"d38a63c1-1770-4afd-8198-76f833af364f"@en . "CONTENTdm"@en . "http://resolve.library.ubc.ca/cgi-bin/catsearch?bid=1198514"@en . "British Columbia Historical Books Collection"@en . "Report of the north-western tribes of Canada"@en . "British Association for the Advancement of Science"@en . "2015-05-15"@en . "[1889?]"@en . "\"Title varies slightly. No 2d report was published in any form. The 3d report does not appear to have been issued separately and can be found in the association's report for 1887, p. 173-200. Partial listing of contents for this series on p. 1-2 of the 10th report. Index to the 4th to 12th reports in the 12th report. Reprinted from: Report of the ... meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science. Papers on the physical characteristics, language, industry, and social conditions of Indian tribes in British Columbia by Franz Boas, A. F. Chamberlain, Livingston Farrand, Horatio Hale, and E. F. Wilson.\" -- Lowther, B. J., & Laing, M. (1968). A bibliography of British Columbia: Laying the foundations, 1849-1899. Victoria, BC: University of Victoria, p. 77."@en . ""@en . "https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/bcbooks/items/1.0221931/source.json"@en . "[797]-893 pages : illustrations, tables ; 22 cm"@en . "application/pdf"@en . " APPENDIX Fifth Report of the Committee, consisting of Dr. E. B. Tylor,\nDr. (x. M. Dawson, General Sir J. H. Lefroy, Dr. Daniel\nWilson, Mr. K. Gr. Haliburton, and Mr. G-eorge W. Bloxam\n{Secretary), appointed for the purpose of investigating and\npublishing reports on the physical characters, languages, and\nindustrial and social condition of the North-Western Tribes of\nthe Dominion of Canada.\n[PLATES X.\u00E2\u0080\u0094XV.]\nRemarks on North American Ethnology : Introductory to the Report on the\nIndians of British Columbia. By Hoeatio Hale.\nThe Province of British Columbia offers probably the best field of ethnological research now to be found in North America. This distinction is\ndue to two circumstances, each of much importance. The one is the fact\nthat the tribes of this Province have thus far suffered less displacement\nand change from foreign influences than those of any other region. They\nstill for the most part occupy their original seats, and they retain to a\nlarge extent their primitive customs and beliefs. The other circumstance,\nand one of special scientific interest, is the great number of linguistic\n\u00E2\u0096\u00A0stocks, or families of languages, which are found in the Province. There\n\u00E2\u0096\u00A0are, as will appear from the report and map, no less than eight of these\nJ stocks, being twice as many as now exist in the whole of Europe.\nThe importance of this fact will be appreciated if we bear in mind\n\u00E2\u0096\u00A0 that in America the linguistic stock is the universally accepted unit of\nethnological classification.' It is not that the physical distinctions which\nhave elsewhere been proposed as the basis of classifications are lacking on\nthis continent. On the contrary, they are markedly apparent. In colour\nthe difference is great between the fair-skinned Haidas and Tsimshians\nof the northern coasts and islands, and the swarthy, almost black, natives\nof Southern California. Even more notable is the difference between the\nshort, squat, broad-faced, and coarse-featured members of the coast tribes\nof Oregon and British Columbia, and the tall, slender, oval-visaged\nIndians of the interior. The striking differences of cranial measurement\nare shown in Sir Daniel Wilson's work on 'Prehistoric Man.' Hair varying from coarse, straight, and black to fine, brown, and curly; eyes with\nhorizontal and eyes with oblique openings; noses in some tribes aquiline,\nand in others depressed, show varieties as great as those of colour, stature,\nand cranial outlines. These and other physical distinctions, however,\nhave not been accepted by any scientific inquirer in America of late\nyears as grounds of classification of the native tribes, for the simple \\n798\nreport\u00E2\u0080\u00941889.\nreason that they are manifestly due to climatic or other local or casual\ninfluences, and cannot be held to indicate any difference of race.\nBut the distinction of linguistic stocks is radical and profound. The\ndifferences which it indicates extend far beyond language, and are\ndisplayed in the whole nature and character of the speakers of each\nlanguage. This fact became apparent to me many years ago, in making\nfor the U.S. Government an ethnographical.survey of Oregon and of a\npart of British Columbia.1 Its existence perplexed me at the time, as it\nhas since perplexed other investigators; and the question of the origin\nof so many linguistic stocks, or languages radically and totally distinct,\nfound in so limited a district, has appeared to present a problem of the\nhighest scientific interest.2\nIn an address delivered before the American Association for the\nAdvancement of Science in 1886, and published in their volume of\n' Proceedings ' for that year, I ventured to propose an explanation of the\norigin, not only of these American languages, but of all stock languages;\nwhatsoever, except, of course, the primitive language (whatever it may\nhave been) which was spoken by the first community of the human\nspecies. A succinct but clear outline of this theory was given by Pro.\nfessor Sayce in his Presidential Address at the Manchester meeting in\n1887. While pointing out what he considered the merits of the theory,\nMr. Sayce asked, very reasonably, for more evidence to sustain it than\nhad been able to include in my brief essay. This evidence I have endeavoured to give in a paper read last year before the Canadian Institute\nof Toronto, and published in the ' Proceedings ' of that society for\n1888-89.\nWith Professor Sayce's address in the hands of the members of the\nAssociation, I need only say, briefly, that the theory supposes these isolated\nidioms to have had their origin in the natural language-making faculty\nof young children. Many instances of languages thus spontaneously\ncreated by children were given; and in my Toronto paper evidence was\nproduced to show that the words and grammar of such languages might,\nand probably would in many cases, be totally different from those of tb\nparental speech. The fact was pointed out that in the first peopling o\nevery country, when, from various causes, families must often be scatter\u00C2\u00A9\nat very wide distances from one another, many cases must have occurre\n1 ' In the long and narrow section of this continent, included between the Rocky'\nMountains and the Pacific, and extending from the country of the Eskimo on the\nnorth to the Californian Peninsula on the south, there are found perhaps a greater\nnumber of tribes.speaking distinct languages than; in any other territory of the same\nsize in the world. Not only do these tribes differ in their idioms, but also in personal\nappearance, character, and usages.'\u00E2\u0080\u0094United, States Exploring Mcpedition wider\ndiaries Willies, vol. vii. 'Ethnography and Philology;' by Horatio Sale; 1846; p. 197.\n2 ' It [the map] brings out in a most striking way the singular linguistic diversity\nwhich obtains along the west line of this part of America\u00E2\u0080\u0094a fact for which it is\nindeed difficult to offer a reasonable explanation, knowing as we do how essentially\nmaritime the coast tribes are in their habits, and how skilled and fearless they are in]\nthe management of their excellent canoes. The anomaly appears still greater whenj\nwe contrast the several clearly defined colonies of the coast with the wide sweep of\nthe languages of the interior of the Province, where from the generally rugged and\noften densely wooded character of the country, and the turbulent nature of the\nrivers, intercommunication must have been by comparison extremely difficult.'\u00E2\u0080\u0094Br\nGeorge M. Dawson: Preface to ' Comparative Vocabularies of the Indian Tribes of\nJBritish Colwnbia; with a MdpiUvstrating Distribution ;' by Drt, Tohnie and l)aivso>i,\n1884, p. 7.\nI JN THE NORTH-WESTERN TRIBES OF CANADA.\n799\nwhere two or more young children of different sexes, left by the death of\nI their parents to grow up secluded from all other society, were thus com-\n.pelled to frame a language of their own, which would become the mother-\nI tongue of a new linguistic stock. This result, it is clear, would only\ni follow in those regions where, from the mildness of the climate and the\nspontaneous fruitfulhess of the soil, young children would be able to find\nsubsistence for themselves through all seasons of the year.\nIt is evident that, along with their new language, these children and\ntheir descendants would have to frame a new religion, a new social policy,\nand, in general, new customs and arts, except so far as reminiscences of\nthe parental example and teachings might direct or modify the latter.\nAll these conclusions accord precisely with the results of ethnological\ninvestigations in America.\nIt should, however, be borne in mind that, whether the theory which\nI thus proposed is accepted or not, the fact will still remain that the\nexistence of a linguistic stock involves the absolute certainty that the\n\u00E2\u0096\u00A0ribe speaking such a form of language, differing entirely from all other\ntongues, must have lived for a very long period wholly isolated from all\nother communities ; otherwise this idiom would not have had time to be\nformed and to become the speech of a tribe sufficiently numerous and\nstrong to maintain its independence. In this long isolation (however\nit might arise) the tribe would necessarily acquire by continual intermarriage a peculiar mental character, common to the whole tribe, and\nwith it the modes of thought and the social institutions which are the\nnecessary outcome of such a character. Thus the linguistic stock, whatever its origin, must naturally and necessarily be, as has been said, the\n\u00E2\u0096\u00A0proper ethnological unit of classification.