A STUDY OF HE THLINGETS OF ALASKA LIVINGSTON F. JONES J A STUDY OF THE THLINGETS OF ALASKA " LOVERS' WALK A Study of the Thlingets of Alaska By LIVINGSTON F. JONES NEW YORK CHICAGO TORONTO Fleming H. Revell Company LONDON AND EDINBURGH Copyright, 1914, by FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY New York: 158 Fifth Avenue Chicago : 125 N. Wabash Ave. Toronto : 25 Richmond St., W. London : 21 Paternoster Square Edinburgh : 100 Princes Street . . brary a PREFACE "JYyTANY books have been written on Alaska. 2 IVA I n nearly all of them something has been j_ said about the natives, or aborigines, of the g country. In some they are merely alluded to, while in others they are treated more or less com- prehensively. While some are reliable so far as they go, others abound with errors and contain statements about the natives which are not true. The same may be said about many articles that have appeared in various periodicals. It is evident to those who are intimately ac- quainted with the natives, that some writers have come to their work with little or no preparation. In truth, several of the books extant on Alaska, as well as scores of articles which have appeared in periodicals, have been written by tourists who had but limited opportunities of studying the na- tives and their customs. Some of the books, and not a few of the articles, were written on ' t hurry-up ' ' orders, and by per- sons who had merely glanced at the country from the deck of a passing steamer. Hearsay and idle rumour furnished much of their contents. Some of them contain fake stories. Had their authors been more intent on publishing facts than on breaking into print such stories would never have been set up La cold type. A novelist may have some license in printing fiction, but he who pur- ports to be telling the truth should know whereof he speaks. 5 6 PREFACE While there are several reliable works on Alaska in which much may be found concerning the lives of the aborigines, yet even more of inter- est has been left unsaid. For this reason the author feels his effort justified in order to give fuller and more accurate information to the public concerning these interesting people. Again, while this work treats almost exclusively of the Thlingets of Alaska, yet what is said of them largely applies to the other classes. The information imparted to the public in the following pages has been gleaned by the writer almost entirely from the natives themselves, either through their lips or by his own personal observa- tion. Having lived and laboured among them for more than twenty years, he has had exceptional opportunities of studying their customs and char- acteristics. He has read the books and articles appearing in periodicals relating to the natives. (Few exist that he has not read.) These were consulted not so much for information he pre- ferred to get that at first hand as to see what others had to say about the Alaskan and wherein they confirmed his own findings or differed with him. It has proved to the author a most fascinating study, and while necessarily there has been some drudgery connected with the preparation of the work, on the whole it has been one of extreme pleasure. It is now offered to the public in the full consciousness that long and painstaking care has been given to its preparation, and if while not free from imperfections such errors are not there through slight. L. F. J. JUNEAU, ALASKA. CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTORY 17 Important Factors in the Lives of a People The Country Name Area Physical Features Arch- ipelago Channels Mountains Distance Cli- mate Mistaken Ideas Climate Diversified Kuro-Siwo Current Vegetation Resources Re- quirements to Obtain Them Industries. II. ABORIGINES OF ALASKA .... 23 Native Population Four Grand Divisions Fanci- ful Divisions Different Types of Language The Thlingets Their Villages Their Tribes The Two Great Totemic Divisions (Crow and Eagle) Sub-division into Clans and Families Difference in Dialect and Disposition. III. ORIGIN OF THE ALASKANS >. . . 27 Different Theories Concerning Origin The Mexi- can Theory The North American Indian Theory Prof. Win. H. Dall's Position Arguments in Favour of the Mongolian Theory The Consensus of Opinion The Author's Position His Argu- ments in Support of the Mongolian Theory The Testimony of Early Russians Of Various Writers J. W. Arctander's Position Similarity of Cus- toms and Personal Resemblance Between Alaskans and Islanders The Author's Deduction. IV. THE THLINGET LANGUAGE ... 35 No Written Language Handed down Orally from Generation to Generation Many Words Obsolete Word-building Corruptions Borrowed Words 7 8 CONTENTS Chinook Proper Names Fathers Changing Name on Birth of First Child Names Belonging to Cer- tain Tribes Extent of the Thlinget Vocabulary Abstract and Concrete Terms Peculiarities of the Language Deficiency of the Language Illustrated Peculiarity of the Language When Spoken Gram- matical Construction Verbs Gender Structure of Sentences Observation of the Author as to the Desirability of English over Thlinget. V. THE FAMILY 44 Relation of Husband and Wife Of Children to Parents Treatment of Nephews and Nieces by Uncles and Aunts The Fondness of Parents for Children Illegitimates Childbirth Treatment of Babes Weaning Children Parental Indulgence of Children Polyandry Domestic Life Cook- ing Rovings Dogs Washing and Sewing Gossiping Quarrels Status of Wife No Serv- ants Exceptions to Poor Housekeepers Draw- backs to be Remembered. VI. THE COMMUNITY ....... 53 Communities Independent The Only Bond Where Built Advantages Construction Status of Na- tive Early Building Handicaps Years Ago Ad- vantages and Improvements Now Summer Camps The Composition of Each Community Public Utilities Sanitary Conditions The More Pro- gressive Natives Social Life Strata of Thlinget Society Caste The Chief Change Communities Are Constantly Undergoing Mixture of Whites and Natives. VII. PERSONAL APPEARANCE, DRESS AND ORNAMENTATION . . ., , . 64 Personal Appearance Dress Public Appearance Dress in Earlier Times Female Headgear Finery for Fourth of July Good Taste Acquired Ornamentation Jewellery The Labret By Whom Worn Tattooing Face Painting Dress Ornamentation Personal Carriage Facial Looks Standard of Beauty Affiliation with Whites. CONTENTS 9 VIII. INDUSTRIES . . . , . .. , 72 Thlingets Self-supporting Limited Industries Main Industry, Fishing Process of Catching Fish Work in Canneries Employment in Mines Hunting and Trapping Packing Supplies Carv- ing in Wood and Metals The Trades Industries for Women Chilkat Blankets Canoe-building War-canoes Canoe- racing Commercial Activi- ties Capitalists The Hydaburg Enterprise Drawbacks to Commercial Life. IX. BASKETRY . . . 85 Female Industry Time and Labour Required to Prepare the Materials Trade and Prices Quality of Weaving Lieut. G. T. Emmons on Basketry Names of Baskets According to Design, Weave, Materials Used and Shape Weights and Measures Sizes of Baskets Names According to What They Are Used For Baskets for Cooking Mother-of-Baskets Colourings Care Needed in Splitting Fibres Tools Used Position of Basket- weavers Weaving Vending Baskets. X. TRAITS ... ,, ... . . . .. .92 Independence Vanity Sensitiveness Things Re- garded as Shameful and Disgraceful Revengeful Jealousy Crafty Politic Not Avaricious Spendthrifts Fickle Unreliable Undemonstra- tive Fortitude Affection for Kindred Hospi- tality Sociability Fond of Amusements Ob- servant Fluency of Speech Gratitude. XI. FOOD . ., .... M ,; . 103 Liberal Endowment of Food Fish, the Principal Food Varieties Salmon Halibut Herring Fish for Oils Oolikan Herring Spawn Salmon Roe Delicacies Land Animals Fowl Shell- fish Berries Vegetables Seaweed White Man's Food. 10 CONTENTS XII. EXTINCT CUSTOMS 112 Customs Divided into Three Classes First, Obso- lete Customs War Motives for War Warriors Methods of Warfare Prisoners of War War with Aleuts, Sticks and Russians The Famous Chief, Katlian The Wrangell and Sitka Mas- sacres Attacks on Russians Justified Jealous Feuds Implements of War Slavery Extent of Slavery Treatment of Slaves Manumission of Slaves Cremation Belief Concerning the Burn- ing of the Dead Polygamy The Toughening Process Infanticide Tattooing Gambling Gambling Pegs and Method of Playing The Game Called Nagon Other Games. XIII. WANING CUSTOMS 125 Waning Customs Witchcraft Marriage Meth- ods The Dowry Barriers to Marriage Marry- ing Blood Relations Marrying out of Respect to the Wishes of the Dying Levirate Marriages Child Marriages Love-matches Rules Pertaining to Marriage Trial Before Marriage Miscegena- tion Seizure of Property Custom The Custom of Confining Girls When Approaching Womanhood. XIV. PEESENT-DAY CUSTOMS .... 135 The Native Feast Events Calling for Feasts Obligations Discharged at Feasts Guests Com- memorative Feasts Other Feasts The Potlatch Motive for Giving Potlatch Amount Given Away Dancing in Connection with Feasts The Attendance Ceremony on Arrival of Guests Paraphernalia Used Period of Time Covered Rules Governing Potlatches Dancing Nature of the Dance Different Dances Position and Mo- tions of Dancers Time, How Kept Performance Highly Spectacular The Big Dance at Angoon The Absurd Custom of Brothers and Sisters Not Speaking to Each Other The Domination of Custom. CONTENTS 11 XV. THE DISPOSITION OF THE DEAD . 147 Death Sets in Motion Many Customs What Fol- lows the Death of a Chief Lying in State The Widow's Position Other Mourners Gathering Things for the Feast for the Dead Service of the Missionary Burial of Things with the Dead The Feast for the Dead Dressing the Dying for Burial Remuneration of Those Who Assist in Any Way Grave Fences and Tombstones Disposition of the Bodies of Those Lower than Chiefs In the Days of Cremation Thlingets' Fondness for Feasting for the Dead Commemorative Feasts Peculiar Cus- toms Connected with Burial Embalming Burial Now the Universal Custom Signs of Mourning. XVI. SHAMANISM AND SUPERSTITIONS . 154 Witches The Ikt The Office of Shaman Para- phernalia of Shaman Propitiation of Evil Spirits Compensation of Shaman The Witch Treat- ment of the Witch Native Terror of Witches What the Accusation of Being a Witch Means Cases of Witchcraft That Have Come to the Author's Notice Witch-medicine The Superstitious Re- gard for the Ikt The Ikt's Burial Place His Body Embalmed Taboos in Connection with the Ikt Regarded as a Prophet Performance of the Ikt Other Superstitions Belief in the Existence of Evil Spirits Evil Omens Taboos Charms Love-potions Belief in Animals Understanding Human Speech Superstition in Regard to Drown- ing As to What a Wife Should Do While Hus- band Is Hunting In Connection with Births Dreams Supernatural Properties of Medicine Superstitions Practised When Fishing. XVII. TOTEMISM .168 The Subject Misrepresentations Totem Poles Not Idols Crest Ko-te-a Totemic Divisions Totemism the Foundation of Entire Social Struc- ture Origin of Totemism Marriage and Totem- ism Rank and Totemism Other Things That CONTENTS Totemism Governs Totemism Recorded History, Genealogy, Legend, Memoriam, Commemoration and Art Classes of Totem Poles Totem Pole Work- manship Making of Totem Poles a Waning Art House Totems or Crests Clan Emblems Kok- won-ton Tribe The Adoption of Crests. XVIII. LEGENDS 181 Myths and Legends Legendary Lore Handed down Orally When and by Whom Handed Down Purposes of Telling Legends Legend of Sculpin Of the Crow and the Deer Yalkth, the Creator Legend of the Origin of the Mosquito Of the Whale Tribe Of the Beaver Crest Of the Wolf Crest Of the Earthquake Of the Crow Making Man Of the Origin of the Topknot of the Bluejay Myth Builders Primitive Philosophers The Legend of a Flood Legends Recounting Thrilling Events Attack of the Devilfish The Totem in Pioneer Square, Seattle Legends on House Totems Legends Embodied in Songs Concerning Mt. Edgecumbe Concerning Lake Near Kluckwan Concerning Madam Skoog-wa. XIX. NATIVE JURISPRUDENCE . . .193 No Government No Trials, Courts, Jails, etc. Offences Redressed by Tribe Life for Life Caste Determines What Life Accidental Killing Must be Atoned for as Well as Intentional Killing Instances Cited Ludicrous Cases Instances Cited Where Caste Governs Damages A Father's Lia- bility to His Own Child One Saved from Death Becomes Slave of His Rescuer All Loans Bring 100 Per Cent Interest Motive for Giving In- stances Cited Exorbitant Charges for Services About the Dead Old Grievances Often Revived Instances Cited Chief Has Ruling Voice Concern- ing Settlements Thlingets Have Laws and En- force Them They Sometimes Get Double Punish- ment. CONTENTS 13 XX. MUSIC AND AMUSEMENTS . . .203 Love of Music and Amusements Singing Band Music Congregational Singing Native Songs Songs Used at Feasts and Potlatches When Com- posed Songs of Recent Composition The Chant Amusements Games and Athletic Sports Socials The Game of "Ha-goo" Children Fond of Toys Games of Contest Jokes and Witticisms Appreciation of Humour Amusing Incidents The Phonograph at Funeral Stopping Funeral Procession for Hearse Incidents at Weddings In Church How the First Steamboat Was Re- garded Their Great Astonishment over the First Negro Seen Over Men with, Wooden, Leg, Wig, False Teeth, etc. XXI. MORALITY 212 Different Standards of Morality That of the Na- tive and of the White Man Compared Matters of Shame and Disgrace with the Thlingets Un- just Charges Difference in Marriage Ceremony Care of Daughters Drunkenness Soldiers and Native Debauchery Rum, the Arch-Evil Theft Murder Suicide Abortion Prostitution Truthfulness Honour Profanity Vice Good Characters. XXII. DISEASES 221 Diseases of Recent Introduction Consumption Dr. Paul C. Hutton's Report Smallpox Venereal Diseases Syphilis Measles and Whooping-cough Original Diseases of Thlingets Osseous Tuber- culosis Ophthalmia Pott's Disease Insanity and Idiocy Sanitation Sewerage Teachers and Sanitation Medicines and Remedies Bleeding Treatment of Ulcers and Sores Use of Natu- ral Mineral Springs Steam Bathing Fasting " Rubbers " Nursing the Sick The Crying Need of the Natives The Climate on Health Freaks Blindness The Better Class Who Know how to Care for Themselves. 14. CONTENTS XXIII. RELIGION 231 The Religious Factor Not Demonologists Strictly Speaking, Not Spiritualists Belief in Spirits This the Foundation of Shamanism Ghosts Not Animal Worshippers Not Nature Worshippers Immortality Transmigration of Soul Future Place of Soul Tradition About One Soul Returning Propitiation of Evil Powers Originally No Term for God Their Cosmology Work of the Russian Church Protestant Mis- sions Testimonies to the Work of the Church Conclusion. XXIV. EDUCATION 245 The Initial Move in the Education of the Native The First School Established at Wrangell, 1877 Schools in Connection with Missions First In- terest Shown by the U. S. Government in the Edu- cation of the Natives Censurable Neglect A Decade of Feeble Effort Schools in Various Vil- lages The Leading Industrial Training School at Sitka Under the Auspices of the Presbyterian . Church Ex-Governor A. P. Swineford's Testi- mony The New Up-to-date Mission Plant The Government's Neglect Its Effort to Graft Indian Training on to the Ordinary Day School The Futility of It Native Aptitude for Trades Prog- ress They Have Made Despite the Deficient Sys- tem Need Opportunities Reason for Educating Them Here Their Knowledge of English What Will Be True of Them a Generation Hence. INDEX . 255 ILLUSTRATIONS " Lovers' Walk n . . . . Frontispiece OPPOSITE PAQK Pearl Harbour, Alaska . . . . .18 Chilkat and Vicinity 24 Children " Posing " 44 Auk Village 50 Treadwell Gold Mine 72 Baskets 82 Natives Vending Curios ..... 88 Chilkat Potlatch Dancing 138 Totem Pole 156 Chilkat Blanket and Woman .... 168 Numerous Curios 178 House Totems and Interesting Objects . . 188 Juneau, Alaska 194 Juneau Native Band 200 A Trout Stream 236 Map of Alaska . 254 INTEODUCTOEY THE geography, climate and resources of a country are important factors in the lives of its people, as their customs and char- acteristics are largely determined by their en- vironment. The native of Mexico is a different type of man from the native of Canada; and the difference is largely due to the differences between their respective countries. This is true even with people of the same race. Italy, with its salubrious climate and agrarian resources, produces a different type from that found in cold and rugged Norway. In a treatise setting forth the traits, customs, industries and institutions of a people it is neces- sary, to the better understanding of these things, to first describe their country, its climate and resources. Hence this introductory chapter. The word " Alaska " has been so often defined it would seem every one must know by this time that it means " Big Country. " The term, we are told, is an abbreviation or corruption of the native word Al-ak-sak or Al-ay-ek-sa, meaning " Great Country. " * The word Al-ak-shak is not of Thlinget origin, but evidently originated with the Eskimos. It is strikingly appropriate, for the land may well be called " great." "Alaska," Sheldon Jackson, page 14. 17 18 INTRODUCTORY To say that Alaska has an area of over 617,703 square miles gives but a faint impression of its immensity. It is better understood by com- parison. Its area is about equal to the United States east of the Mississippi Eiver. The coast line of Alaska is even more remark- able than the area. In extent, and probably in its physical features, it surpasses that of any other country on the globe. The physical features of the coast have marked influence on the lives of the Thlingets, making them expert seamen and fishermen. The part of Alaska occupied by these people is a vast archipelago, containing more than a thousand islands, varying in size from an acre to thousands of square miles. More villages of the Thlingets are seen on islands than on the mainland. Cozy harbours with fine beaches are chosen for town-sites. As the native is a seafaring man he wants his home at the water's edge. His canoe is always at his door ready for use at a moment's notice. The islands are mostly mountainous with bold and rocky shores. Pretty beaches are found here and there, but they are not numerous. All of the straits and most of the bays of the archipelago feel the influence of the ocean currents and storms. Some of them are very rough at times and ex- ceedingly dangerous to navigate, yet the natives rove over them at will in their frail canoes. They often go to sea way out of sight of land without compass or chart, yet they find their way back. A mountain chain fringes the main shore, con- taining numerous mountains of no mean propor- tions. Many of them tower thousands of feet into the air and are eternally crowned with snow. Sev- J CLIMATE 19 era! volcanoes are found in the range. At present inactive, they are liable to burst forth at any time. These mountains, as a rule, are well clothed with trees and shrubbery. Practically every foot of space, both on the islands and the mainland, is wooded. Arms of the ocean indent the mainland, some of them being more than a hundred miles long. Alaska is a country of magnificent distances, and no one thinks anything of travelling, even in small craft, several hundred miles. The writer has made trips of over four hundred miles in an open dory, carrying a tent, camping nights, and crossing large bodies of water. The natives travel hundreds of miles every year in their canoes. We are reliably informed that years ago they went as far south as San Francisco in these little vessels. It is a matter of undisputed fact that they frequently went for trade to Victoria, a thou- sand miles from the tribes farthest north. CLIMATE Notwithstanding all that has been written and said to the contrary, the impression still prevails to a large extent that Alaska is a bleak, barren and frigid country. Nothing could be more er- roneous so far, at least, as the south coast is con- cerned. " Probably no other section of this con- tinent presents such a diversity of climate as Alaska." * " In a country as extended as Alaska, with its large rolling plains, wide valleys and high mountains, there is necessarily a wide diversity of climate. " f l i As well might a person ask about " Alaska," Bruce, page 26. t " Alaska," Jackson, page 52. 20 INTRODUCTORY the climate of the United States without particu- larity, as to propound the same inquiry concern- ing Alaska. 7 ' * The climate of Alaska, like that of the United States, varies according to the locality and the season of the year. The section of the country occupied by the Thlingets seldom experiences the extremes of heat and cold. " Zero weather is a rare occurrence in Sitka, and there have been win- ters when the temperature seldom fell to the freez- ing point. ' ' " What is true of Sitka in this regard applies to all of southeastern Alaska." The mean winter temperature of southeastern Alaska is about that of Washington, D. C. Navi- gation in this part of the country is open every day in the year. During the writer's long period of residence in Alaska, he has not seen a day when steamers could not land at the local wharves. This relative mildness of winter on the south coast of the territory is due in part, at least, to the warm Japanese (Kuro-Siwo) current which crosses the Pacific and splits on the Aleutian islands, one branch flowing north and the other south along the coast. The summers in southeastern Alaska, the home of the Thlingets, are cool and moist. Nothing is more convincing as to the climate of Alaska than its vegetation. Great varieties of small fruits, such as strawberries, raspberries, huckleberries, cranberries, thimbleberries, salmonberries, cur- rants, crabapples, and others are native to the soil, while all kinds of hardy vegetables are easily and abundantly cultivated there. A great variety of wild flowers, among them the daisy, dandelion, *" Alaska: Its Resources, Climate and History," Swineford, page 91. RESOURCES 21 violet, rose and bluebell prove its temperate cli- mate. The presence of butterflies, hummingbirds and robins also testifies that Alaska is not peren- nially frigid. With less moisture, the summers of south- eastern Alaska would be ideal. As it is, they are preferable to some of the hot regions of the States. The climate is neither so hot as to ener- vate nor so cold as to paralyze human efforts. RESOURCES The resources of a country, like the climate, have much to do with the habits and character of its people. In sunny climes, where breadstuffs grow without cultivation, and may be plucked any hour the inhabitant wishes to appease his hunger, we find a different character from that in the country where man has to wrest his living from the soil, the forest, or the water, by hard work and exposure. While the resources of Alaska are varied and abundant, yet they are such as to demand of him who would obtain them industry, strength, en- durance, courage and, in many instances, in- genuity. " This is the law [of Alaska], and ever she makes it plain: Send not your foolish and feeble; send me your strong and your sane." The principal natural food resources of the Thlingets are fish, game and berries, and of these there is great variety. Some kinds of fish and all berries may be had 22 INTRODUCTORY only in their season, which is short. For winter consumption, these must be secured in their sea- son, and properly cured and preserved. To this extent, at least, the people are provident. Venison and halibut may be had fresh the year round, yet they are also cured to some extent for winter use. Fish and seal oils are put up in summer, as well as delicacies, such as seaweed and herring. The native of Alaska must not only hunt the game that he uses for food, thus requiring strength, labour and courage, but when he kills it he must dress and cook it before eating it. He must also provide fuel both to cook his food and to give him warmth. Such requirements are not calculated to encour- age indolence, and we find, as a rule, that the Thlinget is industrious, hardy and brave. He sails the deep in frail and cranky canoes, scours the forest for ferocious animals, and often meets his human antagonist without fear. Of late years industries introduced by the white man have sprung up in this country which open new avenues of employment for the native. The mines, canneries, sawmills, fisheries, and other in- dustries call for his brawn, if not his brain. En- lightenment is creating new and varied desires which impel him to greater exertion. II ABOEIGINES OF ALASKA AT the present day there are not, all told, more than thirty thousand of the aboriginal stock in Alaska. These are scattered over the vast domain, no one locality being thickly populated. The native population has been slowly decreasing. Excluding the minor tribes known as Hydahs and Tsimpsheans, the natives fall into four great divisions. In their natural order, travelling north from Ketchikan, the first port of call, they are the Thlingets of Southern Alaska, the Tinneh of the Interior, the Aleuts of the southwestern pan- handle, and the Eskimos inhabiting the shores of Bering Sea and the Arctic Ocean. These main divisions are again subdivided into tribes and families. Different writers give different divisions of the natives of Alaska, some of these being not only incorrect but fanciful. " While there are twelve tribes, there are only two families, known as the ravens and eagles/' seriously writes one author. Evidently the twelve tribes of Israel have given him a suggestion. There are not only two but various families of each great division. " The Indians (Alaskans) are again subdivided into various families, each of which has its family badge," says Dr. Sheldon Jackson. 23 24 ABORIGINES OF ALASKA Mrs. Ella Higginson, in her work on Alaska, goes to the other extreme by making only two divisions of the natives the Thlingets (or coast Indians) and the Tinnehs (or interior Indians), making the Thlingets to comprise the Tsimp- sheans, Hydahs and Yakutats. But the Thlingets have a common language and the Tsimpsheans and Hydahs, who speak an entirely different lan- guage, should not be included with them. The Yakutats, on the other hand, speak the Thlinget tongue and should not be regarded as other than Thlingets. This same writer, who seems to have a predilec- tion for dual divisions, divides the Thlingets into two tribes, the Stikines and Sitkans. The Stikines and Sitkans are not tribes, but peoples of their respective localities, the same as those who live in Boston are Bostonians, whatever their nation- ality. Tourist writers fall into many errors when they assume to write about the natives, as they cannot be comprehended at a glance nor their customs understood without months, if not years, of close observation. Each division comprises people of a different type and language from all the others; each has its own specially well-defined territory and cli- mate, and the customs of the people in one differ in many respects from those in the others. The territory of each division is widely separated from that of the others. The Thlingets are hundreds of miles from the Aleuts, Tinnehs and Eskimos. It is as rare to see an Eskimo or an Aleut in the land of the Thlingets as in Chicago, and an Eskimo is as much an object of curiosity to the Thlinget as to an inhabitant of Illinois. In over twenty THEIR VILLAGES 25 years of residence there the writer saw but three Eskimos, and these were witnesses in a suit. The Thlingets occupy a score or more of vil- lages in what is generally known as southeastern Alaska. The Tongass tribe embraces the natives in and around Tongass; the Hanega, those of Klawock and vicinity; the Stickeens, those at Wrangell; the Kaaks are in and near Kake; the Takoos and Auks are found at Juneau; the Sit- kans at Sitka; the Yakutats at Yakutat, and the Chilkats at Haines and vicinity. These communities are composed of different peoples. At Sitka we have the Kok-won-ton', the Kak-sii'dy and the Kluk-na-hu'dy tribes; at Hoonah the Duk-dain-ton' and the Chu-ka-na'dy ; at Haines (or Chilkat) the Kok-won-ton', Klu-ka- hu'dy, and the Duk-la-wa'dy ; at Juneau the Nush- ke-ton', the Auk and the Kle-na'dy. Where new communities have sprung up through the agency of the white man, such as Douglas, Skagway and Petersburg, the natives living in them are from various villages and tribes. They simply go to these places for em- ployment. They may live in such places indefi- nitely, but they never regard them as their homes. Ask a native, " Where is your home? " and he will invariably name the village in which he was born. Besides the divisions already mentioned, the tribes are subdivided into clans and families, with their distinctive totemic badges or crests and fam- ily house (Hit). These divisions will be further enumerated when we come to speak of totemism. The two great totemic divisions of the Thlingets are the Yalkth (Crow) and the TschdJc (Eagle). 26 ABORIGINES OF ALASKA The various tribes come under one or the other of these main divisions. While the Thlingets from Tonga ss on the south to Chilkat on the north, a distance of over four hundred miles, are of the same stock and speak the same language, yet the enunciation is a little different in each community. One finds this ' an obstacle in using the language; if he learns it from the Chilkats and tries to speak it with the people of Wrangell he can scarcely make himself understood. Among the natives themselves, who are familiar with the different shades of enuncia- tion, there is little or no difficulty. Again, while these Thlingets are all of the same stock, some communities have been more pro- gressive than others. The Chilkats were always a haughty and aggressive people. For years they held and controlled the trade with the interior, or Tinneh, Indians, and even disputed the right of the white man to advance through their boundaries to the land beyond. The Hootz-na-oos of Angopn (Killisnoo) were of a turbulent and warlike dis- position for generations, and were only subdued by force of arms. The Auks (at Juneau) have always been regarded as a poor and spiritless class, and are more or less despised by the other natives. They are all a maritime people, and their main food supplies come from the water. The canoe (yak) or boat (on-ta-yak-oo') is to the Thlinget what the camel is to the Bedouin of the desert. m OKIGIN OF THE ALASKANS WHENCE came the natives of Alaska! This subject has invited much speculation and many conjectures. In the absence of any recorded history concerning them, the question will probably never be positively determined. Some have come to one conclusion and some to another. The consensus of opinion, however, points to an Asiatic origin. The theory that they are of Mexican origin has few to advocate it and very little to support it. It rests on the one fact that articles common to both have been found in Alaska. This proves nothing. The early Spanish explorers might have been the importers of these articles. Races wholly independent of each other have many things in common. The Hindoo of India has some things in common with the Mexican; and yet who would assert that the former sprang from the latter? It is only natural that different people, though occupying the very antipodes of the globe, should hit upon some ideas and produce some things alike. Human needs, especially where people stand on the same plane of life, are very much the same. The first implements of all untutored races would naturally be of stone; their first weapons, clubs, spears, bows and arrows; their clothing, 27 28 ORIGIN OF THE ALASKANS skins and furs. So the possession of some things in common does not prove relationship. . The theory that the native of Alaska is an off- spring of the North American Indian stands about on the same par with the Mexican. Professor Dall, a man of exceptional ability, rather favours this view. He maintains, in one of his reports, that the natives of Alaska were once inhabitants of the interior of America, and that they were forced to the west and the north by tribes of Indians from the south. He makes the rather remarkable statement that he can in no way connect them with the Japanese or Chinese, either by dress, manner or language. This is surprising, coming as it does from a man of his intelligence and research. Even tourists and transients passing through Alaska have observed the striking resemblance of native Alaskans to Japanese. The Thlingets, especially, seem so closely related to the people of the east coast of Asia, that a European traveller who had been around the world once remarked to a mis- sionary, " How many Japanese you have in Wrangell! ' At the time there was not a Jap- anese in the place. The people he saw were native Alaskans. It is a common occurrence for these natives to be mistaken for Japanese. Some of them are facetiously called " Japs " by their own people. Minor W. Bruce, in " Alaska," says: " Prof. Otis T. Mason of the same institution [Smith- sonian] takes the position that the emigration came from Asia to this continent, and that the Alaska Innuits are, undoubtedly, of Mongolian origin. " We are also constrained to take this view, CONSENSUS OF OPINION 29 and believe they once came across Bering Strait. The same straight black hair, olive complexion, small stature, almond-shaped eye and unusually small hands and feet, are, to our mind, unmistaka- ble evidence of kinship. ' ' They are not an inventive people, but are de- cidedly and emphatically imitative, a trait in the Japanese character always so conspicuous. And their genius seems best illustrated in the nicety of their carving." The Hon. Wm. H. Seward says : " I have min- gled freely with the multifarious population (of Alaska), the Tongas, the Stickeens, the Kakes, the Haidas, the Sitkas, the Kootnoos and the Chilkats, but all of them are manifestly of Mongol origin. All alike indulge the tastes, wear a physiognomy and are imbued with sentiments peculiarly noticed in China and Japan. " Charles Keplogle, for many years a missionary in Alaska, observes in his book, i ' Among the In- dians of Alaska," " The origin of the native is shrouded in the misty veil of the traditions of their past. There is much reason to believe they originally came from the continent of Asia. They have the eyes of a Japanese, or very much the same; the colour of their skin also resembles the Jap." The Hon. A. P. Swineford, once governor of Alaska, writes: " Various theories speculative as to their origin have been advanced. That those of the coast and the islands as far north as to where the Eskimos have their most southerly habitation, are a distinct race, without a drop of the blood of the American Indian in their veins, unless it be in some instances of cross breeding, is scarcely to be gainsaid. 30 ORIGIN OF THE ALASKANS " They are not Indians in the common accepta- tion of the term, but are, undoubtedly, of Asiatic origin. They are naturally bright and quick- witted people, with a Japanese cast of features." The Kev. J. P. D. Llwyd, of Seattle, in his inter- esting little book, " The Message of an Indian Eelic, ' ' says : ' ' Students of ethnology are not yet agreed as to their origin, although the weight of argument seems to support the view that they are a branch of the Asiatic peoples, and are near of kin to the Japanese, whose cast of features is strikingly reproduced, for instance, in the chil- dren seen by travellers in the Indian village of Sitka." We discover traits in the natives of Alaska found in the Mongolians. They are both skilled carvers in wood, and in carving they draw the knife toward the body instead of shoving it away in Yankee style. Both have a fondness for squat- ting on the floor and for eating from one dish in common; both have profound reverence for their ancestors, the Mongolians literally wor- shipping them. The Alaskans have a strong predilection in this direction, as their feasts for the dead evidence. Both quickly adapt them- selves to the ways of progressive peoples. In this respect, the Alaskans are much superior to the Indians of the States. Centuries have elapsed since civilization was introduced to the latter, and yet many of them remain, practically speaking, savages. On the other hand, only a few years have elapsed since civilization, in any marked de- gree, was introduced to the former, and yet to-day we can find no savages among them, while many of them are fully enlightened. The Alaskan's docility marks him as one who IN SUPPORT OF MONGOLIAN THEORY 31 has sprung from a different race than that of the wild, inflexible Indian of the Rocky Moun- tains. Then, too, the Alaskan is a maritime being, loving the sea as he loves his life. His home, if he is to be happy, must border on the same. Even the women are sailors. This trait corresponds with the sea-loving disposition of the Japs. Another fact which lends strong support to the theory is that the Alaskan coast is directly op- posite the shores of the Mongolian, and in one part, at least, not so very far away from them. This would afford an easy opportunity for any Japanese or Chinese adventurers to reach Alaska by design or accident. Columbus-like, some bold Asiatic adventurers may have landed upon the Alaskan shores, and from them may have sprung the new racial branch. Or, possibly, generations ago, some tempest-tossed Japanese or Chinese junk was driven upon our rugged Alaskan coast, and the occupants of this unfortunate craft formed the nucleus of the new race. Within recent years Asiatics have been stranded on these shores ; and why not some centuries ago? The Russians found in Kamchatka, before they discovered Alaska, Japanese writings and sailors. The Chukchi, the aborigines of Kamchatka, bore evidence of Mongolian origin. From this wing of the Asiatics might have come the Alaskans. In the summer time the trip from the country of the Chukchi to Alaska can be made in one day by canoe, and in the same time in winter by a swift reindeer team. The aborigines of Kamchatka were continually trying to impress upon the minds of their Russian masters that the people in Alaska were like them- selves. The early Russian historians bear wit- 32 ORIGIN OF THE ALASKANS ness to this: " In the other land [Alaska], " writes one, ' i the people are like the Chukchi, with- out any government." " Opposite the Cape [Noss]," writes another, " lies an island [Diomedes] inhabited by people resembling the Chukchi." " The interpreters accompanying the expedi- tion [WaxePs] belong to the Korick and the Chuk- chi tribes . . . being in outward appearance? like themselves [the natives of Shumagin]."* " There are able students of ethnology who in- sist upon the origin of these Alaskans being Asi- atic for various good and sufficient reasons, instancing not only their personal resemblance, but the similarity of their traditions and customs to those of the people of Asia. To have come thence it is remembered they had only to cross a narrow piece of water forty miles wide. This passage is frequently made in our time in open boats." But while the preponderance of facts is greatly in favour of an Asiatic origin for the aborigines of Alaska, there is still another view of the matter that merits some consideration. John W. Arctander, in " The Apostle of Alaska," writes: " Where the Tsimpshean origi- ally came from, it is impossible to ascertain. Those who associate them, even in the distant past, with the Japanese or the Koreans, certainly do not find any very good arguments for their contention. They perhaps drifted northward long ago from some tropical island in the Pa- cific." Mr. Arctander does not cite his reasons for holding this view of the origin of the Tsimp- * Bancroft. SIMILARITY TO ISLANDERS 33 sheans. He probably bases his opinion on the similarity of customs between the two people. While it is true they have many customs and superstitions in common, yet this is no sure cri- terion by which to determine the origin of a peo- ple. It were just as reasonable to infer from such premises that the people of the islands in the Pacific sprang from the Alaskans. The negroes in the dark jungles of Africa have many superstitions and customs in common with the natives of Alaska, yet who would be justified in declaring, because of this fact, that the Alas- kans have sprung from the Africans! There is absolutely no relationship or connection between the two races. There is scarcely a custom of the Alaskans that does not have its counterpart with the Islanders of the Pacific. The custom of secluding a girl when she becomes of age, of young girls marrying old men and young men marrying old women, of the father having no relation to his own children, of the property of the dead reverting to the op- posite tribe of the deceased, of pregnant women observing taboos, of tattooing the body, of dancing and feasting, of pampering children, of shaman- ism and witchcraft, of the brother of a deceased brother taking his widow to wife, of gifts being passed to the parents of the bride, of weaving baskets, of marrying at an early age, of looking upon twins as an evil omen, of weaning children very late, and practically all the other customs of the Thlingets are followed by the inhabitants of the islands of the Pacific. Then the two peoples are alike in personal ap- pearance, temperament and traits. Both possess the happy and unhappy qualities of childhood, the 34 ORIGIN OF THE ALASKANS affection, credulity, love of pleasure; also ungov- ernable passions, instinctive aversions, jealousy, cunning and a love of revenge. We believe that both the Islanders and the Alaskans are of Mongolian origin, chiefly Jap- anese, and that the Alaskans were the first scion from this stock, and the Islanders, for the most part at least, indirectly of the same through the Alaskans. It is far more probable that the islands were first peopled from the mainland, rather than the mainland from the islands. After studying the problem for years we be- lieve the racial flow was along the Asiatic coast to Kamchatka, thence to Alaska, and from Alaska to the islands of the Pacific. This would account for the similarity of the many customs observed by the two peoples. It may be asked, if the Alaskans have sprung from so happy a stock as the Japanese, why are they so much inferior to them? We reply, be- cause generations, possibly centuries, of isolation have made them so. It is a well-known fact that degeneracy generally follows such a state. Until a more plausible theory of the origin of our Alaskans is advanced, supported by stronger arguments than the foregoing, we shall continue to believe that our neighbour, Japan, is responsi- ble for the existence of this aboriginal people. IV THE THLINGET LANGUAGE Atf interesting and instructive volume might be written on the language of the Thlin- gets, but only a chapter can here be given to it. They have no written language. Their totemic emblems are the nearest approach to it. Their oral language is handed down from gen- eration to generation. It is constantly undergo- ing change, and already many terms once com- monly used have become obsolete. Many of the natives now living have lost much of the pure Thlinget, and are unacquainted with many words which their ancestors employed. Then, again, new words are being coined to meet the growing demands superinduced by their progress in civi- lization. It is especially interesting to note Thlinget word-building relative to objects introduced to them by white people. " Cream of Wheat " is called sdk-d-hagoo because it resembles oolikan spawn. Gun-teenyak is the word for steamboat, which analyzed is gun (fire) -teen( with) -yak (ca- noe), hence steamboat is canoe-with-fire. On-td- yak-oo', the word for small boats other than ca- noes, little-canoe-on-ship that is, lifeboat. These lifeboats were the first small boats other than their canoes that the natives ever saw, so on-td- yak-oo is the word used to differentiate all small 85 36 THE THLINGET LANGUAGE boats from canoes. Ice cream is called d-uk-d- Mg'wd (frozen grease) ; Epsom Salts, ko-wdn- nouk', frost medicine, because it resembles frost; goolth'ddn, excitement, is derived from goolth (whirlpool). Lima beans are known as wutze- watze, because they resemble the fat seen in the moose. " Quaker Oats " resembles the seed of the native wild celery (yd-nd-dte) and for this reason is called yd-nd-dte' shuk-d-hee'ny. Many white people, from some peculiarity, are nicknamed by them and these names become part of their vocabulary. One man is known as Thloo'- tuk-dn (red-inside-of-nose) ; another, Ki-tik- kleak' (one arm). The language now abounds with corruptions through the effort of the natives to adopt or in- corporate words from the English and Russian into their own tongue. Their word donna is a mispronunciation of dollar, Kin-ditch' for King George, and Kin-ditch-wan' (King George's peo- ple) for Canadians. Kin-ditch-wdn-got'ty is the name of an island in the Chilkat river, so called because some Canadians once camped there. Gow'e is a Thlinget corruption for the English coffee, and goo-nasties for molasses. We might multiply examples almost indefinitely, but those cited will suffice for our purpose. Some of their borrowed words which they have incorporated they pronounce correctly. Among these are sugar and butter in English, and sha- deenga (pig) and wos (cow) in Russian. An invention known as the Chinook, a jargon, has also had a share in corrupting the pure Thlinget. Terms from this linguistic hybrid are frequently mixed with the Thlinget. Such terms as aiwasn (Indian), skookum (strong), tillicum PROPER NAMES 37 (people), ienas (little) and many others are pure Chinook words. All Thlinget proper names have a meaning; Sha-wat-kleri (female) means big woman; Ka-uk- isti (male) means f ather-of-the-morning ; Shd- goon-e-ish r (male) father-of-tools. All names ap- plied to persons are in a sense inherited and handed down from generation to generation. While the Thlingets have no surnames, yet most of them have more than one name. Some have three or four. They need no surnames for iden- tification, as the family crest serves this purpose. Their names refer to this crest or totem, and as soon as one hears the name of another he knows exactly where to place him. The name of a man is changed when he be- comes a father and he is called after his child with the word ish (father) appended. If, for in- stance, the child's name is Hiilt-zoo', the father is called Hult-zoo-ish' (the-father-of-Hult-zoo'). Certain proper names belong to certain tribes, and only members of the tribe to which the names belong can assume them. By this system each name bears on the totem of the family, and the individual is classified as soon as his name is spoken. If he is among strangers, his name will show who are his tribal relations. This secures him friendship and hospitality. Many of the natives now have full English and Eussian names in addition to their Thlinget names. The writer himself has given English names to more than seven hundred of them. The paucity of the Thlinget language is not so great as many white people are prone to think. One thing is sure, the native is never at a loss to express himself in his own tongue. This, how- 38 THE THLINGET LANGUAGE ever, may not be due so much, to a lengthy vo- cabulary as to the gift of speech; the English is abundantly sufficient for expression, yet not a few English-speaking people find it difficult to express themselves. Many Thlingets are eloquent in speech. Im- agery is very largely used by them. A native youth in a speech likened the Presbyterian Train- ing School to the Sitka harbour which is sheltered from the ocean waves by numerous islands so the teachers stand round and about the pupils to protect them from the evils of the world. The Thlinget language does lack, however, words to express abstract, spiritual and philo- sophical ideas. It contains no profane words nor any oaths. If the native wishes to swear, he must go outside of his own language to do it. But it abounds with vulgar and sarcastic terms, and these are freely employed when one wants to tongue-lash another. What it lacks in abstract terms it makes up in the concrete. For example, where we make the one word " nephew " apply either to a sister's or a brother's son, the Thlingets employ different words. Doo-hun-ha-yeet' (nephew) is the older brother's son; doo-keek-yeet' , the younger broth- er's son, and doo-Jcalth'k' , the sister's son. The same peculiarity obtains when they are speaking of brothers and sisters. The word dif- fers according to whether one is speaking of an older or younger brother or sister, or whether a woman or a man is speaking. A-lnoon is the word used for brother when a younger brother is speaking of an older one; d-Jceek' when a sister is speaking of her brother; a-shut'V when a younger sister is speaking of an older sister; PECULIARITIES OF LANGUAGE 39 d-keek' when an older sister is speaking of a younger sister, and d-klok' when a man is speak- ing of his sister. Sunny (uncle) is the word employed when speaking of one's father's brother, and kok (un- cle) when speaking of a mother's brother. Ot (aunt) is used when speaking of a father's sister, and klouk (aunt) when speaking of a mother's sister. Different terms are used for the same object according as to whether it is near or far off when you are speaking of it. Some things have three or four names. But while the Thlinget language has more of a vocabulary than most people think, yet it is ex- tremely deficient for the needs of this age. The paucity of the language may be better understood by giving an illustration. The best translation that can be made of our familiar doxology, and the one that is used in worship, is the following : " De-ke On-kow kuni-shag, Chuth-la-cut ha-jeg ya-a-ya-oo, Uch chuih-la-cut ye-wanch huni-shag, Kuni-shag ha-ish tlahl-oohl-took." This is the literal English translation : Above chief praise, All of us gifts, For all you praise, Praise our Father very pure. Scarcely a sentence is spoken in which a pe- culiar and distressing guttural does not appear. This alone makes it very difficult for a white man 40 THE THLINGET LANGUAGE to acquire. We have no alphabetical character to correspond with this guttural, and with some of us our vocal organs seem utterly incapable of pro- ducing it. Although the Thlingets have no written lan- guage yet, the grammatical construction and sen- tence structure of their language are in form very much like the Latin. The verbs are similarly con- jugated, the nouns similarly declined. There are but few of the former in the language, verb phrases being largely used instead, and these are conjugated as verbs. The personal pronoun is ex- pressed wholly or in part, or implied, in every verb or verb phrase. There is no verb " to be " in the language. Yd-ya-tee (it abides) comes the nearest to it. There are no separate auxiliaries such as will, may, must, etc., as we find in English. The verbs have Voice, Mood, Tense, Person and Number. The nouns and pronouns are declined in seven cases. The plural of some nouns is an entirely different word from the singular, cor- responding in this respect with some of our Eng- lish plurals. For instance yud-a-gwutz~koo (boy) and kd-sanee (boys) ; shot-gwutz'koo (girl) and shok-sanee (girls). As to gender, the word used determines whether the object is male, female or neuter. Tlie fem- inine gender of animals is determined by the syl- lable shech; goo-wa-kon' (der) and shech-goo- wa-kori (doe). Shech'-a being the generic term for all female animals. Like the Latin, the Thlinget language has no article, and, practically speaking, no preposition. Kd (and) is its main and almost its only con- junction. DESIRABILITY OF LEARNING ENGLISH 41 In the structure of the sentence the usual order is (1) object, (2) subject, and (3) verb. The Thlinget language is doomed to speedy ex- tinction, the sooner the better, for the natives. They have no access to literature so long as they are shut up to their own language, and so they miss its elevating influences. In the second place, their language is useless as a means of communi- cation with white people who are now populating their country and with whom they must now cope. It is certain that the white people will not learn Thlinget. If, therefore, the natives would do busi- ness with the white people, or be acquainted with the white man's laws by which they must be gov- erned, they must learn English. In the third place, their language is altogether inadequate for their needs as their intellectual horizon widens. In the fourth place, the adoption of English means that they will far more rapidly get away from their old, degrading customs. Nothing retards the progress of a people so much as to be held to a language fit only for barbarians. The sooner, therefore, that the natives drop their stunted and dwarfed language for the liberal English, the better. No encouragement to hold on to their language should be given by mis- sionaries and teachers learning it with the view of addressing them in it. The best way of elevating them is to make them climb up to us. While it was necessary for missionaries, teachers and traders to learn something of their language when they first went among them, it is not required now. Many, especially among the young people, have already a good command of English and some use English only. The day is 42 THE THLINGET LANGUAGE not far distant when native audiences can be ad- dressed directly in English without the medium of an interpreter. Then their complete civiliza- tion and progress to qualification for citizenship will be rapid. Mr. William Duncan, who has so nobly, unself- ishly and heroically laboured for more than fifty years with the Tsimpsheans of Alaska, declares his people are not yet qualified for citizenship. May it not be that holding on to their own tongue is largely responsible for this! Their language is useless outside of their own little community; why perpetuate it when they might have one that is universally used and the use of which would increase their knowledge a hundredfold and qualify them to take their places as citizens in the body politic? It would be folly to attempt to reduce the Thlinget to writing and ask the natives to learn it. The time had better be spent in acquiring mas- tery of the English. Were the Thlingets a great and flourishing na- tion like the Japanese or Chinese, or even multi- tudinous like the Africans, giving promise of in- definite perpetuation like these and similar people, then it would no doubt be wise to give them a literature in their own tongue as well as in a for- eign one; for in these multitudinous races many will never know any other than their own lan- guage and the race is itself, relatively speaking, perpetual. But with the little tribes of Alaska it is very different. There is but a mere handful of any one of them, the white races are rapidly crowding them to the wall and nothing can stop it, there is little in their languages to merit per- petuation, and the sooner they acquire the pre- THE CHINOOK JARGON 43 vailing language of the land the better chance they will have for existence and growth. While in some localities, especially in the ex- treme southeastern part of the archipelago, the Chinook jargon is used to some extent, in others it is scarcely spoken at all. It was invented as a means by which traders might communicate with the natives of different tongues scattered along the coast from Oregon to Yakutat, Alaska. Very few of the natives living north of Wran- gell have any acquaintance with it, and those who have, seldom use it. It has little to recommend it to the serious consideration of any one, other than a curiosity. Its vocabulary is very limited, it has no grammatical construction, and is not a language, but an invention pure and simple. This last fact is the only thing that makes it of any interest. V THE FAMILY THE husband and wife always belong to dif- ferent tribes. According to a long-estab- lished custom, a Thlinget cannot marry one of his own totem, though no blood relation. The children belong to the totem of their mother, and, of course, receive their caste from her. The father has no authority over his own children. The maternal uncle of the children has far more to say about them than the father. The aunts on the maternal side have, also, all author- ity over their nephews and nieces. They are re- garded as mothers and are so called by their nephews and nieces. When the mother dies the father must relinquish his children to their ma- ternal uncles and aunts. If the father were to inflict any injury on his child, his tribe would have to pay damages to his wife's tribe. The father loves his children none the less be- cause of this custom. He supports them to the best of his ability so long as they are under his care. When the mother dies and the children are taken by her relatives they assume their support. No child is ever cast out among the Thlingets. If a child loses both parents, some relation on the maternal side claims it and cares for it. Fre- quently disputes arise about who should have the orphan child, so desirous are relatives of taking their deceased relatives' children. 