPLAN-ATION OF PLATE XIX. CHIEF'S Blue Cloth Ceremonial Vestment. FiK 74 The design represents tlie halibut, worked on in red cloth, edged with bead and buttox. trniunings. While it is a modern garment, it shows the artistic skill of these Indians in working up every article of personal proiierty into a totemic design. As a ceremonial vestment it is worn pendent down the back. Cat. No. 20679, U. S. N, M. Tsimshian In- dians, Port Simpson, British Columbia. Collected by James G. Swan. Report of National Museum, 1888— Niblack. Plate XIX. L Chie.f'9 Blue Cloth Ceremonial Vestment. ^>^--' ! A ■fl 1 THE INDIANS OF THE NORTHWEST COAST. 273 It is in the form of a truncated coue, with no openings for tlie arms. Other forms of ceremonial blanlcets are simply sqnare pieces of cloth to go about the shoulders, ornamented in totemic designs, or with pend- Flg. 75. Shaman's Cloak. (Cat. No. 891S7, U. S. N. M. .Skidetnte, B. C. Collfcted bT James O. Swan. ) ant pnfBn beaks or deer hoofs attached to a long fringe. These are sometimes of tanned deer skin, having the design painted on in a regu- lar pattern in black and red colors. Ceremonial shirts or coats. — Fig. 34, Plate x, represents a woven cer- emonial coat of mountain goat's wool as already described. Other forms are made of cloth or blanket material and ornamented with to- temic designs, as described above. Fig. 75a represents the Sea Lion, and Fig. 7oft is a rear view of the same coat ornamented with a design of Wasko^ a mythological animal of the wolf species. The edges and arm- holes are bordered with red cloth, and the whole garment is neatly made. Fig. 80, Plate xxi, represents a buckskin coat, with the right side fringed and open and the left side sewed np, having an arm-hole for the left arm. The bottom is also fringed, and the ueck-hole slit to admit the head. The design represents the bear. It is a Tlingit garment, loaned to the Museum by Mr. Max B. Kichardson, of Oswego, New York. Other ceremonial coats are illustrated in the accompanying plates. Ceremonial leggings. — These are of buckskin, blue cloth, blanket stntf", or of goat's wool, woven as shown in Plate x, Fig. 33a. A very coiinium type IS seen in Fig. 36, Plate x, fringed and ornamented with poiiil- ant beaks of the puffin, shown in the detail of the same figure. Otli(>r kinds are cut out in the pattern or outline of some totemic animal mid either painted in design or worked on in colored cloth by the ayplUfue method. They are secured to the leg by straps of cloth or bncksUin and are usually worn in conjunction with moccasins or the bare feet. H. Mis. 142, pt. 2 18 ^-' I ' I ; fi -i ;f J !:. i i w ■'8 llll 1 lis !!■■; I , i| :| i 274 BEPOBT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1888. Fig. 75a. Cbbkmomul Shirt. (Oat. No. 891M, U. S. N. H. 8kide(ite, B. C. Collect by Jnmra O. Swaa) FlR. TBft. Hbar Tmw OP Fi«. 76(1. /I ff ^1 I II I :. ij f'; H ' 4 :' Ki 1 'I 1 i' 1^ :p H ii! EXPLANATION OF PLATE XX. Carvings on Rocks, and Stone Implements from the Northwest Coast. Fiom photographs by the author. Fig. 76. Anx'IENT Tlingit Sculptures. Carved on tlie rocks on the beach near Fort Wrangell. Alaska. The figure represents the orca or wliale- killer. Fig. 77. Ancient Tlingit Sculptures. Representing several human faces and conventional designs. Fig. 79. Primitive Stone Implements, a is a scraper for removing the irmer in- tegument or bark from the trunk of the pine tree for food; b is a small stone hammer; c. a heavy stone sledge: d, aifadze, of which e i^ i side view; /, a variety of atone adze blades (see Plate XXIII); g, a type of adze, showing metliotl of hafting; h, a scraj>er used in the prcKcss of tanning hides. Haida Indians, Dixon Entrance. Collected bj- James G. Swan. Ill Car T 1 Report of National Mussum, 1888, — Niblack. PLATE XX. ti 1 h' Carvings on Rocks, and Stone Implements from the Northwest Coast. 99IR ^m tf I- V, .! k'i flBB! Report of t EXPLANATION OF PLATE XXI. Tlingit Ceremonial Buckskin Shirt. Made of two thicknesses of buckskin, sewetl up on the left side; open on the right. Tlie neck-oiH,ming is slit to admit the head. The figure is painted on tlie front in black and red colors, and represents the totem of the Bear. Cat. No. 1 'M)'m. U. H. N. M. Tlingit Indians, Alaska. Lent by Max. B. Richardson, of Oswego, N. Y. Report of NationnI Museum, 1888- Niblack. lie lie 18. o. Plate XXI. M 1 ■, 1 . 1} 1 ;■ i. 1. I :■ I I I Tlinqit Ceremonial Buckskin Shirt. '! !i THE \ 8lave'killera.—T the chiefs in dispa occasions of build tant personage, as instruments are il driven by a quick accorded special C( been made of bone w'^vent of the whil implements have, ] ' t. THE INDIANS OF THE NOllTUWEBT ('OAST. 276 8lav€'killera, — ^Theae are cerutuouml impleiueuts formerly used by the chiefs in dispatching the slaves selected as victims of sacriflce on occasions of building a house, or on the death of a chief or other impor- tant personage, as described in Chapter xiii. Some varieties of these instruments are illustrated in Plate XLVi. The pointed ends were driven by a quick blow into the sknll of the victim, whose body was accorded special consideration in burial. They seem in general to have been made of bone, or of wood tipped with stone. Naturally, with the H'lvent of the whites, this custom has had to be abandoned, aud these implements have, in time, become very rare. ?ck to serve as a candle. Full roe. — The roe of fish is esteemed a g"eat delicacy, and greet care is taken to collect it in the water, or remove it from captured fish. It is either eaten fresh, or dried and preservec'. for winter's use, when it is eaten in two ways: (1) It is pounded between two sti nes, dilnted with water, and beaten with wooden spoons into a creamy coMsistcticv; or (2) it is boiled with sorrel and different dried berries, and molded in wooden frames into cakes about 12 inches square and 1 incli thick. Herhit ."nd berries. — Boots, herbs, berries, and snails are amongst the luxuries of tlie summer season. Bacpberries, salmon berries, straw- berries, currants, red and blue huckleberries, salal, and thimble berries abound late in the summer. Bomo of these are collected and dried for S78 Xlkp' Pool* THE INDIANS OF THE NORTHWEST COAST. 277 cv ; (knl ick. tlin aw- ries for wiiu er's use, forming, with the dried fish, the principal winter's supply Poole (1863) says of the Haida, that they often, thiough feasting or improvidence, eat up all the dried berries before spring, and " were it not for a few bulbs which they dig out of the soil in the early spring- time, while awaiting the halibut season, numbers of Indians really would starve to death." • Portlock mentions the root of the wild lily as very much used by the Tlinglt. Crab-apples are found, but are scarcely edible. Wild parsnips arc abundant and palatable. Many years ago an American ship cap- tain gave the Indians potatoes, and they are now regularly cultivated, auL* form a considerable item in the winter food supply. Other vegeta- bles may be and are grown. Near all the villages now may be seen patches of ground planted, however, principally in potatoes. (HI. — Fish is eaten dried by breaking it up and soaking the bits in fisb-oil or grease, having the consistency of uncooled jelly. This oil is obtained from seals, porpoises, herring, salmon, eulachon, goat, deer, bear, Piid the livers of the dog-fish, shark, and otaer vertebrates. It is the odor of this rancid oil which permeates everything Indian, and renders a visit to a lodge on the northwest coast somewhat of an ordeal. Invertebrates. — Invertebrates and several species of marine ilgae or sea-weed are eaten. Of the former there are clams, crabs, cattle-fish, and mussels or oysters, the last named being often poisonous at certain seasons. The clams, echinoderms, and sea-weed are gathered at ebb tide. The shell flsL are usually eaten in the winter months. 8ea-weed. — ^The sea-weed is dried for wintei-'s use and pressed into a kind of cake, like plug tobacco. A species of it, quite black when dried, is used for making a dish called sopcdlaly, of which the Indians are im- mf^'Jerately fond. This is made by breaking up a very small piece of die pressed aopallaly cake into little bits in a bowl or dish and adding warm water. It is then beaten with a wooden spoon and sugar is added. It troths and foams like the white of an egg or like soap, and gradually turns from a terra-cotta color to white. Berries, fresh or dried, are sometimes added, and the mixture is consumed with avidity by old and young. Langsdorff (1805) says in spring and summer the Tiingit gather several sorts of sea- weed, which, " when cooked, make a bitterish sort of soup." ': He mentions also " a sort of square cake made of the bark of the spruce fir, pounded anc* mixed with the roots, berries and train oil." t Bark. — The inner bark of the spruce and hemlock forms an important part of the food supply of the Haida, Tlingit, and Tsimshian. The southern Indian eats pine bark. Plii^e xx. Fig. 79a, shows a stone scraper used by the northern Indians for removing this inner bark from the trunk. The scrapings are molded into cakes about a foot tiqnare * Poole, Qc<^n Charlotte Islands, p. 315. t LangsdorflT, Voyages, Pt. Ii, p. 131. ? ^ifp Is 4 278 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1888. |; i\ it- Mill ;! I n . :!■ ! i and an inch thick, dried and preserved for winter's use. It is eaten, like dried fish, with oil as a sance. Birds. — The Indians are remarkably fond of wild fowl, but the diffi- culties of shooting and entrapping them with their ordinary imple- ments and means have made them a very inconsiderable source of their food supply. At certain seasons, however, they capture them by strat- egy- Wild geese they catch after they have she') their large wing feathers and are unable to fly.* At other timp** t;* * 'iint wild fowl by uight with torches and full them with clubs. *. ;:> i^A state. The heads of salmon aud halibut arc esteemed a gre^ ^xury when putrefied in the tide or salt water. Meat is either broileti f .. o, stick, roasted on hot stones, or boiled in a kettle. Before the intro- duction of kettles, meat was boiled in a wooden dish or water-tight basket by means of red hot stones added to the water. Fresh fish and cuttle fish are always cooked. Oil is extracted from the livers of dog- fish and stranded sharks and whales, to sell to the whites. Oil is ob- tained in different localities from salmon, herring, eulacbcn, and pollock. The fish is usually allowed to partially putrefy and then ^ >• >' d! in vs ooden boxes by means of hot stones dropped in the water. Tht ; , ; 'a or oil is skimmed firom the surface. The refuse is sqneezeJ in c^. u and the grease obtained is stored in boxes. Sometimes this grease or oil is run into the hollow stalks of £iant keK;, v-iich have beea tinned or pre- pared beforehand as follows: ' he 8talK« ..r- soaked in v'resh water ic extract the salt, dried in the i.nw or in the smoke of the dwelling, and then toughened and made pliable with oil, rubbed thoroughly in. In this form of storage the oil is as portable as in bottles, or in jars, with less danger of breakage. Birds or wild fowls are toasted on a stick before a slow fire without any previous plucking or cleaning, and the feathers and skin removed afterward. The entrails are supposed to add a decidedly better flavor to the bird. ' Porllook, Voyage, p. 265. t Poole, Queen Charlotte Islands, p. 284. » r 1 "S'W / EXPLANATION OF PLATE XXII. Primitive Sto?;: I;.;plements from the Northwest Coast, with Wooden Wedge for SPLITTING Wood. Fig. 8L Stone Hammer OR Sled(je. Head of basalt; Imft of wocxl. TiuMlrawing shows method of hafting. Cat. No. 88820, U. S. N. M. Masset, Queen Cliarlotte Islands. British Columbia. Collected by James G. Swan. Fig. 83. Stone Sledge. Head of basalt; handlejof wood; lashing of spruce root. Cat. No. 888Jrf». U. S. N. M. Mas.set. Queen Charlotte Islands. Britisli Columbia. Collected l>y James G. Swan. Fig. 83. Stone Festive. For grinding jtaint, and sometimes used as a hand weajKin. Cat. No. 89011, U. S. N. M. Haida Indians. Queen Charlotte Islands. British Columbia. Collected by James O. Swan. Fig. 84. Wooden \VED(iE. Bcnly of spruce or cedar; lasiiing on the head of twisted spruce rf)ot. Used in sj^litting logs and getting out timln'r for industrial iiurjjoses. Cat. Nc. 726T9, U. S. N. M. Makali Indians. Cape Flattery. Washington. Collected by James G. Swan. Fig. 85. Stone SleD(*e. Head of hasiUt; lashing of raw-hide. Cat. No. 20596. U. S. N. M. Kwakiutl Indians, Bella Bella, British Columbia. CoUp<-t»(', by James G. Swan. Fig. 86. Stone Sledoe. Head of basalt: lashing of spruce root. Cat. No. 20898, U. S. N. M. Kaigani Indians (Haida). Prince of Wales Island, Alaska. Collected by James G. Swan. Primitive St ■■fi !.! I Report of National Museum, 1888— Niblack. Plate XXII. Primitive Stone Implements from the Northwest Coast, with Wooden Wedge for SPLITTING Wood. !!■ ■ :fc f 1 ;*f : l..M^ !■ , .1, 4 J i i 1 1 ■ ,' t M ' to hi Tl of dv in do th( flei an< fro J oiu to 4 Bo\ ties oft cop smo beei beei M carv and and prim At InFi varif meth plani gardt the n Plate itefo (1787 Haidt New Kni coppe • Ti' n THE INDIANS OF THE NORTHWEST COAST. 279 ' Wbeu tUo salmon or halibut are cangbt, it is the duty of the women to clean and dry them. The head is cat off, the fish slit down the back, back-bone and entrails removed, and the tail and fins cut off. The cleaned fish is then cut into long flakes, which are hung on a wooden frame, and cured, without salt, either in the sun or by means of a slow fire beneath. Sometimes they are dried in the smoke of tliu dwellings. The fish when dried are either wrapped in bark or stored in chests or boxes, and stowed for future use out of the reach of the dogs and children. When bear, deer, goats, or other game are killed, the skin is not generally removed from the carcass until most of the flesh has been eaten. In this way the skin forms a wrapper to preserve and protect the flesh. Grease obtained by boiling the meat is skimmed from the surface of the water and esteemed a great delicacy. INDUSTRIAL IMPLEMENTS OK TOOLS. In general. — Pr:*nitive tools were of stone, the most common edged ones being of flint, or a peculiar hard green jadeite, or, where possible to obtain it, of jade, which last named they got from the north in trade. Eough tools and implements, such as sledges, hammers, mortars, pes- tles, scrapers, etc., were of igneous rock, roughly carved in the totem of the owner. The knives for more delicate carvings in wood were of copper, flint, jade, or the bones of flshes and mammals, the work being smoothed down with shark skin used as a sand-paper. Steel has now been substituted for stone in all of their tools, but the native shape has been in a measure retained. Hammers and Sledges. — These were of hard igneous stone, rudely carved, and are used here and there even to this day. Figs. 81, 82, 85, and 86, Plate xxii, represent a variety of these as regards shapes, sizes, and methods of hafting, while Plate xx, Figs. 79, b and o, show a very primitive form of hammer and sledge-head, respectively. Adzes. — A variety of adz-blades of a green jade-like stone are shown in Fig. 79, same plate, d, e, and /. Figs. 88 and 89, 1'late xxiii, are other varieties of this pick-shaped blade, of which Figs. 90 and 91 show methods of hafting. A more handy variety of adz, for finishing and planing work, is shown in Fig. 79 g, f being a variety of blades as re- gards size. The methods of hafting this flat-shaped blade tbroughont the northwest coast are shown in Fig. 79 g and Figs. 87, 92, 93, and 94, Plate xxiiL Iron or steel is now substituted for stone, and the favor- ite form is that made by sharpening the end of a broad flat file. Dixon (1787) says the only stone implement he saw amongst the T'.ingit and Haida was an adze made of jasper, " the same as those used by the New Zealanders."* Knives. — Before the introduction of iron the only metal available was copper. This was not used for industrial purposes, as knives, on ac- * Dixou, Voyage, p. 824. I !■ ^ M f^ wf" ' i; ■ ! n ;' ■;. I .': ■ ik 280 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1888. !'• r y m count of its softness. Chief reliance was placed in jade, flint, or other stone, and upon shells and bone. In the Emmons Collection in the Museum of Natural History in New York are two primitive Tiingit stoue knives, with horn handles, and illustrated in Fi^s. 99 a and 99 b. Tliu handles are of deer horn, the blades of jade, and the lashing of buckskin. Marchand (1791) expressed his astonishment at the elab- orately carved posts in front of the Haida houses of Queen Charlotte Isl- ands, which, he says, Wtsre fashioned out with *' a sharp stone, bafted on a branch of a tree, the bone of a quadru- ped, the bone of one fish and the rough skin of another."* On the introduction of iron, which both Cook and Dixon attribute to the Bussians, the Indians were not slow to adapt it to their pur- poses. Dixon says that in Captain Cook's time ''iron implements were then also in use" among the Tiingit and Haida, while, in 1787, their knives were "so very thin that they bend them into a variety of forms, which answer their every purpose nearly as well as if they had recourse to a carpenter's tool chest." t This applies, however, equally well to-day, as Plate xxiv wiU show. Figs. 97 to 103, inclusive, illus- trate a variety of knives from the north- west coast, all of similar design or pat- tern, those from the north, however, having their handles carved with totemic designs after the usual custom of this region. Figs. 95 and 90 represent fish knives of a simple pattern, which replaced those of shell formerly used. Fig. 103 represents a pat- tern not uncomDiou in the north, being, besides a dagg^nr, an all around knife for carving, cleaning fish, cutting up game, etc., much as a bowie knife is used by the trapper of the interior. Scrapers. — Two varieties of stone scrapers are shown in Plate xx, Fig. 79a and h. The former is a very primitive instrument used for scraping off' the inner bark of the spruce and hemlock for food. The latter is a stone skin scraper used in cleaning hides in the process of tanning. These are also of bone, as shown in Fig. 79k from the Emmons collection, and are often ornamented with totemV* designs, as in the si>ecimen shown. Mortars and pestles. — Stowed away in the older houses of the different a- Figs. 00a and 99/>. Stonb Bladed Knivrs. (Haid«. Eninions Collection. ) * Quoted by J. G. Swan, in Smithson. Cont. to Knowledge, 267, p. 12. t Dixon, Voyage, p. 24"J. fi r 1 r! 1 ;■ I 1 EXPLANATION OF PLATE XXII!. Primitive Stone and Steel Implements from the Northwest Coast. Fig. 87. Stone Adze. Rudest form; showing mode of Iiaftiiig. Set> Platf XX, 79/. Cat. No. 43234, U. S. N. M. Tlingit. Alaska. Collet-ted by Com- mander Beardslee, U. S. Navy. Fig. 88. Stone Adze Blade. Hafting shown in Fig. 01. Cat. No. 88996. U. S. N. M. Tsimsliian Indiana, Fort Simpson, British Columbia. Collected by James G. Swan. Fig. 89. S:une as Fig. 88. Cat. No. 89013, U. S. N. M. Fig. 90. Stone Adze. With lashing of twisted sj)ruce root. See also Plate XX, Fig. 79, d and e. Cat. No. 88816, U. S. N. M. Masset Indians (Haida). Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia. Collected by James G. Swan. Fig. 91. Same as Fig. 90. Cat. No. 88720, U. S. N. M. Fig. 92. Hand Adze. Blade of steel; handle of Iwne. Cat. No. 23376. U. S. N. M. Makah Indians (Wakashan stock), Cajw Flattery, Washington. Col- lected by James G. Swan. Fig. 93. Adze. Blade of steel. Cat. No. 23462, U. S. N. M. Clallam Indians (Sal- ishan stock), Wasliington. Collected by James G. Swan. Fig. B4. Adze. Blade of steel; general northwest tyj)e. Hafting same as used for- merly on stone blades. See Plate XX, Fig. 79/. Kwakiutl Indians, Bella Bella, British Columbia. Collected by James G. Swan. ^ ^1 \ \ Report of National Muieu.-n, 1888.— Niblack, Plate XXIII. Primitive Stone and Steel Implements from the Northwest Coast. i ■*? ! wpp ! I ! . ) : ; tn . ' ' '! 1 i' I,' Ill , ll 'l> i EXPLANATION OF PLATE XXIV, Industrial Implements or Tools-Knives from the Northwest Coast. Fig. 95. Fig. 96. Fig. 97. Fig. 98. Fig. 99. Fig. 100. Fig. 101. Fig. 102. Fig. 103. Fish Knife. Steel. Used in cleaning anu preparing fish for drying. Cat. No. 74873, U. &. N. M. Tliugit. Sitka, Alaska. Collected by John J. McLean. Fish Knife. Steel, with copper handle. Cat. No. 88773, U. b. N. M. Haida Indiana, Masset, Quee'n Charlotte Islands, British C'olumbia. Collected by James G. Swan. Woon-cARViNO Knife. Blade of s'oel. The ejid of the blade is curved to make the deep cuts of relief-carving. Cat. No. 129977a, U. S. N. M. Kwakiutl Indians. Fort Rui)ert, Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Collected by James G. Swan, WooD-c'ARViNo Knife. Straight blade of steel : handle carved to represent a sea-lion. Ca^.. No. 128977?). U. S. IS. M. Kwakiutl Indians, Fort Rupert, Vancouver Island British Columbia. Collected by James G. Swan. ViWiod, V. S. N. M. Kwakiutl In- Island, British Columbia. Collecled 129978/>, U. S. N. M. Kwakiutl In- Collected by WooD-CARviNO Knife. Cat. No. dians. Fort Ruix'rt, Vancouver Ijy James G. Swan. WOOD-CARVlNG Knife. Cat. No. dians, F<)rt Rupert, Vancouver Island. British Columliia. Jan'es G. Swan. WooD-t'A.Hvrxi Knife. Curved end of blade. Cat. No. 20881 , U. S. N. M. Kaigani Indians. Prince of Wales Island, Alaska. Collected by James Cr. Swan. W()()D-c'ARViN(i Knife. Carving repre8 lion. ) Wn^^ ■-'' f'f i ■ -]■ 1 I !• m Fig. 83pe not here illustrated is a round wooden knob with straight handle. Daggers. — Dixon (1787) says of the Ilaida and Tlingit: Their weapons are Bpearo fized to a pole 6 or B feet long, and a kind of abort dagger, which is worn in a leather case, and tied round the body; to this dagger a leather thr. ^ is fastened, at the end of which is a hole for the middle fluger ; the leather is afterwards twisted round the wrist in order to fix the dagger firm in the hand, so that the warrior loses his weapon only with his life.* Tlie handle is generally nearer one end than the other, giving a long blade and a short one. The leather sheath is usually strapped to the waist or hung about the neck, concealed be- neath the blanket. The handle is small in diameter, «vrapped with leather, and secured by a thong to the wrist when carried in the hand. The blades are flat and thicker down the middle than towards the edges, being generally grooved on each sid^^ of the center ridge. All varieties of tterns, how- ever, are found, the diiferent types being well represented in Plate xxv, of which Fig. 108 represents a primi- tive dagger of copper inlaid with hali- otis shell, while Fig. 107 is the same type, of steel, with copper mountings. Fig. 107 d is a sheath of buckskin for the short blade of the dagger, and lOle the same for the long blade, the latter having, as s' own, a strap to go about the neck. The dagger ^liown in Fig. 107 is from the Copper River Indians, but is clearly a Tlingit type, having uuJoubtedly reached that region in the course of trp'^.e. Fig. 106 shows a one-bladed dagger with a o»rvpd handle. Fig. 10», with its three details, a, b, and c, shows the method of securing the handle to the blade. Fig. 105 is a Tlingit: chiefs dagger. The edgesof ^11 of them are rather dull and the points somewhat blunt, but the execution which these deadly weapons do is in the force with which they are driven into an ' : I'i Tig. 122a. Stone War-Club. (Tlinflit. KmniDtM Collection.) * Dixon, Voyage, p. 244. ■mm vi m I 'ii5- ;! !■■ Mi 284 HEPOBT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1888. adversary. The two .primitive types of copper daggers seen by Dixon (1787) in this region are reproduced from sketches in bis Voyage, p. 188, in Plate xxvn, Figs. 116 and 117. Amongst the Aleut and Tinn^ to V':' fcxi FiK. 1086. Stonb Daoobr. (TlingiU KmntoiM Collection.) Fig. 108c. Stonb-bladbd Daooer. (Tlitifit. Eminona Collei'tion. ) the north the type of dagger is that shown in Fig. 118, described also by Portlock (1787)*. This type is fonnd iu the Ynkon region and well * Portlock, Voyage, p. SWl. ■niT'-firf, es . V'V . >ixon .188, ii6 to I ed also id well ; a l;» I I ' ^! / EXPLANATION OF PLATE XXV. fOjd. /a? /oa Fig. Copper and Steel Daggers with Sheaths of Buckskin and Moose Hide. 104. DAaoER. Steel blade; cedar-wood handle, allowing method of attach- ment. Cat. No. 74264, U. S. N. M. TUngit Indians. Sitka, Aht-^ka. Collected by Jolm J. McLean. Fig. 105. Dagger. Steel blade; carved wooden handle, representing an Indian chief sitting. (Sheath of moose hide to the left.) Cat. No. 74262. U. S. N. M. Tlingit Indians, Sitka, \laska. Collected by John J. McLean. Fig. 106. Dagger. Steel blade; carved cedar-wood handle. Cat. No. 7646.3. U. S. N. M. Tlingit Indians, Sitka, Alaska. Collected by James C{. Swan. Fig. 107. DouBLE-BLADED DAGGER. With Copper mountings; Tlingit type. Prob- al)ly ac(iuired by Copjier River Indians through trade. Fig. 107*" i.s buckskin sheath with neck-strap. Fig. 107f/ is the sheath for the short blade. Cat. No. 88702, U. S. N. M. Atna or Cop|X'r River Indians (Athapaskan stock), Alaska. Collected by James G. Swan. Fig. 108. Dagger. Of copi)er; double-headed; primitive tyjie; elalwrately cha-sed and inlaid with abalone shell. Cat. No. 89020. U. S. N. M. Haida In- dians, Skidegate, Queen Charlotte Islands British Columbia. Col- lected by James G. Swan. .' fhasefl a ilia In- Col- Rsport of National Muieum, 188S.— Niblack. PLATE XXV. Copper and Steel Daggers with Sheaths of Buckskin and Moose Hide. )• ' i^ \ ;S ■■, - * 1 mi^ - '{ r. : l' ; ■ ; ! U Ik 4 if Iff U .,«! '"'■'! >» I THK INDIANS OF THE NORTHWEST COAST. 285 back into the interior. Fi];. 116 is a slight modification in the type of 117, in the direction of 118. The first daggers thatr/ere made of stoel, after the advent of the whites, were converted by the natives from large flat files, which they also made into adze blades. The skill- fnl manner in which the Indians ground down the files into beauti- fully fluted daggers challenged the admiration of the traders, who found the work as skillfully done as that by European metal- workers. The primitive dagger was of stone or bone. Those of bone were of the shai>e shown in Fig. 107, Plate xxv, with a sharp ridge running down the middle. Fig. 1086 represents a Tlingit stone dagger from the Emmons Collection Fig. I08c from the same source, has a blade of stone and handle of wood covered in totemic design. Another dagger of jadeite or nephrite, not here represented, is a long prism of square cross-section pointed at each end, about three-fourths inch on a side, with the handle about one-third of the distance from one end. Fig. 1 08d is a steel dagger, also from this collection, of native workmanship. The edges are very sharp, and it is an exceedingly dangerous weap- on. The handle is covered with plate copper, as shown. Fig. lOSe is a Tlingit steel dagger also from the Emmons Collection. The handle is wrapped with buck- skin strips, and outside of all is wound a cord of plaited human hair. Fig. lOSf is a Tlingit ivory guard for the point of a dag- ger to protect the wearer from danger of accidental stabbing, guard for fastening over the sharp edged point of a dagger. Both of ii' I' 1 Fig. 108«I. Fig. 108e. Stbel Dagobr. Steel Daooeb. limit. Emmona Collae- tion. ) (Tlinfit. eminoDa Collet tion. ^ Fig. 180g is an ivory dagger edge i_, IL-HWIBW ^i :! 1 . j i ! I 1 : 1 i 1 1 1 m! lii b f 1 f .'1 M ! il 286 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1888. these specimens are from the Emuious GoUeotioo. bladed dagger with goat-horn handle. Fig. 108A is a steel. Fig. 108/. IVOBT GUAUU FOR DAOOBK POIRT. {TliDfits. KrnnKin* Cotlec-tiun. ) Vlg. lOHy. IVOUY OUAKI) roK Daciobk. (Tliniil. KiniiMiitt (-'dllec- lion. ) Botes and arrows. — In the course of trade many of the Eski- mo types of bows and arrows have found their way south amongst the Indians, particu- larly amongst the Yakutat and other northern Tlingit. With the Eskimo and Aleut the bow and arrow i equally with the harpoon, a weapon of the greatest importance, and a high type of each has been develoi>ed. The backing of sinew on the bow is occasionally found amongst the Tlingit, but not so skillfully applied as in the north (see Smithsonian Report, 1884, "A Study of the Eskimo Bows in the U. S. National Museum," by Mr. John Murdoch). Amongst the Indians of the northwest coast the bow and arrow is and always has been only an auxiliary hunting implement, although a very important one, in the capture of sea-otter. To-day the bow and arrow survives only as a means of despatching wouuded game to save powder and ball. The two types of coast Indian bows, the broad and narrow, are shown in I*late xxvi. The narrow type (Figs. 109, 110, and 116) is principally confined to the Tlingit, whereas the broader one (Figs. Ill, 112, and 114) is found amongst not only the Tlingit, but the Haida and Tlingit as well. In Fig. 112 the peculiar groove down the inside of the bow is shown. The device in Fig. lib to protect the thumb from the snap of the bow-string consists of a wooden bridge lashed to tlie inner side of the bow at the middle. This is a willow bow of the type found in the interior amongst the Tinue, and either copied from their type or obtained by trade from them. Cedar and yew are the principal woods used by the coast Indians for bows, the strings being of hide or sinew. Few bows are now seen amongst these Indians except as toys for the chil- dren. Arrow*.— Before the introduction of iron, arrow-heads were of bone, flint, shell, or copper. The copper and later iron heads were of the shape shown in Fig. 133w or 134a, Plate xxix, fitting into an ivory or M // Fig. lOM. Stkbl-iilaubd Daqokk. (Tlintit. Ginmoni Cnllei'lion. ) 'I < II I tl w I "! |!i. ', !'• I f 1 1 1 II' ' : i if! I i!l I m '■^i i: ^ f EXPLANATION OF PLATE XXVI. Ifl /»i» //O M //«7 /^ •/^^ //S Tlinqit AND Haida Bows AND Tlingit War-cpear. Fig. 109. Bow. Tliiigit tj-pe; narrow, ("at. No. "AV^\, U. S. N. M. TUnuit In- (lianss. Alawka. Collet-ted by John J. JfrLfuii. Fig. 110. Bow. Narrow type. Cat. No. 1(1400. U. S. N. 31. Yi kutat luiliuna (Tlingit). Alaska. CoUerted by Williani H, Uall. Fi),'. 111. Bow. Creneral coast-tyiM^. Cat. No. »i:r)"»l. U. S. X. M. Tlin.le of steel (bayonet sliai)e). Cat. No. r.")119. U. S, N. M. Tlingit Indians, Hitka. .Ma.ska. Collected by John J. MeLean. Y\^. 114. Bito.ki) Bow. (General coast tyiv. Coni))are 111. 11'J. Cat, No. HUBT,'. U. S. N. M, Masset(Haida), l^neea CharN.tte Islands, British Ciilninbia. Collected by James (1. Swan, Fig. 11.-). Wil.Low Bow. With device for receiving the blow of the .string. Cat. No. 7.')4ri."). V. H. N. M. Tinne Inilians. interior of Alaska. Collected liv .Iohi> J, .^h'lyeall in Sitka. m '■1 HH813.. ninltiii. Report of National Mussum, 1888.— Niblack. PLATE XXVI. . < I iii I i: M i; Tlingit and Haida Bows and Tlinqit War-spear. ft !■ 11 i :i^ ;j IK ' 1 i : ! * ' 'II ^ liiir mi i 11 I H . • 1 I ■ Repoi EXPLANATION OF PLATE XXVII. !3 3 f. I \\ < ; ■ S 1 ii /5/ rj^ /aJ '«<-t >a^ /«tf /^/^^/6 Weapons of War and of the Chase. Figs. 116 and 117. Copper Daggers. From Dixon's Voyage, page 188. Fig. 118. Steel Dagcjer. Cat. No. 2025, U. S. N. M. Arctic coast and Yukon River. Collected by B. R. Ross. Fig. 119. Steel ARRdw-HEAO. Foreshaft of bone. Cat. No. 74960, U. S. N. M. Tlingit, Alaska. Collected by Jolin J. McLean. Fig. 120. Steel Arrow-head. Bll. Cat. No. 7899, U. S. N. M. Tlingit, Sitka. Collected by Dr. T. T. Minor, U. S. Army. The Tlingit are not known to have used tlie throwing-stick. wlule it txicunn throughout the entire Eskimo area. (See Hmitlisonian Report, 1884, Part II, legend to Plate XVII.) i Report of National Museum, 1888,— Niblack. Plate XXVII. .r Weapons of War and of the Chase. ii= \i Ml ! ii M Repo 1 t :i ii' ] i I : III I 1 ■■ ' i :■ i Weapons of War and of the Chase-Clubs. Fig. 128. Club. For killing sea-mtev. Carved to represent the animal. Cat. No. 88828, U. S. N. M. Haida Indians, Masset, Queen Cliarlotte Islands, British Columbia. Collected by James (». Swan. Fig. 129. Club. For killing sea-otter. Cat. No. Htf82.-), U. S. N. M. Haida In- dians, Masset, Queen Charlotte Islands. British Columbia. Collected by James G. Swan. Fig. 130. Club. For killing seals. Carved sea-lion. Cat. No. H8824. U. S. N. M. Haida Indians, Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia. Collected by James G. Swan. Fig. 131. Club. For killing seals. Carvear-head a. The point c of tlie foreshaft fits into a socket in the sjv'ar-head. Cat. No. HH8()3. U. S. N. M. Masset Indians, Queen Ch.-irlotte Islands. British Columbia. Collected by J nies G. Swan. Fig. 138. Fish Spe \r-heaI). Three prongs of steel. Cat. No. 18933. U. S. N. M. Tlingit Indians, Sitkii Alaska. C'ollected by James G. Swan. Fig. 139. FiSH Rake. Teeth of sliari)ened iron nails. For taking herring during a run. From a sketch by the author. Fig. 140. Haubct LiNF-rujAT. Of cedar w(k>(I: carved to represent a shag or duck. ^ Cat. No. 4' .237. U. S. N. M. Tlingit Indians. Sitka. Alaska. Collected bv Commander L. A. Beardslee, U. S. Navv. (hlrk. Ic. ted Report of National Museum, 1888.— Niblack. Plate XXIX. Im I ; \ ' V ' V'.Vv^V r largc hollow bull\ from whioh lioats long, streamer-like, or Ue-volate leaves. These are great ro<*k or shoal indicators, and are invaauable • notices to raar'iwrs." .Tadge Swan says : " The Indians cut th«we stems close to the bottom ^ i situplc instru- ment formed of a V shaped branch, a«;ross the smaller portion of w**ich ;i knife blade is securcvl ; this is lowered over m k*^* pliuit in 3© oi 30 iathoms, ami the stem easily out off by a «khld«i pull « che line at- tached to t be cutter.'' The solid st<>n>s art* use*! *W tehing lines and the bulbs for oil bottle.s, both bein^.; ke or sun. The smoke-drie*i lices ar*' Mack, and the sun-dried of a li 7b t yellow or neutrnl color. Tt should be not«>*l here that the Itakt dt and other Tiiu^Eit of the oxtreiao Nortii have i, i K if Re ■i EXPLANATION OF PLATE XXXII, ff J3 9. g — &^ /63 ' V--. Cat. No. 89309, U. S. N. M. ITaida Indians. Queen Cliarlotte Islands, British Columbia. Collected by James G. Swan. Fig. 104. Dip-net. Of ceilar-bark (ilier: oval frame. Used to catcli echini. Queen Ch.arlotte Islands, British Cohimbia. Collected by James G. Swan. Fig. 165 (rt. ?}. and c). Paddles of the Ilaiila and Tlin^it; ])ainted in toteniic de- sign. Fig. 10.")/( represents the type of steering-paddle, while a and C are the ordinary type. Fig, 166. Paddle. General typ(> of Puget Sound and South Coast Indian ])a(ldle. Fig. 167. Paddle. New Zealand. Painted in a design similar to the totemic orna- meiitation of this region. Fig. 168. B.VSKET Weavino. (From Plate XIV, Fig. 3,")?). Smithsonian Report. 1884. Aboriginal basket-making. Prof. O. T. Mason). Makah Indians, Neah Bay, Wa.shingtoii. Collected by James (i. Swan. ii' Report of National Museum, 1888.— Niblack, Plate XXXII. Drag and Dip Nets; Paddles; Details of Netting and Basket Weaving. it 1^ • ftl THE INDIANS OF THK XORTHWEaT COAST. 