The Huntington California Expedition, The Shasta BY ROLAND B. DIXON. BULLETIN OF THE ,m*vic*a tusettra af VOL. XVII, PART V, pp. 581-498. New York, July, 1907. ' * 2 \ ~F" ' A1 <^V // OFTHE 1 ( UNIVERSITY j Dg^M OF V. THE vSHASTA. BY ROLAND B. DIXON. PLATES LXX-LXXII. CONTENTS. INTRODUCTION ............................................ 383 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................ 383 Geography and History .................................... 384 Habitat and Boundaries ................................ 386 Topography and Environment .......................... 387 History .............................................. 389 Migration ............................................ 390 Material Culture .......................................... 391 Manufactures ......................................... 391 Work in Stone .................................... 391 Work in Wood, Bone, and Shell .................... 394 Preparation of Hides ............................... 397 Cordage and Netting ............................... 398 Basketry and Weaving ............................. 398 Feather- Work .................................... 403 Clothing and Personal Adornment ....................... 407 Dwellings and Household Utensils ....................... 413 *- Food and its Preparation ............................... 423 Hunting and Fishing .................................. 428 Transportation and Trade .............................. 432 Warfare .............................................. 436 Games and Amusements ............................... 441 Art ............................................. 5 ........ 446 Decorative Art ........................................ 446 Music ..................... . .......................... 449 Social Organization and Law ............................... 451 Social Organization .................................... 451 Crimes and Punishments ............................... 453 Birth, Puberty, Marriage, and Death ........................ 453 Birth ................................................ 453 Names ............................................... 456 Puberty .............................................. 457 Marriage ............................................. 461 Death and Burial ..................................... 465 381 F" 169456 -2 2 Bulletin American Museum Natural History. [Vol. XVII. * PAGE Religion 468 Beliefs regarding the Soul 468 Conceptions of the World 470 Miscellaneous Beliefs 470 Shamanism 471 Ceremonials 489 Mythology 491 Conclusion 494 Appendix 495 The Konomi'ihu 495 INTRODUCTION. THE material presented in the following paper was collected by the writer during the seasons of 1900, 1902, 1903, and 1904, partly from, the few Shasta resident on the Siletz Reserva tion in Oregon, but mainly from those still remaining in their former habitat in California. A large part of the infor mation was secured from Sargent Sambo, hereditary chief of the Ki'katsik or Wiruhikwai'iruk ! a Shasta of the Klamath River. Further material was obtained from several old men in this section and from other individuals in Scott Valley, at Forks of Salmon, Yreka, and elsewhere. A considerable mass of linguistic material and texts was also secured, and is in preparation. Every facility was given to the work of the Expedition, and much assistance given at Siletz in 1902 by Mr. D. D. McArthur, and again in 1903 and 1904 by Mr. J. J. McKoin, United States Indian agents. Thanks are also due to Mr. Conrad Litchen of Oak Bar, Cal., for many courtesies. BIBLIOGRAPHY. The literature dealing with the ethnology of the Shasta is exceedingly scanty. Except for the brief references by name in a few early books of travel, the following list com prises practically all the more important titles. BURNS, L. M. Digger Indian Legends (Land of Sunshine, Vol. XIII, pp. 130-134, 223-226, 310-314, 397-402). DIXON, R. B. The Shasta- Achoma' wi : A New Linguistic Stock with Four New Dialects (American Anthropologist, N.S., Vol. VII, pp. 213-218). DIXON, R. B. The Mythology of the Shasta- Achoma/wi (American Anthropologist, N.S., Vol. VII, pp. 607-612). EMMONS, Lieut. G. H. In the United States Exploring Expedition, Vol. V, -op. 238-241. London, 1845. , 383 384 Bulletin American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XVII, LYON, C. The Manufacture of Obsidian Arrow-heads (American Historical Magazine, Vol. Ill, p. 214). MILLER, J. Life amongst the Modocs. London, 1873. POWERS, S. Tribes of California (Contributions to North American Ethnology, Vol. Ill, pp. 243-251). GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY. Unlike many of the Indian stocks in California, the Shasta have, almost from the beginning, been known by a distinct and invariable name. The earlier forms such as Saste, Shaste, Sasty, Shasty, Chasty, Shastl, Shastika have given place to the form Shasta, which is that now mainly used to designate the Indians of this stock. The origin and meaning of this term (the various forms of which, in spite of the slight differences shown above, are clearly one and the same through out) are both obscure. So far as my information goes, it is not a term used by the Shasta for themselves, either as a whole or in part, although there is some doubt as to whether or not the term may not have been used to designate a portion of the stock, i.e., that about the eastern portion of Shasta Valley. Its use, however, as such, is recent. It is not a term for the In dians of this stock in the languages of the surrounding stocks, whose names for the people are known, although in use by both Achoma'wi and Atsuge'wi. It is emphatically denied by the Shasta that it is a place-name for any section of the territory occupied by them, and indeed there is some ques tion as to whether it is even a word proper to their language. After persistent inquiry, the only information secured which throws any light on the matter is to the effect that about forty or fifty years ago there was an old man living in Shasta Valley whose personal name was Shastika (Susti'ka). He is reported to have been a man of importance; and it is hot impossible that the name Shasta came from this Indian, an old and well-known man in the days of my informant's father, who was living at the time of the earliest settlement in this section, in the '50*8. Inasmuch as the suffix ka is the regular subjective suffix, we should have Susti as the real name of this individual, from which the earlier forms of 1907.] Dixon, The Shasta. 385 Shasty, etc., could easily have been derived. The derivation from the Russian "TOCTLIH, meaning "white, clean,"- a term supposed to have been applied by the settlers at Fort Ross to Mount Shasta, is obviously improbable. The matter is further complicated by the difficulty of clearing up the precise relationships of the so-called "Chasta" of Oregon, and of explaining the recurrence of the same term in the name of the Athabascan tribe of the Chasta-Costa of the Oregon coast. Until recently, the Shasta have been regarded as forming a linguistic stock by themselves, and as being entirely unre lated to any other stock on the continent. Gatschet, how ever, some fifteen years or more ago, suggested a possible or indeed probable affiliation with the Achoma'wi (Pit River Indians) or Palainihan stock, but did not demonstrate it. The linguistic material collected by the Huntington Expe dition has, however, supplied the needed evidence; and the relationship between the two stocks seems now practically certain. A portion of the evidence to this effect has recently been published, 1 and the Shasta may therefore be considered as forming one member of what has been called the.Shasta- Achoma'wi stock. This binomial term has now, however, been discarded as undesirable, and has been replaced by Shastan. The entire stock includes, besides the Shasta and Achoma'wi, also the Atsuge'wi, or Hat Creek Indians, to gether with three small fragments, the Konomi'hu of Forks of Salmon, the New River Shasta, and the Okwa'nutcu. The Shasta are known to their neighbors on the east and south by the following terms: Sasti'dji by the Achoma'wi, although the term No'mkidji (probably borrowed from the Wintun) was also used; Susti'dji by the Atsuge'wi; Wai'ken- muk by the Wintun of the McCloud and upper Sacramento. The Okwa'nutcu were known to the Achoma'wi and Atsuge'wi as Ye'ti (from Yet, the term in use for Mount Shasta) and also as Iqusade'wi. i Dixon, The ShastA-Achoma'wi: A New Linguistic Stock with Four New Dialects (American Anthropologist, N.S., Vol. VII, pp. 213-218). 386 Bulletin American Museum of Natural History. [ Vol .XVII, HABITAT AND BOUNDARIES. The area occupied by the Shasta lies partly in California and partly in Oregon, including almost the whole of Siskiyou County in the former, and parts of Jackson and Klamath Counties in the latter State. On the south they were in contact with the Wintun; on the east, with the Achoma'wi and the Lutua'mi or Klamath Lake Indians; on the north, with the Takelma and the various Athabascan tribes along the Rogue and Umpqua Rivers; and on the west, with the Athabascans, the Takelma, and the Karok. In more detail the area occupied may be de scribed as follows. Beginning at Mount Shasta, the bound ary ran nearly due north, over Goose Nest mountain to the Klamath River, reaching the river a little above the mouth of Jenny Creek. From this point on the river, the rather vague line seems to have swung to the east a little, so as to include within Shasta territory all the head-waters of Jenny Creek, and then to have followed roughly along the divide to Mount Pitt. Here the line turns westward to the Rogue River at the mouth of Little Butte Creek, and thence along Rogue River to Table Rock at the mouth of Stewart River, or, as it is also known, Bear Creek. From this point, the line ran apparently southward, along the divide between the western tributaries of Stewart River and the eastern tributaries of Applegate Creek, swung around the head of the latter, and curved sharply west, following the crest of the Siskiyous to the vicinity of Thompson Creek, where the boundary touched the Klamath again at the village of Ussini. Southward from here, the divide between the western tributaries of Scott River and the eastern tributaries of the Klamath and Salmon Rivers seems to have been the line dividing the Shasta from the Karok and from the two small fragments of the Shastan stock, the Konomrhu and the New River Shasta. From the extreme southwestern corner of Siskiyou County the boundary ran east to Mount Shasta again, following approx imately the divide between the Trinity and Sacramento Rivers on the south and the Scott and Shasta Rivers on the north. Concerning a part of this territory that, namely, within the limits of the State of Oregon there is still some uncertainty. v / x^ 1907.] Dixon, The Shasta. 387 According to the best information obtainable, the Rogue River Indians (Athabascans) and the Shasta have long been enemies, and had contended since time immemorial for the Oregon area now claimed by the Shasta. At a period about a hundred years ago, as nearly as could be estimated, the Shasta declare that they finally drove the Rogue River people completely out of the territory in dispute, and that they were themselves in occupancy of it when the white trappers first penetrated to the region. That the Rogue River Indians still claimed the area as theirs, however, is shown by the treaty of Sept. 10, 1853, by which they ceded this section and also a portion of what was, I believe, unques tionably Shasta territory lying within the State of California. 