44 TREATMENT OF NEPHEWS AND NIECES 45 The uncles and aunts are usually as good to their nephews and nieces as are their own par- ents often better. Uncles are especially indul- gent toward their nephews. In fact the more liberties they take the better the uncles like it. No uncle would think of imposing restrictions on his nephew in his own home, and the nephews walk in and out of the homes of their uncles as if they were real sons. Children are very much desired by Thlinget parents. A barren wife is not enviable. Parents who are so unfortunate as to have no children sometimes adopt them. Such is their fondness for children that some natives have applied to foundling homes in Washington for white babies. The writer was asked by two native women to write to a foundling home in Seattle for children for them. Both have been married a number of years, but have no family. Boys are, on the whole, more desirable than girls, because a man is esteemed of more worth than a woman. Children born out of wedlock, especially illegiti- mate half-breeds, are more or less despised. In earlier times they were put to death immediately after birth. " Secret " children, that is, children whose fathers cannot be determined and who have, therefore, no visible fathers, are still in some in- stances destroyed as soon as born. Strangulation is the usual method of disposing of them. In for- mer years they were taken to the woods, their mouths stuffed with moss or grass, and then they were thrown into a hole to die. This is all done as secretly as possible and to the natives it is no crime. They believe that if it is not done very bad luck will follow the family, or clan. It is a 46 THE FAMILY difficult matter to detect this crime, as they can go off to some unfrequented place, camp there for awhile, dispose of the new-born undesirable and when they return to town have a plausible state- ment to cover up the crime. Until within recent years a regular doctor was never employed by the natives at childbirth and even now they are seldom called for such a pur- pose. The majority of Thlinget women suffer very little, and some not at all, when their children are born. They have been known to give birth while sleeping. In former years the universal practice was for the mother to lie outside of the house in a booth, or in the bushes. A hole was made in the ground and lined with leaves or moss and the new-born babe was deposited in it. In an incredibly short time after giving birth to a child, the mother is up and about. They are often sitting up and sewing or doing bead or basket work in a few hours. " Delivery," writes Dall, " takes place in a few minutes, the mother kneeling ; no pain is experienced, and she is about again and at her work in half an hour." As soon as the Thlinget babe is born it is put into swaddling clothes and placed in a strait- jacket like an Indian pappoose. It is practically kept in this for a year or more. Hammocks are made by doubling a blanket and running a rope through each fold. This is hung across one corner of the room and used as the cradle for the infant. A string is attached to one side of the hammock so that the mother, while at her sewing or basket- weaving, may pull it and keep the hammock in motion to rock the babe to sleep. Infants are seldom weaned under three years of age. Children are so beloved by their parents that PARENTAL INDULGENCE OF CHILDREN 47 they are indulged to their detriment. They are rarely punished. When they are it is because the parent has been grievously aggravated by them, and then punishment is brutally administered. The wishes of children are usually gratified to the extent of the parental ability. They are usu- ally allowed to have their own way, and little or no parental restraint is thrown about them. This is due not so much to laxness as to misdirected parental love. It is considered a mark of their love to let their children have what they demand and do as they please. Polyandry is rarely practised. In the many years of our residence among them, but two cases were reported to us, and those were not proven. The domestic life of the average Thlinget fam- ily is of a low character. Most of the houses have but one room and no second story. In this one room several families frequently live at the same time, each family having its own personal effects, such as bedding, cooking utensils, boxes of food, etc. The room is usually bare and scant of fur- niture, a box-stove being the most prominent piece. In some may be found bedsteads, either crudely made by the native himself or purchased, but the floor is oftener used for sleeping purposes. The bedstead often holds boxes, trunks and other articles. Few homes have chairs, and those that have are not supplied with enough to go round. It is popu- lar with the women to squat on the floor. While some households are furnished with a common table (often home-made), many families do not deem this an indispensable article of housekeep- ing. The meal is more frequently spread on the floor near the stove than on the table. No table- 48 THE FAMILY cloth is used. Even where a home may have one or more tables, there may be more families than tables, and so some must take the floor. The gen- eral use of the table is to hold accumulated dirty dishes. There is no regular hour for eating, and any one is at liberty to cook at any moment of the day or night. Husbands cook for themselves nearly as often as their wives cook for them. If the husband is hungry and wants his meal, the wife gets it or not, as she is disposed. The greatest disorder prevails in the average home. We could hardly expect anything else where several families live in one room, and each wait for the others to clean up. Then, too, fami- lies are going and coming all the time, and we hear them complain that they cannot keep a home very clean for these reasons. The beds are mussy and seldom made up. During the day they are lounged on and slept in without the one using them taking off any clothes. The Thlinget sleeps whenever he is inclined so to do. We have found them in bed at all hours of the day, and often seen them sleeping with their clothes on as they came off the street. The dishes and skillets are usually dirty. Each family cooks and eats at a different time from the others in the house, and if all are using dishes and skillets in common, those who use them last leave them dirty for the next set to clean if they wish them cleaned. Often they use them as they find them, dirt and all. The popular method of cooking is boiling, al- though broiling and roasting are also used. In former years, before they became acquainted with the iron pot, they did their boiling in baskets woven of the spruce fibre, and so closely as to be ROVING 49 water-tight. Stones were heated and dropped into the contents of the basket and in this way boiling was done. Few natives know anything of pastry cooking. Any member of the household eats and sleeps and gets up when he feels like it. No restrictions are imposed. They run in and out, engage in any employment they please, all without let or hin- drance. Some are packing up to move out while others are moving in to stay. Many of them own no home personally, but move about from house to house among the tribe. They are never at a loss to find some place in which to stay, and that without cost. If the owner is not at home any of his tribe may go in and make themselves at home, and stay as long as they please. When they move they take all of their personal effects with them, including the dogs. Dogs are highly prized for hunting. Some men own four or five. They are of a wolfish nature and extremely mean. They are not regarded as pets and are seldom treated as such. They are left to get their own food. The natives have a superstition about killing a dog. If some one else kills him the owner appraises the dog very highly and clamours for pay. He suddenly becomes a valuable creature, though before he was killed he was utterly worthless. Clothes are washed in several ways. A common method is to take them to a near-by stream, or the bay, and wash them there by rubbing the gar- ments between the hands or on a washboard. Tubs are used in the house, but are invariably set on the floor, the woman squatting beside them she rubs the articles on a washboard or 50 THE FAMILY between her hands. Blankets are commonly washed by throwing them in the bay and treading on them. We have seen the women treading blankets when the weather was so cold that their feet and legs would be as red as beets. Sewing is one of the domestic arts of the Thlingets. Not only do the women make gar- ments and patch clothes, but they use the needle in making moccasins, mittens and various kinds of beadwork. Some of them handle the needle with much skill and do very fine work. In this age both hand and pedal sewing-machines are com- monly used by them. In the home life many things that we would regard as immodest cause no comment among the natives. A mother has no hesitancy in suck- ling her child in public, or men in lounging around half-clothed, or children in going practically nude. Gossiping is one of the besetting sins of the women. You can hardly go into a home without encountering a group of gossips, and quarrels fre- quently result from rumours thus set in motion. Family quarrels are all too frequent. Jealousy prompts some, while indiscreet acts and ungov- ernable tempers are at the bottom of others. The husband chastises his wife, sometimes beating her unmercifully. The wife does not always tamely submit to this, but defends herself to the best of her ability. Often she is more than a match for her husband in brute strength and in the science of handling her fists. Biting is a common mode of inflicting injury upon one another when quar- relling. The status of a Thlinget wife is not that of a slave to her master. She is as independent as he, and she asserts her independence, too. In truth, STATUS OF WIFE 51 the average husband stands more in fear of his wife than she does of him. The husband's earn- ings are wholly turned over to his wife. She is, therefore, the banker of the household. If he de- sires to make a purchase he must appeal to her and get her consent. Sometimes she declines to give him what he asks for, or disapproves of him making the contemplated purchase. If spirited and he realizes that he can master her, he forces her to give him the required amount. Ordinarily, however, he meekly acquiesces in the wife's de- cision. If he wishes to buy any article in the store, or from any one, she must first see it for herself or be told about it. If she approves, well and good. If she objects, that usually settles it and the purchase is not made. She is so inde- pendent that she makes him wash his own clothes and cook his own food. This is always the case when she is angry at him for any cause. No per- son is more stubborn than the average Thlinget woman. You can neither coax nor drive her. She would sooner be beaten to a pulp than have to admit she was compelled to do a thing. If she did she would be sneered at as a slave, and that would be worse than death, for slaves are de- spised as the very lowest of creatures. Some consider it a mark of weakness to yield to the demands of their husbands, and for this reason they often oppose them. In fact, instead of being drudges of their husbands, they do no more than they feel disposed to do; and with some this is very little. In the Thlinget household there is no such thing as a voluntary servant, or servant for hire; nor, in this day, from compulsion. In the days of slavery slaves were compelled to labour for their 52 THE FAMILY masters and for their master's household. But the days of slavery have passed. The average Thlinget home is run in a loose, slipshod fashion, but there are some which are nicely kept, in which order prevails, where the children are reasonably cared for, and where marks of refinement are not wanting. In com- munities where the white population is considera- ble, native families live interspersed among them. These families, as a rule, live along the advanced lines of civilization and manage their homes as creditably as the ordinary white families manage theirs. In taking native family life into account, it should be remembered from what the people have emerged, the many drawbacks with which they have to contend, the little means and few facilities they have at their disposal, and their lack of edu- cation. It is a question if the average white woman placed in the same environment and under the same handicaps would do any better than the average Thlinget woman does in the way of keep- ing a neat and orderly home. The home lacks every facility for good housekeeping, has but the one room, without closets or racks for garments, is subject to constant inroads of entire families, and the housekeeper labours under conditions that afford only a bare subsistence. All things con- sidered, the Thlingets have made splendid prog- ress. History shows that they have climbed away from savagery much more rapidly than our savage forefathers did, and much more rapidly than have many other races. VI THE COMMUNITY EACH community of natives is independent of every other. There is no federation. The only bond of unity is the tribal, or totemic, bond. As a rule, the communities are many miles apart. Safe and cozy harbours, with nice beaches, are chosen for town-sites. " The native hamlets are always built near the shore, accessibility to the water being the first consideration, because from that source comes nine-tenths of their sub- sistence. " The villages are constructed to conform to the contour of the shore. There is no such thing as laying out a town-site. They have no knowledge of surveying. The villages can hardly be said to have any streets, as every native is desirous of having his home directly on the water-front. But in most instances the beaches are short, between precipitous shore lines, so that some must build back from the shore. By building next to the beach no clearing the ground is necessary. The Thlinget avoids all ex- ertion possible ; he will not cut down trees and dig out stumps for a clearing unless it is absolutely required. He usually claims no more ground than his house occupies, except the frontage. He has no homestead, nor ranch, nor estate. He can ac- * " Alaska," Ballou, page 194. 53 54 THE COMMUNITY quire no title to anything : land, homestead, min- eral claim or any other property. It is hard to define the native's status. He is declared not a citizen of any country. Since he supports himself he is not a ward of any country. And yet the United States claims to have jurisdiction over him. It sues him and imprisons him, but it will not let him vote, have any voice in making the laws by which he is governed, or acquire title to property. In rights, he is treated as a foreigner, but in pun- ishment as a citizen. If he has a house and land he cannot sell them and give title. Because of this anomalous position in which he finds him- self, he has no incentive to acquire land and im- prove it, or to prospect for minerals. In but few instances has he profited from gold discoveries. Consequently all ambition in this direction is stifled. He plants his little home by the sea, or on the river bank, and therewith rests con- tent. Many of the houses are set at every conceivable angle. Had the houses in some villages been dumped out of the clouds they could scarcely have lodged in a more disorderly arrangement. A monotonous appearance characterizes nearly every village. But still the people are improving in their building and give promise of approaching, at least, the ordinary home and architecture of the white man in the near future. Years ago, while massive communal houses con- stituted some villages, others were composed of mere shacks and huts. The roofs were made of slabs and cedar bark carelessly thrown over pole rafters. No house had a chimney or a window. A large aperture in the centre of the roof served for both. They were put up in the most slipshod ADVANTAGES AND IMPROVEMENTS 55 fashion, with the least labour possible, and had the appearance of being ready to tumble down. In justice to the natives, be it said that they were not to blame for the squalid, miserable vil- lages of years ago. In the first place, there are few places in southeastern Alaska suitable for a town-site, because the shores are so mountainous. In those days there were no sawmills, and every stick put into a house had to be hand-hewed. Then the few tools they had were very rude and they knew almost nothing about carpentry. Hence they were greatly handicapped and built under serious disadvantages. Now they are in possession of good tools, have sawmills and hardware stores to draw on for suit- able materials to put into buildings. They have also some knowledge of carpentry. Some have served apprenticeships to the trade and are now skilful in handling tools. These advantages have brought great changes in their building. The rude, dilapidated, windowless huts and hovels have been replaced with frame houses having win- dows and chimneys and shingled roofs. And not only have their homes been improved in outward appearance, but the interiors are incomparably better. Formerly they were never ceiled. The mere rough boards stared one in the face, with cracks wide enough to thrust the finger through them. But now their houses are ceiled and many of them nicely papered and painted. The new vil- lages that have sprung up consist of up-to-date houses. There are several old, abandoned villages with ancient communal houses and totem poles. These primitive towns present a weird appear- ance, and, if they could talk, would tell some thrilling tales. 56 THE COMMUNITY Changed conditions and the example of the white people of the States have, no doubt, led to these improvements. Under the Russian regime the natives saw no modern style buildings. In addition to the main villages, there are sum- mer camps for fishing and berry picking, and winter lodges for trapping and hunting. The ter- ritory of each community, that is, the fishing and hunting territory, is well known to all. There is no encroaching on one another's grounds, as all are at liberty to roam where they will. In every community there are two or more dif- ferent tribes. A chief is at the head of each, and nothing of importance is undertaken without first consulting him. Generally his word is law with his people. The individual counts for little unless of high rank, or caste. The tribe is the ruling power in every community, and usually does as the chief says. All grievances are redressed and reprisals made by the tribe. When an individual is wronged the tribe at once takes up his cause; when shamed or insulted, the tribe at once re- sents it; when in need of assistance, the tribe is ever ready to help him. Marriages, house build- ing, burials, feasts, potlatches, dances, the erec- tion of totem poles, and many other things are matters for tribal consideration. They have no municipal government nor public utilities. There are no taxes, as there are no public expenses or offices. The only public spirit expressed is that through the tribe to its own members. As a community, they will suffer the greatest inconvenience rather than lift a hand for the public good. No one would think of removing the carcass of a dead dog, or a salmon, from their PUBLIC UTILITIES 57 midst, of digging a well, or performing other service for the public weal. Not until recently have they shown disposition to establish any public utilities whatever. Some villages now have plank sidewalks and public halls, and in one or two places they run a few electric street lamps. In time the spirit may grow. In one community, that of Kluckwan, they have installed a public water system, leading the water from the mountain to the village through pipes. The missionary of that place was the prime mover in the enterprise. The natives rallied to the project, and now they have good water with strong pressure. The sanitary conditions of nearly every native community are deplorable. Were it not that the beneficent tides flush the beaches twice every twenty-four hours nothing could have saved them from extinction years ago by some malignant epi- demic produced by their own filth and careless- ness. In some localities, the more progressive and enlightened natives live apart from the unsavoury village. A number of native homes are known to us that are as tidy and inviting as the ordinary white man's home. At Sitka they have a cottage settlement in connection with the Presbyterian mission, which is a mile away from the common native village. The cottages in this settlement are occupied and owned by those who were once pupils of the mission, but are now married and have families. The homes are neatly furnished and kept, and life is on a much higher plane than in the ordinary native village. The social life of the average native community 58 THE COMMUNITY is of a very low tone. They have very little to break the monotony of life. Aside from feasting and dancing they have practically no amusements. Public quarrels are common and a source of enter- tainment to the staring spectators, as they rarely fail to draw an audience. All domestic troubles are fully aired and made subjects of gossip. Noth- ing is hidden, hence we see the entire dark side of the native as well as his good side. They are not as clever in this respect as the white people are. There are no skeletons tucked away in na- tive families, for the acts of one are familiar to all the others. Privacy is hardly known among them. It cannot be maintained very well under their system of living, with families bunched to- gether. The Thlinget's bump of curiosity is well devel- oped, and anything out of the ordinary, as an accident, a birth, a death or a quarrel, never fails to draw a crowd. The women gossip unrestrainedly about every one who comes to mind, and often mix their gossip with many grains of falsehood. Some of them have great ingenuity as fabricators, telling things for fact that are a mere tissue of lies. They walk in and out of one another's homes without the formality of knocking on the door. A woman may be in the very act of changing her garments when Mr. Quakish steps in unan- nounced to visit her husband. This does not em- barrass her in the least. She proceeds as if no one had called. They walk out as unceremoni- ously as they walk in. Having sat long enough they arise and walk out without saying a word or taking notice of any one. In turn, the guest is as little noticed. If the occupants of the house STRATA OP SOCIETY 59 are busy with sewing, making baskets, carving, etc., they never suspend work for a visitor. The men are very taciturn when visiting, often com- ing in and sitting for awhile without saying a word and then passing out. Life in the village is very different in the sum- mer from what it is in the winter. In the summer very few remain, some villages being absolutely deserted. The people are mostly off to their summer camps and places of occupation, hence it is very quiet in town. In the fall they return for the winter, and festivities begin. Winter is th> Thlinget 's play time. Summer is the time for work. Rank and caste play an important part in every Thlinget community. While caste does not bear as vigorously on the Alaskans as it does on the Hindoos of India, yet it is very pronounced and severely felt. There are four strata of Thlinget society, the high, medium, low and the slaves. There are none of the last now, except a few " left-overs. " They all mingle in the community, the low and the high visiting and talking with one another. But in marriage, at feasts, in public councils, and in the settlement of wrongs and injuries, class distinctions are always asserted. The high-caste family strenuously opposes the marriage of one of its number to one of a lower class. The sister of a certain chief known to us mar- ried one of a lower caste. The chief not only disowned her, but threatened to kill her for the disgrace. In earlier times a brother had the right to kill a sister who disgraced the family in any way. A low-caste man paid the dowry for a high- 60 THE COMMUNITY caste woman. Her tribe quickly had it returned, as they would not countenance such a marriage. At feasts they are given positions and goods according to rank and caste. In public councils it would be considered a shame for those of high- caste connections to listen to talk from those of a lower class. I once employed as church inter- preter a native who had been a slave. The people of the higher classes refused to take instruction through such a medium. When I found out the reason of their coldness I changed interpreters, and the work took on new life from that moment. The lines of caste are also marked by the atti- tude the lower take toward the higher classes. The low-caste man must be very careful what he says to the high-caste fellow. The man of high- caste totem can say what he pleases to a member of his own phratry who is of a lower caste, and the latter must meekly take it. Caste is revealed in property affairs. The low caste are not allowed to erect houses and totems, or to build canoes equal to those of a higher class. Certain names are not allowed to be used by in- ferior classes. The totem governs all naming of the natives. Tradition says that long ago the natives were savages and went naked. After awhile they made clothing of skins, and used sinews of animals for threads. The babies that were well cared for and wrapped in furs were considered superior to those that were wrapped in moss and neglected. The high-caste, or well-raised baby, had eight feasts given in its honour, and was then given an honourable name. Thus caste was established. Children of high-caste parentage are high caste by inheritance. The child of parents who are high THE CHIEF 61 on one side and low on the other loses caste. Men of wealth, that is, those possessing many blankets, trunks, and dancing paraphernalia such as masks, hats, dancing robes, etc., are very highly es- teemed. So are mighty hunters. As caste serves to distinguish classes, rank does the same for individuals. The Ikt (shaman) was at one time the most highly revered person among them. He was esteemed as one having super- natural powers, and was honoured above all others not only in life but in death. Next to the shaman in station is the chief (on- kow'wd). The office is hereditary or elective. When the chief dies the office does not entail on his son, as the crown does in European kingdoms, but on his brother or his nephew, the son of his sister the son of the oldest if he has more than one. This is to keep the chieftainship within the correct tribal bounds. The man's son is never a member of his tribe, but always of the mother 's. A man's sister's son is by force of custom always a member of his clan or tribe. His brother's son would not be. For this reason the son of the chief's sister is recognized as the true heir to the office of chief. The chief is not only respected by all classes in his community, but throughout the entire country, no one daring to give him umbrage except one of his own class or rank. He is generally obeyed and supported by the members of his tribe. He con- siders it beneath his dignity to carry the slightest parcel. His game is procured and his domestic fires are kept up for him. In former years, when slavery was in vogue, his slaves did his bidding. While his authority is not so great now as it was, yet he has no trouble to find those who are obedi- 62 THE COMMUNITY ent to his orders. He is respected at all feasts and potlatches, his being the seat of honour and the largest share in the distribution of goods. None of a lower rank is allowed to build so large a house as his, or give a greater potlatch. When one of his own tribe wishes to build, he dictates the dimensions of the house. Some tribes have more than one chief. When this is so they are not of equal rank. The Thlin- gets are very supercilious about caste and rank. This does not appear on the surface, but is seen when we understand their customs. In this day, we find in every considerable com- munity two classes, the older ones, who are tenacious of the old customs and superstitions, and the younger ones, or rising generation, who are striving to get away from them. These two classes often conflict, but the former have mostly proven the stronger. Their power, however, is constantly waning and it is only a question of a few years when they and their customs will have gone forever. Some have entirely dropped the old customs and are living on the plane of the white man. As the native communities in Alaska are con- stantly undergoing change, what is true of them to-day may not be true of them five or ten years hence. Many things that were true of them twenty years ago are not true of them now. It would not be correct nor just to take descrip- tions of native communities written more than a score of years ago, as applying in all respects to the same to-day. Not only the houses, but many of the customs and manners which were common at that time have passed away. New conditions are constantly confronting the natives and they MIXTURE OF WHITES AND NATIVES 63 are more or less conforming to them. War, slav- ery, gambling, cremations, polygamy and other customs that were rife a generation ago are no longer practised. Many communities are now populated by white people and natives. In some of these towns the natives live in a community by themselves, in others they are mixed in with the white races. The founding of towns by white men has drawn colonies of natives from their own villages of ancient standing to such communities for employ- ment, and this has had a marked effect on native life; in some respects for good and in some for evil. There are also two prominent factors in every village that were not to be found a little more than a generation ago the church and the school. vn PERSONAL APPEAEANCE, DRESS AND ORNAMENTATION WHILE -some of the natives take no pride in their personal appearance, many of them dress in good taste and make a very favourable impression. This is especially true of the rising generation, and may be taken as a mark of their progress. The native youth wear good suits with up-to- date neckwear, and the young women have dresses and cloaks in harmony with the fashion of the day. At home and in their own villages they are in- clined to show an utter disregard of their per- sonal appearance. The women are worse than the men in this respect. They not only go about their homes, but visiting through the village, with di- shevelled hair and unlaced shoes. When they ap- pear on the streets and in the stores of the white man's settlement they are dressed neatly and tidily, as a rule. The men generally appear well in public, buy- ing and wearing, for the most part, the best clothes that can be bought. This is especially true of those natives who live near any considerable white population. The native dress is far in advance of what it was some years ago. For a long time the blanket was the principal, and often the only, article of dress. 64 FEMALE HEADGEAR 65 Even to this day it is the only cloak used by some, but as an article of dress it is practically a back number. We note again the evolution in the headgear of native women. A few years ago the universal headgear was a large kerchief. All kinds of colours and combinations of colours were worn. " Groups of natives in bright-coloured blankets, with scarlet and yellow handkerchiefs on their heads, come into view, watching us curiously as we glide over the smooth water. ' ' * This style of headgear has given way to hats and bonnets. Many have extra good clothing which they wear only on special occasions, such as Fourth of July, Christmas and Easter. At these times their finery is brought out and worn for the day, then taken off and laid away until the special day comes round again. Some display remarkably good taste and are well and becomingly dressed, while others, having no sense of the fitness of things, exhibit very bad taste. An old woman will appear in dress and colours suitable only for a girl, while a girl may appear in such as are suitable only for elderly persons. Their combinations of colours may do all violence to good taste. We must remember, however, that good taste is the result of cultivation and education. Eefined taste is acquired, not inherited. Let a prince grow up in a hovel from infancy and he may be coarse and vulgar. On the other hand, put the child of a beggar into a family of refinement and he is likely to become refined in his manners and tastes. *Ballou, page 194. 66 PERSONAL APPEARANCE So if we see our natives blundering in taste as they advance in civilization we should not be sur- prised nor ridicule them. It would be a marvel if they did not. It is really remarkable that so many of them appear in public so well dressed when we remember that the race has only re- cently had opportunities for development along these lines. Their love of ornamentation is innate, but they are not peculiar in this. The farther down the scale of civilization the more pronounced is this characteristic, and it is carried in some instances to a ludicrous excess. The Thlingets of to-day are not so given to personal ornamentation as they were a few years ago. Their taste in this respect, as in others, is constantly improving. Formerly their decora- tions were excessive, ludicrous and grotesque. Kings were worn not only on the fingers but in the ears and the nose. The cartilage in the nose of every Thlinget is punctured for nose rings, but these were worn only in dancing. Earrings are yet commonly worn by females. They were worn by men a few years ago, but now you rarely see one with them. At dances men, women and chil- dren wear them. Some men have three punctures for rings in each ear, one in the lobe, one in the middle, and one at the top. There are ear-drops made from shark's teeth that are highly prized. They are triangular in shape, and are worn only at dances. The upper end is usually mounted with gold or silver. Every Thlinget child has his ears and nose pierced for rings the day he is born. Yarn or grass is put in the opening to keep it from grow- ing together. In earlier years rings were worn in JEWELLERY 67 the ears and nose, not only for ornamentation, but to show that the child's parents were not poor. If a child had no ring or jewellery of any kind he was looked down upon and his people were despised. In early times earrings were made of copper, silver and gold, and in shape were round, ex- cepting the shark tooth pendant. To-day the style of earring or pendant varies, as they have a wide range from which to select. The women and girls are very fond of the finger-ring (tlaka-keas) and the bracelet (Jceas). Even to this day women may be seen with rings on every finger of each hand and several bracelets on each wrist. These are made by native silver- smiths out of silver and gold coin. The coin is melted and pounded into shape and then all kinds of totemic designs are carved on them. Some of the bracelets are more than an inch wide, and made not only of silver but of pure gold. The latter range in value from twenty to forty dollars each. Until recently they preferred silver jewellery to gold. Now that they know the value of gold, they esteem the gold jewellery more highly. Neck chains and stick-pins are commonly worn. Formerly necklaces were made of shark's teeth, shells, pretty beads and stones. While bead neck- laces are still worn, they are being gradually sup- planted by gold ones. Both gold and silver pins are made in all kinds of designs (chiefly totemic) by native silversmiths. Coin is invariably used by native artists for all jewellery. The ordinary native is as well satisfied with a brass pin studded with glass gems as with one of pure gold studded with diamonds. The glitter 68 PERSONAL APPEARANCE is the chief consideration. But the better edu- cated and more refined will not wear tawdry jewellery. Their rings and bracelets are worn at all times ; they never lay them off for drudgery or dirty work, not even when they go about with bare legs and feet. The labret is a piece of bone or silver varying in size according to the rank of the person wear- ing it, that is inserted into the lower lip just below the mouth. It is worn as a sign of woman- hood. Some assert that its original object was to keep women from talking, and that if a woman, while scolding, dropped her labret from her lip, she was considered beaten and disgraced. We have asked not a few natives if this be true, and all we have consulted have repudiated the story and insisted that it is worn as a badge of womanhood. Only women of high caste are allowed to wear it. Slaves were strictly forbidden its use. As the woman who wears the labret grows older, its size is increased, so that a woman's age may be known from the size and kind of labret she wears. In some old women they are an inch long and a quarter of an inch wide. They certainly do not enhance a woman's looks, but on the contrary give her a hideous appearance. " The author,'' writes Ballou, " has seen all sorts of rude decorations employed by savage races, but never one which seemed quite so ridicu- lous or so deforming as the plug (labret) which many of these women of Alaska wear thrust throug;h their lower lips. The plug causes them to drool incessantly through the artificial aperture, though it is partially stopped by a piece of bone, TATTOOING AND FACE PAINTING 69 ivory, or wood, formed like a large cuff-button, with a flat-spread portion inside to keep it in position. This practice is commenced in youth, the plug being increased in size as the wearer ad- vances in age, so that when she becomes aged her lower lip is shockingly deformed." It is only just to state that this custom, so far as the Thlingets are concerned, is a thing of the past. Tattooing on some portions of the body was once a very common form of adornment, but is seldom, if at all, resorted to in this age. Only high-caste natives were permitted to have their bodies tattooed. Professional tattooers were em- ployed to do this, and were paid large sums for their work. A feast was invariably given in honour of the occasion, which exalted the one tat- tooed in the public esteem. Streaking the face with paint was another way they had of adorning the person a custom no longer practised except for dancing. When this was done the tribal mark of the individual had to be used. For instance, a member of the Whale- killer (Keet) tribe wore a mark down the cheek and one at right angles to this across the chin. This marking represented the jaw of the Keet (grampus), and showed to the public that the one thus marked was of the Keet tribe. A member of the Crow (Yalkth) tribe had a line drawn on each side of the nose beginning at the inner corner of the eye and angling down the cheek. This represented the beak of the crow. Even now many of the women paint their faces solidly with a kind of lampblack made of soot and grease. This is done, however, not for ornamenta- tion, as it makes them hideous-looking in the ex- W PERSONAL APPEARANCE treme, but for the double purpose of protecting their faces from mosquitoes and sunburn. In former years their dress was gorgeously adorned with beads, buttons and abalone. At one time the abalone shell was to the natives what diamonds are to the white people. Many carvings were inlaid with it. To this day it is highly prized, and used for ornamentation. In the days of slavery slaves were traded for it. Dancing blankets and cloaks are elaborately or- namented with buttons and beads, making some of them very expensive. Beads are commonly used to ornament moccasins, pouches and wall pockets that are made from deer and moose hide. The beautiful green found on the head of the mallard drake is very commonly used for adorn- ing articles. The head is skinned and the entire patch of green kept intact. Our white sisters cannot criticise them for this since they are so fond of adorning their own bon- nets with the plumage of birds. Native women do not use the mallard plumage for adorning hats or bonnets, but for the decoration of pouches and wall-pockets. Most of the natives are slow of movement and lacking in grace, but some have fine form and carriage. Some of the young women are exceed- ingly attractive. With them, as with white people, we find the attractive and the repulsive, the neat and the tidy, the respectable and the vulgar, the clean and the filthy. The Thlinget's standard of beauty is very dif- ferent from that of the white man. Men whom we would consider extremely ugly are very much admired by Thlinget women. The large mouth, STANDARD OF BEAUTY 71 thick lips and coarse features appeal to the aver- age native. It would seem that the more hideous the face the more it is admired by the average Thlinget. The natural, soft, subdued olive com- plexion of the average Thlinget young woman is very pleasing. The half-breeds are invariably bright and good- looking. Some of them are really handsome. They dress in good taste and present a good ap- pearance. They are inclined to affiliate more with the white people than with the natives. It seems, indeed, to be their natural place and it is so ac- cepted. They seek education and many of them after schooling drop into good positions among the white people. Some of them have shown high ability and are now in positions of responsibility. Possessing, as a rule, a captivating personality, they seemingly have but little trouble to find a place in the world. VIII INDUSTRIES THE Thlingets, as already said, are self-sup- porting, not wards of the government. In fact they have been woefully neglected by the government. They ask only the opportunity to earn a livelihood and that their natural re- sources be not destroyed. " Unlike the American Indians/' writes the Hon. A. P. Swineford, at one time Governor of Alaska, " these people are industrious and self- supporting." Professor Dall bears testimony to the same truth. Unfortunately for them, their industries are very limited and their seasons very short. Their main dependence is on fishing and employment in the canneries. They catch salmon and halibut for the local markets, shippers, salteries and can- neries. The halibut are caught with line and hook, her- ring being used for bait. The old style of hook was a V-shaped piece of wood with an iron tooth about two inches long projecting from the upper side almost across the angle of the hook, and pointing downward. The unwary halibut runs his nose into the V for the bait and becomes hooked. While some natives prefer this, most of them use the modern, up-to-date hook. The old style are sold as curiosities. Formerly the halibut line, as was all rope, was 72 TREADWELL GOLD MINE METHODS OF FISHING 73 made of the fibre of the spruce tree and entirely by hand. The women made it and became expert in manufacturing cordage of all sizes. It was a tedious job, and particularly wearisome to the children who were compelled to hold one end of the line while the mother wove the material into rope. The lines were made many fathoms long, as uniform as if made by machine, and exception- ally strong. We have in our possession a very long, native-made halibut line with hook (old style) attached. It is a fine piece of work, and apparently as strong now as when it was made fifty years ago. It is doubled strand and three- eighths of an inch in diameter. The natives do not build fish-traps. A few of them use gill-nets. By their methods of fishing they could never destroy, nor even diminish to any appreciable extent, the fish supply. It is the white man with his seines and fish-traps that is a menace to this natural resource of the country. Not only the native men, but women and chil- dren, work in the canneries. It is deplorable that the women and girls feel the necessity of seeking employment in these places, for, as a rule, they work with Chinamen who are the very scum of their nation, and the native women and girls are far from being elevated by their contact with them. Then, too, it is dirty employment and de- grading. We would protest if white women and girls worked in them. The native women and girls do so because there is practically no other way for them to get the few dollars they make in a season. We regret that there is nothing more elevating in the way of employment for them. One of the leading industries of the country is mining. This is a new industry to the native, 74 INDUSTRIES having been introduced by the white man. Yet to-day scores of natives are employed in the mines, chiefly at Treadwell and Juneau. Some of them are expert machine-men, capable of han- dling steam drills with skill, but most of them are mere labourers. They have given good satisfac- tion as miners, but many of them are averse to working in the mines on account of the danger and the hard work involved. Fishing and hunt- ing, their natural industries, appeal to them more strongly, but hunting and trapping, which once occupied the foremost place in the industries of the Thlingets, have now fallen to third or fourth place. Some never engage in them at all. The natives living adjacent to the ocean find lucrative employment in hunting the fur-seal and the sea-otter. This is especially true of the Hy- dahs, who live near Dixon Entrance, of the Sit- kans, who live on Norfolk Sound, and of the Hoonahs, who live on Icy Strait. These all have access to the ocean where the seal and sea-otter are found. When a sea-otter is seen he is quickly surrounded with canoes and speared or shot by native experts. A single otter skin brings from four to eight hundred dollars. All kinds of land animals are sought by native hunters, but chiefly the deer, bear and fox. The first are killed mainly for food. Their pelts are not now marketable, and when they were they brought only fifty or seventy-five cents apiece. The skin is largely made into moccasins and pouches, adorned with beads, by the native women. Aside from this, little use is made of it. Bears and foxes are killed mainly for their furs. Bear skins bring from five to forty dollars apiece, according to their quality. The fur of the red fox CARVING IN WOOD AND METALS 75 has little value, but that of the blue, black or silver is very valuable, the silver bringing as high as fourteen and fifteen hundred dollars apiece. Of course these beauties are not caught every day. Mountain sheep, which a few years ago were plentiful, but are now scarce, are occasionally hunted. The meat of the animal is highly prized, and its fur makes a very desirable rug. They have very little market value. The marten, beaver, mink and land-otter, as well as other fur- bearing animals, are bagged when they cross the native's path. The dressing of animals and the curing of furs are done almost exclusively by the women. During the great Klondike boom in the year 1898, many took supplies and outfits for pros- pectors and fortune hunters from the beach up over the famous Chilkoot and White Passes into the Yukon country. Some of them showed won- derful packing ability and made big money at this laborious work. Carving in wood, silver, horn and stone (black slate) gives employment to some. These carvings are turned out every season for the tourist trade. There is a good demand for them, and not a few dollars are picked up in this way. From the yellow cedar they carve miniature totem poles, canoes, paddles and trinket boxes; from silver coin they make bracelets, rings, spoons, napkin- rings, paper-cutters, butter-knives and stick-pins, all carrying totemic designs; from the horn of the mountain sheep, large spoons with fancy to- temic handles; from the slate, totems, pipes and vessels of different designs. A great deal of skill, ingenuity and art is evidenced in these carvings. 