UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT LOS ANGELES UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA THE UNIVERSITY MUSEUM ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUBLICATIONS VOLUME IV PHILADELPHIA THE UNIVERSITY MUSEUM 1911-1914 CONTENTS. Number 1. THE TAHLTAN INDIANS, G. T. Emmons, pages 1 to 120, map, plates I to XIX. Number 2. SACRED BUNDLES OF THE SAC AND Fox INDIANS, M. R. Harrington, pages 123 to 262, plates XX to XL. UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA THE MUSEUM ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUBLICATIONS VOL. IV NO, I THE TAHLTAN INDIANS G. T. EMMONS ILLUSTRATED BY SPECIMENS IN THE GEORGE G. HEYE COLLECTION PHILADELPHIA PUBLISHED BY THE UNIVERSITY MUSEUM 1911 DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY OF THE UNIVERSITY CF CALIFORNIA. AFFILIATED COLLEGES. SAM PBAJJClSCt UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA THE MUSEUM ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUBLICATIONS VOL. IV N O. I THE TAHLTAN INDIANS BY G. T. EMMONS ILLUSTRATED BY SPECIMENS IN THE GEORGE G. HEYE COLLECTION PHILADELPHIA PUBLISHED BY THE UNIVERSITY MUSEUM 1911 CONTENTS PAGE INTRODUCTION 5 THE TAHLTAN COUNTRY 9 HISTORY AND TRIBAL DIVISIONS n THE PORTLAND CANAL PEOPLE 21 PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS 23 MORAL AND MENTAL CHARACTERISTICS 25 GOVERNMENT AND SLAVERY 27 VILLAGES 30 HABITATIONS 37 DIVISION OF TIME 39 LIFE THROUGHOUT THE YEAR : 39 HOUSE LIFE 41 CLOTHING 42 HOUSEHOLD IMPLEMENTS AND UTENSILS 48 BAGS AND NETTING 49 SNOWSHOES 60 FOOD 62 SMOKING AND ITS SUBSTITUTES 63 HUNTING AND HUNTING IMPLEMENTS 65 SKIN-DRESSING So FISH AND FISHING 85 GAMBLING 88 MARRIAGE 98 CHILDBIRTH , 100 NAMING 103 PUBERTY CUSTOMS 104 MORTUARY CUSTOMS 105 FEASTS, DANCES, AND OTHER CEREMONIES 109 THE OTTER SPIRIT in SHAMANISM 112 MEDICAL PRACTICE 114 WAR CUSTOMS 115 LEGENDS AND FOLKLORE 117 3 INTRODUCTION The Tahltan form the southwesternmost division of the Nahane, a branch of that great interior aboriginal family, variously known as Dene, Tinneh, and Athapascan, that ranges across the breadth of the North American continent almost from ocean to ocean, and is found under many varied conditions of territory and climate from Mexico to beyond the Arctic circle. The Nahane, "People of the West," constitute an outpost of the Dene culture. They occupy, or rather roam over, that considerable area of northern British Columbia and the adjacent Northwest Territories stretching from the headwaters of Nass river to the uplands of the Mackenzie, and included between the Rocky mountains and the Coast range a broad, broken plateau the drainage of which is distributed by three great river systems to the Pacific, Bering sea, and the Arctic. This great and almost inaccessible stretch is eroded by glacial action and rent by the convulsions of nature, and in parts is little known even to the resident native. The four divisions which con- stitute the Nahane are separate and distinct tribes, independent in government and in geographic distribution, but with only dialectic differences in their speech. In their mode of living they are similar to one another except where they have been influenced by their neighbors. The Taku (who are to be distinguished from the Tlingit Taku), one of the divisions of the Nahane, occupy the basin of Taku river and its tributaries, and the lake region about Atlin, together with the southern sources of Lewis river; but within the past few years, particularly since the gold excitement of the Klondike, they have deserted their old villages and have scat- tered, some seeking work in the mining camps, others settling among the Tlingit Taku of the coast at Takuan, near the head of Stevens Passage in Alaska, while a few have joined the 6 ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUB. UNIV. OF PA. MUSEUM, VOL. III. Tahltan. The two eastern and northern divisions are known generally as Kaska, a corruption of the native name of McDane creek, a small affluent of Dease river, where these people as- semble in summer to fish and trade. They are a primitive, nomadic people, hunters of big game, who wander in search of their food supply as changes of season demand. Their territory extends from Dease lake and Liard river to the Macken- zie mountains. The Tahltan constitute the fourth division of the Nahane; they are centered about the upper reaches of the Stikine, and as far back as their traditions extend their dwelling places always have been thereabout. Their hunting grounds, however, cover an extended area, including the drainage basin of the Stikine and its tributaries as far down as the mouth of the Iskoot, the interlocking sources of the Nass, the lower half of Dease lake, and some of the southern branches of the Taku. The Nass region as a hunting ground was always in dispute with the Nishka, and was the cause of bitter feuds and disastrous wars that ever kept these two peoples apart. As an old Tahltan expressed the situation, "the upper Nass land is ours, and when we find a Nishka hunting there, we kill him." Rightfully the upper half of Dease lake was Kaska territory, but these more simple and primitive people, with little or no tribal organization, were dominated by the Tahltan, on whom in later years they were dependent for the products of civilization, particularly arms and ammunition, and so in time they have been compelled to share their half of the lake, and even their land beyond, along the river, with their more powerful neighbors. Their northern hunting grounds, bordering on the Sheslay and the Nahlin, were always in dispute with the Taku much as was the Nass region, and the right of might was the principal factor in deter- mining the boundary at different periods. But to-day, with the decrease in population, the establishment of trading posts and the administration of law, peace reigns supreme, past differences are forgotten and the two peoples are as one. A strange over- G. T. EMMONS THE TAHLTAN INDIANS. 