293 been mach inflaeuced by the Keuai and Aleut, who une sinew, blad- ders, and intestines of animals, in the manufacture of their llshing im- plements. Dixon (1787) speaking of the Yakutat halibut Ashing says: They bait their hooks with a kind of fish • • • or squid, • » » an^ having sunk it to the bottom they fix a bladder to the end of the line as a buoy, and should that not watch sufficiently they add another. Their lines are very strong, be- ing made of intestines of animals. One man is sutli tuut to look after five or.six of these buoys; when he perceives a fish bite be is in no great hurry to haul up his liue, but gives him time to be well hooked, and when he has hauled the Hsh up to the sur- face of the water he knocks him on the heatl with a shorr club provided for that pur- pose, and afterwards stows his prize away at his leisure. This is done to prevent the halibut (which sometimes are very large) from damaging or perhaps upsetting his canoe in their dying struggles. Thus were we fairly beat at our own weapons, and the natives constantly bringing us plenty of fish our boat was never sent on this business afterwards.t Amongst the Tlingit these floats are generally dnck-shaped and carved from wood, although bladders are also used amongst them as mentioned by Langsdorf (1805), who says : " To every line is fastened a small bladder, which floats upon the surface of the water, so that one person can attend fourteen or fifteen lines." t Floats. — ^The modern type of fishing-float is of wood, carved to repre- sent an aquatic bird of some sort, and these floats are of two kinds, ander-water and surface. The surface floats have been spoken of above, and one is represented in Fig. 140, Plate xxix. The under- water ones are to float the halibut hooks just clear of the bottom, as shown in Fig. 161&, Plate xxx, as it is here that the halibut feeds. The stone sinker, a, is detachable from the line, and is used to keep the hook and float both near the bottom. This style of float is also illustrated in Fig. 159, Plate xxxi. Fishing-clubs. — These have been spoken of at the beginning of this chapter and illustrated in Plate xvin. A peculiarly carved club is used for each different kind of animal, superstitious reasons being given for such variety. Dragnets. — ^Nets are made from cedar bark, wild hemp, or wild nettle fiber, spun into twine, and now woven with a shuttle similar to that used by fishermen on our own coast. Some of these are small, and are secured to poles and dragged between two canoes ; others are long and are similiar to our seines. Fig. 162, Plate xxxir, represents a Haida drag-net of this last kind. The roping is of cedar bark; the netting, of hemp twine; d is a wooden float on the end of the drag-line ; the floats along the head are thin flat blocks of cedar wooil, spaced about 3 feet apart ; the sinkers at the foot are black pebbles or stones lashed in a circular hoop and spaced about 8 to 10 inches apart. Details of the netting are shown in Fig. lG2a. The net from which this illustration was drawn is 52 feet long and 64 inches deep, from Masset, Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia. What were the styles and by WM * Dixon, Voyage, p. 174. t Langsdorf, Voyages, pt. ii, p. 134. 1 i M M 294 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1888, wlmt roeariH nets were woven before the advent of the whites, the writer was unable to learn. Dip nets. — Two varieties of these are shown in Plate xxxii, Figs. 103 and 164, the frame of the one being oval and the other triangular. Details of the netting are shown in b and c. Fig. 163 is the kind used by the Indians for scooping up echini or sea-urchins at low tide, while Fig. 164 is the kind used for dipping out salmon caught in the river- traps, and for herring, eulachon, etc , during the "runs." Weirs. — Across the streams where salmon run weirs are usually built for trapping them. Where the water is shallow and swift, frames of split sticks, inte|;>woven with older branches in a kind of basket- work, are stretched across, driven into the bottom, and strengthened with braces held in position by pegs. These frames, or weirs, are spaced a little distance apart, so that when the salmon leaps the first frame he is trapped between it and the second, and is removed by a dip-net or speared at leisure. In deeper water the dam, or weir, consists of a basket-work frame with round openings here and there, with pass- age-ways conical in shape, formed by converging pointed sticks, like some kinds of wire rat-traps. The salmon going up stream forces his way through and is trapped in a basket-work compartment and dipped out at leisure. Bird and other land traps. — The usual forms of Indian traps are found in this region, consisting of a cage and flgure-of-four trigger, a bent sapling with snare noose, and the larger game traps of the usual dead- fall pattern. Canoes. — The canoe is to the northwest coast what the camel is to the desert. It is to the Indian of this region what the horse is to the Arab. It is the apple of bis eye and the object of his solicitous attention and affection. It reaches its highest development in the world amongst the Haida of the Queen Charlotte Islands. Classified according to shapes, sizes, and uses, there may be said to be four kinds on the north- west coast: (1) hunting, (2) family and transporting, (3) voyaginjr, and (4) war. The voyaging and war canoes, although kept for different purposes are practically the same in size and shape, the differences, if any, being slight. Hunting and fishing canoes. — These are somewhat similar throughout the whole coast and are well illustrated in the models shown in Plate XXXIII. The upper view in the illustration is by far the most common type of hunting canoes, but the lower one is that seen about Dixon Entrance. They are light portable dugouts carrying from one to three people. Family or transportation canoes. — These are from 25 to 35 feet long and 4 to 6 feet beam, carrying whole families of from four to fifteen with camping outfit, trading supplies, baggage, provisions, etc., amounting often to 2 tons weight or more. Farther south, around Paget Sound and Vancouver Island, this kind of canoe has a straight stern post, as T--n iW} THE INDIANS OF THE NOUTHWKST C0A8T. 295 shown in Plate xxxiv, Ki^. 171. AiiiutigHt the Haida and other north- ern iribeH the stern projects backwards and slightly upwards, forming' a long spur running down to a straight edge near the water line (Fig. 172, same plate). The bow also curves upward and has a regular and gracefully shaped cut water. Voyagin;/ ^anoex. — Tliese are from 35 to 05 feet long and to 8 feet beam, with fhiring gunwale and long projecting spurs on both bow and stern. These latter are generally scarfed on to the main body of the canoes, and with the tiare of the bows help to make them more sea-worthy. Poole (18U;{) describes the canoe of Chief Kene, of the Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia (in which he made a voyage from the hitter's village to Victoria, British Columbia), as having three masts, three sails, and a mainstay-sail, and carrying thirty-seven people, with two tons of baggage, freight, etc.* When it is reflected that these large canoes, often with 5 tons cai)acity, are hewn from a single log, our marvel at the skill displayed in their construction is decidely increased. To-day the custom of painting the bow and stern in elaborate totemic patterns is rapidly dying out, but formerly it was practiced throughout the whole coast. The totem was also sometimes indicated by a carving, either wrought on the spur or secured to it on the top or sides. Vancouver (1793) found this custom as far south as the Kwakiutl, of (lardner Channel, British Columbia. Of a canoe which he saw there he says " its head and stern curiously decorated with carved work and rude and uncouth figures in painting."t War canoes. — These, in primitive times, are said to have formed a distinct class in themselves, having been elaborately painted and decorated, but latterly the voyaging canoes have practically taken their places, there having been no real difference in point of construction or size between the war and transporting craft. It is doubtful if any real distinction could ever have been drawn. Canoes in general. — There is a marked difference in the canoes of the northern and southern Indians. It is not so much in the mere outward appearance as in the shape of the cross-section and in the lines. The northern canoe is superior in all the points by which we judge their qualities. At the head of the respective types are those of the Haida in the north, and of the Makah, of Cape Flattery, Washington Terri- tory, in the south. The former have projecting prows, high, spur-shaped sterns, daring gunwales, and a gracefully rounding or curving cross- section, although without any distinct keel. The latter have the blunt, straight stern, a gracefully curving bow, but a flat bottom, with little curve in the cross section. This type is heavier, roomier, stronger, less cranky, and more durable than the Ilaida type, but the latter is swifter, handier, ami more buoyant. The Haida have in some of their larger canoes soniewhat copied the Makah type for the greater strength • Poole, Queeu Charlotte Islands, i>. *2(;y. t Vancouver, Voyage, Vol. I, p. 303. -? IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I .'1: m IM 22 1.8 i 1 1 1.25 1.4 1.6 ^ 6" ► V] <^ % /} '>W J^^ ^. ^V -^•j, O ^>. /^ / /!!« Photographic Sciences Corporation aa WKT MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14380 (716) 873-4503 \ ^^ \ \ €> 'i ^\ >> <*. 1^- I TRwrfPupf^T^ >^i|^)iiHWi»|l|jPiij|»i!J!iii j,i;PI!Mii(|iiiii,,i»ppj4^ ",i..iW-' 296 BEPOHT OP NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1888. Mwared. Aa admirable illnstration of this adaptation is seen in tiie enonnoag Haida oanoe in tlie U. S. Natonal Mnseam (No. 26786), whioh is yery maoh like Fig. 171, Plate xxxit, in appearance. Its dimensions un as follows: Length, 09 foet; beam, 8 feet; height of stem, 7 feet 3 inehes; height of stern, 6 feet 3 inches; height amidships, 3 feet 7 indies. However mnoh the larger canoes may differ in shape and character, the light, portable hnnting canoes (Fig. 169, Plate xxxiii) are much the same throughout the coast. Before the sea^oUer became extinct they were 'hunted well out at sea, the Haida being particularly venturesome and successfol, and hence rich, and respected accordingly. One of their chief sources of revenue to*day is in the building and sale of canoes, which they tow to Port Simpson or up into Alaska and sell or trade to their neighbors. The tendency of ,the day is in the direction of smaller sizes for the canoes than formerly. This is but the natural result of peacefol times, when it is not necessary to travel in such large parties for mutual protection. Hcwe^'^r, the Yakutat and Sitka canoes were never as large as those of the Haida, as from earliest times the latter have possessed the largest canoes on the coast. The post of honor in a oanoe is at the steering paddle aft. Usnally this position is occupied by a woman or an eldei^y man, the steering being accomplished by a few adroit side strokes inter- jected into tlie regular process of paddling. In the family canoe there are few idlers, even the young children wielding paddles and " working their passage." Otmoe OutjU.—ThiB consists of masts, sails, paddles, bailers, and mats. Ballast of stone is sometimes, though rarely, carried. The masts and sails have been added sinoo the advent of the whites, the rig being spritwBail, and the number of masts varying from one to three. Masts and sprits are of light cedar wood, and sails, originally of muts, are now invariably of white cotton sheeting. These canoes will not sail on the wind, but with a lowing sheet the speed made is astonishing. The northern type of pac Jle is that shown in Hg. 165 a, 6, oiHi o, Plate xxxii; the southern, that in Fig. 166. As may be expected, the north- em paddle is ornamented with the design of the orrner's totem. Fig. 167 is a New Zealand paddle, introduced by way of showing the simi- larly of this in connection with the many other objects common to these two remote regions. A bailer is imperfectly shown in Plate xsxn. It is simply a scof^^ of wood with a short straight handle. Mat»are sometimes carried' in the canoes to cover them when honied up and to tiirow over the oa^^ or household or camping effects in transit. The Indian is exceedingly careftal of his canoe md all that pertains to it In landing, a gravel beach is selected, where possible, and the c«ioe hanled well np beyond high tide. When it is to remain any time ex- poaed to the weather, it is protected fh>m warping and cracking flrom tSt» mn*» heat by a cover of mats or boughs of trees. \ f 4 Mi nil I ii Rapoil > EXPLANATION OF PLATE XXXIII. i Models of General Types of Hunting and Fishing Canoes Northwest Coast. Fig. 169. Hunting and Fishing Canoe. Tliis is tlie upper figure in the plate, antl is an exc^ellent model of a Imnting and fishing canoe foimd throughout the coast. The paddles are of the Southern Coast Indian jiattern. Cat. No. 640, U. S. N. M. Haida Indians, Fort Simpson, Britisii Columbia. Collected by George Gibbs. Fig. 170. Small Family or Summer Canoe. For fishing, hunting, etc. Haida and Tlingit tyi>e. This stj-le of totemic ornamentation is now only jnit on the uiotleLs of canoes, but it was formerly the custom to so orna- ment all of them. The general ty|)e of northern paddle and baler is shown in outline. The paddles of both the northern and southern tyi)e are better shown in Plate XXXII, Cat. No. 21595, U. S N. M. Tlingit. Indians, Sitka, Alaska , Collected by Dr. J. B. White. U. S. Army. i 1 in Report ol Nitional Musoun), 1888. - Niblack. PLATE XXXIII. te. lid nn >n, Ida nit iia- ' is \ye Kit 4 ii }'' 'i \ EXPLANATION OF PLATE XXXIV. Family or Transportation Canoes of the Northwest Coast. Fig. 171. t'AXOE. The upiHT figure in the plate illustrates the general ty|H' of South Coast Indian eanoe, with its Hwan-like liarlxHl prow and .straight. l)lunt, high stern. The difference lietuwn thw style and that fouiul amongst the North Coast Indians is fully discas!«ed in the t«'xt. Kig. 172. C.\NOE (lower figure). General ty|)e of the North Coast Indian i-anoe with its projecting prow and stern, round counter, and tine lines. TT^ Rtpert of Nitionil MuMum, 1888.— Niblick. \ Xlllll kith Plate XXXIV. (- to < o U I- 0} UJ i X y- s o Z ui I (0 UI o z < i. "ii P ! i, :^n > i^^i ; 1 •igsafs ■ , I. ^, i ^ -v ' i 1 !*' J 1 • ;:« ■ H till S' i i ■ f * H 1 I :t !i" ft f i r n " "! ^ i 'i'j W '''' .f ! 1 ^'i : 1' •*ii i li i ^^ i > THR 1NDIAN8 OP THE NORTHWEST COAST. 297 Oanoe making. — Tbe primitive toula used in canoe conMtiruction are so simple as to excite oar surprise. The principal and almost only one used is the adze of some pattern or ottier shown in Plate xxiii, Pigs. 02, 03, and 04. Tbe logs for the purpose are usually gotten out in the summer season and rough hewn to somewhat the shape of the canoe in odd hours about tbe summer camp — the finishing work being left until winter. The trees are generally selected near some watercourse and felled in such a direction as to admit of launching them into tide water. The log is trimmed where felled to rough dimensions, launched, and towed to summer carap, where the preliminary work is done. Often by combined labor numerous logs are gotten out in this way at one time, made into a raft, and by means of sweeps and sails and by dint of working the tides brought to the village or to the neighborhood of the camps. Good trees for canoe purposes are sufficiently rare to make their selection difficult and expensive in both time and labor. The best wood for all purposes is the yellow cedar (Chanuceyparis Nutkaenaia), found on the Queen Charlotte Islands and in spots around the southern Alaska boundary. The smaller canoes are made from the Sitka spruce {Picm Sitchenaia), and the very largest from the giant cedar ( TImja gigantea). The whole process of canoe construction may be briefly described as follows: The tree is felled with an ax (formerly stone ones were used). The trimming and rough hewing is done by wedges and sledges. The rest of the work is done by patient cutting with an adze. The canoe being roughly worked out is widened in beam by steaming it with wa- ter and hot stones placed in the bottom of the cauoe, stretchers or thwarts of gradually increasing sizes being forced in as tie wood ex- pands. The long spur ends in large canoes are neatly scaifcd on to the body with a dovetailed joint and finished down as part of the whole. The smoothing work on the outside is olten-done with a chisel, but usu- ally the interior of the cauoe shows thet:hipping marks of the adze. The smoothing work on the exterior to lessen the friction of the water is furthered by the use of sandpaper, sandstone, or shark's skin. The conventional colors used now in painting are black outside and white inside, with a red strip on the inside of the gunwale running quite around the canoe and npon the bow and stern spurs. Tbe process of painting is described in the next chapter. The liLes of these canoes are re- markably fine and good; and when of considerable size and intelli- gently handled they are remarkably good sea-boats. Trips are often made in them to Victoria, British Columbia; and the Kaigani visit the outlying islands of the Prince of Wales Archipelago in the early sum- mer in search of birds' eggs about 25 miles out to sea. HUNTING AND FISHING. MBTUODS OF CAPTURING ANIMALS. Salmon. — ^The first run of salmon occurs about the middle of July, when they swarm in myriads into the mouths uf the small fresh-water ! ■*■ . 298 REPORT OP NATIONAL MU8E(JM, 1888. I 1 \ Btrenms. It ia diflQoiilt to picture iu the mind the abundance of these fish and tlie uiud abuuduu with which they hurl themselves over obsta- oles, wounded, pantiug, often hatHed, Itut always eagerly pressing on up the streams there to spawn and die. Iu some of the pools they gather in sucli numbers as to almost solidly pack the surface. When there is a waterfall barring their progress they may be seen leaping at the fall endeavoring to ascend it, often as many as six or more being iu the air at once. The desli at first hard and firm on contact with fresh water soon loses its color and palatableness, so that the f^ooner they are captured the better. The species of the first run vary along the coast. They are compar'itivel^ small, do not remain long, and do not furnish the bulk of die supply, although at the cunneries now erected as many n^ two to five thousand have been known to be caught with one haul of tlie hr/gest seines. About the middle of August the Tyee or King salmon arrives, the run often lasting the year out. When they first appear they are fat, beautifully colored, and full of life and animation; but soon are terribly bruised, their skin becomes pale, their snouts hook-shape.l, their bodies lean and emaciated, and their flesii soft, pale, and unwholesome. In Wrangell Narrows is a waterfall of about 13 feet. At high tide the salt water backs up the stream and reduces this fall to about 8 feet, but never less even at spring tides, but the King salmon leaps the falls and numbers of them may be found in the fresh water above. The writer has deposited in the Smithsonian Institution several instantaneous photographs of leap- ing salmon taken by himself at this locality, but it is unnecessary to reproduce them in this conuection. The whole of the territory on the northwest coast adjacent to the Indian villages is portioned out amongst the dift'erent families or households as hunting, fishing, and berrying grounds, and handed down from generation to generation and recognized as personal property. Privilege for an Indian, other than the owner, to hunt, fish, or gather berries can only be secured by pay- ment. Each stream has its owner, whose summer camp, often of a per- manent nature, cau be seen where the salmon run in greatest a*mn- dance. Often such streams are held in severalty by two or more families with equal privileges of fishing. Sahnon are never caught on a hook ; t^iis method, if practicable at all, being too slow. At the mouth of the streams they are speared or caught in nets. High up the streams they are trapped in weirs and either speared or dipped out with dip-nets. The Indians are beginning now to use seines and to work for salmon on shares, but the older ones are very conservative, and cling somewhat to primitive methods in a matter even so important to tb^m as the capture of salmon, their chief food supply. Halibut. — These may be taken at almost any season in certain locali- ties, while they are more numerous during certain months in others. The Indians make the subject quite a study, and know just where all the banks are and at what seasons it is best to fish. Often villages are k ♦' THE INDIANS OF THK NORTHWEST COAST. 299 located on ez|>o8eU sites for no otber reason (ban to be near certain halibut grounds. Tliis fish varies in size from 20 to 120 iiouuds, and is caugbt only with a book nnd line. The type of book is that shown in Plate XXXI, and the method of sinking it shown in Plate xxx, Fig. 151. This fish stays close along the bottom, and is such a greedy feeder as to be readily caught by the clumsy hook shown. lu A<4'ound halibut in a light flshiug canoe. A primitive halibut Ashing outfit consists of kelp-lines, wooden floats, stone sinkers, an anchor line, a wooden dob, and wooden Ash hooks. It is impossible with our most raoilern appli< ances to compete with the Indians in halibut Ashing. With their crude implements tbey meet with the most surprising success. Herring and eulaehon. — Herring are found in the summer months in numerous parts of the coast, depending ^on the nature of the t .THE INDIANS OF THE NORTHWEST COAST. 301 ^ i slaughtered for their hides when driven down to the shore by heavy and long-continued snows. The deer-call is made from a blade of grass placed between two strips of wood, and is a very clever imitation of the cry of a deer in the retting season. The wolves play great havoc in this region with the deer, and it seems remarkable that they exist in such numbers with so many ruthless enemies. Mountain goaU and sheep. — On the mainland these are shot with very little difficulty if one can overcome the natural obstacles to reaching the lofty heights which they frequent. Bears. — ^The brown and black bear are the two species quite gen- erally found in Alaska. Both are hunted with dogs, shot when acci- dentally encountered, or trapped with dead-falls. The brown bear ( Ursus Richard«re upon a rock which rises perpendicnlarly to the height of some hundred feet abovo the water. * * * The rock itself is secured against the attack of an enemy by a double palisade of large trunks uf trees stuck close together, measuring from 12 to 15 feet in height, and fh>m 3 to 5 feet in thick- ness. A natural wall of earth, beyond the palisading, on the side towards the sea, conceals the habitations effectually, so that they can not be discerned by any ship.$ The only possible access to this fortification is described as on the northwest side, but the approach was strewn rith very large trunks of trees to make it additionally difficult of access. { } TEMPOEAEY DWELLINGS. In summer camps, in hunting and fishing, and in canoe trips, the form of dwelling is temporary in construction. Summer fishing camp. — Near the mouth of some fresh- water stream owned by a household or family, where the salmon run thickest, a rough- ly-built house will generally be found. This varies in size and care of construction according to circumstances. Usually the frame is light, and the roof, iiisteitd of being made of split boards, is formed by broad strips of bark which are laid on thus ^TlT^jT^, and held down by stones and cross piecefi. The larger kind have a smoke hole, but usually the fire is built outside, where the smoke assists in curing the strips of salmon and halibut hung on frames above it. Tents.T-The primitive form of tent for traveling consisted simnly of scrips of bark carried in the canoes. To erect the tents two saplings or branches would be cut, pointed, and stuck in the ground, forked ends up, with a cross pole resting in the forks. The bark strips would then be rested against the pole, forming a sloping wall towards the wind. This half-open tent was airy in form, but would shed the water of a driving rain. The fire was usually built in front. Today the Indians • Vancouver, Voyage, Vol. ii, pp. 272, 274, 284. t Mackenzie, Voyages, p. 345, «t Beq. t Dunn, Oregon, p. 274. i Laugsdorff, Voyages, Ft. ii, pp. 188, 189. TV. THE INDIANS OF THE NORTHWEST COAST 305 { } use cotton sheeting for a cover in the form of an A tent. Along most of the water-uonrses where there is much travel the frames may be seen left Gtanding near the good camping spots. These latter ure selected from their having a good beacb to haul up the canoes, fresh water near, unex- posed position and proximity to good hunting, ground. The cotton sheeting is stretched taut across the frame and the edges pegged into the ground. This form of tent was also used in pritritive times, mats^of cedar bark fibre or skins of animals forming the tent walls. At these camp sites are often deposited piles of wood already cut for use. In the short winter days it often happens that a belated canoe load arrives after dark. Here they find wood already cut, and they build afire and warm up without the necessity of searching in tie dark or in the snow for fire- wood. It is part of the unwritten code that an Indian using such fire- wood II ust ill the morning replace what be has used by a similar amount gathered at his leisure before setting out again on his journey. HOUSES. The permanent houses are similar in fdrm and type throughout the coast, but reach their highest development amongst the Haida. !Nbrtb, the Yakatat dwellings are but little better than the summer dwellings of the Haida, while to the south the houses are equal in size but inferior in artistic construction. In general, houses may be divided into three classes: fl) those built on the surface of the ground; (2) those built on a foundation of logs or slightly raised platform ; (3) those raised on high logs or stilts. Eaiaed houses.— The last named are found amongst the Ewakiutl and Bilqula, and their mh mi rive form of construction is fully described ia ^ were ornamented in front, at the gables, and above the doors, as now, with hieroglyphic drawings of their totems. Tlingit dwellings. — Amongst the Tlingit, the permanent dwellings are as a rule built on a slightly raised foundation of logs, the approach to the doorway being by three or four raised steps with a platform in front of the door of the principal houses. This latter is the loafing place, and where the gamblers congregate for their incessant gambling bouts. This form of construction is by no means universally adopted, as some of the dwellings are built on the level of the ground. In any case, the : , 1 * VttLconver, Voyage, vol. ii, p. 274. H. Mis. 142, pt. 2 20 306 KEPORT OP NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1888. i level of thedoorsillisabodttbatof whatmay be called the ground floor. Eoteriug the door, one stands on a platform about 6 feet wide, ruuuibg around the four sides of the house. Next, one steps down about 3 feet upon a ledge the same width, also running around the four sides. The next level, 3 feet below this, is the solid ground, sometimes bare, some- times with a board floor. In the center of this the fire burns, the smoke ascending through a square smoke-hole in the roof in the center of the building. All bouses were formerly without windows, ventilation bdng secured by the door and the smoke-hole. If the house is built on the surface of the ground, the interior is excavated into a kind of cellar, the ledges being cut in the earth and covered by large hewn slabs of cedar. These ledges serve not only as sleeping and lounging places, but as shelves to deposit all sorts of boxes, utensils, etc., belonging to the family. In the Tliugit dwellings, the fire- place is usually boxed in with boards, and filled in with stones. When the house is built on the sur- face of the ground, one enters the door at the level of the ground, and descends to the lower floor inside. If the house is built on a raised foundation, the bottom floor or court is usually on the level ol the out- side ground. One mounts to the door, enters, and descends to the ground inside. Between these two types are slight variations in which . the foundation of logs is not so high, and the interior is dug down only about 2 or 3 feet. Amongst the Tliugit, the interior platform at the level of the door-sill is sometimes divided into living apartments, or small state-rooms, so to speak. Lisianski (1804) describes the houses about Sitka as square in form and spacious, with openings all along the top •About 2 feet in width to let out the smoke. The fire-place was fenced around with boards, the place between the fire-place and the walls be- ing partitioned by curtains for ths different families living in the lodge- There were board shelves fixed around inside of the room for the stow, age of boxes and utensils.* The primitive form of construction is not materially dificrent from that described and illustrated in Plate xxxy. The Tliugit form of front is shown in Fig. 176, a local characteristic being given to it by the vortical boards a a at each corner of the front as shown. Throughout the whole coast, it was somewhat the custom to ornament the fronts with painted representation of the totem of the chief occupant. To the south this was the general custom. Amongst the Haida, Tsimshian, and Tliu- git, it was only occasionally practiced. In Plate xxxv various styles of house fronts are illustrated in connection with the typical method of house construction. Fig. 173 is a chiefs house at Fort Simpson, British Columbia. Fig. 174 is a Tliugit front at Tongass, Alaska. Fig. 176 is the general Tliu- git type as described above. Fig. 175 is an ancient form of front, aftor a model from Sitka in the National Museum. Fig. 177 is a Kwakiuti front ( > 'LiBianski, Voyage, p. 239 and 240. ( m H '' l\ I, i 1- ! (I L ' ("I -I 1 1 =1^' f .' r fe > I 5> h EXPLANATION OF PLATE XXXV. { Details of Haida House Construction, with Types of Fbonts found elsewhere on THE Northwest Coast. From drawingj, photographs, and sitctches. Fig. 173. Ornamented front ])aint«(I to represent the eagle totem of a chief at Port Simjison. British Columbia (Tsirashian). Fig. 174. Ornamenteil front, painted to represent the wolf totem. Fort Tongass, Alaska (Tlingit). Fig. n.'i. Ancient form of Tlingit ornamented front, from a |)ainting in the U. S. National Museum. Cat. No. 129776. U. S. N. M. Sitka. Alaska. Painteil l)y James G. Swan. Fig. 178. General Tlingit tyyie of front, with broad side-iKwts and rectangular door- way. Fig. 177. Ornamented fron* after a sketch by Dr. Franz Boas (Kwakiutl.) Fig. 178. Details of smoke-hole, shutter, and nietho^I of roofing and holding down same with liearas. rocks, etc. The totemii- figures on each side of the doorway represent the eagle, anri illustrate a style of totemic ornamen- tation now found here and there among the Tlingit as a survival or mwiification of the former custom of jKiinting the whole house front in totemic design. Fig. 179. Details of the Haida method of house construction as ex)>lained fully in the text. The sub cellar or excavate RtDort of National Museum, 1888.— Niblack. Plate XXXV. ui UI o z u. ? f X b. O 3 < I- ul O ! I ;! 'f ::)!. \ M > 41 \ THE INDIANS OF THE NORTHWEST COAST. au7 after Boas. Tbe Haida frootfl are rarely oruameiited with totoiuiu rep- reiteutatioiis. Totemio and mortuary columm. — It is tbe custom amongst theTliiiKit) Kaigaiii, and Tsimshiau to erect carved columns in frontof tbe bouses. These usually staud some feet from tbe fronts. Amongst tbe Haida tbey are geoeraUy iu contact with the front, tbe doorway or entrance being through a bole iu the carved column about three feet from tbe ground, into which the occupant appears to dive when be enters. This form of entrance is shown in Plate xxxv, and is found occasionally elsewhere, l)ut is rather peculiar to tbe Uaida. It is now, however, being generally superseded by the European type of doorway. The carved columns will be described in detail in a subsequent chapter. Haida permanent dicellings. — Fig. 179, Plate xxxv, represents a Haida house of the conventional pattern. Tbe posts, gg, hollowed out on tbe backs, as shown, to reduce tbe weight, with carved faces, are firmly planted in the ground. Tbe upper ends are also hollowed to receive tbe enormous log plates, « «, which give strength and solidity to tbe build- ing. The carved column, t», at tbe front of tbe bouse, is usually next erected, as tbe work up to this point requires the cooperation of many bands, tbe gathering being the occasion of a feast and a grand distribu- tion of presents (a potlatch, as it is called) amongst tbe participants. Often, through lack of funds, the work of building a bouse l..