76 INDUSTRIES A few Thlingets are carpenters and some are cobblers. A few are engaged in business on a small scale. While naturally shrewd traders, very few of them have any talent or inclination for business. They are rarely found in any of the pro- fessions. A few of the young women are teachers, having been educated in mission and government schools. The women, on the whole, are more industrious than the men. In addition to their domestic cares, they manufacture (by hand, of course) mit- tens, moccasins, baskets and all kinds of beadwork for sale. In the summer time they are very busy putting up food for winter, and in the winter with their sewing and weaving. The mittens they make are for workmen and re- tail for twenty-five cents a pair. The back is made of blue or brown denim and the palm of light duck. They are sold at the local stores, as are the moccasins made from the dressed skin of the deer or mountain sheep, the fur of the hair- seal, and moose hide, the latter being the most durable. As the moose and mountain sheep are much harder to get than the deer, the deerskin moccasins are most common. They are both plain and fancy, ranging in price from fifty cents a pair to five dollars. The fancy ones are ornamented with beads, and are fleece or fur lined. Blankets are made of the wool of the mountain sheep and of squirrel skins, the former being known as Chilkat blankets because they originated with the Chilkat natives, and are made chiefly by them. It requires great skill, patience, and months of time to make a single Chilkat blanket. It is a long and tedious process to card the wool CHILKAT BLANKETS 77 and make the yarn and dye it. Then follow months of toil in the weaving. The pattern is always totemic; on the best blankets it bears the head of the trout (squatz). It is painted on a board from three to four feet long and two and a half feet wide. The weaving is done in a frame about five feet long and three feet wide, but the blankets are of different sizes. The weaver sits in front of the frame with her pattern at one side where she can readily see it as she weaves. Her yarns vary in size from a thread to a coarse cord, some being the natural colour while others are black and yellow. These are the only colours, so far as we remember (and we have seen many of them), that ever go into a Chilkat blanket. The white represents the mountain sheep; the black, the crow, the patron bird of the great Crow fraternity; and the yellow the eagle (whose claws and beak are yellow) , the patron bird of the great Eagle fraternity. The Thlinget term for yellow is tschak(oY cheth)-gin-diya eagle-claw colour. These blankets are worth from seventy-five to one hundred and fifty dollars each, according to the size and workmanship. They will wear in- definitely, so compactly are they woven. The colours used are practically indestructible, as none but native dyes are used in them. They are more ornamental than practical, as they are not used for covering the body as bedding, but originally were made as part of a chief's dancing costume, and to throw over him as he lay in state aftei 4 death. This was to indicate his rank and high station in life. Only rich and high-caste natives possessed them. They now have an artistic value as well as or- 78 INDUSTRIES namental, showing what natural artists some of these natives are. The patterns are faultlessly woven into the blanket, entirely by eye, a feat re- quiring nice skill. We have watched the weaver by the hour as she deftly wove her yarns into this artistic fabric, and wondered how she could follow the design so accurately just by glancing at the pattern on the board. Wealthy tourists pur- chase these Chilkat blankets as fine specimens of native art and workmanship, using them to orna- ment their curio corners. Squirrel robes were once plentiful, but now it does not pay to make them. From seventy to a hundred skins of the chattering little fellows are sewed together in such a manner as to make the robe look like one large fur. At one time these robes could be bought for two dollars apiece, the amount hardly covering the cost of the ammuni- tion used in killing the squirrels. As they are rarely seen now, they have advanced largely in price. Various kinds of beadwork are made for the market, and these help to swell the financial re- ceipts of the women. Moccasins, pouches and various articles used in the dance are ornamented with beads. In early times all designs were to- temic, but now they are taken from fashion-plates, catalogues, wall-paper and other places. While some of this work is really artistic, most of it is poor and commands little money. The tourists buy little of it, as their great hobby is baskets. Some years ago the women were skilled in making suck-a-chew (pottery). Scarcely a trace of this art can now be found. Like rope-making, it has fallen into desuetude. Yak( canoe) -building, which at one time was a CANOE-BUILDING 79 thriving industry, is now practically a back num- ber. There were regular builders who constructed them and put them on the market to meet the demand, which was heavy. Canoes are frail and not durable. Their great- est enemy is the sun, and the natives must either cover them over or keep them wet when exposed to it. If travelling when the sun shines, they frequently fill their bailing-shell with water and throw it all over the canoe. When ashore, they keep the canoes covered with blankets, boards, brush or grass to protect them. If they lived in a land of much sunshine it would be almost im- possible to keep their canoes a month. As it is, though they live in a land of clouds and rain, they have a hard time to protect them. Canoe-building demanded much skill from the workman, and his product commanded big money. Some canoes brought four or five hundred dollars apiece. No matter how large, every one was built out of a solid log generally of yellow cedar. The adz was the principal tool used. Indeed, few and rude were the tools employed in early times, and yet fine workmanship was done. The log is first dug out until it roughly resem- bles a canoe. It is then filled with water and this is heated with hot stones. The wood thus steamed becomes pliable, and braces are put in to hold it to the desired shape. This accomplished, the workman finishes the job by chipping and chip- ping and sandpapering (literally dog-fish-paper- ing, as dogfish skin was used before real sand- paper was introduced to the natives), until the craft with its beautiful lines is ready for the sea. The braces are left in and are used in lieu of seats, but in the days of the paddle, the usual seat 80 INDUSTRIES was the bottom of the craft. This accounts for many of the natives having misshapen legs. Until long after the white man came, canoes were pro- pelled entirely with paddles. Gradually oars were introduced, and now they are propelled by the combination of oars and paddle, except when the sail is brought into service. Every native uses his sail whenever he can, as rowing or paddling is no pastime with him. The women are as expert in handling the canoe as the men. They invariably act as captain, sit- ting in the stern of the craft. Though the little ship may have a rudder, yet the captain always has a paddle in her hand to use when required. Often the women travel by themselves, especially in the berry season. Men disdain picking berries, considering that the work of women. But the women are the most independent of people and so go off alone for berries and also for cockles, clams, mussels and other sea food. It is a marvel how big, heavy, clumsy women manage getting in and out of the small canoes without capsizing them. But they do. We are acquainted with a woman who one night, all alone, sailed a canoe a distance of seventy miles with two dead people in it. They had been poisoned by eating mussels, and she took the long, lonely journey in order to reach their people. The women being experts with the paddle and handy with the oars, they are genuine helpmeets to their husbands when travelling. Canoes are of all sizes. Some will not carry more than two persons, while others will carry forty or fifty. When nicely ballasted, these will weather rough seas and heavy winds. The prows of some are proudly decorated with WAR-CANOES 81 totemic designs, war-canoes being generally thus treated. A chief named Samhat, living at Kassan, gave to the District of Alaska a large war-canoe of this type. It is forty-seven feet long, more than six feet across the beam, and three and one- half feet deep. It is now kept with other relics at Sitka. During the days of native warfare, these proud monarchs of the deep were looked upon as pos- sessing intelligence and sharing the honour of victories and the shame of defeat. Sometimes they were smashed by the defeated tribe, as if in some way to blame. For beauty of line, the high-class native canoes are hard to beat. The model was suggested to the natives by the breast bone of the mallard duck. The wishbone of the duck suggested the snowshoe, which at one time was largely made and used by these people. For years, on national holidays when sports were indulged in, the canoe-race was the most attractive feature of the day. Each canoe had a crew of twelve or fourteen men, and from three to five canoes generally entered the race. The distance covered was from three to four miles. Every native in the race was in shirt sleeves with bare head. As soon as the signal to start was given, the paddles of each boat dipped simultane- ously into the water and this uniformity of stroke was maintained throughout the entire course. At every stroke the canoe was almost literally lifted out of the water. As they crossed the line at the finish, every paddle was lifted upright and a loud huzza went up from the throats of the contestants. This was especially true of the victorious crew, who would proudly pocket their prize of a hundred 82 INDUSTRIES to a hundred and fifty dollars. These races will stand out in the memory of all who ever saw them, as they were sports of unusual attraction. As totem poles are practically no longer erected, this industry is at an end. The Thlingets never had, and probably never will have, any extensive commercial activities. The trading they did among themselves was in- considerable. The common method of obtaining property was by force (war), condemnation pro- ceedings on the grounds of injury, or insults, and entail through death. The little trading that was carried on between the Thlingets and the Sticks, or Interior, Indians was controlled by the haughty Chilkats. Even this traffic ceased years ago, the Klondike gold discovery being responsible for it. The Interior Indians were rich in furs which were coveted by the Thlingets. The latter would carry prints, blankets and other articles not too difficult to pack, over the coast mountain range and into the country of the Sticks and barter them for furs. These they would get on their own terms, as the Sticks were a spiritless class and easily intimidated by the Thlingets. This traffic never amounted to much. A Takou chief, whose home was at Juneau, and who was drowned some years ago, once did a thriving business with a trading schooner. He would send to Portland, Oregon, for two or three thousand dollars worth of goods at a time. He would take his stock to various villages and dis- pose of it at a handsome profit. He was shrewd, calculating and unscrupulous enough to take every advantage possible. He accumulated several thousand dollars before his death, but no other native has conducted a similar enterprise. THE HYDABURG ENTERPRISE 83 There are no capitalists among these natives. Seemingly they do not know how to handle large sums of money. If they get any amount of it they hoard it rather than invest it. The promise of interest and income from investments has little or no weight with them. Only immediate results appeal to the average native mind. They are ex- tremely suspicious of one another, and for this reason will not combine and form companies for their mutual advantage. Until quite recently nothing along this line has been attempted. Some months ago the United States Government encouraged the natives of Hydaburg (a settlement of Hydah-speaking abo- rigines) to form a stock company to operate a store in that village. Some of the Thlingets, hear- ing of this enterprise, have recently imitated their Hydah brethren by combining to operate stores, one such company having been formed at Kla- wock and one at Klukwan. As these are in their experimental stage, it remains to be seen what success they meet. Since they will have little, if any, patronage aside from the members them- selves, it is clear that they will not get very much out of them but what they themselves put in, and will never amass any great amount of wealth from such combinations. It may, however, be good training for them, and while they will not make much, they will not lose much. But the white man is everywhere operating. He has in every way the advantage of his Thlinget brother; to meet him in business competition will be no easy task. In fact the chance for a native to accumulate much wealth in enterprises confined to his own people is very small. He has a better chance if he puts his money into enterprises car- 84 INDUSTRIES ried on by white men. But until his confidence in the white man is stronger than it is at present he will not do this. We have substantial banks in Alaska where na- tives might deposit some of their earnings and ac- cumulate a little capital with which to engage in money-making enterprises, but they will not avail themselves of the opportunity. This is due largely to a want of confidence. They can never hope to attain to opulence and plenty until, like the white man, they make money as well as their hands work for them. Up to the present they have depended entirely on their hands for means, hence as to wealth they are not very rich per capita. There are money-making enterprises in their midst. Their investments in these would be welcomed. And while they would stand a chance of losing, they would also stand a chance of gaining. But, lacking confidence, they venture nothing. IX BASKETEY OF all the industries common to women the making of baskets is by far the most ex- tensive. One can scarcely enter a house without seeing women engaged in weaving them. Prices have advanced within the last decade sev- eral hundred per cent. Baskets that could have been bought ten years ago for five dollars would now bring twenty dollars. This has given an im- petus to those who make them, but this, like other native arts, is on the wane. If they were paid in proportion to the time it takes to make the baskets, prices would have to advance still higher. It takes time and labour to procure the raw material, which consists of the tender roots of the young spruce tree and certain grasses; to soften the former by soaking and steaming to make them pliable and workable; to prepare the dyes and dye the straws the different colours; to split and trim the roots and grasses into fine and coarse strands, and then to weave them into the finished article. This being so, we can little wonder that the rising generation of girls, who are learning the white man's value of time and who have other opportunities of earning money, take little or no interest in basket-weaving. It is an industry mostly engaged in by elderly Thlinget women, and 85 86 BASKETRY when these have passed away basket-making will be practically at an end. The summer tourist trade in baskets is very large, and wealthy tourists are responsible for the prevailing high prices. There are baskets, and baskets that is, there are some coarse and worthless and some fine and valuable. Every community has its fine and coarse weavers, its amateurs and its real artists in weaving. Lieutenant G. T. Emmons has published an in- teresting work on native basketry which every connoisseur should read. We think that he claims too much, in asserting that every design on a basket has special significance. It is true that many have. It is no less true that some have been copied from patterns seen on blankets, on wall- paper and on other objects. In earlier days all designs were native and totemic, but this is not true of all seen to-day. Baskets are named and known to all natives according to the chief design they bear, their weave, the material they are made of, their shape, the size, or the use to which they are put. The basket with this design, ^j, is called kon-nast', meaning the cross; with this, ' 1 TW kluk-shd-yd-kee'ge, meaning half berry ; with this, ^^ thld-kd-dd-di'she, which is the name of the bat, who is diamond-shape when his wings are stretched out; with this, 3^- a-hdrie, meaning arrow-head; with this, ELSeL klee( blanket )-wdn- kus-d-ayd, meaning blanket pattern; with this, HLTTJ"" tsow(hat)-sdk-toot'ze, meaning dancing hat pattern; with either of these designs, fELTa , it is called shd-di-yd-age, meaning dancing WEAVE AND SHAPE 87 basket, as either design is worn on dancing hats made of the basket material. When named according to the weave, chdk-che- won-kd-seede (tendon in the eagle's claw) is the name of the basket with a cord-like raise running around it. It is so called because in early times this cord was taken from the claw of the eagle. Wdk-us-kot f is the name of the open or lattice- work basket; woosh-td-kd'ge of the closely woven, water-tight basket; kok-sd-hd'dy of the basket made with plain stitches close together; woosh- ta-hagy of the one with plain stitches underneath the figure; kot-dt-thleky of the one with the rim finished in a certain way, and kok-e-sut' of the one with the bottom finished in a certain style. The names, according to shape, are: too-dd- hook', the covered basket; so called because of the stones taken from the craw of the grouse and put in the top of the lid. When the lid is shaken the stones rattle. Stones gathered anywhere else cannot be used for this purpose. Tolth is the name of a large shallow basket used for catching berries when they are shaken from the bush, which is the usual mode of gathering huckle- berries. Woostd-da-kut-tzoo' is the name of the basket that is made entirely of straw. The word means " all straw." The Thlingets originally had no weights and measures. Everything sold, or exchanged, was by the chunk, or piece, or basket. Hence to dis- tinguish the sizes of baskets the largest was called chew-kdt', the next size yancih, and the size used for stringing around the neck and picking berries in and which when filled was dumped into a large one, was called sa-kd-toriny. Woosh-to-qua'ge is the name given to the 88 BASKETRY merely plain basket without any design, and ~ka- ge-sut' (three roots) is another name given to a slightly different basket. From the above, the reader is not to infer that only three sizes of baskets are made. Far from it. The sizes are legion from the capacity of a thimble to a bushel or more. The sizes mentioned were more as gauges of measure- ment. Then baskets are named according to what they are used for. Kot means strainer and is the name of the openwork basket used for straining oils. NauMh is the name of a basket made from the bark of a tree and used as a gunny sack for hold- ing potatoes. Baskets are now made of all sizes, shapes and styles. Some represent tea-kettles or stew-pots; some are oblong or round, and flaring from the bottom up; some are deep and some are shallow. Bottles and canes are beautifully covered with basket material, and small mats and hats, used principally in dancing, are made of it. Some of these are very expensive, costing as high as forty dollars apiece. Baskets used for cooking prior to the advent of the iron pot, were plain, without any design, and strongly made. There is a mammoth basket kept at Kluckwan that is called the Mother-of-baskets. The natives have a tradition that this is the progenitor of all baskets. Several women worked on it at the same time. No one is allowed to make so large a one now. The baskets bearing the native dyes are far more valuable, other work being equal, than those that have the common diamond dyes, as the na- COLOURINGS 89 live dyes are much more durable. They remain bright indefinitely. The brilliant yellow seen in baskets and in the famous Chilkat blankets is obtained from a moss that grows on certain trees. Green is obtained from copper rocks and from a common weed. Its leaves are boiled and the liquid makes a bright green dye. They get the red from certain red berries, and purple from blueberries. The most durable and brilliant black is that of natural black straws found in the bottom of cer- tain lakes. There is a black made from soot and other ingredients, but it is inferior to the natural black straw. Brown is obtained from strong urine. Baskets coloured with any of these native dyes are not so common as are those with the ordinary dyes, and many buy baskets without a question as to whether the dyes are native or not. One of the most particular pieces of work in connection with fine basket-weaving is splitting the fibre and straws. This requires much prac- tice and skill in order to make them uniform. And if the straws are not uniform in size the work is uneven and botchy. Certain old women are very dexterous in making fine fibres and straws. They have a clam-shaped piece of steel, the edge of which is very sharp. With this they split the fibre, take the end of one in the mouth while they cleverly work the other off with their fingers. The trick is to make the strands as nearly uniform as possible without wasting the material. If it breaks off too short, or runs thick and then thin, it is rejected. Basket-weavers sit with the legs outright on the floor with the basket in the lap, and in a 90 BASKETRY stooping posture with one knee down and the other up. Some women are very round-shoul- dered because of this habit. All designs are woven in the basket without any pattern before them. It is all taken from the mind and is a marvel of accuracy on this account. Very intri- cate designs are often made, and yet with such precision as if the basket had been stamped with a die. This is the real marvel in basket-weaving. The fineness consists in getting fine fibre and close weaving, but working in the patterns or designs is a matter of nice mental calculation, accuracy of vision and discrimination of just proportions. The bottom of the basket is first made. When this is completed a piece of cardboard, the same size as the bottom, is sewed on the inner side. This is done to stiffen it, that the upper part may be worked to better advantage. Beside the weaver is a vessel of water into which she thrusts her fingers every minute or so while she is weaving, to keep the fibre moist and pliable. If too dry, it does not work well. Every woman is the vendor of her own baskets. On the arrival of steamers they take their stock in hand and make for the wharves. Some advan- tageous point is selected so as to catch the eye of the traveller. There they sit without a word until spoken to. If they know nothing of the English they are handicapped, unless an English-speaking native is near. But a little knowledge of it en- ables them to carry on their trade. They have a uniform price for their wares, seldom making any reduction. They seem unconcerned whether they sell their products or not. You may take them or leave them. All is quiet, and no effort is put forth to induce the prospective purchaser VENDING BASKETS 91 to buy. If he buys, and puts down the price, well and good. If he does not it is all the same. No matter at what hour the steamer arrives, be it two o'clock in the morning, the native curio vendor is there to do business. It is an interesting sight to see anywhere from six to a dozen native girls and women squatting along the passage-way as one leaves or boards- the steamer with their wares such as baskets, bead- work, carvings, etc., spread out to view on the sidewalk or ground. And, as this trade is entirely with the tourists, it behooves them to meet all tourist-carrying steamers no matter what hour their arrival. It is a traffic which brings them in a good revenue, and the old women especially are right on to the job. In sunshine or rain, day or night, when the steamer lands they are lined up ready for business. TRAITS ONE of the most conspicuous traits of the Thlinget is independence. What he wants to do he will do, as a rule. He lives for the present, and gratifies the desires of the hour, no matter what it may cost him. If given his choice whether to accept five dollars at once or fifty dollars a year hence, although reasonably certain that he could have the fifty dollars, he would ac- cept the five, and be done with it. The NOW ap- peals to him. No job, however lucrative, holds him if he wants a holiday, or a lay-off to hunt, or even to loaf. Because of this trait, he is un- reliable as an employe. Without a moment's no- tice, he will throw up his job and leave; and it may be at a time when his services are most needed. But he cares neither about the incon- venience he may make his employer nor the loss that falls upon himself. A white man thinks twice before he throws up his job. Not so with the Thlinget. His desires, more than his needs, con- trol him. Nothing galls him like being " bossed " or con- trolled. To him it is a species of slavery, and the slave is the lowest of all beings, in his estimation. It is for this reason that the people make poor and unreliable servants. The native girl who is hired as a domestic servant does not stay long. She wants her own way, to go off and return when VANITY 93 she pleases, and chafes under commands or re- strictions. This independent nature of the native should not surprise us when we remember that he has grown up, practically speaking, in absolute free- dom, even in childhood. Vanity is another Thlinget trait. They are very fond of military uniforms, caps and badges. Not a few join the Salvation Army that they may wear its caps and uniforms. We know a certain chief who changed his clothes several times while the transient tourist steamer was lying at the wharf, in order to display his suits. He would appear at the steamer and parade around until he was satisfied that he had been observed in all of his finery. He had military suits bedecked with badges, priestly suits (Eussian), and other remarkable garments, all mainly for show. No peacock ever strutted around with more vanity than he. For vainglory they often destroy their own property. We have seen fine canoes demolished with an axe in a few moments of time; dishes, stoves and other household goods smashed by their proud owner, just that he might be consid- ered a greater man than some other. In the days of slavery, owners of slaves vied with one another in the sacrifice of slaves. Slaves were property, and the owner who destroyed the most was consid- ered the greatest man. Potlatches are given more for vainglory than for anything else. Public praise and honour are the objects in view. Because oolikan oil is a luxury, and costly, chiefs spatter their canoe sails with it to indicate that they are rich enough to waste the article. Touchiness, or sensitiveness, is another con- 94 TRAITS spicuous trait of the Thlinget. He often takes offence when none is intended. He is very sensi- tive to slights, innuendoes, rebukes, blame, cen- sure, shame and ridicule. He takes offence if he is asked to do the slight- est service for one whom he regards as of a lower caste than himself, or to perform any service without compensation, if his proffered gift is re- fused, or if one objects to any of his food. If, out of sympathy, you say to a widow, " It is too bad you lost your husband," she takes of- fence. She regards it as an insinuation that she poisoned him, or did something to kill him. But the most cutting thing of all to a Thlinget is to be laughed at or ridiculed. He fairly burns with shame at this. He has a sick tumtum (heart) for days and days, and if the offender is a native he is sometimes compelled to pay for the offence. White people who are not familiar with the ways of the natives may very innocently offend them. Indeed their warmest white friends have not infrequently done this. They are very sensitive to insults, and demand apologies, with payment for their wounded feel- ings. Generally a feast is given and the offence atoned for by a proper money payment. One man saw another encroaching on what he considered his fishing ground. He went to the trespasser, seized his gaff and broke it in pieces. This was a grave insult to the man who owned the gaff- hook, but he did not then resent it. His tribe, however, took it up, and in due time proper apologies were made, with a large payment to the offended party. A certain chief was highly indignant because IDEAS OF DISGRACE AND SHAME 95 others had received invitations to attend a cer- tain feast before himself. He went around the community storming about it. The feast was held some thirty miles away, and he absolutely re- fused to attend because of this breach of etiquette. His, too, would have been the lion's share in the distribution of goods at the feast. The Thlingets regard it as a shameful thing to have the face cut or scratched by another. Such an injury must be atoned for by a big money consideration, and it is a disgrace to the injured one and his tribe if they do not persist until the injury has been paid for. Consequently all na- tives receiving such injuries never let up on the perpetrator and his tribe until a satisfactory set- tlement has been effected. Hounding is one of their characteristics. A creditor pursues his debtor until the uttermost farthing is paid, nor does the injured forgive or forget, nor cease to clamour until he has had his redress. Not to be paid for an injury is a great shame. It is a matter of shame to a Thlinget to have his opponent in a quarrel destroy at the time more personal property than he does. This shows who is the richer man or woman, or the one who has the greater contempt for property. The defeated one has the contempt of all the community. Two women were quarrelling. In a rage one of them said to the other, " I'll shut you up! ' At that she rushed into her house, came out with both hands full of silver money and scattered it to the crowd that was watching the proceedings. This did shut the mouth of her opponent, as she could not do likewise. A man in an altercation shoved a chief's wife and she fell. The chief owned a number of slaves. 96 TRAITS As soon as the wronged woman informed her hus- band, he sought revenge by heaping a greater shame upon the man who gave the insult, accom- plishing it by making a public sacrifice of some of his slaves. As the man who offered the insult had no slaves to sacrifice, he was thus put to ever- lasting shame. So now when natives quarrel it is a common thing for one to say to the other, " Shut up! You might be like Mitkeen," that is, have nothing to destroy in order to get even. To be called a slave, or a witch, is a shame to any native, and sometimes leads to bloodshed. It is a great shame to any native if one speaks con- temptuously of his grandmother. There is no insult which he will more quickly resent than this. The Thlingets are revengeful. An injury is never forgotten or forgiven with most of them until in some way they have had revenge. An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth, has been, and still is, an established principle with them. It may be long before they strike back, but they surely will some day. The Sitkans waited years to avenge the massacre of their men by the Wrangell natives. But the day of revenge came, and the slaughter was fearful. Jealousy is another of their traits. On mere suspicion wives have been cruelly beaten and dis- figured for life by their husbands. Women are sometimes fearfully jealous of each other. When so, each tries to disfigure the other. The Thlingets are very crafty. They resort to all sorts of schemes by which to get money or property for themselves. Matters that were sup- posed settled years ago are raked up and made the basis for a money claim. They w r ill force some insignificant and undesirable present on another, CRAFTY AND POLITIC 97 and in due time demand five or ten times as much in return. Some article is given for the dead, and after the funeral the relatives of the deceased give ten times as much in return. The most ab- surd claims are made for money. A native who owned an interest in a well-paying gold mine was hounded for money by a woman, on the ground that she and her people used to fish in the stream near the gold mine. Another woman insisted on a man paying her some money because at one time she prayed (so she claimed) for the superintend- ent of the Training School to take his sister into the school. She urged that it was owing to her prayer that the sister was taken in, and the girl's education was, therefore, due to her. For this reason she claimed that the brother should pay her some money. Some put on a poor face when they have scores of blankets stored away and much money hoarded up. They seem to think that the missionary is their legitimate prey, that he came among them to open his purse to them whenever he is appealed to. If he refuses, as he is often obliged to do, he is " Kla-oosh-ka " (no good). The Thlinget is usually very politic, temporiz- ing according as he believes it is his personal in- terest or not. The public weal never appeals to him. Cunning and deceit are thought smart and considered commendable. In trade, the white man has to be shrewd to outwit the average Thlinget. Seldom do we find an avaricious native. On the contrary, he is inclined to extravagance and to be a spendthrift. If he saves, it is not for the love of hoarding, but that he may give the more, in due time, at a feast. As a rule, he spends freely 98 TRAITS and saves little, believing in the Epicurean doc- trine the present gratification of fleshly desires. Fickleness is a trait of the native mind. In this respect the natives are very much like chil- dren. They make a bargain and close the deal. Afterwards they repent of the bargain, demand to trade back and generally manage to do so. The native may be your friend to-day and your worst enemy to-morrow. He changes his mind for very slight reasons. He lacks, as a rule, any sense of honour in holding to his promises, contracts or bargains. You may befriend him all you please, but if you offend him, or cross him, in anything, he will forget all you have done for him and re- ward you with ill will. " One fairly wearies," writes a government teacher, in one of her official reports, " of an effort to protect them. They can lie so successfully and they will go against the missionary and the gov- ernment teacher and^all who are trying to help and uplift them, and* will stand by the one who furnishes them the intoxicants and why? Be- cause they want to seek it yet again. ' ' They are inclined to be stolid and undemon- strative in the presence of white strangers, but among themselves they are loquacious, lively and full of fun and laughter. They have wonderful control of their feelings. If taken to New York City, though filled with wonder at the sights, they would maintain as much indifference as if they had always lived there. We have taken Thlinget children to the States and when we arrived at Seattle, have looked for some expressions of sur- prise and wonder on their faces. But no change was visible, nor could we discover the slightest emotion. FORTITUDE AND AFFECTION 99 Endurance of bodily pain, especially by the women, is a characteristic trait. In order to bear pain without a groan, they often put a stick be- tween their teeth to bite on. Even children are taught to bear bodily pain bravely. The writer saw an old woman walk barefoot to the beach and wade into the water up to her knees with floating ice all around her, get into a canoe, take her seat with bare, cold feet and paddle off, and at the very moment the thermometer was only seven degrees above zero. When loved ones die, grief takes strong hold upon them, but it is ephemeral. So poignant at times is their grief that they throw themselves into the fire, tear out their hair, stupefy them- selves with liquor and even commit suicide. Kindred have strong affection for one another. This is especially true of parents and children. If any member of the family is seriously ill, no matter how far away the others may be, they will go to him if they have the means to do so. Parents are very considerate of their children when they are sick. Sick natives in our hospitals at Juneau are often visited by their relatives who live many miles away. They are tender in their ministrations to the dying, and show deep sym- pathy for one who meets with any serious bodily injury. Hospitality, another conspicuous trait of these people, will be considered in the chapter on to- temism. Sociability is one of their strong points. One of the severest punishments to a native is to com- pel him to live apart from his people. Men who have been sent to penitentiaries in the States have soon died after their incarceration. No 100 TRAITS Thlinget will live in solitude by himself, like a white man. Many of them have sunny dispositions and are full of humour and wit. Among themselves they are continually joking, laughing and making funny remarks. We have been with them in camp and in their homes, have frequently been at their so- cials, and can truly say that never have we seen a people, as a class, take life so happily, evince more humour and bubble over more with laughter. They are excessively fond of all kinds of amuse- ments. In their socials they play all kinds of games that provoke laughter. They are very imi- tative, and are born mimics and mockers. Native children in our missions show great skill in " taking off " the fastidious and inquisitive tour- ists, and in assuming certain attitudes and tones of the white people. These people are very observant, though you could scarcely detect them when they are making some of their most critical observations. A glance at a person and they know what he has on from head to foot. His complexion, facial fea- tures, any peculiarities about him, rings, chains, in short, everything about him is taken in. A native girl was assaulted by a white man. The struggle to escape him, which was successful, was only for a moment, yet in that moment of time, and though she was labouring under excitement, she noted him so well that there was no trouble in identifying him. She even described a ring he wore. It was the first time she had ever seen the man. They are also extremely clever in reading hu- man nature and very fluent in speech. They are never at a loss to express themselves. In prayer- FLUENCY OF SPEECH 101 meetings, where they invariably take part in speaking and praying, they show a power of ex- pression that many public white speakers might well envy. Among them are several very able orators in their own tongue. It is proverbial that a woman has a lively tongue, and this surely holds good with the Thlinget women. When quar- relling, as they do all too frequently, their flow of language is very surprising and none too delicate. They employ much imagery, and their rhetoric is often very flowery. Before coming to the point they beat about the bush, commencing their re- marks with some ancient history of their an- cestors. In their homes and among themselves they have a habit of all talking at the same time; and yet they seem to be able not to confuse one another and able to distinguish what each has said. We have heard six or more, all labouring under ex- citement and jabbering away, and yet each had a clear knowledge of what all the others said. They are not bloodthirsty, nor is treachery a pronounced trait. It is true that they have se- cretly killed white people, but not from treachery, but from their inexorable law of life for life. And it matters not whose life it is, so it be one of the race of the one who took a life from them. While gratitude is not a marked trait of this people, yet many of them are possessed with this grace. We have evidences of this in the posses- sion of some of their handiwork which gratitude prompted them to give us. Baskets, silver spoons, rings, beadwork, small totem poles, curios of one kind and another, and even a solid gold watch worth forty-five dollars have been given the au- 103 TRAITS thor as a token of their esteem and an expression of their gratitude. Their personal photographs, numbering more than a hundred, have also been given him for the same reason. I think oftentimes they appreciate favours done them, but lack the grace of expressing their ap- preciation. It is only just, however, to say that the better educated evince, and that in a very graceful manner, their appreciation of all favours done them. It must be acknowledged that there are those, and not a few, who show no gratitude whatever and seem to think any favour shown them is their due. But to assert, as some do, that they are absolutely devoid and incapable of gratitude, is incorrect, to say the least. The Thlinget, as has been shown, is not a very demonstrative person- age, and this accounts to some extent for his seem- ing lack of gratitude. XI FOOD ALTHOUGH the Thlingets live in a country that has an inhospitable climate, yet the Creator has endowed it with a great variety of foodstuffs. Its waters teem with fish the year through, its woods with game, and its soil is pro- ductive of vegetables and small fruits. Fish constitute the principal food of the na- tives, as it is the most abundant and most easily procured of all foods in Alaska. While there is a variety of fish to draw from, yet salmon is by far the most popular and the most abundantly used. There are five varieties of this species, the king, silver, sock-eye, humpback and dog-salmon. The humpback is more largely cured by the na- tives for winter use than any other. As fresh fish, the red salmon is most largely used. The red and silver salmon are caught with hook and line or with net, while the humpback and dog- salmon are caught with gaff-hook or net. The humpback and dog-salmon are caught mostly in shallow streams. When caught, they are turned over to the women, who clean and cut them into slices, after removing the bones, and then hang them on wooden frames to be dried by the wind and sun. After they are thoroughly cured they are tied up in bundles and stored away for winter use. 103 104 FOOD The halibut are treated in the same way as the salmon, but not so largely used for curing purposes, as they can get them fresh the year round. The natives consider the humpback the most palatable of the salmon species. Herring, oolikan (candle-fish), and seal are also staple fish foods. They make but very little use of the other varieties of fish, such as cod, torn- cod, flounder, trout, bass, etc. The herring are caught with a rake the teeth of which are perpendicular rather than horizontal. It is a pole eight or ten feet long, the lower end being blade-shaped so it may cut easily through the water. The teeth project from the sharper edge of this blade in a row two or three feet long. While a canoe is being paddled along by one na- tive another uses this rake. He thrusts it down into the school of herring, gives it a sweep through the school, impaling as many as he can on the sharp teeth, and then draws it up and dumps his catch into the canoe. In a short time he can fill a small canoe in this manner. The herring are prized not so much for the meat as for their oil. This is boiled out of them and put into cans and boxes for winter use. Fish and seal oils are important staples of food. Some bear oil is used, but not to any great extent. The principal oils of the Thlingets are extracted from the herring and oolikan, the latter furnishing the most desirable. While the herring are taken almost the year round, the oolikan appear in the spring only, and then for but two or three weeks. They come into certain rivers in great schools, literally cramming them. They are scooped out of the river with a OOLIKAN 105 dip-net, and dumped into a large hole in the ground to " mellow " (rot). It is claimed that the oil comes out of them better when in a state of putrefaction. This is not considered a de- traction in any way, but rather adds excellence to the taste, just as some highly civilized people prefer cheese flavoured with skippers and fowl mellowed with age. When sufficiently " ripe," the oolikan are taken put of the hole and put into a small canoe which is used as a caldron. Hot stones are thrown among the fish to try the oil out, and this is put into boxes or cans of about five gallons capacity and stored away for winter use. When cool it has about the same colour and consistency as butter, and is practically the butter of the people. They scarcely eat a meal without using oil. The Thlinget dips his bread, biscuit and dried fish into it and puts up his berries for winter use in it. His body is so saturated with it through use as to make his skin shiny and almost impervious to the cold. Seldom do natives freeze to death, though often exposed to cold that no white man could endure without an abundance of warm clothes to protect him. The herring are treated in a different way from the oolikan. While fresh they are put into large iron pots (in earlier times into large baskets) and hot stones are thrown in with them to boil the grease out. It is put up in the same way as that from the oolikan, and is of about the same colour and consistency as molasses, only not so sluggish in movement. The herring spawn, while it lasts which is for a month or more in the spring is eagerly sought and feasted on in its raw state, just as it is taken 106 FOOD from the sea. Herring have particular spawning grounds to which they resort every spring. They will not spawn elsewhere. Every object in the water shells, rocks, seaweed, pebbles, the ground at the place of spawning is covered with their minute eggs, the spawn coating every object from a quarter of an inch to half an inch thick. The natives throw branches of the hemlock tree into the water for the spawn to catch on, and these are brought out of the water literally weighted down with the delicacy. The spawn is then ex- posed to the sun until cured, a process which colours it like gold. The spawning grounds are an interesting sight when the natives are curing these infinitesimal eggs for future use. The small trees look as if they had taken on their autumnal colours when it is nothing more than the sun-dried herring spawn hanging on them. After it is so cured, they soak it in water. This loosens it from the twigs, and then they throw it into their mouths with their fingers. The salmon roe is also put up in oil for winter use. This, like the oolikan, is allowed to mellow before it is mixed with oil for the winter feasting. The mellowing feature is a very popular one with the natives. Salmon heads are buried in the ground and left there for days until they become good and ripe. They are then taken out and, without any further cooking, devoured with the zest with which a hungry urchin would devour a piece of pumpkin pie. The odour from this delectable dish is so pungent that the ordi- nary white man could not possibly stand around while the meal is going on. The odour from the herring while in process of cooking, though by no means weak, is tame indeed as compared with that DELICACIES 107 which emanates from the juicy, ground-baked fish heads. But when it comes to pungent odours, that of the oolikan scraps beats them all. So penetrating and durable is it that the holes in which they were mellowed years ago still send forth a smell which, when it strikes the nostrils, makes a man involuntarily reach up and compress his nose. No slaughter-house nor glue factory can turn out an odour equal to the oolikan ground. Most Americans who have ever had a whiff of it will walk miles out of their way, if need be, to avoid the grounds where this odoriferous little oolikan is treated for its oil. Certain portions of the snout of the humpback salmon, and the head and tail of the silver fish, are frequently eaten raw. But it is not done be- cause the natives are particularly fond of those parts. They do it because it is said that the crow, a long time ago, cooked these parts, and so they are edible just as they come out of the water. If you ask a native how he can endure raw fish, he will ask the white man how he can eat raw oysters or " live " cheese. Neither of these deli- cacies of the white man could reach the palate of a native. Hair-seal (tsa) and fur-seal (goon) are not only used as food, but are prized for their oil. What pork is to the white man, seal meat is to the native. In land animals, the principal meat used is venison. The deer abound in the Thlinget's coun- try, and are easily killed. Venison, as well as fish, is sun-dried and put up for future use, but not in such quantities as is fish. Porcupines, ground-hogs and bears are very plentiful and their meat is largely used. The meat of the mountain sheep is highly prized, but they are far more dif- 108 FOOD ficult to kill than any other animal, as they browse on top of almost inaccessible cliffs, practically de- fying the hunter. Sections of country that once abounded with them now never see them. The lakes and marshes of southeastern Alaska fairly teem, at times, with wild fowl, such as geese, mallard and other ducks. The natives make but very little use of such, as they do not care to bother with picking and dressing them. Clams, cockles, mussels and crabs are plentiful, and the natives are fond of them all, especially of a big rock barnacle known as " gum-boot." They will boil out a bushel or more of cockles or clams at a time. Then they string them on sticks, or string, to be eaten as desired. They will keep a number of days, even in the summer, thus pre- pared. When we have been out with the people on their jaunts, we have shared with them cockles and clams so prepared. Any one who is fond of boiled clams will like them. Crabs and mussels are both boiled and roasted, and are relished either way by the natives. Both crabs and clams attain wonderful size. We have seen crabs that measured fifty-four inches from the tip of one leg to the tip of the other and weighed fifteen pounds each; and clams (called " yes " in the native tongue) six or seven inches in diameter. The small-sized scuttle, or devil, fish is very highly prized as a food. The tentacles are fried or boiled. It is claimed by the natives that this is a very delicate morsel. Berries, of which there are no fewer than thirty varieties, form an important part of the food sup- plies. They grow wild and some of them in great abundance. Tons upon tons of the finest huckle- BERRIES 109 berries, high-bush cranberries, nagoon berries, salmonberries, and other kinds go to waste every season. There are four or five varieties of huckle- berries, two of salmonberries, two of cranberries and three of currants. Then there are straw- berries, raspberries, thimbleberries, soap-berries and others. Huckleberries, nagoon berries and cranberries are put up in fish oil in great quantities for win- ter use. The soap-berry is also put up, but not in oil, and when used it is put into a washbowl, a dish- pan or a large wooden chopping-bowl, and beaten vigorously with the open hand into a cream which resembles in appearance, when ready to eat, strawberry ice cream, only it is light as foam. Both men and women whip these berries with their hands, their sleeves rolled up to the elbows, the hand being buried in the succulent mess as it is swished around beating it into a cream. When one tires at the job another takes a turn at it. Thus they keep it up until it is ready to eat. Half a dozen sit around a bowl of soap-berries, each helping himself with a spoon as often as he likes. Crabapples were once largely eaten, but since the introduction of the white man's fruits (apples, oranges, peaches, etc.) they make no use of them. Very few of the imported fruits used by the white people are eaten by the natives. The apple is the most popular. Certain canned fruits, the peach, pear and apricots, are also used. Pickles, mustard and condiments of all kinds find no place in the Thlinget's diet. Even salt is rejected. The principal vegetables used are potatoes and turnips. These they raise themselves as well as buy them. Cabbage is eaten both raw and cooked. 