7 lapping of Tahltan and Stikine Tlingit territory occurred on the river from just below Glenora to Telegraph creek, a distance of some fifteen miles. Here the Tlingit claimed the exclusive fishing rights of all the salmon streams along the northern shore, and the ownership of the contiguous berry fields, leaving the main river, as well as all hunting rights, out of account. The value of these privileges to the coast people was of more than seeming importance, for while salmon which was their staple food supply, was even more abundant on the coast, yet the humid climate rendered the curing uncertain, whereas the dry atmos- phere and continuous sunshine of the interior promised certainty; and the abundance of berries, particularly the soapberry and the cranberry, so esteemed for winter use, are not indigenous to the coast. How or when this territorial claim originated or was estab- lished is wholly missing from the history of both peoples. Certain of the Stikine families of the Tlingit appropriated the interior trade and at prearranged times they ascended the river to or beyond Telegraph creek, where they met the Tahltan and exchanged the products of the coast, and later those of civili- zation for furs and caribou skins. This barter was mutually advantageous, and was a factor in the promotion of peace; but the better armed and more savage Tlingit was master of the situation and never permitted the Dene to penetrate to the coast country. During the Hudson's Bay Company's lease of the Alaska littoral, a Tahltan chief wished to see a ship that was anchored off the mouth of the Stikine river. But permission to descend to salt water, and a safe conduct, were granted to him by a Stikine chief, only upon the payment of five hundred beaver skins. Some time after the establishment of Dominion authority at Glenora on the Stikine, the Tahltan protested against this encroachment of the coast people, and the waters were declared open to all. This would show that at heart the Tahltan never acknowledged the right of this occupancy, but through necessity accepted a condition that they were unable to combat. 8 ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUB. UNIV. OF PA. MUSEUM, VOL. III. The account of the Tahltan here presented was obtained during the summers of 1904 and 1906. To the patient and kindly investigations of Doctor Frederick Ingles, resident physician and missionary among the Tahltan, and to Warburton Pike, Esq., of Victoria, B. C., I am under deep obligations, for much valuable information. The illustrations are after photographs made by the author and from photographs and drawings of objects in the George G. Heye collection now in the University Museum. THE TAHLTAN COUNTRY The country of the Tahltan may be divided into two dis- tinct physiographical and climatic areas each with its charac- teristic flora and fauna. The lower valley of the Stikine from just below Glenora to the coast, a direct distance of about eighty miles, is included within the coastal range and constitutes a region of great humidity, with leaden skies and an annual pre- cipitation equalling if not exceeding that of the coast which reaches a mean of eighty-six inches. The snowfall thereabouts is excessive, and accounts for the extensive glaciers that fill the valleys; and long after spring has opened in the colder interior the lower river flats are covered with their burden of snow and ice. The general trend of the mountains is parallel with the coast, but the ridges present so little uniformity in direction, that the impression is given of mountains piled one upon another, a chaotic, rugged mass of rock with peaks reaching an altitude of eight thousand to ten thousand feet. The more equable climate and the constant rain induce a luxuriant vegetation. Forests of spruce, fir, cedar and hemlock cover the mountain slopes to the limit of tree growth, while in the river valleys cottonwoods grow to considerable size, and groves of alder and willow, with the devil's club and berry bushes, form an almost impenetrable barrier. Animal life is greatly wanting here. The mountain goat, the marmot, and bears of the brown and black species live in the mountains, while otter, beaver, marten, mink, ermine, porcupine, wolves, and foxes are found in limited numbers in the lower lands. Grouse, ptarmigan, eagles, ravens, and crows are the most numerous of the permanent feathered residents, while spring and fall are marked by extensive migra- tions of wild fowl about the water courses. It maybe pertinent 10 ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUB. UNIV. OF PA. MUSEUM, VOL. III. to remark here, that this region which may be characterized as the wet belt has never been inhabited by either Tahltan or Tlingit in the sense that they have permanently occupied it and it is scarcely more popular as a hunting ground owing to its poverty and inaccessibility. Beyond Glenora, which is at the inland limit of the coastal mountains, a wholly different character of country is found: one that approximates the more southerly dry belt of British Columbia. The land is rolling and much broken. The effect of glacial action is everywhere evident in the well rounded hills and the level valley floors of silt and clay through which the rivers have cut deep canons. At many points the basaltic flow speaks of volcanic energies antedating the ice period. Here climatic conditions are localized by proximity to greater altitudes, for while about the Tahltan river there is scarcely any rainfall and the depth of snow hardly exceeds eighteen inches, beyond in the vicinity of the Cassiar mountains, the precipitation greatly increases. The extremes of temperature are very marked. The heat of summer, often reaching almost 100 F., is followed by excessive cold in winter when the mercury falls to 60 F. Spring opens in May, and ice commences to run in the streams in October. The rivers flow through narrow canons so far below the land level that they do not water it and with scarcely any rainfall the soil becomes so parched that the possibility of raising the commonest garden produce be- comes a question of irrigation. The tree growth is small and white spruce is the only available building timber. The black pine, spruce, aspen, white birch, alder, and willow commonly abound, while thickets of rose, service berry, and cranberry frequently occur. Much of the country presents the appear- ance of having been burnt over, and when open and not timbered the arid soil sustains but a sparse growth of grass and vines. This is a country of big game, and animal life is most abundant. Caribou and moose abound. The former has always consti- G. T. EMMONS THE TAHLTAN INDIANS. 11 tuted the principal food supply of the native, as well as his chief dependence for clothing and household and hunting implements. The mountain goat, the mountain sheep and the marmot are found on the higher lands. The beaver, fisher, mink, marten, and ermine are found about the rivers and lakes, and the grizzly bear and black bear, the wolf, the red fox with its varieties the cross, silver and black fox, the wolverene, lynx, porcupine, rabbit, several species of tree and ground squirrel, rats and mice are found everywhere. Of birds, grouse and ptarmigan are the most important from an economic point of view. This interior region is the home of the Tahltan, for while his perma- nent habitations may be few, he travels and hunts over the entire area and looks to it for his maintenance. Salmon and trout are abundant in the rivers during summer and early fall, while whitefish are taken in considerable numbers from Dease lake. HISTORY AND TRIBAL DIVISIONS Historical data relating to the Tahltan are meagre. Prior to the Cassiar gold excitement of 1 874, when the country was invaded by a horde of prospectors, the difference between them and the many other nomads of the great interior Northwest had