1 That full dependence cannot, however, be placed upon such cessions, is shown, for example, in the cession by the Klamath Lake Indians, in 1851 and again in 1864, of Shasta Valley itself, 2 an integral part of the Shasta territory, if there is any such. Perhaps the most that can be said at present, in the absence of any information from the side of the Rogue River Indians, is that the ownership of the portion of Oregon claimed by the Shasta was vigorously disputed, and that it is not unlikely that the Shasta were the original possessors. TOPOGRAPHY AND ENVIRONMENT. The region occupied by the Shasta is rugged and mountainous almost throughout, and, except for the immediate valley of the Klamath River, has everywhere an elevation of over eight hundred metres. The portion of Shasta territory lying within California, that which seems unquestionably theirs, divides itself topograph ically into three sections, comprising respectively the Klamath River Valley, Scott Valley, and Shasta Valley. The first of these includes the course of the Klamath from near Fall Creek to Indian Creek, a stretch of, roughly, seventy miles. In this part of its course, the river is a rapid stream, flowing in a deep canyon valley, with little level land along its banks, except for the deltas of the larger tributary streams. 1 Royce, Indian Land Cessions (Report of the Bureau of Ethnology, 1896-97, Part 2, pp. 778, 789, and Plates CXV, CLVIII). 2 Ibid., pp. 788, 789, 834, 835, and Plates CXIV, CXV 388 Bulletin American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XVII, The climate, like that of most of the Shasta area, is charac terized by hot summers (often with frequent thunderstorms) and moderately cold winters, in which there is generally, upon the mountains at least, a very heavy snowfall. In the early days the river teemed with salmon and other fish, game was abundant in the mountains, and there was a fairly large supply of acorns and other vegetable foods. Scott Valley, the second of the sections, is one of that class of broad, flat-floored mountain valleys that are found especially well developed in the northern Sierras. Some eighteen or twenty miles in length, and five or six in width* watered by a considerable stream, and surrounded by high, rugged mountains, it formed an almost ideal spot for an Indian community. As in the region along the Klamath River, fish and game were abundant, acorns were to be had in considerable quantities, and pine-nuts and other vegetable foods added to the general food-supply. Shasta Valley is considerably larger than Scott Valley, but, on the whole, far less uniform in its character. Much of the southern end of the valley is covered by old lava- flows, or small volcanic cones, interspersed with swamps. The central and smoother portions are more favorable in their character, but are treeless, and broken up by man}' small buttes. The heat in this portion of Shasta Valley in summer is often great. Game was originally abundant here and in the mountains round about. Corresponding roughly to these three topographical divi sions were, apparently, three sections or groups of the Shasta. The three divisions were distinguished by slight differences of language and custom, and governmentally each formed more or less of a unit. The Klamath River Shasta were known most commonly by the term Kamma'twa, although they were also called Wiruhikwai'iruk.'a; the Scott Valley people were known as Ki'katsik or Iruai'tsu. The former term seems to include sometimes also the Shasta Valley peo ple ; and the latter refers more particularly to the northern end of Scott Valley, Iru'ai being the name for Indian Creek. That portion of the stock occupying Shasta Valley was com- 1907.] Dixon, The Shasta. 389 monly spoken of as Ahotire'itsu (from Ahotida/'e', " Shasta Valley"). The Oregon Shasta were known as Kaho'sadi. The Shasta seem to have had a considerable number all together of small villages or settlements; and the names and locations of these, so far as known, are shown together with other geographical names and the divisions of the stock on the map, Plate LIX. HISTORY. The first Europeans to come in contact with the Shasta in their own habitat were probably the adven turous fur-hunters of the second and third decades of the nineteenth century. Scott River was known to them as Beaver River, and was much frequented as a wintering place. One of the earliest references to them is their mention by Gairdner 1 in the list of tribes obtained by him from Michel la Framboise in 1835. Old men now living recall stories of the excitement conse quent on the arrival of these first Europeans, and still tell of their fringed buckskin clothes, and of the long knives they brought to trade. All agree that the strangers came down the Klamath River from the east. Lieutenant Emmons and his party, who, as members of the tlnited States Exploring Expedition, made the overland trip from the Columbia River to San Francisco in 1841, are almost the first to speak of the Shasta from personal experi ence, but the account given 2 is very brief. Thus it was not until the discovery of gold in the region, in 1850, that the section was much visited. The sudden flood of whites brought into the Shasta country by the gold-finds had its usual sad result. Yreka (named for Wai'ika, as the Shasta call Mount Shasta) was settled, and became a bustling, roaring mining-town ; and we may read in Joaquin Miller's "Life among the Modocs" how cruelly the Indians of that region and along the Klamath River were treated. ; The Shasta played quite an important part in the so-called " Rogue River wars" of 1853-54, and 1855-56, bands 1 Gairdner, Notes on the Indian Tribes on the Upper and Lower Columbia (Journal he Royal Geographical Society, Vol. XI, p. 256). 2 United States Exploring Expedition, Vol. V, pp. 239, 240. 39 Bulletin American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XVII, from as far as Scott and Shasta Valleys coming north across the Siskiyous to aid their Rogue River brethren. 1 In this conflict, however, as in many other of the Indian troubles in this section, the whites were as much to blame, if not more so, as the Indians themselves. This war together with unpro voked murder, and wholesale massacre, disease, and the famine consequent on the destruction of the food- supply - produced a rapid diminution in numbers, till there remains to-day, all told, probably less than twoscore widely scattered full-blood members of the Shasta. Except for four individuals at Siletz, one or two at Grand Ronde Reservation in Oregon, and one woman at Yakima, all the Shasta now known to be living are scattered through out their old territory. A few are at Yreka, much mixed with Wintun; there are several in Scott Valley; and perhaps a score or so at various points along the Klamath River. In addition to these full-bloods, there are quite a number of half-breeds. The census figures relating to this region are of little value, as the majority of the individuals enumerated belong to the Yurok, or perhaps to the Lutua'mi stocks. Estimates of the population before 1850 are very varied. De Mofras 2 in 1840-42 estimated the Saste at four hundred; Emmons, 3 in 1841, at five hundred. McKee 4 in 1851 secured information as to fifty villages, from which, allowing sixty persons as an average, he obtained three thousand as the total number of the Shasta. From the numbers mentioned in the accounts of the Rogue River war, however, there does not seem to be any warrant for assuming so large a population, and I should doubt if there were really more than two thousand of the Shasta at the time when the first European contact occurred. MIGRATION. No tradition has been thus farjsecured as to any migration. The Shasta regard themselves as^having i H. H. Bancroft, Hist 9 ry of Oregon, Vol. II, Chaps. VII, XII, XV, XVI ; also Report on Indian Hostilities in Oregon and Washington, 3 4 th Cong., ist Sess., House t,x. Doc., Vol. XI, No. 93. 2 > Duflot de Mofras. Exploration du Territoire de 1'Oregon, etc., Vol. II, p. 335. 3 Uniteo States Exploring Expedition, Vol. V. Schoolcraft, History, Condition, and Prospects, etc., Vol. Ill, p. 171. 1907.] Dixon, The Shasta. 39* been created in the region they now occupy, and have no knowledge of any other area. In this they are in accord with the majority of the California tribes. Some evidence, however, is given by their general culture, which makes it not impos sible that they are in origin an Oregonian stock. MATERIAL CULTURE. MANUFACTURES. Work in Stone. The implements of stone made by the Shasta comprise knives, arrow-points, scrapers, pipe-tips, pestles, and soapstone vessels. Mortars and stone pipes, while known, were apparently not made. The Shasta were fortunate in having in their vicinity a consider able abundance of obsidian, from which knives, arrow- points, and scrapers of the best quality could be made. The great 'majority of these imple ments were therefore of this substance, and were well made. Knives (Fig. 68) seem often to have been used without haft- ing of any kind, although sometimes a piece of buckskin was wrapped about the end. Arrow- points were made by holding the flake or piece of obsidian in a split stick, as in a vise, one end of the stick being held under the left arm. A piece of sharpened or split antler was used in flaking the point. Scrapers were very often made of red obsidian, although deer-ulnae were, on the whole, more com monly used than stone scrapers. Pipe- tips were either of serpentine, or other fine-grained stone. They were ground laboriously into shape, the hole being pierced by pounding Fig. 68 ( 3 |j 5 ). Obsidian Knife. Length, 8 cm. Fig. 69 (if| t ). Fragment of a Stone Pipe. Length, 7 cm. 3 9 2 Bulletin American Museum of Natural History. [ Vol . XVI I , with a piece of antler, aided by sand. What is apparently a portion of a pipe wholly of stone was picked up on the sur face near Honolulu, on the Klamath River (Fig. 69). It is, however, different from the type of pipe used by the Shasta, and was regarded by them as mysterious, and probably endowed with great magic power. It is nicely finished on the exterior. . 7 ( rt 32831 b 3?gi circumference, 20 cm. Stone Pestles. Length of a, 17 cm.; maximum Pestles (Fig. 70) for acorn- pounding were generally cylin drical, and from twenty to twenty-five centimetres long. In many cases they were well made, some having a slight knob at the upper end, as shown in c. Others, again, were rough and irregular. Soapstone vessels were considerably used for 1907.] Dixon, The Shasta. 