\nThe experience of the able philologists of the American Bureau of\n\u00E2\u0096\u00A0Ethnology entirely confirms these views. Special attention, of course,\n\u00E2\u0096\u00A0has been given by them to the investigation of the stocks in North\n.America. Mr. J. C. Pilling, of the Bureau, the author of the valuable\ni ,\u00E2\u0080\u00A2 series of bibliographies of American linguistic stocks now in course of\npublication, informs me that the number of these stocks in North America\nV north of Mexico), so far as at present determined, is fifty-eight\u00E2\u0080\u0094a greater\nAumber, perhaps, than can be found in the whole eastern hemisphere,\nrpart from Central Africa. Of this number no less than thirty-nine are\n\u00E2\u0096\u00A0comprised in the narrow strip of territory west of the Rocky Mountains,\nwhich extends from Alaska to Lower California. Why a great number\nof stocks might naturally be looked for along this coast, with its mild and\nequable climate, and its shores and valleys abounding in shell-fish, berries,\nand edible roots, is fully explained in my essays already referred to.\nFrom what has been said it follows that in our studies of communities\nin the earliest stage, we must look, not for sameness, but for almost end-\nJ less diversity, alike in languages and in social organisations. Instead of\none ' primitive human horde ' we must think of some two or three hundred primitive societies, each beginning in a single household, and expanding gradually to a people distinct from every other, alike in speech,\nin character, in mythology, in form of government, and in social usages.\nThe language may be monosyllabic, like the Khasi and the Othomi ; or\nagglutinative in various methods, like the Mantshu, the Nahuatl, the\n' ^Eskimo, and the Iroqnoian; or inflected, like the Semitic and the Sahaptin.\nIts fonaamay be simple, as in the Maya and the Haida, or complex, as\nin the Aryan, the Basque, the Algonkin, and the Tinneh. The old theo-\n,\l\n^ >\u00E2\u0096\u00A0>\njr '800\nREPORT\u00E2\u0080\u00941889.\nretical notion, that the more complex and inflected idioms have grown\nout of the simpler agglutinative or monosyllabic forms, must be given up\nas inconsistent with the results of modern researches.\nIn like manner, we find among primitive communities every form of\ngovernment and of social institutions\u00E2\u0080\u0094monarchy among the Mayas and\nthe Natchez, aristocracy among the Iroquois and the Kwakiutl, democracy among the Algonkins and the Shoshonees, descending almost to pure,\nthough perhaps peaceful, anarchy among the Tinneh, the Eskimo, and\nvarious other families. In some stocks we find patriarchal (or 'paternal')'\ninstitutions, as among the Salish and the Algonkin; in others, matriarchal]\n(or ' maternal'), as among the Iroquoian and the Haida. In some the!\nclan system exists; in others it is unknown. In some exogamy prevails,]\nin others endogamy. In some, women are honoured and have great in-1\nfluence and privileges; in others, they are despised and ill-treated. In]\nsome, wives are obtained by capture, in others by courtship, in others by\nthe agreement of the parents. All these various institutions and usages\nexist among tribes in the same stage of culture, and all of them appear to\nbe equally primitive. They are simply the forms in which each community, by force of the character of its people, tends to crystallise.\nWe frequently, however, find evidence, if not of internal development,]\nat least of derivation. Institutions, creeds,, and customs are in many!\ncases adopted by one stock from another. As there are now ' loan-words '\nin all languages, so there are borrowed beliefs, borrowed laws, and bor-\nrowed arts and usages. Then, also, there are many mixed communities,\nin which, through the effect of conquest or of intermarriages, the physical]\ntraits, languages, and institutions of two or more stocks have becomej\nvariously combined and intermingled. In short, the study of human*\nsocieties in the light of the classification by linguistic stocks is like the\nstudy of material substances in the light of their classification by the\nchemical elements. In each case we find an almost infinite variety oil\nphenomena, some primitive and others secondary and composite, but alll\nreferable to a limited number of primary constituents: in chemistry, th(|\nmaterial elements ; in ethnology, the linguistic stocks. Such is the resul*\nof the latest investigations, as pursued on the Western Continent, wher-\nfor the first time a great number of distinct communities, in the earlies\nsocial stages, have been exposed to scientific observation, with all theS\norganisation and workings as clearly discernible as those of bees in ai\nglass hive.\nThe researches of Dr. Boas, while pursued, as will be apparent, with\nout any bias of preconceived theory, will throw much valuable light on\nthe subjects now referred to, as well as on others of equal importance.\nIt should be added that some of the facts which he has gathered, par-l\nticularly in regard to the tenure of land among the tribes of British1\nColumbia, have a great practical value. This is a point which deserves\nspecial mention, as the Canadian Government is now sharing with tht-\nAssociation the expense of these inquiries. Many of the most costly wars\nwhich the Colonial Governments have had to wage with the aboriginal\ntribes in America, New Zealand, and elsewhere have arisen, as is well\nknown, from misunderstandings growing out of the acquisition of land\nfrom the natives. The great benefit which accrued to New Zealand, in\nthe improved relations between the natives and the colonists, from the\nresearches of Sir George Grey into the laws, usages, and traditions of the\nMaori tribes, is a matter of history, The state of affairs in British. SB! |u\nON THE NORTH-WESTERN TRIBES OP CANADA.\n801\n[Columbia is in some respects remarkably similar to that which prevailed\n[in New Zealand. If the inquiries which have been instituted by the\nAssociation shall have the effect of averting a very possible conflict of\ntraces, their utility will be very great\u00E2\u0080\u0094one might almost say incalculable.\nIt may be well, therefore, to draw particular attention to some noteworthy\nfacts set forth in Dr. Boas's report. We learn that the land occupied by\n| certain tribes is held, not by the tribe, nor by individuals, but by the clan,\ni or gens, which is consequently the only authority able to dispose of it;\nI and, further, that when the land is sold the original owners are still considered by the' native law to retain ' the right of fishing, hunting, and\ngathering berries in their old home.' It is easy to see how, when these\nnative laws and usages are not understood, collisions might at any time\narise, in which each party would naturally claim to be in the right. It\nshould, further, be borne in mind that as there are eight distinct stocks in\nthe Province there may possibly be as many distinct systems of land\ntenure. At all events, it is certain that the tenure among the tribes in\nwhich the clan system exists must differ in one important respect from\n[that of the tribes in which it is unknown.\nIt is evj lent that, as Dr. Boas suggests, this branch of inquiry is one\nwhich deserves to be carefully prosecuted, both for its scientific interest\nand for the great practical benefit which may result from it.\nX\nWyrst General Report on the Indians of British CoT/wmbia.\nBy Dr. Franz Boas.\nIntroductory Note.\nThe following report on the Indians of British Columbia embodies\n|the general results of a reconnaissance made by the writer in the summer\n- of 1888, under the auspices of the Committee of the British Association\nappointed for the purpose of collecting information respecting the North-\nWestern Tribes of the Dominion of Canada, supplemented by observations\nmade by the author on a previous trip in the winter of 1886\u00E2\u0080\u009487. A\npreliminary report was published in the Fourth Report of the Committee.\nThe present report contains the principal results of the author's investigations on the Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, and Kutonaqa (Kootanie).\nHis limited time and the preparations for a new journey to British\nColumbia, undertaken under the auspices of the Committee, did not\npermit him to study exhaustively the extensive osteological material\ncollected on the previous journeys. For the same reason the linguistic\nmaterial collected among the Nootka and Kwakiutl is kept back. Besides\nthis it seemed desirable to await the publication of the grammar of the\nlatter language by the Rev. A. J. Hall in the 'Transactions of the Royal\nSociety of Canada' before publishing the linguistic notes on the same\nstock, which are necessarily fragmentary when compared to a grammar\ndrawn up by a student who has lived many years among the Indians\n1 speaking that language. The chapters on social organisation, customs,\nart, and knowledge are also necessarily incomplete. The difficulty of\nobserving or even acquiring information on such points during a flying\nvisit of a fortnight\u00E2\u0080\u0094the maximum time spent among any single tribe\u00E2\u0080\u0094\nis so overwhelming that no thorough report is possible, and it is almost\nimpossible to guard against serious errors. On account of this\ndifficulty the author has paid great attention to the collection of reports\n1889. 3 v 802\nREPORT\u00E2\u0080\u00941889.\non historical events and of traditions. In these the peculiar customs j\nand character of a people always appear very clearly,, and the facts |\nmentioned in these tales form a valuable starting-point for the observation of customs which would else remain unnoticed. Among tribes who\nhave partly yielded to the influence of the contact with whites they\nafford a valuble clue to their former customs. .\nThe chapter on ' Arts and Knowledge ' has not been treated fully, as j\nthe general character of North-West American art is well known, and, in\norder to give a complete account of the conventionalism of .the works of\nart of these tribes, an exhaustive study is necessary, which the writer has\nbeen so far unable to undertake.\nThe author's researches do not include the Tinneh tribes, some of\nwhich are comparatively well known. The Salish languages are merely\nenumerated, as investigations on this interesting stock are being carried\non, and the material in its present shape would require an early revision.\nThe present report is supplemented by the following papers by the\nauthor:\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n'Zur Ethnologievon Britisch-Columbien.' Petermann's Mittheilungen, |\n1887. No 5, with map.