not been recognized. As early as 1799 trading vessels visited the waters about the mouth of the Stikine, attracted by the furs from the in- terior. In 1834 the Hudson's Bay Company, keenly alive to the wealth of this section, made two ineffectual attempts to plant trading posts on the river for the purpose of controlling this trade. In that year John M. McLeod, a chief trader of the Company, following up the Liard river, discovered Dease lake, which he named, and crossing to the headwaters of the Stikine, reached the mouth of the Tuya. In 1836 a party was sent out from Fort Halkett to establish a post thereabouts, but returned without 12 ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUB. UNIV. OF PA. MUSEUM, VOL. III. accomplishing any results through fear of the hostility of a reported party of natives. In 1838, Robert Campbell, acting for the Company, spent the winter at Dease lake, but was so harassed by the coast Tlingit, who claimed the sole right to trade in this region, that the project was abandoned and no further attempt was made to reach the Tahltan directly until 1867, when a small store was established on the lower river by a French Canadian, in the interest of the Hudson's Bay Company. At the time these earlier efforts were being made to cross the mountains from the eastward, the Company fitted out the ship Driard for the purpose of establishing a factory and a colony on the lower Stikine, but this attempt was frustrated by the Russian authorities at Sitka, who dispatched two armed vessels and hastily constructed a rude fort, which they named Fort Dionysius, on Etolin Island, where Wrangel now stands. The controversy that ensued was adjusted in 1837 by the lease of the Alaska littoral, which in 1840 was turned over to the Hudson's Bay Company, and the coast Indians continued in control of the interior fur trade. In 1861, "Buck" Choquette, a French Canadian, discovered placer gold in the river bottom below Glenora, which brought some white men into the country, and resulted in desultory prospecting until 1874, when the Cassiar excitement occurred, since which time the natives have been in constant contact with the whites, greatly to their disad- vantage, as smallpox was introduced from the coast in 1864, and again in 1868. In writing the term Tahltan I have conformed to the semi- official and generally accepted spelling, although Father A. G. Morice, in his "Notes on the Western Dene," says that it should be " Thalhthan, a contraction of Thasaelhthan, from tha or thu, water, and saelhthan, a verb that refers to some heavy object lying thereon." 1 I found widely divergent opinions regarding 1 A similar explanation of its meaning was given to me by one of the older men of the tribe in relating the story of the origin of his family. The discoverers of the land were two G. T. EMMONS THE TAHLTAN INDIANS. 13 the origin and derivation of the tribal name. The older people generally agree that it is from some foreign tongue, while others ascribe it to thalla-a, 'point,' from the first living place on the rocky tongue of land between Stikine and Tahltan rivers; and still others claim that it originated from the exhibition or giving away of a piece of steel, thai, by a chief at a great feast given at this point in early days, in celebration of the bringing out of his daughter. But the local name of this people was taken from the first settlement at the mouth of the Tahltan river. Tutcher anne, 'where the fish (salmon) jump up the little water' (Tahltan river), or, 'when the fish leave the water for the land,' referring to the stranding of the salmon as they work their way over the shallows in the smaller river. This term, contracted to Tchaane, was, I believe, used only among themselves, while Tahltan was a later designation from a foreign source that has become fastened upon them since the advent of Europeans. The coast Tlingit included them in the general designation Giv-na-na, 'stranger people,' just as the Tahltan call them To-tee-heen, 'people of the water.' The eastern divisions of the Nahane are said to be patriarchal in government, with but a loosely organized social system. It is probable that the Tahltan were originally the same; but at some later period they borrowed the social organization of their Tlingit neighbors of the coast, which is founded on matriarchy and is dependent on the existence of two exogamous phratries which marry one with the other and which supplement each other on all occasions of ceremony. These phratries are known as Cheskea da; 'one family raven,' and Cheona da, 'one family wolf,' and from their principal totemic emblems may be thus dis- tinguished as Cheskea, Raven, and Cheona, Wolf. Of the former there is but one family, the Kartch-ottee; of the latter there are women who met on opposite banks of Tahltan river near its junction with the Stikine. It was the summer season when the salmon were running in from the sea. After the first greeting, one asked the other what it was that she saw on the surface of the water, and the other replied, "something heavy going up the little water," referring to the fish working their way up through the rapids of the smaller stream. 14 ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUB. UNIV. OF PA. MUSEUM, VOL. III. three families,- the Tuck-clar-way-tee, the Tal-ar-ko-tin, and the Nan-yi-ee. Besides the phratral crest which is the birthright of every individual, the subdivisions or families assume other emblems, which may be displayed to the exclusion of the former. In explanation of this subdivision among the Tlingit I believe that originally the phratries consisted of two families and that with the increase in numbers, parties went forth to seek new homes and in time took upon themselves the functions of inde- pendent families and assumed new crests while always retaining that of the phratry. Strange people coming among them took their places as separate families within the group. (i). The Tuckclarwaytee claim to be the progenitors of the Tahltan people, and this is generally conceded by the other families. Their early home is placed in the interior country, about the head waters of the Nass, and after the flood an epoch in the history of all the coast peoples a branch of those who survived migrated northward and settled in the lake region where the Yukon has its source. In after years two women, one from the sources of the Nass and the other from Tagish lake, wandered from their homes and met on the banks of Tahltan river at its mouth. The woman from the south said she had journeyed over a great sand country and that she was worn and tired, and now that she had met her sister of the north they would stop here and make their home, and that they would call themselves, from the region of travels, Tuck-clar-way-tee, t back-sand family.' But the accepted meaning of this name by the several branches of this people that have settled among the Tlingit of the coast is 'the company from back (the interior), and in numbers like the grains of sand on the shore.' The Tagish woman walked with a copper staff, which she planted in the ground to mark their living place on the site of the present fishing village of Tutcha n ne, 'fish go up little stream,' for it was summer when the salmon were running in from the sea for spawning. G. T. EMMONS THE TAHLTAN INDIANS. 