393 holding fish, fish-oil, etc. They were shallow oval platters, not over thirty or forty centimetres long, and were pecked and scraped out, and into shape, by means of harder stones. Few, if any, of these vessels are to be found to-day. According to the unanimous statements of the Shasta, mortars were not used by them. Within the area occupied, however, mortars are found, in some places in large numbers. They occur on the surface, and also buried to depths of several feet in the gravel or soil. Large numbers of these are to be found in several of the village stores in the region, and date from the earlier mining-days of the '50*3 and '6o's. In general, these mortars are rather less finished than the mortars found in the Sacramento Valley and Sierra region, and some are taller, and more cylindrical in shape. The feeling of the Shasta in regard to these mortars is a very strong one. They are considered as very mysterious objects, are never touched except by the shamans, and, if one is found or seen at any place, it is given a wide berth. The mortars are some times regarded as of themselves powerful Axe'ki, or "pains," although in other cases it is thought that they merely indi cate the proximity of an Axe'ki's dwelling, which may be some near-by ledge or pinnacle of rock. The Axe'ki, as will be explained later, are spirits who are the guardians and familiars of the shamans, and who aid them in curing or causing disease. Mortars are supposed to have the power of independent motion, and to be continually moving about the country. One day a mortar will be seen here, the next some distance away, travelling every day several feet. In some cases, mortars are said to have power to change their shape. Pestles, in particular small pestles, were simi larly regarded. Those feared did not seem to differ in any respect from those in common use, but were, nevertheless, thought to be very dangerous objects if found lying about, and were made use of by shamans in some of their nefarious practices. A pestle of this sort (found and not made), unless it was placed on solid rock, would sink into the ground in a few days, and would then travel about under the surface, and reappear at some other place far away. Stone pipes 394 Bulletin American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XVII, were, like these mortars and pestles, occasionally found, and had an equally bad reputation. They might be handled only by shamans, and are said to have been eagerly sought for by them for evil purposes. This complete absence of the use of mortars; the beliefs in connection with certain pestles and pipes; the fear felt of all these objects, and the consideration of them as intelli gent, supernatural beings, with the power of locomotion would seem to indicate that the mortars found here were not made by the Shasta, nor by their ancestors within tradi tional times. A somewhat similar state of affairs was shown to exist in the case of the Maidu, 1 although there, the feel ing of fear and superstitious reverence was confined to the mortars alone, and was not as pronounced as among the Shasta. Work in Wood, Bone, and Shell. Except for their bows, the Shasta used wood for but few implements, the most Fig. 71 (sfSi). Wooden Spoon. Length, 19 cm. important of which were spoons, pipes, and mush-paddles. Spoons (Fig. 71) were made of both wood and horn. In type they are closely similar to those used by the Karok, Yurok, and Hupa, although, as a rule, they were less decorated by carving. The pipes (Fig. 72) used here were of the same 1 See pp. 136, 137 of this volume. 1907.] Dixon, The Shasta. 395 character as those made by the three tribes just mentioned living lower down the river. The form was the usual tubular, trumpet- shaped one, varying from fifteen to twenty centi metres in length. The pipes are often so regularly and beautifully made as to suggest machine-turning. The method of boring the piece of wood from which the pipe was to be made was exceedingly ingenious, if we may believe the account given by several informants independ ently. As described, the method was applicable to only one variety of wood (unidentified) , a variety which was quite hard, yet possessed a small, somewhat porous pith or heart- wood. A number of sticks of this wood were, so it is said, placed on end in a dish of salmon-oil, first on one end, and then on the other. By this means, the pithy, porous heart- wood absorbed considerable oil, much more than did the re mainder of the wood. This central core of heart- wood was then dug out at one end, as deeply as could be, with a fine-pointed bone awl. Then a small grub or worm, infesting the dried salmon as preserved in the houses, was placed in the excavation, and this was then sealed with a bit of pitch. The grub thus imprisoned is declared to have eaten the oil- soaked pith or heart- wood, following the core, from one end to the other, finally eating its way out at the opposite end. Many of the grubs died, or did not take kindly to the oil- Fig. 72 dig,, A). soaked pith; but, out of a dozen or more pre- L^STiscS!' pared sticks hung up under the roof during the winter, one or two were, it is claimed, generally found bored in the spring. Owing to the rapids and swift current of the Klamath, and the impermanent nature of the other streams (which often nearly dry up in the summer) the Shasta made little in the way of canoes. Occasionally they obtained them from the Karok or Yurok, but they rarely made them themselves. 39 6 Bulletin American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XVII, When made, they were dug out from sugar- pine logs, as a rule, and were crude imitations of the well-known, square- ended type characteristic of the lower river. Bone and antler were used for scrapers, awls, wedges, arrow- flakers, and salmon-gigs. The deer-ulna or elk-rib was most commonly the form of scraper used in the preparation of hides. Awls and basket-needles w*ere small and neat. Elk-horn wedges were used for splitting logs, being driven by stone mauls held in the hand without handles. Arrow- flakers of split or sharp ened deer- antler were used generally without handles. The salmon- gig (Fig. 73) was of the usual type, but now, as a rule, is made of nails. The chief use of shell was for ornament, and, in the form of beads, as currency. Women's skirts were elaborately decorated with beads, pieces of abalone, and dent alia. The disk- shaped beads of the type so common in the more southern parts of the State were not so much used here. The abalone and dentalia were ob tained in trade with the tribes of the lower river, and also from the Rogue River people in Oregon. Dentalia were much used as currency. Abalone and other shells Fig. 73 ( 3 f ^ 8 ), Salmon-gig. Length of gig, 10 cm. Total length, 59 cm. Necklace. 1907.] Dixon, The Shasta. 397 were much used, particularly for necklaces, ear- ornaments, etc. As currency, dentalia were divided into two classes, those measuring less than the distance from the base of the little finger to the crease between the second and third joints, and those measuring more than this distance. The value of the latter was twice that of the former, and they are now regarded as equalling a dollar. These larger dentalia were often decorated by incised lines, or the addition of tiny red feathers ^Fig. 74). Dentalia of the large variety were generally strung on small cords, and, together with the smaller variety, were kept in small cylindrical baskets provided with a cover fitting, it is said, inside the rim. These baskets were finely made, and were carefully kept in small buck skin bags. Horn purses like those used by the Hupa were rarely found here. Disk beads, kept in strings, were used to some extent as currency also; the unit of measure being the length of a string stretching from hand to hand while the arms are extended at full length on each side, the centre of the string hanging to the navel. While speaking of cur rency, mention might be made here of the use of woodpecker- scalps (Fig. 75) for this purpose also. These were carefully dried and prepared, and, as in the case of the dentalia, were of two grades, the scalp of the large woodpecker being worth twice that of a small one. They were kept in rolls of buck skin to preserve them flat and unruffled. Preparation of Hides. Deerskins were dressed and pre pared by the Shasta in the usual manner. After soaking, the hair was removed, and the hide grained by scraping with a stone or bone scraper, the hide being laid on a slanting post set in the ground. Deer-brains were used to soften the skin, and, following this, the hides were well smoked and sunned. The skins were finally whitened by rubbing with white clay, and were, when finished, fine, soft, and of very good quality. The Shasta made, they say, from .rawhide a receptacle somewhat in the shape of the ordinary conical pack-basket. The rim of the affair was of wood, over which the rawhide was lapped and sewed. It was carried on the back like a pack-basket, and served for gathering and carrying grass- Bulletin American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XVII, seed and small roots. The seed-beater used here seems often also to have been made in part of rawhide, this being stretched over a framework of basketry. Both these seed- beaters and pack-baskets have gone out of use. Cordage and Netting. Cord and rope were made from the wild hemp (Apocynttm sp.) and from a variety of grass as yet undetermined. The nets used were chiefly pocket- shaped, and were set up and used as de scribed under hunting and fish ing. Seine-nets were used to some extent also. The manu facture of nets was in the hands of the men. The cord was kept on a netting-shuttle similar to those in use among the Hupa. 1 Mesh-measures of the type used lower down the river were also formerly in use. The manufacture of the netted cap, so characteristic of the Maidu and other stocks of Central California, seems to be lacking here. It is said, how ever, that the Shasta Valley people did make and wear these caps, obviously in imitation of those worn by the Wintun. There is also no trace, appar ently, of the "kiseaqot," or netted head-decoration worn by the Hupa 2 and other Indians of the lower Klamath. Netted sacks were also lacking, it seems ; although in the vicinity of Seiad Valley, where the Shasta abutted on the Karok, a few were to be found. Basketry and Weaving. Basketry would appear to have Fig. 75 (3??rB). used as Currency. Woodpecker-Scalp Length, 10 cm. 1 Goddard, Life and Culture of the Hupa (University of California Publications, American Archaeology and Ethnology, Vol. I, p. 35, and Fig. 2, Plate 14). 2 Ibid., pp. 83, 84, and Plate 7. 1907.] Dixon, The Shasta. 399 been for a long period less important as an art than it was among the people of either Central or Northwestern California ; and in earlier times, as now, the Shasta relied to a great extent on other tribes for their baskets. At the present day, scarcely a single basket is made by the Shasta; and all that they use, or sell to collectors, are bought from the Karok and other lower Klamath peoples. The materials formerly used for basketry by the Shasta were various. For the ribs, or radial elements, they generally used the hazel (Corylus calif ornica) or the willow (Salix sp.), whose roots, as well as whose twigs, were employed, the for mer, it is said, much more than the latter. The roots were always used to make the outer ring on the bottom of the basket. The twining- element was almost exclusively the root of the yellow pine (Finns ponderosa Dougl.). The root was cut or dug up in pieces thirty centimetres or more in length, and from five to ten centimetres in diameter. These pieces were first baked and then steamed, after which they were care fully split into thin sheets from four to six centimetres wide. In this form they were preserved, and, when wanted for use, were again boiled and steamed, and split into finer strips. The strips thus prepared were dyed black (by an infusion of acorn-shells) or red (with alder-bark) . In the latter case, the bark was chewed by the woman, who meanwhile passed the strip of pine-root back and forth through her mouth. This twining-element was overlaid, in caps and in the finer sorts of basketry, with basket-grass (Xerophyllum tenax Nutt.) or with the black, shining stem of the maidenhair- fern (Adian- tum pedatum L.). The types and forms (Fig. 76, a g) of baskets as used among the Shasta, if we may judge from the baskets collected, were very similar to, indeed practically identical with, those used by the Yurok, Karok, and Hupa. There were large storage-baskets (/, g) , smaller cooking-baskets (c, d) , platter or tray baskets (a), and small trinket-baskets (6). Burden or pack baskets of conical shape (e) were also in use; and these, together with many of the tray-baskets, were of the open-work style of make. Occasionally these were finished 4OO Bulletin American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XVII, by a band of the ordinary closer twining (Plate LXVII, Fig. 2). Owing to the very considerable doubt as to the real provenance of most of the baskets secured, and to the possi bility that the original Shasta technique may have, in the case of the baskets secured at Siletz, suffered a change from contact with the Oregonian Athabascans, a minute discussion Fig. 76 (a ,f $ 2 , b 5 gg T , c ,{$, d jgi B , e 3 |g 3 , / 3 ?B, g sfic)- Outlines of Shasta Basket- forms. of the technique seems inadvisable. This is the more true, in that all the baskets obtained from the Shasta in California agree in almost every particular with those from the Hupa, Karok, and Yurok, so fully described by Goddard 1 and Kroeber. 