\n' Mittheilungen iiber die Bilqula Indianer.' Original Mittheilungen\naus dem Museum fur Volkerkunde, Berlin, pp. 177-182, with two plates, i\n' Die Sprache der Bilqula.' Verh. anthrop. Ges. Berlin, 1886, pp. i\n202-206.\nI Census and Reservations of the Kwakiutl.' Bull. Am.lGreogr. So\u00C2\u00ABv\nSept. 1887.\n' On Certain Songs and Dances of the Kwakiutl.' Journ. Am. Folk-\nLore, 1888, pp. 49-64.\n'Chinook Songs.' Journ. Am. Folk-Lore, 1888, pp. 220-226.\n' Die Tsimschian.' Ztschr. fur Ethnologie, Berlin, 1888, pp. 231-247. \\n' The Houses of the Kwakiutl Indians.' Proc. U.S. National Museum,!\n1888, pp. 197-213.\n' Notes on the Snanaimuq.' Am. Anthropologist, Washington, 1889, i\npp. 321-328.\n' The Indians of British Columbia.' Trans. Roy. Soc. of Canada,\n1888, Sec. II. pp. 47-57.\n' Die Mythologie der nordwestamerikanischen Kustenstamme.' Globus,\nBraunschweig, 1887-88.\nThe following alphabet has been used in the report:\u00E2\u0080\u0094\nThe vowels have their continental sounds, namely : a, as in father;\ne, like a in mate; i, as in machine; o, as in note; u, as in rule.\nIn addition the following are used: a, o, as in German; d=aw in\nlaw; E=e in flower (Lepsius's e).\nAmong the consonants the following additional letters have been\ng\ a very guttural g, similar to gr; k', a very guttural k, similar I\nq, the German ch in bach; h, the German ch in ich f Q, be- j\nused:\nto kr\ntween q and H; c=sh in shore; c, as th in thin; tl, an explosive\ndl, a palatal I, pronounced with the back of the tongue (dorso-apical).\nCharacter op the Country,\nThe north-west coast of America, from Juan de Fuca Strait to Cross\nSound in Alaska, is characterised by its fiords, sounds, and islands, which j\nmake it very favourable for navigation in canoes and other small craft. ON THE NORTH-WESTERN TRIBES OP CANADA.\n803\n[Among the most important of these fiords is Portland Inlet, in the\n[extreme north of the territory. Near\" its mouth Nass River empties\n[itself, which is navigable for canoes for about 80 miles. Between the\n55th and 54th degrees of latitude the coast is comparatively open. Here\nI the Skeena River has its mouth. Farther south we find an extremely\nintricate network of fiords and channels, some of which penetrate far\n\ into the interior. Among these we may mention Gardner and Douglas\nI Channels, Dean Inlet, and Bentinck Arm, and the straits and sounds\nI separating Vancouver Island from the mainland. This region has a very\n> temperate climate, the heat of summer and the cold of winter being\nmoderated by the influence of the sea winds. This influence, however,\ndoes not extend far inland, and a few miles from the sea-coast low temperatures prevail in winter. While intercourse all along the coast is\ngreatly facilitated by its character, it is almost impossible to penetrate\ninto the interior, the high peaks of the coast ranges rising abruptly\nfrom the sea. There are only a few passes by means of which intercourse\nis possible. The most important of these are on Skeena River, and on\nSalmon and Bella Coola Rivers of Dean Inlet and Bentinck Arm.\nAs the precipitation all along the coast is very great, its lower parts\nare covered, with dense forests, which furnish wood for building houses\nand canoes. Among these, the pine, hemlock, and the red and yellow\ncedar are the most prominent; while the hard wood of the maple is used\nfor implements of various kinds, principally for paddles. The woods\nabound with numerous kinds of berries, which are eagerly sought for by\nthe Indians. They also make use of the kelp and seaweed with which\nthe sea abounds.\nIn the woods the deer, the elk, the cariboo, the black and the grizzly\nbears, the wolf, and numerous other animals, are found. The mountain goat lives on the high mountain ranges. The beaver, the otter, and\nthe fur-seal furnish valuable skins. The Indians keep a great number\nof dogs in their villages, which look almost exactly like the coyote. In\nthe northern villages they are much like the Eskimo dog.\nOf prime importance to the natives is the abundance of fish and other\nanimals living in the sea. Seals, sea-lions, and whales are found in\nconsiderable numbers, but the Indian depends almost entirely upon the\nvarious species of salmon and the olachen (Thaleichthys pacificus, Gir.),\nwhich are caught in enormous quantities in the rivers. Various species\nof cod and halibut are caught throughout the year: herrings visit the\ncoast early in spring; in short, there is such an abundance of animal life\nin the sea that the Indians live almost solely upon it. Besides fish, they\ngather several kinds of shell-fish, sea-eggs, and cuttle-fish.\nThe interior of the Province is throughout mountainous, with the exception of a portion of the territory occupied by the Tinneh. The country\neast of the coast ranges is comparatively dry, hot in summer and cold in\nwinter. The southern parts of this region are desolate, the rivers cutting\ndeep gorges through the valleys, which are filled with drift. Agriculture\ncan be carried on only by means of irrigation, but the country is well\nadapted to stock-raising. Salmon ascend the rivers, and the lakes are\nwell stocked with fish, which forms the staple food of the tribes west of the\nSelkirk Range. Between this range and the Rocky Mountains the wide\nvalley of the Cc ambia and Kootenay Rivers extends from the International Boundary to near the great bend of the Columbia. The Indians\nof this valley have access to the great plains over a number of passes.\n3 v 2\n.J*A\nr\nXN\ncs\n^^-a&sayj-^gaig^-jy 804\nREPORT\u00E2\u0080\u00941889.\nInhabitants.\nThe country i3 inhabited by a great number of tribes belonging to\nseven or eight linguistic stocks. Certain similarities of form and\nphonetic elements between the Tlingit and Haida languages have given\nrise to the opinion that farther researches may show them to be remote\nbranches of the same stock. This presumption might appear to be\nstrengthened by their divergence from all other stocks inhabiting the\nterritory. Nevertheless the dissimilarity of vocabularies and of grammatical elements is so great that the coincidences referred to cannot yet\nbe considered sufficient proof of their common origin, although the two\nlanguages must be classed together in one group when compared with the\nother languages of the North Pacific coast. Counting them for the\npresent as separate stocks, we distinguish the following families :\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n1. Tlingit.\u00E2\u0080\u0094Inhabiting Southern Alaska.\n2. Haida.\u00E2\u0080\u0094Inhabiting Queen Charlotte Islands and part of Prince of\nWales Archipelago.\n3. Tsimshian.\u00E2\u0080\u0094Inhabiting Nass and Skeena Rivers and the adjacent\nislands.\n4. Kwakiutl.\u00E2\u0080\u0094Inhabiting the coast from Gardiner Channel to Cape\nMudge, with the sole exceptions of the country around Dean Inlet and\nthe west coast of Vancouver Island.\n5. The Nootka.\u00E2\u0080\u0094Inhabiting the west coast of Vancouver Island.1\n6. The Salish.\u00E2\u0080\u0094Inhabiting the coast and the eastern part of Vancouver Island south of Cape Mudge, the southern part of the interior as\nfar as the cr\u00C2\u00A3st of the Selkirk Range and the northern parts of Washington, Idaho, and Montana.\n7. The Kutonaqa.\u00E2\u0080\u0094Inhabiting the valley of the Upper Columbia\nRiver, Kootenay Lake and River, and the adjoining parts of the United\nStates.\nThe Tlingit, although not belonging properly to British Columbia,\nhave been included in this report, as they must be considered in a study\nof the Haida and Tsimshian.\nI do not enumerate the tribes composing the Tlingit ard Haida\npeoples, as the former have been treated by Dr. A. Krause in his\nexcellent work, ' Die Tlinkit Indianer,' while I am not acquainted with\nthe subdivisions of the latter. Dr. G. M. Dawson in his ' Report on the\nQueen Charlotte Islands' gives a list of villages. It seems that the\nHaida divide their people into several groups, each group comprising a\nnumber of villages. The Haida call themselves Qa'eda, i.e. people.\nThey are called by the Tlingit Dekyino', i.e. people of the sea. The\nTsimshian call them Haida, which is evidently derived from Qa'efla.\nThe following list of Tsimshian tribes was obtained by inquiries at\nthe mouth of Skeena River.\nThe language is spoken in two principal dialects, the Nasqa' and the-\nTsimshian proper.\nI. Tribes speaking the Nasqa' dialect:\n1. Nasqa', on Nass River.\n2. Gyitksa'n, on the upper Skeena River=people of the Ksia'n.\n1 New observations made in 1889 seem to indicate that there exists an affinity |\nbetween the fourth and fifth groups. ON THE NORTH-WESTERN TRIBES OF CANADA.\nII. Tribes speaking the Tsimshian proper:\n1. Ts'Emsia'n, on the mouth of Skeena River=on the Ksia'n.\n2. Gyits'umra'lon, below the canon of Skeena River=people on\nthe upper part of the river.\n3. Gyits'ala'ser, at the canon of Skeena River=canon people.\n4. Gyitqa'tla, on the islands off the mouth of Skeena River=\npeople of the sea.\n5. Gyitg'a'ata, on the shores of Grenville Channel =peopie of the\npoles, so called on account of their salmon weirs.\n6. Gyidesdzo', north-west of Milbank Sound.\nSome of these tribes are subdivided into septs, each of which inhabits\none village (see 'Ztschr. fur Ethnologie,' 1888, p. 232).\n1 The Tsimshian are called by the Tlingit Ts'otsQE'n ; by the Heiltsuk*\nKwe'tsla; by the Bilqula, Elqi'miH ; while the Haida designate each\ntribe by its proper name.\nThe whole people is divided into four clans: the raven, called Kan-\nha'da ; the eagle, called LaqsM'yek; the wolf, called Laqkyebo'; and the\nbear, called GyispotuwE'da. Details on this subject will be found in the\nchapter on social organisation,\n4. The Kwakiutl.\u00E2\u0080\u0094So far as I am aware, the language is spoken in\nthree dialects, the people speaking them not being wholly unintelligible\nto each other : the Qaisla', the Heiltsuk-, and the Kwakiutl proper. The\n\u00E2\u0080\u00A2Qaisla' is spoken north of Grenville Channel; the Heiltsuk' embraces the\ntribes from Grenville Channel to Rivers Inlet; the Kwakiutl proper is\nspoken from Rivers Inlet to the central part of Vancouver Island. I do\nnot enter into an enumeration of the many tribes of this group, one list\nhaving been published by Dr. George M. Dawson in the ' Transactions of\nthe Royal Society of Canada,' 1887, another, accompanied by a detailed\nmap by the writer, in Petermann's ' Mittheilungen,' 1887.