(S to be postponed, the whole process often requiring several years. The ex- penses are usually reckoned in blankets, as tbey are the conventional gifts on such an occasion. Tbe huge plates and purliues, tbe hewu cedar planks, and the logs for posts and carved columns, are gotten out from tbe forests with great labor and expense, and are towed to tbe vil- lage site, where tbey are hauled up on skids, and tbe work of smootb- flnisbing beguu. Plate lxx illustrates an animated scene at Fort Simp- son, British Columbia, where a party of Haida are represented as hauling up a log ou skids iu tbe process of house construction. Tbe relief carving on thetotemic columns and the posts is done either by tbe owner, if be be expert, or if be be rich, by others biretl or kept iu the establishment for the purpose. The materials being ready, tbe invited guests assemble from far and near, and the different timbers are gotten up to the site of the house. Tbe posts are raised into position by means of rope guys and props, and firmly planted in tbe deep holes dug in the ground. Tbe plates or huge logs which rest ou the uprights are gotten into position by what a sailor would call technically skids and parbuckles. To de- scribe the process in detail, imagine tbe four posts (or, as in Plate LXX, six posts) in Fig. 179 firmly planted iu tbe ground, their heads being hollowed out as shown. The log (or plate, as it is technically called in architecture) is rolled to a distance of about 14 feet from the uprights and parallel to its final position. Tbe uprights are braced or shored on the opposite side, while on tbeadjaci>nt side skids are rested at an angle to form au incline, up which the plate is, by tbe combined effort of many, 'ill I 'I ' I 308 KEPOllT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1888. gradually rolled. RopeH are rove over the top of the posts under aud over the plate, then back again over the upright. These ropes constitute the parbuckle, which is designed to take the weight of the log and hold it in position. Forked sticks are restcMl against the log with their other ends in the ground to help the parbuckle take the weight as the plate is gradually rolled up, the forked sticks being gradually also shifted up as it rise:j. By dint of pushing, shoving with poles, and pulling on the parbuckle, the plate is gotten to the top of the incline. It is now a question of lifting the dead weight of the log by means of poles and by pulling on the parbuckle. At. last the plate is hauled to the top of the upright and rolled into the hollow in which it rests. The carved toteniic columns are raised into position by means of poles, props, and rope guys, and tirmly imbedded in the deep hole dug for it io the ground. The whole process is an occasion of much ceremony, and the work occupies but a small part of the time, the remainder being filled in with gambling, dancing, feasting, singing, speech-making, and ceremonial display intended to inspire the visitors and guests with the wealth and prowess of the host. Judge Swan says : The self-denial of comforts uud even necessaries exercised for many jears in the aconniiilation of property by man and wife is very renmrliable, but, in their estima- tion, is amply repaid ou the occasion of a distribution of tlie same and the erection of a decorative column, which in many instances stands in front of an nnflniahed lodge frame as a visible monument of the owner's folly and extravagance. * * The owner probably lives in the lodge of some relative, or perhaps is dead. It has been beyond his means to finish Irs house, bnt for that he cares little; his vanity has beer gratified; his pride satisfieti. On the day when he stood presiding over his piles ol goods and chattels, previuus to their distribution amongst his eager and expectant gnests, he had reached the summit of his ambition. * * He is thenceforth a petty chief of the village. In some of the very latest types of the houses, instead of the comer posts « i and the smaller posts r r supporting the eaves-plates e e, there are four posts aud two heavy rafters similar to g and «. In either case the eaves-plates e, or one similar to s, are beveled to reoei^^ the upper ends of the boards forming the side walls of the house, as shown in w and adjacent details. The heavy plank frames h h and 1 1 are beveled, as shown in section q, to receive the boards forming the end walls, or front and back of the house. The top purlines j jjj form the supports for the roof-planking, and are held in place by the superimposed frames u u. The x'jof^v.g is formed either of planks or slabs of bark held down by rock??, b/^ams and cross-pieces, as shown in Figure 178. The smoke- hole fcis surmounted by a frame i* 2? carrying a shutter o, which is closed in the direction of the wind. This shutter has a motion about the ax!e p p. When the wind changes a^d blows down the smoke-hole, a chain or rope is pulled and the shutter revolves to the other position against the wind. As the house faces the channel, and the v/ind usually draws up or down it, the shutter works to face one side of the house or t^e other. The entrance is shown at a. Below, the sketch of the house is dotted in the form of the excavated interior. The upper ledge or plat- \} ^ THE INDIANS OF THK NORTHWEST COAST. 800 i t^ form is at the level, d ; oin the lower platform. The Are, 6, burns on the bare earth, or in a frame-work of boards Ailed with rocks. It is here that the family sleep in winter, stretched out on the bare door or on mats with feet towards the fire. As stated, the occupants of such a houHe are numerous, amounting in some cases to thirty or forty in all, and the household may embrace a chief, his family, grand- children, and the families of several of his brothers. Amongst the Kai- gani most of the houses are built on log foundations, a little above the ground, and the European form of door is used. In soue cases the carved column in set a few feet off with a small opening in it, but the real entrance to the house is by a doorway, thus keeping up a semblance of the ancient custom. The Uaida houses are quite , ^'aerally excavated, and seldom built on raised foundations. The smaller houses, and not unasaally the more modern houses, consist principally of a frame erected on four posts, one at each corner. VILLAGES. The villages are invariably situated along the shore, and usually near a shelving beach, which admits of easily hauling up the canoes. Often, through the desire to be near a good halibut fishing bank, a very ex- I)08ed site is of necessity selected. The houses are usually in a single row, a few feet above extreme high water, facing toward the beach and not far back from it. At high water the canoes can be hauled well up. Between the houses and high-water mark is a space which serves as a street, with a beaten path near the houses and patches of grass be- yond. This space serves for hauling up canoes for long periods and drying fish, as well as the usual purposes of a street. Sometimes the two rows of houses are built, where the space is contracted, vrith a narrow street betwec*) the rows. The houses are not very far apart in the rows, are often in contact, and arranged without regard to rank or precedence. There are one or more carved columns in front of each house. These are at first usually painted (formerly daubed with ochre), but the coat is seldom renewed. Owing to the bleaching eft'ect of the weather, the columns and he ses after a while assume a grayish white appearance, and become cove> d with moss. In the weather-cracks moss and vegetation flourish, givi jg a very ancient appearance. At the end of the village is the graveyard, with its variety of sepulchres aad mort- uary columns of ancient and modern form, as shown in Plate in. Scattered throughout the villages, in front and near the corners of the houses, are the mortuary or commemorative columns similar to those in the graveyaras. These are pictured in all their variety in Plate in. Behind the village, or at one end, are the small sheds in which the dead are placed. Names of villages. — Oonsiderable confusion has originated in the enumeration of villages amongst the Haida and Kaigani by Europeans, through the different names assigned to the same village. The Indians ■ * I 4'! 310 REPORT OF N VTION..Ii MUSEUM, 1888. have their own names, bitt the traders atid others often call a village after the name of the chief; for instance, Kaaaan is popularly called Skowl's village; the village of Skidegate, Qaeen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia, is popularly so caUed from the name of the hereti'- tary chief; the Haida name is Hyo-haika, hnt the Tsimshian call Kil-hai oo. • Groups of villages. — Each village practically constitutes a tribe. There uever have been any permanent leagues or associations of til- lages to constitute a nation with head ruler, although, for certain rea sons of defense or offense, villages have so co-op'^rated temporarily for mutual benefit or protection. The totemic systems of the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsmishian kings, in some senses uniform^ have often operated to make tlie alliance between phratries and totems of different villages in some measure stronger than the clannish feeling due to close ethnical affinity. Residence. — During the summer but few Indians are found at the permanent villa^'es. Occasionally a canoe load ret::ru8 to deposit a 'rargo, or to get something needed in the distant summer camp. Where the fishing and hunting ground is near the village, it is contin- ually occupied, but if at a distance there are times when the village is entirely abandoned, although there may be some camps quite near. Under such circumstances property is entirely safe. Early in the sum- mer, during the first run of salmon, and when birds' eggs are to be gathered, the Indians are widely scattered. Later on they congregate, but disperse again for the run of King salmon, which lasts well into December. By Christmas time they have all gathered in, and in the long winter nights take place all those social and cercmoniai gatherings and feastings of which only a winter's residence amongst them can give an adequate idea. Gathered around the blazing fire then are related those legends and traditions which illustrate their beliefs. Tb^n also take place those dances, ceremonials, and theatrical performances which graphically illustrate and perpetuate these traditions, and glorify the prowess and might of the chiefs and their ancestors. * Davson, Report, B, p. 165. > >) i T^ « • « ) 1i ' i • t • • II- ;* ;% ■I ^^:'.< U2 iBEPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1888. • * of backj^xtg it^'inr))icfa, with the beating it receives from a bone wallet sach as'' showji/in Fig. 179»i, separates it into fibres. These two specimeoik^e jn'^he Emmons Gollection. (Tliniit.. ,Si|wnoDs (VI1l radically different. Amongst the Makah and other tribes of the Waka- shan stock the pattern is that shown in Fig. 168, Plate xxxii, described by Prof. O. T. Mason as follows : It msy be called the "fish-trap Btyle," since withont doubt thi. finer basketry is the line<)il descendant of the rude wicker fish-trap. Imagine a numl^er of stakes driven into the ground pretty close together. A horizontal pule is laiu against them in the rear, and by the wrappings of a withe around the pole and each upiight stake diag- onally on the outside and vertically on the inside a spiral fastening is produced. • This stitch crosses the two fundamentals in front at an angle and the horizontal frame piece in the rear at right angles, or vice versa.* Patterns in geometrical figures are worked on the baskets in black, yellow, drab, red, etc., in dyed straws. Amongst the Haida and the Ghilcat and northern Tlingit generally the method of weaving basketry is by that known as "twining;" that is, twining two woof strands around a series of warp strands. This is illustrated in detail in Figs. 37o and 37d,' Plate xii, which represent the same method used amongst these Indians for rain hats. Different varieties of Haida and Tliugit baskets are shown in Plates xxxvi and xxxvii, and Figs. 180 to 189, inclusive. Fig. 180 of the first-named plate represents a Tlingit " coiled " basket, of which Fig. 185 is another variety. This method of construction differs from the " twined'- basketry. The bottom ot this type is made of a number of straight rods sewed into a rectangular mat, around which the sides are built up by coiling. " The mat-like bottom is ornamented by sewing on straws longitudinally with stitciies wide apart, so as to show a checker pattern of straw and stitching. This method of ornamenting the bottom is often pursued over the whole external surface of the basket." t Figs. 185 and 186 are from Pro- fessor Mason's article on basketry just quoted. Fig. 186 shows the method of covering up the coiled work of the sides by an ornamental arrangement of bark and straw. The concealed texture is " built up by whipping a coil of rushes or small splints with splint or birch bark. • • • The imbricated effect upon the surface is produced by sewing on little loops of bark and straw, white and brown, with blind stitches, in such a way as to conceal the manner of attachment."t (See Fig. 186.) Fig. 180 is a top view and Fig. 186 is a side view of this type of coiled basketry. Four styles of twined baskets of ornamental pattern * Smithsonian Report, 1884, Part ii, p. 297-2i)d. Mason. Aboriginal Basket-work, t SmlthsoniaQ Report, Part ii, 1884. Mason. Aboriginal Basket-work. Plate vi. I ft s ■■■ ■ 4 '■' il-; !■ A'' ': 1: A' i: 1 (• 314 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1888. are shown in Figs. 181, 182, 184, and 189. These are made from the fibre of the spruce root and so delicately twined as to be watertight. The bottom is roughly made, the warp l)eing of splints of sprace root radiating from the center, and the woof of twine woven in the plain ==r=^^: -\ b ■iSm?&im^W ill-- 5=-; ..gi- IWilliilM'^ IIUPMH I! ipUIBE ^^^ § Vlu. 185. Coiled Basket. (Cat No. 6013&. U. S. N. M. Tina* imlium, 8. E. Alaak* Collected by John J. McLean.) color of the material. The cylindrical portion above the bottom is also in the plain color of the sprace root, but the "twining'' is that of Fig. 37r, Plate xii. Bands of red and black are woven into the structure for ornamental purposes, the strands being colored on both sides. n Fig. 186. Detail of Fio. 18S. *< Afterwards little squares or other plain figures are sewetl on in "a^'osene,'' that is, only half way through, giving the most varied effect on the outside, while the inside shows only the plain colors and the red and black bands."* In recent years the most gaudy and brilliant * Biuitbsoniau Report, 1884, Part ii, Maaon, Aborigiual Basket-work, i>. Ii95. \ h ft t 1 J EXPLANATION OF PLATE XXXVI. r-so i) Tlingit and Haida Basket-work. Fig. 180. Coiled Basket. Made by whipping a coil of rushes or small .splints with splints or birch Iwirk to form the sides, which are built np on a mat-like bottom. The foundation work isconceakHl lieneath an imbri- cation in loops of bark and straw sewed on with blind stitches. Col- lected at Hoonyah, but the work telongs to the mainland aiid the interior. Cat. No. 60235. U. S. N. M. Tinne Indians. Hoonyali, Alaska. Collected by John J. McLean. J^'ig. 181. Twined Basket. Of spnioe-rcMrt. Geometric patterns worked on the outside with colored s|>ruce-root and dyed wild wheat straw. Cover handle contains small pebbles to form a rattle. Metlunl of twining shown in Fig. .37/>, Plate XII. Cat. No. 20715, U. S. N. M. Tlingit, Alaska. Collected by James G. Swan. Fig. 182. Twined Basket. Same style as Fig. 180. Cat. No. 7H442. U. S. N. M. Haida Indians, Queen Charlotte Islands. Collected by James (J. Swan. Fig, 183. Twined Basket Mat. Of spruce-root. Eurojiean pattern. Cat. No. 20727, U. S. N. M. Tlingit Indians. Sitka. Colleited by James (J. Swan. Fig. 184. Twined Wallet. Cat. No. 1865, U. S. N. M. Chilkat Indians. Alaska. Collected by W. F, Tolmie. ^ (■■ A Report of National Museum, 1888.— Niblack. Plate XXXVI. Tlingit and Haida Basket-work. % A I J f 1 -A T- ^ ' -\ r-' ^ n ■■HP I ; I I J EXPLANATION OF PLATE XXXVII. GENERAL TYPE OF HAIDA AND TUNGIT OPFN-WORK TWINED BASKETRY. From Smithsonian Report, 1884, Part II, Plate VIII. Fie 190 The method of open twined weaving is shown in Fig. h. Hpnu-e-root ie Fig. m). llu 1 ^^ .^^ ^^^^ ^^^^^^ ^^^^^ eedai-baik replaces .t u, tlie south The handle is a twine of spruce-root fastened on by weaving in and out ^ t e side, the lower end knotted. The fastening off at the rim is lie by bending down the war. threads externally and sewing them rt t 'wth one row of twining, fat. No. H8..C4, U. S. N. M. Ha.da In- fC Qu"n Charlotte Islands. British Columbia. Collected by James (i. Swan. V J(s> fiaporlof Nttionil Museum, 1888.— Niblack, Plate XXXVII. I 1', ' '■ f i;: '. II f ■i. ,! I i I ■; ( - j • il General Type of Haida and Tlingit Open-work Twined Basketry. 11 CO i I ' ^ ht ■ «i ^ THE INDIANS OF THE NORTHWEST 00A8T. 315 i colored wild wheat strawM arc useil in tliis relief oroatnentation. The borders at the top of the baskets are formed by turning under the warp threads and catting them off. Cir- cular covers, likewise ornamented, are fitted to baskets of the type of Figs. 181 and 182. These frequently have an ingeniously woven compart- ment in the top in which small peb- bles are enclosed, and which rattle tvhen shaken. Fig. 187 illustrates the metho<»elt lii.li'in-. Qili-'n Charlutti! liltnd, R. C. (^nllntpit by Jn-. are Fig. 195. Plate XXXVIIL Cat. No. 89ir)B. tJ. S. N. M. Haida Indians, Queen Cliarlotte Islands, British Columbia. Collected by James G. Swan. Fig. 2(H). Food Dish. Ornamented with ojiercula. Com[)ave Fig. 196, Plate XXXVIIL Cat. No. 67936. U. S. N. M. Tlingit Indians, Alaska. Collected by John J. McLean. Fig. 201. Ladle. Cat. No. 6016.5. U. S. N. M. Tlingit Indians. Sitka. Ala.ska. Col- lected by John J. McLean. Fig. 202. Bowl. Cat. No. 6016.'). U. S. N. M. Tlingit Indians, Alaska. Collected by John J. Mcl^ean. ReDortof National Museum, 1888.— Niblack, Plate xxxix. ,8T. and handle . Cat. No. pd by John Side view, . S. N. M. Collected 196. Plate ns, Alaska. ia.ska. C'ol- toliected Types of Wooden Household Utensils from the Northwest Coast. 1 H ■ 1 i - U r i' i ll 1 11 , i , ,' u '«i EXPLANATION OF PLATE XL. Food-dishes from the NcrtTHWEsr Coast. Fig. 203. Oil Bowl. Design, a sm-guU. Cat. No. ^08.50. U. S. N. M. Stikine In- dians, Fort Wrangell. Ala.ska. {yoliectt'd by James (i. Swan. Fig. 204. Bowl. Design, Olalla. the mountain demon, and Kaltz-da. the crow. Cat. No, 89136, U. S. N. M. Haida Indians. Skidegate. British Colum- bia. Collected by James G. Swan. , Fig. 205. Bowl. Of wood. Design, a version of same legend a?i tluit of Fig. 204. Cat. No. 89134, U. S. N. M. Haida Indians. Skidegate. British Cohnn- bia. Collected by James G. Swan. Fig. 206. Food Dish. Design, a seal and legendary carving. Ornamented witli opercula of shells. Cat. No. 6T902, U. S. N. M. Tling=t Indians. Sitka, Alaska. Collected by John J, McLean. Fig. 207. Bowl. Of wood. Handles represent human faces. Cat. No. 20858, U. S. N. M. Stikine Indians, Fort Wrangell. Alaska. Collected by James G. Swan. Fig. 208. Dish. Of wood. Design. Tsing, the l)eaver. Cat. No. 89133, U. S. N. M. Haida Indians, Skidegate, Britisli Columbia. Collected by James (}. Swan. Fig. 209. Dish. Desfgn. Skam-son, the sparrowhawk. Cat. No. 888«'2, U. S. N. M. Haida Indians, Masset. Queen Charlotte Islands, Britisli (Jolumbia. Collected by James G. Swan. Report nf National Museum, 1888. Niblack. PLATE XL. ■ '.'■'H JliJ^i Food-dishes from the Northwest Coast. f" ^1 THK INDIANS OP THE N0BTUWK8T COASr. 317 to the materials of which these native dishes are made, they may be' divided into woqden and horn. In shapes they may be classified as boat shaped, flat, square, round, spherical, oblong, and tub-shaped. They are all essentially food dishes, but one or two exceptions will here- after be noted. In the large feasts given by the chiefs, ceremonial dishes are used, di£fering in size and character from the ordinary household variety. Figs. 191 and 193, Plate xxxviii, represent the two extremes of this type of dish, the former being deep, painted in totemic design, and ornamented with oporcula, while the latter is shallow and deeply carved but not otherwise ornamented. Figs. 195 and 199 represent another type of ordinary food dish with rounded sides and elaborate relief carving, the former being a top and t! ti latter a side view. Other varieties are discussed in connection wiili the explanations of illustrations. Fig. 198 is a carved wooden treasure-box. The larger boxes of this type are used for transportation, and storage cases for dog- fish oils, dried fish, and other food supplies, and are often as large as 24 inches in height by 14 inches in breadth. These must be distin- guished from the household boxes used for the storage of goods and chattels. These latter are lighter and more beautifully carved and painted. The former are heavier and clumsier, and, although carved, are generally soiled with oil and grease. It is in this style of box that the Indians transport eulachon and other kiud^ of oil, grease, or fats in quantities of 100 pounds or more. The chests or household boxes are described in another paragraph. Boxes of a shape corresponding to Figs. 195 and 199, also used for food and supplies of grease, are often as large as 20 inches in length by 12 inches in height. Fig. 209, Plate XL, represents a tub shaped dish, ornamented with a totemic de> sign. A specimen of this kind in the U. S. N^ational Museum measures 32 inches in length and 17 inches in extreme height. It may be noted in passing that these native wooden dishes are now being rapidly su- perseded by cheap earthernware purchased from the traders. Dishes and spoons have been made on the coast from the horns of the mountain sheep and goat from time inj memorial. The Haida have excelled all others, however, in the art of carving in general and inlaying in shell, yet curiously enough they have to get the horn by trade with the Tsimshian and Tliugit on the mainland, as the goats and sheep are only found in the loftiest parts of the main coast ranges. Fig. 217 repre- sents an end view of an elaborately carved Haida horn dish, of which a side view is not unlike Fig. 209. A top view of a similar dish is shown in Fig. 222. Spoons and ladles. — Plates XLi and XLii illustrate a sufficient variety of spoons to give an idea of how elaborately so simple a household article as this is carved and ornamented. The first mentioned plate shows a variety of horn spoons. Fig. 218 being a representative one in ■! t^i i ■ i •'■ '. 'y i M 318 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 18«8. point of (jize, althougu it is severely plain and auortiamented. Looking at a ben of a mountain sh«;ep it seems difficult to conceive how the Indians can get so large a spoon out of such a curled and uapromising looking object. The bowl of the spoon comes from the largest part; the handle runs the full length to the tip, and is afterwards straightened out by steaming it. In general, spoons are shaped by steaming in a wooden mould made in two pieces, and scored out inside to the required shape. This type of great horn spoon is usually elaborately and deeply carved in totemio design, and sometimes inlaid with abalone shell. They are preserved as heirlooms in the familiei:) and considered of great value. A .lot uncommon type of spoon is shown in Figs. 210, 212, 213, and 221, the bowl being from the horn of a mountain sheep and the handle a mountain goat horn, elaborately carved in a legendary or totemic de- sign. The handle is very ingeniously secured to the bowl by n sort of tongue and groove rivetted through with copper. The signiflcance of the carvings on the handles of those shown in the plate, as far as known t<) the writer, is f;iven in the explanation of the figures. The spoons shown in Figs. 211, 214, and 219 are made entirely of the horns of the mountain goat, the bowls being formed by splitting the horn at the base and rolling it out flat by steaming and bending it. Fig. 220 is a plain sheep-horn spoon, similar in shape to the wooden one shown in Fig. 238. The long, flat putty-kuife or spft-tula-shaped obj'^ats shown in Plate xlii are berry spoons, or ceremonial feast spoons, mit'e of wood and carved or painted in totemic design These are shown in different views, well illustrating the variety of shapes. Fig. 224 of the pre- ceding plate represents a pair of spoons of this type carved from whale- bone aud obtained at Sitka, Alaska. A most elaborately carved pair of wooden ceremonial spoonij in the collection resemble the ovca or whale-killer. Other types of ordinary wooden spoons are ahoTvn in Figs. 233, 237, 238, and 239. Fig. 274, Plate Li, illustrates a wooden ceremonial spoon of enormous si''!;e found amongst the Haida, the bowl having a capacity of Iwo quarts. This is used in the ceremonies attending the initiation of young men into'the responsibilities of rank, when the novice must publicly drink to the last drop the contents of the bowl consisting of fish oil, without removing the spoon from his lips. The exact nature of thisceremony is not understood by the writer, but this use for such a large spoon has been explained to him by several people well versed in Haida customs. Fig. 201, Plate XXXIX, represents a carvetl wooden oil ladle or spoon. Bouseliold boxes or chestn. — These are for tiie stowage or ]>acking away of ceremonial paraphernalia and the goods and chattels of the household. They vary in size and shape, as shown in Plate Li. Tub ublong chests are simply gieat wooden boxes with heavy bottoms and peculiarly shaped lids. The sides of these are made either in two or in four pieces. When made in two pieces a thin wide pieco of cedar is bent at right angles by means of hot water, forming a side and an end, iOoking [ndiauH tookiug handle out by woodea [ shape, carved hey are t value. 13, and landle a ijaic de- sort of ance of I known spoons ft of the I at the 220 is a 10 wn in i shown of wood different tho pre- n whale- d pair of ovca or howu in wooden Ida, tho remouies ilities of contents )on from kI by the 1 to him )1, Plate S'tl I 1 ing away uusehoUl, r bottoms ler in two ^ uf cedar id an end, EXPLANATION OF PLATE XL!. Horn and Whalebone Spoons and Dishes from the Northwest Coast. Fig. 210. Sheep-horn Spoon. Handle of goat liorn; totemic design: " The killer whale and the owl." Cat. No. 89173, U. S. N. M. Skidegate, British Columbia. Collected by James G. Swan. Fig. 412. Horn Spoon. Totemic designs: " The Iwar and the hunter," and above, " The raven and tlie man." Cat. No. 89174, U. S. N. M. Skidegate, British Cohimbia. Collected by James G. Swan. Fig. 313. Horn Spoon. Totemic de.sign8: "The bear and tlie hunter," and "The mountain demon and tlie frog." Cat. No. 8916.%, U. S. N. M. Skide- gate, British Cohimbia. Collected by James Ci. Swan. Fig. 224. FiATiNO Sticks. Of whal i.one. Cat. No. H944 (1 and 2). U. S. N. M. Sitka, Alaska. Collectctl by Dr. A.H. Hoff. U. S. Army. Report of National Museum, 1888.— Niblick. P.'JVTE XLI. ■ I : M 'i ■ ''I I •■' « Horn and Whalebone Spoons and Dishes from the Northwest Coast. ■ 1 1 ■r-1 'I H 1 i Ij! EXPLANATION OF PLATE XLII. Wooden Spoons from the Northwest Coast, Figs .227. Figs .231, Figs .226, Fig. 233. Fig. 387. Fig. 238. Fig. 239. 229, 230, 236, and 240. Spoons. Of wood. Used especially for berries by all Northwest Indian tribes. Cat. Nos. 20820-25. U. S. N. M. Kake Indians (Tlingits) Alaska. Collecied by James G. Swan, 232. and 235. Spoons. Of wood; painted. Cat. Nos. 1625:^- "55, U. S. N. M. Tsimshian Indians, British Columbia. Collected by Dr. W. H, Dall. 227, 238. and 234. Spoons. Of wood; plain. Cat. Nos. 60145. 60153, and 1147, U. S. N, M. Kootznahoo Indians, Alaska. Collected by Jolin J. McLean and James G. Swan. Oil Ladle. Wood. Design, a raven. Cat. No. 60161, U. S. N. M. Tlingit Indians, Alaska. Collected by John J. McLean. Spoon or Ladle. Wootl. Cat. No. 74309, U. S. N. M. Tlingit, Alaska. CoUecteti by John J. McLean. Spoon. Wood; plain. Cat. No. 700, U. S. N. M. Northwest coast. Collected by George Gibbs. Spoon. Cawed wer one with the rows of teeth and protruding tongue is Hoorts, the bear. The two small oblong- figures, one in each upiHT corner, represent the ears of the hear, the lower figure on the lid the face and llipi)ers of Kye, the sea-lion; also seen in the handles on each side of the box. In the latter the sea-lion iias in hia mouth the salmon. The face on the side of the box is that of lloorts, the bear, h.aving in his mouth ihe hunier. This legend, ia explained in Chap. VII. The oblong figures in each corner are tiie paws of the liear. It aliould be mentioned here that in the Haida drawings an eye is i)laced in the breast, in the ear. paw. tail, etc., of figures, presumably on the lielief that e-.ch memljerof the body has the power of looking out for itself or controlling its own move- ments. Cat. No. 81)000, U. S. N. M. TIaida Indians, Queen Charlotte Islands. Britisli l''>lutubia. Collected by .himes G. Swan. Report of National Museum, 1888 NIblack. PLi.TE XLIV. r 1 I 11 fUi iJ OLUMBIA. Ii is shown r one with The two he ears of f Kye, the n the latter side of the II lev. Tliia aeh corner til at in the . i)aw. tail. of tlie body own move- ii Chnrlott* ' 1 H- HaIDA CARVED BOX OF BLACK SlaTE, FKOM QUEEN CHARLOTTE ISLANDS, BRITISH COLUMBIA. [f wmmm 1 THE INDIANS OF THE NORTHWEST COAST. 319 a similar piece foriniug the opposite side and end, and ttie joints secured by pegs or dowels. Where four pieces are used the corners are secured either by dove-tailing or by pegging. The bottom is made in a separate piece and i)egged to the sides and ends. The top is slightly arched at the crown and bevelled on t)ifl under side to lit over the chest. Some- times the top is flat and as thin as the sides, the edges having a broad strip running around them to fit over the box. Another type of house- hold box is about 18 iLches square by 24 inches high, as shown in Fig. 272, Plate Li, which also shows the method of cording. The top and bottom are made in somewhat similar shape of separate pieces. The sides are of a single wide thin piece of cedar, which is scarfed and deftly bent three times at right angles by steaming and hammering, with very little appearance of breaking at the bends, and pegged at the fourth corner, making a neat and tight joint. These boxes and chests are either carved or painted, or both, in totemic design, and are very elaborate and or- namental. A smaller and more handy type of wooden box is shown in Plate XLiii, which has a use, at times, other than that as a household utensil, viz, in receiving the cremated ashej of the dead. Its use as a funeral box is shown in Plates lxiv and lxv. Figs. 340, 343, and 348. A beautifully carved and polished Haida black slate box is represented in Plate xliv. It is purely a work of art, and as such is a ^jplendid illustration of the skill of these Indians in stone carving. The joints are made with wooden dowels and further secured with fish glue. Cradles. — These are now rarely found, the child being carried slung in a shawl or blanket over the back in the usual Indian fashion. Dixon (1787) describes the primitive cradle which he saw amongst the Haida and Tlingit as follows: Throe piocos of bark are fastened together so as to form a kind of chair j the infant, after being wrapped in fnr, is pnt into tliis chair and lawhed so close tiiat it can not alter its postnro even with strnggling, and the chair is so contrived that when a tiiothcr wants to feed her child, or give it the breast, there is no occasion tc release it from its shackles. Soft moss is nsed l)y the Indian nurse to keep the child clean.* Lisiansky mentions the wife of a chief coming on board his ship (1805) carrying her child in a basket. At the present day a canvas or blanket hammock is sometimes used, in cami) or indoors, to rock the baby to sleep. Paints. — As previously mentioned, the different kinds of paints used by the Indians in tiiis region are charcoal, ro.isted and burnt fungus, white, red, and brown ochres, lignite, cinnabar, berry juice, spruce sap. and various other kinds of vegetable compounds. For tattooing aud painting the face and body black, charcoal and lignite are used. Cil is mixed with all i>aints used on the body. Where lignite is used on wcod, or for other purposes of a permanent nature, it is ground dry with salmon eggs, first chewed with cetlar barli. This gives consistency to the paint 4 • Dixon, Voyage, p. '239. i,Ji '} ; 320 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1888. and makes it stick welL A fangoid growth from the hemlock tree by various treatD>eut becomes yellow, red, or black. When decayed to a powdery consistency, it is yellow ; when roasted, it is red ; and when charred, black. The Cbilkat get the brilliant yellow for their blankets from a kind of moss called aekhone. Faint-brushes have been described in Chap, v, and are illustrated in Plate xlv. The stone mortars and pestles for grinding paint are similar to those shown in Figs. 337 and 339, Plate lxiti, for preparing native tobacco. Metal icorking. — The tools with which the Indian artisan works out the surprisingly well-finished metal ornaments and implements of this region are simple and few in number. For bracelet making the silver- smith has a hammer, several cold chisels, and an etching tool which is merely a sharpened steel pointer edge. Improvised iron anvils replace the stone implements of this kind doubtlessly used in former days. Tbe details of bracelet making are given in Chapter iv. Copper is beaten into the required shapes. Steel tools "ow used are very deftly tem- pered and sharpened by the native artisan, who retains tbe primitive form of his implement or tool, and merely substitutes the steel for the former stone blade or head. The ingenuity wliich the Indians show in adapting iron and steel to their own uses is but one of the many evidences of their cleverness and intelligence. Lumber and woodwork. — Incidental to the description of tools, houses, canoes, etc., allusions have been made to the expertness of the Indians in getting out lumber in the rough from the forests. The tools employed in wood-work have been described, but it is a never failing source of wonder to Europeans that they can accomplish so much with so little. Portlock (1787) observes: It is very surprising to see how well they [Tlingit] will shape their boards with the shocking tools they employ; some of them being full 10 feet loug, 2^ feet broad, and not more than an invh thick. * It is, however, still more surprising to see the exquisite finish wrought on the rattles, headdresses, masks, etc., in the relief carving for which these Indians of the north are famous. PAINTINGS, DRAWINGS, AND CARVINGS. The pictographic art of these Indians is illustrated in nearly all the accompanying plates. A few details need to be added to explain the significance and trace the origin of the designs so lavishly bestowed upon nearly evtvy article of personal and household property. The early voyagers were much struck by the artistic abilities of these peo- ple, and Dixon (1787) voices this feeling when he says of the Tlingit and Haida: Many of these carvings are well proportioned and executed with a considnrnble de- gree of ingenuity, which appears rather extraordinary amongst a people j remote from civilized reflnment.t • Portlock, Voyage, p. 'JS^, t Dixon, Voyage, p. 243. i'l'l I \ \ X i , II i il I ' EXPLANATION OF PLATE XLV A. ■i'vy i*r \ Paint Brushes from the Northwest Coast. Fig'. 244. Presents a device for renewing tlie bristle when worn down. Fig. 246. From Sitka (Koloshan or Tlingit stock). Rejn-esents a diief with tall cer- emonial hat. Fig. 248. From Massset, C^ueen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia (Haidan stock). Represents a land otter. Fig. 249. Represents a wolf. Fig. 251. The handle is sjilit, the bristles being nipped in lK>tween the two parts. Represents a raven. Cat. No. 2(1548. U. S. N. M. Collected by James G. Swan. All the handles are made of wood. The brushes are of bristle or \egetable fil)er. The same general type is found along the entire coast. Report of National Museum, 1888 Niblack. PLATE XLV, A. ;■ two parts, 'd by James ishes are of (1 along till' < a. ! ■ 1 ]■] ! ' ,i. * 'i I '1 \ I,. '!|! ! t 1, I' i ■'I ^ EXPLANATION OF PLATE XLV,B. isz es-6 ^ss Paint Brushes from the Northwest Coast. Fig. 253 Tlepresents a raven. Fig. 'lh\. Bone handle. Repre.sents Oolalla, the inoiintain demon. Fig. S.")."). Represents an eagle. Fig. 256. From the Bella Bella tribe of the Kwakiutl (Haeltzukan flt(Kk). fat. No. 20,548. U. S. N. :M. Collected by James G. Swan. All the handles, exoei)t of Fig. 254, are made of wood. The brushes are either of l)ristle or vegetable fiber. The same general type of brush is found along the entire coast. Rtport of Nttional Muteunn, 188R. Niblack, Plate XLV, B. t' I" f Cat. No. B brushes I type of I- tn UJ ? I I- (£ o z Ul I y- s o CE U. to Ul I If) a: CQ ,2 i; ' if: ^ ! IT 1% ■ \ VI 1 1 m i i! t4\ EXPLANATION OF PLATE XLVI, ' hi" ■ 1' Slave-killers from the. Northwest Coast ; formerly used in dispatching Slaves. 