2 Like them, they are exclusively of the twined variety, the simple twining being the form most frequently 1 Goddard, op. cit., pp. 38-48. 2 Kroeber, Basket Designs of the Indians of Northwestern California (University of California Publications. American Archseology and Ethnology, Vol. II, pp. 109-116) 1907.] Dixon, The Shasta. employed, although three- strand twining occurs on the bot toms of baskets, and occasionally in a narrow band near the rim. As in the baskets of the northwestern type, the warps are, in the open-work baskets and occasionally in other bas kets, sometimes crossed just below the edge (Plates LX, Fig.i ; LXVIII, Fig. i; LXX, Fig. 2). On the bottoms of baskets, as a rule, groups of from three to five warps are included between the woof- strands, the num ber decreasing to a single warp when the upward curve of the Fig- 77 (aiis)- Strengthening-rod in Mortar-basket, Plate LXVI, Fig. 2. basket is reached. On the mortar-basket the same strength ening-rods are used as among the Hupa and the Karok, and in the same manner 1 (Fig. 77). Here, as well as there, the designs are produced by overlaying, the method followed being a double overlay. Among these supposed Shasta bas kets, as well as among those of the northwestern type, open work basket-trays and pack-baskets are common, and in both these regions we find the method of ornamentation by means of dyed warps (Plates LXVIII, Fig. i, and LXX, Figs, i and 2). 2 In the close-twined baskets from Siletz, a double warp is used instead of the single warp, as in California. Whether this is due to difference of material, or to the influence of another technique, it is impossible to say, in the absence of basketry collections from that portion Goddard, op. cit., Plate 24, Fig. i. 1 Kroeber, op. cit., Plate 18, Figs, i and 3 402 Bulletin American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XVII, of Oregon. The edges of the cooking and tray baskets obtained in California, with one exception, are unfinished, except by cutting off the warps closely, as in the basketry of the region Fg- 78 (52). Detail of Edge on Basket, Plate LXII, Fig. 3. to the west. One basket, however (Plate LXII, Fig. 3), shows an edge in which the warps are turned over, as in Fig- 79 (1053)- Detail of Edge on Basket, Plate LXII, Fig. 2. Fig. 78. All baskets secured at Siletz, from the Shasta there, have a somewhat similar type of edge (Fig. 79) . All open-work Fig- 80 ( 3 f2i). Detail of Edge on Basket, Plate LXIX, Fig. i. pack-baskets and mortar-baskets also have the warp-rods bent over and twined in, as shown in Fig. 80. The buckskin fringes on the women's skirts are wrapped 1907.] OF THE ~ \ UNIVERSITY } \ OF ^s4 L / FO R N ^&S ^^r---..--;--itf^^ Dixon, The Shasta. 403 for the greater part of their length with grass (Xerophyllum tenax Nutt.)- This wrapping is shown in Fig. 81. The technique is the same as that employed by the Hupa. Mats of reeds (Plate LXXI) were made by twining woof-strands about the reed warps, every three or four inches, doubling these at the sides, and finishing the ends of the mat in a braid, as shown in Fig. 82. Feather-Work. As compared with the Maidu and the Indians of the Central Califor- nian area, or even with the Hupa, the Shasta use of feathers was undeveloped. In place of the many varieties of feather ornaments used in ceremonials by the majority of Cal if ornian Indians, the Shasta had but few, and these were rather simple. They were the feather band, worn either about the head, the wrists, or the shoulders ; single decorated feathers, generally worn in the hair, or held in the hand; and single or grouped feathers as fringes or pendants. Occasionally, also, scalps of woodpeckers were used, glued on a strip of buckskin. Feather bands were in this section, as a rule, single (see Figs. 84, 85, 86, and 87), and were made in quite a different manner from those in use among the Maidu. The tech nique of the attachment of the feathers is shown in Fig. 83. These bands, as used for young girls in the puberty dance, were made of blue jay- feathers (Fig. 84), and formed a strip from ten to fifteen centimetres wide. The wrist-bands (Figs. 86, 87), made usually, on the other hand, of yellowhammer- feathers, D?taii I of 3 Fnn g e . on Woman s Apron, were narrower, sometimes with the addition Fig. 92 . of one or two bits of down, as in Fig. 89. The shoulder-bands (see Fig. 85) also were of yellowhammer- feathers. 404 Bulletin American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XVI I, The single decorated feathers (Fig. 88) consisted of a single long feather cut on either side in zigzags, about the base of which, and sometimes extending up for fully half the length of the feather, was a mass of soft fluffy feathers. Fig. 82 ( 3 ? ). Detail of Mat, Plate LXXI. In addition to the types of feather ornaments and feather- work above described, there were others in which feathers constituted but a portion of the decoration, as, for instance, on the head-bands worn by shamans. In these, the uses of the feather are, (i) erect feathers attached to the base of the head-band, (2) pendant feathers or feather tassels, and (3) stiff feather pompons. Fig- 8 3 (S?i). Detail of Feather Attachment on Feather Band, Fig. 84. An example of the first is shown in Fig. 89. These are fastened in position by two cords which pass through the head-band, one through the quill near the end, the other around, just below the web. Pendant feathers were used singly (attached to the ends of lines, or at intervals along a 1907.] Dixon. The Shasta. 405 406 Bulletin American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XVJI, line) or in groups, forming what might be called tassels (Fig. 90) . In many cases a feather, or more commonly two feathers, out of a group, and also single pendant feathers, had down or a small bit of fluffy feather attached to their bases. Both feathers and down were attached to the line by winding with thread. Fig. 86 ( 3 fg 8 A). Wrist-band, Plain. Length, 16 cm. Fig- 87 (ufSs B )' Wrist-band Decorated with Down. Length, 16 cm. Stiff pompons were made usually of yellowhammer- feath ers. The feathers were attached to a cord, as shown in Fig. 83, and the resulting feather strip tightly coiled on itself, forming a brush- like pompon, which was affixed in a hori zontal position to the middle of the forehead-band, as shown in Fig. 91. 1907.] Dixon, The Shasta. 407 CLOTHING AND PERSONAL ADORNMENT. The clothing in use by the Shasta was apparently more elaborate than that in use among the Indians of Central California, and it ap proximated the type worn by the Hupa and other Indians of the lower Klamath. There would seem to have been a little variation in their dress, although the differences were very slight. The men's costume consisted of mocca sins, leggings, breech- clout, and, at times, a shirt. The mocca sins were of buckskin, sewed with a single straight seam up the front, and had a heavy outer sole of bear or elk hide. The winter moccasin dif fered from the sum mer one in having the buckskin cut out on the sole, the bear- hide outer sole having the fur left on, and this, being turned inside, brought the foot in direct contact with the warm fur. In other cases, the winter Fig. 88 Feather Ornament. Height, 50 cm. 408 Bulletin American Museum of Natural History. [ Vo) . XV 1 1 , moccasins were simply made larger than those worn in summer, and the foot was kept warm by wrapping with squirrel or wild cat skins, or by stuffing the moccasin with the long black moss that hangs from the trees. The seams of moccasins were often painted red. The leggings, which were of buckskin, reached, so it is said, from the ankle to the hip, and were held up by a belt passing through straps or loops at their upper end. The leggings were often fringed and beaded by the more wealthy. The shirt seems to have been often little more than a deer- 89 (i5? 3 ). Erect Feather Attachment. . Detail of Feather Tassels. skin thrown over the shoulders, although it is declared that a regular shirt of dressed buckskin, with short sleeves, was sometimes worn. These shirts also had fringe at the seams. During the summer, at least, the men went without any covering for the head. The women's dress, as formerly worn, is described as con sisting of moccasins; two buckskin skirts; a seed, pine-nut, or grass apron; a sleeveless shirt; and a basket- cap. The 1907.] Dixon, The Shasta. 409 moccasins were similar to those worn by the men. The buckskin skirts were of two types, one (being plain) con sisting of a simple buckskin wrapped around the loins from in front, and meeting, or nearly meeting, behind. The other skirt was of buckskin, deeply fringed on both sides, the fringe being covered, as a rule, with braided grass- work, and having shell pendants, beads, pine- nuts, etc., attached in pro fusion. This ornamental skirt was doubled or folded, and put on from behind, and met, or nearly met, in front, and was worn over the simple, plain skirt which meets at the back. These two skirts are very similar to (almost identical, in fact, with) those worn by the Hupa and other lower Klamath Indians. In wealth of ornamentation, however, the Shasta skirts, as a rule, fell behind those from nearer the sea. Of course, these elaborate skirts were not worn by the women constantly, but were donned for special occa sions only. In addition to these two buckskin skirts, the wo men are said also to have worn a third garment (in the form of a narrow apron) filling the space, or covering it, where the orna mental back- skirt comes together in front. These aprons (Fig. 92) were made simply of long fringes filled with pine- nuts or other seeds, the fringe- strands being also often covered with the characteristic braided covering of grass. r These aprons were sometimes double, as in the figure, one being worn in front and one behind, with no other clothing. By the poorer people, or in summer-time, a simple grass pon. Fig. 91 (lifts). Detail of Feather Pom- Helt ight, 1 Goddard, op. cit., Plate 8. 4 I O Bulletin American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XVII, Fig. 92 ( 3 i?s)- Woman's Apron. Length, 50 cm.; width, 24 cm. 1907.] Dixon, The Shasta. 411 fringe was worn in this same way. The shirt, or upper garment, seems to have been much like the men's, except for the lack of sleeves. It was not commonly worn. The basket-cap was constantly worn. It was of the hemi- Fig. 93 (?ii). Snow-shoe. Length, 48 cm.; width, 35 cm. spherical shape, similar to those of the Indians of the lower Klamath. 