\nThe most northern tribe of this group, the Qaisla', are called Gyit'ama't\nby the Tsimshian; the Gyimanoitq of Gardner Channel are called\nGyitlo'p by the same people. The Heiltsuk* proper are called Wutsta'\nby the Tsimshian, Elk'l^/sumH by the Bilqula.\n5. Nootka.\u00E2\u0080\u0094Regarding their tribal divisions I would refer to Sproat's\n' Scenes and Studies of Savage Life.' The PE'ntlatc call the Nootka\nCole'itc, but as a rule this name is used for the tribes of Alberni Channel\nonly. The Qatlo'ltq call these tribes O'mene, the Sk^qo'mic call them^\nTc'Eca'atq. (Detailed information on the tribes of this stock will be\ngiven in tile report for 1890.)\n6. The Salish.\u00E2\u0080\u0094This important stock, which inhabits a large part of\nBritish Columbia and the adjacent territories of the United States, is\nrepresented by two groups of tribes on the coast of the province :\u00E2\u0080\u0094\nA. The Bilqula of Dean Inlet and Bentinck Arm, comprising four\n[tribes.\nB. The Coast Salish.\u00E2\u0080\u0094I comprise in this group the numerous dialects\n\u00E2\u0096\u00A0of the Salish stock that are spoken on the coasts of the Gulf of Georgia\nand of Puget Sound. The difference between these tribes and those of\n| the interior, in regard to their mode of life and language, is so marked\nthat we may be allowed to class them in one large group. H. Hale and\nA. Gallatin first pointed out their affinities to the Salish proper. A num.\nPber of tribes of Puget Sound are included under the name of Niskwalli\n(more properly, Nsk'oa'li), but it seems to me that the subdivisions of the 806\nREPORT 1889.\nlatter are not perfectly known. The Niskwalli would properly form one-\nof the larger divisions of the Coast Salish. The latter is spoken in the\nfollowing dialects in British Columbia:\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n1. Catlo'ltq, in Discovery Passage, Valdes Island, Bute and Malas-\npina Inlets. The Qatlo'ltq are called Ko'moks by the Le'kwiltok*.\n2. Si'ciatl, in Jervis Inlet. Called Si'catl by the Snanaimuq, Ni'ciatl\nby the gatlo'ltq.\n3. P-E'ntlatc, from Comox to Qualekum.\n4. Sk-qo'mic, on Howe Sound and Burrard Inlet. Called Sk'qoa'mic-\nby the gatlo'ltq.\n5. K'au'itcin, from Nonoos Bay to Sanitch Inlet, and on Fraser River\nas far as Spuzzum.\n6. Lku'ngEn, on the south-eastern part of Vancouver Island. Called\nLku'mEn by the K'au'itcin.\nSimilar to their language is the Tla'lEm of the south coast of Juan de\nFuca Strait; the S'a'mic, which is spoken east of San Juan Island; the-\nSemia'mo of Semiamo Bay, and the Qtlumi (Lummi).\nC. Ntlakya'pamuQ, from Spuzzum to Ashcroft.\nD. Stla'thumH, on Douglas and Lilloet Lakes.\nE. SQua'pamuQ, from Kamloops and Sh'ushwap Lakes to Quesnelle..\nCalled Tlitk'atEwu'mtlat by the Kutona'qa (= without shirts\nand trousers).\nP. Okina'k'en, on Okanagan and Arrow Lakes. Called TcitQua'ut by\nthe Ntlakya'pamuQ; Kank''utla'atlam (= flatheads) by the Kutona'qa.\n7. The Kutona'qa (Kootenay), inhabiting the valley of the Kootenay\nand Columbia Rivers. The language is spoken in two slightly differing-\ndialects, the upper and lower Kootenay.\nI. Upper Kootenay, on the Columbia Lakes and upper Kootenay\nRiver.\n(1) Aqkisk'anu'kEnik, = tribes of the (Columbia) lakes.\n(2) Aqk'a'mnik, at Fort Steele.\n(3) Aqk'anequ'nik (= river Indians), Tobacco Plains.\n(4) Aqkrye'nik, Lake Pend d'Oreille.\nII. Lower Kootenay.\nAquqtla'tlqo, Aquqenu'kqo ; Kootenay Lake.\nThe Kutona'qa call the Blackfeet Saha'ntla = bad Indians ; the Creer\nGutskiau'm = liars ; the Sioux, Katsk'agi'tlsak = charcoal legs.\nThe census returns of the Indian Department give the following numbers for the various peoples. The Tlingit are not included in this list, as\nthey do not live in British territory.\nHaida, Kaigani excepted (estimated)\nTsimshian (estimated)\nBilqula and Heiltsuk- (estimated)\nNootka .....\nKwakiutl and Lekwiltok\" .\nCoast Salish ....\nNtlakyapamuq, Stla'tliumH, and SQua'\npamuQ\nOkina'k-e .....\nKutona'qa\t\n1883\n1884\n1885\n1886\n1887\n1888\n\t\n\t\n\t\n__\n2,500\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n5,000\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n2,500\n3,612\n3,437\n3,445\n3,415\n3,361\n3,160\n2,264\n1,889\n1,969\n1,969\n1,936\n1,898\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n6,605\n6,874\n7,080\n6,724\n6,838\n5,791\n5,470\n4,740\n4,649\n4,665\n4,497\n1,188\n1,188\n1,020 1,004\n956\n942\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n568\n587\nThese figures show that the census is approximate only. The inland ON THE NORTH-WESTERN TRIBES OF CANADA.\n807\ntribes appear to be decreasing in numbers, while the coast tribes appear\nto be almost stationary. The above list gives a total of about 27,900.\nTo these must be added 1,500 Tinneh and 8,522 'bands not visited,'\nwhoever these may be.\nThe Indians of the interior have almost entirely given up their ancient\ncustoms. They are mostly Roman Catholics, but there are a few Protestants. Of course a considerable amount of paganism is still lurking\nunder the Christianism of these natives. They are good stock-raisers, and\nendeavour to irrigate their lands; but it seems that the majority are poor.\nThe lower Kutona'qa still adhere, to a great extent, to their ancient customs. They are principally fishermen. All the Salish tribes catch a\nconsiderable amount of fish, while the upper Kutona'qa were originally\nhunters.\nThe coast Indians are well off up to this day. While the efforts of\nmissionaries among the Haida have so far not been very successful, the\nTsimshian proper have become Christianised. They have given up all\ntheir old customs except those referring to their social organisation. The\ngentes are still acknowledged, and the laws referring to the mutual snp-\nI port among members of one gens and to the work to be done by the\nI father's gens at certain occasions (see p. 837) are still in force. The final\ngiving up of customs seems to be done by the council, not by the individuals. The Heiltsuk* have been Protestants for many years, while\nI the Bilqula are still uninfluenced by contact with missionaries. The\nI same is true, to a large extent, among the Kwakiutl, only a few individuals\nof the Nimkic tribe adhering to the Episcopalian Church. The Coast\nSalish belong in part to the Roman Catholic Church ; but notwithstanding\ntheir allegations paganism still prevails to a great extent. In the\nreport of ' the Department of Indian Affairs almost all of them are\nenumerated as Roman Catholics, even the pagan tribes of Comox, Victoria,\nand Nanaimo, where their old customs are still rigidly adhered to.\nAmong the Nootka the Roman Catholics have gained considerable\ninfluence.\nIn my preliminary report I have dwelt upon the present state of these\nIndians, the causes of their discontent, and'the incapacity of white\nsettlers to understand the peculiar culture of the Indian. The establishment of industrial schools, which is now taken up energetically, is a\ngreat step forward, and will help the Indians to reach independence and\nj to retain or regain self-esteem, one of the foundations of progress. T will\nj not repeat the statements made and the views expressed last year. It is\nto be hoped that by a considerate land policy, by the encouragement of\nindustries rather than of agriculture, and by an attempt to develop existing\ninstitutions instead of destroying them the Indians will in course of time\nbecome useful men and good citizens.\nPhysical Character.\nThe physical characteristics of the coast tribes are very uniform. This\nis undoubtedly due to the frequent intermarriages between the various\ntribes, which have had also a distinct effect upon the various languages,\nsome of which have borrowed great numbers of words from the languages\nspoken by neighbouring tribes. I shall refer to this fact later on.\nThe habitus of the northern tribes of this region is similar to that of\nEast Asiatic tribes\u00E2\u0080\u0094a fact which was observed by R. Virchow, who\nr\nm 808\nREPORT\u00E2\u0080\u00941889.\nfixamined a number of Bilqula who visited Berlin in the winter of\n1885-86. This similarity is very marked among the Tlingit, Haida,\nTsimshian, Kwakiutl and Bilqula, to a less extent among the Nootka, while\nthe Coast Salish and the Salish of the interior show a different type. As\nthe Bilqula speak a language belonging to the Salish family, it must be\nassumed that they acquired their distinct physical character through\nintermixture with the neighbouring tribes.\nMany tribes of this region are in the habit of deforming the heads of\ntheir children. I noticed three different methods of deformation. The\ntribes of the northern part of Vancouver Island use circular bandages\nby means of which the occiput acquires an extraordinary length. Excessively deformed heads of this kind are found on the northern part of\nthe west coast of Vancouver Island among the K'oski'mo. Farther south\na strong pressure is exerted upon the occiput, a bandage is laid around\nthe head immediately behind the coronal suture, and a soft cushion is\nused for pressing down the forehead. The Flatheads proper compress\nforehead and occiput by means of boards or hard cushions. It seems\nthat the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian never practised the custom of\nhead-flattening. It is unfortunate that no observations on the Tsimshian\nof the upper Skeena River exist. Those at the mouth of the river have\nfrequently intermarried with the Tlingit, Haida, and Heiltsuk*.\nAmong the Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian and Heiltsuk' the custom prevails of perforating the lower lips of the females. In these perforations,\nwhich are enlarged with increasing age, labrets are worn, which are in\nsome instances as long as 40mm. and as wide as 20mm. The men of all\nthe coast tribes have the septum perforated, the operation being performed in early childhood. Earrings are worn either in a series of perforations of the helix .or in the lobe of the ear.\nChiefs' daughters, among the Tsimshian, have the incisors ground\ndown to the gums by chewing a pebble of jade, the row of teeth thus\nassuming an arched form.