15 That these women found husbands in the land is a fact, but who the men were, and of what people, tradition does not tell and it matters not, as the offspring was of the mother and per- petuated her family only. With the increase of population internal dissension arose, or the question of food became a problem, when separation was brought about by a party which went forth to seek a new home. They travelled down the Stikine until they reached a great glacier that spanned the river valley and blocked their progress. Here they encamped, and during a council that ensued, Koo- os-sick and Orn-os-tay, two very old women of high caste, together with two equally old men, arose and said that their lives were of the past and that they were of little use either to themselves or to others, and as it was a question of turning back or of following the flow of the waters under the ice bridge, they would attempt the passage and if successful all could follow. After being dressed as for an important ceremony, and sprinkled with the down of the eagle, the four embarked in a small canoe and drifted from the shore, chanting their death song which was taken up by those assembled on the bank, and their tiny craft caught in the swirl of the swift current was soon lost to view. The barrier was climbed, and as the canoe with its occupants was seen to shoot out from under the wall of ice a mighty shout was carried from man to man until those in camp knew that all was well, whereupon the canoes were quickly loaded and passed through in safety, and they continued their way to the coast. It is reasonable to suppose that from time to time other parties followed, and, on reaching salt water, pursued different routes; as this family is found among the Tongass people of Portland Canal, the Hootzahtarqwan of Admiralty Island, and the Chilkat at the head of Lynn Canal, the traditions of all of whom speak of a migration from the Stikine river. How many generations or centuries ago this migration oc- curred is not known, and can be approximated only by the recession of the glacier that crossed the valley then and is 16 ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUB. UNIV. OF PA. MUSEUM, VOL. III. now so far separated from the opposite mountains. But to-day these offshoots are Tlingit in every respect, although among the Chilkat they seem to intermarry more frequently with the interior people of the Yukon basin than do any of the other families. This return to the parent stock is evident in the more characteristic Dene features, and while exceeding in numbers any other of the Chilkat families, they are held in low esteem, much as are all of the interior people by those of the coast. They are of Cheona, the Wolf phratry, and they hold this emblem in highest esteem, although they claim also the brown bear, the eagle, and the killer whale. I think it very probable that all three of these crests have been borrowed from the Tlingit branch of the family. It is certain that the killer whale must have been unknown to the early life of these interior people, who were never permitted to reach salt water, and it could have come to them only through intercourse with the coast tribes. To-day the Tuckclarwaytee constitute the second most numerous family, and they possibly take the first place in point of wealth. They occupy eight houses in the village of Tahltan. (2). The Kartchottee were the second people to reach the Tahltan country. They came first and collectively from the interior, and later and individually from the coast. The family traditions tell of a migration from the headwaters of the Taku, where they crossed overland from Narlin and settled on Tahltan river twelve miles above its mouth, where it receives a small tributary. They named this village Thlu-dlin, 'waters meet.' Living such a short distance away, they unquestionably at this period came in contact with the Tuckclarwaytee, and the union of these two branches was the foundation of the Tahltan people. One winter when a number of the men of the village were getting firewood on the mountain side, they were overwhelmed by a snowslide, which caused such consternation that the re- maining inhabitants gathered their belongings and trailed over- land to Six Mile creek, reaching the Stikine midway between G. T. EMMONS THE TAHLTAN INDIANS. 17 the present Telegraph and Glenora, where they built rafts and dugouts and followed the river to its mouth. Thence they continued westward until they reached the southern shore of Admiralty Island, where they established themselves and took their name, 'Belonging to Kartch,' from a fresh water stream that enters a bay at that point. The name is also said to be derived from kartch, 'bark,' from their primitive bark shelters. Later they crossed Frederick Sound to Kuprianof Island where they affiliated with the Kehkqwan, among whom they are still found in considerable numbers. In the course of time, through family dissension, a party retraced their steps eastward and joined the Stikine people about the mouth of the river, and of this body individuals have ascended the river from time to time and returned to the parent stock. A story told me by an old Stikine man says that in early days this family, to their great shame, were in the habit of enslaving the poor and orphans of their own blood, and that a chief so held a widow in bondage. He was then drying fish at Shek's creek, up the Stikine. The woman's duty was to care for the large travelling canoe, to keep it wet and covered with bark and brush, as these great dugouts quickly check when exposed to the sun. One day she neglected this, and her master made her kneel at the water's edge, fill her mouth with water, and squirt it over the canoe until it was well satur- ated. That night she escaped and wandered up the river until she reached a camp of the Tahltan. Here she married, and from the union came this later division of the family, and to-day when the Tlingit Kartchottee are angry with their brothers of the interior, they speak of them as the descendents of a slave. Another version of the tradition of the return of the Kartch- ottee from the coast inland, tells of a chief of the Nanyiee of Wrangel, who had married a Kartchottee woman and with her daughter was fishing on the Stikine. The chief of the Tuck- clarwaytee of the Tahltan stole her and took her to wife, from which marriage the other Kartchottee have sprung. A branch of this family living on the Narlin, a southern 2 18 ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUB. UNIV. OF