'It Fit;. 2')T. Minleof Ikhh'. Carved to rejiresent thelx'ak of a ravMi. Cat. No. 1'2T1T:>, U. S. N. M. Tliii-it IndiaiLs. Alaska. Collected by E. B. Webster. U. !S. Navy. Fig. 258. Ot wood: onuimented with a citrved heart ami human hair. Cat. Nd. r:i,'.;n. U. S. N. M Tlinjiii 'ndiaiis. Alaska. Colleeled liy I.ieiit. '!'. Dix Holies. [J. S. ISavy. Fig. !i517. (Seisher or Sitzee. Ilaitlii). Woodi'U bend: steel jioiiit. Oriuunented with liunian hair. Cat. .No. 74:0;;. U. S. N. M. Ilaida Indians. Queen Cliarlot,t(.' Iwlands, Britisii ( 'ohunbia. Collectei' i)y .fanu'S G. Swan. Fig. 360. ?.ladi from Elk antler, carved in toteiuie. design, ami armed with a siiarp stone point. Cat. N(\ 74.">00. U. S. N. M. Tlii)<.:;it Indians. .Maska. Colleeted l)y James G. 8wan. Fig, 2fil. (Slt/.ee). '.\f;\de from a deer antler, and carved to r ,)resent the bead of Tl'kob. the crane: tiie hiuidle represents a bear's paw. Cat. No HHTttl. U. S. N. M. Kaigani \ illage of Hovvkan, Alaska. Collected bv James G. Swan. rfBH iiiiiiiiniiliiilfilili" '■ I iiJ Repoj; ,if rintior.il Mui-um, 1888. -Niblack. Plate XLVI. HiNG Slaves. k.No. It2717:i, W'ebstor. U. ir. Cat. No. by l.ioit. 'I'. iinii'iiU'd vvitli (Hans. Qin'fii s (i. Swan, with a sliarp iaiis. Alaska. tl)-' li.'ad ol" It. No H8701. tc(t liv James Slave-killers fRoM the Northwest Coast ; formerly used in dispatchino Slaves. ^TT THE INDIANS OF THE NORTHWEST COAST. 321 The nulest form iii which this art embodies itself is in the picto- graphs on the rocks. These are found Jnst above hip;ii-water mark around the sites of ancient and abandoned villages. Two gronps of them, from the ancient village of Stikine, near Ft. Wrangell, Alaska, are shown iu Plate xx, and in Figs. 278, 279, 290, and 297. These have ^^i M:^^\^ m-(^' 279 296 297 • Fi(tR. 278, 270, 296, 2!»7. Cabvinos on Rocks. Sitka. Alaska. ( Krnni ,«k"rrhn« by tli» ;i'illi.M-. ) -no other signilicance than the practice in idle hours of an art in which they 'vere all striving to attain excellence. Some, outstripping others, becftino in time famous carvers, de" "ators. or tattooors, tiitir fanv even ^ij^ten(ling beyond their own village or tribe, lu ouo bcubc these carv- H. Mis. 142, pt. 2— 21 'li'\ ! .(] i ■N 322 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1888. iugs on the rucks are in tbe nature of drawings, as they appear also in painted ligures on the simpler objects, but in the paiutiugs on wood the patterns are very much more elaborate than those simple etchings on the rocks, as shown, for instance, in the carved and painted figures on the ihest and box in Plate L.I. In their paintings the favorite colors used are black, light green, and dark red. Whether produced in paint- ing, tattooing, or relief-carving the designs are somewhat conventional. However rude the outline, there are for some animals certain conven- tional signs that clearly indicate to the initiated what figure is meant. With the brown bear it is the protruding tongue; with the beaver and wolf it is the character of the teeth ; with the orca, the fin ; with the raven, the sharp beak ; with the eagle the curved beak, etc. Certain groupings or figures are also generally recognized as portraying certain well-known legends, such, for instance, as the "bear and the hunter" (Plates XXXV, xli, and xliv); the " raven and the moon" (Plate xxxv), etc., which will be explained hereafter. In the interweaving of colors to form a totemic pattern or design, as in the Chilkat blankets, the Indians attained the greatest perfection in their art up to their contact with the whites. Since then the carvings of the Haida in black slate may be said to show the height which their art has now attained. Dratcings and paintings. — In plate xx, and in Figs. 278, 279, 296, and 297, the crude sculpturing on the rocks near Fort Wrangell are shown. In Plates iv and v various tattooing devices are illustrated. Indeed, in nearly every plate some form of totemic pictograph is represented, and it only remains to explain the significance of some of the figures. Plate Lii is reproduced from illustrations in the " West Shore," August, 1884, accompanying an article by Judge J. G. Swan, of Poi tTownseud, Washington Territory. The drawings were made by Johnnie Kit-Elswa, the young Haida interpreter, who a<'companiere competent authority on the ethnology of the northwest coiist th*? rhidge Swan, and he is particularly well informed in the matter of cio»*Sit Indian my- thology and folklore, a brauck of which subject .'K' ^ritviean only touch on in this connection. It it- to be hope«i, Iw^ovei iliat a syste- matic Governmental iuvesiigatiou will be wriliitaktMi in the next few years, for it will soon be too late to gather t*« n.aterialw needed. Fig. 280, Plate Li, represents the orca, or whsur killn, which the Hiiida believe to be a demon called Skana. Jud^ Swan says that, j*vooriiiug to the Indian belief: He cau cliaugo into any desirfcd form, and many are (ho legpnds about him. «.»«e vrhich was relateii to in»- was that ageH ago the Indians wer«> out s<'al hunting. Tho wiiathcr \va8 'aim ami the m-ti sinootli. Cue of iheBu UiIUtn, or black ti.si. .•» »{kvi«>» of i)ur}ioiHe, kept alongside of a canoe, and the > onng men ainuMrtl tlwaM*lve« by throwing Htones from the cauoe ballast iiud hitting the fin <.f the kiW»r. After »oni«> pretty hard blows from those rocks the creature -iiade for the short!, t^bere it grouuded on the beach. 8ouu a amoke was seeu, :u>d theu cuj^'ioyit)- pivtii^>le(l tbfiot ar also in wood the things on Igures on ite colors 1 in paint- reutional. u couven- is meant, saver and with the Certain ig certain 9 hunter " tte XXXV), of colors akets, the ir contact lack slate ned. , 296, and ro shown, [udeed, in )uted, and e figures. " August, 'ownseud, ut-Elswa, u a trip to )lace liere !ompeteut Ige Swan, idiau my- can only L a systPi- I next few led. Fig. lie Hanla ftccoruing him. ihie iting. tho fc. » K|«eci«« After M)iii« I, wbere it iU'lcd tUeui i I ! \ :•] I f .. II lir EXPLANATION OF PLATE XLVIIi & r- -5tf, .Swan. Fig. 363((. Figure in Black Slate. "The he.-ir mother." This ti^ure is re|)ro- duced in Plates XLIX and L. For legend see text. This may he taken a,< the best spcHimen of llaida slate-earvinj;. JNhide hy Sk:5ows-ke"ay. an Indian earver of Skidenate. t^neen Charlotte Islands. British Colum- bia. Cat. No. 7;ni7, U. S. N. M. Collected by James (1. Swan. Fig. 264. Slate Pipe. Cat. No. 258!), U. S. N. M. Northwest coast. Collected i)y Capt. Charles Wilkes. U. S. Navy. Fig. 265. Slate Piim:. Cat. No. 2590. U. S. N. M. Puget Sound. VVa.shington. CoUecteil l)y the U. S. Exjiloring Exi)edition. Cai»t. Charles Wilkes, conunander. Fig. 266. Sj-ate Dish. Design, the orca or killer. Cat. No. Hi)(H)5. U. S. N. M. Haida Indians. Queen Charlotte Islands, British Colunihia. Collecteil hv James (.}. Swan. Report of National Museum, 1888. NiblacU. Plate XLVII. ! i ;;! tf ^! 1 1 t, til*' oira or mil, u. s. N. unibia. t'ol- ;iut' is rt'ino- iiiay lit' taken ■ik:: s.aJ VA ^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 1.25 !ff Ilia I: 1^ lii2.o 1^ 1.8 1.4 111.6 Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. M5S0 (716) 873-4503 \ V ^^ i\ \ ^"^ % v «v i T ^5r ■ if 1 IP r .1. * -! . 1 it "m ■,.i\i m m m i-. ■Mi EXPLANATION OF PLATE XLIX, Haioa Slate-carvinq, representinq the "Bear-mother. ' Fig. 2636. This specimen is also shown in Plates XLVII and L. The legend is given in Chapter V, under the subject of bears. The Haida version of it is as follows: A number of Indian squaws were in the woods gathering lierries when one of them, the daughter cf a chief, spoke in terms of ridicule of the whole l)ear species. The bears descended on them and killetl all but the chief's daughter, whom the king of the bears took to wife. She bore him a child half human and half bear. The carving represents the agony of the mother in suckling this rough and uncouth offspring. One day a party of Indian bear hunters discovered her up a tree and were about to kill her, tliinking her a bear, but she made them under- stand that she was human. They took her home and she afterwards became the progenitor of all Indians belonging to the l)ear totem. They believe that bears are men transformed for the time being. This carving was made by Skaows-ke'ay, a Haida. Cat. No. 73t 17, U. S. N. M. Skidegate village. Queen Charlotte Islands, British CoUimbia. Collected by Jame8 G. Swan. ! 'I I ' Report of National Muteum, 1888. Niblack. Plate XLIX. 1 ,1*^ ■ H :.: n Haida Slate-carving, representing the " Bear-mother. fl! l:i IB' !;; p ►• u I ; EXPLANATION OF PLATE L. Haida Slate-carvinq, representing the "Bear-mother." Fig. 263c. This specimen is also illustrated in Plates XLVII and XLIX, and fully described in the legend accompanying the latter plate. Carved by Skaows-keay, a Haida. Cat. No. 73117, U. S. N. M. Skidegate vil- lage, Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia. Collected by James G. Swan. l! I II Kcpott of National Muieum, ISSS.—Niblaek. Plate L. i 1 m m ' B IM ■M 1 § '■ } ''■ : i : i i r Haida Slate-carvinq representing the " Bear-mother." Mi ml! f |! 'M\' ' 1 11 ! ill EXPLANATION OF PLATE LI. i IJI Chests, Carvings, etc., from the Northwest Coast. From photographi *nd ikatchet by the author. Pig. 872. Household Box or "Chest. With sides made from a single wide, thin piece of cedar scarfed and bent three times and pegged at the fourth comer. The specimen is about 18 inches square by 24 inches high. The method of cording is also shown. The totemic design is the l)ear. Haida Indians, Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia. Tig, 273. Household Chest. With sides made from two pieces of wide, thin cedar wood, bei^t at right angles and pegged together at diagonally o\y- posite comers. The bottom and top are made of oblong slabs of wood neatly dressed down, the bottom l)oing pegged to the sides and ends. Pig. 274. ClihEHONiAL Spoon. Of wood, with handle carved to represent the orca holding the bowl in his mouth. This is use^l in the ceremonies attend- ing a Haida youth's attainment of majority, when he is required to drink down the contents of the spoon, consisting of about two (juarts of fish-oil. Pig. 275. Carved Slate Figure. Commemorating a legend relating the prowess of a certain Indian shaman, who is said to have raised two Indians from the dead at Skidegate, Queen Charlotte Islands. Fig. 280. Haida Pictograph. Representing Skana, the orca or whale-killer. (See Chapter VII.) From a photograph of a drawing in the possession of James G. Swan. 1 Rtportof National MuMum, 1888.— Nibliok, Plate LI. ; n ] M i f i Chests, Carvings, etc., from the Northwest Coast. ni: il! ' ^'S U ^,| i ^ ? f ; £ ' l! j J i r I i'lS ?' 1: PI if -^ EXPLANATION OF PLATE Lll. lii :,]i 281 283 282 284 285 1" Haida Legendary Drawings or Pictooraphs. rrom illuitrations in the West Shore (August, 1884), made by Johnnie Kit-Elswa, a Haida Indian. Fig. 281. Represents the legend of the raven andfthe finherman^ related in Chap- ter VII, page 328. Fig. 282. Represents Koong, the moon, and Ecthlinga, the man, and relates to the story of how the man came in the moon. The legend, as related on page 323, seems also to refer to the difference recognized by some be- tween a wet and a dry moon. Fig. 283. Represents the raven (Hooyeh) in tlie l»elly of the whale (Koone). (See page 823.) Fig. 284. Represents Hooyeh, the mischievous raven that possesses the power of changing itself into countless forms, and which has, from the creation of the world, been the benefactor and helper of mankind. (Page 324.) Fig. 285. Represents T'kul, the wind spirit, and the cirrus clouds, explaining the Indian belief in the causes of the changes in the weather. (See page 324.) Rtport of Nttional Muieum, 1888. — Niblack. PLATE LI I. ^ Haida Leqenjary Draw(nqs or Pictoqraphs. THE INDIANS OP THE NORTHWEST COAST. 323 to aaoertain the oause, bat when they reached the shore they discovered, to their aar- prise, that it was a large uauue, and not the Skana that was on the beaoh, and that a man was on shore cooking some food. He aslied them why they threw stones at his canoe. " You have broken it," said he, "and now go into the woods and get some cedar withes and mend it." They did so, and when they had finished the man said, " Tnrn your backs to the water and cover yonr heads with your skin blankets, and don't you look till I call you." They did so, and heard the canoe grate on the beaoh as it was hauled down into the surf. Then the man said, " Look, now." They looked, and saw the canoe just going over the first breaker and the man sitting in the stern ; but when it came to the second breaker it went under and presently came up outside of the breakers a killer and uot a canoe, and the man or demon was in its belly. This allegory is common among all the tribes on the northwest coast, and even with the iuterior tribes with whom the salmon takes the place of the orca, which never ascends the fresh-water rivers. The Chilkat and other tribes of Alaska carve figures of salmon, inside of which is the full length fisjure of a nude Indian. » • * Casual observers, without inquiry, will at once pronounce it to be Jonah in the fish's belly, but the allegory is of ancient origin, far antedating the adveut of the white man or the teachings of the missionary." The same authority Fig* 281 represeuts the raven and the fisherman, says: - Hooyeh, the raven, had the mischievious propensity of descending into the ocean and investigating the fishing-lines of Houskana, the fisherman, and stealing both bait and fish. At last Houskana, tired of this work, put on a magic hook to ascertain who his enemy was at the bottom of the sea. The raven was caught, and when the fisherman hauled iu his line the rayeu resisted by pressing his ftet and wings against the bottom of the fisherman's canoe. But Houskana was the stronger and pulled the raven's beak entirely ofi", and, seizing the raven, took him ashore to find out who he was, for, as soon as his beak was pulled off he changed to a man, covering his head with bis skin mantle so that nothing but his eyes could be seen. The fisherman tried iu vain to make him uncover his face. At last one of the young men took a handful of llUh and rubbed it in the raven's eyes. This made him throw off his mantle, and then they saw that it was the Hooyeh, This made the raven so angry that, in re- venge for this indignity, the raven and his friends, the crows {Kaltzda), have ever since annoyed the Indians by soiling their canoes and eating all their fish." Fig. 282 represents the " Man in the Moon." According to Judge Swan: Koong, the moon, discovered Eethlinga, the man, about to dip his bucket iu the brook for water, so it sent down its arms or rays and grabbed the man, who, to save himself, seized bold of a big solal bush (Gaultheria shallon), but the moou being more powerAil took man, bucket, and bush up to itself, wlicre they have ever since lived and can be seen every f\ill moou when the weather is clear. The man is a frieud of Tkul, the spirit of the winds, and at the proper signal empties his bucket, causing rain upon the earth. Fig. 283 i-epresent^ the raven (Hooyeh) in the belly of the whale (Koone). Ju (■ 1 i- ft FiR. 287, to possess } whistling ngs. Tliis the coast. e Islands, '\\i i . ■ I; t jj Pl 1 If 1^ Carved wooden Ceremonial Rattle from the Northwest Coast. I: ! 1 i) ij ! .- V. ■ '' 4' i:1 1 ■ i .ill i h I EXPLANATION OF PLATE LIV. iJ jf Ceremonial Rattles from the Northwest Coast. Fig. 287. Rattle. Of wood; carved. Shown in top vit-w in Fig. 2H(;. Legend in Chapter VII. Common tyi)e. Cat. No. 89085, U. S. N. U. Haida In- dians, Queen Charlotte Islands, Britisli Colunil)ia. Collpcted l>y James G. Swan. Fig. 288. Rattle. Top view of same kind of rattle as Fig. 287. Cat. No. 89078, U. S. N. M. Haida Indians, Queen Charlotte Islands. British ('olumbia. Collected by James G. Swan. Fig. 289. Rattle. Of carved wood. Design, a duck, with ornaments of beaks of the puffin. Cat. No. 20828, U. S. N. M. Klowak Indians (Hanega tril)e). Prince of Wales Island. A iska. ColU>cted by James (}. Swan. Fig. 290. Rattle. Top stiction of usual tyiie of rattle. See Figs. 287. 288. Cat. No. 10309, U. S. N. M. Tongass village, Alaska (Tlingit Indians). Col- lected by Lieut. F. W. Ring, U. S. Army. Fig. 291. Rattle. Of wood; ancient. Design, a crane with tail carved to represent the head of a mountain goat. Cat. No. 73798. U. S. N. M. Auk In- dians. Alaska. Collected by Lieut. T. Dix Holies, U. S. Navy. Rtpoit of Ntlionil MuKum 1888 -Niblick. Plate LIV. Legend in Iluidu In- l by James . 89078, U. (Columbia. if beakH i)f s (Hanega I (i. Swan. Cat. No. iins). Vo\- o represent Auk Tn- Ceremonial Rattles from the Northwest Coast. : i! :; ;lil p i IP ! mm .til I V li h I I i — ? ''I THE INDIANS OP THE NORTHWEST COAST. 325 the endeavor to accamnlate enough property or wealth to enable a free- man to rise to this dignity of a petty chief. A great deal of mystery has been thrown around these pictographic carvings, due to the igno- rance and misconception of some writers and the reticence or deliberate deception practiced by the Indians themselves. They are in no sense idols, bat in general may be said to be ancestral columns. The legends which they illustrate are but the traditions, folk-lore, and nursery tales of a primitive people ; and, while they are in some sense childish or frivolous and at times even coarse, they represent the current of human thought as truly as do the ancient inscriptions in Egypt and Babylonia^ or the Maya inscriptions in Yucatan. The meaning of a few of these columns may, by inference, be taken to represent the general charttcter of all. In Plate xxxv. Fig. 179, is a carved column in front of the model of a Haida house. The 8armour.c'''g figuro represents Hoots,* the brown bear, which is the totem of the head of the household who erected it. At the bottom is Tsing, the beaver, the totem of the wife and children. Above it is the figure of the " bear and the hunter,*' already alluded to. According to Judge Swan, the hunter ToivaU on one occaaion visited the house of the King of the Bears, who was absent. His wi Ce being at home, he made love to her. When the bear returned he found his wife in confusion and accused her of infidelity, but she denied it. She went regularly to get wood and water, and the bear, still suspicious, one day fastened a magic thread to her dress. On following it up he found her in the arms of the hunter, whom he forthwith killed, as in tlie pictograph. Whether or not this legend originated in the confusion iirising from a failure to distinguish between one of the bear totems and a real bear, it is impossible to say, but for our purposes as a carv- ing it illustrates three points: first, that as a legend it refers to the bear totem; second, that it warns wives to b.e faithful to their hus- bands ; and third, it indicates a belief, on the part of these Indians, in the possibility of human relations with animals, which, as shewn in Chapter iii must of necessity precede a belief in totemism itself. Above the "bear and hunter" is Tetl, the great raven, having in his beak the new moon and in his claws the dish containing fresh water, illustrating the common and familiar legend of the creation : Tetl, the benefactor of man, stole from his evil uncle Kaunk,t the enemy of man, the new moon, Kung, which he had imprisoned in a box, and also got fresh water by strategy from the daughter of Kaunk, to whom he made love, and, deceiving lier, stole a dish of fresh water and flew with it out the smoke-hole of Kaunk's house. Above the raven are four disks * In the Kaigani dialect the brown bear itt hooU ; wolf, howootz ; hawk, howot, and hair seal, howoot. By inflection and aspiration these uauioa are pronounced so dif- ferently as to lea' no room for mistaking one for another. The hlack bear is tauy the same as in the Skidegatc dialect of the Haida language. t By some Kannk is identifled with the eagle in the creation legend (Boas) and by^ others with the wolf ( Veuiaminoflf)- f^^:l «'• srr 326 REPORT OP NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1888. called sUl. These appear also on Ibe top of several ceremonial grass hats aud wooden belmets and batons, illustrated in tbe accompanying plates. Their exact significance is uncertain, but the number of these skil disks is in general an index of the rank, wealth, and standing of the chief or owner. It is stated on some autliorities aud disputed on others, that each disk commemorates some meritorious act of the owner, such as the giving of a great potlatch, or the gaining of a victory over an enemy. In this sense it indicates the right of the owner to the enjoyment of the respect and esteem of the tribe. It is also stated that the holes pierced in the lobes of the ear and the disks worn on the ceremonial hat also correspond to this same number. The difference of opinion is doubtless due to the variation in the custom amongst differ- ent stocks. The form of carving may be borrowed without the signifi- cance l)eing understood or remembered. The weight of evidence would seem to favor the belief that each disk or sMl had the significance indi- cated, that is, of commemorating some deed of prowess of the possessor. Plate LY., Fig. 292, represents another column wh'ch may be taken liS a type. It is found at the ^aigani village of Easa-an, Skowl Bay, Prince of Wales Island, Alaska. The top group represents the head of a European, with whitened face and long, black whiskers, flanked on either side by two figures representing children in sitting posture, wearing tall hats. These hats in Kaigani are called Hatcachanda, and each have four shil. The group represents the following legend, either commemorating an actual occurrence or else being a nursery tale originally invented to frighten refractory children, becoming in time, through repetition and misconception, a veritable tradition. Many years ago the wife of a chief went out in a small fishing canoe, with her two children, near the summer camp to get the pine boughs, on which salmon spawn is collected. She drew up her canoe on the beach, and warned the children not to wander off. On her return they had dis- appeared. She called to them, and they answered her from the woods with voices of crows. Always when she sought them, two crows mocked her from the trees. The children never returned, and it was said that the white traders had kidnapped them and carried them off' in their ship. The face with t!ie beard represents the trader, and the two figures the kidnapped chiliren. The figure next to the top, with the instrument in his claws across his breast, represents the crane (he ko), and the legend, or rather an incident in a legend, is roughly as follows: The crane was formerly an expert with tools, but they were stolen from him by a mischievous cl-aracter. {T^slcan-ahl), and ever since he has been bewailing his fate. The cry which the crane now utters is, "I want my tools." The next figure below is hoots, the bear, holding' between his paws the butterfly. At the creation, when the groat Tetl, the benefactor of man, was looking for fair land for man to occupy, the butterfly hovered over his head as ho flew. When he came to the country now occupied by the Haldr., the butterfly pointed with his p » EXPLANATION OF PLATE LV. Carved Columns from the Northwest Coast and Tiki from New Zealand. From photographs by the author. Fig. 292. Carved Column. At the Kaigani village of Kasa-an, Prince of Wales Island, Alaska. Described in detail in Chapter VII. Fig. 293. Carved Commemorative Column. In front of the feast house of Cliief Skowl, at Kasa-an village, Prince of Wales Island, Alaska. Fig. 294. Carved Mortuary or Commemorative Column. In front of the house of Chief Kootenah, at Tongass village, Alaska (Tlingit). Fig. 295. Tiki. At Raroera Pah, New Zealand. Introduced here by way of con- trast with the carvings of the Haida. From Wood's Natural History, page 180. Of this he says: '* This gigantic tiki stands, together with several otherii, near the tomb of the daughter of Te Whero-Whero, and, like the monument which it' seems to guard, is one of the finest examples of native carving to l)e found in New Zealand. The precise object of the tiki is uncertain, but the protruding tongue of the upiier figure seems to show thiit it is one of the numerous defiant statues which abound in the islands. The natives say that the lower figure represents Maui the Atui who, according to Maori tradition, fished up the islands from the bottom of the sea." l: ! m Report of National Museum, 1888.— NIblack. PLATE LV. Carved Columns from the Northwest Coast and Tiki from New Zealand. •I ppi: i V , ■! ,. i ' r fiLJ . ^R. 1 1 f 1 i ! i ft i ff I °i 1; : I 1 f-i] THE INDIANS OF THE NORTHWEST COAST. 327 ' i. proboscis to tbe good latidn, and said : " Where the bear is there are salmon, herbs, and good living;" so that accounts for bow the Haida came to the Queen Charlotte Islands, and why bears are so abundant. I This is similar to the story told Judge Swan by Edniso of Masset, British Columbia. The next figure is the giant snider sucking the blood and killing a man. One of the numerous adventures of Takan- aid was to kill the giant spider, which was such a mortal enemy to man. Tskanahl overcome the spider and threw him into the fire, but instead of burning he shriveled up and escaped as a mosquito, carry- ing away with him a small coal of fire in his proboscis. Now instead of killing men he can c y suck a little blood, but in revenge he leaves a coal of fire in the bite. My informant, a Kaigani, stated thiit it would take three days to relate all the adventures of T^skan-ahl. The lowest figure is Koone, the whole representing the totem of the owner of tbe column. The key to all the carvings is found in the legends of the Indians. Often their significance is lost; often individual eccentricity leads an Indian to make a carving of which he alone knows tbe meaning; often only the older Indians are welt informed enough to tell off-hand what a carving means. These causes, combined with the indifference of the younger generation and the sensitiveness and reticence of the older, makes it extremely difficult to arrive at the significance of the figures. Often they concoct stories to mislead an inquirer, and laugh in their sleeve at the credulity shown. Until a general collection of the legends of the coast is made we must remain content with selecting a few types, as in the foregoing, to illustrate the motive and significance of these remarkable carvings. Commemorative columns. — There are two classeo of these (1), com- memorative proper and (2) mortuary. It has been explained, in the description of Fig. 2912, that the upper group of figures commemorates a real or supposed incident in the kidnapping of two Indian children by the white traders. It is the gciierall}' accepted opinion that these columns are in no sense historical, but purely ancestral or totemic. This claim is entirely too sweeping. Fig. 293 shows the details of a column erected in front of the feast house of tne famous Kaigani Chief Skowl at Easaan. This is in the rear of the living house, on the back street, so to speak. In front of the latter is his totemic column, a tall, slender, finely carved one, surmounted by his totem, the eagle, resting on seven disks or skil, as shown in Plate in. The feast house column (Fig. 293) is surmounted by Skowl's crest, the eagle. Just below it is a carved figure of a man with right hand uplifted and index finger pointing to the sky. It signifies that in the heavens God dwells — the God of the white man. Below this is the representation of an angel as conceived by the Indians from the description of the whites, and then comes a large figure intended to picture a Russian missionary with hands piously folded across the breast. This group m 1 1 r' 328 REPORT OP NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1888. ! ! l| of the figure with uplifted hand, the angel, and the misHioiiary, commem- orates the failure of the Russian priests to convert SkowPs people to their faith, and was erected in ridicule and derision of the religion of the white man. Below this group is a magnificent carving of a spread eagle, and at the bottom of the column a figure intended to represent one of the early traders on the coast. Skowi was always an enemy to the mis- sionary and resisted their encroachments to the last, being remarkable for his wealth, obesity, and intemperate habits. He weighed at the time of his death, in the winter of 1882-'83, considerably over 300 pounds. As a young man, his physical prowess, wealth, and family influence, made his tyrannical rale at Kasa-an one long to be re- membered, as he did much to keep his people to the old faith and to preserve amongst them the manners and customs of his forefathers. Plate LXYii is a sketch of this chief lying in state in bis lodge at Kasa-an village, from a photograph taken by the writer in 1885. To illustrate further the nature of some of these commemorative columns, it may be well to mention here the case of Chief " Bear Skin," of Skidegate, Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia, as cited by Judge Swan. " Bear Skin," on his return from a visit to Victoria, British Columbia, had erected in front of his house two wooden effigies of Judge Pemberton of that city to show his contempt for him as a magistrate for putting him in the lockup at Victoria. In the Berlin Museum is a small slate carving, illustrated in Fig. 27n, Tiate Li, which commemorates the prowess of a certain medicine man who came up to Skidegate from Klue village to work his charms ou two dead men. He was observed by numerous witnesses to squat upon their graves, and by invoking the power of his yakes with rattles, masks, and songs, to raise them from the dead. Coming to life, they clung to him as in the image. This incident is of course vouched for by reliable witnesses, but no further testimony is needed to insure its acceptance as gospel by the Indians than that it should be thus carved in slate. It lifts the story to the first rank as a tradition to be handed down as long as the image shall recall it or the Indian mind cherish the recollection of it. It can not be claimed that a good case has been made out in the illustrations here cited to show tiiat these columns and carvings are ever historical in the itrict sense of the word, but they are, nevertheless, at times com- memorative of certain real or supposedly real incidents, and the state- ment that they arc never historical at least needs qualification. Mortuary colvmns. — A broad distinction isdrawn here between columns that in themselves form a mode of sepulture and those which are com- memorative and erected at some distance from the site of the grave in which the body is interred. The former are described in detail in Chapter XII, on Mortuary Customs ; the latter are in imitation of the former, and preserve the shadow of the primitive mode of sepulture just as to-day the funeral urn on a modern grave is symbolical of the old custom of crematiou. These are illustrated in Fig. 1, Plate ii^rFig. 179«, Plate THK INDIANS OV THK KollTHWKST COAST. 329 immeiu- to their le wliito gle, and 5 of the ilie mis- larkiible I at tliu ver 300 I family } be Fe- ll and to ifathers. Kasa-an llustrate D may be e, Queen " Bear ibia, had smberton r putting nail slate rates the ate from observed invoking use them le image. but no jl by the the story he image t. It can istrations historical ines com- bo state- It. u columns 1 are com- grave in n Chapter rioer, and as to-day custom of 79e, Plate XXXV, and in IMates LV, LXiv,an.i Lxix,a.s well as in the general viewsof Kasa an village. They arc erected usually near the corner of the house at one side, and consist, as a rule, of a short stout post or column sur- mounted by a carved representation of the crest or totem of the de- ceased. The erection of these takes [dace at the ceremony known sis Ihe " glorification or elevation of the dead," described in Chapter xiii» After the body has been entombed it is incumbent on the heir of the deceased, if the latter has been a person of any importance, to make a feast and erect one of these commemorative columns. In the southern part of the Queen Charlotte Islands a very common form of this columiii is a short stout post with a sign-board-like square formed of split planks carved on the outer face. This kind is rare to the north, and not seen at all amongst the Kaigani, as far as known to the writer. The decay of totemic carving. — Amongst the northern Tlingit these- carved columns of all kinds have largely disappeared. At Sitka only the stumps of the ancient ones are now found. Wherever the mission- aries have gained influence with these Indians the totemic column.«r hjive gradually disappeared and the old ways been given up. Of the Tiingit villages which have retained many of the primitive customs Tongass (Tunghaash) is the most representative. Kasa-an stands at the head of the Kaigani and Skidegate of the Haida villages in this respect. Wars, epidemics, and emigration have reduced the population to such an extent that former sites have been abandoned and the Indi- ans are gradually concentrating into a few villages. Graves, ruins, decaying houses, grass-grown village sites, graphically picture the re- sults of the contact ot the coast Indians with our civilization. Slate carvinf/s. — The slate from which the elaborate Haida carvings are made is obtained at the Slate Creek, Queen Charlotte Islands. It has the desirable quality of being soft and easily carved when freshly quarried, and of hardening and taking a polish after exposure to the weather for some time. The general range of these carvings in boxes, ilishes, pipes, and models is shown iu Plates XLiv, XLVii, and XLViii. Sometimes highly polished oopper and the iridescent shell of hali- Otis, iind sometimes bone or ivory, are inlaid to represent eyes, teeth, etc. The finest specimen of Haida sculpture known to the writer is that illustrated in Plates XLix and l. Numerous other kinds of carv- ings in bone, ivory, and slate, used as talismans or doctor's charms are not illustrated here, being left for separate treatment under the head of Shaman Paraphernalia and and Siiamanistic Rites. . MUSIC* Singiny. — While in r^^cent years, in the decay of the ceremonial in-- stitutions of the Indians of this region, the custom of singing has some- * In Filling's Biltliojfraphy of North American Languages is mentioned ii ninnti- script of 5U0])iigosin liimsian uud Tlingit of vocabularies, texts, seutences, songs,, etc., in the Tlingit language of 8itly the Natives of NORFOLK SOUND previous to commencing trade fli Chitr«( tilt tribe - la haig^ba haitghhal^ haij^ "^^K • -h* m=^^ r r I r ^ Lhhkh hl>K,hJ>hh(lh hJ>h ' hih ' hLh , hJib hlh hdl haigh haJgh 'Aai^ ^ aig ha haig ha haigh 'I • I '1 ■ i ri'fiifrr i ^ ■ hl.h hih hi5 ^fff¥tfM^ fiaigh hai^ ha • hai^ ha hai^ haigh. haigh ^ ' ifrr i Jj'' i ^^-±^=^ Lm t ;■ j 1 I ;i;i 1 I 1 ' ' 'S EXPLANATION OF PLATE LVM Musical Instruments from the Northwest Coast. i & Fig. 298. Dance Whistle. In forui of a toy balloon. witl> a bladi r ;• tj.iin;' to the wootien mouth-piece to operate the whistle. Cat. No. Hi''^'.i'.). U. S. N. M. Haida, Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia. 