\nAmong the Nootka scars may frequently be seen running at regular\nintervals from the shoulder down the breast to the belly, and in the same\nway down the legs and arms. Tattooings are found on arms, breast, back,\nlegs, and feet among the Haida; on arms and feet among the Tsimshian,\nKwakiutl, and Bilqula; on breast and arms among the Nootka ; on the\njaw among the Coast Salish women. -\nMembers of tribes practising the Hamats'a ceremonies (see p. 851)\nshow remarkable scars produced by biting. At certain festivals it is the\nduty of the Hamats'a to bite a piece of flesh out of the arms, leg, or\nbreast of a man.\nThe women of the Kwakiutl tribes wear very tight anklets, which\nprevent free circulation between feet and legs. These anklets leave\nlasting impressions.\nBefore describing the general features of these tribes I give a table of\nmeasurements. Unfortunately I was not in possession of a glissiere, and\ntherefore no great weight is attributed to the\" measures, which ought to\nbe made with that instrument. A T-square, to which a movable arm was\nattached, was used as a substitute. The seven individuals, all male, were\nmeasured in the jail at Victoria, kind permission having been given by\nMajor Grant. I did not consider it advisable to make anthropometrical\nmeasurements in the villages of the natives, *as I feared to rouse their\ndistrust, and had nowhere time to become well acquainted with them. It ON THE NORTH-WESTERN TRIBES OF CANADA.\nlis almost impossible to use profitably a very short time for both anthro-\npometrical and ethnological collections.\nThe following\" individuals were measured:\u00E2\u0080\u0094\nHaida:\nTsimshian!\n1. Getgalga'o (Samuel), 25 years old; raven gens;\nnative of Coal Harbour.\n2. Johnny Dixie, circ- 50 years old; native of Skide-\ngate.\n3. Johnny, circ. 32 years old; native of Port Simpson.\n4. William Seba'sa, circ. 28 years old; raven gens ;\nnative of Meqtlakqatla.\n5. Peter Vann, Kesuwa'tk, circ. 25 years old; wolf gens;\nnative of Meqtlakqatla.\nKwakiutl: 6. Nalakyu\ntsa, circ. 50 y\nears old; native of Port B\nupert.\nNootka : 7. \"Wispu, <\nlire. 25 years; Nitinath.\nHaida\nT\nsimshian\nKwakiutl\nNootka\n2jO\n-03 ,2\n\u00E2\u0096\u00A0\na) 0$ u \\nCO O-> 1\nS *\u00C2\u00B0\n> S3\nPeter \"Vann, Kesuwa'tk\nMeqtlakqatla,\n25 years\n0 3\na 0\np 10\na a\nos 2\n|-S\n03 ^\n\"os 5\n!3PS\nWispu from Nitinath,\ncirca 25 years\nI. I\nlEAD.\nmm.\nmm.\nmm.\nmm.\nmm.\nmm.\nmm.\nMaximum length\n192\n203\n\u00E2\u0080\u00A2 201\n192\n199\n206\n189\nMaximum width\n149\n159\n154\n160\n159\n175\n162\nHeight of ear ....\n149\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n127\n127\n126\n130\n135\nChin to hair ....\n196\n213\n203\n201\n188\n200\n190\nChin to root of nose .\n130\n118\n128\n' 126\n122\n121\n127\nRoot of nose to mouth\n76\n86\n90\n81\n74\n81\n78\nWidth of face between zyg. arch.\n154\n142\n151\n146\n151\n138\n152\n\u00E2\u0080\u009E \u00E2\u0080\u009E angles of jaw\n114\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n102\n104\n114\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n122\n\u00E2\u0080\u009E of sup. max. bone\n105\n108\n121\n112\n112\n105\n117\nDistance of edges of orbits\n107\n120\n108\n108\n113\n121\n121\n\u00E2\u0080\u009E inner corners of eyes\n38\n37\n38\n35\n38\n38\n40\n\u00E2\u0080\u009E outer corners of eyes\n95\n96\n98\n95\n98\n92\n99\nChin to tragus ....\n146\n150\n156\n152\n144\n152\n156\nTragus to root of nose\n112\n112\n124\n119\n114\n107\n129\nNose, height ....\n58\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n57\n62\n54\n54\n60\n\u00E2\u0080\u009E width ....\n38\n41\n38\n33\n38\n35\n41\nMouth, length ....\n56\n57\n56\n56\n54\n57\n59\nEar, height ....\n76\n76\n73\n70\n67\n71\n67\nHorizontal circumference.\n581\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n578\n603\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\nVertical circumference from ear\n358\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n365\n341\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\nto ear\nII. I,\nSfDICES\nLength-width index.\nI 77-6\n78-3\n76-6\n83-3\n79-9\n85-0\n85-7\nHeight of ear index . . .\n77-6\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n63-2\n66-1\n63-3\n631\n71-4\nFacial index ....\n84-4\n83-1\n84-1\n86-3\n80-8\n87-7\n83-6\nNasal index ....\n1 65-5\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n66-6\n63-2\n7C-4\n64-8\n68-3 810\nREPORT\u00E2\u0080\u00941889.\nHaida\nTsimshian\nKwakiutl\nNootka\ntJT\n_io m\n^\nKD 5\ng\n\u00E2\u0080\u009E\nSP\n3 a!\n,^\nie fro\nte,\nears\n0) o\nJj of\n09 \"c8 2\na o\n(3 oa\nSi 9\n>7 P\n151\n5:\n\u00E2\u0096\u00A0S8>o\nco.S\n-02\n4) r-* 3\n\MM CD\ndo\nSamuel\nfrom Cc\n25\nJohnny\nSki\ncirca\na o\n1-5\nWillia:\nMeqt\n28\n2 ii10\n3\n5*n\nCO 3\nm\nIII. Body.\nTotal height ....\n1,689\n1,603\n1,637\n1,649\n1,589\n1,575\n1,711\nDistance between fi nger-tips, the\n1,705\n1,692\n1,727\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n1,676\n1,664\n1,829\namis extended horizontally\nHeight of chin ....\n1,441\n1,353\n1,413\n1,405\n1,356\n1,343\n1,470\n\u00E2\u0080\u009E top of sternum.\n1,365\n1,287\n1,306\n1,317\n1,278\n1,273\n1,391\n\u00E2\u0080\u009E shoulder (right)\n1,382\n1,311\n1,313\n1,329\n1,321\n1,292\n1,403\n(left).\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n1,286\n\u00E2\u0080\u009E elbow (right) .\n1,071\n968\n1,007\n1,025\n995\n965\n1,065\n\u00E2\u0080\u009E wrist....\n825\n752\n768\n826\n776\n760\n814\n\u00E2\u0080\u009E second finger .\n612\n570\n571\n614\n597\n571\n618\n\u00E2\u0080\u009E nipples\n1,210\n1,105\n1,143\n1,205\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n1,133\n1,230\n\u00E2\u0080\u009E navel\n970\n913\n933\n946\n876\n89-7\n985\n\u00E2\u0080\u009E crista ilii .\n940\n930\n930\n943\n905\n933\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n\u00E2\u0080\u009E symphysis.\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n835\n851\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n832\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n\u00E2\u0080\u009E perinasum .\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n711\n721\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n714\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n\u00E2\u0080\u009E ant. sup. iliac spine .\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n873\n870\n892\n857\n851\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n\u00E2\u0080\u009E trochanter\n861\n841\n829\n825\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n\u00E2\u0080\u009E patella\n444\n444\n400\n427\n438\n429\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094 '\n\u00E2\u0080\u009E malleolus internus .\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n86\n83\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n89\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n\u00E2\u0080\u009E seventh vertebra\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n1,362\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n1,400\n1,353\n1,299\n1,475\n\u00E2\u0080\u009E vertex in sitting\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n873\n876\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094 \u00E2\u0096\u00A0\n873\n914\nWidth between iliac spines\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n267\n267\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n\u00E2\u0080\u009E iliac crests\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n292\n298\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n283\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n\u00E2\u0080\u009E trochanters\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n314\n314\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n289\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\nCircumference of chest\n910\n930\n960\n940\n950\n925\n945\n\u00E2\u0080\u009E waist\n800\n815\n822\n822\n825\n860\n727\nthigh .\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n508\n524\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n480\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n\u00E2\u0080\u009E calf of leg\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n311\n355\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n310\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\nLength of thumb\n67\n65\n60\n63\n57\n63\n65\n,, second finger .\n98\n101\n97\n97\n97\n98\n98\nWidth of hand at fingers .\n84\n82\n82'\n84\n85\n84\n78\nLength of foot ....\n243\n245\n241\n236\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n245\n251\nIt appears from these tables that the size of these Indians varies considerably ; including measurements of nine Bilqula, made by B>. Virchow\n(see I Verh. G-es. f. Anthr., Bthn. n. Urg.' 1886, p. 215), the average height\nis 1,655 mm., the extremes being 1,743 mm. and 1,542 mm. I am under\nthe impression that, as regards size, the Coast Salish are much smaller\nthan the other tribes. The distance between the tips of the finger, the\narms being extended, is in all cases greater than the total height. The-\nskin is very light, resembling that of Europeans. Only No. 6 of the\nabove table has a somewhat reddish hue. This, however, is due to the-\nfact that he is the only one among the individuals measured who does\nnot wear trousers and shirt, but still adheres to the ancient custom of\nwearing a blanket. In most cases the hair is black, smooth, coarse, and ON THE NORTH-.WESTERN TRIBES OF UL DA.\n811\nIt seems that the heads of the\nbrachycephalic than those of the\ndecide how far that is due to arti-\nabundant. In a few cases it has a brownish tinge. In alTNtribes there\nare a few individuals who have slightly wavy hair. In the vii\lage of\nSa'menos, in Cowitchin Valley, I observed wavy or even V 'v fbair\ncomparatively frequently. It is worth remarking that the Indian^ have\na tradition referring to this fact, which shows that this peculiarity has\nobtained for several generations. The eyebrows are thick, and remarkably wide on the outer side. This peculiarity may also be observed in\nthe carvings of these tribes. The eyebrows are carefully trimmed. The\nbeard is sparse, but it must be remembered that the hair is generally\npulled out as it appears, particularly on the cheeks, while the moustache\nand the chin-tuft are allowed to grow. The iris is dark brown. Virchow\nfirst pointed out the frequent occurrence of the plica interna. I found it\nto occur very generally, particularly among the Haida and Tsimshian.