PA. MUSEUM, VOL. III. tributary of the Taku was called Narlotin; and in the early days possibly more Taku than Tahltan were spoken of as half Kartchottee, and they recognized the same totemic emblems. They have no existence as a separate family at Tahltan. An- other division, purely local in character, that made its home on a great flat called Klabba, beyond the Tahltan river, took the name Klabbahnotin, but to-day no house name of this branch is recognized. The Kartchottee belong to Cheskea, the Raven phratry, and recognize the raven and the frog as their emblems, one of which seems to be as much in evidence as the other, but I believe that the fo'rmer is the older and possibly the more honored. The Kart- chottee form the most numerous and influential family of the Tahltan tribe, a fact readily understood when it is remembered that they constitute the Raven phratry, while the other three families all belong to the Wolf phratry and intermarriage within the tribe can take place only between themselves and members of the other three families. They occupy eleven houses in the vil- lage. While in the past each family recognized only the authority of its own chief, in later years, with the decreased population, through mutual consent they have agreed on one chief to rep- resent all, and the selection has fallen to the lot of the hereditary head of this family, known as Nan-nook. The same name or title was given by the Tlingit of Sitka to the early Russian ruler Baranof. It is said to be of Tlingit origin, meaning chief. The Talarkotin are of interior origin, and while some say that they came from the Liard river country by way of the Dease, other accounts give them a still more easterly home in the Peace river valley. Their journey ended at the mouth of the second north fork, or Tuya river. This was in early days, when the land was young, and they, a mere handful of people, believed themselves alone. One day a Kartchottee hunter in following a game trail looked down from the high river bank and saw a tiny curl of smoke rising from the point of land at the mouth of the canon. Crawling down the steep slope, he concealed G. T. EMMONS THE TAHLTAN INDIANS. 19 himself, and soon saw a young girl come out of a brush hut prepared for berrying. He followed her into the woods, and, overtaking her, either persuaded her to accompany him or carried her off to his village as his wife; and this third family was added to those already comprising the tribe. The name is said to be derived from Tahlar, the designation of a precipitous rocky point between the two waters, where they first settled, and hence they are known as 'the point people.' They are called also Karkarkwan, variously translated as point people, canon people, and rabbit people; but this term is of indefinite meaning and is likely of Tlingit origin. They are of the Cheona, or Wolf phratry, and take the wolf as their crest. They are almost extinct, occupying but two houses in the village. Their pro- nounced Dene features seem to mark them from trie other families as of purer stock, less influenced by mixture with the coast people. (3). The Nanyiee constitute the latest addition to the tribal circle. Their coming has been rather a gradual drifting in of individuals, through intermarriage and trade relations from two entirely different sources the Stikine and the Taku. This people originated in the interior, and travelling westward, reached the sources of Taku river which they descended to the coast. Their separation from the parent stock was the result of a family quarrel involving the young wife of a chief, the offending branch being forced to leave. On reaching salt water at Stevens Passage, they started south in two bands, which became separated, and later, on meeting, each inquired of the other as to its camping place. One answered, "Sick-nuh," while the other replied "Nan-yuh," whereupon they respect- ively took the names of Sick-nar-hut-tee, 'belonging to Sick-nuh,' and Nan-yi-ee, 'the people of Nan-yuh.' On the other hand it is claimed that the latter name antedates this incident and means 'those from up the River,' and this meaning is more generally accepted. The Nanyiee continued southward through Frederick Sound and the Dry Passage, and settled on the mainland just below the mouth of the Stikine river, 20 ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUB. UNIV. OF PA. MUSEUM, VOL. III. back of Etolin Island, by a waterfall, from which they named their village Chu-Khass-an, 'Waterfall Town.' They married with the neighboring peoples and became Tlingit, and in time reached the leading position in the Stikine tribe. In their hunting and fishing trips they ascended the Stikine until they reached Glenora, and finding an abundance of salmon and a favorable climate for the curing of their winter supply they pre- empted the streams thereabouts. The name of the hereditary chief, Sheks, was given to this camp, to which they returned annually. Whether or not the Nanyiee came in contact with the Tahltan before or after they had discovered the streams mentioned is not known, but trade relations existed between the two peoples before the advent of the whites, although it was greatly stimulated by the increased demand for furs after European trading vessels appeared on the coast. The advantage of controlling the valuable fur trade of the interior was readily appreciated, and the Tahltan were met for trade above Telegraph creek. This annual coming together resulted in intermarriage, and so the Nanyiee became established. They are also found among the Taku; and during the intervals of peace, when the two tribes met in friendly intercourse, individuals went from one to the other and by this means became members of the Tahltan people. The Nanyiee belong to the Cheona, or Wolf division, and I believe this was their original crest, but those of the Stikine people assume the emblems of the brown bear, the shark, and the killer whale, which are accepted by the interior branch. They occupy four houses at Tahltan and number only a few families, but with the arrogance of their Tlingit blood they hold themselves superior to their neighbors. ^ Reviewing the events set forth in these family narratives, which, taken together, constitute all that there is of tribal history, it appears that at some early period a general westward movement prevailed among the interior people. It was not a wave of migration, as of a vanquished people fleeing before an G. T. EMMONS THE TAHLTAN INDIANS. 