1 Those made by the Shasta themselves were simpler and cruder than those obtained from the down-river people, and for the most part the Shasta relied on caps obtained from them in trade. i Goddard, op. cit., Plates 5, 15, 75. 76. 4 1 2 Bulletin A merican Museu m of Natural History. [ V o 1 . X V 1 1 , The hair of the men was allowed to grow long, and, as a rule, was gathered on top of the head, and fastened there by means of a long bone pin. At other times, it was allowed to hang loose. The women, on the other hand, gathered the hair in a queue at each ear, and wrapped or tied it with buck skin or fur string, allowing the two queues to hang down in front of the shoulders. Snow-shoes (Fig. 93) were worn by the Shasta in winter, to a considerable extent. These were usually made, it seems, of deer-hide with the hair left on, and differed in the stringing from those of the Maidu. The shoes used by the Shasta had three transverse thongs, with three running at right angles to these, only one of which, however, continued all the way across the shoe, the other two being attached to the three cross-thongs. Body decoration among the Shasta was not much devel oped. Painting was but little used, except by shamans and by those who were going to war. Red, blue, yellow, white, and black were used for these occasions, the two latter colors being those most used in war. The colored paints were obtained mainly from different clays or earths in vari ous parts of the territory occupied by the stock, although a red paint was also obtained from a species of fungus grow ing on fir-trees, and a yellow from the spores of a species of puff-ball, and also from the pollen of the hazel, pine, etc. The paints were applied with the finger, and chiefly to the upper parts of the body, in dots and lines, or solid masses. Tattooing as a means of decoration was confined prac tically to the women. The ornamentation was applied to the chin only, and consisted of three broad vertical marks. In some cases, narrower lines were put in between the broad ones, or the outer lines were prolonged slightly above the corners of the mouth. Notched or saw-tooth lines were not used, nor were lines ever made on the cheeks or forehead. The tattooing was done when the girl was about ten or twelve years of age. The instrument used was a small, sharp flake of obsidian. The operator was in all cases an old woman who made tattooing her regular trade, and who was paid for 1907.] Dixon, The Shasta. the work, when done, by the father of the girl. With the sharp flake, shallow parallel cuts were made close together, and then the coloring-material, either charcoal or blue- clay, was rubbed in. The whole chin was .tattooed at once, and, unless the lines were not dark enough, was not gone over again. Throughout the night on which the tattooing was done, the girl was not allowed to sleep much, and whatever she dreamed was bound to come true. Her dreams were always told to her mother. Men generally had a few short lines tattooed on their hands and arms, not for decoration, but to serve as measures for dentalia, beads, etc. Ornaments worn consisted chiefly of beads and shells. The common disk-shaped white bead and small shells were much used for necklaces, ear-pendants, etc. Abalone was also used to some extent, although not as commonly as lower down the river. Pine-nuts were often used for neck laces, as in Fig. 94. Feathers were occasionally stuck in the ears and nose (perforated for that purpose) , or long dentalia were worn sometimes in the latter orifice, and pendant in groups from the ears. A peculiar type of belt (Fig. 95) was worn by women at times. The belt is formed of a coil of fine hair braids. Formerly these were of human hair, but now they are usually of horse hair. This coil is flattened in the central portion, and held in this position by a zigzag intertwining of narrow buckskin thongs. At the ends, the coil is gathered into a round loop, closely wound, and beaded. To the belt are attached aba- lone disks or pendants, small shells, beads, or elk- teeth. My informant was not clear as to the early uses of such belts, which now seem to be worn chiefly for ornament; but it is not unlikely that in origin they were similar to the mourning- belts made by the Achoma'wi widows or widowers, of the hair cut off in mourning. DWELLINGS AND HOUSEHOLD UTENSILS. The Shasta were accustomed to build two sorts of houses, differing consider ably in construction and use. These were the dwelling-house (u'mma) and the sweat or big house (o'kwa'umma). The dwelling house was occupied only during the winter months, 414 Bulletin American Museum of Natural History. [ Vol . XVII Fig. 94 (i!8i). Necklace of Pine-nuts. Length, 54 cm. 1907.] Dixon, The Shasta. 415 416 Btdletin American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XVII, being abandoned for the brush shelter (klupixasai'duk) in the summer. None of the old type of either the dwelling- house or sweat-house now remain, and the following descrip tion is based entirely on accounts and partial models. In the construction of the dwelling-house (Fig. 96) an excavation was first made, generally rectangular or slightly oval, averaging about 6 &' /* ^ ve me ' tres by six or seven, with a depth of not over one metre at the outside. At either end of the ex cavation a pair of forked posts (a, b and b, b') were set up, the posts being from four to five metres high, and set just inside the wall of the exca vation. Then, in each corner of the pit, single forked posts (c, d, e, f) were set, these posts being only from a metre to a metre and a half in height, and also set just in side the wall. From a to b and from b to &', two parallel ridge- Ct O Fig. 96. Plan of a House. C poles were then run, and likewise a pole from c to / and from d to e; these latter side-poles being but about half a metre above the edge of the excavation. The earth dug out in making the pit was next piled up along the edges of the pit, forming a wall, which extended up to the side-poles just mentioned. The walls of the excavation were next covered by slabs of cedar-bark set vertically on edge all around the sides, and reaching from the ground 1907.] Dixon, The Shasta. 417 to the side-poles. Finally the roof was put on, consisting of cedar or sugar- pine boards (split out with wedges) run ning from the side-poles to the two ridge-poles. The roof- boards met in a peak between the two ridge-poles, except for a space in the centre, where a smoke-hole was left. They also often extended a little beyond the side-poles, forming eaves, which protected the earthen walls. Sometimes the construction differed in that a side-wall of boards was first laid from the ground to the side-poles, and the earth from the excavation piled against this, the roof then being put on as just described. The ends of the house were formed by setting boards on end, almost vertically. Between the two posts (b, b') holding up the two ridge-poles at one end of the house, a cross-bar was firmly tied with grape-vine, about a metre or a little more above the level of the ground outside ; and on this cross-bar the lower ends of the boards forming the end-wall between the two posts rested. The boards forming the end- walls were firmly tied to the posts, as were also the ridge and side poles. The space below the cross bar formed the door. The opening was usually closed by a heavy mat of rushes hanging from the cross-bar. It was quite common, apparently, to have the ridge and side poles project from a metre to a metre and a half beyond the end- wall of the house, at the end where the door was situated. On these the roof was extended and a second rough end- wall built, forming in this way a sort of "storm- porch," to which the entrance was always at the extreme corner, and unpro vided with any mat or other means of closing. By placing the outer door at the corner thus, all direct draught into the house was stopped. This porch served to keep out cold and wind, and also formed a convenient storehouse for firewood, nets, spears, etc. Inside the inner door, a further protection was erected against draughts, by setting up boards on end to form two parallel, walls reaching from the ground to the roof, and extending out from the doorway on either side, a metre or more, toward the centre of the house. In the centre of the house-floor, which was of beaten earth, was the fireplace, a circular area a metre or so in [August, 1907.] 27 41 8 Bulletin American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XVII, diameter, sunk from fifteen to twenty centimetres below the general level, and rimmed with stones. Around the sides of the house were the sleeping-places. For these, the ground was first levelled and stamped. A thick layer of pine-needles was then laid down, and on this mats were spread. This sleep ing and lounging place extended back from the fire, on all four sides, to within half a metre of the walls of the house. At this point, a heavy board, about fifty centimetres in width, was set up on edge, and held in position by stakes. The space between this board and the wall formed thus a sort of "man- 4|p%^ Fig. 97. Vertical Section of a House. ger" at the head of a person lying feet to the fire; and in this place each person kept his or her personal property in the way of clothing, food, etc. A vertical section of a house is shown in Fig. 97, and will illustrate the position of this storage-place. The dwelling-house was often occupied by more than one family; but, when this was the case, the families were always closely related, and each occupied one side or portion of the house. The only furniture in the house consisted of pillows, formed of wooden blocks slightly hollowed out on top, and apparently closely similar to those described by Goddard as in use among the Hupa. 1 Stools, consisting simply of a block of wood of variable size and form, were also in use. The sweat-house variously known as "big-house," "dance- house," and " sweat-house" was somewhat differently built. The excavation made for this type of house was larger and 1 Goddard, op. cit., p. 17. 1907.] Dixon, The Shasta. 