'UTtpd by James G. Swan. Fig. 399. Dance Whistle. Blown like a tife. Compare Fi:j. 826. Cat. No. 8905T, U. S. N. M. Skidegate, Queen Charlotte Islands. British Columbia. Collected by James G. Swan. Fig. 301. Ceremonial Trumpet. Made in six pieces (see Fig. 319). which, when joined, form six chambers, in each of which a piece of fabric is stretched. The different tones ure not set to a scale. Cat. No. 20687. U. S. N. M. Tsimshiiin, Fort Simpson, British CJohimbia. Collcctt^d by James G. Swan. Fig. 302. Medicine and Dance Drum. Tanned sheep-skin stretti.if' -r i v )o«Ien frame. Totemic figure, the bear. It is lieaten with iw - inarj '■uck imdded with cloth. Cat. No. 137i;i3. U. S. N. M. rii.igit." Sitka. Alaska. Collected by Paymaster E. B. Webster, U. S. Navy. t"- Report of National Museum. 1888 Niblack. Plate LVII. ■ tJi.:-|H-,' to No. 89057, Columbia. hicli. when H strt'tdied. J. S. N. M. C James (J. r :i V Kwleii .iiarj "lick init. Sitka. Musical Instruments from the Northwest Coast. ri , » ii i. EXPLANATION OF PLATE LVIII. Ceremonial Rattles from the Northwest Coast. Fig. 303. Shaman Dance Rattle. Of wood; ornamented with human hair. Cat. No. 9257, U. S. N. M. Tlingit Indians. Sitka, Alaska. Collected by Dr. A. H. Hoflf, U. S. Army. Fig. 304. Dance Rattle. WwkI; ornamented with human hair and oixn-cuk. Cat. No. 73853. U. S. N. M. Tlingit Indians, Alaska. Coli. .ed by Lieut. T. Dix BoUes, U. S. Navy. Fig. 305, Snapper. Of two pieces of woo«l hinged just al)ove the wrapped handle and carved. Carried in ceremonial dances. Cat. No. 73796, U. S. N. M. Tlingit Indians, Hoonyah, Alaska. Collected by Lieut. T. Dix BoUes. U. S. Navy. Fig. 306. Rattle. Of wo ,ed by ped handle U. S. N. M. Dix Bolles. )lain8 how s springiiiK 0583. U. S. Collected ;he douhle- e uuitation ka. Alaska X 74336. U. cLean. in Ceremonial Rattles from the Northwest Coast. i i 1 ' '^. li i I- i I EXPLANATION OF PLATE LIX. Ceremonial Dance-rattles from the Northwest Coast. Fig. ;J09. Danc E Ratti,e. In Hliai>e of Hoorts, the tear. Cat. No. 88796, U. S, N. M. Masset, Queen Cliarlotte Islands. British Cohimbia. Collected by James G. Swan. Fig. 310. Cauved Rattle. In shajie of the orta or whale-killer, showing dorsal Hn and formidable teeth. Cat. No. 20758, U. S. N. M. THngit, Sitka. Collected by James G. Swan. Fig. 311. Carved Rattle. In form of cockle shell. Cat. No. 74333, U. S. N. M. Tlingit, Sitka. Collected by Jolm J. McLean. Fig. 312. Dance Rattle. Of wood. Used by Shamans. Cat. No. 89081, U. S. N. M. Haida, Queen Charlotte Islands British Columbia. Collected by James G. Swan. Fig. 313. Dance Rattle. Showing Hoorts, the bear, with protruding tongue, so common in Haida drawings. Cat. No. 89076, U. S. N. M. Skidegate, Queen Charlotte Islands. British Columbia. Collected by James G. Swan. Fig. 314. Ceremonial Rattle. Of wood; ornamented in i)ahited designs. Cat. No. 88718, U. 8. N. M. Masset. Queen Charlotte Islands. Britisli Columbia. Collected by James G. Swan. ! iniiiii ■■HM n m •6, U. S. N. ollccted by ing dorsal iRit. Sitka. J. S. N. M. S4. U. S. N. <)ll(><;to(l by toiigiu", so Skitlogato. James (1. igns. fat. (Is, Britisli Report of Nntinnal MuMum, 1888.— Niblack. Plate LIX. Ceremonial Dance-rattles from the Northwest Coast. j •■; If :" ' ' '. I w l! ? It 1^1 EXPLANATION OF PLATE LX. S Ceremonial Dance-rattles from the Northwest Coast. Fig. 315. Shaman's Dancb Rattle. Skaga aiiiliu. Ilaida. Forniorly owned In- Tsilwak, a medicine man of CJold Harbor. Queen Charlotte Islands. British Columbia. Clat. No. HIM)53. V. S. N. M. Collected b> JanieB G. Swan. Fig. 310. Rattle. Sams as Fig. 307. Plate LVIII. Cat. No. nm2. U. .S. N. 11. Sitka, AlasUa. Collected by James U. Swan. Fig. 317. Rattle. Of wood; car\ed tf) represent the tisli-hawk. Cat. No. !SfST27, U. S. N. M. Haida Indians. Masset. Queen Chari<)tte Islands, British C()lnml)ia. Collected by James (i. .Swan. Fig. 318. Rattle. Back view of Fig. 3(lfi, Plate T.VIII. Cat. No. •2()583. U. S. N. M. Collected by James G. Swan. w% '1^ Repot of Naxiorial Museuni; 1888. - Niblack Plate LX. )\viii'(l by tte Islands. i by Janie!. U.S. N. 5U :. No. !SH727, nils, British k;!. U. s. N. \ Ceremonial Dance-rattles from the Northwest Coast. I I :l II i T:| I: ! ^■■ rj ]\ - ' ' mS '! ■ , y, - '- 'iu I -, J 'L : ■ ■ " ■. ;f. • » 19 m EXPLANATION OF PLATE LXI. Musical Instruments from the Northwest Coast -Wooden Whistles and Trumpets. Fig. 319. Wooden Trumpet. Five-chamheri'd. Coiin)are Plate LVII. Fig. iJOl. Fig. 320. Cere.momal Whistle. Of wood, \kitli womleii reed in yie moutli-piece. Blown like a flageolet. Cat. N.;. »flOr)i). U. S. N. M. Haida. Queen Charlotte Tslan«l8. British Columbia. Collected by James G. Swan. Fig. 331. Cekkmonial Whistle. Compare Fig. 330. Cat. No. SHHTO. U. S. X. M. Ilaida. <^neen C'harlotte Islands. Rritisli Columbia. ( 'oUected by James (i. Swan. Fig. 333. Ckuemomm, Whistle. Cat. No. SHHTfi. r. S. N. M. Masset. Queen Charlotte Islands, Mritisli (\)ltnnbia. Collected by James (t. !-i\vnn. Fig. 333. Ceremonial Whistle. Cylindrical, with wooden reed in mouth-piece. Cat. No. H,SH!»3((. U.S. N. M. Haida. Queen Cliarlott.- Islaixls. British Columbia. Collected by James (i. Swan. Fig. 334. Ceremonial Trumpet. Of wood: made in two sections with reed U- tweeii. Compare Fig. 329. Cat. No. 30{>89. U. S. N. M. Tsimsiiian. Fort Simpson. British Colund)ia. Collected by James G. Swan. Fig. 325. Double Ceremonial Whistle. Comi)are Fig. 333. Cat. No. 8HHT3, l'. S. N. M. Mas.set.Qn. n Cinirlotte Islands. British Columbia. Collected by James CI. SwaiL Fig. 336. (^EREMONIAL WhIstlk See Plate lAMI. Fig. 290. Cat. No. smr.T. U. S. N. JI. Skideg.ite. Queen charlotte Islands. Mrilish Colnnd)ia. Col- lected by James (i. Swan. Fig. 337. Ceremonial Trumpet. Of wocmI: in section, to show the vibrating |)iece. Cat. No. 20(19."). U. S. N. M. Tsimsiiian. Fmt Simpson, Mritish Colum- bia. ('olU'cted bv James (r. Swan, Report of National Museum, I888.-Niblack. Plate LXI. Trumpets. Fis. 301. nith-pk't'c. da. QiK'cii . Swan. r. S. N. M. 1 by .liinu's et. Quet'ii tith-pit'cc. (Is, IJiitisli li ri'f'il 1h'- rsiinshiiiii. an. ,. 8HHT:{. U. Collcctfd H\Wu. U. nhiii. Col- itinK piece, ish Toluni- i if J 'T V ■■'! : } -4 ■i" ■' 1^ Musical Instruments from the Northwest Coast-Wooden Whistles and Trumpets. ( ■I k i\W' i i EXPLANATION OF PLATE LXII. Musical Instruments from the Northwest Coast— Wooden Whistles and Trl-mpets. Fig. 329. Dance Whistle. With double reed mouth-pieces backed with bellows. The cheeks of the bellows are painted, representing Hoorts, the bear. Cat. No. 89064, U. S. N. M. Haida Indians, Skidegate, Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia. Collected by James G. Swan. Fig. 330, Dance Whistle. Of wood; principle of a policeman's whistle. Cat. No. 89067, U. S. N. M. Haida Indians, Skidegate, British Columbia. Col- lected by James G. Swan. Fig. 331. Whistle. Of wood. Cat. No. 89093, U. S. N. M. Haida Indians, Skide- gate, British Columbia. Collected by James G. Swan. Fig. 332. Trumpet. WoiKlen tul^e, with vibrating reed. Cat. No. 88895, U. S. N. M. Haida Indians, Skidegate, British Colimibia. (yoUetJted by James 6. Swan. Fig. 333. Whistle. (See Fig. 330.) Cat. No. 89066, U. S. N. M. Haida Indians, Skidegate, British Columbia. Collected by James G. Swan. Fig. 334. Whistle. Spapakwilla or Oolalla's (the mountain demon's) call. Used only at the commencement of great and imiwrtant ceremonies to an- nounce the beginning of the distribution of i)roperty in the potlatch. Cat. No. 89002, U. S. N. M. Skedan's village, Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia. Collected by James G. Swan. Trumpets. th bellows. s, the bear, n Charlotte ;. Cat. No. tnbia. Col- ians, Skide- )5, U. S. N. d by James ia Indians. I. call. Used )nies to an- :ie i)otlatch. itte Islands, Report of National Museum, 1888.— Niblack. Plate LXII. Musical Instruments from the Northwest Coast— Wooden Whistles and Trumpets. ri !1 '»'■] •ill M' ■ 1 Ik I.I ! i»'' l-i I I X 01 n si u a b P t I s I ( { I ' ' It :^ U ' Tl THE TXPTANS OF THE NORTIIWES(T COAST. nai AiMitional notes im the subject of singlnpf M'ill bo given in (Emptor XIII, in the description of the various ceremonies. Drums. — Portlock ( 1 787) says of a Tl in git chief whom he traded with : He was not for trnnHactin or cakes. Lime, made iiom burut chiui -.shells, was luixed wjtb it to give a good " bite." Tlie nictice of smokiog came in with the whites, aud our tobacco has coin yletely replaced the native article, which is uowonly cultivated, if at all, iu the most remote regiouis, auu tLe writer was unable to obtain any specimens of it. Gardens. — Around all the villages garden patches may now be seen. The principal vegetable cultivated i.s the potato, although turnips and a few others are found occasioually. The Haii'.a in particular cultivate potatoes iu large quantities to trade on the mainland. }m\ \ LOCOMOTION: CANOE TRAVEL. From the diversified nature of the country Jiud the numerous inland water-ways, travel is of necessity by canot\ It is unnecessary to treat of the subject here after what has been said under the titles of tents, tentSj p. 3(M, and canoes, p. 201. ; :;i mi% WEALTH: CURRENCY, PROPERTY, SLAVES, LAND. Primitive wealth — Before the advent of the wliites, wealth cou -ibied in the possession of sea-otter sliiins, hunting and ti.shing grounds, slaves, and household and personal property, such as daiM.e paraphernalia, household furniture, hunting and hsliing implements, canoes, houses, and articles of trade. Practically, however, the unit of '^'^alue was the 8eaotter skin, as it was also the basis of wealth. As the I'aida were the most export hunters of this animal in this region, they bv'came in time the most wealthy aud intluential people on the coast. TL«i prin- cipal changes in the forms of wealth have been iu the substituti^tu of blankets for skius and furs and the abolition of slavery. Other Tise the enumeration c^f articles of wealth is as giv«!n above, Currencij — Amongst the interior Indians of North America the beaver akin was the n?<^diut'; of exchangti. In tlic trade betwcon the coast Imlians and those of the interior, the deutaliinn shell was valued bythr ii;i;ter, who gave in exchange the abalone shell so highly prized by the l\>riner. Amongst the coast Iiidiiins themselves, as stated, the sea-ottei' wkin wa,s the basis of exdiauge, although the shell curren(!y seems to have had a relative value. This latter lost its function when the whit:e8 began to i»)port such quantities of shell later on. These have, however, remained a:; a fa\ orit<' oriiamcnt, occu!)ynig somewhat the place of jewels amongst civilised people. With the almost i^otal dis- appearance of the sea-otter through the greed of Iinliau and white man alike, a new currency sprang up. It happene Frends, Englisli, AmericaJis, ami Rus- siarn, success crowned the English through the superiority of the material which theyoffeied in trade, and with the establishment of the Hudson Bay (jompany tiieir blanket.-*, (li rough uuifoimity aud excel- lence iu grading, be«;ame the recognized currency. These vary from I THE INDIANS OF THE NOKTHWEST COAST. 335 I m " one point," the poorest, to " four points," the best. These ■' poiuts " are woven into tbo texture ou the edge, ami it has happened that the " two-and-a-half point " has come to be the unit, valued now at about $1.50. Just as in former times, as the sea otter skins wore stored away representing so much wealth, so to day the bhmkets are folded and packed away in their boxes. They are generally received at face value by all traders when unused and in good condition. The value of every- thing is referred to the unit blanket. A four point blanket is worth so many blankets (two- audone-half point), ami the cost of everytning is reckoned in the same way. Property in Itmd. — Throughout this region the coast line, streams, estuaries, and adjacent lakes are divided amongst the different families, the right of possession descending from one generation to another as l)ersonal property. The larger salmon streams aie sometimes jointly owned by several fau'-ilies, or owned by one family and leased for a consideration to one or several others. Stranded marine animals, or other debris washed by the tide, belong to the family owning that por- tion of the shore line, the boundaries of possessions being defluitely marked and respected accordingly. Nor is this boundary confined to the strip of coasr, but extends well out to sea, carrying with it the right to shoot seals and gather birds' eggs ou outlying rocks, hunt sea- otter, and to ilsh on well-known halibut or cod banks. Major Powell says: " Land tenure does not begin in grants from the monarch or the feudal lord, but a system of tenure in common by gentes or tribes is developed into a system of tenure in severalty.'' • Tiiis is admirably illustrated in this region, for the ownership of a tract of land by a family has come, through being vested in an individual or the head of that fiimily, to mean practically individual ownership. Dawson gives an instance n Queen Charlotte Islands where a rich tract of country called Tl-ell, which had come into the possession of a former Chief of Skidogato as the property of his wife, " was afterwards given by him to the Skedans of that day as a pcace-otlering for the wounding or killing of one of his (Skedans) women. The tract thus now belongs to Skedans, and is valued as a berry ground. " t Disputes over ownership of land, boundaries, etc., have been the cause of many feuds. At Thorn Bay, adjoining Tolstoi Bay, Prince of Wales Island, Alaska, a valuable tract of hunting and tishing ground is in dispute between the Stikines and Kaigani, both tribes in true American style having up "K"o trespassing" signs on the trees. Co/ipt'vs. — Throughout the Northwest coast copper plates or "cop- pers" of a conventional pattern are valued as emblems or tokens of wealth, and have been handed down for generations. They originally came from the Chilkat country, where virgin copper is found in consid- erable quantities, and are made in the form of a shield from 2h to 3J • Aiimiiil Report, Bmoaii of Etliiiology, ld7y-'80, p. 83. t Dawson, Koport, li, p. 105. ■5 '!« 33G KEFOKT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1888. i'ii i< ' iiu III I feet iu length, 12 to ii.5 inches in width, and one sixteenth to oneeightli of an inch in thickness. They have a groove running vertically in tiio lower half and transversely across the middle at the narrow part, form- ing a flgnre like the letter T. They are sometimes painted, but more commonly etched on the outer surface with the design of the crest or totem of the owner. If they ever served as shields in battle such use has long since disappeared, and now they have only a ceremonial or emblematic significance. To be of great value these plates must be large, of virgin copper, worked by hand, of n.itive manufacture, of nujforni thickness, except at the edges, where they should be thicker than elsewhere; and, tinally, when struck should give forth a dnll sound and not ring. Totemic etching on the outer surface also adds value to them. Modern "coppers" of European manufacture are not very highly jmzed, as compared with the ancient ones. Lisiansky (1804) says that amongst the Tlingit they wero "only possessed by the rich, who give for one of them from twenty to thirty sea-otter skins. They are carried by their servants before their masters on different oc- casions of ceremony, and are boateu upon so as to serve as a musical in- strument. The value of the plate depends, it seems, on its being made of virgin copper, for the common ones do not bear a higher price than a single skin."* The best, according to Dunn (183-1), were worth around Dixon Entrance nine slaves, and were transmitted as a precious heir-loom. t Now they are valued at from forty to eighty blankets. They are called by the Kaigani Pow, ami are sliown iu Plate Lxvii. Dr. Boas says of them : " They are given as presouts by one tribe to anotlier. The Indinim valn«! n copper- plate the more the more freqnently it has been fjivon nn a present. Every Hitijjlo plate has its name and its own honse, and in fed n'jjniarly. No woman is allowed to enter its house. Almost every tribe lias a tradition referriuj^ to their orijjin. .Some say that a man who visited the moon received it from the man in the moon. Others say a chief living far into the ocean gave it to a man wlio came to visit him, etc. Similar legends refer to the baliotis shells which are nsed for ear and nose oruamcn's and bracelets." t This may be the custom with regard to copper plates amongst the southern coast tribes, but itdiflters materially from that ot the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshiau, With thetn they are simply tokens of wealth. These are shown m Plate lxvii as forming no inconsiderable i>ortion of the wealth of Chief Skowl, amounting to huntlreds of blanketi^. Dawsou says that amongst the I'sinishiau these coppers an' exhibited iu a circle in upright position at the ceremony of "bringing out" a young girl, who sits within the circle and sings.§ Amongst the Kaigani these fow are often displayed over the grave of a deceased person of wealth. One is shown in Plate iii, left of upper view. Some miles below the village of Kasa-an, on Prince of •Lisiunskv, Voyage, i». 150, t Diuiu, Oregon, p. Ii88. t Notes on the Ktlinology of hritish (^oliinib'ft (Ainer. I'hilo. Socii'*y, Nov. IH, 1*7), p. Ul. i^S Dawson, Keport, U, p, IIJl. ¥ THE INDIANS OF THE NORTHWEST COAST. 337 Wales Island, one is nailed to a tree on a point of land to mark the lo- cality where a canoe was upset and the occnpants drowned. Lisian- sky, as quoted, shows that they were occasionally used by the Tiingit as a sort of gong or musical instrument, being carried before the chiefs by the slaves and beaten upon. The change in the articles of value accumulated and stowed away as wealth is illustrated by an incident in the summer of 1886, where some white men robbed a cache of the Klawak chief Tingaate of all its con- tents to the value of over $2,000. The booty included five hundred blankets, fifty wash-bowls, thirty-six mirrors, six valuable dancing robes, and many other articles. It may be mentioued in this connec- tion that the wash-bowls are used as receptacles for food, and are taking the place of the native wooden bowls. TRADE: EXCHANGE OF COMMODITIES. Port Simpson, from its central location at the head of Dixon En- trance, has come to be the great emporium of trade for the surrouudiug region. - Dunn says that, in 1831, the Haida, Nass, Eaigaui, Tougass, Port Stewart and Stikines generally rendezvoused there in the mouth of September to trade.* Simpson estimates that, in 1841, about four- teen thousand from the various tribes of Stikines on the north to the Sebassa on the south, resorted there, although many of them merely paid passing vis:*"s en route to the Nass River to fish for eulachou.t In earlier days, previous to the }>dvent of the whites, the trading was carried on less systematically and with more formality on account of the feuds between the different tribes. The Indians of this whole region are expert traders. Every article purchased undergoes the closest scrutiny. Every defect is discovered and the value scaled down accordingly. If once a certain price is obtained for a commodity of theirs it is adhered to thereafter as the set price, and the kuowledge of such value travels fast. Time and distance are unimportant factors in a bargain. If 200 miles farther on the price paid for a commodity is considerably greater, the distance is reckoned as nothing in going there to get the difference. On the other hand, in purchasing goods from the traders, they show rare good sense in their selection of the better qualities, mere cheapness being in itself no recommendation. Prom the earliest times they have preferred articles of use to trinkets. Dixon (1787) says that they refused beads with contemi)t. What Van- couver said of the Tiingit or the Kaigani of Prince of Wales Island, in 1794, applies with equal force to day : In all the commercial traiisactiouH thu wuiiieii took a very priiUMpal part, and proved tliomselves liy no means iiuetinal to the task. Nor did it appuar that (utlicr in those or iu any other respect they were inferior to the nwv ; on the contrary, it, should rather seem that they are looked up to an the snperio; sex, for they appeared in general to keop the men in 'iwe and under sutiJe<;tion.|: *Dunu, Oregon, p. 281. t Simpson, Journey Round the World, Vol, l, p. '^00. { Vancouver', Voyage, Vol. ii, p. 401). U. Mis. 142, i)t. 2 22 m n «• t i 838 REPORT OP NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1888. Dixon (1787) says of the Sitka Indiaus : The chief of the tribe has always the entire management of all the trade belonging to his people, and takes infinite pains to dispose of their f nrs advantageously. * * • The moment a chief has concluded a bargain he repeats the word Coo coo twice, with quickness, and is immediately answered by all the people in his canoe with the word Whoah, pronounced in a tone of exclamation, but with greater or less energy, in pro- portion as the bargain he had made is approved. * In general notes on the northwest coast the same author says : Whenever any large party came to trade these treasurers [dance paraphernalia] were first produced, and the principal persons dressed out iu all their finery before the singiug commenced. In addition to this, the chief (who always conducts the vo- cal concert) puts on a largo coat, made of elk skin, tai:. n jly iu case auiilies or ck leather 1 of wood ; ucouraged h is at first bite feath- p. 203. iands, p. ISri. The INDIANS OP THE NORTHWEST COAST. 345 dirks, and bemoelveH, ih screams refused by The parties leard; and dies of two of blood ToDgaHs of thirty ?t rcgiou, er of this commein- ve makes e coast. I rlotte Isl- )e hundred, ut one man living tro- ;he giip wale le was shot r joy being 9 overboard, ers placked from au eagle's skiu, or by the display of a tuft of white feathers on the eud of a pole or at the mast head of the cauoe.* In the friendly dances and ceremonies of welcome a fan or tuft of white eagle feathers was carried in token of friendship and peace. TREATIES OF PEACE. At a conclusion of peace it was the custom to exchange hostages in token of good faith. Dall says of them : These are obliged to eat with their left hands for a certain period, as they carried weapons in the right hand during combat. Each hostage has two companions of equal rank assigned to him by the tribe which holds bim.t Lisiansky (1804) says of the hostages sent by the Sitka to the Russian forces : Tliey were in one canoe, and snng as they approached a sort of song of a melan- choly strain. On landing, the hostage threw himself flat on his back in the shallow water, according to the custom of the country, and continued in this posture till some of our people arrived who were sent to lift him up and conduct him. t In general the treaties of peace were ratified by feasts and elaborate ceremonies often lasting many days. •Vancouver, Voyage, Vol. II, p. 389 ; and Dixon, Voyage, p. IdO. t Dall, Alaska, p. 417. t Lisiansky, Voyage, p. 156. '• n If )ast, says : no means a great num- f. But now lemselves in ' preparing, iiies. II ' 1 f X. riCES AND DEMORALIZATION OF THE INDIANS— O AMBLING — RUM— TOBA CCO—IMMORA LITY. Before the advent of the whites gambling, immorality, and the use of tobacco, although not unknown, were at least not such pronounced vices as they have come to be under the stimulus of contact with civil- ization. The use of liquor was, however, quite unknown. Langsdorti', who was at Sitka in 1805, says of the Tlingit : " Brandy, which is some- times offered them by the Russians, they reject as a scandalous liquor, depriving them of their senses." • It would have been of great advan- tage to them if they had continued to so regard it. Unfortunately the example of the whites and the deliberate corruption of the Indians by unscrupulous traders have made them in recent years only too well acquainted with the evils of rum drinking. Just now they are begin- ning to rally from the demoralization due to contact with the whites and to adjust themselves philosophically to their changed environ- ment. The former custom of chewing tobacco, in vogue from the earliest times, has now given way almost entirely to that of smoking the weed which they buy from the traders. In Chapter viii, " Rearing and Cul- tivation." the production and preparation of the native tobacco has been fully described. Although in one sense a vice, the use of tobacco Cc'in hardly be said to have contributed much to the real demoralization of the Indians. GAMBLING. The Haida, Tsimshian, and Tlingit are inveterate gamblers. Dnr- ing the winter leisure or whenever, for any reason, they are gathered together in considerable numbers, gambling is the invariable and con- stant amusement, often continuing for several days on a stretch with- out rest or intermission. These bonts are usually conducted on the platform in front of the houses in good weather, but indoors In bad. The gamblers sit on the ground or squat about the platform in a circle, in the centre of which a clean mat of the inner bark of the cedar is spread. Each man produces a bag containing from thirty to fifty round sticks or pins about 5 inches long by three-eighths or one-half of an inch in diameter, and beautifully polished and carved in totemic design or painted in black, blue, and red rings. One of the players, selecting a number of these pins from his bag, covers them up in a heap of finely 344 * Langsdoi-ff, Voyages, pt. ii, p. 131. m G — nUM- l the use of iroiionuced with civil- jangsdortf, ch is sotnc- ous liquor, ■eat advan- inately the Indians by ly too well are begin- the whites >d environ- the earliest g the weed ig and Cul- obacco has I of tobacco oralization lers. Dnr- e gathered le and con- retch with- ted on the )0r8 In bad. in a circle, the cedar is > fifty round )-haIf of an amic design s, selecting lap of finely m :Mi EXPLANATION OF PLATE LXIII. Gambling Sticks; Mortars and carved Pestle for preparing Native Tobacco. Fig. 335. Gamblino Sticks. Of wood; twenty-four in number, with (Jeer-skin baj?. Eacli stick is carved with a toteinic design. Cat. No. Oo.oC, U. S. N. M. THiiKit. Sitka. Collected l)y Dr. T. T. Minor, U. S. Army. Fig. 330. Gambijn(j Sticks. Of woo'I: thirty-four in number; polished and inlaid with abalone. Cat. No. 2(»TH9, U. S. N. M. Tlingit, Sitka. Collected by tJaincs (J. Swan. Fig. 337. Stonk Mortak. Ancient ))attern; for grinding native tobacco for chew- ing. Cat. No. 45901, U. S. N. M. Tlingit. Sitka. Collected by Jolin J. McLean. Fig. 338. Stonk Pestlk, In sha]ie (^f the raven; for pre|)ariiig native tobacco. Cat. No. 07849, U. S.N. M. Tlingit. Hoodsinoo, Alaska. Collected by John J. MiLean. Fig. 339. Stonk Mortar. Of calcite, with totemic designs on the exterior; for l)rei)aring native tobacco. Smaller examples used in grinding ))aint. Cat. No. 88823. U. S. N. M. Masset. Queen Charlotte Islands. British Columbia. Collected by James CJ. Swan. > Rtpoitot Nstionil Mutium, 1888 — Niblick. Plate LXIII. Tobacco. ith (leer-skin 0.0556, U.S. i5. Army, ed and inlaid a. Collected 'CO for chew- ed by John J. tive tobacco. Collected by exterior; for indinK paint, landn, British Gambling Sticks; Mortars and carved Pestle for preparing Native Tobacco. m m ' -1 -! i w 1 : ■ 1 Hi ■ m > ^rf-^L-i^i^'jfi ^wsStSfmi'Hi.iiAiiSiiiii'aA, TnT3 INDIANS OF THE NORTHWKST COAST. 345 cut bark tow. The workings and significances of these Sticks is per- fectly iinilevstood, and the game is either odd or even, or to gness in which of two piles a certain stick is hidden. Poole tiius describes the game among the Haida : One of the players, selecting a number of these pins, covers tlien\ np in a heap of bark cut into tibre-likc ! .-v. Under cover of the bfvrk he then divides tlio pins into two parcels and having taken them out passes them several times from his right Land to his left, or the contrary. While tlio player shntlhis lu! repeats tlie word 1-E-Ly-Yah to a low monotonous chant or moan. Tlie moment lie finishes tlie in- cantation, his opponent, '.vho has been silently watching him, chooses tlie piircel where he thinks the luck lies for odd or even. After whicli tiie secouil player takes his innings, with his own pins and the same ceremonies. This goes on till one or the other loses all his pins. That decides the game. * Another form of this is for the player to shuffle together all the pins and count out seven. The game is to guess in which jiile a certain pin is, say tb.e one carved like a beaver, or whale, or eagle. The fortunate guesser gets one or more pins according to rule, or, if he fails, pays a forfeit of so many pins. The Indians stoically sit for hours conning over the melancholy chant, apparently indifterent to loss, gain, time, or hun- ger, often losing everything he owns in the world without the slightest expression of emotion. Poole mentions the case of a Haida chief who continued playing for three days without eating a mouthful of food, but perpetually losing. By the fourth day he had even parted with the blanket on his back, when a woman of his tribe, taking pity ou him, loaned him her only blanket, and he renewed the contest, this time suc- cessfully, not only winning back what he had lost, but finally getting all his opponent's property, consisting of powder and shot, muskets, revolvers, blankets, skins, paints, tobacco, fish, etc. • Two sets of gambling sticks are shown in Plate lxiii, Figs. 335 and 336. For convenience of illustration they are laid out on the wrapper of the wallet in which they are usually kept. The carving on some of the more expensive sets is of the very highest order. Rum. — Impure, monstrously vile liquor has been the greatest curse to the Indians of this region. Having furs and other valuable products sought by the traders, the latter have been only too ready to debauch and despoil them. In all the criminal record of shameless commercial conquest of a rich and prosperous territory, no region has suffered more unless it be the Aleutian Islands in eailier days. This can not be laid at the door of any of the large commercial companies, for in the main such a policy is suicidal to their own interests. With the small dealers, the owners of small trading craft, those whose only thought ami inter- est has been the business in hand, the policy has been one of unscru- pulous rum selling. Poole (1803) ssiys : The so-called whiskey which is shivmolossly sold to the Indians by traders along the coast or even by certain unprincipled merohauts of Victoria, contaiiis very little of what is wholesome or genuine liquor. What it really does contain is not generally I' i * Poole, Queeu Charlotte Islands, p. 319. 346 RliPORf OF* NATIONAL MUSEllM, 1888. kuowD, but I hear on good authority that the bulk consiHts of water flavored and colored with grain whittkey iu the smallest possible (]iiuiitilie8. Itts strength proceeds wholly from the bltie-stoue, vitriol, aud nitric acid which the manufacturers largely infuse iuio it. The consequence is that when the Indians imbibe this drink freelj — and they alw.ays do so whenever they can get it — their naturally fiery temperaments are wrought up into a state of savagery so intense as to leave no white man's life safe in their presence while they remain under its inlluente. ■■ The orjjies and debauchery of the Indians up to recent years have been something to shock even the most hardened trader. Liquor being obtained in quantities, either by the distillation of sugar or molasses or purchased from the traders, a systematic plan of getting drank, in de- tachments was practised and is to-day in certain regions wiien they can get the liquor. It is the duty of those sober about the village to look out for the drunk and tend to the various household duties, look after the canoes, children, etc. When the first detachment • - >bered up the others sometimes taiie their turn. Pandemonium reigns, lud it often takes the intervention of the whites to get things going smoothly again. Unfortunately the women are worse drunkards than the men, and it is in their demoralization that the Indians have suffered most. The hoochinon, which they make themselves, isnot a native invention, as the process has been picked up from the whites. It has flourished amongst the Tlingit since our acquisition of Alaska in 1867, aud common report credits its introduction to American oflQcials. Hoochinoo is simply a distillation from potatoes. The still generally consists of a square tin kerosene can, with a worm, made either of tin pipe or the stems of the giant kelp. The worm is either packed with snow or placed in a stream of fresh water. The mash is made from potatoes, which are cooked, dumped into a tub, and allowed to ferment, a little sugar or very cheap molasses being added to produce the alcohol. It suflers only one dis- tillation, and the horrible product is taken in its raw state, the effect being to almost instantly rob an Indian of his senses. Largely through the influence and authority exerted by the commanding officers of our men-of-war before the establishment of the civil government in Alaska the practice of distilling hoocliinoo has been greatly broken up aud de- cidedly discournged. t Immorality. — The chief demoralization in this region has been amongst the women, brought about by the independent position they occupy in the social organization of the tribe, by the peculiar laws or customs re- lating to marriage by purchase, and by the right to return a female to ber people in case she proves unsatisfactory or undesirable. Through the influx of whites, due to the establishment of industries, the pros- ecution of trade, and the development of mineral resources, the Indians have been brought in close contact with most unrefined elements of our civilization. Money earned in the summer months by these adventurous * Poole, Queen Charlotte Islands, p. 313. t Notes on the distillation of hoochinoo were kindly furnished the writer by Lieut. N. K. Usher, U. S. Navy. ' THE INDIANS OF THE NORTHWEST COAST. 