21 enemy, but rather a restless wandering of bands or families seeking new homes. The routes followed were naturally along the rivers and lakes until the headwaters of the Taku and the Stikine were reached. Here favorable conditions seem to have been found and permanent camps were made. No mention is made of any previous dwellers in the land, which seems to have been a wilderness, for of a certainty such small bands could not have prevailed against a resident population, and had they done so their songs and stories would be frought with the hero worship of these early days, whereas of this they contain nothing. With natural increase and the accession of new parties the westward movement was resumed down the rivers to the coast. Here they met the Tlingit, a more aggressive and virile people, among whom, through intermarriage and environment, they forgot the ways of the trail and the woods and became sea hunters and fishermen. Then in generations following when the coast and the interior peoples had come in contact, individuals drifted back to the homes of their forefathers, strangers to the mother tongue and the simple life of the Dene, bringing with them the superstitions and the traditions of the coast, together with the social organization and the elaborate cere- monials, that have for their end the glorification of family in the display of the totemic emblems. Intercourse through trade relations was likewise responsible for these changes, but in a lesser 'degree. THE PORTLAND CANAL PEOPLE Portland Canal is a narrow, deep arm of the sea, reaching inland almost a hundred miles. The shores are rocky and precipitous, rising to an average height of three thousand feet and exceeding this altitude in many places. Where there is sufficient soil to sustain life, coniferous trees cover the mountains from the water's edge to a height of two thousand feet. The melting snows supply numerous mountain torrents and small streams, and in summer a fair run of salmon seek these waters. During most of the year, however, it is a wind-swept, inhos- pitable shore, offering few advantages of life. 22 ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUB. UNIV. OF PA. MUSEUM, VOL. III. On the authority of James W. McKay, the former inhabi- tants of Portland Canal were an offshoot of the Tahltan who, toward the middle of the last century, wandered across the Coast range and thereabouts reached salt water. Now, the people referred to were clearly not of the coast, but from their roving habits and their language were of interior origin; yet the Tahltan of to-day claim relationship with them only through the Kaska, from whom they say they are descended, and they call them Tseco to tinneh. The writer visited this people in the summer of 1907, when the following information respecting them was gathered. They are known to the Nishka as Tsits Zaons, but call themselves Wetalth. They claim that they originally comprised three totemic families, having for their crests the raven, the eagle, and the wolf. The first two families have become practically extinct, and of the other, called Nahta, there remain but four men, two old women, and one grown girl. Should the last not have issue, with the death of these the tribe will cease to exist. The people of Portland Canal were dominated by the Nishka and the Tsimshian of the coast, and were harassed by the Tlingit of Cape Fox. By these tribes they were confined to the inlet, and even after the establishment of Fort Simpson they were not permitted to trade with Europeans. The Nishka claimed the trade of the Wetalth, meeting them at stated seasons and taking their furs in trade at their own valuation and giving them what they pleased of foreign products in ex- change. In this way they were kept very poor, and little better than slaves; but this was the treatment accorded to all the interior people by those of the coast. They seem to have been nomadic within their restricted range, but this may have been an inherited tendency, undoubtedly increased by fear of their more powerful neighbors, and by their limited food supply. They sought the shelter of caves, many of which are found along the rocky shores, and in summer gathered about the salmon G. T. EMMONS THE TAHLTAN INDIANS. 23 streams. Their principal camping ground was about midway of the northern shore of the canal, and was known as Kenean- okh. They claim to have been much reduced by the Tlingit of Cape Fox, with whom they were at constant enmity. In 1885 the pitiful remnant of the tribe, twelve men with their women and children, weary of the struggle for existence, presented themselves at the then recently established Nishka mission village of Kincolith, where, through the influence and kind offices of Archdeacon W. H. Collison, they were allowed to settle and were practically received into the Nishka tribe; but the old prejudice against them as an inferior people has never been entirely overcome. PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS The Tahltan cannot be said to represent a strictly homo- geneous people. The infusion of Tlingit blood from the Stikine tribe of the coast is responsible for a type that is readily recog- nizable in the heavier build, the abnormally large head, and fuller, grosser features. As these characteristics, however, are not of frequent occurrence, they may be regarded as indi- vidual, and they seem to disappear in the descendants of mixed unions after two or more generations of return to the parent stock. The dominant type is Nahane. In stature they are below the average height, are symmetrical in form, and well proportioned ; they are never fat, seldom stout, sinewy rather than muscular, with well developed straight limbs, small wrists and ankles, and correspondingly small hands and feet. The head is small and well rounded, and the face inclined to length, which is rather accentuated by the high cheek bones and less promi- nent though pointed chin. The forehead is moderately broad, rather low, projecting in a ridge over the eyes and receding upward. The hair is black and coarse, and in age gray, but never white. The eyes are small, black, and rather deep set. The nose is straight, or, in the purest type, aquiline, with a good 24 ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUB. UNIV. OF PA. MUSEUM, VOL. III. bridge and expanded nostrils. The mouth is full, with thin lips and perfect teeth. The complexion varies with mode of life: with exposure it takes on a dark brown, which is more noticeable in the men. The women, whose occupations are more indoors, are almost as fair as the European. In age the face becomes much wrinkled. While it was the custom formerly to remove hair growing on the face with pincers of metal or of bone, worn sus- pended around the neck, to-day a number of the older men have mustaches and straggling beards. The senses are naturally well developed among a people whose hunter's life depends on their acuteness. The sense of sight, the most important of the senses to a hunting people, is among the Tahltan almost abnormally keen, not that the vision itself is of a higher order (indeed I think our eyes are stronger, and they un- questionably last longer, than those of the natives), for with the constant strain of sun and snow, and the effect of the smoke of the open fire, few reach middle age without some local affection of the eyes, and the older people usually suffer from