\nThe face is wide, the cheek-bones prominent, the index chamse-\nprosopic, averaging (including Virchow's measures) 83'1. The nose is\nnarrow, the root narrow and depressed. The ridge of the nose is frequently depressed, particularly among the Haida and Tsimshian; while\namong the Nootka, Kwakiutl, and Salish I observed very generally\nstraight or slightly hooked noses,\nsouthern tribes are decidedly more\nnorthern tribes ; but it is difficult to\nficial deformation.\nFrom the limited material at my disposal, I do not venture to describe\nany physical features as characteristic of one tribe or the other. The-\nfrequent intermarriages between the various tribes make it probable that\nnone of them shows peculiar somatological characteristics which do not\noccur also among the neighbouring-tribes. Notwithstanding this fact, it\nis quite possible to distinguish individuals belonging to various tribes,\nbut this is principally due to the variety of artificial deformations. The\nKwakiutl have a remarkably deep sinus in the hair at its anterior margin.\nTheir heads are very long and wide, particularly when compared with\nthe width of the face.\nI am unable in the present report to give a full description of the\ncrania and skeletons I collected; the latter belong principally to tribes of\nthe Salish stock. I have only a single Tsimshian cranium, which, however, is of some interest. Plates X. to XV. are orthogonal tracings of four\nTsimshian crania. Nos. XI. to XIII. are from the Morton Collection in\nthe Museum of the Academy of Natural Sciences at Philadelphia. The\nmeasurements of this series of crania are given in the table on the following page.\nNotes.\u00E2\u0080\u0094No. X, was a syphilitic individual. Marks of the disease are\nseen particularly around the bregma and on the right parietal bone.\nThe cranium is asymmetrical, more particularly the occiput. The sagittal\nsuture in its hind part is depressed, while slight indications of a ridge\nmay be seen in the part immediately behind the bregma. The face is\nnarrow as compared to the other specimens. The grooves of the lachrymal\nduct are comparatively small. The most peculiar feature of the present\nskull is its dental and alveolar prognathism of the upper row of teeth,\nwhich project considerably over the lower one.\nNos. XI., XII., and XIII.- show very marked sagittal ridges. There is\nno indication of premature/synostosis, and I conclude that this must be\nconsidered a characteristic feature of.these skulls. No. XII. has a flattened\nocciput, but without any compensatory flattening of the forehead. This 312\nREPORT\u00E2\u0080\u00941889.\nshows that ^ne flattening is not intentional, but merely the result of the\nhardness of the cradle board on which the child was kept. The occi-\n\u00E2\u0096\u00A0nifoal spine and protuberance of No. XII. are very strongly developed, but.\nthey are very marked in all the crania. The vertical plate of the ethmoid\nbone and the nasal process of the maxillary bones are in Nos. XI. and\nXII. much distorted.\nTsimshian.\nI\nk;\nI.\nBoas,\nNo. 85.\nMale\nII.\nin.\nIV.\n\t\nPhiladelphia,\nNo. 213.\nPhiladelphia,\nNo. 214.\nPhiladelphia,\nNo. 987.\nYouth, about\nMale\nFemale\n18 years of age\nCrania.\n1. Horizontal length\n176\n188\n176\n177\n2. Maximum length.\n176\n190\n176\n178\n3. \u00E2\u0080\u009E width .\n135\n147\n135\n147\n4. Minimum width of forehead\n89\n91\n87\n95\n5. Total height....\n130\n134\n127\n129\n6. Height of ear ...\n110\n112\n112\n112\n7. Length of basis .\n95\n109\n100\n95\n8. Width of basis .\n99\n119\n106\n102\n9. Length of pars basilaris\n29\n32\n31\n25\n10. Max. width of For. Magn. .\n32\n33\n\u00E2\u0096\u00A0 28\n30\n11. Max. length of For. Magn. .\n43\n. 38\n35\n36\n12. Horizontal circumference\n500\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n520\n13. Sagittal circumference\n363\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n366\n14. Vertical circumference.\n301\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n330\n15. Width of face\n97\n106\n105\n90\n16. Width between zygm. arches\n126\n149\n139\n124\n17. Height of upper face .\n69 >\n81\n69\n65\n18. Height of nose\n49\n57\n52\n49\n19. Max. width of nose\n26\n24\n25\n22\n20. Width of orbit .\n38\n41\n40\n41\n21. Height of orbit .\n32\n36\n35\n36\n22. Length of palate .\n50\n59\n54\n(45)\n23. Width of palate at second\n35\n38\n38\n35\nmolar\n24. Width of palate at posterior\n40\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n47\n42\nend\n25. Length of face\n96\n102\n98\n95\n26. Angle of profile .\n83\u00C2\u00B0\nIndices\n88\u00C2\u00B0\n86\u00C2\u00B0\nLength\u00E2\u0080\u0094width ....\n1 76-7\n78-2\n1 76-7\n830\nLength\u00E2\u0080\u0094height ....\n73-9\n71-3\n72-1\n72-9\nI do not intend, in the present report, to treat of the deformed crania of\nthe southern tribes. Suffice it to say that three methods of deformation\nare practised in British Columbia: (i) the conical one, which results in the\nlong heads of the Kwakiutl, and which is also used by the Qatloltq; (ii) the\nflattening by means of cushions and bandages, resulting in asymmetrical\nhyperbrachycephalic heads; and (iii) flattening by means of boards. It\nmay be of interest to show the effect of these methods upon the length and\nwidth of the crania. The second group comprises only crania flattened\nby means of cushions. I add a short column of crania with little or no\ndeformations.\n1 Height of face, 116. ON THE NORTH-WESTERN TRIBES OF CANADA.\n813\n1. Comox\n2. Sanitch\n3. Songish\nLength\nWidth\nLength\nWidth\nLength\nWidth\n171 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2\n150\n158\n158\n192\n144\n181\n149\n160\n147\n186\n144\n173\n138\n171\n153\n183\n142\n162\n131\n162\n158\n176\n139\n179\n145\n141\n152\n178\n144\n177\n135\n161\n156\n190\n147\n178\n143\n156\n155\n189\n143\n186\n147\n147\n138\n180\n140\n171\n138\n156\n137\n180\n140\n174\n139\n169\n164\n187\n146\n175\n142\n164\n163\n195\n157\nAverage .\n. 175\n142\n159\n153\n185\n144\nIndices\n81\n\u00E2\u0080\u00A21\n96\n\u00E2\u0096\u00A02\n77-8\nThe following are measurements of a few Songish crania in the possession of Dr. Milne, of Victoria, British Columbia.\nV\nSongish Crania.\nI.\nn.\nIII.\n1. Horizontal length ....\n183\n\t\n181\n2. Maximum length\n183-5\n153\n181\n3. Intertuberal length .\n182-5\n146\n180\n4. Maximum width\n139-8\n154-6\n154\n5. Minimum width of forehead\n98\n98\n97\n6. Total height\n143-2\n123-2\n138-5\n7. Height of bregma .\n141\n122-3\n137\n8. Height of ear .\n114\n106\n117\n9. Height from ear to vertex\n114\n114\u00C2\u00BB\n123\n10. Length of basis\n103\n89\n101\nIQa. Width of basis\n111-2\n106\n118\n11. Length of pars basilaris .\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n23-5\n29\n12. Max. width of foramen magnum \u00E2\u0096\u00A0 .\n33\n34\n37-5\n13. Max. length of foramen magnum\n34-5\n29\n34\n14. Horizontal circumference\n523\n485\n535\n15. Sagittal circumference\n375\n3212\n382\n16. Vertical circumference\n320\n328\n335\n17. Width of face .\n105\n91-5\n103\n18. Width between zygom. arch .\n146\n130\n148-5\n19. Height of face .\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n101-5\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n20. Height of upper part of face .\n72-5\n61\n76\n21. Height of nose\n50\n47\n54\n22. Max. width of nose .\n22-7\n22\n26-5\n23. Max. width of orbit .\n42\n38-5\n44\n24. Horizontal width of orbit\n41-5\n38\n41\n25. Maximum height of orbit\n36-5\n35\n37-5\n26. Vertical height of orbit .\n37 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2\n35\n36\n27. Length of palate\n49\n45\n51*5\n28. Width of palate at second molar\n34\n35\n41\n29. Width of palate at posterior end\n46\n39\n47\n30. Length of face\t\n| 102\n88\n100-\nI\n1 Vertex 25 mm. behind bregma.\n124 Sut. nas. front, to bregma, 222 Lambda, 248 interparietal sut. S14\nREPORT\u00E2\u0080\u00941889.\nFinally, I give a series of measurements of seven crania from Lytton,\nprobably of the Ntlakyapamuq, collected a number of years ago by\nDr. dr. M. Dawson, who kindly had the measurements made at my request.\nSkulls from Lytton B. C. in the Museum of the Geological and Natural\nHistory Survey of Canada.\nSenses and Mental Charactebs.\nIt is only with a considerable degree of diffidence that I venture to\n\u00E2\u0080\u00A2express an opinion on the senses, mental capacity, and character of the\nnatives of British Columbia. Observations made in the course of a few\n\u00E2\u0080\u00A2days hardly entitle an observer to judge of the mental faculties or of the\nvirtues and vices of a people. The only tribes with whom I came into\n^closer contact are the Tlatlasik\"oala of Hope Island and the Catloltq\nof Comox, among both of whom I lived for a few weeks in 1886.\nThe Indians of the whole coast are able-bodied and muscular, the\nupper limbs being very generally better developed than the lower ones,\nas the constant use of the paddle strengthens arms and chest. They\nhave a keen sight, but in old age become frequently blear-eyed, presumably an effect of the smoke which always fills the houses. I have not\nmade any experiments regarding their acuteness of sight, hearing,, and\nsmell. Their mental capacity is undoubtedly a high one. The state of\ntheir culture is ample proof of this. I have expressed my opinion regarding the possibility of educating them at another place.\nThe best material for judging their character is contained in their\n\u00E2\u0080\u00A2stories, in which appears what is considered good and what bad, what\ncommendable and what objectionable, what beautiful and what otherwise.\nRegarding the last point, whiteness of skin and slenderness of limbs is\nconsidered one of the principal beauties of men and women. Another\nbeauty of the latter is long, black hair. In some tales red hair is described as a peculiar beauty of women. Red paint on the face, tight-\nfitting bracelets and anklets of copper, nose- and ear-ornaments of\nvariegated haliotis shells, and hair strewn with easrle- downs add to the\n** ON THE NORTH-WESTERN TRIBES OF CANADA,\n815\nX\nnatural charms. The fact that in honour of the arrival of friends the\nhouse is swept and strewn with sand, and that the people bathe at such\noccasions, shows that cleanliness is appreciated. The current expression\nis that the house is so cleaned that no bad smell remains to offend thV\nguest. For the same reason the Indian takes repeated baths before\npraying, c that he may be of agreeable smell to the Deity/\nThe Indian is grave and self-composed in all his actions. This is\nshown by the fact that playing is not only considered undignified, but\nactually as bad. In the Tsimshian language the term for \ to play l\nmeans to talk to no purpose : and doing anything i to no purpose ' is contemptible to the Indian.