347 llavored aixl iirers largfly ink flt!0l\— . iiipBiuments aa'a life sate. eai'8 have qiior being n classes or nii iti de- ll they can ge to look ook after >beretl ni) iud it often thly again, en, and it iost. The tion,asthe <1 amongst luou report 3 simply a square tin ems of the in a stream ro cooked, very cheap ly one dis- , the eflfect ly through iors of our in Alaska ip aud de- n amongst occupy in Jstoms re- fomale to Through the pros- Indians II ts of our ^'enturous spirits is squandered in the most reckless dissipation about the various settlements in the winter months. Jealousy being unknown amongst the Indians, and sanctioned prostitution a common evil, the woman who can earn the greatest number of blankets or the largest sums of money wins the admiration of others for herself, and a high position for her husband by reason of her wealth. It is not an uncommon thing for whole families to vH^ort to the settlements for the winter, and return to their villages in the spring to give grand i)otlatches with their ill gotten gains. The influence of the missionaries and of the respectable element in the settlements has, from the first, been used against the extension and growth of this evil, but it can not be said that, until in the last few yeaiM, much luogress has been made in stemming this tide of reckless physical and moral debasement. Its effects are seen in the alarming number of ileaths due to dissipation, and the great decrease in the ralio of births to deaths throughout this whole nortiiern region. Tlie part which rum has played in causing this havoc is not to be underestimated, and it is fortunate that a steadily growing sentiment is making itself felt towards the suppression of these two alarming evils. SUMMARY. The native vices of these Indians are simply those due to savagism. Contact with the whites has, through the greed for wealth operating on both sides, produced an abnormal departure Ixom primitive ways. Gambling is found almost univer.sally amongst savage tribes, and with progress in civilization, the first .steps are always in the direction of the aggravation of primitive and the adoption of foreign vices. Hum drink- ing has been nowhere so disastrous as in this region. With the smok- ing of tobacco by the Indians of the Atlantic coast region, and the chewing of it by thosii on the northwest coast, it ha.^ remained for our civilization only to invent the snuflBng of it. Peculiar marriage cus- toms and the greed of wealth have here contributed more to the alarm- ing increase of immorality than any inherent love of vice on the part of the Indians. i . :;ii 'I ' fs! i 1 >' H P by Lieut. -^~- XI. WITCHCRAFT— SUPERSTITION— SICKNESS AND ITEATH— MEDICINES- TREATMENT OF THE SICK. WITCHCRAFT. All severe diseases or illnesses are ascribed to the evil influence of «nemies, and, in case of tbe death of an important personage, a victim is nsnally found who has presumably charmed away the life of the de- ceased. The Indians are intensely superstitious and have naturally been encouraged in ideas of this kind by both the chiefs and the shamans, whose sway over the tribe depends largely upon the fear and respect excited by belief in their influence and power over good and evil spirits. Largely through the action of the commanding officers of our men-of-war stationed in Alaska, this hold of the chiefs and sha:nan8 on the people has been broken. By the bombardment and de- struction of several villages the Indians have been compelled to abandon the punishment of victims accused of witchcraft, but the chief stumbling block has been the surprising admission of guilt which nearly all of the accused Indians make when charged with charming away life, and this, too, in the face of the death pen alty. Such is their credu- lity that when accused they believe they must be guilty. Amongst the Haida the guilty Indian, according to Judge Swan, is discovered as follows: The mouse is Ihe jndge by irhioh the Haida detect the persons who work bad magic and cause sickuess and death. '^Vhen a fvrwn is takon sick or dies, three men are 8elecle4 f«t it iti m littla cage, t hich is set. on a raised platform in I'ront of the judges. The Mttte i.ioase, sadly frighteneti, retires to a cor- ner of his cage and eyes the ,ii»<*Jf*^ TTjf'y then comiience naming over suspected persons, and presently the littk iMvwtse Mods its head. Th^ victim has to pay money or blankets tr, get clear. "• * '. (West Shore, August, It^Hi,) A n.irration of the superstitious beliefs of these In(i>an» would i« itself exceed the limits oV this pai>er. Charms ot' all )^iud»iilafe«i in the ?igniflcance ^dnitiwis signs, and omens. Certain forms a.r»" gone through wjtli to pro(^ttaitthe vari- ous spirits and invoke their aid in all eatf rprises. A considerMiMM of this subject belongs pro|H»r'y to a stutty of th«i retigious belXf^ and practices of these Indians, which must come iMor. 348 h THE INDIANS OP THE NORTHWEST COAST. 349 It DICINES— fliience of , a victim of the (le- iiaturally I and the 5 fear and good and g oflQcers ihiefs and it and de- ipelled to \ the chief ich nearly ing away eir credn- longst the overed as > work bad 1, three men it with haIi , i»u(l when ar and bet- ir decision, on a rainoil es to a cor- p snspocted pay niuney would te »n» worn is signs, the vari- trtMXHi of 'h**!^ and SICKNESS. In cases of serious illness chief reliance was, up to reoont years, placed upon the incantations of the medicine men, who were paid liber- ally if the patient lived, or, if he died, were compelled to restore the goods he h d previously received on account. If any one other than a shaman attempted to do anything to cure a sick person and the pa- tient died, the self constituted doctor had to pay a heavy indemnity to the person's relatives. In out-of-the-way villages the shamans still have a hold on the Indians, and in case of sickness one is called in by the head of the household. If the latter falls sick it devolves upon his brother or nearest male relative to call in the Indian doctor. On all such occasions friends are invited in to see the evil spirits exorcised. While these shamans possess some knowledge of the medicinal proper- ties of herbs and are not slow to avail themselves of ihem, their duty is to drive out the evil spirit which haunts lht» sick man. Any virtue that mediciixes may in themselves have are ascribed to the charm su[)- posed to be wrought by the doctors in their decoction or preparation. The incantations and exorcising , ')i»sist in beating iliiims, dancing, making passes with subtle charms, blowing in the patient's mouth and nostrils, kneading au»l pounding his body, chanting, swinging to and fro, frothing at the mouth, and every conceiviible practice foreign to our own ideas ot the ti"eatinont oi the sick. As a rule the t»»tient that survives the dm, foul air, ^ud excitement of such a visit must ihmhIs have been on the higli road to recovery, for tlh? shaman usually con- tinues this performuaue until the patient declares himself better or well. The initiation, practices, liMi^ tKhibitions, dances, anf! incantations of these medicine I'teu desert* 8et«»rate coosideratioii as connected in- timately with their religious beliefs and enstoms. lu (jonnection with witchcraft, it may be said that the shamans are supi )sed to possess the power of charming away life by incantations and f f Jise of certain charms. In such cases, where the cha-rge ca.n he reasonably laid at their door, they are not beyond the reaek of a kinsman's revenge, MEDICINES. The internal administration of lUtLive mediciaM w iaM% practiced. Wounds and iiiiuries are treated locally with m^mnt specifics known to them, and scarilicatiou is sometimes resorted »». Hemorrhages are stopped by the application of bird's down to tke wwanded parts. Tiw healing qualities ol pine and cedar are recognized, and pine-tree gum is applied as a, poultice to wouikI.n bv some tribes. Salt-water taken as an emetic is a favorite remtniy i-r tiu«* not leeli^ w*IL This is also taken when they wish to pnwluc^- quickly that prolound iini)re8sion on btxly and mind wmcti fmtmgi ktr • bout in preparation for soiae «•- deal or ceremony As sMMMl, U* . .iiue ol any medi<;inc adminisiberoA !i,i 350 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1888. is supposed to be due to the charm wrought in it by the shaman or other person in its preparation or decoction. Preparations of bark are the principal specifics, but Langsdorff (1804) says of the Tlingit, 'Hhe root of a particular species of valerian is con8idered as the most effectual remedy that can be administered. * ♦ • The wing bones [of the eagle], particularly the radius aud ulna, are used in illness as tubes for sucking up fluids."* Around Sitka, the virtues of hot sulphur baths were recognized by the Tndians long before the atlvent of the whites. Near that settlement are some natural hot springs impregnated with sulphur, salt, and magnesia. In addition to these, however, the In- dians take steam baths by pouring water ou red hot stones in an in- closed tent or shed. In bathing and in some attempt at personal cleanliness, the Indians of the northern region of the northwest coast compare favorably with any of those in the world living in the temper- ate zone, but their ignorance of the simplest laws of health is child- like and lamentable. • Laugsdorif, Voyages, Pt. ii, pp. 107 nud 134. m ",- ■ Xf*^« iilHiiii T shaman or f bark are ngiJ., "the }t effectual les [of the 8 tubes for )hur baths he whites, lated with er, the In- 8 iu an in- personal west coast he tenipcr- h is child- ' XII. MORTUARY CUSTOMS— ANCIENT SEPULTURE— DEPOSITORIES OF ASHES-MORTUARY COLUMNS— CUSTOMS OF THE TLINGIT, HAIDA, AND TSIMSUIAN— MODERN CUSTOMS— CHRISTAN BURIAL— SHAMAN B URIAL, ANCIENT SEPUI-TURE. The earliest historical accounts are those of the early voyagers, and it is from these that we must get our descriptious of primitive methods of sepulture. Dixon, who was amongst the Yakutat in June, 1787, says: The manner in which they dispose of their dead is very remarkable. They sepa- rate the head from the body and wr>a})ping them in furs, the head is pat into a square box ; the body in a kind of oblong cbuHt. At each end of the chest which coDtains the body a thick pole, about 10 feet long, i.s drove into the earth iu a slanting posi- ion, so that the upper ends meet together, and are very iirmly lashed with a kind of rope prepared for the purpose. About 2 feet fiom the top of this arch a small piece of timber goes across, and is very neatly fitted to each pole ; on this piece of timber the box which contains the head is tixed, .and very strongly secured with rope ; the box is frequently decorated with two or three rows of soiall shells, and sometimes teeth, which are let into the wood with great neatness and lugenuity ; and, as an ad- ditional ornament, is painted with a variety of colors, but tbe poles are uniformly painted white. Souietimes tbes" poles are tixed npriglit in the earth and on each side the body, but the bead is always secured in the position described.* Dixon also describes a grave discovered by one of his oflBcers near Sitka: In a cave "he found the object which attracted his attention to be a square box with a human head in it," etc., beautifully orna- mented with small shells somewhat like those at Yakutat.* Portlock, who was also in this region iu 1787, describes a grave just above Sitka as follows : This edifice was composed of four posts, each about 20 feet long, stuck iu the ground 6 feet distant from each other, and in a quadrangular form. About 12 or 1.5 feet from tbe ground there was a rough-boarded lloor, and two of the sides were boarded 4 feet higher up; the other sides were left open. In the middle of this lloor an Indian chest was deposited, which most likely contaimul the remains of stune person of consequence; and on that side of the edifice to the westward, and which pointed up the sound, there was painted the semblance of a liumiin face. It is further described as showing evidence of having been recently repaired and the painting touched up.* H IL f' I 'Dixon, Voyage, pp. 175, 176. \ Ihid., p. 181. { Portlock, Voyage, p. 280. 351 352 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1888. Vancouver describes a KootzDahoo grave (Tliugit) which they saw on Admiralty Island, near Point Caution, in 1794, as follows : They rested for the night in a small cove under a high hill, where a box was found about 4 feet square, placed on wooden pillars about G feet from the ground. This box coutained the remains of a human body very carefully wrapped up, and by its side was erected a pole about 20 feet high, painted in horizontal streaks red and white ; the colors were fresh and lively.* Vancouver also describes as follows Kake Indian graves on Keku Strait, Kupreanoff Island, which he saw in 1794 : In the vicinity of these ruins were many sepulchres or tombs, in which dead bodies were deposited. These were made with a degree of neatness seldom exhibited in the building of their habitations. A wooden frame was raised about 10 feet from tliu ground, the upper half of which was inclosed, and in the open part below in many, though not in all, of them was placed a canoe. The flooring of the upper part was about 5 feet from the ground, and above that the sides and top were eutirely closed in with boards, within which were human bodies in boxes wrapped up in skins or in mattiug. These repositories of the dead were of different sizes, and some of them coutained more bodies than the others ; in the largest there were not more than four or five, lying by the side of each other, not one appearing to be placed above the rest; they were generally found near the water side, and very frequently on some conspicuous point. Many of these sacred monuments seemed to have been erected a great length of time, and the most ancient of them had evidently been repaired aud strengthened by additional supporters of more moderu workmanship. Hence it would appear that whatever might be the enmity that existed between the several tribes when living, their remains when dead were respected aud suffered to rest quietly ai^d u:ro than four )d above the itly on some ieu erected a repaired and >. Hence it t tbo several ered to rest liH. J up Behm about 3 feet eton, which ut to pieces, tbey con- a pjravo at )llow8 : ore exposed have before id of vault, irtistsof the rliko imple- •ded down.^l idjje J. G. )y him in r that the tnirurui iu ti«o(l) cre^ J51. iM« EXPLANATION OF PLATE LXIV. 3¥0 3V/ 3V3 3^3 J4^// 3^S Haida Mortuary and Commemorative Columns. From photographs by the author and from sketches in the U. S. Nat'onal Museum. Fig. 340. Kaioani Mortuary Column, containing a box holciipg the aslies of the dead, at the ruins of tlie abandoned Kaigani village of Chasina, at the entrance to ( 'liolniondeley Sound, Prince of Wales Island, Alaska. Fig. 341. Kaioani Mortuary Column, with conipartment boarded up. This con- tains the remains of the dead in a box, and represents a departure from cremation to inhumation, or aerial .sepultiA-e, in imitation of the former custom of thus depositing the cremated remains. At Kasa-an, Prince of AVales Island. Alaska. Fig. 342. Kaigani Mortuary Columns (aerial sepulture), supporting a box con- taining the body of the dead. At the partially abandoned village of Kaigani, Dall Island, Alaska. Fig. 343. Same as Fig. 340, but slightly different in form. Fig. 344. Haida Commemorative Column, with sign-lmard-like attachment at the top. This is iniitation of the style of jiost shown in Fig. 341, and as such is a survival of. or emblematic of. the former custom of crema- tion. This style of post is erected in front of tlie ho'i.se of the deceased, while the body is de])osited at some distance from it. It is erected to cominemorate the dead, as explained in Cliapter VII. Fig. 34.'). Haida Commemorative C'olumx. of S4ime type as Fig. 344, but with two columns, in imitation of the type shown in Fig. 342. ^""-"^•''^-^°^' ii ishes of the ^ina, at the \laska. Tliis coii- irture from the former -an. Prince a box con- 1 village of nent at the J41, and an of ere ma e»)' i; * jfi-^ ; 1 111 IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 If:'^ I I.I 25 iM 11112.0 12.2 IM 1.25 1.4 1.6 == — =— U 6" ► i Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 li . ' i w ::h. ^ 'll ^'i^s R« EXPLANATION OF PLATE LXV. Modern Tlingit Graves, Alaska. From photograph! and sketches by the author. Fig. 846. Shaman's Grave. Of the general type found auiongist the Tlingit. Fig. 347. Grave op Chief Shustocks. On Shustocka Point, opposite the village of Wrangell. The pole is surmounted by the carved figure of a black bear. Fig. 348. Northern Tungit Dead-hocse. Containing the carved and orna- mented boxes in vhich are deposited the cremated ashes of the dead. From a sketch miule by the writer, Sitka, Alaska. Fig. 849. Grave of Indian Chief. Surmounted by the carved wooden figure of a wolf, indicating the totem of the deceased. Fort Wrangell, Alaska. Rtport of Nitional Museum, 1888.— Niblick. PLATE LXV. -^■•--^^ ^^ - ■■■* ■ .__:^-s^*l*:>, Hl^^^rjf'i^S^^'T :ilin 'WW^frFv^ '^uTt Modern Tlinqit Graves, Alaska. • f ; ;• li iiil ' k ' i 1 I EXPLANATION OF PLATE LXVI. Modern Tlinsit Graves, Alaska. Drawn from photographs in the U. S. National Museum. Fig. 350. Group ov Modern Tijnoit Graves. Naha Bay. Method of sepulture under missionary influence. Tlie body is inclosed in a casket and buried in the ground. Over it is temporarily erected a cotton slu<.>tin>,' tent, as shown on the left of the view. Later on a wooilen monument, surmounted by a cross, is erected, or a picket fence built around the grave site. Fig. Sni. Group of Tlingit Graves. On a small high-water island off the village of Tongass, Aliuska. A curious combination of customs is shown in the left center of the view, where the grave is incloseil by a picket fence, but marked by a carved figure of an eagle, the totem of the de- ceased. Fig. 352. Group of Tlinoit Graves and dead-houses at Sitka. Alaska. The graves ar(> of the general tyi)e where Imrial is practiced, but in the deared to he human. These relics were carefully wrapped up in skins and old mats, and at the base of the pillars was placed an old canoe in wliicli were some paddles.* Plate LXiY., Figs. 340 and 343, show two types of primitive Haida sepulture of cremated ashes, on the site of the ancient and abandoned Kaigani village of Chasinn, at the entrance of the CLolmondeley Sound, Prince of Wales Island, Alaska. Tlie boxes containing the ashes have somewhat fallen into decay, but are seen on tlie shelves. This is the most primitive form of the sepulture of asheK. Fig. 341 is the sketch of a column at Kasa-an, Prince of Wales Island (Kaigani) in which the shelf and compartment containing the ashes are boarded up. This was generally the custom, and a curious survival of it is showu in Fig. 344, from Masset (Queen Charlotte Islands), iu which the boards are simply nailed across the top of the post or column in the semblance of a box, while the body itself is deposited elsewhere iu some other form of sepulture. In this we have both a commemorative column and an imitation of the ancient or former method of depositing the ashes, very much as to-day the funeral urn in marble marks with us, in some instances, the site of a grave in which the body is inhumed. The form given to the cross boards is that of an end or one side of n funeral box carved with the totem of the deceased. Fig. 342 of the same plate represents another form of depositing, in which the compartment con- taining the borimitive form in which these depositories existed. Marchand, who visited the (iueen Char- lotte Islands in 1701, says: These monuments are of two kinds; tlfo first and uMmt simple are composed only of a wooden colnmn about 10 feet high and 1 foot in diiimoter, ou the summit of which planks are secured, forming a platform. In some this ]>latform is supported by two columns. The corpse, deposited on this platform, is covered with mosHand large stones. The graves of the second kind are more elaborate : four posts pi.'iiited in the ground, and supporting, only 2 feet above the ground, a sarcophagus artistically or- namented and hermetically scaled. t •Vancouver, Voyage, Vol. iii, p. 242. tMarcbauil, Voyage, Tome li, pp. 1:15, i:J6. H. Mis. 142, pt. 2 23 tl, iii 354 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 188K. As cremation preceded aerial deposit with tlie Hnida, it is to be inu- sumed that the forms of sepulture illustrnted iu Fi^s. 340 to 343 in- clusive, from the Kaigani villages, antedate in ty|H) those describiMl liy Marchand. According to Lisiansky (I8f>5) the same foriiiH as duscrilxd by the latter were found aniougHt the Tliugit at Sitka, excepting that the ashes were deposited instead of the corpse: The bodies here are bunied, anil the asheB, together with the houeH thutreninin iin- ooDBunied, deposited in wooden boxes, which are placed on pillara, that have ditlxr- ent figures painted and carved on them, according to the wealth of tlie decendiil, On taking possession of our new settlement [8itka] we destroyed a liuii'.lred at Inait of these, and I examined many of the boxes.* Fig. 345 represents a survival of the form of deposit in which the box fs supported by two i)Oi$t.s from the village of Skidegate, Queen CMiai- lotte Idauds, thfi boards from post to post having the Kemblanco of the end of a huge box, in which the ashes or remains were formerly de posited. This is similar in signiBcance to the one shown in Fig. 344, being a survival of the semblance of a former custom. Wherever cri'< mation was practised in this region, it seems to have been the earlier custom to deposit the ashes in boxes on columns. These latter must however be distinguished from the strictly commemorative columns erected to *^ glorify the dead." The carved columns, erected at the end of the village, as in Plate iii, stand somewhat between the two, having; the double purpose of "glorifying the dead" and serving as mortuary col umns, to symbolize the old and mark the new form of the interment of the remaiuB. While they do not in themselves servo as a sepulchre or receptacle, they seem in a vague way to have had their origin iu tlif ancient custom of depositing the dead in boxes on or shelves in these carved columns. The origin of the custom of cremation amougst tlic northern tribes of this region seems traceable to the belief that a piece of the flesh in the possession of an enemy gave him the power to woi k evil to his spirit and to his kin. Tb^s belief in witchcraft is general throughout the coast. Dunn gives a curious illustration of this amongst the Ewakiutl. fie says of his dealings with them : This exasperated the Indians against nio ; annd try to tukt' np the spittle in something; for, acconling, as they afterwards informed mo, tlxy intended to give it to their doctor or magician; and he would charm my life awiiv.t The bodies of warriors killed in battle were formerly cremated, tlu- head being severed from the body and preserved in a box, supported by two poles over the box holding his ashes. This was the form ol' sepulchre described by Dixon amongst the Yakutat, as previously quoted in this chapter, the idea of cremation being to prevent an enemy from mutilating the body. It is believed also amougst the Tliugit that the souls or spirits of those whose bodies are cremated will be very comfortable in the spirit world. Whatever may have been the origin 'Lisiansky, Voyage, pp. 240, 241. t Dunn, Oregon, pp. 246-247. THK INDIANS OF THE NOKTHWKHT COAWT. 355 of oreuiatioD, with them it would Heem thatth<) reaHoiiH for it were not convincing to the larger portion of the Houtheru Tlingit, Uaida, and TnimHhian, where He(>uUnre by intenuent is praetised similar to our method of burial. Amongst the northern Tlingit, where cremation is still practised to a considerable extent, the present form of sepulture is that shown in Fig. 352, Plate Lxvi, which represents a group of graves near Sitka similar to the type found in other northern Tlingil vilKges. They are simply frame houses, with a small window or opei ' ' in the side, through which the boxes containing the cremated hhIu's of the dead are introduced. The funeral boxes containing tb " ashes of the differ- ent meml)ers of a family rest side by side on j floor, raised a tew fi^et ab( t le ground, and are generally visible through the window. The form of construction and interior arrangement i illustrated in B'ig. tl4», Plate Lxv. The window is sometimes covered with a Ohilkat blanket, as in the illustration, serving to adorn the outside, and to in- dicate that the remains of persons of wealth repose within. The wooden knob or ball on top is frequently replaced by a carved totemic figure. The dead houses are often painted with totemic designs on the outer walls, and ornamented with scalp locks and other trophies of the deceaaed. Cremation is not the universal practice even amongst the northern Tlingit, a large proportion of sepulture being by inhumation. Langs- dortt' (1805) says that sometimes ar Sitka, ^' The corpse is laid out in a new chest, and interred in a remote part of the forest, commonly be- tween four trees forming a square." Fics. 347 and •}49, Plate lxv, illustrate modifled forms of sepulture at Fort Wrangell (Sfikine) Alaska. The former is the grave of Ohief Shustack, on Sbustack Point, at the south entrance to Wrangell Anchorage, directly opposite the town. It represents a form of aerial sepulture, in that the remains are not actually buried in the ground, but remain above the surface en- closed in a box. Fig. 349 is that of an Indian chief of the Wolf totem, the form of construction being similar to that of Fig. 340, the grave of •a shaman or medicine man. I, t Ml SHAMAN GUAV£S. These are uniform in type amongst all the Tlii ./it, and Lave been the same from time immemorial, as their bodies have never been burned, for the reason that it is a common superstition that lire will not touch them. The bodies are doubled up with the chin near the knees and the upper part covered with a bark or basket-work mat. The graves are of the type shown in Fig. 346, Plate lxv, and are invariably located at some little distance from the village on a small island, conspicuous point, or high promontory, sometimes selected by themselves before death. The sepulchre itself consists of a small ]>en or enclosure of logs, usually ele- vated above the ground on four short posts, and facing towards the t 356 BEPOKT OF NATIONAL. MUSEUM, 1888. water, the roof slopiug back in the other direction. The body is borne to the grave in the canoe he used iu life ; is lowered into the sepulchre through an opening in the roof, and deposited on its side on the tloor. With it are placed the talisman, charms, and paraphernalia which served in lite to give the power of evil to their possessor. The canoe is hauled up on the beach near the grave with the paddles in it, in preparatiou for launching, and sometimes placed on rollers or skids. * These graves are usually along some frequented water course, and are very conspicuous. Whenever an Indian passes one of them iu his canoe he drops an offering of some value (usually a piece of tobacco) into the water to propitiate the yake of the deceased and bring fair winds aud good luck to the superstitious donor. Amongst the Haida and Tsimshian, the shaman graves are usually small and made of split boards instead of logs, but are substantially the same in form as the Tlingit ones here described. The body is, how- ever, more usually deposited in a sitting i)08ture. The only ones who have the privilege of looking into these graves are the other shaman, who sometimes, under the inspiration of a dream, can go to them and remove certain charms of the deceased for their own use. The ordinary Indian, however, has a most wholesome dread of these graves, and be- lieves that if in passing one he sees any part of the boups protruding through the flesh either himself or some member of his family will soon die. SLAVES. The custom with regard to slaves that died a natural death was to throw the bodies into the sea or otherwise cast them aside. Certain slaves, however, were selected by a master to be killed or sacrificed at his funeral ceremonies, in order that their spirits might accompany his ill the next world aud minister to it as they did to him in life. Those so selected esteemed it a great houor, as their bodies were accorded the same sepulture as their master^s. In case of cremation the bodies ot the slaves were cremated with that of their master, or in case of inter- ment were buried with it, thus securing to their spirits a comfortable time in the next world. Slaves killed on the occasion of a person of consequence building a house or giving a great feast were accorded also the right of burial of a freeman. There is, therefore, no special form of sepulture for slaves. ; CHRISTIAN BUKIAL. Under the religious influence of missionaries the Indians have been led to give up many of their former customs, aud inhumation or inter- ment is gradually supplanting' all other forms of sepulture. Fig. .'i.lO, Plate Lxvi, is a characteristic group of modern Tlingit graves at Na * This is (be cuMt* at a f<;rav« near Point Netibitt, Zarembo Island, described for Mio writer by Lieut. 1>. W. Cofi'iuan, LI. S. Navy. THE INDIANS OF THE NORTHWEST COAST. 357 body is borne the sepulchre le on the tloor. la which served lanoe is hauled | ]n preparatiou |i(ls. • These i, uud are very j In his canoe be facco) into the (air winds aud !8 are usually substantially e body is, how- only ones who other shaman, )to them and The ordinary [raves, and be- p« protruding imily will soon death was to side. Certain r sacrificed at iccouipany his u life. Those e accorded the the bodies of case of inter- i comfortable ' a person of accorded also ' special form ns have been ;iou or inter ce. Pig. ;j.j(), rraves at Na 58crib©a for tlio ah Bay (Tlingit), in southern Alaska. The body is enclosed in a rough casket aud buried, a temporary lent of white sheeting being erected over the grave. Later this is replaced by either a fence, as shown in Fig. 352, or a pyramidal structure surmounted by a cross, as in Fig. 350, or an eagle or other t^otemic carving, as in Fig. 351. This fencing in of the grave is now quite generally practised throughout the region of the Tsiiushiau, Kaigani, and southern Tlingit. Fig. 351 is a group of graves near the village of Tongass (Tlingit). Plate iii presents a view in two sections of the graveyard at the Kaigani village of Kasa-au, Prince of Wales Island, and, with Plates i.xv and i.xvi, gives a general ideaof the graves seen to-day in this region, being sketches, or sketches from photographs, with one exception, taken by the writer in lisSo-'ST. IN GENERAL. As a summary, it may be stated that Christian burial is rapidly sup- planting all other forms. Cre mation is still in vogue amongst the north- ern Tlingit, the ashes either being deposited in boxes in a small house, or, according to Dunn, in boxes in a secluded spot, in the woods. * Amongst the other tribesintennent is now pretty generally practised, the spot being marked either by a carved column, or by an enclosure in the form of a fence. MORTUARY CEREMONIES. Although the methods of sepulture have changed in recent years, the attendant ceremonies have not altered much. On the demise of an im- portant personage in this region, it is customary to array the body in ceremonial apparel and surround it with the tokens of his or her wealth. Thus laid out in state, the relatives and friends of the deceased view the remains. In the case of the death of a great and well-known chief, In- dians come from other villages, and the body is thus displayed until in an advance*) stage of decomposition, when the liual rites take place. Dunn (1835) nays of the Tsimsliian, " When a chief dies, he is, before in- terment, dressed up, his face painted, and jdaced, sitting up, in a canoe, and paddled round the maritime village, looking .almost life-like." * Amongst the H .ida, Tslmshian, Kaigani, and southern Tlingit, wl.en cremation was practised, the attendant ceremonies were about as fol- lows : The members of families belonging to the wife's totem, and to totems other than that of the deceased, were invited to a mourning feast, last- ing usually four days. The feasting and display of the body in state were accompanied by the dismal lamentations aud wailing of the mourners, who, after the guests had entered and were seated, came in dressed in mourning costume and leaning. on long staves or carved ceremonial sticks. Arriving in the middle of the floor, they wept, moanud, wailed. ", 'i I ! f I •Dunu (1835), On-gou, \i. '280. 358 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1888. and sang in a most dismal manner. In the intervals of mourning the feasting took place, and it was then also that the slaves were sacriticetl. The nearest relative or leading man who gave the feast despatched the slaves by a sharp blow on the head with a " slave-killer," a variety of which instrnments is shown in Plate XLVI. The most elaborate kinds were carved from deer antlers, but the points were sometimes of copper or stone. Usually the body of the deceased was borne to the pyre and burned at the begiuuing or on the first day of the ceremonies, the feasting and mourning following that evet t. In any case, the bearers of the body are the invited guests. The funeral pile is usually built just back of the house of the deceased. The mourners range themselves around tlie funeral pyre, their faces painted black, their hair cut short, and some- times their heads covered with eagle's down. It was the early custom amongst the Tlingit to disjoint the body before burning it. Sometimes the pipe was passed around before the fire was lighted, which last was done at a signal from the master of ceremonies. As the fire was lighted, drums were beaten, and the mourners wailed and cried until the pyre was consumed. The ^shes and burnt bones were collected in an elabo- rately carved wooden box, which was deposited in ihe mortuary houses, or on the columns described. The relatives washed and repainted their faces, presents were made to the guests who had assisted, and a feast took place, terminating the ceiemonies.* An anonymous writer in the American Naturalist thus describes a Tlingit funeral which he witnessed : In one corner of the room we found the corpftu, completely encnsed in blankets, which in turn were enveloped by a large woven scn-graBS mat, aud tied up in mich a manner as to bring the knees nearly to the chin, and, tlina enshrouded, it was placed in a sitting posture. The house was about half tilled with Indians— men, women, aud children. On one side of the room a young brave was busily engaged with a pair of scissorH in cutting oft' the long black hair of all the near rulativea, male aud female. TIiih seems to be one of the usual mourning customs among these Indians. After he bad completed this tonsorial duty, during which he had been iVe()nently interrupted by tbeir sudden outburstsof grief, a procession of about twenty Indian warriors, headed by old Au-a hoots, the war chief of the tribe, filed through the small porial. Each carried in his hand a long slender staft' made of a hard wood aud carved all over with fautastic figures, while bright-colored Hudson Bay blankets fell in not ungraceful folds from their broa«l, square shoulders. These staves bore evidence of their great age by tlu' high polish which they possessed, as well as by their smoky color and pungent odor. Tlic warriors ranged themselves in line along one side of the house, facing the center, and immediately began a lugubrious death chant, keeping time by raising their staves about three inches from the floor and lotting then di'op together. This' dolef ill air was ranch more monotonous than musical. All this time the relatives '..f the deceased were rending the nir with their lamenta- * Simpson, Jonrney, Vol. II, p. 20d ; Dull, Alaska, p. 417 ; Portlock, Voyage, p. 2SK); Frazer, Totemism, pp. 81 aud ti'i, quoting Holeuberg, p. 3ii4, and Krause, Dio Tlinkit- Indianer, p. 