some form of ophthalmia. But, to express the matter simply, they distin- guish every object within the field of vision. Their eyes compre- hend more, and are better trained and quicker to detect than are those of the white man. Hearing is developed to a high degree of sensitiveness owing to their habit of following the trails of animals. Living in the quiet of nature, they are conscious of the slightest sound. The sense of smell of the Tahltan is possibly no more acute than our own, but as they depend on it to tell them many of the secrets of the woods, they cultivate it to a higher degree. Their power of endurance is great, and their vitality is surprising even in these latter days of their decline, when their constitutions have been weakened through disease and liquor. They are a fairly prolific race, and under reasonable sanitary conditions should survive. Two women were pointed out to me each of whom had borne ten or twelve children, and families of three to five children are commonly met with. Their principal ailment at the present time is pulmonary trouble, induced by the G. T. EMMONS THE TAHLTAN INDIANS. 25 changed condition of life within houses, and less nourishing food, aggravated by an undermining of the system through syphilis derived from the whites. After spending the winter in the field, living in rude shelters, they return to the village and shut themselves in their log houses, heated beyond the point of endurance and without ventilation. From the activities of the hunt and the strong diet of meat, they completely relax and gorge themselves with bread, sweets, and canned goods, which results in colds and indigestions that lay the foundation for organic diseases. MORAL AND MENTAL CHARACTERISTICS Honesty is so characteristic of the nature of the Tahltan that they do not look upon it as a virtue. They hold the cache invio- late, and when employed as hunters or packers by white men, they hold themselves responsible for the safe carriage and preser- vation of everything entrusted to their care. In disposition they are mild and peaceful, but when aroused by jealousy or offended pride they become taciturn and sullen. That they have been dominated to a certain degree by the more arrogant coast people seems natural when it is remembered that they were few in numbers and that they were wholly dependent on the tribes of the coast for arms and ammunition. Constant feuds with the Nishka and the Taku bespeak their courage, and in the hunting field their fearlessness has often been proven. Their ignorance of natural phenomena rendered them superstitious and engendered a childlike fear of the unknown. Affection for their children is very marked, and the older people are cared for when unable to provide for themselves. The peculiar to- temic relations that divide the family so sharply and separate the children when grown from the father are unnatural and cultivate an apparent indifference that is difficult to reconcile with parental affection, but this in a sense is compensated by their total renunciation of self whenever the weal of the totemic family 26 ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUB. UNIV. OF PA. MUSEUM, VOL. III. is concerned. They are hospitable, and, while individually generous and grateful, their ethics require a return for every favor, even to assisting one another in time of need, and a present given requires a return of even greater value in order to preserve one's standing with the donor. The accusation that native people are always grasping and lacking in gratitude probably arises from our ignorance of their laws and customs, together with a misconception on their part of our business methods and means of existence, and their failure to understand why, from our apparent plenty, we should not give freely, believing that the white man's store is inexhaustible. Once in selling me a piece of native work an old woman asked me several times its value, and when I demurred, another woman said, "why do you not give her what she wants? You can get all the money you wish." When asked, "how do you suppose I get money?" she replied, "you write on paper and the money comes !" Hence the feeling of the more primitive people when they see the white man performing little manual labor, living in apparent luxury and possessing what appears to them unlimited means. An incident of small moment but illustrative of a generous impulse occurred when I was staying at Tahltan. It was in early summer, and the people were assembled at the fishing camps, only a few older people remaining in the village. The spring salmon were late in arriving but when the first one was speared it was brought to the village and was divided among the few older people. Native dignity marks their intercourse with one another, and with strangers an evident reserve. They are, however, sociably inclined, conversational after acquaintance, and, if kindly treated, very friendly. Few white men who hunt with them leave them without the kindest feelings and a full appreciation of their many excellent traits of character. Mentally they may be classed as fair; their rather isolated hunter's life during the greater portion of the year is not cal- culated to stimulate the faculties. Their occupation in the pursuit of game makes them quick to see and to act, and they G. T. EMMONS THE TAHLTAN INDIANS. 27 are sufficiently ingenious in contriving hunting and trapping appliances to insure the necessities of life. They are particu- larly receptive and adaptable, and they have so changed in the last thirty years that the present generation is not only igno- rant of the life of the past but seems rather to scorn the old customs in its desire to be considered as the white man. They have little artistic sense or it is but slightly developed as is evident in their houses and belongings. Their implements are generally devoid of any attempt at ornamentation, and show no elegance of form. Rude etchings on bone in geometric lines filled in with red ochre characterize their highest idea of decor- ative art, except the beadwork of the women, which is attractive both in design and in the selection and placing of colors, and the pipes of the men, which are carved in animal figures and elab- orately inlaid with haliotis shell, showing that there is at least some appreciation of the beautiful dormant in their nature. GOVERNMENT AND SLAVERY. While the recognized social organization of the Nahane was originally patriarchal in form, and remains so among the more primitive eastern branches, the Tahltan through intermar- riage and association with the coast Tlingit, have adopted the matriarchal system whereby succession and inheritance follow directly in the line of the mother and remain always in the totemic family. Hence it would seem that substitution could never take place. The brother, the maternal nephew and cousin are successively eligible; but within these limits the chief is elected by the entire