419 deeper, being, as a rule, from six to eight metres wide, and ten or twelve long, with a depth of about two metres. At each corner of the excavation, forked posts were set up, as in the u'mma; but, in place of the two pairs of posts supporting the two ridge-poles, in the latter case a single very heavy post (about four metres long) was set at each end of the pit, and a third post placed in the middle of the house. A single ridge pole was then laid on these three posts, and the side-poles arranged as before. As in the case of the ii'mma, cedar-bark was used to face the walls of the pit, and the roof was made of boards, but in this case had very much less pitch than in the dwelling-house, being in fact, in some instances, almost flat, the corner-posts being higher proportionally to the centre- posts than in the case of the dwelling-house. The roof being completed, a layer of pine-needles was laid on it, and then earth spread over the whole, except at the smoke-hole, to a depth of fifteen or twenty centimetres. The end- walls of the structure were made as in the dwelling-house, except that both ends were alike, there being no cross-bar at the door- end. The door was in this case formed by cutting out a hole in one of the end-planks, the hole being either round or square and usually not over sixty or seventy centimetres in diameter. This doorway opened one side or the other of the heavy post supporting the ridge-pole; and a ladder, consisting of a notched madrone-log, led very steeply down from this door to the floor of the house. Under this ladder, and between it and the wall, fire- wood was often stacked. The door-opening was closed by a sliding board on the inside. The smoke- hole also could be closed quite tightly by sliding a board over it, by means of a pole. In the centre of the house, on the farther side of the central post (which is usually a little nearer the door than the exact centre of the house) , was the fireplace, made like that in the dwelling-house. Often the whole floor of the house was floored with split boards, while in other cases the floor was simply of stamped or even of baked clay. The sweat- house was built only where there was a village of several families, and was constructed by the common labor 4 2 O Bulletin American Museum of Natural History. [ Vol . XV 1 1 , of all. When completed, it belonged to the head man of the village, although all men who aided in the building had certain rights in it. The leader or chief never lived in the o'kwa'umma, except that, if a large gathering of people took place for any reason, he might temporarily vacate his own dwelling-house for the use of the guests, and take up his quarters for the time being in the sweat-house. So far as has been ascertained, there were no important ceremonies connected with the construction of the structure. It was used for gatherings of various sorts, gambling, etc., but chiefly as a general place of resort for the men of the village, they using it as a regular sleeping-place throughout the winter, only the women and children occupying the dwelling-house. In the making of the fire in this building, oak was chiefly used. When it was reduced to a bed of coals, the smoke-hole would be closed, and ashes raked over the fire; and then all the in mates slept naked, owing to the high temperature. In case of the death of a village head man, if he left no brothers or children to inherit the house, the sweat-house was burned. Sudatories proper were small affairs, roughly hemispherical in form, built of willow poles planted in the ground, bent over, and tied. Yellow-pine bark slabs were set up on edge outside, forming walls, and the remainder of the structure was covered over with skins. An opening just large enough to crawl through was left on one side. These sudatories were usually family property, and were located near the edge of a stream. Menstrual lodges were in construction and shape like the dwelling-house, but small, and very roughly made, accommo dating at most two or three persons at one time. The summer brush- shelter was little more than a fence of brush, three or four metres high, with no roof or cover of any description. It was roughly circular in outline, and had two openings at opposite sides. It will readily be seen from the above descriptions, that the houses of the Shasta were, as compared with those of the Indians of Central California (of which the Maidu may be taken as an example), of radically different construction- 1907.] Dixon, The Shasta. 4 21 There is no trace here of the circular type, with its radial rafters and entrance-porch; and, moreover, the functions of the sweat-house (6'kwa'umma) among the Shasta are quite unlike those of the dance-house (kum) of the Maidu, for ex ample; for in the latter case the primary use of the structure is ceremonial, and it is only secondarily a general lounging and sleeping place for the men. The Shasta house-types, on the other hand, resemble far more those of the Indians of the lower Klamath and Trinity (the Karok, Yurok, and Hupa) , who are the representatives of the culture of Northwestern California in its best developed form. With these, however, the agreement is not complete. 1 It is close enough, however, to lead us to regard the Shasta, in so far as their houses are concerned, as allied rather to this Northwestern than to the Central Calif ornian culture. The dwelling and sweat houses were occupied, as a rule, only for about five months in the year. In the spring, when certain plants had grown to a certain height, these winter houses were abandoned, and all the people went up into the mountains, and lived during the summer in the open, roof less brush- shelters. When, in the fall, the berries had been picked and dried, and a supply of dried venison laid in for the winter, they returned to the villages (left in charge, usually, of a few old persons), cleaned out the houses, and settled down for the winter again. The sites chosen for villages were generally on the banks of streams. Along the Klamath, the position most favored was at the mouth of some small creek coming into the main river, and forming a small flat or delta. In Scott and Shasta Valleys, the villages were usually at the edge of the valley, near the base of the hills, where a small stream came down out of the mountains. The size of the villages would seem to have been, on the whole, small. Many of the settlements along the Klamath, for example, consisted of not more than two or three families, and there were but few villages here of any size. The Shasta 1 Goddard, op. cit., pp. 13-18. 422 Bulletin American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XVII, and Scott Valley settlements may, perhaps, have been some what larger, although it is difficult to secure any definite information on this point. Gibbs's estimate of sixty persons as the average in a village is, I believe, a little too large. The interior furnishing of the houses has already been referred to, and it only remains to speak of the varieties of baskets and other household utensils. For storage of acorns and dried meat, large baskets, conical in shape and of open work structure, were much used (Plate LXIX). The basket was first lined with a mat or layer of maple-leaves, made by weaving the long stems of the leaves through the leaves and tying them, in this manner forming an even, almost water-tight, lining. Dried salmon in powdered form was kept, as were also the powdered bones, in deep baskets of tule with a tight- fitting cover. These baskets, or soft sacks, were cylindrical, and have now gone entirely out of use. Deer- fat was also kept in similar baskets. For cooking, globular baskets were chiefly in use, although a more conical shape was occasionally employed. As a rule, the only sort of platter-baskets in use were the open-work ones (Plates LXVIII, Fig. i, and LXX, Fig. 2); these being in use for meat and fish. Burden-baskets were usually of the open-work type (Plate LXIX) . In the manufacture of acorn- meal, the milling-basket (Plates LXIII, LXVI) was generally used. The meal was sifted on a platter-basket or tray like that figured by Goddard. 1 The brush used to brush off the fine meal from the tray (Fig. 98) was made of the soaproot- fibre (Chlorogallum pomeridianum Kunth), but was different in form from the brushes used by the Maidu, for example. 2 The Shasta used, in the stirring of their acorn- soup, a mush- paddle somewhat like those used by the Indians lower down the river, 3 but less carefully ma_de, and with but little orna mentation in the way of carving. In fire-making, the simple fire-drill (Fig. 99) was in use, essentially similar to that used by most of the Californian peoples. \ R ^^' op> c J t - Plate 24 -' Fig - 2> 2 See P- l8 5- Fi S- 46 6, of this volume. 3 Uoddard, op. cit., p. 29. Fig. 3. 1907.] Dixon, The Shasta. 423 FOOD AND ITS PREPARATION. The food-supply of the Shasta was abundant and varied. Although depending on the acorn to a large extent, other foods, in particular salmon, played proportionally a greater part here than among the Maidu and other Central Californian peoples, but not as great, on the whole, as among the Indians of the lower Klamath. The acorns of most of the species of oaks growing in the region were eaten. Some were, however, much preferred to others, the order of preference being black oak (Quercus calif ornica Cooper), white oak (Quercus Garry ana Dougl.). and live-oak (Quercus chrysolepis Liebm.). The acorns of Fig. 98 (g? gg). Meal-brush. Length, 12 cm. the tan oak (Quercus densiflora Hook, and Arn.), growing only in quantity farther down the Klamath River than the section occupied by the Shasta, were, however, by many con sidered superior to any of the local species. Besides acorns, several other varieties of nuts were used for food. Pine-nuts from the digger-pine (Pinus Sabiniana Dougl.), the sugar- pine (Pinus Lambertiana Dougl.), and the yellow pine (Pinus ponderosa Dougl.), were always in demand; and hazel-nuts (C-orylus rostrata Ait., var. calif ornica A. D. C.) were gathered in considerable quantities in the mountains. Berries and fruits were in abundance. Manzanita-berries (Arctostaphylos Manzanita Parry) grew in great quantities 424 Bulletin A merican Museum of Natural History. [ Vo 1 . X V 1 1 , and were used to make the well-known "manzanita-cider." Blackberries (Rubus vitifolius C. and S.?), service-berries (Amelanchier pallida Greene), elderberries (Sambucus glauca Nutt.), gooseberries (Ribes sp.), thimbleberries (Rubus glaucif olius Greene), choke- cherries (Prunus demissa Walpers), the fruit of the sumach (Rkus trilobata Nutt., var. quinata Jepson), and a number of other fruits and berries as yet un identified, were eaten either fresh or dried. Roots and bulbs seem to have formed a rather smaller portion of the food-supply here than in the central part of the State, although camass (Camassia esculenta Lindl.) and "ipos" (Calochortus sp.), with one or two other roots and bulbs, were eaten to a considerable extent. Seeds of several varieties were eaten, and the Shasta were fond of a number of sorts of " greens." The gum of the milkweed (Ascle- pias cordifolia Benth.?) was chewed, and the thin inner bark of the yellow pine was scraped off with bone scrapers, and eaten in the spring. The sugar from the sugar-pine was also sparingly eaten. No teas or aromatic infusions seem to have been used. Although salmon formed a large part of the food-supply of the Shasta, game of various sorts was also a considerable factor. The mountains abounded in deer and elk; the Rocky Mountain sheep was found here and there; and in the more open sections, such as Shasta Valley, antelope were plenty. Bears were hunted for food, and were quite numerous throughout the area. The moun tain-lion and wild-cat were also eaten, and small game such as rabbits, squirrels, etc. was abundant. Coyotes, dogs, and snakes were not eaten. Birds, in parti- Fig. 99 ( S BA-B). Fire-drill. Length of hearth, 62 cm. 1907.] Dixon, The Shasta. 425 cular ducks and geese, were abundant in places, and much sought for. Angle- worms, grasshoppers, and locusts do not seem to have been eaten to any extent. Of fish, the salmon was by far the most important, all varieties which frequented the rivers being eaten. Trout, suckers, and eels were also in demand, as well as crawfish and turtles. Mussels were not to be had in any large quantity, but were relished when procurable. The bones of salmon and also of the deer were pounded fine, and used considerably for food. The gathering and preparation of acorns as practised by the Shasta followed practically the same lines as among the Maidu. Inasmuch as these operations have been fully described in treating of that stock, 1 only such features of the work as differ among the Shasta need be discussed here. The acorns of the black oak were gathered, cracked, hulled, and dried in practically the same manner as among the Maidu. The thin membrane covering the meat of the nut was then rubbed off with the hand, and the meats then reduced to meal ; the chief difference in this latter process here being the almost universal use of the mortar-basket. As in the case of the Maidu, only flat stones appear to have been used to pound on. In winnowing the meal and sifting it, it was held on a flat platter or tray basket held at an arfgle, and shaken with the right hand. The extraction of the bitter principle followed slightly different lines. The woman prepared a small scaffold or platform of sticks (some fifteen to thirty centimetres above the ground) resting either on forked sticks or on stones. On this a layer of pine-needles was placed, followed by a layer of sand, made thicker at the edges to form a basin. The meal, in a layer about five centimetres thick, was spread over this, and warm water poured on, as in the region of Central California. When completely leached, the meal was allowed to drain for a time, and then the hand was slapped down on the wet dough, which adhered to the hand as it was lifted. The sand was next carefully washed off of the 1 See pp. 184-187 of this volume. 