110 FOOD They cook a wild rice which is bulbous in its na- ture and taken from the ground. A popular na- tive vegetable which grows wild is yd-nadte (celery). This matures in May, and is gathered by the armload and eaten as we eat celery, only without salt. We have seen women and children with their laps full of it, eating away until the whole was consumed. They peal the outer skin off and eat the inner stem of the plant, which resembles the pumpkin stalk. Another article of diet is the white, or inner, bark of the young spruce tree. This is cooked before being eaten. They use the gum of the spruce tree for chewing, as well as the imported gum. One stick often does service for several members of the family. One of their most popular vegetables is sea- weed. This resembles the cabbage leaf, but is finer, when taken from the sea. There is much labour connected with curing it. It is spread in the sun and just before it is thoroughly dry it is seasoned with cockle juice or the juice of some other shellfish. It is then put into a five-gallon oil can and pressed into square cakes about an inch thick. To accomplish this a layer of sea- weed is put in and then a layer of fine hemlock. The twigs separate the layers of seaweed and give it a flavour that the natives like. The can is thus filled to the top and then a heavy weight is put on the whole to make the desired cakes. Every day when the sun shines it is carefully taken out and each layer exposed to the sun to harden. When the sun goes down it is carefully packed away again. This is repeated for a long time before it is properly cured; when finished it will retain its sweetness for months. The cakes WHITE MAN'S FOOD 111 sell for fifty cents each. Sometimes it is broken up and cooked with oil, forming a sort of salad, before it is eaten. But the popular way is to break it off the cakes and eat it without cooking. The inner bark of the hemlock is treated very much in the same manner as seaweed, being pressed into cakes for future use. This is cooked before eating. Tea and coffee are popular beverages, but are not relished without sugar, as the natives are very fond of sweets. Flour is used, but mostly to make flapjacks with plenty of grease. There are few good cooks, and fewer who can do anything with flour in the line of pastry cooking. Stewing and boiling are their principal ways of cooking. Not many have stoves with ovens, and but little baking is done, nor do they have eggs, milk, plenty of butter and other things usually found in the culinary department of the average white woman. All things considered, some of them do remarka- bly well as cooks. We have sat down to meals entirely cooked and served by native women that would appeal to the palate of the most fastidious. We have sat down to banquets given by natives where everything was appetizing and well served. At some of these banquets more than two hundred were seated, showing that they are very capable when willing to exert themselves. The more advanced of the native women are good housekeepers and equal to preparing good meals. It must be remembered, however, that most of them are exceedingly handicapped, as they have not the facilities for fancy cooking that their white sisters have. xn EXTINCT CUSTOMS MANY of the customs of the Thlingets, while they strike the average civilized man as peculiar, ludicrous or cruel, are common to most of the uncivilized and semi-civilized tribes of the earth. In treating of these, we will divide them into three classes the obsolete, those about to become so, and those that are yet in full sway. As war was a popular occupation of the nations during the age of Alexander the Great, so it once was with our native Alaskans. Indeed, at one time it was their chief occupation, carried on for spoils, for the love of excitement and for revenge. The warrior 's accoutrements were then the most cherished of the Thlinget's possessions. In times of peace he was largely engaged in making im- plements of war. The boldest and most formidable of all the Thlinget tribes were the Chilkats of the north. The fiercest warriors of the country were the Hydahs. These frequently made war on the Thlingets. Tribute was exacted from the weaker tribes of the Thlingets by the stronger ones. Every tribe had to be in a continual state of de- fence and preparation for war, as they knew not the hour when they would be surprised by some hostile tribe. In some of these encounters there were terrible butcheries. Those who escaped the 113 PRISONERS OF WAR 113 knife or club were carried off to become slaves of the victorious party. Treachery was regarded as a lawful means by which to entrap enemies. Surprise, cunning, treachery and ambush entered more into their warfare than open valour. Prisoners of war were either killed or held as slaves. There are certain spots in the country where prisoners of war were taken to be killed. Their heads were cut off and put in a heap. Children taken in war were not decapitated. The female children were killed in a manner too revolting to mention. Strong and healthy captives were reserved and held as slaves. Their masters had absolute power over them and could beat them, sell them or kill them as they pleased. Many tribes of the Aleuts, who were a meek and docile people, were decimated by the fierce Thlin- gets. The weak and abject Stick Indians were held in fearful terror of them. When the Thlin- gets entered their country they dictated the prices for their furs and other commodities. The fear- ful Sticks yielded to this dictation and were ter- ribly oppressed by the haughty Thlingets. During the Eussian occupation of Alaska, the Thlingets attacked Eussian settlements. Several of these attacks have gone down into history, nota- bly the massacre of the Eussians at Sitka in June, 1802, the attack led by the famous Katlian at Sitka in the early part of the nineteenth century, the massacre at Yakutat in 1805, and other minor conflicts. Since the American occupation there have been several battles between the Americans and na- tives. At least two of these are now recorded history one which took place at Sitka on New 114. EXTINCT CUSTOMS Year's day, 1869, and the other at Wrangell on Christmas night, 1869. The last great stroke of war between tribes of the Thlingets was delivered in 1851. It was a fearful massacre of the Stickeens, or Yfrangell- ites, planned and executed by the great Kok-won- tons of Sitka. The Wrangellites, some time be- fore, had perpetrated a similar massacre on the Sitkans, and the Kok-won-tons struck back in revenge. The Wrangellites were lured to Sitka. Under the guise of hospitality a great dance was given in their honour. While in the heat of the dance, and handicapped with their dancing costumes on, they were fallen upon and all put to death with knife and club. It was a frightful slaughter, and one that no Thlinget can ever forget. Since then there have been no tribal wars. There have been some insignificant feuds and family quarrels, but nothing that would merit the name of war. Strictly speaking, none of their kill- ings would merit the name of war, for they made no declarations of war, sent out no challenges, nor did they line up in battle. All of their attacks were planned in secrecy and executed in strategy. Their supreme concern was to take their enemies by surprise and at a disadvantage. Their fights with the Russians were not without justification. They were oppressed, insulted, mal- treated and debauched by these foreigners. They were fairly driven to avenge the wrongs which these ingrates had inflicted upon them. They were peaceably inclined and showed themselves friendly toward the intruders until they saw with what a set of cruel, avaricious and immoral adventurers they had to deal. Then they showed that they did JEALOUS FEUDS 115 not lack the spirit to avenge their wrongs and de- fend themselves. As their Caucasian enemies had superior weapons of warfare, in order to gain an advantage they had to resort to strategy and surprise. Sometimes tribal jealousies brought on con- flicts. The tribe defeated in a dancing contest be- came jealous of the victorious tribe. Slurs and insults followed until a fight was precipitated. Sometimes a dozen or more would fall before the feud was settled. The killing proceeded until those who had fallen on one side were equal in rank to those who had fallen on the other. When they were dancing and potlatching, if one side made one song more than the other it would cause a quarrel which usually ended in a bloody en- counter. Frequently on these occasions the most innocent remarks were misconstrued, and then trouble followed. At Kluckwan a chief has in his possession a large basket known as the Mother- of-baskets and a dish (in reality a wooden trough) known as the Worm-dish. The former stands nearly three feet high from the floor and is about two and one-half feet in diameter, while the latter is about thirteen feet long, two feet wide and a foot and one-half deep. This dish is carved out of a solid log and resembles an immense wood- worm. These two receptacles have been used from time immemorial for eating contests. They are filled with food, and whichever side eats the con- tents first wins the contest. Some years ago a tribe of the Wrangellites had a contest with a tribe of the Chilkats, the former using the Worm-dish and the latter the Mother-of- baskets. On this occasion the former tribe won. This incensed the other tribe, and a bloody fight 116 EXTINCT CUSTOMS followed. Several on both sides fell before the fray was ended. These feuds could hardly be dignified by the name of war. They were mere outbursts of passion engendered by jealousy. We hear no more now of this petty kind of warfare. Until they came into possession of firearms, the war implements of the Thlingets were very crude. Spears, bow and arrows, knives, clubs and stone axes constituted their weapons of warfare. They could make very little headway with these against the muskets and cannon of the white men. But the battle-flag of the Thlinget has long been furled and the throb of his war-drum unheard. May the one never be unfurled and the other never heard again. Slavery is another of their obsolete customs. It has not been so many years ago since this ob- tained with all of its revolting cruelties. It was at the bottom of most of their wars, as they were conducted chiefly to obtain slaves. There are liv- ing to-day not a few who were once held as slaves, and some of them are comparatively young. They and their children are still looked down upon by those who had the good fortune never to come within the grasp of slavery. " A full third of the large population of this coast are slaves of the most helpless and abject description." So writes Bancroft in his " His- tory of Alaska." While free men and women captured in war were made slaves, many were born into bondage. Slaves were also captured from other tribes. None but the high-caste, however, were allowed to hold slaves, and the chiefs were, as a matter of course, the largest slave-holders. These wretched men and women were the con- TREATMENT OF SLAVES 117 stant victims of cruelty. They were compelled to do all kinds of menial work, such as getting wood, making fires, packing dead game, providing fish, carrying water, paddling canoes and, in short, every species of drudgery. The slave was compelled not only to wait on his master, but on every member of his master's household. Women slaves did every hand's turn for their master's daughter. The master was supposed not to carry so much as a paddle. His slave had to do this. Knowing that their lives were in their master's hands, they were abjectly submissive to every command and exceedingly careful to give their lord no offence. There were several events which demanded the sacrifice of slaves, and no one could tell when these events would take place. The erection of a house, the death of the owner, the death of any member of his household, an unusual feast, some occurrence to give shame to the owner, the mere gratification of his vanity, de- manded the sacrifice of slaves. When a chief died, just as he was expiring sev- eral slaves were sacrificed near the door of his house. A chief was drowned in the treacherous waters of the Taku river. His body was not recovered, but at the spot where he was drowned two of his slaves were put to death and their bodies thrown into the river. We have seen in the village of Kluckwan a house where a slave was put into each foundation hole of its corners for the posts to rest upon. We were told that this was done to insure a good founda- tion. When a member of any chief's family was tattooed, or had an earlobe pierced for rings, the event was so important that a slave was sacri- 118 EXTINCT CUSTOMS ficed. If a high-caste man was given any great shame, he would sacrifice a slave or two to wipe out the shame. This showed how rich and im- portant he was. The grandfather of one of our educated young men was a very high-caste man of the Chilkats. He lived at Kluckwan, a renowned old Indian vil- lage. His male slaves lived in a house on one side of his and his female slaves in another on the other side. When he died a number of them were butchered and their bodies thrown into the river. Another middle-aged man has told us that he was an eye-witness to the killing of a beautiful girl slave. After the killing, he saw them put a rope around her neck and then tow her lifeless body out from the shore. When a sufficient dis- tance from the shore the rope was cut and her body sank, a prey to the fishes. The dead bodies of slaves were always thrown into the bay, sea or river. They were never ac- corded the honour of burning or burial. Ignominy was their lot in death as well as in life. Slaves were frequently manumitted. Several events were the occasions of these manumissions. When a slave dressed his master for the dance in the heirlooms of his tribe he was set free. Some- times through mere vanity of the owner they were given their liberty. The master would then be talked of as a great man. The writer knew one man who had such love for his daughter that when she gave birth to a son he was so happy that he set free a valuable slave. So while the poor slave was in constant fear that he might be killed any day, there was also hope that he might be given his liberty. This hope, doubtless, kept him from utter despair, and CREMATION 119 led him to be cautions and servile when, without it, in desperation he might have defied his master and even killed him. Slavery, we are happy to say, no longer exists among the Thlingets. It was blotted out, not as the black man's was, with the musket and sword and at the cost of many precious lives, but by the gentle and peaceable means of the Gospel. At one time cremation was the universal way of disposing of the dead, except of the bodies of slaves, which were thrown into the water, and the remains of shamans, which were embalmed and deposited in deadhouses. The universal cus- tom now is to bury the dead. When bodies were cremated the ashes were care- fully gathered and placed in a box, and the box was then deposited in a deadhouse.. Hundreds of these little deadhouses may yet be seen through- out Alaska. Deposited with the box of ashes were many possessions of the deceased, such as cloth- ing, blankets, tools, food, water and other things. These were for his use in the spirit-land. According to the belief of the natives, burning the dead assured the spirit of the deceased a warm and comfortable place in the spirit-land. As na- tives are seldom uncomfortable from heat in this life, but often suffer from the cold, they dread the cold far more than they do the heat. Hence a seat near the fire is the seat of honour and pleasure. In the future life their concern is to avoid the cold and to procure a seat near the fire. If burned, the spirits of the other world detect it, and, seeing that the dead has been used to the fire, give him a seat where he may be comfortable. The chief objection against native cremation of the dead was their barbarous incantations about 120 EXTINCT CUSTOMS the funeral pyre. But we should remember that this was an expression of their grief. No people in the world have keener anguish over the loss of loved ones than the natives of Alaska. We have? heard wailings from them that would melt the hardest heart to tears. While there may be one or more cases of exist- ing polygamy to-day, yet it may be truly said that, as a custom, it is a thing of the past. If indulged in at all it is in violation of the public sentiment and life of to-day. In former years it was com- monly practised. All early writers about the na- tives bear testimony to the fact, and the testimony of the natives corroborates the statements of the historians. Since it is no longer countenanced, we feel justified in classing it as obsolete, though a case now and then may be found. The cruel toughening process is now a thing of the past. In the winter time, in the extreme cold weather, men and boys would go down to the beach and, naked, jump into the ice-cold water. After floundering around in the water, they would jump out and roll in the snow. They would then switch their nude bodies, or have some one do it for them, until the blood would all but break through the skin. Children, who would naturally shrink from this cruel treatment, were compelled to endure it. Youngsters were treated in this way to teach them endurance and make them brave. It was often practised by their elders from a spirit of vanity. One who was with us for eight years as interpreter, used to tell us how his uncle (he was an orphan) compelled him when a mere child to suffer this cruel treatment. The author has seen youth and young men, with a pair of drawers as their only garment, go into the woods, INFANTICIDE wading through two or three feet of snow, and bring out a load of wood on their bare backs. This they did to show what they could endure. We no longer hear of their submitting them- selves or their children to this cruel treatment. It was done, of course, from a good motive, but with mistaken judgment. If they had great powers of endurance, then when necessity re- quired it they would not suffer so much as if they had no such powers. And in those times they never knew what they would be called upon to endure. Infanticide is another of their cruel practices which has fallen into oblivion. A male child has always been a welcome addition to the Thlinget household. But not so a female. In earlier times, when they came too fast, their little lives were strangled. Twins, also, as they were looked upon as an evil omen, were disposed of. While there may be yet isolated cases of in- fanticide before birth and with children born out of wedlock, yet as a custom it has passed away. When prevalent no one raised his hand against it. Public opinion was not opposed to it. To-day it is. The common method of putting little ones to death was to stuff their mouths with moss or grass. This was done by women, generally rela- tives of the mother. Babes were usually carried to the woods to be put to death. Tattooing the body was another of their cruel customs which has succumbed to the enlightened principles of truth. Totemic designs were worked in the body and native dyes poured into the punc- tures and abrasions of the skin. It was a mark of great endurance to submit to this process. Tattooing was done more from vanity than any- EXTINCT CUSTOMS thing else. It gratified their love of adornment and their boast of endurance. The Thlinget who could not endure bodily pain and suffering without flinching and without a groan was despised. Gambling, a vice which is still prevalent with the white people, and one which had a tremendous hold on the natives some years ago, is now a back number. This used to absorb most of their time and most of their means. In some instances they gambled away their wives and even themselves. When the latter was done they became the slave of the one who won. More than once the writer has seen circles of native gamblers seated on the beach in the open, gambling for the stakes shining within the ring. It was curious to hear their weird singing and see them beating with sticks at the same time on a pole running horizontally between the players. This was done to divert the attention of the players on the opposite side while the gambling peg was dexterously thrust under the moss in the ring. Was it the Wolf, the Bear, the Salmon, the Keet, the Eagle, the Crow, etc., which was slipped under the moss? This was the problem. All eyes had been eagerly watching, but who can tell? After some deliberation the fatal guess was made. If correct, the side of the winning party sent up a shout of victory that was heard throughout the village. If the one guessing failed, then there was high glee for the opposite side. The native gambling pegs were about five inches long and three-eighths of an inch in diam- eter. They were of uniform size, highly polished, and each was marked differently. There were usually seventy-two in a pack. These pegs were fine specimens of native art. They were all hand- GAMBLING PEGS 123 made and yet as true and perfect as if turned by a machine. Each was prettily decorated with na- tive colours, and each was named, taking, as a rule, the name of some animal. The trump, or leading, stick of the pack was called nawk (devil fish). The player would skilfully conceal this im- portant stick with two or three others in a bunch of shredded cedar bark or moss. Two of these bunches would be thrust in front of the opponent, when he would be required to guess in which bunch was the nawk stick. If he guessed correctly a count was given in his favour and it became his turn to shuffle. If he failed he had another trial, and so on up to a certain number of failures. Usually the tenth failure lost him the game, but sometimes it would run to as high as eighteen. Then, again, the party guessing would name what sticks were in the bunch of moss. The ones he named correctly would count so much in his favour. This game was at one time the most popular of gambling games with the natives. Another similar game was played with two prin- cipal sticks, which were short enough to be con- cealed in the hand, and a number of plain sticks. One of the two principal sticks was carved while the other was perfectly plain. The players were divided into two parties, or opposite sides, but only one player on each side was allowed to handle the sticks. This he did very rapidly when the leader opposite called: " Hands out! " He then endeavoured to guess which hand held the carved stick called nagon. If he guessed correctly his side took one of the plain sticks, known as a counter; if otherwise, his side lost one. The side that succeeded in getting all of the other side's EXTINCT CUSTOMS counters first won the game and took the stakes. Other games of lesser interest were played, but were not so popular as the above-mentioned games. In fact, the passion for gambling, which once burned so fiercely in the native's breast, was completely subdued by the influence of the Gospel. The gambling habit has long since passed away; and the old gambling devices are seldom seen. xin WANING CUSTOMS WE pass from the obsolete customs to those which still exist but .are waning. Witch- craft, that so long has held terrible sway over the natives, is one of these, but will be treated in another connection. All were once completely under the spell of this wretched superstition. All sickness and death was attributed to it. Witch-doctors are now few as compared with the number that once thrived, and these are largely discredited. The white man's doctor is now consulted and the native sick are treated in our hospitals. We believe that witch- craft will soon be altogether a thing of the past. The old marriage system of the Thlingets is giving way to the Christian marriage ceremony, but not a few are yet living together according to the old system. Marriages are brought about among the natives in more ways than one. Sometimes a youth or young man chooses a girl or woman for himself, frequently scheming relatives determine the match ; sometimes marriages are arranged accord- ing to the request of the dying, sometimes the levirate custom regulates them, and occasionally headstrong youth defy all customs and marry as they will. Girls seldom have any choice in their own marriage, but act in obedience to the dictates of their relatives and the rules of the people. 125 126 WANING CUSTOMS Often they do not see the men who are designed to become their husbands until they are wedded to them. There is no such thing as courtship. If a young girl received the attentions of a young man as our girls do, it would shock the natives beyond measure, and would be considered a terri- ble disgrace. Every girl is carefully watched and restrained from making any approaches to men. Their law of modesty requires that no girl shall speak to a man, not even to her own brother. When a young man makes his own selection of a girl or woman for a wife, he makes known his desire to his mother, or to a maternal aunt if he has no mother, or perhaps to his sister. He does not approach his sister directly but through her husband. There are no old maids among the na- tives, nor do widows long remain such. It is con- sidered a disgrace for a girl to remain many months without being married after she becomes a woman. Earely do they wait at all. So sisters of age usually have husbands, and their brothers use these husbands as mediums of approach when they wish any favour from their sisters who have attained womanhood. Having made known his desire to any one of these close relatives, that relative reveals the fact to the other close relatives. If they approve of his choice, they interview the girl's people to get their consent. The girl is not consulted at all. If they are high-caste people there is a great deal of palavering about it before it comes to an issue. The youth's relatives (and only those of his mother's totem are considered such, his father and his father's people having nothing to do with it) set forth as strongly as they know how his THE DOWRY 127 many good qualities, accomplishments, and his an- cestral line. If the girl's people (those of her mother's totem) regard the proposal of the young man's relatives favourably, they in turn set forth her noble qualities, and accomplishments, and an- cestral line, as strongly as they can; and before the palaver is over they tell what they think they ought to have as a dowry. If all are agreed, then the young man is brought, together with the pres- ents that are to be made, to the girl's home. He and the girl then, through the mutual understand- ing of their recognized relatives, become husband and wife. The presents are given not in the sense of a purchase of the girl, but as the binding fea- ture of the contract. This is to make the union solid, and generally is very effective, especially on the girl's side; for if she proves unfaithful or should run away from her husband, her people must pay back to his people what they gave as a dowry, or its equivalent. This inclines them to encourage and advise the girl to be faithful and to stand by her husband. If a man casts off his wife, he is not held ac- countable. The wife goes to her people and little or nothing is done about it. It is considered such a disgrace for a wife to be cast off by a husband that she will endure the most brutal treatment, and sometimes even death itself, before she will leave him. If the girl's relatives do not approve of her marrying the young man who desires her as a wife, his relatives are so informed. Whether they carry the day or not depends upon the determina- tion of the girl 's people. But usually their refusal settles it.- 128 WANING CUSTOMS The greatest barriers to marriages are differ- ences in caste and intriguing relatives. No Thlinget parent wants his son or daughter to marry one of a lower caste, nor do relatives ap- prove of it. They oppose this with all of their energy, and such opposition frequently stands in the way of a man who wishes to marry a girl. Relatives who have planned to marry the girl to some one else also block many a man's matri- monial ambition. The relatives of the girl are very desirous, as a rule, to marry her to some one on the father's side of the family. It may be an uncle, a cousin, or a grandfather. The same principle holds true with the relatives of the young man, who seek to marry him to some girl or woman who is a near relative of his on the father's side. It may be his cousin, or aunt, or grandmother. Such mar- riages are not only considered very proper among the natives, but they more heartily desire them than marriages of any other connection. In choos- ing a husband for a girl, relatives consider the young man's accomplishments and his family con- nections. The man's relatives, in choosing for him, prefer a girl or woman who is modest, in- dustrious and has some accomplishments as a basket-maker, bead-worker, seamstress and house- keeper. A dying wife sometimes requests that her hus- band marry a certain girl or woman after she is gone. The motive prompting such a request is usually the desire to keep her personal effects within her own family, the native custom being for the relatives of the survivor to appropriate all of the deceased's belongings, whether husband or wife. LEVIRATE MARRIAGES A dying request of this nature is very highly respected and is usually carried out. In one case that came under our notice, a wife died from con- sumption. Before her death she mentioned a young girl whom she wanted her husband to take as his wife after she was dead. Though the girl lived more than a hundred miles away, and the husband knew very little about her, yet the dying request of the wife was carried out to the letter. The levirate custom regulates many marriages ; that is, when a brother dies some one of his sur- viving brothers must take his widow to wife. If the deceased left no brother, then the next closest relative of his must make the widow his wife. On the other hand, if the wife dies, then a sister of the deceased, or a close relative, must be given to the surviving husband for a wife. The widow has the right of selection from any of her deceased hus- band's relatives and the surviving husband has the same right with the relatives of his deceased wife. It will be seen that this form of marriage among the Thlingets corresponds precisely with that of the ancient Hebrews. It is also interesting to note that there is a correspondence in other re- spects between the marriage customs of the two peoples ; for example, in the dowry, the choice of husband and wife by parents, etc. It is very common for the nephew of the de- ceased husband to take his widow to wife, the nephew being considered the nearest relation to a man next to his brother. Also for the niece of the deceased wife to marry the widower, as the niece is the nearest relative of a woman next to her sister. In levirate marriages no presents are passed 130 WANING CUSTOMS from the man's people to the people of the woman he takes to wife, for this is only making good his loss. The surviving husband has the right even to select a married sister of his deceased wife. If this is done, she must leave her husband and be- come the widower's wife. Or the widow has the right to select even a married brother of her de- ceased husband. And if this is done, the husband must leave his wife and children and become the widow's husband. The writer is acquainted with more cases than one of this kind. A man in our community was suddenly killed. His widow se- lected one of his married brothers who at the time was living at Sitka. He promptly left his wife and children and came to live with his brother's wife, and they are now living happily together. If a brother should refuse to take to wife his de- ceased brother's widow he would be disgraced among his people. If the brother selected by a widow is an old man, a boy is also given to her to be her husband when the old man dies. This system makes some very peculiar matches. We see old men married to girls yet in their teens, and old, wrinkled-faced women married to mere boys. Little need be said about those who take mar- riage into their own hands in defiance of all cus- tom. They simply elect to live together and do so, facing the scorn of theip- people. Child marriages are by no means uncommon. Boys and girls are mated by their relatives, and infants and mere children are sometimes prom- ised in marriage. But few marriages are love-matches, but cases of pure love are not altogether wanting. We LOVE-MATCHES 131 knew of a young man who worked for a girl's parents for years, like Jacob for Rachel, for the girl he loved. He would kill deer, provide fish, hunt seal, get wood, and do anything he could for her parents for the promise that he could have her at a certain time. The girl loved him. The parents wanted her to marry another man, an older and uglier fellow. She absolutely refused to have him, threatening to be bad if she could not have the man she wanted. The parents yielded on condition that the youth of her choice work for them for a period. This was done, and at the end of the time the youth took his wife. The natives have a different standard of beauty from that of the white people. Beauty, indeed, cuts little figure with them. The qualities that count in a girl are caste, then ability to sew or weave, and then modesty, which leads her to stay at home and never to speak or look at a man. To test a girl 's modesty when she came from her little coop of confinement, some one would shout, " Fire! Fire! ' If she paid no attention to the cry and looked toward the ground, it was con- sidered that she was modest and that she would make a desirable wife. A rule which is still in full force, the violation of which means deep disgrace to the violator and in earlier times was punished with death, is that a man must marry a woman outside of his own totem or totemic phratry. As soon as the obsequies for the deceased are over a feast follows. During the progress of the feast members of the tribe of the deceased ask the widow which of their tribe she will take for a new husband. The one whom she mentions be- comes her husband. WANING CUSTOMS Another rule closely observed is that no girl shall in any wise propose marriage to a man. If she did she would be held in everlasting disgrace. Nor can any young man approach a girl on the subject. As we have already said, relatives ar- range matrimonial matters. In former years men and women commonly took each other on trial. If, after having lived to- gether for some weeks or months, they found that they liked each other and were satisfied to live to- gether permanently, then, by a mutual understand- ing, they became husband and wife for good. Only a few years ago we found a man and woman living together in this style. When asked if they were married, he said no, but that they were just living together with the view of marrying providing they liked each other. We did not hesitate to tell them that they were not living right according to the white man's standard of morality. The old custom of Thlinget marriage is, as we have said, waning, and to-day the Christian mar- riage ceremony is largely invoked. The author has performed the Christian ceremony for scores of them. Many white men have taken native women for wives and in most instances have married them according to law. Some of these marriages have been very happy, while others have been anything but happy. Half-breed children are very common in Alaska, many being legitimate. Not a few are now holding on to the property when either the husband or the wife dies. In nearly every instance, however, they have to fight for it, as the relatives of the deceased claim it. The writer has more than once been called upon to protect property rights for the widow or the CONFINING AT WOMANHOOD 133 widower. It works great hardship on poor na- tives when widows and orphaned children are stripped entirely of their worldly effects and then thrown on the cold charity of relatives. Some- times they fare all right, but frequently they suffer from this species of spoliation. For high-caste natives, especially for chiefs, the erection of totem poles was at one time a common custom. Occasionally one is erected in this day, but this will soon be reckoned as one of the cus- toms of the past. One of the most curious waning customs is that of confining girls when approaching womanhood in some cramped, coop-like place. Usually this little jail is built by the house with a hole for entrance made in the side of the house. It is very primitive in nature, made out of rough slabs or even of boughs. In one family known to the writer, girls were confined in a pit under the floor of the house, which was entered by a trapdoor. All light is excluded except what may find its way through cracks and through the door when opened. In these little dungeons, not high enough for them to stand in nor long enough for them to stretch out in, girls are confined anywhere from four months to one year. When they come out they are fairly bleached, and the great wonder is that they ever live to come out at all. The places are usually dirty and dank, without light and ventilation, and their inmates are deprived of all means of exercise and fed on a very limited diet. Happily this custom, while yet largely observed, has not the universal sway that it once had, and not a few native girls who come to womanhood to-day are strangers to this ordeal. This practice advertises to the community that WANING CUSTOMS the girl so confined is of marriageable age and will soon be ready for matrimonial orders. Indeed, she is not long out of her little pen before she is a bride. In most cases she is spoken for before she leaves her solitary confinement, and she steps out of her little prison only to step into matri- mony. The Thlingets may not go all the way with Josh Billings who says, " Marry early and often," but they do go at least half-way with him; for they believe in early marriages. For them, I am in- clined to think that this is good policy. Their young people settle down, and their girls have a protector before they go astray and fall down. XIV PKESENT-DAY CUSTOMS THE feast is by far the most popular of all customs, and the one to which they cling most tenaciously. It will probably be the last to pass away. The "potlatch" (the Chinook term for free gift) and the common, almost perennial, feast of the natives are two different affairs. There is a feast held in connection with the potlatch, but its prime feature is the giving away hundreds of dollars worth of goods by some man who wishes to establish a name for himself among the people. But potlatches are few as compared with the total number of feasts. They are held to honour the dead, to benefit the dead, to pay off obligations, to wipe out stains on one's reputation, in com- memoration of the dead, for self and family glori- fication, for sociability. So desirous of feasting are they that sometimes they welcome a death, as it affords them an excuse to observe this favourite custom. Where the sick have been expected to die and then have recovered, natives have been known to be greatly disappointed and to regret the re- covery, as the feast they anticipated in case of death did not come off. For this reason some are not urgent in employing a doctor when rela- tives are sick. A feast must be held whenever a Thlinget dies, whether man, woman or child. It cannot be 135 136 PRESENT-DAY CUSTOMS omitted, as it would be regarded as a woeful lack of respect to the dead and would bring severe re- proach on the family. Besides honouring the dead, the festival has a superstitious significance. It is believed that in some way it actually benefits the dead. For this reason, while the feasting is in progress food is thrown into the fire, and the name of the dead in whose honour the feast is held is called out. The fire-spirit in some way conveys the food to him in the spirit-land. If the feast were omitted, or a poor feast given, the spirit of the dead would feel badly about it and reproach relatives so remiss in their duty. If a good feast is given, then the souls abiding in the spirit-land will treat the departed one with all due respect, as they 'observe how he is regarded by his people left behind. At this feast all obligations incurred in the cre- mation or burial of the dead are met and extrava- gantly paid for. The higher the rank or caste of the deceased, the more is paid for every service. The natives are not satisfied unless much money is spent, but everything done for the dead is by those of another totem than that of the deceased. The slightest service must be well paid for, and anything given must be returned in value several fold. These are obligations which no Thlinget would think of disregarding, as he would be put to everlasting shame. The size and expense of the feast depends alto- gether upon the standing and family connections of the deceased. If one of importance and a high caste dies, nothing short of a great feast will do. Every member of the tribe of the deceased con- tributes what he can toward it, and there is no giving grudgingly, but cheerfully. COMMEMORATIVE FEASTS 137 The guests of the feast must be those of a dif- ferent totem from that of the ones giving the feast. Members of the totem belonging to those giving the feast may attend and look on, but they cannot receive anything. A feast is usually held immediately after the death of a person, but not always. Death may occur when it is inconvenient for the friends of the deceased to give one at once. They may be too poor, or it may be in the summer time when the people are scattered. But as soon as the rela- tives of the dead can accumulate the means and the people are back in the village, then the cele- bration in honour of the memory of the dead must be given. Frequently a light feast is given by the fam- ily right after the obsequies, and in due time a big one follows. After a period of two or more years another feast may be given in honour of the same person. This is the commemorative feast, and to all in- tents and purposes is the same as the other. As soon as convenient after the burial (or cre- mation) of the body a grave fence (formerly a deadhouse) is erected. This event calls for a feast, given primarily to pay off those who had any hand in erecting it. In course of time a suita- ble monument is set up in memory of the dead. This again calls for a feast, at which those who assisted in setting it up are paid for their services. The completion of certain masks used by chiefs in dancing, the building of a canoe, the erection of a totem, and of a house, calls for a feast, the primary purpose being to pay those who did the work. These items are tribal property, and all tribal 138 PRESENT-DAY CUSTOMS property must be made, built or erected by those of another tribe than the one owning them. This is the process of Thlinget settlement. They are perfectly satisfied with this method, though they must wait months or even years be- fore a feast can be given and a settlement ef- fected. While they do not keep books, yet every- one remembers accurately what is due him until he has been paid, no matter how long the settle- ment is put off. The women, especially, keep tab on every one under any obligations to their families. It often happens that when a man completes his house he has no money with which to make a feast and meet his obligations. His creditors are content to wait until such time as he can give it. This system has made them poor debtors so far as the white man is concerned. To delay to pay an honest debt to the white man seems noth- ing to them. The truth is that too many of them are unscrupulous in this respect, and will not pay their debts to a white man if they can get out of it. They cannot very well shirk this duty among themselves, as every debtor is hounded until he or his tribe pays. The events which call for feasting for self and family glorification are the erection of totem poles, piercing the ears and nose for rings, nam- ing a child, tattooing the person, and when a girl becomes a woman. The feast for any of these occasions proclaims to the community the high standing of the one giving it and his family. So the Thlinget aristocrats have their way of pub- lishing to the world their social status as well as those of Gotham. OTHER FEASTS 139 Feasts are sometimes given to whitewash a dis- reputable character. If a man has disgraced him- self in the eyes of his people, he may give a gen- erous feast, and no one after that is allowed to mention or talk about his dishonourable conduct. Giving a feast wipes out the stain, and the sinner may hold his head as high as ever, knowing that he is not talked about as he was before he gave the feast, as that put a quietus on gossip. In the settlement of all feuds, insults, serious quarrels and the cutting of a child, feasts must be given. When a child has been cut the parents believe the scar does not look so bad as it would if no feast had been given. This is a wonderful balm to the wounded sensibilities of the Thlinget. The death of a chief, shaman or very high-caste man calls for a very large and expensive feast. It is attended by men, women and children. Gen- erally the room in which it is held is one solid mass of humanity. In some feasts they squat on the floor in family groups. There is one large bowl to the group, generally a wash-bowl, which may hold anything in the nature of liquid food, a stew, or boiled meats, or fish. All in the group help themselves from this common bowl with a spoon or fingers. Food like pilot bread, crackers, apples, etc., is dumped on a cloth on the floor or held in the lap. The head of the family circle takes with her to the feast a flour sack or pillow slip. After all have eaten what they can they put what is left into this sack and carry it home. Such is the generosity at these feasts that the guests cannot begin to consume all the food that is distributed. Liquid food, such as oils and ber- ries in oil, they carry home in their bowls or kettles. 