family, and the next in line may be passed over for one more eligible, though farther removed. Wealth and personal character are the principal factors. Women can not succeed to chieftainship. The custom both in the household and in the family is that the nephew on the sister's side should succeed the uncle and take the widow, his aunt, to wife, which gives her a home and provides for her personal needs, 28 ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUB. UNIV. OF PA. MUSEUM, VOL. III. for being of the opposite branch she can inherit nothing from her husband. To this end the nephew is given to the uncle in boyhood to be brought up by him. For the same reason children can receive nothing from the estate of the father. Hunting rights are the most important inheritance. The whole country is divided among the families, and subdivided among households and individuals; and while in travelling through another's territory one might kill an animal for food, the pelt would be given to the landowner. Boys have the priv- ilege of the father's hunting ground while they are recognized members of his household, that is, before reaching manhood; but after that period they exercise the rights of their mother's family. After marriage a man is permitted to hunt in the country of his wife's direct family as well as in his own country, and on this account plural wives are taken for the advantages they may bring. The chieftainship even of old was more a position of honor than of power. In time of peace a chief represented the family, within which he arbitrated all disputes, and took precedence on all occasions of ceremony. He was accorded the place of honor at feasts, and received proportionately the greater number of presents. Generally of larger means than his fellows, his fol- lowing was thereby increased, and he was the recipient of service and presents from his household, but he hunted and worked as did others. His obligations to the poorer and dependent mem- bers of the family were recognized. In case of war his counsel was sought and, age permitting, he was the logical leader. Each family was a distinct organization, controlling its internal affairs, recognizing only the authority of its own chief, and meeting the other families on common ground. Councils, either tribal or family, were attended by the chiefs and the older men, although the family councils were more general in their character and attendance. Few happenings were regarded as personal where they occurred between members of different clan divisions, as the social organization was such G. T. EMMONS THE TAHLTAN INDIANS. 29 that the act of the individual involved the whole family. In the discussion of such disputes after the family had met and considered a line of action, the chief of the aggrieved party would go outside and announce his position in a loud voice, as if speaking to the air, addressing no one in particular, and when he had concluded he would enter the lodge again and remain silent. Then the chief of the other family would act in the same manner, stating his side of the contention. In this manner the case was argued to a settlement. With the decrease in numbers after their removal to their present village, the Tahltan met as a community and elected one chief to represent all. He is the hereditary chief of the most numerous family the Kartchottee and is addressed as Nan- nook. His office is recognized by the Department of Indian Affairs and on his decease his successor will be appointed by that department. There are two recognized classes among the Tahltan, the aristocracy and the common people; but the line of de- marcation is not very distinct, and while the accumulation of wealth, the giving of an elaborate feast, and the distribution of much property may elevate the one, continued poverty through several generations will not wholly reduce the other. There is no warrior class, nor do any secret societies exist. The shamans are wholly individual: they neither come from nor form any particular class. Slavery existed in the past. Captives taken in war with the Nishka and the Taku were held in bondage, but could be redeemed at any time. Tlingit and Kaska were never enslaved, probably by reason of the mutually advantageous trade relations existing, and the more or less frequent intermarriage. Slaves were purchased from the Tlingit, who procured them from the Haida; they were generally Salish, Kwakiutl, or Vancouver Island natives taken by those island pirates in their forays along the coast. The value of a male slave was one hundred beaver skins; of a female, fifty beaver skins. Slaves could marry 30 ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUB. UNIV. OF PA. MUSEUM, VOL. III. among themselves, but the children were slaves. If the head of a household should die or if a child should be seriously hurt, a slave might be freed in honor of the dead or in propitiation for the weak. On the death of a chief, one or more of these unfortunates might be killed in order that their spirits might attend the spirit of the departed in the future life. This was accomplished by laying the victim on the ground with his neck resting on a log; a small tree trunk was then placed over his neck, which was broken by several men jumping on the log. The body was usually thrown in the river, but if the slave should have been an especial favorite, his remains were cremated. Slaves worked and hunted for their masters. As an institution I believe that slavery was borrowed from the Tlingit, but the Tahltan did not own many slaves. Their continual hunting in small bands, their poverty, and their mild disposition all militated against extensive slavery. VILLAGES From a purely nomadic people the Tahltan might in theory now be termed settled, inasmuch as they have built a permanent village of substantial log houses after the manner of the whites. But it must not be inferred that they are to be found resident there during any extended period of the year; indeed their comfortable houses seem to be but an expression of their desire to be considered civilized, while at heart they are wanderers as were their forefathers. Of necessity their hunter's life keeps them in camp from September until April; then with the first warm days of spring they become restless and go forth from the confinement of the house to the freedom of tent life, and in June, when the first salmon run in from the sea, they seek the fishing villages where they remain throughout the summer. So in truth their houses are little more than storage depots, marks of social standing, and meeting places for feasts and ceremonies. Shortly G. T. EMMONS THE TAHLTAN INDIANS. 31 after the Cassiar gold excitement in 1874, the Tahltan built a modern village, on a slightly elevated plateau, a mile and a half to the northward and westward of the mouth of the Tahltan river. The older settlements were deserted, and the entire TuCK-CUAR- WAV-TC.C. ~ . Moose. I I 1 T