\nHe is rash in his anger, but does not easily lose control over his\nactions. He sits down or lies down sullenly for days without partaking\nof food, and when he rises his first thought is, not how to take revenge,\nbut to show that he is superior to his adversary. A. great pride and\nvanity, combined with the most susceptible jealousy, characterise all\nactions of the Indian. He watches that he may receive his proper share\nof honour at festivals; he cannot endure to be ridiculed for even the\nslightest mistake ; he carefully guards all his actions, and looks for due\nhonour to be paid to him by friends, strangers, and subordinates. This\npeculiarity appears most clearly in great festivals, which are themselves\nan outcome of the vanity of the natives, and of their love of displaying\ntheir power and wealth. To be strong, and able to sustain the pangs of\nhunger, is evidently considered worthy of praise by the Indian; but foremost of all is wealth.\nIt is considered the duty of every man to have pity upon the poor\nand hungry. Women are honoured for their chastity and for being true\nto their husbands; children, for taking care of their parents ; men, for\nskill and daring in hunting, and for bravery in war.\nClosely connected with their vanity is their inclination to flatter the\nstranger or friend, but particularly anyone who is expected to be of\nservice to the Indian. Vanity and servility are the most unamiable\ntraits of his character. Wit and humour are little appreciated, although\nthey are not wanting. The character of the Indian, on the whole, is\nsombre, and he is not given to gentle emotions. Even his festivals have\nthis character, as he retains his dignity throughout.\n1\nPood\u00E2\u0080\u0094Hunting and Pishing\u00E2\u0080\u0094Clothing\u00E2\u0080\u0094Implements.\nIt is not the object of this report to give a fall description of the\nvarious kinds of food and of the methods of hunting and fishing. It\nseems, however, desirable to mention the most important points in\nconnection with this subject.\nThe principal part of the food of the natives is derived from the sea.\nIt seems that whales are pursued only exceptionally, though the West\nVancouver tribes are great whalers. Sea-lions and seals are harpooned,\nthe barbed harpoon-point being either attached to, a bladder or tied to\nthe stem of the boat. The harpoon lines are made of cedar-bark and\n\"sinews. The meat of these sea-animals is eaten, while their intestines are\nused for the manufacture of bowstrings and bags. The bristles of the sea-\nlion are used by the TsimsHan and the neighbouring tribes for adorning\ndancing ornaments. Codfish and halibut are caught by means of hooks.\nThese are attached to fish-lines made of cedar-twigs, or, what is more\n/ 816\nREPORT\u00E2\u0080\u00941889.\nMg. 1.\nfrequently used, of kelp. The hook, the form of which is well known,\nis provided with a sinker, while the upper part is kept afloat by a bladder\nor by a piece of wood. The hooks rfre set, and after a while taken up.\nCuttle-fish is extensively used for bait. The fish are either roasted near\nor over the fire, or boiled in baskets or wooden kettles by means of red-\nhot stones. Those intended for use in winter are split in strips and dried\nin the sun, or on frames that are placed over the fire. I did not observe\nsuch frames among the tribes south of the Snanaimuq. The most important fish, however, is the salmon, which is caught in weirs when\nascending the rivers, in fish-traps, or by mea,ns of nets dragged between\ntwo boats. Later in the season salmon are harpooned. For fishing in\ndeep water a very long double-pointed harpoon is used. Herring and\nolachen are caught by means of a long rake. The latter are tried in\ncanoes filled with water, which is heated by means of red-hot stones.\nThe oil is kept in bottles made of dried and cleaned kelp. In winter\ndried halibut dipped in oil is one of the principal dishes of the tribes\nliving on the outer coast. Fish, when caught, are carried in open-work\nwooden baskets. Clams and mussels are collected in a similar kind of\nbasket. They are eaten roasted, or dried for winter use. Cuttle-fish are\ncaught by means of long sticks ; sea-eggs, in nets which are fastened to\na round frame. Fish-roe, particularly that of herrings, is collected in\ngreat quantities, dried, and eaten with oil.\nSea-grass is cut in pieces and dried so as to form square cakes, which\nare also eaten with oil, as are all kinds of dried berries and roots. The\nKwakiutl and their neighbours keep their provisions in large\nboxes. These are bent out of thin planks of cedar. At those\nplaces where the edges of the box are to be, a triangular strip\nis cut out of the plank, which is thus reduced in thickness.\nThen it is bent so that the sides of the triangle touch each\nother.\nAfter three edges have been made, the sides of the fourth are sewed\ntogether. The bottom is either sewed or nailed to the box. The lid\neither overlaps the sides of the box (fitting on it as the\ncover on a pill-box) or moves on a kind of hinges. In\nthe latter case it has always the following form.\nThe Coast Salish keep their stock of provisions on\na loft, with which every house is provided.\nIn winter deer are hunted. Formerly bows and arrows were used\nfor this purpose, but they have now been replaced by guns. The bow\nwas made of yew-wood. The arrows had stone, bone, and iron points.\nThe bow was held horizontally, the shaft of the arrow resting between\nthe first and second fingers of the left hand, that grasps the rounded\ncentral part of the bow, while the arrow is held between the thumb and\nthe side of the first finger. Deer are also captured by being driven into\nlarge nets made of cedar-bark, deer-sinews, or nettles. Elk are hunted\nin the same way. For smaller animals traps are used. Birds are shot\nwith arrows provided with a thick wooden plug instead of a point.\nDeer-skins are worked into leather and used for various purposes,\nprincipally for ropes, and formerly for clothing. The natives of this\nregion go barelegged. The principal part of their clothing is the blanket.\nThis is made of tanned skins, or more frequently woven of mountain-\nsheep wool, dog's hair, or of a mixture of both. The thread is spun on\nthe bare leg, and by means of a stone spindle. The blanket is woven on a\nFig. 2. ON THE NORTH-WESTERN TRIBES OF CANADA.\n817\nilsolid frame. Another kind of blanket is woven of soft cedar-bark, the\n[warp being tied across the weft. They are trimmed with fur. At the\npresent time woollen blankets are extensively used. Men wear a shirt\nunder the latter, while women wear a petticoat in addition. Before the\nintroduction of woollen blankets, women used to wear an apron made of\ncedar-bark and a belt made of the same material. The head is covered\nwith a water-tight hat made of roots. In rainy weather and in the canoe\na water-tight cape or a poncho, both made of cedar-bark, is used.\nThe women dress their hair in two plaits, while the men wear it comparatively short. The latter keep it back from the face by means of a\nstrap of fur or cloth. Ear and nose ornaments are extensively used.\n[They are made of bone and hahotis-shell.\nBesides the baskets mentioned above, a variety of others are used,\n'j some made of dried seaweed, for keeping sewing-utensils; others made of\nI cedar-bark, for storing away blankets. Still others are used for carrying\nthe travelling outfit. They have two straps attached to them, one\npassing over the brow, the other over the breast, of the carrier. Watertight baskets made of roots are used for cooking purposes and for holding\nwater. Mats made of cedar-bark, of reed, and of rushes are used to a\ngreat extent, for covering the walls of the house, for bedding, for packing,\nfor travelling in canoes, &c.\nIn olden times work in wood was extensively done by means of stone\nimplements. Of these, only stone hammers are still used. They are\neither carved stones, flat on one side, and having a notch in the middle,\nattached to a handle by means of a leather strap, or they are similar in *\nshape to a pestle. Trees were felled with stone axes, and split by means\nof wooden or horn wedges. The latter are still extensively used. In\norder to prevent the wooden wedge from splitting, a cedar-bark rope is\nfirmly tied around its top. Boards are split out of trees by means of\nthese wedges. They were planed with adzes, a considerable number of\nwhich were made of jade that was evidently found in the basin of Fraser\nand Lewis Rivers. Carvings were made with stone knives. Stone mortars\nj and pestles were used? for mashing berries and bark, the latter for mix-\n1 ing with tobacco. Paint-pots of stone, with two or more excavations,\ni were extensively used. Pipes were made of slate or wood.\nCanoes_are principally made of cedar-wood. After the tree has been\nfelled, about one-third, of TEs^HBicknesiris removed by means of wedges,\nthe outer side worked according to the proposed dimensions of the boat,\nand then the tree is hollowed by means of axes, fire, and adzes. When\nthe sides of the canoe have almost reached the desired thickness, it is\nfilled with water, which is heated by means of red-hot stones. Thus the\nwood becomes pliable, and is gradually shaped. Jn large canoes the\ngunwale is made higher by fastening a board to it. The northern tribes\nuse the so-called ' Tsimshian canoe,' which has a high prow and a high\nstegnT^ The southernJirjb.es use the ' Chjnook canoe,' which has a smaller\nprow, and the.stern oiLsvhich is-^traighitjip and down, \"\"ffiome other\ntypes ofooats are used for the purposes of war and fishing, 41kejx)at is3\npropellecTand itjaered-by means of-paddles. In hunting there is a steersman in the .stern of the canoe, while the harponeer stands in the stem.\nIt seems that sails have beenjnsed only since the advent of the whites.\niThey are sometimes made of mats of cedar-bark. Most of the large boats\njhaye names-of- their own. For fishing on rivers very narrow canoes are\n!used, which differ somewhat in shape among the various tribes.