'J23. THE INDIANS OF THE NOPTHWEST COAST, 359 mg the Ijriflced. Ihed tlic (rietv of kinds copper tioDH. Every Tndian present bad his face thickly smeared with a fresh coat of seal nil and black paint, thus rendering himself inconceivably hideous. At the close of the death song two stalwart youne braves luounted to the roof and lowered bark ropes through the aperture, which were made fast to the matting that I'liveloped the corpse. An-a-hoots made a sign to the young men, and they began raising the body toward the opening in the roof. They always remove their dead from their houses in this manner, instead of through the door, on account of a super- stition they have that the spirit of the defunct made its exit in this way. But just as it arrived at the roof one of the ropes broke, precipitating the lifeless bundle upon the tire below, scattering the burning coals in every direction. For a moment all was ter- ror, confusion, and dismay. The shrieks and yells of superstitious horror that went up from the women and children baffle description. The body was hastily snatched from the fire and hurriedly carried out through the door to the funeral pyre, which was about 40 yards in rear of the house.* The following is a description of an Indian cremation witnessed at Sitka, Alaska, during tlie winter of 188ft-'87, as described for the writer by Lieut. George Barnett, U. S. Marine Corps : For several days after death the body was lying in state, surrounded by all articles of value which had been the property of the deceased. The face was covered with a mask, and on the head was a handsome head-dress trimmed with ermine skins which hung down the back; the body, which was in a sitting posture, was covered with Chilkat blankets. During the time the body was lying in state some of the friends of the deceased kept up a doleful chant, keeping time with carved mourning sticks, wliile others pre- pared the funeral pile in rear of tlie house ; this pile was made of yellow cedar logs so arranged that a solid muss was formed about 3 feet high and then the sides and one end were continued for about 12 or 3 feet more, thus forming a box open at one end and on top, extra logs being on hand to cover the top and fill the open end after the body was in platro. When all was ready four men took bold of the corners of the blanket, which had been placed on the floor under the corpse, aiid carried all ta the window, resting it on the window-sill, where it was held by four women, while the men went out through the door and again took hold outside of the window; they then carried the body toward the pile, while an old woman, who was left in the house, took a tin pan and gathered up some coals and ashes from the tiro in the center of the house; she car- ried the fire to the window and threw it out after the body, as she said, to purify the house; she then took np a small dog and likewise threw it out of the window to ac- company the departed. Under no circumstances will tiie Indians take a corpse out through the door; if there is no window, they will make a hohi in the side of the house or take it out through tbe smoke-hole in the roof. The body was then placed in the hollow part of the pile and the top and end logs put in place, aft«r which all was covered with seal oil and the fire started. During the burning two men used long poles to stir the fire, so that all would be burned; at tbe same time about a do/.en mourners with their faces blackened kept u)) a funeral chant, keeping time by beating on the ground with their funeral sticks. About 30 or 40 feet from the fire a hole had been dug in the ground and partially covered with brush, and here the widow was attended by several female friends, who combed her hair and changed her olothes, as they said, to cleanse her and make her eligible for matrimony again. After tV ^ corpse was consumed the bones and ashes were collected and placed in u !l Quoted in Standard Natural History, Vol. vi, Man., pp. 134, 135. 360 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 188H. lufliaii boxes, wliieh were ilcpositeil in the dead lioiise iu rear of tbe former house of the decensod. Althou(];li largo quantities of unUnrned wood reiiiaiiiHafter a cremation, Mm IndianN will not 1180 it, but will go miles for their fuel rather thuti act contrary to custom founded on superstition. The tribeH that now do not practice cremation, snch as the Haida, Kaigaiii, and Nouthern Tlingit, enclose the corpse in a sitting posture in a large covered box, similar fo those ordinarily used, and stow it away in the d.'swi bouse, which is usually a shed or small house behind the lodge of the deceased or at one end of the village. Some of these dead houses contain three or four bodies. After the ceremony of de- positing the box, tbe brother, or other ne.ar relative, gives a potlatch aud a feast to repay those who have contributed to the ceremony, either in helping construct the box, or the dead house, or in carrying the body. This practice is not very different where the body is interred sMJCording to the rites of Christian burial or in imitation of it. The mourning, feasting, and ] tainting of the face is still generally practised with any form of burial, save that directly under the supervision of the missionaries. it is the present custom, however, amongst the Kaigani, Haida, and southern Tlingit when a chief or very wealthy person dies, to display the body in state for awhile and then enclose it in a casket, which re- mains in the house in which the deceaf d lived, the other occupants moving out and finding quarters elsewhere. The casket is surrounded by the boxes containing the ceremonial apparel of the deceased, his household utensils, personal property, and tokens of wealth in general, and thus left for several years, admission being given from time to time to visitors to view the spectacle. Plate lxvit is a view of such a disposition of the body of the famous chief Skowl, at Easaan village, Prince of Wales Island, Alaska, from a photograph by the writer. Plate Lxviii, Fig. 353, is a view of chief Shakes lying in state at Fort Wrangell, Alaska. The grandest feasts and ceremonies in this region are in honor of the dead, and in celebration and (Htmmemoration of the jtrowess, good birth, and wealtii of the decejised. SHAMAN BURIAL. Dall, speaking of the customs at the death of a shaman, say?.: For the tirst night he remains lying in the corner where he died ; but on the fol- lowing day he is removed to the opposite corner, aud this is continued until the body has visited each of the four corners of the house. All the inmates of the house fast meanwhile. On the Hfth day the body, dressed in the garb of his profession, is bound to a board. Two ivory or bono wands, which the shaniau used in his pi-rformnnces. are placed, the one in the cartilage of the nose, and the other in the hair, which is tied together. The head is covered with a piece of basket-work, and the body is carried to its floal resting place.* *PaP, Alaska, p. 4-2tt. "I J, EXPLANATION OF PLATE LXVII. Mortuary Display of the Body of Chief Skowl, lying in State in his House at Kasa-an, surrounded by his Personal Effects and the Tokens of his Wealth. From a photograph by the author. Chief Skovvl died in the winter of 1882-'83, and, according to the custom of the region, Ins body was first displayed in state dressed in the ceremonial robes of a chief. Later it was inclosed in a casket and deposited, as shown, on a pile of boxes containing his clothing and ceremonial dance paraphernalia. The group is at the end of the building, opposite the entrance, between the two carved posts holding the rafters of the house. The piles of boxes, all fidl of valuables, the row of cop- pers, the bronze howitzer, etc., all indicate the rank and wealth of the deceased. Just beiow the casket are grouiied his personal household utensils, consisting of porcelain bowls, platters, wooden buckets, spoons, etc., which are cared for as i>er- sonal relics of the deceased. The figure on the left is that of a former slave of the chief; that on the right a Kaigani in full dance regalia, with painted body and hair bedecked with eagle's down. tea Report of National Muiaum, 1888— Niblack. Plate LXVII. Q UJ a z 3 o a (T D OJ 2" < < U] O X CO I ? I ";!: to? z CO »^ > o -I (0 05 - < > a: < O S f I it EXPLANATION OF PLATE LXVIII. The Body of Chief Shakes lying in State, and a Scene from a THEATBirAi pntpo beaT fIiS:'"'"^''''^''' °' ^"^ '-^^^~'' °^ '^^ ^^-"^^°^ o^sH:^Ts"^n:\T. From a sketch in the U. S. National Musoum and a photograph by the author. Fig. 353. Tlingit and Haida custom on the death of a cliief. Tlie l)o,ly is dressed in ceremonial attire and surrounded by tlie emblems of the wealth of the deceased; is displayed in state as lonj- us ,,ossible. Intlians from far and near gather to view the remains. When decomposition sets in the body IS inclosed in a casket and either interre.1 with great pt.mp or cremated, or else displayed, as in the case of Chief Skowl. This view represents the bcKly of the head chief, Shakes, lying in state at Fort Wrangell, Alaska. Fig. 354, Tlingit tlieatrical entertainment, as explained in the text. Chanter XIII Report of National Museum. 1888 - Niblack. Plate LXVIII. The Body of Chief Shakes lying in State, and a Scene from a Theatrical Enter- tainment Commemorative of the Legend of the Alliance of Shakes with the Bear Family. 11 : I r ReF EXPLANATION OF PLATE LXIX. 855 356 357 358 359 360 Wooden Commemorative or Mortuary Columns of the Tlinqit and Haida Indians. From photographs and sketches. Fig. 355. Mortuary or Commemorative Column at Masset, Queen Charlotte Islands. Britisli Columbia. Fig. 356. Mortuary or Commemorative Column in front of Chief Shake's house at Fort Wrangell. Alaska. Figs. 357, 358, and 859. MORTUARY Columns near Howkan, Alask.; Fig. 358, with the spruce tree growing out of the top, illustrates the decay of these w(K)den carvings through the encroachment of the vegetation, which flourishes wherever it can get the least foothold. Fig. 360. Mortuary or Commemorative Column at Fort Tongaas, Alaska. i^iammmfWWfra Report of National Museum, IBSS.-Niblack. PLATE LXIX. 1 ( 11 W0OD.M Co™E»0«.T,VI O. M»TU.,V C0UW«> OF THE TUNG.T .NO H.IOA NOI.NS. riH THE INDIANS OF THK NORTHWEST COA^n^ 361 SUMMARY. It is impossible to generalize with regard to tbe mortuary customs of the Tliugit, Haida, a.id Tsimsbiai.. Tbe metbods of sepulture difter iu differeut localities, and have undergone u.auy changes since the ad- vent of tbe whites. Around Sitka tbe custom of burning the dead has obtained from the earliest times, but ffic sepulture of tbe ashes has radically changed; whereas, cremation has now been almost entirely jriven npby tbe Tsimshian, Haida, and southern Tlingit, having boen onginally somewhat tbe prevailing custom. Witli regard to tbe burial ot shamans the custom seems to have beep from tbe earliest times tbe same as now, and quite uniform iu cbanicter tbrougbout the northern region of tbe coast. if XIII. FEASTS, DANCES, CEREMONIES, POTLATCRES, THEATRICALS. I. Initiatory Ceremonies: Marriage — childbirth — naming — PIERCING THE EARS AND NOSE— TATTOOING— PUBERTY— BRINGING OUT — SBLF-NAMING—CHIEFTAINCY— GLORIFICATION OF THE DEAD. II. Festive Ceremonies: Welcome— trade— housebuilding- POTLATCHES— CEREMONIAL DANCES — "CULTUS" DANCES — THEATRI- CALS. Festivities in general in this region consist in singing, dancing, feast- ing, and in the distritmtion of presents ; in the parade of ceremonial paraphernalia, and in elaborate cereiuonies, accou]panie) filled to the top with birds' down ; Chilcat and cedar blankets ; nifisks of various kinds and devices; cedar-bark girdles; ceremonial coats and leggings ; rattles and whistles ; dance wands and mechanically workingsnappers ; wooden helmets; ceremonial bows and arrows; wooden spears aud batons of raTik ; to all this add the i)ainted faces and bodies, the eagle's down on the heads and over the paint, and the clouds of birds' down blown from tubes and scattered by the dancers, and one has an outline of these picturesque and interesting gatherings. Some members of the trit)e l^ecome famous as dancers aud as wits. Their anticsi and contor- tions an; always watched with interest, and their sallies greeted with laughter by the wonien and children. This individual may be a woman or man, or formerly might have been a favorite slave, who \h-)f\ei\ a» a clown or fool to amuse the multitude, aud who was granted many priv- ileges not giveu to other slaves. Amongst the Tlingit the men do most of the dancing, whereas amongst the Haida and Tsimshians both sexes participate alike, sometimes one or the other, or both, taking part. N 364 REPORT OP NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1888. Dawson, in a recent magazine article, thus describes a daiicp which he saw at Skidegate, Queen Oliarlotte Ishinds : The performers, about twenty in number, were dreHsed uceordiii); to iio uniform plan. • » • Some bad rattles, and added to tbe din by HbakinfT these furiously at the accentuated parts of the song. Five women took part in the dauce, standing in front iu a row, and were dressed with some uniformity, several having the peculiarly valuable cedar bark or goat's wool shawls made by the Tsimshiaus. The bend dresses of the women were all alike, consisting in each case of a small mask or semblance of a face carved neatly iu wood and inlaid with pearly haliotis shell. * • * » The drum was beaten very regularly with double knocks — thus, turn turn, turn turn, turn <«»»— and with the sound the dancers kci)t time in a sort of chant or song to which words are set, and which swells into a full chorus or dies away according to the notions of a leader, who stood anmng the dancers, who, besides marking time, now and then gave a few words of direction or exhortation. • » • To the drum- ming and singing the dancing also keeps time, following it very closely. At every 1)eal. a spasmodic twitch passes through the crowd of dancers, who scarcely lift t'ueir f(H>t from the floor, but move by double jerks, shuflling the feet a little at the same tiui<\ After the performance has continued for ten miriutes or so the master of the ceremonies gives a sign and all stop with a loud hugh .' The dauce is resumed by the perspiring crowd at the signal of the drum, which strikes up after a few moments' rest has been allowed. Langsdorff' (1805) thus describes a dance wliich he saw at Sitka : The dance itself consists chiefly in a very eager spring, in executing which the dancers scarcely remove at all from one spot. They are all barefooted, and wear a Mingle garment only, commonly the woolen carter's frock mentioned above. One of the dancers seems, as it were, to lead the rest, carrying iu his hand a thick sort of a stafV ornamented with the teeth of sea-otters; with this he strikes upr n the ground to mark the measure. All, without exception, hold in their hands either the tail or wing of the white-headed eagle or a piece of ermine. The latter is valued by them very highly as' an article of luxury. They not only orn amen i their heads with it, and hold it in their bunds, but sew it about their garments. The women sit upon the ground at the distance of some p.ices from the dancers, and sing a not inharmo- nious melody, which supplies the place of music* Tliis description of a dance answers very much to one seen by the writer at Fort Wrangell, in September, 1887, called the "stick" dance, ill imitation of the Tiiine Indians of tiie interior, up the Stikine Uiver. It consisted in raising the feet alternately in quick succession as high as possible, without moving the body, (o the sound of a drum, chorus, and rattle. It differs radically from the usual coiist Judian dancing. From the details given by Langsdorff it would appear that the carry- ing of white plumes indicates that the ceremonials wiiich he witnessed were those of welcome and friendship or peace, as they took place after strained relations between the Russians and Indians. In the "stick" dance, witnessed at Wrangell, the Indians wore the buckskin costume of the Tinne, audit was given only for the amusement of the guests. As a summary it may be stated that amongst the Tsimsbian, Haida, and Tlingit the form of most dancing ceremonies is as follows: The guests sit around on the elevated ledges on the sides, as does also the chorus, which latter keeps time to the beating of a drum or * LnngKdorff, Voyages, Part ii, p. 114. / y THE INDIANS OF THE NORTHWEST COAST. 3G5 tambourine. There is a master of tbe ceremonies, who leads off the cborus, and who may himself participate in the dance. The song is usually in praise of the strength, riches, and prowess of the host, and to this the dancers keep time with rattles, grunts, contortions of the body, and shuMing of the feet, ov spasmodic hoi)i>ing, with knees con- stantly bent. Dancing is an invariable accompaniment of potlatch ceremonies, but may take place witbout the distribution of gifts. The potlatch. — This is one of the most wide-spread and curious cus- ' toms o« the northwest coast. It has its origin not only in the custom of the exchange of gifts, but in securing the good-will of others by presents. To procure a wife; to enter the ranks or obtain the influ- ence of medicine men ;• to becom«» a great chief; to give social standing to one's children; to take on on jlf the name of a paternal ancestor; to build a house ; to become a respected member of the community ; to atone for a wrong done; to resent an insult — property in some form or other must be sacrificed either by destroying it, to show one's rage, grief, or disregard of wealth, or by giving it away to obtain the good- will of others. The accumulation of property is a necessity in these Indian communities iu order to stand well in them, and wealth becomes primarily the basis of social organization. Under the head of wealth the general question of property has been discussed. In a potlatch all kinds of personal and household property — blankets, dishes, bowls, canoes, guns, ammunition, money, mirrors, knives, garmeuts, spears, furs, robes, pots, kettles, spoons, etc. — are given away. Discrimination must, however, be made between a reward for services rendered, dam- ages mulcted, or the d.it paid to the wife's parents, aiul the ceremonial distribution of gifts, which last is the potlatch proper. The custom is a very widely-spread one, and is practised by some tril)es of the inte- rior, even east of the Kocky Mountains, particularly amongst those of the Dakotan stock. Amongst the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian the potlatch is a per- fectly systematized distribution, involving much more thoughtful con- sideration and balancing of obligations than the giving of a select germau or limited entertainment by a well-recognized leader of society in any of our large cities. The occasions on which they are given will be enumerated later on in the description of the different ceremonies. In general, the more frequently and liberally an Indi. .» distributes property the better his standing with the others, the greater his chances of reaching the dignity of chief in his village, and the more is due him when some other member performs the same ceremony. An ordinary man confines his potlatch to those of his own village, while a chief usu- ally sends out to certain individuals of distant villages by name. Often a chief is assisted by his people, whom, in this case, he invites to a feast, and from whom afterwards he receives gifts which, with those ()f his own, are given away subsequently at the grand potlatch. When- ever it is the intention of an individual, other than the head (ihief. 366 REPOKT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1888. to make such a distribution, he calls together his friends aud rela- tives, makes an inventory of his property, and, with their help, makes out a list of persons to 'whom he intends giving presents and what articles [io to each. It is often the custom, however, previous to call- ing together the friends, for the host to quietly distribute his property amor.g his friends and the principal people of the village, who by eti- quetre are required just before the time set for the potlatch to return the presents with interest or increase — that is, for four blankets to re- turn six, or in some such ratio. In this way all the tribe immediately concerned know what they are to get, and the immediate friends and relatives know what the visitors are to receive. The inventory being made out and the council of atlvisers assembled, the list is read out name by name. As soon as a name is read, the friends present ex- press their approval or disapproval of the intention to give the indi- vidual named such and such present. The list being finally made out, the messengers are sent out to announce the date and to invite the guests. On the assembling of the guests, on the date fixed, feast- ing and dancing are indulged in. If the occasion is for the purpose of raising a house, cutting out and erecting a new carved column, or undertaking some industrial enterprise requiring the combined efibrt of many, the feasting and dancing alternate with the work, gambling being indulged in during spare times, and the distribution takes place when the work in hand is finished, after which all disperse. In this case, however, the gifts are in the nature somewhat of reward for serv- ices, and go to the guests jmre and simple, the relatives receiving none ; but in case of a grand potlatch, unconnected with the industrial idea, all receive presents according to the list made out. In any case, how- ever, the distribution is the final ceremony, and is conducted as follows : The guef:*s all being assembled, the goods are displayed about the walls and on poles and cords or piled up on the floor in a great mouml. The host stands or sits arrayed in cerenjonial attire, and presides over the affair with the (;erenionial baton in his hand. The herald blows a call similar to that shown in Fig. 334, announces the opening of the ceremony in a speech, extolling the liberality and prowess of the host, and calls a name, giving the present he is to receive. An attendant takes the present and resents. In preparation for a feast the northern Indians (Tsimshian, Plaida, and Tlingit), if not now at least formerly, washed oil' all the old paint, and, after smearing their bodies with fresh grease, repainted their faces, chests, and arms red, etching on their totemic designs, and sprinkling it all with white down in a full- dress but polite coating of tar and feathers. The feasts consist of all kinds of food, quantity being the chief requisite. This, however, is served on large feast dishes and eaten with ceremonial spoons, both of which have been illustrated in the accompanying plates. The guests sit around on the ledges or surrounding platforms, ami all eat out of the dishes nearest at hand. The feasts are usually kept up as long as there is anything to eat. 1.— Initiatory ceremonies. In this class are included all the ceremonies that mark the diifereut steps in life from birth to death. Funeral ceremonies have been de- scribed. The most iin]>ortant voluntary step in life, and one that has the greatest significance iu our higher civilization at least, is matri- mony. Marriage. — As a rule the Indians marry young. Polygamy is the natural result of the custom by which a sister's son or a brother falls heir to the relict of the uncle or brother, in addition to his own wife. While the custom is now dying out, yet it is in the relations of the sexes that the Indians most tenaciously cling to old-time customs. Polygamy is rare, but the number of wives is regulated purely by the ability or desire of the husband to maintain them. Dunu (1834) men- tions a Sebassa (Tsimshian) chief who had twenty wives and hosts of slaves.* The first wife has precedence. It is not uncommon amongst the Tlingit for " rich and substantial men to have two wives, an old and a young one.'' t Sometimes there is a great deal of sentiment in the selection of a bride; sometimes a match is arranged or schemed for by the families; but more often it is a commercial transaction of buying and selling. A man desiring to marry a girl sends his mother or a middle man to her parents to negotiate. An understanding having been arrived at, he sends as many presents as he can got together to her father. The ceremony is about the same throngiiout the northern region, consisting mainly iu the assembling of frienyuf;es, Purt ii, p. 133, I i 368 KEPOKT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1888. they enter and sit down at one end of the room, the );iil aud ber rela- tives being at the other. The young man's friends make a speech in his favor, and the girl's relatives sing a song, after which the bride goes over and sits down beside liur to-be-husband and takes his hand. Dall thus describes the further custom amongst the Tlingit: AH the KuestH datice nud tiiug; whoa tired, (Mversifyiiii; the entertainment by eat- ing. The pair do not join in any of the ceronioiiieH. Tha*; their fiitnre life may ba happy they fast for two days. Then taking a little food to ,«intaiii life, they fast for two days more. Fonr weeks afterwards they come together vn\ are then recognized an uian and wife.* When the ceremony is complete the fat'ier of the girl gives her a dowry e«iiial in value to that received from the husband, and she goes to live with her father-in-law. If they afterwards separate through dissatisfaction the presents are all returned; but if a wife is unfaithful, the husband can send her back with nothing atul get his own property from the father. In any case the children go with the mother. The husband may claim indemnity from his wife's seducer. When the mar- riage festival is all over, the fact is marked by the removal from the bride's lower lip of the button or pin, and the substitution of the plug or labret. Child-birth. — It appears that only amongst the Tlingit are peculiar customs in vogue in tiie treatment of women at child-birth. Petroff says in his report: The Hpecial sullering imposed njyou all womankind by nature is increased hero a liundrcd fold by ancient custom and superstition. At the time of child-))irtli, when women more than at any other time are in need of assistance, the Tlingit females are driven out of the house and left ic» their fate, shunned by everybody as unclean- The cliild is born in the open air, no nuitter at what season, aud only some time after the birth is the nu>ther allowed to enter a rude shed erected for the purpose, where slu' is con lined for ten days. * * " A new-born child is not allowed to tnste its natural food until it has vomited, unil if this does not occur naturally its little stomach is pressed and 8(iueey.ed until the desired ett'ect is secured. At the ago of a few weeks the babe is wrapped in furs and strapped upon aboard, and is always car- ried about by the mother. The infants are given tin' breast from ten to thirty months, but they are accustomed to other food after they are a year old. The first strong nourishment given them is generally the raw blubber of nnirine animals, except that of the whale. As soon as the child begins to walk it is bathed daily in 'he sea, without regard to the seas(m, which accounts to some extent for the robustnexs of the body of the Tlingit after he has once passed the tender iige.t This custom relating to women at child-birth is much less rigorously carried out now than formerly, aud diligent inquiry by the writer has failed to discover that such prsictice was ever in vogue amongst the Haida orTsimshian. The cradle-board has been very generally aban- doned in this whole region, the child being slung in a blanket or carried in the arms, as with us. When used formerly the board was padded with nu)ss, which was renewed daily. Children are treated with great kindness and leniency and rarely chastised. * Dall, Alaska, p. 4T«. t Petroft', Report, p. 169. I rela- 3b in bride land. ly eat- f&y be Mt for cnized THE INDIANS OF Tilt: NOKTIIWEST COAST. 369 Naming. — Cbildrou are given niyre than one name, bnt the enstoni varies souiewbat in different localities. The tirst i.s applied soon after birth by the niotber, and is usually that of a maternal ancestor or near male relative of the tnothor. Ancestral names are preserved with the greatest care, this being tavored by the custom of erecting mortuary columnH and preserving traditions of the prowess of ancestors. The first uauie is conferred without any ceremony. An exception to this bas been noted in the adoption of a son as an heir by a wealthy chief, where bis sister takes the child and figuratively adopts it, the name of a paternal (or adopted maternal, which is the same) ancestor is applied to the child. The chief makes her a present, and when the boy grows up it becomes bis duty to also suitably remember or reward her. Where parents are too poor to prepare feasts for their children they retain their first name; but with families of wealth there are several ceremonies wbicb must be complied with to insure social standing to their children. The first ceremony is a very expensive one, involving in lormer times for the parents an enormous outlay. Piercing the nose and ears. — This most important ceremony is intended to give social standing to the children, and involves, or formerly in- volved (for the practice has almost gone out of date), the following de- tails: (1) A house-building "bee"; (2) a potlatch ; (3) the bestowal of a second name on the child or children ; (4) the freeing of slaves, and (5) the piercing of the nose and ears, al the ugh not in the exact order named. A new house is first built for its express celebration, feasts being given during tbe progress, and dancing, singing, and gambling being indulged in. Tbe relatives and guests being all assembled, the final ceremonies take place as follows: (During the period when slaves weve held a nnmberofthem equal to that of the children for whom the celebration wRs given at this point received their liberty.) The children are brought forward according to their nge, and the incisions made in the septum of the nose and the lobe of the ear with a sharp instrument or awl of copi>er, bone, shell, or iron. A second name is bestowed on each, which amongst the Haida is (accortling to Dawson) for male children determined as follows : With the HuidftH » lirst-lioni noii iiiay 1>o called by the name of the mother's eldest brother; the uecoiid born after the iiiotlit-r's mocoihI brother, or by one of the addi- tional uameH of the tirsst. Shotdtl the mother have no,l)rother the name of Mime dead friend is chosen, or in cascM where the medicine uiun revealH the retnrn of Nome ono formerly dead iu the new-born child, the name of the )ier.son Hiipposed to be thus retnrn- iuj{ to the tribe taken precedence of all others. A cljiei'.s son \» named by its mother af- ter consultation with a medicine man, whom i^he pays. He takes a ni<;ht to think, and mayhaps dream, about it. Thereafter he gives the name of a deceased male relative on the mother's side, whicdi is adopted. The ceremony of naming in witnessed by many, and presents are given. • » • Four times in all a youth changes his name, always taking one from his mother's family." After the iniming a feast takes place, followed by singing, dancing, and a grand potlatch, when all disperse and the fCvStival (;onies to au •Dawson, Report, p. 131. H. Mis. 42, pt. 2 24 i I*' ii 870 REPORT OF NATIONAL MU8EUM, HiB8. ! i end. At the potlatch it may be well to uieutiou, all the assembled peo- ple, both relatives aud guests, receive presents, which is dift'ereiit from a simple housebuilding or other industrial *^bee," where only the guests are rewarded. Tattooing. — Amongst the Tlingit and Tsimshian, where tattooing is not practiced, the child receives simply the birth name, the second name as in the preceding, and either one or two other names later on, as here- after explained. With the Haida, however, the ceremony of tattooing', which occupies three separate occasions or gatherings, a name is each time bestowed or assumed. According to Dawson * a house-building bee and potlatch is given by the parents on the first two occasions of the tattooing of a child or several children, and on the last occasion the young man, aided by his mother's people, makes the potlatch from his own house aud adopts formally the name of a maternal relative or ancestor. On this occasion the tattooing is finished ; but the ceremony will be spoken of uud<)r the head of Lmt naming. The process of tat- tooing has been described. Puberty. — The ordeals through which a young girl wa.s required to pass on attaining the age of puberty were formerly very severe, but in recent years have been almost entirely relaxed. Amongst the Tlingit they were peculiarly trying, but the custom varied in different localities. According" to Laugsdorii', who wa^ amongst them in 1804-05, it was not " uncommon when a young girl is grown up to shut her up, even for a whole year, in a small house by herself at a distance from her family and acquaintance, where she is kept coustautly employed; the idea is that by this means she a^^q^ores habits of industry and diligence, reserve and modesty, which will -ifford the better chance of her becom- ing a good wife, aud lay h )v\\(\ foundation for wedded h»p{>ine8s."t This exclusion, however, iiad a deeper reason, in that young girls were at this period considered unclean, and both among the Uaida and Tlin- git were compelled to wear a peculiar cloak, hood, or hat as a badge of seclusion, and to protect the sky from pollution. The face was painted with charred fungus, aud the girl required to fast more or less, only her mother or a female slave being allowed to carry her food. Amongst the Tlingit she was confined to a small hut for six months or so, but amongst the Haida it was customary to screen off a corner of the house and give her a separate fire and a separate exit out of a small back door cut for the purpose. According to Dawson, if it was necessary for her to pass out by the front door, preparations were made by remov- ing everything with which there might be danger ot her coming in con- tact. In meeting men she was required to avert her face aud cover it with a corner of her blanket. The hood or cloak she wore was made of woven cedar-bark, nearly conical in shape, aud reached dowu below the breast, though open before the face. * Dawson, Report, p. 131. t Laugsdorff, Voyages, Part ii, p. 1J3, THE INDIANS OF THE KOKTMWK.ST C()A«T. 871 Tbeae or utber Hituiliii' uiisttoiua wero aIho in vo^ne uiiiuti)^ tliti TftiumhiauH, wliime pruvtictiM HO cloHely ruHumblo the Huidu'Hiii niont rvspuutH. Auion^ tliHou puuplu groat varo wuH taken to teach the girlnHiibinixsion, coutentmunt, uiiil iiidiiHtry. At certain times tboy were not allowed to lie down to Hleop, but if overcome with drowsinetw must prop tbeoiHelves in a nittiuK poatnnt between boxoH. licfore drinking the cup niuHt be turned round four times in the direction of movement of tlie sun. It whh also UHual for the mother to save all hairH combed out of the girl, and twist them into cords, which wore then tij^htly tied round the waist and ankles, and left there till they fell to pieces of themselves. This was supposed to give a fine shape to the body. In eating, the girl must always sit down to jirovent a too great corpulence. If orphaned, tie various ceremonies must l>(' again performed by the girl, even though already atleudod to.