426 Bulletin American Museum of Natural History . [Vol. XVII, under side of the piece of dough by putting hand and all into a basket full of warm water, and then the cleaned sweet dough was put into another basket with water, and was ready for the final cooking. Where the acorns were plenty, the dough, after cleaning, was often dried, and in that form traded to other villages where the acorn- crop was not so plentiful. It is said that this dried acorn-paste formed a considerable article of trade with the Rogue River people in Oregon. Acorn-soup was made here precisely as among the Maidu, except that a more or less ornamental mush- paddle, about sixty centimetres in length, was used to stir it with. The stones used for cooking were, as a rule, of a porphyritic or close-grained igneous rock, selected because it did not splin ter or disintegrate when heated and suddenly cooled. The acorn-bread of the Shasta differed from that of the Maidu in that it was made into small cakes, and baked on a flat rock slanted up in front of the fire. These cakes were, moreover, generally eaten with salt. The acorns of the white oak were prepared and cooked in the same manner as those of the black oak ; but they made a more slimy, glutinous mixture, which was not as well liked. Live- oak acorns were prepared by being buried whole in the mud for some weeks, till they turned black. They were then dug up, cracked, and boiled whole, without being made into meal. They were also sometimes roasted in the ashes without any preliminary burying or boiling. Manzanita-berries were crushed, and used to make man- zanita-cider in a manner similar to that described among the Maidu. 1 The winnowed meal was also mixed with the acorn- meal in making a special variety of the acorn- soup. Sugar- pine nuts were steamed in an earthen oven. This was made by digging a hole, building a fire in it and heating stones. The fire was then raked out, some of the hot stones put in, and the nuts, wrapped in leaves, were laid thereon. Water was then poured in, more hot stones placed on top, and fi nally earth laid over the whole, which was allowed to steam 1 See p. 189 of this volume. 1907.] Dixon, The Shasta. 427 for several hours. The nuts were then dried, and stored for use. When wanted, they were pounded fine, winnowed, and made into small cakes. Powdered pine-nuts prepared in this manner were also often mixed with the powdered salmon. Service-berries and several other- sorts of berries were dried, and kept for winter use. Salmon was prepared in much the same way as among the Maidu. The fish were split, and held open by a small twig thrust through the fish, and in this shape smoked and dried. The bones were then removed, and the dried fish rubbed to powder between the hands. In this form it was packed in leaf-lined baskets, and stored. It was eaten dry, with a spoon. Another common method of preparing salmon was to skin the fish, leaving a layer of meat (about a centimetre in thickness) adhering to the skin. A slice of clear meat was then taken off each side of the fish, leaving the backbone and the rest of the meat as a residue. The skin, the slices of clear meat, and the backbone- piece were then dried and smoked separately; the slices being kept in that form, with out powdering, in ordinary baskets, without any leaf-lining. In cutting up salmon for immediate use, a cut was first made from the vent, completely around the body, severing the tail. Then a second cut was made, along both sides of the fish from tail to head, following the line on the fish's skin, thus separating the belly portion from the back; but these regulations did not apply to the dog-salmon, however. Salmon-heads were crushed, and made into cakes, which .were used as a concentrated food on hunting-trips in winter. Deer and bear meat was dried, the deer-bones being pounded up for use in making soup in the winter- time. Salt was regarded as a luxury, and was obtained chiefly from the tribes of the lower Klamath. Meat was cooked by boiling or roasting. Bear-meat was dried somewhat differently from deer-meat, being cut into long strips, cooked in boiling water, and then dried. In such cases, the whole animal was generally rolled on to the fire, to singe off the fur before being cut up. In other cases, the bear would be skinned, leaving all the fat possible on the hide. 428 Bulletin American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XVII, Ropes or sticks were then fastened to the hide (to the legs and sides, each man holding a rope or stick), and the hide was held over the fire. As the hair burned off, the hide began to shrink; then, when all the hair was gone, the hide was cut up, each person who held a rope getting a share. The skin and fat adhering were then roasted, and eaten. Grizzly- bear meat when eaten must never be tossed from one person to another, but carefully handed about. Failure to do this would lead to the offender being attacked by grizzlies. HUNTING AND FISHING. Salmon were caught by weirs, by nets, and by a sort of driving. The fish weir or dam was constructed always in a shallow, gravelly spot. A row of stakes was driven, slanting slightly down- stream; the stakes being set pretty close together. At water-level, a horizontal pole was tied firmly to the stakes with withes, being placed on the up-stream side. This horizontal pole was then guyed at either end, up-stream to the shore, by long grape-vines. Brush was then laid on the stakes on the up-stream side, and weighted with stones at the bottom. Here and there open ings were left, and in these, long willow fish- traps were placed. Sometimes, where a stream was very swift, cribs weighted with stones were built on the down- stream side, in the centre, for additional support. Large dams of this character were few in number, there having been, it is said, but three on the Kla- math River, within Shasta territory. One of these was at the mouth of Shasta River, one at Scott River, and one at Happy Camp. Each belonged to one or two men. Any one, however, could come and spear fish at such a dam, and the owners were obliged to give to any one who asked for them as many fish as he could carry. The net used mainly by the Shasta was a very ingenious one, and was much used also by the other Indians of this whole region, and it is still used to-day. A point in the river is first selected, where there is a strong eddy, in which the salmon are likely to rest as they ascend the stream. A plat form is then built out from the bank, raised about a metre from the water-level. Three straight, slender poles are next prepared, and tied together to form an isosceles triangle, as 1907.] Dixon, The Shasta. 429 shown in Fig. 100. A second cross-bar (gh) is then attached, the distance between h and / being equal to the height of the man's waist from the ground. Generally a third cross-piece (if) is added for further strength. A net in the form of a conical bag is then firmly tied to ef and gh and to the portions of ab and cd between these. At x, a strong loop of grape-vine is attached to the pole ab, this loop being arranged to slide up andljdown on a vertical pole (Fig. 101, y) set up at one side of the platform. This pole is cut off at such a height that, Fig. 100. Fishing-net. when the man stands on the platform and takes the net- frame by the cross-bar if, raising the bar as high as his waist, the loop slides off the top of the pole, thus enabling the fish erman to lift the whole net and contents to the platform. This pole, with the sliding loop, holds the net, from its shore- side, against the back-set of the eddy-current, the outer side being held by a grape-vine rope (some ten or fifteen metres long) attached at n, and running down-stream, where it is tied to a tree or stake / on the shore. Thus the man standing 43 Bulletin American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XVII, Fi.4 101. Sketch showing the Manner of Operating a Fish-net. on the platform can lower his net vertically into the water, the bag-net being opened, and carried by the current up-stream into the eddy. Across the mouth of the net is stretched a fan of eight strings, tied to the cross-bar ef (see Fig. 100) at one end, and coming together to a single string at s. The salmon, as they enter the net, disturb or shake these strings; and the fisherman (holding the end at s) , feeling this, instantly draws up the net, the mouth of which automatically closes by the weight of the net and fish therein contained. The affair being lifted out on the platform, the fish are then killed with a club. Formerly, when a new platform of this sort was used for the first time, some ipos-root was pounded fine and thrown into the river; but, except for this, there were no cere monies. Among the Shasta in Oregon a different mode of catching salmon was in vogue, successful only where a stream was shallow, and not too rapid. Several rude rafts were con structed of logs, and on these a number of women placed themselves, and floated down-stream, thrashing the water violently all the time with branches. This proceeding frightened the fish, who turned and ran down-stream to where the men stood shoulder to shoulder in a line across the whole width of the river. As the fish came down, they were speared. All fish caught in this manner had to be eaten on the spot that same day. If any were kept, or carried home, it would immediately rain violently. The Shasta on the Klamath had the following regulations in regard to the first salmon caught each year. It was thought that the first fish to ascend the stream annually brought the "salmon medicine" put on by the Indians at the mouth of the river. This first fish must therefore be allowed to pass unmolested. As soon as it had passed, fish might be caught: but the first one taken from the water had to be split and 1907.] Dixon, The Shasta. 