140 PRESENT-DAY CUSTOMS In some feasts the people are seated in di- visions. This is especially true when dancing is held in connection with them. During their prog- ress, in many instances, speech-making is indulged in and there is much merriment. On these oc- casions legends are rehearsed and exploits re- counted. By the time a Thlinget becomes a man he has heard the legends of his people over and over again. Fasting may precede feasting not to enable them to eat more, but to bring good luck to all who partake of the feast. The Thlinget 's super- stition leads him to believe that there are many things he can do which will insure him good luck. Many white people are not far behind him in this. It is a common practice for them to say one thing and mean another. The Thlingets are ex- perts in handling innuendo, and no less so in per- ceiving the hit that is conveyed in the same. In truth they are a little too sensitive at times, taking offence where none is intended. This has fre- quently been the case in religious services con- ducted by missionaries. On one occasion a lame native got up in the midst of a service and left the church, offended because the preacher read in the Bible about the " lame and the halt." He said it was calling attention to his infirmity and he resented it. The potlatch is given primarily for self-glori- fication. The man who gives one receives honour and public esteem for himself and his family in proportion to the amount he gives away. He is the most renowned who has given the greatest or the greatest number of potlatches. A man who is ambitious to give a potlatch will save and stint AMOUNT GIVEN AWAY 141 for years, even to the extent of denying himself and family the necessities of life, that he may give as big a one as possible. The members of his family contribute their quota and endure the pri- vations it entails. From two to five thousand dol- lars worth of goods are sometimes given away in a single potlatch. Men absolutely impoverish themselves and families, but their poverty is pa- tiently endured for the name that has been estab- lished. Henceforth the man is an honoured mem- ber of the community, however low he was before he gave the potlatch. He and his will be given a seat of honour in all public functions and a liberal share of what is distributed in every feast to which they are invited. Feasting and dancing are important features of the event and are never omitted. Invitations to attend a potlatch are sent by special messengers long before the affair is to come off ; sometimes the people know of it months or even years before it takes place. Men, women and children attend, as at all their feasts. Invita- tions are sent to the people of distant villages and to those of a different phratry from the one to which the man giving the potlatch belongs. Those of the great man's totem may attend, but they cannot receive any of the gifts that are dis- tributed. The wife of any man or the husband of any woman who is of the same totem as the one giving the potlatch may and does receive gifts, as the totem is different from that of the native philanthropist. When the important day comes, the village is a whirl of intense excitement. The honoured guests, two hundred or more in number, are sighted as they approach in their canoes. Flags wave from PRESENT-DAY CUSTOMS the prow and stern of every canoe and on the shore. Before a canoe of the happy fleet touches the strand, they are drawn up in peaceful array to hear words of welcome from the great chief. After the response from the spokesman of the in- coming guests, they all draw to the shore and their hospitable friends receive them to their homes. For the next week or ten days things are mov- ing in this village. Every day and night feasting and dancing engage and thrill the merry-makers. The great tribal heirlooms are brought out and totemic emblems are profusely displayed on paraphernalia of every description. Faces are painted with stripes betokening the totem of the individual wearing them. Now we see a Crow, now an Eagle, now a Bear, now a Frog. What gorgeous costumes some wear! What ludicrous ones have others ! Here comes a bear ! But no ; it is only a man in a bear's skin. Look at that mammoth crow ! But it is not a real crow. It is only a man under a great mask to represent the doleful bird. The dull, monotonous beat of the drum is frequently heard the only object resem- bling a musical instrument used in the potlatch; doleful as it is, it excites the natives who hear it. The communal house where the great potlatch is given is thronged and is the scene of varied ac- tivities. The dancers take their places, and after an appointed spokesman has made some appro- priate remarks, dancing begins. After this set has danced an hour or more, a fresh set from another tribe takes the floor. Feasting is inter- spersed and the distribution of the goods to be given away is made. Great bundles of blankets, prints, muslin and edibles of various kinds are given out. While many of the blankets are given PERIOD OF TIME COVERED 143 away whole, others are torn into quarters and these fractions are bestowed. The prints and bolts of muslin are given out by the yard, the edibles in quantity. Every man receives accord- ing to his social standing. While the dancing is in progress various songs peculiar to the tribe of the one giving the potlatch are sung, or, more correctly speaking, chanted. The period covered in giving a potlatch varies according to the amount of goods which have been accumulated to be given away. It may be from one to six days. It often happens, however, that several are ready to give potlatches in succession, and so they run along without a break for two or three weeks. The potlatch is conducted according to well- defined rules laid down by custom, and no de- parture from these rules is tolerated. Dancing. While dancing is usually held in con- nection with feasting and potlatching, yet we need to distinguish it from these. Feasts are often held without dancing and dancing without feasting. The native dance is very different from the white man's. It is practically a charade, an imi- tation, or representation, of the chief character- istics of some totemic animal, as the bear, crow or whale. There are several different dances and each is known by its own name, and has its own particular features. Among the more important ones are the War Dance, the Peace Dance, the Ptarmigan Dance, the Tsimpshean Dance and the Stick Dance. The dancers are divided into bands, each from some distinctive tribe. Only one band dances at a time, and when they have played their part they 144 PRESENT-DAY CUSTOMS give way to one from another tribe. They dance in rivalry and frequently engender envy, jeal- ousy, contention and strife. Each side watches carefully its opponents and notices and remem- bers the slightest mistake made while dancing, or any remark which they can construe as a slur. Anything which can be considered a reflection on dancing or persons is eagerly seized upon and made the basis of a quarrel. While dancing, the participants stand close to- gether and scarcely move out of their tracks. They are surrounded, as a rule, by a large body of spectators, who confine them in a positive area. The dancing really consists of rhythmic move- ments of the hands, arms, head and entire body above the waist. To the white spectator, some of these motions are extremely ludicrous and laughter-provoking ; but to the native it is serious business and he wears a sober countenance through it all. Time is measured by the beat of the drum now soft, now loud, now slow and now rapid, and by the incessant chant of females from start to finish. All movements are in harmony with the time thus measured. The dance is highly spectacular and dramatic. Striking and singular costumes are worn, some of which are highly valued. Tribal heirlooms in the way of wooden hats, masks, ear-drops, head- gear, robes, batons, etc., which have been handed down from generation to generation, are much in evidence. The participants are men, women and children. Their faces are streaked with paint, red or black, rings are in their noses and ear- drops in their ears. Some of the leading actors wear headpieces with flexible projections six or eight inches long sticking out of the top. These BIG DANCE AT ANGOON 145 prongs are filled between with eagle's down, and every once in awhile during the dance the proud wearer of this peculiar headgear gives his head a terrific shake, sending the down flying through the air like a snowstorm. Thus, all tricked out in their various trappings and finery, they dance to their hearts' content. One dance often occu- pies hours. The writer has witnessed a number of native dances. The largest, most spectacular and most significant of these was at a place called Angoon, a village belonging to the famous Hootz-na-hoos. On this occasion bands from the Hootz-na-hoos and from some of the leading tribes of Sitka per- formed. The dance, which was held in connection with a big potlatch, took several days, and the Sitka bands walked off with the honours and with a cargo of the spoils from the potlatch. The star dancer of the Sitkans, however, lost her heart to one of the young lords of the Hootz-na-hoos and she became his wife. So the Hootz-na-hoos had at least some compensation for their lavish enter- tainment of the Sitkans. This big dance was car- ried through in a harmonious spirit, and was such as no white man will probably ever look upon again. Other minor prevalent customs require only brief reference. The absurd custom of brothers and sisters (as soon as the latter attain to womanhood), the mother-in-law and son-in-law, males and females of the same totem, refraining from speaking to each other, still finds favour with many. The writer has known sisters who, on their return to Alaska, after being away to school in the States, could not get their uneducated brothers to speak 146 PRESENT-DAY CUSTOMS to them. A nephew, who had been educated in one of our schools, made repeated efforts to get his aunt to speak to him while on a long journey, but failed. The untutored aunt would not con- descend to speak to her nephew, as it was con- trary to her notions of womanly modesty and ethics. It is considered improper for a brother and sister to sit in the same room if no others are there. AL brother refused to enter the church until the arrival of others because his sister was the only one inside. A brother may not make a present to his married sister, but may to her hus- band. It is considered highly improper for a brother to give his married sister anything. The Thlingets would sooner sustain great per- sonal loss than face the opprobrium which would be heaped upon them for the violation of any popular custom. Public scorn is the most dreaded thing imaginable to them. And nothing invites it like the violation of their customs. XV THE DISPOSITION OF THE DEAD NO event with the Thlingets involves so much as death. It sets many curious customs in motion, all being dependent on the rank and class of the deceased. If a chief, great lamenta- tion is heard from the entire tribe. As soon as he expires messengers are sent all over the coun- try to announce his death to his tribal relations. No matter how far away they may be at the time, no disposition is made of the body until they ar- rive. It lies in state, clothed in the very best of garments. The most costly blankets and robes of his tribe are brought out, wrapped around and thrown over him. The old tribal heirlooms are placed on top of his coffin. His weapons of war- fare, the instruments he used in hunting, and house-totems are placed beside him. In the days of cremation his totemic marks were painted in red on his face. These things reveal to any who enter the house the high standing and connections of the man in life. The body properly placed in state, the widow takes her place on the floor beside the body,, not to leave the spot until the remains are removed for burial. Her robe is a coarse blanket, a token of bereavement. Most of the time she lies hunched up, and as silent as the corpse beside her. Her hair is shorn and her face painted black all over, in token of mourning. Hired mourners 147 148 THE DISPOSITION OF THE DEAD take their places also beside the remains. All mourners must be of an opposite tribe from that of the deceased. These particulars properly carried out, atten- tion is turned toward collecting things for the great feast which must follow. The first step toward this is to collect all the money possible from the members of the dead man's tribe. All are loyal in giving and no trouble is had in raising the money needed for the feast. It would be great shame to one not to give. The stigma would cling to him for a long time. Boxes of pilot bread, apples, canned goods and other foods are purchased, and to these are added home food products such as dried fish, fish oil and various kinds of berries preserved in fish oil. While the food is being collected for the feast by some, others are busy digging the grave which, in the case of the burial of a chief, must be lined with suitable lumber. As soon as the distant relatives of the deceased arrive, the officiating missionary is sent for, if a Christian service is to be held in the home. Fre- quently funeral services are held in the church. The ceremony over at the home or the church, hired pallbearers convey the casket to the hearse or to the burial ground. In these days a band of music often plays dirges and funeral marches as the procession moves along. Women have gath- ered up all the articles intended to be buried with the body, and taken them to the grave. The brief ceremony there being over, the mourners sit with their backs to the grave and give vent to real or assumed grief. Often the whole ceremony is delayed for the men to enlarge the grave to accommodate the DRESSING THE DYING FOR BURIAL 149 coffin or while they make the box for it. The grave-diggers are so averse to throwing one shovelful of earth more than is absolutely neces- sary that the hole is usually too small for the coffin and the grave must be enlarged. Articles of clothing and bedding (and if for a child, playthings), and always a vessel of water, are buried beside the coffin. Sewing-machines, clocks, guns and various other articles such as were used and prized in life are often deposited on the grave. The funeral over, the guests repair to the house where the all-important feast is to be given. This has a threefold purpose : to honour the memory of the dead, to feed his spirit as it travels to the spirit-land and to pay off all who have any claim on the family of the deceased for any services rendered in their bereavement. As the dying must be dressed for burial before life has departed from the body, all who assisted in that put in a claim. The natives think it is terrible if the dying are not dressed for the tomb before life leaves the body. This is to avoid touch- ing the dead, of which they have a superstitious fear. We have seen men with their burial clothes on two or three days before death. It does not disturb the mind of a dying native thus to dress him, or even to bring his coffin into his presence before he passes away. In fact most of them prefer to see these things before they die. They have no fear of death, and most of them face it as calmly as if lying down to sleep. All who contributed anything, and the pall- bearers, coffin-box builders, grave-diggers, etc., must be liberally remunerated. By the time the various claims and the other 150 THE DISPOSITION OF THE DEAD expenses have been met two or three hundred dollars have been swallowed up, but every penny of this is cheerfully paid, as it would be a deep disgrace to refuse any of these claims. But the expenses connected with the dead do not end here. As soon as possible a grave fence and a tombstone must be erected. These must be as good as money can buy. Often expensive monuments are bought. They must be conveyed to the burial ground and set up by those of an opposite tribe from that of the dead. This requires a feast when those who erected them are paid. The disposition of the bodies of those not so high in rank as chiefs, and of the common people other than slaves (whose bodies were cast into the sea), is similar to that of chiefs, only not so imposing and expensive. But no matter how poor a family, they strain every point to give their dead expensive burial. In the days of cremation, the ashes, and the bones of the dead not completely burned, were carefully collected, put into a sack made of cloth, and the sack deposited in a box which was kept in the family deadhouse. The bones of each were distinguished from the others by the colour of the sacks. The Thlingets are especially fond of giving feasts for the dead. They will even exhume bodies and bones to bury them in some other spot in order to have an excuse for such feasting. In one instance two relatives had a serious quarrel as to which one should have the privilege of taking the bones of a deceased relative from a deadhouse to bury them. One of them became so angered that he took the bones and scattered them in the bushes. The members of an opposite totem had PECULIAR CUSTOMS AT BURIAL 151 to be hired to collect them, and they were finally buried with great pomp. Feasts are frequently given in commemoration of the dead. A son will do this for his deceased mother, a brother for a brother, or a nephew for an uncle. It may be in honour of one who has been dead a number of years. In the days of cremation, and even later, dead bodies were never taken through the door, but through a hole made in the side of the house and then closed up so that the spirit of the deceased could not find its way back into the house. Or the body was taken through the aperture in the roof and a dog taken along with it. If the dog were not taken they believed that some one of the family would surely die, but if the spirit of the deceased entered the dog it would not return to the injury of any member of the household. With an occasional exception in the case of chil- dren, the dead are never buried from the house in which they die, but are taken to some other house belonging to one of the same tribe. From the moment of death until the body is dis- posed of, some one must remain with the corpse day and night and a light must burn every night. This is to guard against the intrusion of spirits. The Greek church custom of burning candles about the dead appeals strongly to this phase of their superstition and conforms to their practice. Down to the present generation embalming was practised. Mummies have been found in Alaska, some of which may now be seen in the Smith- sonian Institute. The universal custom now is to bury the dead, and they usually hold a solemn funeral service. But more than once we have had the hour set for the service and when we went 152 THE DISPOSITION OF THE DEAD to hold it have found that they had already gone to the cemetery. They became impatient to get to feasting, and so went without notice to the of- ficiating minister. Deadhouses are small houses about six by eight by eight. Most bodies are buried in the com- munity burial ground, or the remains of the de- ceased are left to repose in a deadhouse within the common deadhouse plot. Occasionally one pre- fers to bury his relative in some isolated spot, and small islands are selected for this purpose. The bodies of medicine-men are always placed on some high and almost inaccessible promontory. Many a shaman's deadhouse may be seen from the deck of steamers, standing like some grim sentinel fifty, or a hundred, or even two hundred feet above the water. In many instances the canoe of the departed doctor may be seen beside the dead- house rotting in conjunction with the bones of its owner. Sometimes the ashes and bones of the dead were deposited in hollow mortuary poles. A number of these poles may yet be seen in the country, al- though the custom of erecting them is now prac- tically a thing of the past. Widows painted their faces black as a sign of mourning. If a widow's face was streaked from flowing tears, people pitied her, as they believed she truly missed her husband. But if no such streaks were visible they disliked her and talked about her, believing that she did not care for her husband. Sometimes the living shaved their heads as a sign of mourning, and widows cut their hair. Songs were introduced at burials to let those in attendance know something of the history of the dead and his family connections. SIGNS OF MOURNING 153 This was in earlier times, however, and is not practised now. As Christian burial has sup- planted cremation, and as Christian rites are largely employed in the final disposition of the body, Christian songs are sung at their funerals. Those in attendance at funerals are always very reverential. But those employed to carry the cof- fin, place it in the tomb, etc., do not do it with that nice delicacy that white people do. Oftentimes they build and nail up the box that contains the coffin after the funeral procession has arrived at the grave and the bereaved, as well as others in attendance, are compelled to listen to the pound- ing and sawing until it is completed. But, they are making progress, and doubtless some day they will be more considerate and careful. XVI SHAMANISM AND SUPERSTITIONS THE part that superstition has played, and still plays, in human affairs is by no means small. It is a child of ignorance and thrives best in the barbarous mind, and yet enlightened people are not altogether free from it. Belief in witchcraft has ever been the dominant superstition of uncivilized people, and no other superstition has been so prolific of cruelty among men. While it does not hold the sway over the na- tives of Alaska that it did some years ago, and while some have thrown it off altogether, yet it is still potent with the mass of the people. Dis- eases, especially those of a lingering and wasting nature, like consumption, are regarded as the work of malevolent witches. In former years all sickness and death were at- tributed to them. This being the case, the only remedy they could think of was to expel the evil spirit that possessed the sick and was doing the mischief. They must either do that or locate and kill the witch. This was regarded as a sacred duty. For this purpose there were professional men among them known as i~kt, in their tongue, and called in the English language, medicine-men, In- dian doctors and shamans, the last term having been borrowed from the Russians. They were 154 THE OFFICE OF SHAMAN 155 never very numerous, usually not more than one or two to a community. Some communities had none. The friends of the sick in such villages sent abroad for the ikt when needed. Like our own physicians, some had the reputa- tion of being more skilful in their art than others, and these enjoyed a larger practice than their less favoured brethren. The office of shaman may be inherited, like the ancient priesthood, but not necessarily so. As a rule, one must be consecrated to the office from infancy, and no comb, scissors or water must ever touch his hair. The longer and more matted the hair the greater the power the doctor is supposed to possess. For this reason the hair of an ikt was jealously guarded. If shorn of it his power van- ished, and he was no longer consulted as a doctor. The total neglect of the hair was not the only habit peculiar to this profession. They spent long periods in the forest in absolute solitude, sup- posedly in communication with evil spirits. They also had periods of fasting, and their diet dif- fered in many respects from that of others. They ate the bark of devilclub and portions of bodies of the dead. They also procured and held in the mouth the finger of a dead ikt. Just before they engaged in exorcising evil spirits from the sick, or in determining who was the witch, they drank native red paint. They always kept the box con- taining their paraphernalia on top of the house. A hot fire was required when performing about the sick, and they began the ceremony in perfect nudity. As they warmed to their work, a girdle composed of bones, claw-nails and talons was put about their loins, then a necklace of such about their necks, and last of all they were given rattles 156 SHAMANISM AND SUPERSTITIONS especially made for their use. It was firmly be- lieved that the evil spirits could not be conjured with any other objects than the drum and the rattle. As the natives felt that good spirits would never harm them, their chief concern was to propitiate the evil ones so they would not. In case the sick recovered, no witch was hunted. On the other hand, if the patient grew worse and showed signs of dying, then the wily doctor evaded responsibility by asserting that a witch was hin- dering his work and must be found and killed. For the service of locating the witch, he had to be paid a much larger fee than for merely making one well. The one settled on as the witch was generally some unimportant member of the community, an uncanny-looking creature, a slave, or some one who had the ill will of the doctor or the relatives of the patient. This was a very effective way of ridding one of his enemy. No one, not even the victim himself, thought of disputing the shaman's judgment. Whom he designated as the witch was believed by all to be such, and was immediately treated as such. A near relative of the witch usually took the ini- tiative in the punishment. The victim was first reviled, reproached, bru- tally and shamefully treated, and subsequently put to death. No punishment was considered too cruel for a witch, and various means were devised for their torture. They were tied to stakes before the rising tide, and to stakes in the forests for wolves to devour; they were made to die from starva- tion, with food almost within their reach; their limbs were tied to their bodies and then they were TOTEM POLE CASES OF WITCHCRAFT 157 thrown naked on a bed of thorns. In short, all kinds of exquisite tortures were applied to the miserable wretches. After the witch was left to die, no one would dare approach him, or in any way offer relief. The curse of the community would be on the head of the one who did. If a witch had the good fortune to escape death, he was shunned by all, and no matter how much he might be in need of assistance, no one would help him. The case of a poor old blind man comes to mind. In his earlier days he had been tied up as a witch, but was rescued from his horrible con- dition by some white men. To keep him from starving, after he became practically helpless, the white people living about him supported him through charity. No native would do anything for him because he had once been declared a witch by their infallible ikt. It would be almost impossible to exaggerate the native's terror of witches. It is for this rea- son rather than for hardness of heart or delight in human sufferings, that they torture them. They deem nothing too cruel for them because they hold them responsible for all human sufferings and death itself. Any one who accuses another of being a witch runs the risk of losing his life at the hands of the accused, or his relatives, for it is deemed such a terrible charge. Even venerated shamans have been killed for this. A young girl was tied up and after severe torture was compelled to admit that she had made witch-medicine. She was then compelled to dive down and bury the concoction in the bed of the river, the natives believing that if this is done the 158 SHAMANISM AND SUPERSTITIONS bewitched will get well. The girl claimed that a certain man taught her to make the fearful medi- cine. She is now a woman about thirty-five years of age and well known in Alaska. A boy of a lively and mischievous nature was condemned as a witch. He was spirited away and left to starve in a garret, but the missionary of the place, hearing of the lad's misfortune, res- cued him, and sent him to the mission-training school at Sitka. He is there yet and is a youth of promise. This institution has been the refuge of more than one native child who was condemned to die as a witch. Witch-medicine is composed of several ingredi- ents, such as hair and finger parings of the dead, herbs, and the tongues of birds, frogs and mice. If a native is seen loitering around a native burial ground, he is suspected of being after materials for witch-medicine. Some, charged with being witches, take a kind of pride in admitting it. They not only glory in making others believe that they have such de- moniacal powers, but do it in order to make others fear them. When witchcraft was in its flower, the ikt was superstitiously regarded as an all-powerful being. His word was absolute, and he was revered as a god. All kinds of superstitions were held in con- nection with him. Fetishes were made of his things. When natives passed his deadhouse in their canoes they threw tobacco or food, such as he had liked in life, into the water to propitiate his spirit, and even prayed to his spirit for a safe journey and success in their hunting ventures. It was also thought disrespectful to pass the spot afar off as if afraid of it. Yet on land no native THE IKT'S BURIAL PLACE 159 would venture near the deadhouse of an ikt. All berries growing in the neighbourhood of the grue- some tomb were superstitiously eschewed, as it was the universal belief that those who ate such berries would surely die. They were regarded as belonging to the yak (spirit) of the dead doctor. A shaman was never cremated. His body was embalmed, then wrapped in a mat made of basket material, tied securely and then placed in the dead- house. Things that he owned and prized in life were deposited with him. No matter how costly, they were never in any danger of being stolen, for the tomb of a shaman was regarded as espe- cially sacred. No tomb, however, was ever in dan- ger of being rifled by a native. When he failed to cure the sick, it was generally believed that he had been too familiar with some woman, and for this reason his all-powerful yak had forsaken him. When eating halibut, no one would pass in front of his door if he knew it. Some one was stationed in front of his door when his highness was thus engaged, and any one about to pass was warned and directed to pass around the back of the house. The ikt was considered not only to be in league and to have influence with evil spirits, but to be a prophet. As such he was often consulted as to weather, the proper time to start on the hunt, whether a certain venture would meet with suc- cess or failure and about other things. He would predict epidemics, deaths and other catastrophes. He was considered also to have the gift of tongues. It was believed, for instance, that a Thlinget shaman could speak the Tsimpshean tongue when the Tsimpshean spirit came upon him, but not otherwise. 160 SHAMANISM AND SUPERSTITIONS They were very jealous of one another, discred- iting one another, and doing what they could to break down each other's reputation. When jeal- ous, it was said that their spirits were fighting one another. When in the full swing of his performance, the ikt makes such a hideous noise that no spirit, how- ever malignant, is considered to be bold enough to remain in a patient's body. In appearance he is the most diabolical and repulsive-look- ing of all creatures, and it is scarcely to be wondered at that he fills others with awe and fear. In this connection we submit an excellent pen picture of one in action, taken from the realistic novel of Mrs. Eugene S. Willard, " Kindashon's Wife." 1 1 Three parts of the great house are filled with people men, women and children, sitting and standing, densely massed. On the fourth side, opposite the door, with head toward the wall, lies the body of the sick chief; at either end of this long space hang the rewards, and between them is the dancing ground of the doctor, who now sits, limply, near the sick man's feet, with the rattle in his hand. " He has closed his eyes, and now he begins to breathe more heavily and irregularly the drum is but touched as by his breath. " Presently the breathing itself assumes a form of sound ; there is a mutter a rumble, gradually gaining the punctuation of a chant, weird and wild as the cries of a lost soul. " Now the eyes roll the sight turns inward, then out again, throwing light lurid as from hell. The muscles begin to twitch, the limbs to jerk, the PERFORMANCE OF THE IKT 161 body to rock and sway as if moved by infernal machinery. " The sight becomes fixed as held by awful power the breath comes in snorts the chant grows louder the drums beat quick and low; every muscle freezes tense the air is palpitating with the powers of the unseen world. ' ' There is a crouching of the visible champion. And now with the cry and spring of a panther he is at the side of the mangled, prostrate form the chant is now a shriek ; the drum-beats indicate the close and awful contact of the opposing forces, the rattle is held aloft and shaken with ferocious vehemence. Now he retreats, crouches, springs clear over the body wilder and wilder grow the singing and the drum he writhes as in torment he shrieks and moans and beats his own body he leaps into the air with uplifted arms and a blood- curdling yell there! he has fallen and relapsed into his first position. The sounds have fallen muffled, also. There is a clutching a clawing at the invisible a hissing, with lips compressed, with jaws set; the spitting of a wildcat, the snap and snarl of a maddened dog. ^ Palsy seizes the whole frame of the creature, with muscles drawn to tenseness like iron and moved with irresistible power, till, foaming at the mouth, the eyes rolling as in horrible agony, he falls under the power of the spirits he has dared to encounter. Two men spring forward and take him in their grasp, trying to prevent him from eating his own flesh. " He is now left to himself for in this swoon are revealed to him the human agencies which are in league with the spirits he has assailed. Woe to the man, woman or child who may have crossed 162 SHAMANISM AND SUPERSTITIONS this wretch 's will at any time, or to those who are objects of dislike to those rich enough to pay this creature for condemning them ! " The waiting people hold their breath in si- lence which grows more terrible, not knowing who may be the victim of this consultation with the powers of darkness. " But now the sorcerer moves, twitches and quivers again, and with the seeming agonies of a horrible death he struggles back to human life. Like one muttering in his sleep he speaks every ear is strained to catch the words which come gurgling from that world of horrors and of mys- tery: " i The spirit of the great chief must pass be- fore us ere the setting of the sun; ' then in the same sepulchral tone comes the name l Sha-hehe.' What else the sorcerer says and does are lost in the quick, sharp cry of terror from Sha-hehe, and the general hubbub which ensues." Native superstition is by no means confined to witchcraft. It has a wide range and is a big factor in his life. His belief in the existence of evil and malignant spirits is the foundation for his belief in witch- craft. He regards them as not only capable of producing disease, but of sending other calami- ties. They may make a heavy storm swamp his canoe, cause him to be drowned, to be destroyed by bears, triumphed over by his foes, and in other ways do him untold harm. Many things are regarded by him as evil omens. The birth of twins is one. In former years a man felt justified in leaving his wife if she pre- EVIL OMENS 163 sented him with twins, and she was looked upon by all as something uncanny. Twins were also put to death. In this age they are accepted as a matter of course. A widow must not eat boiled fish lest her head should loosen and shake from side to side. If the sick suddenly finds a bug on his person, it is re- garded as a sign that he will surely die from that sickness. The aurora borealis is regarded as an evil omen. It indicates that some one will be killed. It is be- lieved that only people who have been killed go up into the sky, the common future home of spirits being some imaginary remote locality beyond the most distant mountains, and inaccessible except through death. When, therefore, the aurora is seen, it is believed that those who have passed to the skies are dancing for joy because some one will be killed and join their number. In former years, when tribal wars were rife, it was consid- ered the sure sign of an approaching battle. Children are forbidden to throw scraps of food into the water, as the water-dog will get them and then the children will have bad luck; to pick up shells on the seashore will bring a terrific storm. Charms are worn to ward off evil, and certain things are kept to bring good luck. A woman has kept for years a lot of halibut bones taken from a halibut that was mysteriously caught by a native. The old woman would not part with these bones for anything. A red-bird is kept by a man who caught it while sitting on a log. He has had it for years, and he attributes every piece of good fortune to his possession of this bird. Another is keeping some pretty eggs that he found in a 164? SHAMANISM AND SUPERSTITIONS peculiar place, and every turn of good fortune is at once accredited to these eggs. The tongues of birds and of mice, after having been dried on the top of a house, are considered very potent talismans. Many natives are firm believers in love-potions. These are made of the tongues of birds, frogs and mice, andiof herbs, and the medicine or charm is known as ka-gane-e-Moot (tongue medicine). When a woman becomes infatuated with a man and her love is not reciprocated, or if a wife ob- serves that her husband 's affection is cooling and she wishes to retain it, she resorts to the love- potion. This is made of the ingredients men- tioned above and in great secrecy. It is then wrapped in a piece of the loved one's necktie, or shirt, or some other garment, and carefully hidden away, the woman taking good care not to forget the spot where it is hidden, as it is believed if the place is forgotten not only will the potion lose its efficacy, but the woman will also lose her mind. If this process of winning or retaining the af- fections is faithfully carried out, it is firmly be- lieved to result in victory. The process, however, of compounding the ingredients in rightful pro- portions is known to but few. The potion may be bought, but is very costly. This same philter is sometimes resorted to to make one successful in the hunt, dance, witchcraft and in other affairs of life. It is believed that all animals understand hu- man speech. For this reason natives are careful what they say about them not only in their pres- ence, but at any time; for they have some mys- terious way of hearing all said about them, and if evil or boastful things are said, the creature SUPERSTITIONS ABOUT DROWNING 165 maligned is sure to take offence, and in time will surely harm the speaker. A young man who was subject to epileptic fits, while in one of them fell off the deck of a boat and was drowned. It was said that when he was a child he spoke unkindly to some little fishes, and this was his punishment for it. A young man swore at some mountain sheep which he was hunting because they were in a difficult place to reach. In his effort to reach them a snowslide came down and buried him and he perished. The natives believe that he met with this death because he was disrespectful to the sheep. When the grampus is seen, he is practically prayed to to bring them good luck. This marine monster feeds on seals, and is generally on the hunt for them. He may direct the hunter to where seals are, so he is graciously addressed when seen. Even the little oolikan are respectfully spoken to; if not, they are supposed to resent it, disap- pear and, in some way, bring trouble to those who have been so disrespectful. The crow, raven and eagle, being totemic birds, are never molested by those of their totem. It is believed that the spirit of the drowned is caught by the land-otter and dragged into his hole, and there it is turned into a " goosh-ta-hah," the native hobgoblin, or ghost of the woods. On account of this superstition, drowning is con- sidered the worst calamity that can befall one, especially if the body is not recovered. Conse- quently when a native is drowned diligent search is made to recover his body, heavy rewards are offered and searching parties formed. When Chief Kin-da-goosh was drowned in the Chilkat river the whole country was in commotion, and 166 SHAMANISM AND SUPERSTITIONS the river was fairly covered with canoes in which were hundreds of natives looking for his body. The search was maintained until the body was recovered, though it took days to find it. Great would have been their sorrow had the body not been found. When a husband goes hunting or fishing his wife must not bathe, comb her hair nor look into a mirror, lest it bring him bad luck. *When a woman is pregnant, neither she nor her husband must eat thimbleberries or strawberries. There are several superstitions in connection with births. A babe must not be born in the house for fear of bringing evil upon it. When delivery is expected the mother moves out and occupies a booth of boughs, or a tent. She must not be touched, as she is considered unclean. The superstitious belief in the reality and truth of dreams has tremendous hold on the native mind. If a sick native dreams of one bewitching him, that one is positively regarded as a witch. If a hus- band dreams that his wife has been untrue to him, he believes that she has and gives her a sound whipping on the strength of it. A woman dreamed that she was struck in the chest by another woman. When she awoke there was a pain in her chest (which, doubtless, caused the dream) and she firmly believed it to be the result of some malignant influence over her by the woman of whom she dreamed. A white youth, with two or three natives, was drowned in the Chilkat river. A native dreamed that he appeared to him and appealed for food. The dreamer and his friends believed that the drowned were hungry and in need of food, and they cooked a great quantity of beans and bacon, PROPERTIES OF MEDICINE 167 ate some themselves, but cast the most of it into the river to feed the drowned. In earlier days, ordeals by poison were resorted to in order to determine guilt. Medicines were relied on more for their supernatural than for their medicinal properties; for their charms than for their curative powers. Thus a certain medi- cine was blown upon traps to make them success- ful in catching game. Others were used to reveal secrets, to make one rich, to make one successful against his enemy, to give one power to kill ani- mals, to make one happy, and so on almost ad infinitum. Love-potions were concocted and be- lieved to be very efficacious. The writer has been told that many a woman who had a violent hatred for a man has been won to a passionate love for him because he carried a love-potion to influence her. When fishing, natives talk to their halibut lines, hooks and floats, calling them " brother-in-law/' " father-in-law, " etc. It is believed that if they did not do so they would not have any good luck. What has now been submitted does not exhaust the list of Thlinget superstitions. It will serve, however, to show what a sway this evil principle has over the native life. But it is only just to say that many natives no longer take stock in these superstitions. XVII TOTEMISM THERE is no more interesting and intricate subject pertaining to the natives of Alaska than totemism, and none about which most people have such vague, indefinite and unsatis- factory notions. The reticence of the natives, their reluctance to talk to white people on the subject and the ab- sence of any written language, make it very dif- ficult to acquire a true and comprehensive knowl- edge of it. The average white man can find out nothing satisfactory about it by approaching them on the subject. The old natives who know will not respond, and the young ones claim to know nothing about it. The only way to get at the truth of the matter is to live with them and, indirectly, to draw them out, or let them voluntarily express themselves concerning it. If a white man shows much eager- ness to learn about their customs they will almost invariably, especially if they are not well ac- quainted with him, refuse to talk about them, or tell him some nonsense both to mislead him and that they may smile at his credulity. Because totem poles consist of carved images, some declare them to be idols. They were never regarded as such, so far as we have been able to learn, by the natives. An idol is an image of some imaginary deity, 168 CHILKAT BLANKET AND WOMAN CREST 169 and is worshipped as having both being and power. The totem poles of the natives of Alaska, while bearing images of creatures, were never erected to represent any imaginary deity or god. Nor were they ever worshipped. They are highly re- vered because they carry the tribal emblem. What the coat-of-arms, or crest, is to families of the English aristocracy, so are totemic marks to native families. The Englishman reveres the family crest, but does not worship it; so does the native with his totemic emblem. Some natives have misled white people by call- ing their totems idols when they merely meant they were images. The native word for totem is ko-ted, meaning image, or likeness. When the natives learned about the idols of the Bible, they used this same word for idol. So now it is used interchangeably for image or idol. As the native does not make the nice discrimination between the meaning of terms that we do, he very innocently says one thing when he means another. Some have been told by the natives that their people worshipped the totem poles when it was only meant that they have a superstitious rever- ence for them. Another thing that would give colour to the belief that they are worshipped is that when they saw the totem of a shaman, they would make a formal sign in its presence, the same as a member of the Eussian church makes when he comes into the presence of an edifice or a priest of that faith. The man does not worship the edifice nor the priest; nor does the native worship the pole by so doing. The nearest approach to idolatry of these peo- ple was in attributing to birds, fish and animals 170 TOTEMISM supernatural powers, and then setting up images of them. While these creatures are not regarded exactly as gods, yet attributes were ascribed to them equal to the attributes of deity. " The totem poles/' says Professor Dall, in his admirable work, " Alaska and Its Resources," " are in no sense idols. They are like pictures to illustrate the legend that is connected with the family. ' ' This view is correct. But they are not only like pictures to illustrate legends ; they stand for very much more. It is very important to a correct understanding of totemism to know the true totemic divisions of the people. All natives of either main totemic division are regarded as brothers and sisters though they may be of different sub-totems of the division. These cannot intermarry. They must seek partners somewhere in the opposite division, or fraternity. One of the common errors of writers on the na- tives is to confound subdivisions with main ones. Another is to use the terms " tribe " and " clan r interchangeably. A tribe may be divided into clans, but not a clan into tribes. A tribe may be composed of several sub-totems but of the same great phratry; a clan, on the other hand, is com- posed of people of the same totem. Every native has his sub-totem which, in turn, determines the main division to which he belongs. The entire native population of southeastern Alaska is divided, as already stated, into two great divisions known as the Eagle and the Crow. The sub-totems of the Eagle are the Bear, Wolf, Whale, Shark, etc., and of the Crow, the Beaver, Frog, Salmon, Seal, etc. Every family must both be of the Eagle and the Crow fraternity, the hus- TOTEMIC DIVISIONS 171 band of one side and the wife of the other, or vice versa. If the husband's phratry is the Eagle, his wife's must be that of the Crow. Any one of the Crow line of sub-totems may cross over to the line of sub-totems of the Eagle division and seek a wife, and vice versa. But no one of the Crow line can take a partner in marriage from any of the totems of that division or phratry, even though they are utter strangers and no blood relation. That is, one of the Bear totem may not marry one of