* If the parents were rich or iiniwrtaut people, on releasing the girl a great feast was given by the relatives in her honor by way of bringing her out or making her tl6but. Bringing out. — On the occasion of the feast or ceremony celebrating the release of a girl from her seclusion, she was richly dressed (formerly in sea-otter skins) and the garments worn during her restriction burned up or otherwise destroyed. As a rule this cereniony was accompanied with more or less theatrical ettect, in that the girl was seated on a divau surrounded by borrowed wealth, and a curtain arranged to be removed at a given signal. Dawson says : Among the Tsimshiau pec.tlinr ceremonies exist in connection with the " bringing out" of young women, and it is the occasion of public feasting. In case of a j'oiing woman, the people being all collected, a curtain is raiseil, and she is seen silting with her back to the spectators, p(!culiarly dressed, and surrounded by a circle of uitright "cojipers," if enough can bo mustered. She then begins to sing, or if she does not, an old woman begins to sing near her, and she becoming encouraged joins. The old woman then graduiilly drops her voice till the novice is singing alone. She then eventually makes a dance before all the people. The songs and dances are practised before the time for the rite arrives. Similar customs probably exist among the Haidas, though I di :,f.;aincy is to a certain extent hereditary, but as it de- pends upon weatcl'., any freeman who can accumulate property may, by erecting a house aud giving potlatches and feasts in honor of his ances- tors, come finally to be the head of a household and be regarded as a petty chief or one of the priuciiial men of the village. Good birth and wealthy aud influential family connections are the first requisites of an aspirant for the highest rank. To be a petty chief in the village a man must practically be at the head of a household, heuce the necessity for building a house aud for marrying. To build a bouse the united labor of many people is required, hence the housebuilding "bees." To re- ward those who participate and to gain the good will of others, feasts must be given and presents distriouted ; hence the potlatch. To retain the respect and esteem of others these feasts and potlatches must be re- peated at intervals. By an alliance with medicine men, whose influence is purchasable, various deceits aud tricks may be resorted to iu order to impose on the credulity of the vulgar herd and increase the respect they have for the rank and power of tlie aspirant for honors. In order to strengthen this feeling of respect it is necessary to brush up the coat- of-arms, so to 8i)eak, and give a grand feast in l»onor of some departed ancestor. This is called " glorifying the (lead," and nu» v take place a tew yeart: after the decease of the relatives or many years afterwards. Finally, by dint of giving feasts, potlatches, and " bees;" by intrigue, display, and prowess ; by push, energy, and enterprise, tht aspirant finds himself in the front rank of the chiefs, a respected and influential eider in the village. Glorification <./ the dead.— In Chapter Xii the mortuary customs of the different tribes of this region were discussed. On the death of a chief, or other very important personage, the body, after lying in slat/c for a year or more, is tiiii'Jlv interred with great cercrnoiiy, or, as amongNt the northern Tlingit, burneo observed. In one sense these are not rigid, but are, however, sufficiently uniform in their character to admit of classitica- tion and description. Welcome. — These Indians welcomed ll? arrival of the early European navigators and traders by paddling their canoes several times around tb"! ship, making long speeches, scattering bini's down and singing. The significance of bird's down has been alliuled to as an emblem of friendship and p'>ace in Chapter ix. Two parties of Indians meeting in canoes exchange civilities very impassively by talking or shouting out. Poole (1807) describes tiie meeting of two friendly canoe parties which hi»d been separated liy stress of weather and each believed the others to have been lost. They danced in a circle together, the two chiefs epr>eriug about madly while the iiir rang with shoots.* The cere- • Poole, Qtieen Chariot to Islauils, p. 279. I 374 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1888. mony ttf welcome at a village is reDdered practically iu the assistance which they lend in helping to unload and haul up the canoe of the vis- itors. Official ceremonies of welcome to guests by a chief consists in the reception of the visitors in state in his house or lodge. To make it impressive lit> sits cross-legged on the ledge or platform, surrounded by his friends and relatives, who squat about. On the arrival of the guests the chief delivers a long speech, interspersed with sudden outbursts and grunts of approval by his people. After that an exchange of pres- ents takes place and a feast or dance is given in honor of the visftc?-8 When a party of friendly Indians arrive at a villag>3 the chief rtic -•• them in a dance ceremony performed by himself. Their ca/cs v. hauled up on the beach by the villagers, but the chief does not come down to meet thorn. He stinds near the fire in the back of the house dressed as in Plate ix, with the top of his head-dress tilled with swan's down. As the visitors enter, the ;"°ople sitting about the fire break forth into a song, accompanied by a drum, and the chief makes his pas seul, scattering the down, filling the air, and covering the spectators. In the case of an Indian arriving at a strauge village, he goes co the house of one of his totem as indicated by its totemic column. The owner comes our to welcome him, and if he likes makes a dance and a feast in honor of his visitors. Guests arriving to take part in some gen- eral ceremony are entertained by the relatives of the host and of his wife. Trade. — ^The ceremonies attending trading in the early days of the intercourse of the Europeans and Indians have been described in Ohaj) ter viir. They really differed little from the general ceremonies or t'p' come, but were intended to impress the visitors with a due sense ot the rank and importance of the head of the household. The time thus spent by the Indians in dancing, singing, etc., was a source of gr^at an- noyance to the traders, who were generally eager to transact their busi- ness and seek other villages while the gooil season lasted. Homebuilding. — In Chapter vi, under the head of " Haida perma- nent dwellings," the i>roces8 of erectiu"- a house is described in detail. Through the kindness of Mr, Ilenry Elliott we have iu Plate LXX a?» excellent sketch, made at Fort Simpson, British Columbia, in Octoh'- 1866, illustrating a house-raising by a party of Haida who had securoti permission from the Tsimshian Indians to erect it near their village for the accommodation of visiting Haida. This spirited shetch by Mr. El- liott has remained in his portfolio for fcweMt.v t.vo sours, and is nov published for the first time. The immense t: ze of the . ins and planV.s used necessitates the co-operufcion of many individuals, and the occa- sion of their gathering from other villages is made as enjoyable as pos- sible. The great labor and expense involved requires the whole proc- ess to extenigaged in hauling up a huge rafter on skids by means of ropes of spruce-root or twisted cedar-bark. T!ie canoes on the beach, and the village in the distance, lend to it the characteristic features of a view in this region. Report of National Museum. 1888.— Niblack Plate LXX. )N, yell- leans I tlie Kum. ID 00 a: tu CO O h- o O < z 3 -I o o I U5 H (£ CO z o U3 a. S 03 O 0. < z < X to oj H u I I- I- < o I o z < < I o z < ■ l!!liLLJ-.LUl!XU^- i-!- I . % h THE INDIANS OF THE NOR'^PWEST COAST. 375 ^ huge beain8 or ratters, aud their final erection into the frame work of a house, all require not only the expenditute of much time aud labor, but a very extensive outlay of wealth. The gathering is an occasion of much ceremony, but the work in hand, conducted always with dire con- fusion, shouting, and yelling, occupies but a small portion of the time, tlie remainder being filled in with gambling, feasting, dancing, speech- making, and dissipations of various kinds. Formerly iue custom ob- tained of killing several slaves when a person of consequence built a house, the victims being selected sometime before the ceremony. Tlie bodies of those .slain were accorded the right of burial, and in this much were deemed very fortunate. Petroft" says : If an intended victim managed to escape or to conceal himself he was allowed to live, and might return after the conclnsiou of the festivities at the house of his mlace, the host presiding. After that they disperse. Potlatohes. — The potlatch, as entering into other ceremonies, has been described in the first part of this chapter. It is the accompaniment of every gathering designed to elevate the host in the good will of the community and advance him in rank by increasing the respect felt for him in his own and other villages. The potlatch in itself as a separate ceremony is, however, practiced. Invitations to it are sent out as for other gatherings. Usually they are given by chiefs or persons of wealth well-established in the community. According to Dawson, Kiich chief with the Tsinishians had also [in former days] his jester, who is sent on errands of invitation, announces the guests on their arrival, and makes jokes and endeavors to amuse the company, though preserving his own gravity. The jester is not, of course, always in attendance. He receives nothing for his trouble, appar- ently looking on the position as honorable, and inherits nothing on the chief's death. t Tlie object of the potlatch thus given as a separate ceremony is to strengthen the giver's position in the community and to increase his reputation at home and abroad. (Jerenionial dances. — Sufficient data is not at hand to classify the vari- ous dances of the northern Indians of this region. The weight of evi- dence seems to be that amongst the Haida the Tsimshian language is used in the songs jiccompanying their dances, and that in all probability most of the religious and winter-dance ceremonials of the Haida were originally borrowed from their Tsimshian neighbors. Little is known on this subject, and it presents a most interesting field for future investigation, particularly in the relation of these to the winter dances of the Kwakiutl and other southern tribes. Petroff, Report, p. 172. t Dawson, Report, B, p. 120. 376 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1888. It; Vultm fiances. — This is a term usually applied to dances carried on without any apparent motive other than amusement in imitation of the actions during the greater festivities, possibly, however, as much for l)ractice as anything else. Theatricals. — Portlock (1787) gives an interesting account of the cere- monies of the Tlingit with whom he traded. After an elaborate enter- tainment of welcome by singing and dancing in the cauoes alongside the Indians adjourned ashore, and returning again began their song. This tiino. by wiiy of varying our ainuHemeiit, the chief appeared iu different charncterN during the time his people were Hinging, and always changed his dress when he A'aried his character, in doing of which some of his companiuns held np a a large mat, by way of a screen, to prevent us from seeing what was going on behind the curtain. At one time he appeared in the character of a warrior, and seemed to have all the savage ferocity of the Indian conqueror about him. He showed us the manner in which they attacked their enemies, their method of lighting, and their be- haviour to the vanquished enemy. He next assumed the character of a womap, and to make his imitation more complete he wore a uiiisk, which represented a woman's face with their usual ornamentn; and indeed it so exactly resembled a woman's face that I am pretty certain it was beyond the reach of Indian art, and must certainly have been left by the Spaniards iu their last visit to this part of the coast.* The type of mask referred to is shown in Fig. 5G, Plate xvi, and in spite of Portlock's doubts is a veritable product of Indian art. Dunn says of thb KwakiutI : In the winter months these, as well as the neighbouring tribes, assemble in great numbers in the chief's house for the purpose of witnessing the chief imitate different spirits, whom they are supposed to worship. He puts on at intervals different dresses and large masks of different kinds, entirely covering his head and neck. The masks are made to open at the mouth and eyes by means of secret springs, invisi- ble to the spectators and different noises are seat forth. He dresses for each char- acter behind a large curtain, drawn quite across the room, like the drop curtain iu a theatre, and then comes forth aad stands on a sort of stage in front of it, while the spectators are ranged on beaches placed along the side walls. In one of the charac- ters he imitates the risin'/ sun, which they believe to be a shining man, wearing a radiated crown, and coi.tiuually walking round the earth, which is stationary. He wears on this occasion a most splendid dress of ermine and other valuable furs, and a curiously constructed mask, set round with seals' whiskers, and feathers which gradually expand like a fan, and from the top of the mask swan-down is shaken out in great quantities, according as he moves his head. The expanding seals' bristles and feathers represent the sun's rays, and the showers of down, rain and snow; the Indians chanting at the same time in regular order and in a low key showing rev- erence, devotion, and awe. • • * Sometimes the various divine personages are represented by one man; sometimes there are two or three personatoi-s on the stage all at once, representing different divinities.! In Plate Lxvii are shown some of the masks belonging as personal properties to the late Kaigaui chief Skowl. In the boxes are the cere- monial vestments worn on occasions. In Plate Lxviii are two views of the paraphernalia belonging to Chief Shakes of Fort Wrangell (Tlingit), the upper one, Fig. 353, reprtsenting the body of the late chief lying in state, and the lower. Fig. 354, a theatrical group repr-' juting a legend * Portlock, Voyage, p. 283. tDunn, Oregon (1842), pp. 253, 254. \ i THE INDIANS OP THE NORTHWEST COAST. 377 tracing the «leaceiit of Chief Shakes from the b-ar. AmougHt the Tliiigit, Haidn, anil Tsiiushian tlieso theatrical e.utertaiiinieiits ar<^ alstt given by the chiefs, but liave more of a toteiiiic than a religious sig- nificance, as in tlie soutli. It was formerly and is now somewhat the custom in the more out of the way villages for each chief to have a helper or principal man, who enjoys the contidenco of the chief, has considerable iiuthority, gives advice and instruction to the chief's successor, and has the care and keeping of certain secrets and prop- erties belonging to the chief. These last iluties pertain largely to assistance rendered in the production of the theatrical representations of tl?e traditions and legends relating to the chief's totem. On such occasions, the guests being assembled, the chief presides, while the prin- cipal man directs the entertainment. Fig. 354 represents a scene taken from a representation witnessed by the writer at (Jhief Shakes's, Fort Wrangell, Alaska. The tigure of the bear is a mannikin of a grizzly with a man inside of it. The skin was obtained up the Stikine Biver, in the mountains of the interior, and has been an heirloom in Shakes's family for several generations. The eyes, li|)s, ear lining, and paws are of copper, and the jaws are capable of being worked. A curtain screen in one corner being dropped, the singing of a chorus suddenly ceased, and the principal man, dressed as shown, with baton in his hand, nar- rated in a set speech the story of how an ancestor of Shakes's rescued the bear from drowning in the great Hood of years ago, and how ever since there had been an alliance between Shakes's descendants and the bear. This narration, lasting some ten minutes, was interrupted by frequent nods of approval by the bear when appealed to, and by the murmurs and applause of the audience. In these various representations all sorts of tricks are practised to impose on the credulous and to lend solemnity and reality to the narration of the toteraicj legends. The masks shown in Plate Lxvii are those worn by the ditt'ereut characters in the entertainments offered by Chief Skowl. \ a !:i XTV. GENERAL CHARACTER OF TRADITIONS, MTTHS, AND FOLKLORE- BIBLIOGRAPHY. The traditions and myths of the northern ^roup of tue northwest coast (Tlingit, Haida, and Tsiinshian) are very similar, but witli pecul- iar local variations. No attempt can be made here other than to out- line the principal tradition of the creation and of the origin of man, and that only to illustrate the general character of their beliefs and ideas. In their legends and traditions we have the unconscious ex- pression of their religious, moral, and testhetic ideas, their views of life and death, their cosmogony and astrology, their fanciful biv'^raphies and history, and their explanations of all the phenomena of nature. Kelated around the log tire in the family circle, with loud and confident voice, with labored and dramatic imitations and gestures, and listened to with wrapt attention by the inmates cf the lodge, they represent the history of human thought — the blind gropings of the mind to know — in this narrow pocket of the world, and as such are as worthy of care- ful compilation and study as if they were facts of veritable history. The creator of all things and the benefactor of man was the great raven called by the Tlingit Yetl, YeshI, or Yeatl, and by the Haida Ne- kilfitla^. He was not exactly an ordinary bird, but, like all old Indian mythical characters, hjid many human attributes, and the power of transforming himself into anything in the world. His coat of feathers could be put on or taken ott" at will like a garment, and he could as- sume any character whatever. He existed before his birth, never grows ohl, will never die. Numerous are the stories of his adventures in peopling the world and giving to man the earth, lire, fresh water, life, lish, game, etc. According to the Haida and Kaigani the first people sprung from a cockleshell {Cardium corbis, Mart). Nckil-sflas became very lonely and began to look about him for a mate, but could lind none. At last he took a cockle shell from the beach, and marrying it, he still continued to brood and think earnestly of his wish for a com- ])anion. By and by he heard a faint cry in the shell, which gradually became louder till at last a little female child was seen, which by de- grees grew to be a woman and married the raven. From this union came all the Indians of this region, wiio at first lived in darkness and want. As they multiplied Yetl or Ne-Jcilstlas endowed them with the various gifts of light, fresh water, fire, etc. All these were in the pos- 378 THE INDIANS OP THE NORTHWEST rOAST, 379 session of tbe chief evil spirit, a great chief, tiie uncle of Yetl, who lived on the mainland where the Nass river now is. He was master of the tides and had great power, and the stories of how Yefl circnmvented him are nnmerous and interesting. The Haida name for this nncle is Setlm-ki-jash, the Tlingit designation being Kees-dujealittf Kali or Keennhusaah Anicow. Ue had a wife and sister, or according to some versions a wife and daughter. Of his wife he was very jealous, and whenever for any reason ho was away from home, hunting, fishing, or working, he imprisoned her in a box or basket, and tied her up to the rafters in the lodge, setting a number of little red birds to watch her. If by any chance the box were opened the birds would fly to him and warn him. He was also very jealous of the posterity of his sister (or daughter), whose children ho killed for fear that when they grew up they would prove rivals to him in his wife's att'ectlous.* According to the Haida tradition, he threw her progeny into the tire; according to the -Tlingit, he drowned them. This sister (or daughter) was not al- lowed to eat or drink anything until the chief had examined it, as she had become pregnant from eating certain things many times before. As every part of the house was so jealously guarded, Yetl or Ne kil- atlas did not know how to get in to steal the various things he wanted for the good of man, but finally he hit upon the plan of being born into the fiimilj'. One day he saw the sister (or daughter) go to the brook to get a drink, so transforming himself into a drop of water (or spear of cedar or blade of grass), he eluded the vigilance of the chief and was swallowed by the girl, and in due time Yetl was born to her as a sou.t She concealed the fact of his birth from the chief for some little time. In ten days' time he grew to almost man's size. His mother taaght him many things, amongst others the use of the bow and arrow, and he became an expert shot. With his arrow he killed the magical crane whose skin «nabled the wearer to fly, and the diver with whose skin he could fl /. One day the chief discovered Yetl and pretended to be i)lea8ed witti him, but ho took him out in a canoe and throw him overl)oard. Yetl, having on "his diver's skin, walked along the bottom and met his uncle on shore. Xext the chief threw him into the fire and piled logs on him, but hav- ing on a magic cloak he came out of the fire unharmed. One day when the chief was away, he opened the box in which his wife was confined and released her, but the little birds ttew to him and informed him. The chief returned in a great rage, but Yetl sat calmly without noticing him. This was too much for the master of the tides, so he co:»imanded the floods to rise and destroy this impudent meddler, but Yetl, giving * This is on a parallel with the habits and morals of these Indians. We have here, as iu all traditions, an oxpres-sioii of the moral ideas of tbe people. t It is interestiug to note in this conaoctiou tbe widespread belief both amoiifj sav- age ami civilized peoples in the possibility of prend, would, however, seem to locate the Haida as cf near kin to tlio Tsimshian and Tliugit. Difference in environment would seem to account 8ufl3cientl."v for the physical aud linguistic differences. Along with much «)rigiuality, the ii'habitants of the Queen Charlotte Islands have shown so ninch genius aud receptiveness in adapting aud adopting the customs of others, that they present some very puzzling affinities with distant stocks, giving color to these various theories as to thtnr origin. In their legends the Haida are at one with the Tlingit. aud the totemic organization of tlie two stocks do not differ very materially, although this needs further htudy. Their languages are, according to Dr. Franz Boas, very much alike in structure, while their vo»;abularies show great differences. In their arts the Haida have bornMvod so largely from so many sources, that they arc considerably in advance of the Tlingit. All things con- sidered, the Tliugit and Haida show evidences of near relationship aud of intercourse at a remote period. A consideration of the mutual influ- ences of the Tsimshian stock and the northern Kwakiutl tribes of the Haeltzukan stock will throw much light on the origin of certain cus- toms amongst the Haida, for the last named have been consideiably influenced by the Tsimshian. Indeed, the Tsimshian seeru to have been ilie middle men or center of distribution in this region. The Tlingit i)re8pnt the sin(|)lest problem. Contincd to tlie northern V)W\ of this region anMi;(iV tlio Hiviila. Soieuce, Vol. XH, (.. UK), 384 REPoIlT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1888. developed amongst the northern Tliugit, has been taken up by the llaida with marked success. This is true also of metal-working. The conical-shaped basket-work hats so common about Dixon Entrance are particularly abundant in this group. The primitive copper and shell ornaments were nowhere in such demand as amongst the Haida. Labrets of the largest size are worn by the Haida women, who are the last on the coast to cling to this custom. The origin of the tobacco plant in this region is credited to the Queen Charlotte Islands, ^rhere the first potatoes were also raised. While the Haida are the most ex- pert canoe builders on the coast, they have sensibly adopted the Sa- lishan or Wakashan type for certain purposes where strength has been the prime consideration. Cedar-bark mat-making developed amongst the Kwakiutl and practised by the Tsimshian is here also successfully imitated. Nowhere is the art of carving and painting amongst savage tribes so highly developed. Their houses are exceptionally well con- structed, and the custom of erecting the carved column in contact with the front of the liouse and cutting a circular door-way through both, seems to be nowhere so universally practised. It is in their elaborate ceremonials that the most puzzling instances of foreign influence occurs. The cedar bark rope head-dresses, sashes, and girdles amongst the Kwakiutl play the most important part in their winter ceremonial dances, and are only worn by certain people on special occasions and with special signiticance. Amongst the Haida the cedar-bark para- phernalia is just as elaborate and worn without any special significance. The whistles, trumpets, and other so-called musical instruments have more of a Tsimshian than a Haidaorigin, bt^iare found in equal abundance and variety amongst both. The wearing of masks peculiarly enough has no especially deep significance amongst the Haida other than re- ferring to and illustrating their totemic legends, yet nowhere in the world are such elaborate ones made and worn. Wooden masks are worn by the Eskimo of southern Alaska on ceremonial occasions, but it would seem that the custom of wearing masks in ceremonies amongst the Haida and Tliugit really originated in the wearing of them for pro- tection in war, and that this custom was in no way borrowed or derived from the Eskimo. The number of masks in the collections of the U. S. National Museum is out of all proportion to their importance or their use by the Indians. There are only one or two ceremonial dances in which they are worn, which is quite contrary to the accepted opinion. In most of the songs accompanying the Haida dances the Tsimshian language is used and many customs of the Tsimshian are avowedly followed. In this way, throngii the latter, probably some of the practices of the Kwakiutl reached the Haida. From all this it wimld appear that the latter have been inttueiu;ed in a not remote period largely by others throngii the Tsimshian, but that the original atfinities and relationship of the Haida were with the Tiingit. THE INDIANS OF THP] NORTHWEST COAST. 385 Many resemblauces of the Haida to widely remote stocks have been pointed out by writers, but to illustrate how futile sucih clues are in tracing the origin and relationship of the tribes of the world, aparal: lei is here briefly drawn between the Maori of Now Zealand and tite Haida. In point of physical resemblance both are of the Mongoloid type and both live on groups of islands whose climates are remarkably similar. Poole says of the climate of tlie Queen Charlotte Islands that the most graphic comparison he could draw was with that of the north- ern island of New Zealand.* Their political organization of the tribe, their ownership of land, and their laws of blood-revenge are similar. The men tattoo with designs intended to identify them with their sub-tribe or household, and they ornament their canoes, paddles, house fronts, etc., iu somewhat the same manner as on the northwest coast. In Chapter iv, p. 267, under the head of "Rain Cloaks," Dixon (1787) is quoted as saying that the cloaks of the Haida and Tlingit were the same as those worn by the New Zealanders. In Chapter vi, p. 303, is also quoted from Dixon a statement that a Haida fortified house on an isl- and of the Queen Charlotte group was " built eMictly on the ])lan of the hippah of the savages of New Zealand ;" and in Chapter \ , p. 279, that the adzes of the Tlingit and Haida, do of jasper, were "the same as those used by the New Zealanders. riic cloaks of shredded inner bark in the National Museum from New Zeiihind and the Queen Charlotte Islands are so much alike, that it takes a dose inspection to distinguish them. In Plate xxxii. Pig. 167, a New Zeahnil paddle reproduced, with a few from the northwest coast. The resemblance is marked and interesting. In Plate LV, Fig. 295, a Maori tikiia illus- trated along with several Haida carved wooden columns. The carved wooden mortuary columns erected iu front of the Maori houses ai o also suggestive, but it is safe to say that while all this is not in one sense accidental, yet the resemblances and similarities are as likely to have arisen from the like tendencies of the human mind under the same ev ternal conditions, or environment to develop along parallel line as through contact of these tribes or through a common origin. The Kaigani. — The Kaigani are a branch of the Haida of Queen Char- lotte Islands, having for some cause or other split off from their breth- ren and settletl across Dixon Entrance on the southern end of PrincB of Wales Island and adjacent archipelago. As near as can be figured from the Indian accounts, this must have happened at the least one- hundred and fifty years ago. Their three principal villages now are llowkan, Kliu(iuan and Kasaan. Howkan is a thriving village, with a winter population of about three hundred. Under the ministration of the Itev. J. L. Gould, of the Presbyterian Board of Missions, it is fast losing its native characteristics. A saw-mill is run in connection with the mission, and the Indians are gradually building an American village in rear of the old time lodges. Many of the totemic columns have been cut down, and the native chj'.'acteristics. are fast disap- ' Poole, Queen {llmrlotte Islumls, p. !i37. H. Mis. U2, pt. 2 2") 386 REPOKT OP NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1888. bearing. It is to bo said iu favor of tl •? new order of things that Mr. Gould has fortunately impressed upon this village the stamp of his own personal qualities, thriftiuess, industrionsness, fair dealing, sobri- ety, and enterprise, Just below Howkau is the village of Koiangla^, consisting of three houses and several interesting totemic columns. The population, made up of a few families, will soon be absorbed in that of Howkan. Nearly opposite Koianglas, on Dall Island, and also situated on Eaigani strait is the site of the old time ^illr^ge of Dat-ghaya. On the southern end of Dall Island, just north of Cape Muzon (the extreme southern r-oint of Alaska) is the small village of Kaigani. The winter residence of the former population is now at Howkan. There are seven or eight houses, which are occupied only at certain seasons of the year, but there are no tCemic columns. Klieu- quau or Kliuquan is said to be about half as large as Howkan, but to have retained its native characteristics almost intact. At the south- ern entrance to (3holmondeIey sound is the Bite of the abandoned vil- lage of Ghasina or Chachina. There is ouly one house there now and the stumps and remains of mortuary columns. Early voyagers de- scribe it as a populous village in the early part of this century. At the head of Easa-an Bay, at what is called Karbo Bay, is a small village, called by some authorities Kasaan. Kasa-aii proper is, however, on Skowl Arm, a branch of the bay. Being somewhat oif the steamer route, and the missionaries never having settled there, Easa-an has preserved its native characteristics more markedly than any other vil- lage in Alaska. Just above Kasaan Bay, at Tolstoj Bay, is the north- ern limit of the Kaigani territory on Prince of V^^iles Island, as the adjoining arm, Thome Bay, is in dispute between the Stikines and Kaigani. Tlevak straits, on the other side of the island, is the northern limit on the west shore. The hunting and fishing grounds, as claimed by the different tribes in Alaska, are as accurately plotted in Chart II as the data at hand will admit. From Admiralty Island south the writer has relied on his personal knowledge, based on inquiry in that region. The duty of the government iu recognizing the Indian titles to these lands held by them for generations in the different families seems very clear, and an inquiry into the subject wo' Ul not be amiss in con- nection with all governmental investigations and reports on this region. As outlined in the synopsis of this paper, there are several chapters which ought to be added, to complete the study of the ethnology of this region. The character of the work y«'t to be done is such as to call for action by the government in undertaking it on a large scale. Linguistically, considerable has been accomplished. But with regard to the traditions, religious beliefs and practices, folklore myths, totemic subdivisions, shamanistic practices, fetishism, particularly all the local or tribal variations of each, there is a vast deal to be done. If what is here submitted will accomplish no more than to call atten- tion to the little known concerning the Indians about Dixon Entrance, the author's effort will not have been in vain. ■iiiiili Cape Chart I. BASED ON U. S. Coast Survey Sheet No. 701. lORTHWEST COAST OF AMERICA, DIXON ENTRANCE TO CAPE ST. ELIAS. CompiledLfhonv Sanorotti Hbrka,fkitit'c7iaces, Xol.l. nOvffs Report. Cefisus of 1880. Holts by the Author, t885. '86 and. '87. I. Tlingit, (Koloshan). I.moud. ^.rdhxjua:. S.Lituya-. V ChdhoiC. S.Takoo. G.Auk. I.Uoonya . e.SiOui. 9. Kootmilioo. lO.Hake. H.SUkine. IZJfanga.. li.Port SlcnaH . ii.Ton^assI^'^"' KHaJbdaJHaidwi) iS. Kaiganl. 'il. H by Wr.ToUnie • OM Qr F Boaa. M.CfuvC of Department oftthnolo^f V S Nat wnalMuseu/>i. Pnf. T Mason. Curator. Shorymg lacatton- oflndtm Stocks. I. Coast SaJisfuui. K. WaJtas/ian (Hutkaii). ^ lITKtraJuuCl.iffaeltiuiuin). irBiltfidoL , fSahshan). V.TiUnshUuv* Vl.Kauianr Iff, TUnffit.' (Koloshan/). _ » .Sec Chart I- ^ Jaruuuyl^/88S. ..tmt^^mm m^r it MV^t ^^^''^ r J Rtport of Nitional MuMum, 1888.— Niblick. Chart II. BASED ON U. S. Coast Survey Sheet No. 700.