431 hung up immediately to dry, and no sa'mon might be eaten till this salmon was completely dried and a portion eaten by all who were fishing at that point. Deer were hunted in a variety of ways. In the autumn, deer- drives were made. These were of two sorts. In one case, fences of brush or ropes were stretched across the coun try, with openings left here and there. In these openings, strong nooses were set and concealed, the ends being tied to trees. The people then went out and beat up the country, driving the deer toward the fence, where they were caught in the nooses, and clubbed or shot. The other method could not be used until the oak-leaves began to fall. Men then went out and set fires in circles on the hills. The ends of the curved lines forming the circles of fire did not meet, and in this opening the women stood rattling deer-bones, while men concealed in the brush were ready to shoot the deer as they rushed out. Stalking was also considerably used. For this purpose the hunter put on the whole skin of a deer (the head stuffed, with the antlers attached) , and crept up on the unsuspecting animal. Several different heads were kept, with the horns in different stages, so that they might be suitable for various times of year. Deer were also run down and killed at the season when their winter coats were coming in. They were generally driven to a stream, where men in waiting shot them while the deer were in the water. Dogs were often much used in this style of hunting. In winter, deer were also run down on snow-shoes, and clubbed. Dogs seem to have been used also in the drives, to some extent. They were trained from puppies for hunting, and, while still young, had the "Blow- fly Song" sung to them, so that their scent should be keen. Hunting- dogs were kept in regular kennels, behind the u'mma, or dwelling-house. To make them brave, the " Grizzly Song" was sung to them, and they were then also supposed to be able to scare game, just as the grizzlies scare people. Elk were killed chiefly in winter, being run down on snow-shoes, and shot. Both the black and the grizzly bear were hunted. For the former, men had to sweat for five days before starting out on 43 2 Bulletin American Museum of Natural History. [ Vol . XV 1 1 , the hunt, using fir- twigs on the coals, to give the body an aromatic odor. After this preparation, the hunters would go to the bear's den, talk to the bear for some time, and beg him to come out and be killed. In the case of grizzlies, the hunters had to dance the war- dance before starting out, just as if they were to hunt a human enemy. Reaching the den, a number of short, sharp stakes were driven into the ground in front of the opening, and then, as the bear came out and was engaged in tearing down and clearing out of the way this obstruction, he was shot under the neck. Regulations as to the division and ownership of game were fairly numerous. The single hunter always shared his game with others on his return: the chief, however, had no greater share than others. The person who killed a deer always had the right to the hide and legs. If two men shot at the same deer, he whose arrow hit first, whether it inflicted .a mortal wound or not, had the first right to the carcass. If any other person than the slayer of the deer should get the legs or hide, he might put them in a woman's menstrual hut, or otherwise so contaminate them that the hunter would be unlucky ever after. No hunting was ever done by a man in the time of his wife's menstrual periods. The first game killed by a boy was never eaten by him or by any member of his family. The boy, for a year or more after he began to hunt, did not eat the game he himself killed. In the spring, if does were killed with fawn, the young fawn was hung up to a tree, and shot at by the smaller boys. Should a boy, before the usual period of a year was up, eat game he himself had killed, he would lose all his hunting-luck. When, however, he did for the first time eat game of his own killing, his father took the bowstring from the boy's bow, and whipped him severely with it, all over. TRANSPORTATION AND TRADE. As already stated, the Shasta made practically no use of canoes, because of the un favorable nature of the streams within their territory. Canoes were sparingly used along the Klamath, but were nearly all purchased from the Karok and Yurok below. When made 1907.] Dixon, The Shasta. 433 434 Bulletin American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XVII, 1907.] Dixon, The Shasta. 435 by the Shasta, they were merely imitations of those secured by trade. The burden-basket was in use here, as practically through out California. As previously described, the form made largely of rawhide was in use to a considerable extent here. They were carried by the aid of tump- lines of buckskin. Infants were kept and carried about in cradle-frames (see Figs. 102, 103) . These are at present either obtained from the Hupa and other people of the lower river, or are made on practically the same lines. That shown in Fig. 102 is very similar to the Hupa cradle figured by Goddard, 1 except that it has a more elaborate treatment of the upper portion. The technique of this is shown in Fig. 104. The child sits in the cradle- frame, the legs hanging down over the edge, and Fig. 104. Detail of Cradle-frame, Fig. 102. the body resting, in part at least, on the two wrapped cords stretched across the frame on the inside (see Fig. 103). The piece of flint attached to the upper cross- cord in this cradle is a charm to keep away the small lizard. Like a majority of the Indians of the Californian area, the Shasta were a sedentary, stay-at-home people, and rarely made long journeys. On hunting- trips the men often went 1 Goddard, op. cit., Plate 21, Fig. i. Bulletin American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XVII, fifteen or even twenty miles, but had to be careful lest they infringed on the territory of some other village or tribe. Well- beaten trails connected the various villages. The Shasta traded with the Karok, Yurok, and Hupa of the lower Klamath for acorns, baskets, dent alia, and salt, giving in exchange buckskin and pine- nuts. With the Wintun they seem to have traded chiefly for acorns, giving buckskin and obsidian in exchange, together with dent alia. There was apparently little trade with the Klamath Lake people to the eastward, but quite a little with the various Athabascan people of Rogue River and thereabouts. WARFARE. The bow was the chief weapon of the Shasta. In use, it was held horizontally. No wholly satisfactory conclusions can be drawn, however, as to the original type of bow. No bows still survive which are unquestionably of Shasta make, several so-called "Shasta bows" having really been obtained in trade from lower down the river. The only bow which was secured (Fig. 105) lacks any sinew backing, and is somewhat roundish in section, and quite different from the bows of the people of either the lower Klamath or of the Klamath lakes. The model of a bow (Fig. 106) se cured at Siletz is also without sinew backing; but not much reliance can be placed on this model. Statements as to former practice vary, some declaring that bows were formerly broad and flat, like the Hupa bow, with a sinew backing; others, that they were more rounded, and without the backing. Emmons 1 describes the bow as substantially like the Hupa or Karok type, broad and flat, with painted sinew backing. In this connection, perhaps, should be mentioned a peculiar type of bow found in many museums in this country and abroad. In many instances these bows are labelled "Shasta," while in other cases they are simply marked "California." They are very characteristic in the roundness of the bow and the peculiar manner in which the sinew backing is curved around at the ends (Fig. 107). All these bows of which I have any knowledge are old, and were obtained some- i Emmons, United States Exploring Expedition, Vol. V, p. 239. 1907.] Dixon, The Shasta. 437 I Fig- 105 ( 3 fi 7 A-C). Bow and Arrows. Length of bowstring, 70 cm.; of arrows, 65 cm. Fig. 106 (,{ g w A). Model of bow from Siletz. Length of bow, 76 cm.; of arrow, 68 cm. 43$ Bulletin American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XVII, where in the period anterior to 1855 or 1860, some of them as early as 1820, or before. Careful inquiry in the Shasta territory has failed to reveal any specimens there, and no trace of the peculiar treatment of the sinew at the ends of the bow has been found among the Shasta themselves: The bow, however, exactly resembles the one shown by Langsdorff, 1 who visited the region about San Francisco in Fig. 107 (s!g)- Section of a Sinew-backed Bow. 1803-07, and who came in contact, so far as known, only with tribes of the Bay area. The probability is strong, therefore, that these bows sometimes labelled "Shasta" are in reality from the Bay region, and not from the Shasta, with whom the earlier explorers who visited the California coast could have had no communication. The evidence is also strength ened by the fact that, in the Museum of the Imperial Academy of Sciences at St. Petersburg, there is a large bundle of bows, unlabelled, but of this very type, which were probably brought back by Kotzebue in 1818; and he, as in the case of Langsdorff, came in contact only with the Indians of San Francisco Bay. Arrows (see Figs. 105, 106) both with and without foreshafts were in use ; the former for large game and in war, the latter for small animals. Obsidian was chiefly used for the points; but no authentic arrows in good condition were found. The Shasta used both elk- hide and stick armor as a pro tection in warfare. The latter was always preferred, and was made of round rods of some hard wood (generally service- berry) , fastened together by twined cords in the usual manner. On the head was worn a band of elk-hide about fifteen centi- 1 G. H. von Langsdorff, Voyages and Travels in Various Parts of the World, 1803-07, Vol. II. London, 1813. 1907.] Dixon, The Shasta. 439 metres wide. This was sometimes made double, so as to be impenetrable, and was decorated with designs cut in the skin, and then painted. There was little or nothing in the way of organized war fare, all being accomplished by means of raids. Preparatory to the leaving of a war- party, all the members had to dance the war- dance. This was taken part in chiefly by the men, although some young women always joined in, as they oc casionally went with the war-parties, armed with knives, with which they tried to cut the bowstrings of the enemy, and also to slash their quivers. The war-dance is described as follows. When a war-party was planned, the young men would gather together, and say to the women, "Ha'a, atcaixi'yax- u'mrnu kwa m'waiats" ("Now, when it is about sundown, build ye a fire "). In compliance with this, the women built a fire on the dance-ground. The men assembled there, wearing a buckskin wrapped about the waist, and their hair gathered in a knot on the top of the head, and secured by means of wooden pins some ten or fifteen centimetres long. On the knot of hair a pompon of chicken-hawk feathers was set, and one or more mokus (or decorated feathers) stuck in the hair upright. The women came in their ordinary clothes. The dancers stood in line, facing the fire, and danced, stamping one foot only, and holding bow and arrow as if ready to shoot. Some carried, instead, double- pointed obsidian knives from twenty-five to forty centimetres in length, wrapped in the centre (where they were grasped) with buckskin. If women took part, they were placed at the ends of the line, and held pieces of obsidian decorated with feathers similar to that shown in Fig. 108. After dancing for some time in line, a person from each end danced out toward the fire, then turned, and, passing between the fire and the line, went to the opposite end of the line, whence he or she then returned in a similar manner to the original place. The war-cry was sounded from time to time, and the dancers talked loudly of the men they were to kill and the deeds they were to do. The dance kept up all night, and was repeated for three or four nights before 44 Bulletin American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XVII, the party left. During this period the dancers might not eat meat, and might eat of other foods only sparingly. The entire day and night before leaving was spent in dancing, the party leaving so as to arrive just before dawn at the place to be attacked. When leaving, they were elaborately painted Fig. 108 (gi