the Whale, as these belong to the same grand division. A valuable pamphlet by Mr. J. E. Frobese, at one time curator of the Sheldon Jackson Museum at Sitka, Alaska, gives the following interesting table of marriageable possibilities : Man's Totem Woman's Totem Eagle Crow Bear Beaver Wolf Frog Whale Salmon Shark Seal A subject so deep and intricate merits and re- quires something more than a mere glimpse of totem poles from the deck of a steamer to qualify one to pass on it. Totemism is something more than a mere idle and meaningless whim of an ig- norant people. With the natives of Alaska, it is the foundation of their entire social structure and a tangible expression of their belief. Its impor- tance among them can scarcely be exaggerated. It expresses their belief in the kinship of men and animals, and had, doubtless, its origin in the be- lief of the animal ancestry of man. Those of the Eagle division claim to have sprung from the 173 TOTEMISM eagle, those of the Crow from the crow. Because of their belief that animals can understand human speech, I have been cautioned more than once, while in camp with natives, and in all seriousness, never to speak in terms of disrespect of the bear, or other animal. The natives are Darwinians to the very letter. Their belief in the origin of man from animals is expressed not only in their verbal legends, but on some of their totem poles. On one this legend is inscribed : " Years ago a number of women were in the woods picking berries when a chief's daughter, who happened to be among them, ridiculed the whole bear species. For this affront, a number of bears suddenly appeared and killed all of the women except the chief's daughter. The leading bear of the bunch made her his wife. She bore him a child, half human and half bear. One day this child was discovered up a tree. She was mis- taken for a bear, but managed to make her dis- coverers understand that she was human. She was taken to their village and she became the ancestor of all natives belonging to the Bear totem. " Mr. William Duncan, the " Apostle of Alaska, " who speaks with authority on anything pertaining to the natives of Alaska, thinks that totems were adopted to distinguish clans. " It is not improbable," writes Professor Dall, " that the custom, or system, of totems orig- inated in a desire to prevent war, and to knit the tribes more closely together." After years of study of the subject and close observation of the working of the system, we are of the firm opinion that totemism had its origin ORIGIN OF TOTEMISM 173 in the belief of an animal ancestry, and that the distinguishing of clans, the effort to prevent war, and the knitting of tribes more closely together followed as a consequence from its adoption, rather than suggesting it. Totemism not only controls marriages, but in- dicates the rank and caste of people. The higher the totem pole the greater the man who owns it. The people of the Hootz (brown bear) family, or Keet (grampus) family are considered superior to those of the Hot (salmon) or Chich'g (frog) family. In public assemblies places of honour are distributed according to rank (totem). In daily intercourse, people are treated and respected ac- cording to their family totem. Those of an in- ferior totem are very careful how they speak to those of a superior one. In the settlement of in- juries, totemism plays a very important part. The man of a superior totem is always awarded higher damages than one of an inferior crest. In a drunken orgy a woman had her eye gouged out. About the same time, another woman, in a drunken quarrel, had her finger so injured as to necessitate its amputation. The one who lost her eye, be- cause low-caste, or of inferior totem, was given only two hundred dollars damages, while the other, being a high-caste or of superior totem, was adjudged wronged to the extent of nine hun- dred dollars. Totemism governs the amount to be spent on the dead, what one shall receive at a feast, the para- phernalia he shall wear at a dance, the voice he shall have in public affairs, the size of his house, the esteem in which he is held, the naming of children and native hospitality. It serves as a fraternal means to bind them 174 TOTEMISM together on the one hand, and to separate them on the other, and to mark friends from foes. All of the same great totemic division are friends and the home of one is practically the home of the other. No matter where they go, those of their totem kindly receive them and show them the warmest hospitality. Those of an opposite totem, while they may not be regarded as enemies, yet are not looked upon as friends, nor called upon for any favour. A woman of a superior totem, or caste, though she may live a life of shame and deepest degrada- tion, is respected, and were she to die, would be deeply mourned and have a costly burial; her sister of an inferior totem, though she had lived an immaculate life, would receive scant recogni- tion, and were she to die, would have few to mourn her death and a shabby burial. Totemism regulates the disposition of the dead. Those of the same totem as the deceased must not raise their hand to do a thing about the body. Dressing the corpse, making the coffin, carrying the remains to the grave, digging the grave and covering it up, or any other thing required, must be done by those of the opposite totem from the dead. Guests must be those of an opposite totem from the one giving the feast, and they are seated ac- cording to caste, or totem. Totemism proclaims to the world who are the occupants of a house, and denotes lineage, the children taking their mother's totem. It regu- lates what disposition to make of the property of the dead. It promotes hospitality and sociabil- ity, and is a spur to ambition and thrift. Many a man has laboured and saved in order to erect THINGS TOTEMISM GOVERNS 175 a costly totem pole, or to give a big feast, or to throw some glory on his family crest. Totemism binds them together for mutual help and protection. Every member of a man's totem is ready to contribute of his means and strength to help his friend in time of need. The combined crests of either grand totemic division stand ready, if necessary, to meet the liabilities of any one belonging to their side of the great Thlinget family. Totemism is recorded history, genealogy, legend, memorial, commemoration and art. The totem pole is but one of the many expres- sions of totemism. Everything the native pos- sesses, in many instances even his person, carries totemic designs. He does not make a common halibut hook, or a paddle, a spoon, a bracelet, or scarcely any other object, without etching his totem on it. Why? Because everything he uses is associated with his patron friend and protector, be it eagle, crow, bear or wolf. If he puts the image of his patron on his halibut hook, it will help him to have good success; on his paddle, to go safely over the deep; on his spoon, to protect him from poisonous foods ; on his house, to bless his family. These family crests are represented not only on poles, but on the fronts of houses, on the interior walls, on the prows of canoes and practically all articles used by the natives. All handiwork in wood, stone, bone, horn, cop- per, gold and silver bears totemic designs. So with moccasins, baskets and blankets. In this age even marble tombstones are ordered to bear the same. In the burial grounds of natives may now be seen marble monuments (white man totem) 176 TOTEMISM with the salmon, the grampus and other totemic figures chiselled on them. Not a few natives have tattooed on their person their totemic patron. There is no object in the Northland of greater attraction to the tourist, and none which awakens so much speculation, as the totem pole. When a steamer lands at a native village, about the first thing the tourists ask to see are the totem poles. Of these there are four classes the genealogical, historical (or commemorative), legendary and memorial (or mortuary). The genealogical pole is usually erected directly in front of its owner's house and, as the name indicates, gives the genealogy of the family within. The wife's totem crowns the top, next the husband's and so on down. Any native walk- ing along and seeing the pole can tell at a glance the clan of the mother, which is the ruling one of the house. From this he will know whether or not he would be welcome to enter and stay there. If the ruling family of the house is not of his totem he passes on. As he reads on down the pole, he learns the totemic connections of the entire household. The historic or commemorative pole, as the term implies, recounts some special and important event (as regarded by the owner of the pole) in the history of the particular family or the chieftain of the house. Usually such events as thrilling conflicts with man and beast and cour- ageous triumphs are chronicled on these monu- ments for the consideration of future generations. The legendary pole, as the term indicates, re- lates some happy legend particularly prized by the clan of the one who has erected it. Not only are there legends, but songs, that are peculiar to TOTEM POLE WORKMANSHIP 177 each clan, and the members or votaries of one clan are not allowed to use the legends and songs of the others. The memorial or mortuary pole, as may be in- ferred from the term, is a monument erected in the burial-ground to the memory of the dead. It usu- ally carries the single image of the patron animal of the deceased. When cremation was the uni- versal custom of disposing of the dead, cavities were made in the back of the mortuary tablets in which to deposit the ashes of the deceased. As soon as burial became the general custom the totem pole began to decline, and to-day there are practically no totem pole builders and no new ones are erected. Totem poles vary in height from a few feet to fifty or more. They are usually very costly, not because of their intrinsic, but for their senti- mental, value. In some instances they are valued at three or four thousand dollars each. They are carved out of a solid tree trunk (usually yellow cedar), and by tools of the native's own make, a rude adz being the principal one used. While some are crude in workmanship and hideous in appearance, others are beautifully artistic and pleasing to look upon, showing the workman to be of no mean ability as a carver. Some native vil- lages abound in totem poles, while others have but few, and some none. The march of civilization is fast supplanting this as well as many other old-time customs of the natives. The totems now standing are in process of rapid decay, being not only covered with moss, but having spruce trees growing out of some, thus marking their age. At Klinquan are great slab foundations of an- 178 TOTEMISM cient mammoth communal houses. On the por- tions of these slabs visible to the eye may be seen wonderful totemic carvings, showing that in olden times even the very foundations of their houses carried the crest of clan or family, wrought there at great pains and expense. Any museum could get valuable relics from this field. A number of houses are yet seen with the totem of the owner painted or carved on the front gable. The house with a crest thus represented on it is called after the totem it bears. If of the crow- it is " Yalkth-hit " (Crow-house) ; of the bear, it is " Hootz-Mt " (Brown bear-house) ; of the orca, or grampus, " Keet-Mt ' (Whale-killer-house), and so on. The brown bear and the grampus are consid- ered the highest symbols of power; the crow, the highest symbol of wisdom, and the eagle, of pene- trating vision. All of these are emblems of high- caste families. The mouse (kootzeen) and the snail (talk) are symbols of weakness and degradation, and are the emblems of low-caste families. Slaves were not allowed to erect totem poles, nor was one of a lower caste allowed to erect a pole as high or as elaborate as that of a higher class man. This would be considered a great shame to the higher caste brother, an insult he and his clan would not permit. Instances have been known where ambitious fellows of a lower caste, having erected poles higher than one of a higher caste, have been compelled to take their totems down and shorten them. When a totem is crowned with a hat, the num- ber of rings on top of the hat indicate the number of important feasts the owner has given. NUMEROUS CURIOS CLAN EMBLEMS 179 No clan, or member of a clan, can adopt the totem of another clan with impunity. Wars have been precipitated by such attempts. Less than a decade ago, one clan in Sitka raised the Frog totem which was claimed by another phratry than the one to which the clan appropriating it be- longed. Great trouble ensued and bloodshed was averted only by the interposition of the Federal authorities. A few years ago an audacious native of the Auk village at Juneau had the grampus elaborately painted on the inside of the back wall of his house. This little piece of art originally cost him six hundred dollars ; but before he was through with it it cost him much more. A terrible commotion followed, as he was not entitled to use the keet as his crest. The row was on for a long time, and the affair was finally settled by a money payment. Some of the reasons assigned for the original adoption of crests are interesting, to say the least. The Kok-won-tons claim that at one time the eagle rendered valuable assistance to a mem- ber of that phratry, who in time turned into an eagle. Hence their adoption of this crest. The Te-qoe-dy claim the grizzly-bear for the reason that a member of their clan married a female grizzly. The Kok-won-tons also claim this as one of their crests, affirming that they ac- quired the right to it through one by the name of Kat'thla. The grampus is the important crest of the Duck- la-wady tribe, a branch of the Eagle phratry. They adopted this for the reason that one of their tribe made the first grampus that ever existed, out of a piece of yellow cedar. The Kok-won-tons are. 180 TOTEMISM privileged to use this crest also. The great leader and speaker of the Kok-won-tons at Sitka turned his Jceet onyade tzow (grampus high-caste hat) into the Sheldon Jackson Museum at Sitka, where it is one of the interesting objects now seen in that institution. A man and his wife of the Kik-sud-dy tribe were out hunting one day when they heard a song. They looked for some time before they could lo- cate it. Finally they discovered that it came from a little frog in the stern of their canoe. The little songster was taken by the woman and cared for, and for this reason the frog is the emblem of the Kik-sud-dies. The woodworm is the particular crest of the Ga-nuk-ka'dies since a woman of their tribe suckled the legendary woodworm. Whether the Hydahs originated the crest sys- tem and totemism, or borrowed them, we have no means of knowing. But there are good reasons for believing that the Thlingets borrowed them from the Hydahs. Those living near them and having the most to do with the Hydahs, have the most totem poles, whereas the farther away you find them from the Hydahs the fewer they have and the meaner they are. Then, too, the Thlingets are not such skilled totemic workmen as the Hydahs, but are mere imitators. xvm LEGENDS iHE myths and legends of the Thlingets are legion. As they have no written language, all of their legendary, lore is handed down to posterity orally and in totemic characters. From time immemorial the people have been fond of relating their folk-lore, so that most of their legends are kept fresh in the minds of all.* Mothers and grandmothers are much given to relating legends to the children. Many of them are told to point a moral and to influence children to obey. Samuel Davis, a native, writes: " One old man begins: ' Once a little boy was all the time playing; when his parents told him to do anything he would not obey; he would have his own way. One day the boy came home about dark. His grandfather told him this world was as sharp as a knife ; a little boy might slip upon * " Winter is the time for the gathering of our people at their villages, after being away for supplies of food and other things for their comfort. It is the time given for feasting and paying for work done for the dead. Almost every night there is some- thing going on either dances, giving of feasts, or some chief gives a smoking party (smoking pipes). Then it is that the old people get in their stories to the children, all sitting around the evening fire after supper." Samuel Davis. " At the funeral of Chiefs the traditions and history of the tribe are rehearsed." " Alaska," by Sheldon Jackson, page 96. "These people have an oral mythology of the most fabulous character, handed down from father to son." "Alaska," by M. W. Bruce, page 97. 181 182 LEGENDS it any time if not careful. With that the boy began to stamp his foot on the ground, saying, " Grandpa, see how I stamp this ground. There is plenty of room; I can't fall off." While saying these words, something sharp went into his foot, and it became swollen and painful. The next day the boy died, because he would not listen to his grandfather. ' " Then an old woman has her say: ( One time a little boy went trapping with his grandfather (it was a time when people made slaves). They had camped at a certain cove in the evening. The old man thought he could hear some one in the woods behind them, but would not let the boy know, because the boy would be frightened. So the old man said to the boy, " Go down and see if the canoe is well fastened." The old man tried to get the boy down to the canoe first, so he could run after him, throw him into the canoe and push off shore before the people could catch them and make slaves of them ; but the boy refused to obey. Again he was told to go down to the canoe, but again he said, " No." The old man, after trying three times to persuade the boy to go to the canoe went himself, jumped into the canoe, and pushed off shore. The people came from the bushes upon the boy and made a slave of him. That is the reason why boys nowadays do as they are told.' " Again, they are told to rebuke a person for boasting or playing the hypocrite. When one says that he is very old, implying thereby that he knows much, he will be rebuked with the story of the sculpin, which runs thus: Yalkth (Crow) saw sculpin on the beach and hid from him to see what he would do. Sculpin swam out on the ocean and went down out of sight. Yalkth opened the door LEGEND OF CROW AND DEER 183 of the ocean and went to the house of sculpin, which was under a rock, and said to it, " My younger brother, this is you, is it 1 " Sculpin dis- owned him as such. Yalkth insisted that he was his older brother. The sculpin said, " I cannot be your younger brother for I am a very old per- son. " The Crow answered: " I want you to be next to me. There will be many sculpins, but you shall be the head one." So the mighty Crow threw sculpin up into the sky, where he is now seen (the Pleiades or the Dipper). So to one who boasts that he knows because he is old, it is said, ' ' If sculpin could not make Crow believe that he was so old, neither can you make us believe that you are so old and know so much. ' ' Natives say of a hypocritical mourner at a funeral, " He is acting as Crow did when he killed his friend, the deer." The story goes that Yalkth saw a nice fat deer, and said to it, " My friend, this is you, is it? ' He then invited the deer to cross a deep canyon on a rotten log. The deer objected because he saw that the log was rotten. Yalkth walked across it to convince his friend that it would bear him. The deer then attempted to cross, but the log broke and he fell to the bottom of the canyon and was killed. Yalkth then went down and feasted on him. After gorging himself, he pretended to be very sorry for the deer and claimed that the wild animals had devoured him. Stories are told to rebuke and discourage one who shows an ambition to marry another of a higher caste ; to inculcate honesty, thrift and self- respect; to warn husbands to be good to their wives lest they should lose them; to keep girls from acting foolishly, etc. Many of their legends assume to explain the 184 LEGENDS origin of things and the mysteries of existing phe- nomena. One tells of the creation of the world. Yalkth (the immense imaginary bird) is the mighty Creator. Other legends claim to give us the origin of man, of the sun, moon and stars, of the whale- killer and of other animals. For example, the origin of the iniquitous little mosquito is thus given: There was in ancient times a great giant, cruel and very bloodthirsty. His passion was to kill men, drink their blood and eat their hearts. Many men tried to kill the giant, but were un- able to do so until this plan was conceived: A man pretended to be dead and lay down on his blanket. The giant came along and saw him. He felt of the man's flesh and found that he was still warm. Then he began to gloat over him and say, " I will eat his heart and drink his blood." So he lifted up the man, who allowed his head to hang down just as if he were dead, and carrying him into his house laid him down, and then went on some errand. Immediately the man jumped up and seized a bow and arrow. Just then the son of the giant came in, and he pointed the arrow at the boy's head and asked him where his father's heart was, and threatened to kill him if he did not tell. The boy answered that his father's heart was in his heel. Then the giant came in and the man shot the arrow through his heel. Just as the giant was dying, he said: " Though you burn me, I will still eat you. ' ' After the giant was dead the body was cre- mated. Then the man, in derision, took the ashes ORIGIN OF WHALE TRIBE 185 and threw them to the winds. But each particle of the ashes became a mosquito. Nearly every tribe has some legend accounting for the origin of their people. The origin of the Whale tribe is thus briefly told: Many, many years ago, a young Stickeen boy amused himself by carving a small image of a whale and sailing it about on the water. The sport was quietly indulged in from time to time, until on one eventful day the piece of cedar wood turned into a live whale of unusual size and swam away. The boy was surprised and alarmed, of course, and ran home to tell his parents of what had taken place. His father and mother, grown wise as the years had passed over them, knew at once that their son was destined to become a great man ; he was to be the father of a new tribe that should spread abroad throughout the land, great and powerful. And so we find it to-day. Branches of the Whale tribe are to be found in many villages, and wherever found they are able to hold their own in the affairs of life. The totem of the Da-se-ton' of Killisnoo is the beaver. Some of the tribe captured a small beaver and kept it as a pet. In time it began to compose songs. One day the masters of the beaver found two beautifully carved salmon-spear handles near the foot of a tree by a salmon stream. These were carried home, and when the beaver saw them he claimed that he made them. Some- thing was said that offended him, when he began to sing songs like a person. While he was doing this he seized a spear and thrust it through his master's chest, killing him instantly. Then he threw his tail down upon the ground and the earth 186 LEGENDS on which that house stood caved in. The beaver had dug the earth out from under it. It is from this incident that the Da-se-ton claim the beaver as their crest. The wolf is the crest of the Kok-won-ton' tribe. There are two versions of how the wolf came to be adopted as their totem. One is that a member of the tribe met a wolf with a bone in his mouth. " What makes you so lucky? " asked the man. The wolf turned and fled. The following night he dreamed that he came to a very fine village, the village of the Wolf people. The wolf he had spoken to the previous day came to him and told him something to make him very lucky, saying, " I am your friend." He was very thankful for the kind treatment of the man. For this reason the Kok-won-tons have used the wolf for their crest. The other version is that the man met with some monster wolves while out hunting. One spoke up and told the others not to kill him, and for this reason the wolf is now the tribal totem. The earthquake is thus explained: Underneath the earth stands an old woman in a bent position. On her back rests a pillar and on top of this rests the earth. Ydlkth, in an evil mood, tries to shove the old woman from her position. She topples but does not fall. When she topples this causes the earth to quake. If ever Yalkth succeeds in pushing her down, the world will come to an end. The name of this Thlinget Atlas is Hd-ta-ye sha- nuk'ko ( old-woman-under) . The Thunder Bird, by flapping his wings or even by moving one of his quills, causes the thunder, and the wink of his eye produces the lightning. TOPKNOT OF BLUEJAY 187 The reason why human beings die is explained in this manner: The young Crow endeavoured to make man out of rock and out of a leaf at the same time, but the rock was slow while the leaf was very quick. Therefore human beings came from the leaf, and because leaves wither and die, there- fore men grow old, wrinkle and die. The bluejay came thus by his topknot: YalJcth practised a deception on the squirrel and bluejay. The latter, becoming angry at this, had the bold- ness to go to YalktJi and upbraid him for it. Yalktli seized him by the feathers of his head and pulled them up in a bunch. The story goes that a man and his wife were living at a certain fort. Disease had destroyed their relatives, and they thought to give a great feast in their memory. One day an iceberg floated near their dwelling. They took it in and treated it as a guest. Much oil was poured into the fire, and dishes of berries and other food were placed before it. The ice gave forth a squeak that could not be understood, but was really an invitation to the dead relatives to partake of the feast. For this reason when an iceberg drifts near a canoe the occupants give it tobacco, saying, " Ok-yeet- se-e " (My son's daughter) or " Ok-yeet-shut'e '' (My son's wife). Myths and legends were the first efforts of primitive man to account for the cause of things. Crude as some of them are, they yet evince the awakening of human thought. The myth-builders were the primitive philosophers. While, in many instances, their legends are absurd, yet we should be charitable in our criticism, remembering that they were originated out of ignorance. They ap- peared reasonable to the people of their age, 188 LEGENDS else they would not have been so influenced by them. The Thlingets have legends of notable events, as, for instance, of a flood, from which only a few people were saved. These became separated, hence the diversity of speech among them. The Mount Ararat of this flood is located not far from Shakan on Prince of Wales Island. Numerous are their legends of wonderful ex- ploits. Let it suffice to instance only two or three : Two brothers were hunting when they killed a porpoise. While skinning it as their canoe moved along, they saw a devilfish approaching. At once they prepared to battle with the monster, one of them handling a spear and the other a sharp knife. When the devilfish came to the surface and reached out his tentacles to embrace them, he was such a horrid-looking creature that the man who held the knife became frightened and jumped right into his mouth. He was swallowed up so quickly that he could do nothing. This left the brother with the spear to fight the monster single- handed. He succeeded in killing him, but not until after the octopus had entwined his slimy arms around his canoe ; so when the dead monster began to sink he took the canoe with him, too. However, in due time they all floated up on a narrow point. Here the devilfish was cut open, when lo, the man that was swallowed was found alive and none the worse for his tenancy in the monster's belly. A certain man caught two whales and tried to swim ashore with them. After swimming all night he succeeded in landing them. But when he did so the raven called and he died. When the raven croaked his wife knew what had happened, but she would not go out of the house to see her dead TOTEM IN PIONEER SQUARE, SEATTLE 189 husband. Her mother, however, discovered the two whales and the dead husband, who had now turned into a monster, lying on the beach. Soon all the people heard about the strange creature lying with the whales and went to see it. At last the wife, who was a chief's daughter, went out to the place, crying as she went. The people were astonished at her conduct, and asked: " What does that high-caste girl mean by calling the mon- ster her husband? " As soon as the girl came near her mother she said: " Where are your spirits now? You do not speak the truth. You say that you have spirits when you have none. If you had, this would not have happened to my husband." The people became very much ex- cited and listened with great interest to the girl as she talked to her mother. Finally the widowed girl said to the people, " Some of you that are clean come and help me." Her husband had died in the act of holding the jaws of the monster apart. When the people recognized this they were more surprised than ever, and said, " He must have been captured by that remarkable creature. ' ' Many of these legends of wonderful exploits are recorded on totem poles. The totem now standing in Pioneer Square in the city of Seattle gives the tale of a devoted girl who lost her life in an attempt to reach the bedside of her dying sister. The latter lived far away on the Nass river. As soon as the sister in health heard of her condition, she set out on the long journey to see the dying one, but her frail canoe was upset on the river and she was drowned. The totem was erected in honour of this brave sister. Many queer legends are recorded on the totems erected inside of the houses. 190 LEGENDS On one of these slabs in a house at Kluckwan, a man is depicted in violent action among beasts. The explanation is that a certain man, impelled by taunts, determined to become very strong. To this end he exercised and exposed himself to the rugged elements. He would get out of bed very early in the morning, break icicles from the eaves of the house, place them under his arms and then stand in the cold water of the river. He would then call for the Cold (believing it to have per- sonality) to come from the north. Finally he be- came strong enough to break the strong part of a tough tree. Then, in time, he went out to fight with whales. He would catch them by the tails and tear their tails apart. Finally he tore the stomach out of one, inflated it and got inside of it and floated off, no one knew where. While floating around in this stomach (Jonah- like), he composed songs, which are now used as tribal songs by his tribe. This stomach was found (according to the story of the people), and became the property of his tribe. They kept it many years and finally burned it. In the same village with this curious house totem may also be seen a large mask, the image of the woman who adopted the worm. She suckled this worm as she would a babe, and raised it. When grown, the worm went under the houses and shook them down (an earthquake, perhaps). This woman composed songs that now belong to the Crow tribe. None other than members of this tribe can use these songs. The tribe had a mask made to represent this remarkable woman. It is now considered a very valuable heirloom. It is ugly, yet no one would be allowed to make fun of it. CONCERNING MT. EDGECUMBE 191 It is rather remarkable that while the natives of Kluckwan have made so much of this woman who adopted the worm, yet according to their traditions she lived in the vicinity of Wrangell. In front of the Sheldon Jackson School, at Sitka, there is a large rock just at the edge of high- water mark. Many, taking the walk from the town to Indian river, sit on this rock as the half- way resting place. It is known as the " Blarney Stone, " and is interwoven with several Indian legends. Mt. Edgecumbe, an extinct volcano within twenty miles or so of Sitka, is the seat of several legends. It is claimed that the old woman who supports the world on her shoulders went down this volcano to the underworld. It is further said that Tschak (the great Eagle) picked up whales out of the ocean and carried them to the top of this distinguished mountain. In verification of this claim, it is said that great heaps of whale bones may be found there. It certainly is a very inviting spot for the un- tutored mind to conjure with. To the tourist, this venerable volcano is worth travelling many miles to see. On a clear day, as viewed from Sitka, it is a pearl of beauty adorning the landscape. On a mountain top back of Kluckwan there is a lake which is a fruitful source of mysteries and myths. There are certain rocks in the Chilkat river which are said to be petrified people. These people belonged to the Crow tribe and were com- ing from the interior at the time of this fearful calamity. Just why they met with this fate, the writer was not informed. Perhaps unguardedly they made fun of some object, or some foolish boast as to what they could do. 192 LEGENDS In the valley back of the town of Skagway lives an old woman with a wonderful blowing capacity. This is why the winds come tearing down the valley and keep the ground free from snow. Madam Skoog-wa (Skagway is a corruption of this word) blows it all away when she pleases. It is remarkable how generally known the leg- ends of the Thlingets are among the people. Though their country is large and communities are widely separated, yet the entire people are familiar with these legends. Naturally the traditions will vary some as told by different ones. In substance, however, there is remarkable agreement. XIX NATIVE JUEISPEUDENCE IN the accepted sense of the term, there is no such thing as government with the natives. They have no courts, jails, police nor statutory laws ; in short, nothing corresponding to civilized government. They have no such thing as trials. All grievances, offences and injuries are settled according to tribal demand. The tribe or clan takes up its member 's cause, and settlements are made according to the nature of the offence, or injury, and the standing of the injured. The tribe of the injured party determines the amount neces- sary to settlement. Wounded feelings, as well as injuries of the body and invasion of property rights, have to be atoned for. Any crime may be paid for on a money basis, but while they usually demand life for life, it is not necessarily the life of the mur- derer. It is more often the life of another, and an entirely innocent person. If a high-caste native kills one of a lower caste, it is not the one who did the killing that is taken, but one equal in station to the one killed. The same holds good if one of a lower caste kills one of a higher. If one higher than the one killed is taken, then the killing has to go on until it is considered equal. If a woman kills a man, not the woman, but 193 194 NATIVE JURISPRUDENCE some man of her tribe must be taken, as a woman is not considered the equal of a man. If a man kills a woman, not the murderer, but some woman of his tribe is taken. An Indian doctor, while drunk, beat the head of his wife to a pulp with a club. The tribe of the murdered woman demanded the life of the doc- tor's sister. These substitutions were always bravely assumed, as it was regarded great cow- ardice for one to refuse the office of substitute. When this sister was informed that she was wanted, she boldly surrendered herself to be killed. In this case, however, the opposite tribe were afraid her people would kill more of them, so the case was settled by a blanket payment. This was generally the mode of settlement when a rich or high-caste native killed one much in- ferior to himself. If a white man kin s a native, the murdered man's friends are not particular as to what white man they kill in turn, so they get one whom they deem of equal station. Some years ago, at Wran- gell, a drunken row between United States soldiers and natives resulted in the hanging of a native. The friends of the man who was hanged killed an innocent trader. In another case, a white man and his wife were killed by natives because they could not account for the sudden disappearance of two of their number. Because of this custom, more than one white man has mysteriously dis- appeared in Alaska. Accidental injuries, or killing in self-defence, must be atoned for precisely the same as if pre- meditated. A youth accidentally shot and killed his father. His father's tribe immediately de- manded the life of the youth (father and son are INSTANCES OF JURISPRUDENCE 195 of opposite tribe). The son was willing^to sur- render Ms life, but in this case compassion was shown and the matter settled on a money basis. Near Angoon, some years ago, a howitzer of a whaling crew burst and killed one or two natives that were employed on the vessel. The natives in turn killed two white men for the accident. A drunken native, infatuated with a girl, made a fiendish attempt to ravish her. While battering in her door to carry out his brutal purpose, he was shot and killed by her people. For this justifiable piece of homicide, a man had to pay his life, and that man was none other than the girPs husband and natural protector. If a man commits suicide, a cause is always sought, and he who is regarded responsible for the cause is blamed and his tribe made to pay damages. In fact no injury or loss happens to a Thlinget, whether intentional or accidental, without his seeking redress and damages. For this reason every Thlinget is liable to blame and damages when, perhaps, he least expects it. Often when they are doing a good turn for one another and are deserving of thanks, their kindness is re- warded with blame. On this account they are very cautious what they do for one another. A woman on her way from church fell on the ice and hurt herself. For this she blamed the missionary in charge. He had announced the Sun- day before that the sacrament of the Lord's Supper would be administered. For this reason she came, and she argued that had she not come she would not have fallen ; hence he was to blame. A girl was invited to go to Haines for her own good. While there she met with an injury with 196 NATIVE JURISPRUDENCE which her friends had nothing to do, by being thrown out of a wagon. The .relative that in- vited her to come to Haines was blamed for the injury and his tribe made to pay damages. This same girl invited a young man to accom- pany her from one place to another, the distance being only a few miles. They had to ford a river. While doing so the wagon was swept away, and the young man, and four others in the party, were drowned. The girl was saved. While she was in no way to blame for the accident, yet she was held responsible for the drowning of the young man, and her tribe was called upon for heavy damages. This feature of their sense of justice strikes one as being not only unjust, but often extremely ludicrous. A man attended the funeral of another. He felt so sad that he resorted to the whiskey bottle to drown his sorrow. He succeeded in more thor- oughly doing so than he had planned, as it killed him. Whether it had more than the usual amount of poison in it, or he drank too much, we do not know. At any rate, his tribe wanted damages for the death of their member, so they held re- sponsible the clan of the man whose funeral he had attended. The argument was that if their man had not attended the funeral he would not have been so sad ; and had he not been so sad, he would not have drunk the whiskey; and had he not drunk the whiskey he would not have died. Consequently the family that gave the funeral were to blame. One native loaned another his gun. The bor- rower, unfortunately, shot off his finger. The man who loaned the gun was held responsible, as the tribe of the injured man argued that had he LUDICROUS CASES 197 not loaned the gun their man would not have lost his finger. A few years ago one of the small boys of the mission armed with a sling of David's variety was throwing stones toward the ocean, and like the man who shot his arrow in the air, this boy did not know that one of his rocks struck a cord- wood splitter on the beach in the head. When it hit the man he tried to die and when he found he couldn't, he went to the mission superintendent and demanded five blankets. The superintendent offered to pay the doctor's bill but refused to listen to any talk of damages. The man departed in a wrathful mood. After several days a relative of the boy who threw the stone called at the office and asked to take the boy from the school. When refused he became angry, declared that he had paid the boy's debts, and now the boy had to work for him. The superintendent, by questioning the man, found that the cordwood splitter had gone to this man and demanded the five blankets and received them. Up to the present date the man hasn 't been able to get either boy or blankets from the mission. A woman hired a young man to convey some lumber on his boat from a certain sawmill to a spot where she wanted to erect a cabin. While he was loading the lumber on his boat, the woman went down on the wharf to look after the matter. On her way a gust of wind caught her and carried her off the wharf and she sustained some injuries. The blame was attached to the young man. The argument was that had he not consented to take the lumber she would not have gone on the wharf ; hence his tribe must pay damages. A native was working in the great Treadwell 198 NATIVE JURISPRUDENCE mine at Douglas. He quit, and was on his way to the steamer returning home when he stepped into the post-office and found a letter containing a dun for one hundred dollars. Not having the money, he concluded to go back to work, earn the money and pay the bill. In less than a week he fell, with several others, down a shaft in a hoisting cage and received injuries which paralyzed him for life. At this writing he is living, but abso- lutely helpless, and cannot live long. The one who wrote him the letter is held responsible for his injuries and will be for his death. The tribe of the writer of the letter will have to pay heavy damages. The son of a chief was shot through the cheek, merely sustaining a flesh wound; two men, taken from the tribe of the one who did the shooting, were killed for the injury. A cut or wound in the face is considered a matter of the deepest shame, and heavy liabilities are always demanded for it. A high-caste man had the tip of his ear bitten off in a drunken brawl. A low-caste man was killed for this injury. A high-caste woman was accidentally struck by a man who was lifting an oolihan scoop. So keen was the sense of shame of her people that one of their clan killed the innocent offender. But in this instance, the matter did not rest there. The man's clan made war on the woman's, and several fell before the melee came to an end. If a father injures his own child, whether acci- dentally or not, his tribe is liable for damages to his wife's people. If a husband injures his wife, his tribe must pay damages to her tribe. In the days of slavery, any native saved from SYSTEM OF LOANING 199 drowning, freezing, starvation, or any other form of death, became the slave of the one who rescued him. When a man dies, leaving children, their ma- ternal uncles and aunts assume their support and care. Another relief from this species of dis- tress is that the surviving husband or wife takes another partner without delay. Some now repudiate this old system, and insist on holding the property in the family after the death of either parent. The author has been called upon more than once to protect both widowers and widows in their property rights after the decease of their wives or husbands. When a Thlinget loans another money, he ex- pects twice as much in settlement, whether the borrower pays the sum back within a week or ten years. A native gives for the purpose of having others give much more back to him, not so much for sweet charity's sake, or from any promptings of generosity. It is considered a shame to those who receive anything if they do not give back from four to ten fold more. A woman gave another an old straw hat. The recipient did not want the old thing, but dare not refuse its acceptance for fear of giving offence. Ashamed to wear it, she put it away in her trunk. Some months went by, when the donor came and asked: " When are you going to pay me for that hat? " A young man invited five of his friends to dine at a restaurant. The meal of each cost twenty- five cents. After dinner, his guests took him to a store and each gave him two dollars with which he could buy anything he wished. They did this 200 NATIVE JURISPRUDENCE to keep from being put to shame. Large sums are exacted for services rendered about the dead. The most trifling service, such as putting gloves on the hands of the dead, or socks on his feet, or mourning, must be well paid for. Four young men acted as pallbearers for a little child. The mother gave them ten dollars each for this slight service. To build a coffin, dig a grave, erect a grave fence or tombstone commands a large compensa- tion. This is largely due to the fact that the na- tives are not satisfied unless they spend large amounts on the dead. If one child injures another, even in play or accidentally, the parents of the injured one de- mand damages of the parents of the child that committed the offence. Native children seldom quarrel or injure one another when playing, and this law of the people may, in a measure at least, account for it. Old grievances that supposedly were settled years past are revived for the purpose of extort- ing money from one another. Forty years ago a fight took place at a village known as Hootz-na-oo, between two warring tribes. A woman belonging to a powerful tribe of the Sitkans was killed. The life of another, or a heavy payment in blankets, was demanded. The matter was compromised by giving a powerful slave to one of the chiefs of the haughty tribe of the woman that was killed. As the chief prized this slave very much, on account of his strength, this was considered a satisfactory settlement. The slave served the chief faithfully for years. In the summer of 1908 he suddenly died. The tribe then decided that they had nothing to show for the death of the woman they had lost years OLD GRIEVANCES 201 ago and finally proceeded to the village of Hootz- na-oo for another payment. Arriving there, they demanded one hundred blankets. After some powwowing they were paid one hundred and twenty blankets, two Chinese trunks and two guns. They returned to Sitka thoroughly satis- fied with what they received. The tribes are now good friends again and peace reigns between them. In the same village, about fifty years ago, a woman was insulted by a man. She told her peo- ple and they counselled her to insult him in re- venge. This she did publicly. This precipitated a fight between his people and hers, which re- sulted in several being killed on both sides. A few days ago a party from the man 's tribe came all the way to Juneau (more than a hundred miles) to demand money and blankets from the woman 's people on the ground that when they had the fight years ago it was not ended equally, hence they were yet debtors to the man's tribe. It is astonishing how Thlingets will accede to such ab- surd claims. If a wife leaves her husband, her people must return all that was given them for her dowry, or its equivalent, to the husband or to his people. The payment of all artistic totemic work, whether in carving, painting, weaving or engrav- ing, is practically regulated by an unwritten law. All such work is done by those of an opposite phratry and commands extraordinary prices. The latter is due to the skill required for such work, the sentimental value placed on the emblem, and the native's pride in display. The chief has the ruling voice in the adjudica- tion of all affairs involving the tribe. What he 202 NATIVE JURISPRUDENCE recommends, the tribe contend for. There is no cessation of hostilities until a satisfactory settle- ment has been made. This is one reason why tribes yield and amicably settle any and all dis- putes ; for with them nothing is settled until both sides are satisfied. Thus, although the natives have no legislative, executive or judiciary department, yet they have laws, enforce them and readily submit to them. In this age they sometimes get a double dose of law, both the white man 's and their own. They have been known to be punished in the courts of the former and, when they returned to their homes, be compelled to make satisfaction to the natives also. When a native is punished in a white man's court the aggrieved natives get nothing. This is not satisfactory. They want as redress for all injuries a money or property consideration, or they are not satisfied. For this reason the white man's court is very unsatisfactory to the average native. Hence the offender is sometimes 11 pinched " twice for the same offence. There is this, however, to be said in favour of the white man's law, that when punishment is meted out it is to the offender, while native redress is de- manded of the offender's tribe, who may be alto- gether inculpable. XX MUSIC AND AMUSEMENTS NO people have greater love for music and amusements than the Thlingets. From time immemorial they have had their own songs. It is surprising how easily and quickly they learn to sing our English songs, hymns and anthems, and to read music. Not a few of them can play the organ well, when they have never taken a lesson. A few years ago the only thing they had that approached a musical instrument, was a rude drum. Now every native village has its brass or string band, many of their homes have organs, and nearly every one a gramophone or phono- graph. In the bands are native boys who cannot speak or read English, yet they master the musical notes without the slightest difficulty. For the most part, these bands are self-taught. Some native who knows a little more about music than the others is chosen as a leader. They then work out their own musical salvation, not with fear and trembling, but with joy and perseverance. They are so fond of it that they do not consider any amount of practice a task, but a pleasure, so they practise almost incessantly until they become proficient. Most of them have the gift of song, and some of them have exceedingly fine voices. Congrega- tional singing in our native churches is spirited 203 MUSIC AND AMUSEMENTS and good. Their own native songs at their feasts and dances are in memory of the dead and about the exploits of the great and of their patron animal. Mothers have their lullaby songs which they sing to soothe their babes to sleep. Their memorial songs used at feasts and pot- latches are very sacred and the people believe they receive strength from them. They are used only on special occasions. According to tradition they were composed at the time of the flood (not the flood of the Bible, but of native tradition) and relate the sad events of that terrible visita- tion, such as the finding of bodies and the separa- tion of their clans. Their songs of more recent composition are not so significant as their older ones and are composed from various motives. They relate mostly to exploits and happenings of one kind and another, some of them having little or no significance. The raven, one of their great patron birds, has much to do with inspiring songs. When a house was " danced together," as many songs were sung as motions were made, which, usually, were four to the right and four to the left. This was done when a feast was given after the completion of a house. Some songs were sung by women only. Much of their so-called singing is a mere weird chant, which to the white man is very monotonous and depressing. The pitch scarcely varies from start to finish. These chants forcibly remind one of witches, hobgoblins and spirits. It is the peculiar construction and genius of their songs rather than the voices of the singers which make them weird and uncanny. All kinds of amusements and sports appeal strongly to these people. They will give their AMUSEMENTS 205 last dime to see anything amusing or entertaining, and they welcome anything that comes along. In the era when low dance-halls flourished in our communities, they were largely patronized by na- tives, in spite of their vileness. It is this fondness for amusement and enter- tainment, as well as their respect for their cus- toms, that gives dancing and feasting such a hold on the people. The white man's dance is now appealing to them, and not a few are already its devotees. We fear that it will prove a detriment rather than a blessing to them. In their socials, all kinds of amusing games are played to the unbounded delight of all present. Their laughter is a spontaneous outburst. They care little for games that require much mental effort, and they eliminate from their socials and entertainments everything not of a comic and laughter-provoking nature. While they have many original games of their own, yet they have appropriated a number from the white people. Outside, in the proper season, they enter with zest into all kinds of athletic sports. Some vil- lages have strong ball teams. Fourth of July is the big day of the year for outdoor sports. They leave their camps wherever they are and come into town to celebrate. The sports of the day are base- ball, canoe-racing, running, jumping, vaulting, throwing the weight, rock-drilling and other things too numerous to mention. Every native who can crawl out of bed is out to enjoy the sights. Not one of the long list of sports does he miss if he can help it. This is the day when all are dressed in their best. Dresses and new suits are bought for the occasion. The celebration over, they are then carefully put away in a trunk, 206 MUSIC AND AMUSEMENTS not to be worn until the holiday comes round again. In their socials, the most popular of their own games is what they call " ha-goo " (come here!). They choose sides, having from ten to twenty or more on a side. Each side chooses a leader, who is given a flag. This leader stands out in front of those on his side. Then the name of some one on the opposite side is called out with the invita- tion " Ha-goo " to come and take away the flag without smiling if he can possibly do so. When he approaches to take the flag they do and say all sorts of funny things to make him smile. If he smiles, he has to leave his party and join the side with the flag. If, on the other hand, he succeeds in taking the flag without smiling, then all that have been captured from his side are released to go back to the side from which they were taken. In this way they try to pull over the entire op- posite side, and the side which succeeds in doing this is the winning one. This game affords them lots of amusement. Some start out with a very serious face, determined to get the flag with- out smiling, but have to succumb before they succeed as they meet the volley of jokes, witti- cisms and wry faces. Then comes the laugh for all. The girls play with their dolls and toys of all kinds, and the boys play ball, marbles, fly kites and indulge in all kinds of childish games. Coast- ing and skating are favourite winter sports. Boiler-skating is quite a fad with the native boys and girls. In several places in the territory there are large rinks run by white men, and they are liberally patronized. But dancing is the most popular amusement of all. JOKES AND WITTICISMS 207 Many of their games are games of contest. This is carried into their dancing. They also have eating contests. The original native spoon is a very large affair, practically a ladle, carved out of wood or horn. One of these will hold a half pint or more of seal oil. At times they vie with one another to see who can drink the most spoon- fuls of this nauseating oil. They are very fond of jokes and witticisms. In their feasts and other public gatherings they have a great deal of speech-making, like the guests at a fashionable banquet. These speeches are char- acterized by wit and humour that frequently elicit the loudest applause. Of course some of their remarks that would sound tame to us strike them as being very clever. In this connection it may not be out of place to mention some incidents, amusing and other- wise, that have come under our notice. A noted woman of Sitka prayed openly in prayer-meeting that God would forgive her for the sins she had in mind to commit the following week. A pupil of one of our mission schools reported that another boy had sworn at him. The culprit was summoned before the superintendent and ad- mitted that he was guilty. When asked what evil things he had said, he replied that he called his accuser " ham and eggs." He was dismissed with the injunction to go, and l ' swear ' ' no more. At a funeral we saw a woman, as we were leav- ing the house with the corpse, pick up a phono- graph and take it along with her. As we had seen them carry all kinds of things to place in and around the graves of their departed ones, even sewing-machines, we naturally thought she was 208 MUSIC AND AMUSEMENTS carrying the phonograph for the same purpose. But as soon as the coffin was placed in the wagon that was to bear it to the cemetery, the music box was placed on top of the coffin, a youth jumped into the wagon from behind, wound up the ma- chine, put on a record and set it to squeaking out a funeral march. When this was played through it was started again, and was kept playing until we arrived at the grave. As soon as the body was committed to the grave, it was set to playing again, and when we left the cemetery the machine was doing its utmost to soothe their sorrowing hearts. In some towns it has become very stylish to hire a hearse; a luxury which costs ten dollars. Eecently we held a funeral at which they started to carry the coffin to the cemetery, a distance of about a mile. The procession had not gone more than a quarter of the way when all at once it was decided that they should have the hearse not so much to relieve the men who were carrying the coffin, but for the looks of the thing. It was a cold, stormy day, with a foot or more of snow on the ground. The coffin with the corpse was dropped in the snow and the procession kept wait- ing near it while the hearse was brought to convey the remains the rest of the way to the cemetery. It took nearly an hour to get the vehicle, and all that time the procession stood there in the snow and storm. We see queer things, not only at burials, but also at weddings. It is rather odd to see two old people who have lived together for thirty or forty years and have, perhaps, four or five chil- dren, stand up to be married. Yet this has been done in several instances. They had lived to- IN CHURCH 209 gether in the Thlinget way, but they wanted to be married the white man's way. At one marriage, the bride, seeing that the cere- mony was about to be closed, produced a ring to be placed on the bridegroom's finger. At the same wedding the bridesmaid turned her back to the officiating minister while the rest of the bridal party stood, as they should, facing him. Some are so clumsy that they blunder in trying to get into position and in trying to clasp hands where the ceremony calls for it. At a christening, just as the minister was about to apply the water, a boy of four years took fright and ran at the top of his speed down the aisle and out of the church. In prayer-meetings we have seen mothers pray- ing (standing, with eyes closed) with babies from a year to two years old kicking and squirming in their arms enough to jolt every idea out of the head of the ordinary white woman ; yet they have kept right on praying until their entreaty was through. On one occasion we saw a man who was blocked in a seat by three women get up and climb over the backs of several seats in order to get out ; and that in the presence of a large congregation. This he did rather than ask the women to let him pass. To speak to the women would, in his estimation, be a great breach of propriety, but climbing over the seats was nothing out of the way. Their dogs frequently come to church and some- times it requires much ingenuity to get them out. Eight in the midst of the service some one will collar a dog or grab him by the tail and drag him 210 MUSIC AND AMUSEMENTS put of the sanctuary with as much gravity as if it were part of the service. When the natives saw a steamhoat for the first time they took to the woods through fright. They thought it was some huge being that would bring a terrible disease, such as smallpox. For this reason they pulled a certain native vegetable that resembles our carrot and is peppery, and looked through them at the steamboat, believing that this would protect them from the disease. They were amazed when they saw men walking about on the " fire-canoe." The phonograph was a great wonder to them when it first came, and they flocked to see and hear the w n derful box that could talk and sing. They readily paid a quarter to hear a single tune, and one white man reaped a financial harvest from them for letting them hear his machine. The first negro that appeared in their country was a great puzzle to them. They held all kinds of theories as to what made him black. Some maintained that he had lived where there was too much smoke ; others that he lived in a house whose only entrance was a chimney, and that he became black by going in and out. When they first saw a man with a wooden leg, they regarded him not only with wonder, but thought him a very comical sight. The man who could take off his hair (wig) was a greater wonder to them, however, than the man with the wooden leg. But the most wonderful of all, and the one that afforded them the most amusement and most ex- cited their curiosity, was the man who could take out his teeth. One of them made the discovery that a certain storekeeper could do this. He soon THE FALSE TEETH spread the news among his people, and they flocked to the store to see the wonderful man. They even bluntly asked him to take out his teeth. Seeing his opportunity to attract them to his store as patrons, he did so. Their amazement knew no bounds when they saw him take out of his mouth a full set of uppers, gum and all, and then replace them. Every native in the country soon heard of this remarkable man, and many of them made an excuse to buy something just to get an oppor- tunity of seeing the storekeeper remove and re- place his teeth. It proved to be a splendid ' l ad ' ' for him. These incidents will serve to show how impres- sionable they are. It may be truthfully said that the native, with his little, gets more real enjoy- ment out of life than do many of our wealthy white people with riches at their command. He has fewer wants and cares, and, above all, is not greedy for riches. Hence we find more content- ment and true enjoyment of life in the homes of these humble people than in many homes of our own race. XXI MORALITY IT cannot be denied that " latitude and longi- tude make broad differences as to what con- stitutes vice and virtue.' 7 The ethics of the Chinaman do not altogether correspond with those of the American. The lower the scale of civiliza- tion the wider the difference in what constitutes vice or virtue. So we find the Thlingets of Alaska measuring actions by a different standard from our own. What would shock us they regard as eminently proper. On the other hand, what we approve they would condemn. They see no impropriety in a man living with a woman some months with the view of marrying her providing she suits him. We see no impro- priety in a man escorting another man's wife under certain circumstances, whereas they think this altogether improper and reprehensible. Thousands of our people of both sexes go in bathing together right in public every summer. Nothing could be more shocking to the natives of Alaska than this. We think it is altogether proper for brothers and sisters not only to speak to each other, even after the sister becomes a woman, but to show their affection for one another. The Alaskan na- tives, on the other hand, consider it the proper thing for a brother to sit with his back to his 213 ETHICS OF THLINGETS sister or his mother-in-law; if he needs to com- municate with them it must be through a third party, or in such a manner as if he were not ad- dressing them. It is regarded a shameful thing for a married woman to speak to a man other than her husband, or to be seen in the company of another man for even a moment. Our young girls and ladies may have their beaux and talk with their gentlemen acquaintances as much as they like and no harm is thought of it. The Thlinget girls cannot do this without being branded as immoral. To marry one of the same great totemic phratry, though no blood relation, is a matter of deep dis- grace, and in earlier times one who violated this custom was punished with death. Any who offend in this matter now are deeply execrated. We recall a case where two cousins of the same phratry married. They loved each other and were married according to the white man's law. But their own people turned bitterly against them for this, and scorned the girl from the day of her marriage until her death. A wife is greatly disgraced if she is cast off by her husband, though she may be altogether unde- serving of such treatment. For this reason wives often endure very brutal treatment from their husbands. It is considered a very shameful thing for a woman to expose her person even to her husband or to another woman. Women suffer and die, even in childbirth, rather than submit themselves to a doctor. Sweeping charges of immorality have been made against the natives of Alaska. This is no MORALITY more just than to declare the same of white people because some are bad. Even though a majority of them were immoral it would not justify us in saying they were all so. It were as just for them to declare that all the white people are drunkards because they see so many who are. Sweeping statements are seldom true or just. It is said that the women have no regard for chastity, but their system of ethics is largely to blame for this. It is not considered improper for a man alid woman to live together, though not married. Consequently some use this as a license for improper sexual relations. There are, how- ever, those who are chaste and would not barter their virtue for any price. While prostitution is practised, it is not advertised and fostered as it is with civilized races. It should be remembered that the natives have not been long acquainted with our system of mar- riage. Their own was without rite or ceremony. In many instances a mere mutual understanding between the parties living together that they were husband and wife was all there was to it. This never offended the public conscience so long as the parties showed good faith. Nearly every race has a different marriage sys- tem from all the others. Uncivilized communities, from the very nature of the case, cannot know of the Christian form until it is introduced. They are obliged to hit upon some system, crude as it may appear to us. The Thlingets adopted the dowry system that prevailed in the time of Jacob. This is just as sacred in their eyes as the Chris- tian system is to us. Under it native men and women have lived together for thirty, forty and fifty years in good faith, and reared large fami- CARE OF DAUGHTERS 215 lies. They could not have done better had they been married by a dozen priests. And yet we meet white people who regard the native system as a system of fornication. There are no parents in all the world that guard their girls more carefully in order to preserve their chastity than the Thlingets of Alaska. If they did not value virtue they certainly would not be so careful to protect it. As soon as a girl ap- proaches womanhood she is kept under constant surveillance. She is not allowed to go off by her- self anywhere. She is under the eye of her mother, or aunt or sister until she is married. It seems to us that this shows some regard for virtue. It is true that much coarse, vulgar and indecent sensuality obtains with some, but more from drunkenness than election. Women are debauched, but are not willing parties to the transaction. The appetite for strong drink is the curse and ruin of many of them, and has betrayed many a woman to part with her virtue. Men, knowing their weakness for liquor and how helpless they are when under its influence, use this means of taking advantage of them. The sale and the giving of liquor to the natives is the most debasing of all influences that they encounter. There is a stringent law against it, and public opinion in Alaska is strongly with the law, yet there are men so low (white men, we are sorry to say) that they are constantly violating this law. The courts are doing their best to stamp out this criminal practice and have succeeded in sending many of these offenders to the peniten- tiary. But in spite of their strenuous efforts to break it up, the traffic in liquor with the natives 216 MORALITY continues with most baneful and degrading results. This curse has hung like a pall over them since the advent of the Eussians. Before the coming of the white man they were strangers to liquor in any form. The art of brewing and drinking it was acquired. Ballou, in his volume on Alaska, states that the Eussians taught them to make quass. Bancroft, in his history of Alaska, claims that they were taught the art of distilling by United States soldiers. Whoever is responsible for their knowledge of manufacturing drink, it is certain that they knew nothing of it until they were taught it by members of the superior race. Another undeniable fact is that they have been encouraged to drink by the example, not only of white civilians, but of soldiers who were sent to Alaska to maintain law and order. Bancroft, in his history of Alaska, has shown that the soldiery have much of the debauchery of the natives to answer for. Governor Swineford, and other writers on Alaska, bear witness to the same un- pleasant truth. Scores of citizens have made the same observation. It is certainly regrettable that men who are sent out by our government to en- force law and order should be the very ones to drink and carouse, create drunken brawls, strife and discord in communities where they live. That this has been done times without number in Alaska, no one can deny. The government makes a ludicrous mistake in thinking the miners of Alaska need the soldiery to restrain them from acts of violence. As a class their behaviour is far superior to that of the soldiery. RUM, THE ARCH-EVIL 217 There are some fine fellows wearing the uni- form, and the officers, with scarcely an exception, are true gentlemen. But too many rowdies are in the ranks, and such should not be employed to conserve law and order. As soon as they are loose from duty, they make for the saloons to drink, carouse and do violence. It is a question whether Alaska has profited or suffered more from the army. Bancroft and other careful writers think the latter is true. " There are plenty of irresponsible whites, " writes Ballou, " ready to make money out of the aborigines. Bum is the native's bane, its effect upon him being singularly fatal ; it maddens him ; even slight intoxication means to him delirium and all its consequences, wild brutality and utter demoralization. ' ' More crimes, cruelty, brutality and misery among the natives are due to drink than to any other one thing yea, than to all other things put together. Many have died directly from over- drink and poisonous drinks. Many have been killed in drunken brawls or crippled for life. Children are abused, neglected and made to suffer by drunken parents. The teachers and missionaries who live and la- bour among the natives have many sad cases of brutality and suffering, all through drink, brought to their notice. Theft is little known among them. Before the fine art of thieving was introduced by the white man, no man's house was ever robbed, nor his wood stolen though cut and banked in the forest ; his garden was not plundered, though miles from his home, nor his blankets thrown over his canoe to protect it from the sun disturbed, nor any 218 MORALITY of his belongings appropriated by another. Val- uable articles are deposited in deadhouses and on and around graves, articles that natives covet, yet these were never stolen. The example of white crooks and thieves is pernicious and has encouraged some natives to imitate them. Much thieving has been laid to their door, when in truth it belonged to white rascals. The percentage of thieving by natives is much lower than that of the white races. For more than twenty years we have lived among them. Our doors have been left unlocked for them to walk in and out; frequently we were out and they had the house all to themselves, yet in all these years we have never had anything stolen by one of them. While many have been brought into court for drunkenness, disorderly conduct, fighting, assault, etc., yet very few have been tried for theft. The crime of murder has been committed by them, but not so often as by white men in their country. In most cases this crime, when committed by natives, was because they were under the influence of liquor. It is safe to say that as many natives have been killed by white men as white people killed by them. A man committed suicide simply to make trouble for one who offended him. According to native custom, if a person commits suicide be- cause some one has offended him, or opposed a wish of his, heavy damages or a life must be given to the tribe of the suicide by the tribe of the one giving the offence. So suicide is sometimes re- sorted to in order to harass and burden others. The threat of suicide is sometimes used as a bluff to get one's way. There are a few native girls who imitate their VICES 2,19 fallen white sisters. They barter their virtue, and some of them, when they find themselves trapped, resort to abortion. This they do, not by applying to a physician, as we have no physicians who would abet a native girl in this, but by personal efforts and by taking native concoctions. They are not always successful, as too many children without visible fathers testify. The native " tough " is becoming scarcer and scarcer, and has always been frowned on by the great body of natives. The .natives no more ap- prove of their girls leading a bad life than the white people do of their girls. While there may be yet a few native girls who lead a fast life, the number is small as compared with those who were once given to it. Some of them have been brought into the church, reformed and transformed, and for years have led a clean life. They have settled down, content to be the wife of one man and rear children. Among the white people of Alaska, the natives have the reputation of having little regard for the truth. Their testimony in court, unless cor- roborated by the testimony of a white person, will not be considered by the average juryman. We have found from experience that while it is true the word of many is unreliable, yet there are those who can and do speak the truth, and whose word may be depended on. But we admit, with regret, that many will prevaricate if they think there is anything to be gained by it, or to injure one for whom they have ill will. One of their most reprehensible faults is their failure to meet their financial obligations to white men. Merchants who have given them credit, and friends who have loaned them money, have found MORALITY all too late that but few of them have the honour to square their accounts. They seem to think it is legitimate for them to " beat " a white man. Of course there are some who will pay without coercion their just debts. Among themselves they pay, as they cannot get away from it. Profanity, smoking and chewing tobacco, and drinking are acquired vices. They are not as yet very profane. But they hear profanity so much from white men that it sticks to them to some ex- tent. Some use profane words without knowing that they are reprehensible. This is seen in speak- ing to the missionary in whose presence they would not use " bad " words if they knew them to be such. Not a few are addicted to smoking, but ver,y few chew tobacco. The older women are particu- larly fond of snuff, and some of them use the pipe also. It is only just to say that among them there are those who eschew all of these evils and live good moral lives. xxn DISEASES WHILE certain diseases have always been found among the Thlingets, others that now afflict them are of recent introduc- tion. Tumours, cancers and toothache were un- known to them until within recent years. The older ones have yet sound and excellent teeth while the rising generation experience the white people's misfortune of cavities, toothache and dental torture. A certain woman eighty years old or more, and known to us, has never had the toothache, and every tooth in her head to-day is as sound as a dollar. On the other hand, a woman yet in her twenties has had half of her teeth extracted and several of the remaining ones filled. The white man's food, especially his sweetmeats, which are now freely indulged in by the natives, is, no doubt, largely the cause of this change. While consumption is now the most prevalent disease among them, we are told by the natives themselves and by careful historians that it is an imported disease. " The Indian calls tubercu- losis ' the white man's disease,' and so far as I have been able to learn it was practically unknown to him in his uncivilized state." It is common to hear consumption spoken of among our own peo- ple as " The Great White Plague." This would 22S DISEASES indicate that it is surely the white man's disease. Whatever its origin with the natives, it is certain that it has a fearful hold on them. Dr. Paul C. Hutton, surgeon and physician at Fort William H. Seward, Haines, Alaska, in a published report for the year 1907, states that he found on investigation 20.6 per cent of the natives of that place afflicted with undisputed tubercu- losis, 12 per cent of probable cases of pulmonary form, and 16.2 per cent of tuberculosis other than pulmonary. While every village has its quota of consump- tion, yet we are very sure no other village can match this. We have been reliably informed that there are more cases of venereal diseases among the natives in that community than in any other. If so, this would account for the prevalence of consumption there. While this disease, without a doubt, carries off to-day more natives than any other, yet we know that it is not so bad as it was a decade or more ago. The natives clothe themselves better, take greater precautions against getting wet and catch- ing colds, live under better sanitary conditions and employ competent physicians far more than they ever did before. This naturally tends to lessen the prevalence of the disease. Other physicians of eminent ability declare that Dr. Hut- ton's report is an exaggeration. They found that cases which were considered by him as con- sumptives were not such at all. The author is positive that the mortality among the natives of southeastern Alaska, at least, is not extraordinary. Some sickness and death must be expected. Of course these should be diminished to the fullest extent. But to raise the cry that the natives are SMALLPOX, ETC. dying as if smitten with the plague is neither true nor wise. If there were the least doubt about consumption being an imported disease, there can be none about smallpox. The scourge was introduced, accord- ing to Bancroft,* in the year 1836. Since then it has appeared from time to time with more or less virulence. The last epidemic of smallpox was in the summer of 1901, when scores were carried away by it. The natives travel about so much and are so careless about spreading diseases that when this loathsome disease breaks out it soon goes from one end of the country to the other. Their communal style of living and the unsanitary con- ditions of their villages highly favour it. For these reasons, when it breaks out fearful mortality results from it. All forms of venereal diseases are legacies of the white man to the natives. Diseased sailors from Eussian ships and American whalers intro- duced them. Being contagious, and the natives being so indifferent to the spread of diseases, venereal afflictions are common. Much of it now is inherited. Thus the sins of their fathers are visited upon their children. The prevalence of syphilis is no sign of whole- sale immorality, as it spreads by contagion and inheritance, and many innocent ones, as is seen among the children, are tainted with the disease. The careless, uncleanly life of the average native favours its spreading and perpetuation. Measles and whooping-cough are imported dis- eases, and very few native children now escape them. Measles is very serious with them, as it frequently terminates in pneumonia or con- sumption. * " History of Alaska," page 560. DISEASES The original diseases of the Thlingets are pneu- monia, rheumatism, scrofula, blood diseases, ophthalmia, neuralgia and pulmonary hemor- rhages. Strange to say, fevers such as typhoid, scarlet, malarial, etc., are scarcely known in Alaska. We would naturally suppose that fevers of this nature would thrive among a people so untidy in their homes, but such is not the case. It may be accounted for on the grounds that the temperature never rises high enough to create excessive heat and rank decomposition of dead vegetation; that the prevalent rains purify the atmosphere; that they live on beaches swept by tides, and that they have the purest water in the world for drinking and cooking purposes. Of course we now refer to the natives of the coast. We frequently see Thlingets afflicted with tu- berculosis of the hip. Ophthalmia is a prevalent disease, much of it, we believe, being due to smoke. Comparatively speaking, only recently have the natives employed stoves. Their life was practically spent around an open fire, in the house as well as outside. They could scarcely sit around these fires without being more or less enveloped with clouds of smoke. Pott's Disease is another form of tuberculosis which we meet with among them. For this rea- son we see humpbacks everywhere, and not a few have died from tuberculosis in this form. Seldom do we find cases of insanity and idiocy among the natives. Where insanity has mani- fested itself disease has been at the bottom of it. They certainly are not driven to it from worry, like so many of their white brothers. Aside from some petty annoyances, they have little to worry about. The' simple life, as a rule, gives slight SANITATION occasion for serious mental disturbance. The in- mates of our insane asylums come mostly from our more complex civilization. The natives have no knowledge of, and, appar- ently, no concern about, sanitation. " Discarded garments and old shoes lying rotting in the moist soil ; salmon skins and salmon flesh disintegrating ; tin cans partially filled with stinking slush and half buried ; rotten logs and decaying organic mat- ter everywhere. Both inside and out we find everything conducive to the propagation of germs. " * " From a free open life they were changed to a life in huts and houses crowded so closely and with so little ventilation that probably half a dozen or more would have to breathe air which from a hygienic point of view would not contain sufficient oxygen to properly support one life 1 ." The unknown author of this latter quotation is correct. A lack of the appreciation of the value of good, sweet, fresh air is no doubt responsible for not a little sickness among them. As Dr. Hutton points out, in the quotation above, their carelessness about the removal and disposition of garbage is also a fruitful cause of disease. " These Alaskans, " writes Ballou, " have no idea of sewerage, or of the proper disposal of domestic refuse. All accumulations of this sort are thrown just outside the doors of their dwell- ings, to the right and left, anywhere, in fact, which is handiest. The stench which surrounds their cabins, under these circumstances, is almost un- bearable by civilized people, and must be very unwholesome." * Hutton. 226 DISEASES A campaign has been inaugurated by the gov- ernment school authorities against this unsanitary condition in native villages. But unless there is some way to enforce obedience to established rules and regulations little will be accomplished, if we may judge by the results from efforts of others along this same line. The natives, while inclined to listen, give very little heed to any hygienic and sanitary instructions. They have no knowledge of medicine, proper nursing or caring for the sick. In their efforts to help the sick, their remedies, aside from the rites of shamanism, are very crude and simple. They gather herbs and apply them to the sick, sometimes raw and sometimes cooked. They also steep roots and herbs and use the liquor from them for medicine. The old women are their chemists. They mingle not a little superstition in with their concoctions. For scrofula the inner bark of the devilclub and oil were outwardly ap- plied. The bark was dried and ground to powder. Bleeding was, and is yet, a popular practice. The writer knows of one native, a leading man in his community, whose shoulders and back are full of scars, the result of cuttings for the purpose of bleeding. For six or eight years, every fall when he has returned from his summer's fishing, he has called in one of the local physicians (white) to do the cutting, and by request of the native himself I have stood by and witnessed some of these operations. The malady he has each time sought relief from by this drastic method is rheumatism or sciatica. In every instance he has found relief. The man ap- parently is well and strong to-day. He is prob- ably forty-five or fifty years old. TREATMENT OF DISEASE 227 It is rather strange that when they used to bind up their cuts and wounds with dirty rags, and were little protected from filth, there was so small a percentage of peritonitis among them. Now, with antiseptics, sterilized instruments and the best of care, blood poisoning is not infre- quent. In treating ulcers and running sores, they insert a bunch of eagle 's down into the heart of the sore and leave it there until it is well glued to the pus. Then they draw it out, bringing with it all the pus that has attached to it. This opens up the sore in such a manner as to let the bad matter run freely out. They make an abundant use of the natural mineral springs which are found in the country. For years, if not for generations, they have been acquainted with the medicinal value of these springs. " Twenty miles south of Sitka," wrote Ballou more than twenty years ago, ' ' on the same island, there are a number of hot springs, strongly im- pregnated with iron and sulphur, the sanitary na- ture of which has been known to the Indians for centuries, and hither they have been in the habit of resorting for the cure of certain physical ills, especially rheumatism, to which they are so liable. " The hot springs near Hoonah and Kil- lisnoo are also well patronized by natives. The steam bath is very popular with them. They take a number of springy sticks or poles and make a frame the shape of a large round-top bee- hive. Over this they throw a small canoe sail or piece of drilling, thus making a booth large enough for two or three to crawl inside. Several good-sized hot stones are placed inside. Then 228 DISEASES they crawl in themselves and steam to their heart's content. Some practise fasting, when sick, going for days with little or no food. It has a good effect, too. If there were more fasting and less stuffing there would be fewer dyspeptics and less illness. They have what are called " rubbers." These are usually old women who profess to be able, by rubbing the person with their hands, to effect cures. They claim to be especially effective with any kind of stomach trouble. These rubbers are often employed and they make a good charge for their services. They have practically no knowledge of nursing the sick. The sick are given to eat whatever they ask for, whether it is good for them or not. They humour them and think it is wrong to deny them anything they call for. If prescribed for by a physician, the medicine is very poorly admin- istered. It is not given regularly nor in quantity according to the prescription. If the patient does not recover after taking one or two doses of medi- cine, both the medicine and the doctor are con- sidered useless, no matter how chronic the disease may be. Almost invariably the bed of the sick is made on the floor, while the bedstead is used for holding boxes and other chattels. They are often kept in a stifling atmosphere not fit for a well person to breathe, with a dozen or more peo- ple tramping about, talking and making more or less noise in the room. They are allowed to get up and go out in the wet and cold, even when so weak from wasting disease they can scarcely stand on their feet. Nothing has been more pathetic than to see natives emaciated from disease tottering about endeavouring to wait on themselves when CRYING NEED OF NATIVES they should have been in bed and waited on. This is due to four things: lack of conveniences, neg- lect, false modesty and ignorance. A well-equipped, up-to-date hospital should have been erected for the Alaskans long ago by the United States government. It is a crying shame that it was not done. The mere sense of humanity should have prompted it, if not a desire to perpetuate the race. If only an infinitesimal part of the millions that have been wasted on gun- powder alone could have been used for such a purpose, it would be far more to the credit of our government. A small one, capable of caring for about fifteen patients, has recently been established in the cap- ital city, Juneau. To meet the needs of the peo- ple other sections should be supplied with hos- pitals. Alaska is a country of magnificent dis- tances, and natives can hardly be expected to carry their sick three or four hundred miles for treat- ment. The facilities for travel are such that it takes days and even weeks to go from some points to Juneau. The expense also is not light. One hospital, however, is better than none, and we are grateful for the one that is in operation. Some physicians claim that the constitution of the native requires twice as much medicine to the dose as that of a white person in order to produce the same effect. We know of a native woman who took half a teaspoonful of laudanum to produce sleep, but without avail. The same woman took strong morphine pellets according to prescription for the same purpose, yet they had no effect on her. So this claim may be true. In southeastern Alaska the climate has much to do with the health of the natives. The ex- 230 DISEASES cessive humidity is a fruitful source of rheuma- tism, colds, coughs and consumption. Travelling almost altogether in open boats, their clothing be- comes saturated with water ; they chill and a heavy cold results. The women are far less careful in protecting themselves than are the men. While the latter are seen knocking around in slickers and tight rubber boots, the former will be in their bare feet and scantily clad. Freaks are found among the natives as well as among other people. We frequently see blind na- tives, but seldom meet with deaf ones. During our long residence in Alaska we have never met with a native mute. They are especially blessed with a good faculty of speech. Blindness is sometimes inherited, and some- times brought about by accidents and disease. For the hopelessly blind people and the indigent there should be a home where they might receive proper care and have some of the comforts of life. As it is, they must be a burden to their peo- ple and grope around as best they can. It only remains to be said that there are some natives who live on a higher plane of life than the average. These know better how to care for themselves in sickness, have better homes and more conveniences and employ good physicians. As along other lines, so in the care of themselves and their sick, they are advancing. RELIGION HE who writes about the natives of Alaska without noting their religion gives a very deficient account of them ; religion has been and is yet a great factor in their lives. Man is by nature a religious being. In every clime and in every race he selects some object, real or imaginary, to propitiate. He either clothes some object of nature, man, beast, sun or fire, with supernatural powers, or evolves beings out of his own imagination whom he thus clothes. These he propitiates in proportion as he be- lieves they have power to harm. Thus men nat- urally grope after the Supreme Being, " if haply they may find Him." The Thlingets of Alaska are no exception to the rule. They had no temples, no religious assemblies, no representations of deity, in short, no rites or ceremonies that might properly be called reli- gious, in early days. They were truly heathen. They have been called demonologists, or devil- worshippers, but they never worshipped demons nor the devil. They had no idea of the latter until they learned about him through the teachings of the Eussian missionaries. Some have said that their religion was spiritual- ism. While they firmly believed (and do yet) in spirits, yet it can hardly be said that this belief attained the dignity of a religion. The Thlinget 232 RELIGION mind clothes everything, inanimate as well as ani- mate, with spirit. The belief in the existence of evil spirits is the foundation of shamanism. They propitiate and conjure with these imaginary evil spirits in order to purchase their good will, but they do not wor- ship them. Shamanism is one grand effort to wrestle with these supposed evil spirits and ob- tain immunity from them. But their belief in the existence of spirits was never elevated into a religion. " Their aboriginal belief," writes Ballou, " is called Shamanism, or the propitiating of evil spirits by acceptable offerings. It is significant that the same faith is participated in by the Si- berians, on the other side of Bering Strait. This is no new or original form of religion ; it was the faith of the Tartar race before they became the disciples of Buddhism. " It is but a step from spiritualism to a belief in ghosts. The Thlingets believe firmly in the latter. Goosh-ta-kah (Land-otter-man) is their chief hobgoblin. The spirits of the drowned linger around in the forests near the watercourses until they finally go way back into the interior. The Thlingets have been called ancestor wor- shippers. While they have a profound respect and reverence for their departed ancestors, yet they do not worship them. They believe in the continued existence of their spirits after death, and even call on these spirits for favours, but this belief never led them to worship the departed as our Catholic constituency worship saints. Again, they have been called animal worship- pers. " They seem to entertain, " writes Ballou, 1 ' a sort of animal worship, a reverence for special NOT ANIMAL WORSHIPPERS 233 birds and beasts/' But they do not worship these objects. They may be said to approach it because of their reverent and propitiatory attitude toward the animals adopted as totems. Their belief in an animal ancestry, as already shown, is doubtless the foundation of this adoption, while the pro- pitiation is due to the adoption and to their re- garding the creatures so adopted as clothed with supernatural powers. The ancient Egyptians were real animal worshippers because they had them represented in their temples and made obeisance to them as they would to deity. So far as we have been able to learn, the Thlingets never did this. Strictly speaking, they were not animal worshippers. Nor were they Nature worshippers, as some have declared them to be. The sun, moon, clouds, tide, etc., are thought of as possessing spirits be- cause they seem to be instinct with life, but they were not worshipped. The nearest approach that they ever came to worshipping any object was that of their dead shaman. They prayed to him for long life and success in their enterprises. In the morning they would take a mouthful of water, spit it out and pray. When in danger of drowning they would pray to him for deliverance. Not only would they thus pray to him, but to things that once be- longed to him. This was nothing less than fetish- ism, and to this extent was practised by them. " The aborigines, where not brought into con- tact with government schools and missionaries, still retain their system of fetish worship, being very much under the control of their medicine men, who pretend to influence the demons of the spirit world, so feared by the average savage. " RELIGION They believed firmly (and do yet) in the im- mortality of man. For this reason they put food in the fire, and food and clothing in the tomb of the dead; placed food and clothing on the house- top for those killed in war (whose spirits are sup- posed to live in the air), and canoes beside the deadhouses of their deceased shamans. They believed firmly (and some do yet) in the transmigration of the soul, but not in the sense of the ancient Egyptian's belief. They believe that the soul transmigrates from relative to rela- tive, but not from man to animals. For instance, if a nephew dies who has borne some peculiar mark (perhaps a birthmark) on his person and an aunt should afterwards give birth to a son who was similarly marked, it would be fully believed that the newly born was none other than the de- parted nephew and his name would be given to the child. It is in this sense that they believe in transmigration. The place where the souls of the departed dwell is known as the " ghost's " or the " spirit's " home. The word for ghost is the same as for spirit. The word for soul is ki-ya-hiya, meaning, also, picture or shadow. When this ki-ya-hi-ya leaves the body, if the person dies a natural death and was not a slave, it goes to the happy region of spirits, which is thought of as being in some remote part of the earth; if he die in war, then it goes to dwell in the sky; if drowned, then it descends to a region below the plane of this earth, providing the body is recovered, but if not recov- ered it is captured by the Goosh-td-ka and taken back into the woods. When a person is very unhappy in this world, his uncle or aunt comes to him and says, " You PROPITIATION OF EVIL POWERS 235 are unhappy where you are. Now come with me." Then the person dies and goes to the happy region where spirits are satisfied. According to tradition, one soul came back from the spirit-land to tell the living just how they should act toward the dead, or departed spirits. Weapons must be buried with them that they may protect themselves against wild beasts and ene- mies ; gloves and moccasins that they may protect their hands and feet against devilclubs and briars; and water to quench their thirst. When the fire crackles, spirits are hungry and calling for food. Then food must be put into the fire. Songs must be sung to lead the soul. Feasts must be given as a benefit to the spirits. Believing firmly in this, the Thlinget endeavours to carry it out. New rifles are buried with the dead as weapons of defence for the spirit. The houses in the spirit-land are named the same as the name of each one's deadhouse in this world. Their great concern has been to propitiate the powers which they believed had power to harm them or give them success. These powers were not imaginary deities, but their totemic imaginary magnified animals to which they assigned attri- butes appertaining to deity. The patron bird of the Crow phratry is not the small crow or raven which we see flying about, but a mammoth imag- inary creature of that species possessed with great strength and full of cunning and wisdom. Other invisible powers which they sought to ap- pease were the spirits that they believed existed about them in almost untold numbers. The shaman was believed not only to possess supernatural power in himself, but to be in com- munication with the unseen powers and have in- 236 RELIGION fluence with them. For this reason his services were sought and he himself placated. We have been able to find no term in their lan- gnage to indicate that they had any idea of a Supreme Being such as God. The term they now use to designate the Supreme Being is De-ke (up) On-Kowa (Chief) ; that is, the Chief -above (God). This word was evidently coined after they had learned, through the missionaries, about God. " The Alaskans believe in the existence of a Supreme Being. They call him Teki-Ankaose. He lives on the summit of a mountain, an arctic Olympus, where a fresh breeze is always blow- ing." This fanciful writer would give the impression that this belief was original with them. His " Teki-Ankaose " is clearly the native's De-ke- Onkowa (the-up-chief). His " arctic Olympus " is a stretch of his own imagination. The Thlin- gets are many hundred miles from the Arctic regions, and yet he uses, as near as he knows how, their term for the Supreme Being. The unvar- nished truth is that so far as we have been able to learn, through years of research, they had no idea of a deity like God until they were taught it. A Hydah reports that his people believe in a Supreme Being. He does not say, however, that this belief was original with them. He merely affirms that they have long believed this. That may be so and the belief nevertheless be an adopted one. Owing to their belief in the existence of a limit- less number of spirits, the Thlingets have a very interesting cosmology. The sun and the moon, as well as the earth, are the abodes of numberless spirits ; they are in the woods, around lakes, along A TROUT STREAM THEIR COSMOLOGY 237 trails, in the water, rocks, snow, and in every other object. For this reason all things are con- jured and nothing is contemptuously referred to. All things have eyes and ears through the spirits that inhabit them. Hence the caution that people observe when speaking about them. They are careful what they say about the moon. Two girls were once carried off by it because they remarked, as they were going after water, ' ' That moon looks just like our grandmother's labret." Immediately they were taken up into the moon, and the one who made the remark was broken to pieces. The other can still be seen, in the moon, holding her bucket. People in earlier times grasped at shadows cast by the sun, and would ask, after blowing on their hands, " Let me have luck." The sea was implored for all sorts of things, but particularly for sea-otter, as its fur is so very valuable. Big waves were propitiated by putting " black raven," charcoal, on them. When this was done, the one doing it would say, " I have put this on you. Please stop." The wind was talked to to induce it to moderate or cease. Sometimes a piece of fish was thrown to it. When it blew very hard it was said that some one had been talking about the wolverine, as it was believed that this animal had special control over the north wind. When in the neighbourhood of a glacier or big iceberg the Thlingets always talked to it, saying, 1 ' My son 's daughter, be very careful. You might come down on us." As the Eussians first discovered and colonized Alaska, they were the first to introduce the Chris- tian religion to the natives. The Grseco-Eussian 238 RELIGION church was in Alaska nearly a century before any other church entered the field. Its operations were confined principally to the coast tribes. In the communities where their churches were built, the priests enrolled all the natives as members. During this long century of missionary effort, this church, if we are to believe the statements of able historians on Alaska, did little to reclaim the natives from vice, immorality and heathen- ism. " It must be admitted," says Bancroft, " that the Greek [Russian] church was a failure through- out Kussian America." Minor W. Bruce, an American writer whom no one can charge with being biased against the Russians, bears witness to the same truth, and Golovin, a Russian writer, bears similar testimony. Judging from the conditions in which the na- tives were found when Alaska was turned over to the United States, the statements of these writers would seem to be just. The Russian church has continued to labour with the natives, and with those of their own na- tionality, down to the present day. For what- ever good has accrued to the natives in the last half century through the churches, it is entitled to its share of credit in the work. Whatever might have been the lives of earlier priests of that faith, those with whom we have been per- sonally acquainted and beside whom we have la- boured, have been men of good character and loyal to their work, living lives, so far as we know, beyond reproach. The first religious work among any of the Thlingets was at Sitka in the year 1817, when the Russians built a church there. PROTESTANT MISSIONS 239 The first Protestant service held in Alaska by an American after the purchase by the United States was held by an army chaplain at Sitka, October 13, 1867. This was for white people and not for the natives. No religious work was instituted among the na- tives by any Protestant church until ten years after the American occupation. Missions for the natives over in British Colum- bia on the border line of Alaska had been estab- lished by Protestants some years previous to any work being done for the aborigines in the former country. Notable among these was the mission at Metlakhatla. That work has been so long in the public eye that no word that could be said here would in anywise raise it in the public es- teem. The results of the life-long labours of Mr. William Duncan with the Metlakhatla natives are marvellous, and no tongue or pen can adequately praise such heroic self-abnegation as has been shown by this missionary to this once benighted people. It is one of the most thrilling missionary tales in the history of the world. The first religious work instituted by any Protestant church among the Thlingets of Alaska was at Wrangell, by the Presbyterians, in 1877. The following year the same denomination opened work for the natives at Sitka. Within the first decade of missionary effort of this church several missions were established, and at the present day there are sixteen fields in southeastern Alaska alone where they are doing effective work. Some years after the Presbyterian Church opened its work for the Thlingets, other denomina- tions entered the field, notably the Friends, the Episcopalians, and the Salvation Army. As has 240 RELIGION been said, the Eussian Church has been in the field since 1817. What has been the result of this religious effort among the natives? We will let men who cannot be charged with being biased in favour of the church answer first. It could never be justly said that the Hon. A. P. Swineford, once Governor of Alaska, was par- tial to the church. In his book on Alaska, we read, " The superstitions which formerly pre- vailed among these people have to a great extent been eradicated through the influence and teach- ings of the Christian missionaries. " " By the united efforts of the officials of the civil government and the missionaries this bar- barous practice [witchcraft] has been practically broken up. Some of the shamans have been sub- jected to summary punishment, in cases where the law could not readily be invoked ; others have been indicted and convicted, and this, together with the teachings of the missionaries, has served to practically eradicate from among them the chief superstition to which they were for cen- turies the abject slaves/' We were not personally acquainted with M. M. Ballou, as we were with the Hon. A. P. Swine- ford, but, judging from the tone of his book, we would not take him as having any bias toward the church. In "Alaska," we read: "Within the last twenty years greater intelligence has been shown, in part through missionaries, self-sacri- ficing and devout men, who have sought by their teachings to abolish the wild superstitions of the natives, together with their cruel rights of shaman- ism." " The self-abnegation and conscientious labour TESTIMONIES OF CHURCH WORK of these people [missionaries] are truly worthy of all commendation. ' ' " We believe the Training School at Sitka ex- ercises a much higher civilizing influence, where the simplest Christian principles are taught, com- bined with common school studies, and where in- struction is given in the daily industries of life." Bancroft was an impartial historian. We read in his " History of Alaska, " " For several years Protestant missionaries of several denominations, and especially the Presbyterians, have, amid great discouragements, laboured earnestly, and not in vain, to introduce their faith among the natives of Alaska. Meanwhile their efforts in the cause of education have been no less persistent." It cannot be said that Minor W. Bruce is a partisan of the Church, yet in his " Alaska " he pays a splendid tribute to the work of the mis- sionaries. In the October (1906) number of the " Boston Alaskan," which is not a church periodical, we read words of commendation of the church for its part in civilizing the natives. A few letters from natives who have been in the mission schools will testify as to the results of religious work among them: " School life is for the young. Young people have good times during their school days, but we young people go to school, not only to have a good time, but to learn what is right, and to do good, and to talk English. We are here in school so that we may have better lives when we go away from here. So we must not idle away our time, but we must work, and use our time well. We must try to learn all we can to tell our companions, who have not been to school, about this good life. I try to RELIGION keep it. I shall never forget it. This is the most precious time of our life. So we must keep it in our head. "Why is it we have school life? Well, we Thlinget people never had schools among us be- fore, and we didn't know how to live right; now we have teachers to teach us how. It is in school we are getting strong. When we grow up, we will be the leaders of our people. I don't think they know anything about the good life. No, they don't; only we know, so we must tell them about it." (Mary E. Kadashan, a Chilkat.) " MY DEAE FRIEND: " I will tell you what I think all time. Father says nine years old me. I thank you for you pay for me my teacher says. My uncle says I have to stay here twenty years. I don't want more than five years. My father is dead, so I have no home. My sister says ' Don't anywhere go you, just in mission stay you. ' My sister says when five years gone next five year's more I'll stay. " I am trying to get to the Third reader. I hard study me- my second Reader. I am a little boy, but I just try to know something more so good man me. " Good-bye, " JOHNNIE JOHNSON." ' ' I am going to consider for a few minutes the opportunities of a young native woman of Alaska. Of course our career in life necessarily must be different from that of a white girl, although we may have had the same schooling. Our home life has been different, our environments are different and the public does not look upon us in the same way, but I am going to prove to you that there is TESTIMONIES OF CHURCH WORK a place for us, the native girls, and a great work for us to do ; and more than that, that we are able to support ourselves. The first opportunity the native girl has is her schooling. . . . Here we are instructed by our teachers about housekeep- ing, sewing, cooking and dressmaking; all these things help us to make our living. . . . " A young lady may be useful in many ways. She may be used as a school-teacher in the govern- ment schools, or as a nurse to help to stamp out the consumption from among our own people. We have several cases of girls who have done this and are making a success. " There is no nobler work for a girl than that of improving the conditions of a home, for on the home depends the advancement of the people. Surely education and instruction has brought about a marked change in our homes and mode of living." (Fanny Phillips, a native of Chilkat.) We have many other letters from natives which might be submitted to show how they appreciate the efforts of educational and religious workers among them. A writer in a periodical says, " The Indians [Alaskans] are getting a better hold every year on the principles of Christianity. They are em- phatically in earnest about it, and as a consequence there has been great improvement. Their critics fail to appreciate that they are expected to do in a few years what has taken the Anglo-Saxon 1,200 years to accomplish. It may be said to the credit of the Indians that they have progressed much more rapidly than did the Anglo-Saxon. " We find among them even to-day men of as high ideas of Christian life as are found among white people in the older communities. The work RELIGION that is being done among them is bearing fruit in genuine Christian men and women. ' ' We could multiply such testimony as we have now submitted, but the limitations of our work will not permit it. Only the ignorant, the thoughtless, or the vicious will be heard condemning and speaking contemptuously of the work of teachers and mis- sionaries. No class of men and women are more keenly aware of their limitations or more deeply deplore the fact that the natives are not as a whole on a much higher plane of life, than the missionaries. But as Eome was not built in a day, nor the Eng- lish race evolved in a week, so they know that it takes time to lift a savage to a high plane of civilization. And what is more, if the vicious of their own race did not impose so many obstacles, even this could be done much quicker than it is. XXIV EDUCATION TEN years rolled away after the American oc- cupation of Alaska before anything was done by our government or by other agency for the education of the natives of the country. The initial move in this direction was made by the Presbyterian Church, the first denomination to enter Alaska after its purchase by the United States. " Within less than a decade [from the begin- ning of missionary effort in Alaska] more has been done by this society [Presbyterian Board of Missions] to advance the cause of education in Alaska than was otherwise accomplished during all the years of Eussian domination. ' ' " Were it not for the efforts of the Board of Missions [Presbyterian], there would probably have been no efficient school, and perhaps no school of any kind, in the territory, apart from those maintained by the Alaska Commercial Com- pany " (at St. Paul and St. George islands in the Bering Sea). In a letter dated December 31, 1882, Dr. Sheldon Jackson stated that there were ' ' seven good Eng- lish schools in the Alexander Archipelago, six of which were maintained at the expense of the Board [Presbyterian], three of them having boarding and industrial departments." The first school for the Thlingets was estab- 245 246 EDUCATION lished in the year 1877 at Wrangell tinder the aus- pices of the Presbyterian Church, and in connec- tion with its mission at that place. Mrs. A. R. McFarland of that church, the first Protestant missionary to the natives of Alaska, was the teacher. She found the people groping after the light. A little band of aspiring natives who had come to Wrangell from Port Simpson, B. C., where they had received some education, were zealously doing what they could to impart their knowledge to their fellow-men of the former place. Thus the missionary found the soil prepared for sowing the seeds of education among the Thlingets. By 1882 six schools had been established at dif- ferent places among the Thlingets by the same agency. As fast as new missions opened up, schools were established in connection with them. For the first decade, after the Presbyterian Church entered Alaska, it alone cared for the education of the natives. " American governmental control left to abso- lute neglect for eighteen years the important question of education [of the natives of Alaska]. . . . Stimulated by appeals from officers of the 1 army, American missionary societies were not en- tirely neglectful of Alaska's necessities, and in 1877 the Presbyterians, through their agent, Dr. Sheldon Jackson, established schools in south- eastern Alaska, their example being soon followed by other missionary societies." According to the same authority (Greely) the government did not assume its duties in the edu- cation of the natives until it was " finally forced by public opinion " to do so. NEGLECT OF U. S. GOVERNMENT 247 In 1885 the Secretary of the Interior called the attention of the Commissioner of Education to the provision made by law for the education of chil- dren in Alaska, regardless of race. After incessant appeals Congress appropriated the niggardly sum of twenty-five thousand dollars for education in the territory. Having no school plant of its own, this appropriation was given over to the missions, and government contracted with them to look after the education of the na- tives in particular. The missions " generously supplemented the deficient support of the na- tion - ' ' Baocrotc Ubraci For a period of ten years after making this feeble effort, to do something for the education of the natives, nothing better was done. Schoolhouses were finally built, practically in every village. Only the rudiments of English were taught. No industrial training whatever was given in these government schools down to the year 1908. The only training of this kind had been in connection with the mission schools. The leading industrial training school of the country is that of Sitka conducted by the Women's Board of Home Missions of the Presbyterian Church. This institution has exerted greater educational influence on the natives than all other agencies put together. It was established in 1880, and more natives have received instruction here than at any other institution. Children from all over the country enter it, and in no year in its history could it begin to receive all applicants for admis- sion. Many natives have been doomed to a life of ignorance by our government's failure to pro- vide education for them. For years the school could receive applicants for admission only as it 248 EDUCATION dismissed its graduates and those who had ful- filled their period of contract, and thus made room for new pupils. It is a burning shame that our government did not establish, years ago, a well-equipped training school for the natives of Alaska. Nor does it become any one to belittle the work the missions have done because they do not find the natives fully enlightened and emancipated from their old customs. Had it not been for the missions they would be in dense ignorance to this day for all effort that the government has made. " The Sitka Industrial School is the most in- teresting feature of the town [Sitka], because one cannot fail to realize how much good it is accomplishing in the way of practical civilization and real education among the natives. At this writing there are nearly one hundred boys, and about sixty girls and young women, who are under the parental care of the institution. The teaching force consists of a dozen earnest workers, mostly ladies from the Eastern States. Besides the ordinary English branches taught in the school, the girls are trained to cook, wash, iron, sew, knit and to make their own clothes. The boys are taught' carpentry, house-building, cabinet- making, blacksmithing, boat-building, shoemaking and other industries. The work of the school is so arranged that each boy and girl attends school half a day, and works half a day. The results thus brought about are admirable. Fifteen dif- ferent tribes are represented in this Sitka Indus- trial School. English-speaking young natives who have been trained here readily obtain good wages at the mines, in the fish-canneries, and wherever they apply for employment among the white resi- SWINEFORD'S TESTIMONY 249 dents of the Territory, while their influence with their tribes is very great. " * The Hon. A. P. Swineford and other reliable writers on Alaska bear testimony to the merits of this institution. He who has only criticism to offer because the missions have not already lifted every native to an absolute state of perfection is both unreasonable and unjust. The missions have done their best with the means at their command. But the very best of their schools were, for lack of money, poorly equipped. The government has the people's money to be applied to such work. We pay money into its coffers in duties, taxes, licenses, etc., and on top of that go down into our pockets for money to build industrial and other schools that it is the duty of the government to provide. Thousands of dollars are diverted every year from the spirit- ual interests of the church to minister to the tem- poral welfare of men. The care of some of these interests has been assumed by the church because the government has not made adequate provision for them. Schools, hospitals, orphanages, homes for the indigent and similar institutions should be maintained, if not conducted and controlled, by the government. Whose children are these that enter schools, whose sick that enter hospitals, whose orphans that enter orphanages, whose indigent and help- less that need homes of refuge and care? The government's. Perhaps not five per cent of them are within the pale of the church. And yet the church is supposed to add to its financial burdens the support of such institutions and in many in- stances is doing it without receiving contributions * " Alaska," by Ballon, page 306. 250 EDUCATION from the non-church classes, while all are con- tributing to the government. A small part of the public money wasted on foolish functions, naval displays and useless court procedures would more than maintain all such needed institutions. The new Presbyterian Mission plant in Sitka is an institution in which we may take a just pride. It was built at a cost of about one hundred thou- sand dollars, is fully equipped for its work and has a very efficient corps of instructors. It is the only industrial training school of its kind and of any pretensions in the country. The church that built it should have the everlasting gratitude of the natives and of the white citizens of the country who have the best interests of the land at heart. The government is now trying to graft indus- trial training on to its ordinary day schools with- out supplying competent trainers. Women teachers who know little or nothing about indus- tries for men are expected to teach such in con- nection with all their other school work. This is no reflection on the noble band of school teachers in the native schools of Alaska. They are well fitted to teach what they should be expected to teach, the English branches, kindergarten and sloyd work. But for the government to suppose for one moment that the present system is all that is required to train the natives in the various industries of life, or that it takes the place of a well-equipped industrial training school, is the sheerest nonsense. The teachers under the pres- ent system do the best they can, but they are overloaded and assigned tasks beyond their ability to meet. The natives show an aptitude in acquiring and NATIVE APTITUDE FOR TRADES 251 mastering trades which is little less than sur- prising. With little or no training in carpentry they build their own houses and many of them their boats. Some do first-class work. Many of them are skilled carvers. What trade could they not master, and that well, if they only had com- petent and sufficient instruction? What they get from the mission and govern- ment schools is good so far as it goes. But it is deficient. The trades which apply to their own country, such as carpentry, boat-building, blacksmithing, tinning, plumbing, mining and others should be taught the native youth, and dressmaking and the domestic sciences to the girls. And this should be done by the government through such an in- dustrial system as it carries on at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, or at Chemawa, Oregon. Playing at the education of the natives of Alaska by the government should come to an end, and something real and substantial be given them. The progress which they have made under so - deficient a system shows what could be done under an efficient one. In spite of their disadvantages and the poor equipment for training, we have some who are now school-teachers, assistants to ministers, skilled miners, boat-builders, black- smiths, silversmiths, carpenters and shoemakers among the men, and good dressmakers and house- keepers among the girls and women. But they are indebted to the church more than to any other institution for these acquirements. Even the few who have gone to the government schools in the States were prepared by the churches to enter these schools and, in most cases, sent by them. EDUCATION They should have helpful opportunities in their own country. They are bound to live among their own people and they should be prepared to do their best for the good of their people. The climate of the States is not conducive to their health. The wide separation from their kindred produces pining and homesickness which pave the way for disease. No people on earth are more attached to home than these natives. Home- sickness, therefore, is a common malady with them. If they stay through the contract period of five or ten years, as required by the schools, they grow away from home-life and when they return they are out of sympathy with it and no longer contented. Their people notice the change of feeling, and an estrangement between them follows. If their training had been in the midst of their people such estrangements would not take place. It should be borne well in mind that the natives of Alaska will stick to their own country until the race has expired. No considerable number of them will ever settle in the States. Alaska is where they must fight their battles for a liveli- hood. Nothing should be done to break the Alaskan's attachment to his country or to make him discontented with it and his* people. He should be encouraged to use his education for the enlightenment and amelioration of his people. His education and training, therefore, should be given him in his own land. We have known several who were educated in the States and were wholly unhappy after return- ing to Alaska. Had their education been con- ducted in their own country they would not have been thus weaned away from it. This would be REASON FOR HOME EDUCATION 253 all right if there were any hope of the white race assimilating them, and if they were not needed to help elevate their own people as a whole. But with this feeling they sometimes drift off to live an isolated life, away from all relatives, and their relatives lose entirely any elevating influence they might exert upon them were they among them. As we write, we have in mind a graduate of one of our schools in the States. She came back to her people but was discontented. She soon returned to the States and is now employed there. This separates her entirely from her relatives, and her education has no bearing on their elevation. Of course we are glad when they have reached that stage of life where they are dissatisfied with the way their ancestors have lived. And, further- more, we are glad when those who have been in our schools and return home do not wish to con- form to the common native life. But we would like to see more of them using their education and attainments for the uplift of their own people. 11 The natives almost universally welcome and gladly improve the advantages offered them for instruction, especially as regards their children. Many individual cases with which the author be- came acquainted were of much more than ordinary interest; indeed, it was quite touching to observe the eagerness of young natives to gain intellectual culture. Surely this incentive is worthy of all encouragement. ' ' Under their limited opportunities many of them now speak the English well and have a fair knowl- edge of reading and writing. Had they better edu- cational facilities there is no reason why some of them, at least, could not take their places as edu- 254 EDUCATION cators by the side of white merchants, profes- sional men and educators. Our appeal, therefore, is that our government give them better educational opportunities. He who writes of the natives of Alaska a gen- eration hence will have a different story to tell, at least in part, than is told in these pages. Every year sees changes in the lives and manners of these people. It is no wild prophesying to predict that in another generation the entire population will be speaking English. The leaven is working, and in a few years, at the most, the entire lump will be leavened. This will mean a higher plane of life for the natives. U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 174" iw ie* i2 MAP OF ALASKA BULLETIN NO. 218 PL.* INDEX Abalone, 70 Aborigines, 23, 31, 32 Abortion, 219 Adz, 79, 177 Affection, 99 Al-ak-shak, 17 Alaska, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 Alaskans, 28, 30 Aleutian Islands, 20 Aleuts, 23, 24, 113 Amusements, 100, 204, 205 Ancestor Worship, 232 Ancestry, 173 Angoon, 143, 195 Animals, 107, 164, 232, 233 Appearance, 64 Archipelago, 18 Arctander, J. W., 32 Area, 18 Art, 175, 177 Article, 40 Asia, 32 Asiatics, 31 Atlas (old woman), 186 Auks, 25, 26 Aunt, 39 Aurora Borealis, 163 Authority, 44, 61 Ballou, M. M., 53, 65, 68, 216, 217, 225, 227, 232, 240, 249 Bancroft, H. H., 32, 116, 216, 217, 223, 238, 241 Banquets, 111 Basketry, 76, 85-91 Basket-weaving, 89 Bath, 227 Beaches, 53 Bead-work, 78 Bear, 74 Bear Totem, 170, 171 Beauty, 70, 131 Beaver, 185-6 Berries, 20, 108-9, 159, 172 Birds, 21 Birth, 45, 161-2 Biting, 50 Boston, 24 Boston Alaskan, 241 Blanket, 64, 76 Blarney Stone, 191 Bleeding, 226 Blindness, 230 Blue jay, 187 Bracelets, 67, 68 Brass Band, 203 Bridegroom, 209 Brother, 38 Bruce, Minor W., 19, 28, 181, 238, 241 Burial, 118, 136, 137, 147, etc. Camps, 59 Canada, 17 Canneries, 2, 72 Canoe, 26, 79 Canoe-building 78, 79 Canoe-racing, 81 Carving, 75 Caste, 44, 56, 59, 116, 117, 118, 173, 193 Celery, 110 Changes, 62, 254 Chant, 143, 160, 204 Character, 17, 21 Charms, 163 Chastity, 214, 215 Chich'g, 173 Chief, 56, 61, 115, 139, 201, 236 Children, 44, 45, 60, 200 Chilkat River, 156, 165, 166, 191 Chilkats, 25, 26, 82, 115 255 256 INDEX Chinese, 28, 73 Chinook, 36, 43 Christianity, 243 Chuk-a-nady, 25 Chukchi, 31, 32 Church, 63, 238, 239, 240, 241 Citizenship, 42 Civilization, 244 Claims, 86, 149 Clans, 25, 170, 178, 179 Classes, 61 Climate, 19, 229 Clothes, 64 Coastline, 18 Community, 53 Compensation, 200 Conflicts, 115 Congress, 247 Consumption, 221-3 Contagion, 223 Contempt, 95 Cooking, 48, 111 Cordage, 73 Corruptions, 36 Cosmology, 236-7 Cottages, 57 Crabapples, 109 Crafty, 96 Creation, 184 Creator, 184 Cremation, 119, 150, 151, 153 Crests, 25, 169, 175, 179 Crime, 45, 193, 217, 218 Crow, 25, 69, 77, 165, 170, 171, 172, 182-3, 235 Cunning, 97 Customs, 33, 112 Ball, Wm. H., 28, 46, 170, 172 Dance-halls, 205 Dancing, 143-4 Damages, 173, 195 Darwinians, 172 Da-se-ton, 185 Davis, Samuel, 181 Dead-houses, 119, 137 Death, 135, 137 Debauchery, 215, 216 Deer, 40 Deformities, 230 Degeneracy, 34 Deity, 231, 233, 235 De-ke-onkowa, 236 Delicacies, 107 Delivery, 46 Demonologists, 231 Designs, 121, 175 Devilfish, 123, 188 Diseases, 154, 221, etc. Disgrace, 126, 213 Divisions, 25, 170-1 Dogs, 49, 151, 209 Dog-salmon, 103 Domestic Life, 47 Dose, 229 Douglas, 25, 198 Dowry, 127, 129, 201 Doxology, 39 Dreams, 166 Dress, 64 Drowning, 165, 199 Drum, 142, 144, 160, 161, 203 Ducks, 108 Duk-dain-ton, 25 Duk-la-wady, 25 Duncan, Wm., 42, 172, 239 Dyes, 88, 89, 121 Eagle, 122, 165, 170, 178, 191 Earrings, 66, 67, 144 Earthquake, 186 Edgecumbe, 191 Education, 245 Embalming, 151 Emblems, 35, 169 Emmons, G. T., 86 Endurance, 99 English, 36, 37, 38, 40, 41, 240, 254 Enlightenment, 22 Enterprise, 82, 83 Eskimo, 17, 23, 24 Ethics, 212, 214 Evil Spirits, 162, 232 Face-painting, 69 False Teeth, 210-11 Families, 23, 25 Family, 45, 47 INDEX 257 Fasting, 140, 155, 228 Father, 37, 44 Feasts, 59, 60, 135, 150, 204, 235 Fetich, 158, 233 Feuds, 114, 139 Fibre, 73 Fickle, 98 Fight at Hootz-na-oo, 200 Finery, 65 Fish, 21, 103 Fisheries, 22 Fishing, 72 Fish-traps, 73 Flags, 141, 206 Flood, 188 Flour, 111 Flowers, 20 Fluency, 101 Folk-lore, 181 Fowl, 108 Freaks, 230 Frobese, J. E., 171 Frog, 170, 171, 180 Fruits, 109 Furs, 74 Gambling, 122 Gambling Sticks, 122, 123 Games, 205-6 Genealogy, 175 Gender, 40 Generic, 40 Generosity, 199 Ghost, 165, 232 Giant, 184 Giving, 199-200, 247 Glacier, 237 Golovin, 238 Goosh-ta-kah, 165, 232, 234 Gossiping, 50, 58 Government, 193, 229, 245 Grampus, 165, 179, 180 Gratitude, 102 Greek Church, 238 Greely, Major A. W., 246 Guests, 141, 174, 199 Gum, 110 Hagoo, 206 Haines, 25 Half-breeds, 45, 132 Halibut, 22, 72, 104 Hanega, 25 Harbours, 18 Hat, 180, 199 Headgear, 65 Heirlooms, 142, 144, 147 Herring, 22, 104, 105 Higginson, Ella, 24 High-caste, 56, 59, 68, 136, 178, 198 Hobgoblin, 165 Hoonahs, 74 Hootz, 173 Hootz-hit, 178 Hootz-na-oo, 200 Hootz-na-oos, 26, 145 Homesickness, 252 Hospital, 229 Hospitality, 99, 173 Hot, 173 Hounding, 95 Houses, 54, 55 House Totems, 189 Humour, 207 Humpbacks, 224 Hunting, 74 Husband, 44 Hutton, P. C., 222, 225 Hydaburg, 83 Hydahs, 24, 74, 83, 112, 180 Iceberg, 187 Idiocy, 224 Idolatry, 170 Idols, 169, 170 Ikt, 61, 154, etc., 233 Immorality, 213 Immortality, 234 Implements, 116 Independence, 92 Indians, 23, 28, 29 Indian Training, 243-4 Industries, 22, 72 Infanticide, 121 Insanity, 224 Islanders, 33 Islands, 18 Insults, 94 Italy, 17 258 INDEX Jackson, Sheldon, 17, 19, 23, 181, 246 Japanese, 20, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 34 Jealousy, 96, 115, 144 Jewellery, 67 Johnson, Johnny, 242 Juneau, 25, 26 Kaaks, 25 Kadashan, M. R., 242 Ka-ga-ne-e-thloot, 164 Kak-sudy, 25 Kamchatka, 31, 34 Kassan, 81 Katlian, 113 Keet, 69, 173, 179, 180 Keet-hit, 178 Killisnoo, 26, 185, 227 Kin-da-goosh, 165, 166 Klawock, 25 Kle-na-dy, 25 Klinquan, 177 Klondike, 75, 82 Kluckwan, 57, 83, 88, 117, 190, 191 Kluk-na-hudy, 25 Kok-won-ton, 25, 179-80 Koreans, 32 Kot, 88 Ko-te-a, 169 Labret, 68, 237 Land-otter, 165 Language, 24, 26, 35, etc. Laws, 202 Legends, 140, 181, etc., 189 Levirate marriage, 129 Liabilities, 198 Life for life, 193 Lineage, 174 Liquor, 215, etc. Llwyd, J. P. D., 30 Loans, 199 Love-potions, 164, 167 Low-caste, 59, 60, 173 Man's Totem, 171 Manumission, 118 Marriage, 124, 173, 209, 212, 213, 214 Masks, 137, 190 Massacre, 96, 113 McFarland, A. R., 246 Measles, 223 Measures, 108 Medicine-men (see Shaman) Medicines, 167, 226 Metlakhatla, 239 Mexico, 17 Mines, 22 Mining, 73-4 Missionaries, 41, 148, 217, 240, 241 Missions, 239, 245 JMitkeen, 96 Moccasins, 76 Modesty, 146 Mongolian, 28, 30, 31 Morality, 212 Mortality, 222 Mortuary Poles, 152, 177 Mosquito, 184-5 Mother-of-baskets, 88, 115 Mountains, 18 Mourners, 147, 148 Mummies, 151 Murder, 193, 218 Museum, 178-180 Music, 203 Myths, 181 Nagon, 123 Names, 36, 37, 60 Nature Worship, 233 Naukth, 88 Navigation, 18 Negro, 33, 210 Nephew, 38, 45, 129 Niece, 45 Nicknames, 36 Norway, 17 Nouns, 38 Nursing, 226, 228 Nush-ke-ton, 25 Obligations, 138, 219 Observant, 100 Oils, 22, 104 INDEX 259 Oolikan, 104, 105, 106, 107, 165 Omens, 162-3 On-kow-wa, 61 Ophthalmia, 224 Ordeals, 167 Origin, 27-34, 172, 184, 185 Original Beliefs, 232 Original Diseases, 224 Origin of Caste, 59 Origin of Totemism, 172 Ornamentation, 66 Orphan, 44 Packing, 75 Pappoose, 46 Paraphernalia, 61, 142, 155, 173 Parental Laxness, 47 Peritonitis, 227 Petersburg, 25 Phillips, Fanny, 243 Philter, 164 Phonograph, 207, 210 Phratries, 60, 141, 170, 171, 179 Politic, 97 Polyandry, 47 Polygamy, 120 Population, 23 Potlatches, 56, 62, 93, 135, 140, 141, 142, 143 Pottery, 78 Pott's Disease, 224 Preacher, 140 Presbyterian Church, 247 Presbyterian Mission, 57 Presbyterians, 239-47, 250 Prisoners of War, 113 Privacy, 58 Profanity, 220 Progress, 251 Pronouns, 40 Property, 93, 96, 132, 137-8, 199, 202 Prophet, 159 Protestant Church, 239-47 Protestants, 239 Public Utilities, 56, 57 Punishment, 47, 156, 202 Quarrels, 50, 58, 139 Quass, 216 Racing, 81 Rank, 50, 173 Raven, 165, 188, 204, 235 Relatives, 44 ^Religion, 231 Replogle, Chas., 29 Resources, 21 Responsibility, 196 Revenge, 96 Rings, 66 "Rubbers," 228 Rum, 217 Russians, 31, 113, 114, 216, 223, 237, 238 Sacrifice of Slaves, 117, 118 Sailors, 223 Salmon, 103, 104 Samhat (chief), 81 San Francisco, 19 Sanitation, 57, 225 Saw-mills, 22 School, 63, 245-51 Sculpin, 182 Seal, 74, 104, 107 Sea-otter, 74 Seaweed as Food, 110 Self-supporting, 72 Sensitiveness, 93 Sensuality, 215 Sentence, 41 Servants, 51 Settlements, 193-4 Seward, Wm. H., 29 Sewerage, 225 Sewing, 50, 76 Shacks, 54 Sha-he-he, 162 Shaman, 61, 155, 157, 159, 233 Shamanism, 154-161, 232, 235 Shame, 95, 96, 118, 213 Shark, 153 Shellfish, 108 Singing, 204 Sister, 38, 189 Sitka, 20, 24, 25, 29, 57, 201, 248 260 INDEX Sitkans, 24, 25, 74, 96 Sitka, Training School, 241, 248 Skagway, 25 Skoog-wa, 192 Slave, 61, 68, 92, 116, 117, 118 Slavery, 119 Smallpox, 223 Smoking, 220 Sociability, 99 Social Life, 57-8 Socials, 100, 205 Society, 59 Soldiers, 194, 216 Songs, 152, 180, 203, 204 Spawn, 106 Speech, 38, 100-1 Spirit, 119, 149, 154, 156, 159, 162, 232, 236 Spirit-land, 119, 149, 235 Spiritualism, 232 Sports, 203-6 Springs, 227 Standard of Morality, 132, 212 Status, 50 Steamboat, 210 Stikeens, 25, 29 Stolid, 98 Strangulation, 45 Sub- totems, 170-1 Suicide, 195, 218 Summer, 59 Superstitions, 125, 154, 162, 240 Supreme Being, 231, 236 Surveillance, 215 Suspicious, 83, 96 Swineford, A. P., 20, 29, 72, 216, 240, 249 Syphilis, 223 Taciturn, 59 Takoos, 25 Taku River, 117 Taste, 65 Tattooing, 69, 117, 121 Teachers, 41, 217 Temperature, 20 Theft, 217-18 Thlingets, 23, 25, 26, 33, 35, etc., 58, 59, 72 Thunder Bird, 186 Tinneh, 23, 24 Tobacco, 220 Tolth, 87 Tongass, 25 Too-da-hook, 87 Tools, 55 Toothache, 221 Torture, 156 Totem, 56, 75, 141, 233 Totemism, 168-180 Totem Poles, 133, 138, 168, 175-7 Toughening Process, 120 Tourist, 24, 28, 86, 176 Town-sites, 18, 53 Tradition, 60, 235 Traffic, 82 Traits, 33, 92 Transmigration of Soul, 234 Trapping, 74 Travel, 23, 28 Treachery, 101, 113 Treadwell, 74 Tribes, 23, 24, 25, 26, 37, 56, 170 Truth, 219 Tschak, 25, 77 Tsimpshean, 24, 32, 42 Tuberculosis, 222 Twins, 121, 162-3 Tzow (hat), 180 Ulcers, 227 Uncles, 45 Vanity, 93, 120 Vegetables, 109-10 -Vegetation, 20 Venereal Diseases, 223 Venison, 22 Verbs, 40 Vices, 220 Villages, 18, 53, 55 Virtue, 219 Vocabulary, 39 Volcanoes, 19 War, 112 War-canoes, 81 Washing, 49-50 INDEX 261 Washington, D. C., 20 Water System, 57 Wealth, 61 Weights, 87, 108 Whale-killer, 69 Whales, 188, 189, 190 Whale Tribe, 185 Whooping-cough, 223 Widows, 147, 152, 163, 199 Wife, 44, 50-1 Wig, 210 Willard, E. S., Mrs., 160 Winter, 59 Witch, 96, 155, 156, 157, 158 Witchcraft, 125, 154, 158, 162 Witch-medicine, 157, 158 Wolf, 170, 171, 186 Woman's Totem, 171 Word-building, 35 Worm, 190 Worm-dish, 115 Wrangell, 114 Yak, 26, 78 Yakutat, 24, 25, 113 Yalkth, 25, 69 Yalkth-hit, 178 Yana-ate, 110 PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA MISSIONARY JOHN T. PARIS Author of" Men. Who Made Good?* The Alaskan Pathfinder The Story of Sheldon Jackson for Boys. Illus- trated, I2mo, cloth, net $1.00. The story of Sheldon Jackson will appeal irresistibly to every boy. Action from the time he was, as an infant, rescued from a fire to his years' of strenuous rides through the Rockies and his long years' of service in Alaska, per- meate every page of the book. Mr. Paris, with a sure hand, tells the story of this apostle of the Western Indians in clear- cut, incisive chapters which will hold the boy's attention from first to last. G. L. WHARTON Life of G. L. Wharton By Mrs. Emma Richardson Wharton. Illustrated, I2mo, gilt top, cloth, net $1.25. A biography of a pioneer missionary of the F. C. M. S., written by a devoted wife who shared the experiences of her husband in a long service in India and Australia. It is a life of unusual interest and an important addition to the annals of modern missionary effort. MRS. LAURA DELANY GARST A West Pointer in the Land of the Mikado Illustrated, I2mo, cloth, net $1.25. The story of a great life given unreservedly to the service of God in Japan a life story representative of the best the West sends the East and typical of that missionary spirit in America which is one of the marvelous things in the growth of the Christ life in man. The Christian world will be proud of and wish t9 study such a^ record coming generations will find here inspiration and incentive for yet greater ef- fort and larger sacrifice. HENRY OTIS D WIGHT A Muslim Sir Galahad A Present Day Story of Islam In Turkey. Net $1.00. "The author of 'Constantinople and Its Problems,' has ritten an intensely interesting story of present-day Turkish life. A fascinating picture of the Mohammedan world. written an intensely interesting story of present-day Turkish life. A fascinating picture of the Mohammedan world. Recent events in the Near East make this book of unusual interest, and a better book, throwing sidelights on the Mo- hammedan question, could not be found." "Pacific Presby- terian. HOME AND FOREIGN MISSIONS ROLAND ALLEN, M. A. Essential Missionary Principles I2mo, cloth, net $1.00. An author new to American readers has claimed attention of students of missions through his recent thought-compelling book, Missionary Methods St. Paul's or Ours? This latter volume dealing with the principles of missions well supple- menting the volume on methods, ROLAND ALLEN, M.A. Library of Historic Theology Missionary Methods : St. Paul's or Ours ? With Introduction by Rt. Rev. Henry Whitehead, D.D., Lord Bishop of Madras. 8vo, cloth, net $1.50. Is this book the true answer to the question as to why Christian Missions do not progress to-day as rapidly as we should like to see them doing? Dr. Allen was formerly a missionary in North China and author of "The Siege of Peking Legations" and writes from large experience. His arguments for the application of truly Pauline methods of envangelization in foreign mission fields are startling. The reader may not agree with all of his criticisms and sugges- tions but the discussion which will be aroused cannot fail to be helpful. It is a vigorous presentation of a profoundly important subject. MISS MINNA G. COWAN The Education of the Women of India Illustrated, I2mo, cloth, net $1.25. The subject is treated historically, philosophically and suggestively. _ The contributions made by the government, the IJast Indians themselves and the missionaries, to solving the educational problems of the country are clearly shown. The book is an important and_ suggestive addition to the literature of education in foreign lands, being a worthy companion volume to Mist Burton's "The Education of .Women in China." LIVINGSTON F. JONES A Study of the Thlingets of Alaska I2mo, cloth, illustrated, net $1.50. For twenty-one years the author has labored as a mission- ary representing the Presbyterian Board of Home Missions among the people about which he writes. Probably no living man is better qualified to tell about this interesting race. Hon. James Wickersham says: "Contains much that is new and valuable in respect to the social life and ancient cus- toms of the Tnlinget Indians. An interesting and valuable contribution to the ethnology of the Pacific Coast." HOME MISSIONS 7. N. McCASH The Horizon of American Missions I2mo, cloth, net $1.00. Lectures delivered before the College of Missions. Dr. McCash has treated the subject in a broad and masterful way. ITie book is a distinct and timely contribution to the subject. Some of the topics treated are: "A Historic Survey of American Missions," "A Regional Survey of Unmet Re- ligious Needs," "Foreign Elements in the Equitation of Amer- ican Missions," "Cities Related to the Kingdom of God," "Loyal Church Efficiency," "America Democratizing the World." MARY CLARK BARNES and DR. LEMUEL C. BARNES The New America Home Mission Study Course. Illustrated, I2mo, cloth, net SGC. (post. 7c.) ; paper aoc. (post. Sc.). This, the regular text-book for the coming year is on the subject of immigration. The eminent authors are fitted for writing on this theme having given much time to studying the problem. LAURA GEROULD CRAIG America, God's Melting Pot Home Mission Study Course. Illustrated, I2mo, paper, net 250. (postage 4C.). The subject chosen for study this year, Immigration, covers so wide a field that it was thought best to prepare a supple- mental text book from an entirely different standpoint. The author has written a "parable study" which deals more with lessons and agencies than with issues and processes. LEILA ALLEN DIMOCK Comrades from Other Lands Home Mission Junior Text Book. Illustrated, I2mo, paper, net 25c. (postage 4c.). This book is complementary to the last volume in this course of study, Dr. Henry's SOME IMMIGRANT NEIGH- BOP- S which treated of the lives and occupations of foreign- ers in our cities. This latter tells what the immigrants are doing in country industries. Teachers of children of from twelve to sixteen will find here material to enlist the ~~ pathies and hold the interest of their scholars. DEVOTIONAL S. D. GORDON Quiet Talks on Following the Christ I2mo, cloth, net 750. The latest volume of "Quiet Talks" radiates strength and courage for the Christian life. Of all Mr. Gordon's books there is none that grips the heart with more impelling force, bringing the reader and the truth face to face. Contents: The Ivone Man Who Went Before, The Rough Road He 1'rod, The Pleading Call to Follow, What Following Means, Shall We Go? Finger Posts, Fellow-Followers, The Glory of the Goal. W. L. WATK1NSON, P.P. The Gates of Dawn Devotional Readings for a Year. With a Short Series of Prayers by Lauchlan Maclean Watt, M.A., B.D. 8vo, cloth, net $1.25. These delightful devotional suggestions show Dr. Watkin- on at his best. The meditations are rich with the illustrative and allusive qualities for which the great preacher is famous. CLELAND BOYP McAFEE, P. P. C) "Hie PfKirA" A Message for an Age of Doubt and Faith i6mo, boards, net 250. An irresistible plea_ for a clearer recognition of the pres- ent power of Christ in daily life. The Christian Advocate says: "Dr. McAfee writes from the view of to-day's man. He sees clearly and thinks keenly, and his straightforward, manly words tend to edification." ANNA AUSrEN McCULLOH Sunday Reflections for the Church Year Cloth, net $1.00; limp leather, gilt top, net $1.75. A book of brief reflections on the collect and Scriptures for each Sunday of the church year. It is intended to help the reader to "that best of all habits of the soul, the finding each day new in the fresh discovery of the worth and beauty of life." /. P. JONES, M.A., B.D. A Devotional Commentary on St. Mark I- VI. 8vo, cloth, net $1.00. Draws out with characteristic skill the personal lessons to be derived from the Gospel. Alike on its expository and on its devotional side the work should be helpful to all who seek guidance and stimulus for a life of faith and service. It is hoped to complete the treatment of this Gospel in two volumes. ESSAYS, GIFT BOOKS, ETC. NEJPELL DtTIGHT HILLIS, P.P. Lectures and Orations by Henry Ward Beecher Collected and with Introduction by Newell Dwight Hillis. I2mo, cloth, net $1.20. It is fitting that one who is noted for the grace, finish and eloquence of his own addresses should choose those of his predecessor which he deems worthy to be preserved, the most characteristic and the most dynamic utterances of America's greatest pulpit orator. PAVIP SWING The Message of David Swing to His Addresses and Papers, together with a Study of David Swing and Hia Me8sage by Newel i D . H ui I2mo, cloth, net $1.20. A collection of some of David Swing's greatest orations and addresses, mostly patriotic, none of which have before been published in book form. Dr. Hillis, who has gathered them together, contributes an eloquent tribute to his dis- tinguished confrere in an Introductory "Memorial Address." WAYNE WHIPPLE The Story-Life of the Son of Man 8vo, illustrated, net $2.50. Nearly a thousand stories from sacred and secular sources woven into a continuous and complete chronicle of the life of the Saviour. Story by story, the author has built up from the best that has been written, mosaic like, a vivid and attractive narrative of the life of lives. Mr. Wlhipple's life stories of Washington and Lincoln in the same unique form, have both been conspicuously successful books. GAIUS GLENN ATKINS, P. D. Pilgrims of the Lonely Road I2mo, cloth, net $1.50. In nine chapters the author presents what he calls the "Great Books of the Spirit". Beginning with the Medita- tions of Marcus Aurelius, he interprets with spiritual in- sight and clarity of expression the Confessions of St. Augus- tine, Thomas a'Kempis' Imitation of Christ, the Theologia Germanica, Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, etc. ROSE PORTER A Gift Of LoVe andbmnsGreefingfJoi365Day New Popular Edition. Long i6mo, net Soc. "All the texts chosen present some expressions of God's love to man, and this indicates the significance of the title." The Lutheran Observer. SHELDON JACKSON The Life of Sheldon Jackson, Pathfinder and Prospector of the Missionary Vanguard in the Rocky Mountains. By Robert Laird Stewart, D.D. Illustrated, 8vo, cloth, net $2.00. " The story of a thoroughgoing Western pioneer and frontiersman. Dr. Theodore L. Cuyler said: ' When the future historian writes the religious annals of this backbone of our continent [the Rockies] he will give the foremost place to Sheldon Jackson, the pioneer of the cross.' " N. Y. Times. JOHN T. PARIS The Alaskan Pathfinder. The Story of Sheldon Jackson for Boys. i2mo, cloth, net $1.00. The story of Sheldon Jackson will appeal irresisti- bly to every boy. Action from the time he was, as an infant, rescued from a fire to his years of strenu- ous rides through the Rockies and his long years of service in Alaska, permeate every page of the book. JOHN W. ARCTANDER The Apostle of Alaska. The Story of William Duncan of Metlakahtla. Illustrated, i2mo, cloth, net $1.50. " It tells the story of William Duncan, the mis- sionary among the great detached section of the United States. Nothing could be more romantic, more thrilling, more redolent of patience and high courage, than this story of his life-work a thorough and absorbing record." Minneapolis Tribune. LIVINGSTON F. JONES A Study of the Thlingets of Alaska. cloth. Illustrated, net $1.50. For twenty-one years the author has labored as a missionary representing the Presbyterian Board of Home Missions among the people about which he writes. Probably no living man is better qualified to tell about this interesting race.