\n1889. 3 g\nV\nv\n5^t 818\nREPORT\u00E2\u0080\u00941889.\nj/ The Salish of the interior and the Lower Kootenay also live to a great 1\nextent upon fish. They use dug-out canoes, in which they navigate the|\n(lakes and rapid rivers. Fish, are caught by means of hooks, but principally\nin bagnets. Deer, elk, mountain goat, big-horn sheep, and bears are hunted\nextensively. At the present time these tribes raise considerable numbers\nof horses, which are used in hunting and travelling. The upper Kootenay\nare principally hunters. They used to cross the mountains and hunt\nbuffalo on the plains. The Salish dress in the blanket, in the same way\nas the coast tribes do; while the clothing of the Kootenay resembles that\nworn by the Indians of the plains. They wear moccasins, leggings,\nbreeches, and a buckskin jacket, trimmed with metal and leather fringes,\nMen and women wear braids wound with brass spirals and trimmed with\nbeads.\nThe art of pottery is unknown in British Columbia, and in the eastern\nparts of the province little carving in wood is done. Large baskets serve\nfor cooking purposes. Stone hammers and pestles and mortars are still\nused throughout the Province.\nI cannot give a satisfactory account of the arts and industries of the\ntribes of the interior, as these have been supplanted by the use of European manufactures, and old implements are scarce and difficult to obtain.\nHouses.\nThe coast tribes live in large wooden houses. The plan of the house of\nthe northern tribes differs somewhat from that of the Coast Salish, although\nthe mode of construction is the same. The framework of the house consists of heavy posts, which support long beams. The walls and the roof\nare constructed of heavy planks. Those forming the walls rest upon strong\nropes of cedar-bark connecting two poles, one of which stands inside the\nwall, while the other is outside. The boards overlap each other in order\n, to prevent the rain from penetrating the house. The boards forming the\nroof are arranged like Chinese tiles. The rain flows off on the lower\nboards, as through a gutter.\nThe house of the northern tribes is square. It faces the sea. A\nplatform of about two feet high and four feet wide runs all around it {\ninside. It has a gable roof, which is supported by one or two beams\nresting on two pairs of heavy posts which stand in the centre of the front\nand of the rear of the house. The door is between the pair of posts\nstanding near the front of the house. Three \"or four steps lead up to the\ndoor, which is on the platform. Very large houses have two or three platforms, and thus attain, to some extent, the shape of an amphitheatre.\nThe houses are generally occupied by four families, each living in one\ncorner. Small sheds are built on the platforms, all along the walls of the I\nhouses. They serve for bedrooms. Each family has its own fireplace,\nnear which the enormous family settee, capable of holding the whole\nfamily, stands. Some of the houses of the Heiltsuk* and Bilqula are built)\non posts, the floor being about eight feet above the ground. In these\n'houses the fireplaces are made of earth and of stones. The Tsimshian,\nHaida, and Tlingit make a hole in the centre of the roof for a smoke-\nescape, while the Kwakiutl merely push aside one or two boards of the roof.\nThe houses of the Coast Salish and ISTootka are very long, being\noccupied by a great many families, each of whom owns one section. The\nroofs are highest in the rear part of the house, and slope downward\n?1\ni< ON THE\nOF CANADA.\n819\ntowards the front. T m running along the walls of\nthe houses ; bat while ne Kwakiutl it is made of earth,\nhere it is carefully boil oil along the rear wall of the house,\nwhich is somewhat higher than the opposite, runs a loft, which is about\nfive feet wide. It is used as a storeroom. There are no sheds serving\nfor bedrooms, but the beds are arranged on the platforms.1\nThe houses here described are found in stationary villages. In\ntravelling small sheds made of bark, of wood, or of branches are used.\nThe Salish of the interior used to live in subterranean houses, access\nto which was obtained from above. These were used in winter, and afforded\na good shelter from the severe cold. In summer tents were used.\nThe Kootenay live in large lodges, the framework of which consists of\nconverging poles. They used to be covered with buffalo hides, but now\ncanvas is mostly used.\nSocial Organisation.\nJ. G. Frazer, in his comprehensive review of totemism\ntotem as ' a class of material objects which a savage regard\ntious respect, believing that there exists between aims'-\nber of the class an intimate and altogether spec\"\ntinguished from a fetish, a totem is never an if\nalways a class of objects.' Accepting this defied/\nthe peculiar kind of totemism as observed in T\nthe Kootenay and Salish of the interior I di7\nof the existence of totems.\nThe Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, and\nThe first of these have two phratries\u00E2\u0080\u0094\nthe Tsimshian have four totems\u00E2\u0080\u0094rav\nHeiltsuk' three\u00E2\u0080\u0094raven, eagle, and 7\ntotems in the proper sense of this +\nThey are not found among th\"\nsame linguistic stock to w*\"\nfour peoples mentioned ab'\nThese phratries or clans\nthat the natives do nr\nThe Tlingit, for inst\nclearly and plainly\nwolf, a raven as a\nmember of its cla\nto the wolves, 'T\nwithstandine* tr\nO\nfar as I am awt\nlas frequently\n^g-arding the t\nn a great feast, which was to be cele-\n\u00E2\u0084\u00A2 of the whole coast came, using\n^\ej were so numerous that the\nred Yaqagwono'osk's house.\n~-r flowed into the house. \u00C2\u00A3\nto enter was Kuw&'k/\naa\ndangerous points and\nIntEpwe'n, Ktlkuo'l,\nT\ndangerous\no\nand\nt\nangerous monsters E\nind the platform \\nqtl. He wore a\nd to give him an\nlg'atlso'ks &5^,'\neryone what k -.\nresent promisL -i\n, r puil\n\u00E2\u0080\u00A2eturn remove-Mi\nTaqagwono'osk\nhe used them. fc\ntheir heraldicC\nlo not belonet^\n3 descendantaj\nof the kinc1 ON THE NORTH-WESTERN TRIBES OF CANADA.\n[described\u00E2\u0080\u0094that is, his nephews and nieces, and their descendants in the\nfemale line\u00E2\u0080\u0094use the emblems he obtained in consequence of his adventure.\nThis accounts for the diversity of emblems and the variety of their grouping\non the carvings, paintings, and tattooings of the Indians. In these cases\nthe whole group would therefore more properly be styled phratry than\ngens. The raven and wolf (eagle) groups of the Tlingit and Haida are\npre-eminently phratries. Each gens, which forms a subdivision of the\nphratries, derives its origin from one of these mythical ancestors who\n| had an encounter with one of the animals of the phratry.\nThe following is a partial list of the totems of each of the two phratries\nI of the Tlingit:\u00E2\u0080\u0094\nI. Raven: Raven, frog, goose, sea-lion, owl, salmon, beaver, codfish\n(weq), skate.\nII. Wolf (eagle): Wolf, bear, eagle, Belphinus orca, shark, auk, gull,\nsparrow-hawk (g'ano'k), thunder-bird.\nAmong this and all other tribes of the coast the crest of a group includes those animals which serve as the food of the animal from which the\ngroup takes its name.\nAs an example I enumerate the gentes of the Stikin tribe of the\nTlingit, the only one with members of whom I came into closer contact.\nI give also the chief emblems of each gens :\u00E2\u0080\u0094\nI. Wolf: Nanaa'ri or siknaq'a'de, bear (corresponds to the Kagonta'u\nof other Tlingit tribes).\nQoke'de, Belphinus orca.\nII. Raven: Kasq'ague'de, raven.\nKyiks'a'de, frog.\nKatc'a'de, raven.\nTir hit tan (=&ar& house gens), beaver.\nDetlk'oe'de (=people of the point), raven.\nKagan hit tan (==sun house gens), raven.\nQetlk'oan, beaver.\nAmong these the gens Nanaa'ri has six houses, the people of each\nforming a sub-gens:\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n1. Hara'c hit tan, porch house gens.\n2. Tos hit tan, shark house gens.\n3. K-'etgo hit tan,\n4. Quts hit tan, bear house gens.\nThe names of the remaining two houses I did not learn.\nThe proper names of members of the various gentes are derived from\ntheir respective totems, each gens having its peculiar names. The connection between name and totem is sometimes not very clear, but it\nalways exists. Here are a few examples taken from gentes of the\nStikin tribe:\u00E2\u0080\u0094\nNanaa'ri names:\nMale: Tl'uck'E', ugly (danger face), referring to the bear.\nG'aqe', crying man (referring to the howling wolf).\nSektutlqetl, scared of his voice (to wit, the wolf's).\nAnk'aqu'ts, bear in snow. REPORT\u00E2\u0080\u00941889.\nFemale : Qutc gya's, standing bear.\nHe'lEng djat, thunder-woman.\nKun djat, whale-woman.\nQok'e'de names:\nCak'a'ts, head-stick (reference doubtful).\nG6uq naru', slave's dead body (reference doubtful).\nBetlk'oede names:\nYetl rEde', little raven.\nTle'neqk, one alone (the raven on the beach).\nHiqtc tle'n, great frog.\nYetl k*u djat, raven's wife.\nThe social organisation of the Haida is very much like that of the\nTlingit. They have also two phratries, raven and eagle. Their totems\nare also similar to those of the Tlingit, but they are differently arranged.\nThe most important difference is that the raven is an emblem of the eagle\ngens.\nI. Eagle phratry (Gyitena'): Eagle, raven, frog, beaver, shark,\nmoon, duck, codfish (l'a'ma), waski (fabulous\nwhale with five dorsal fins), whale, owl.\nII. Raven phratry (K'oa'la): Wolf, bear, Belphinus orca, skate,\nmountain-goat, sea-lion, tsVmaos (a sea-monster), moon, sun, rainbow, thunder-bird.\nFrom some indications I conclude that the division of emblems between the two phratries is not the same among the Kaigani and the\ntribes of Queen Charlotte Islands, but the subject requires further study.\nThe phratries of the Haida are divided into gentes in the same way\nas those of the Tlingit. They also take their names, in the majority of\ncases, from their houses. The people of Skidegate village (Tlk-agitl), for\ninstance, are divided into the following gentes :\u00E2\u0080\u0094\nI. Eagle phratry : !Na yu/ans qa'etqa, large house people.\nNa s'a'yas qa'etqa, old house people.\nDj'aaqulg'it 'ena'i,\nGyitingits 'ats,\nII. Raven phratry: ISTaeku'n k'eraua'i, those born in rTaeku'n.\nDjaaqui'sk-uatl'adagai (extinct).\nTlqaiu la'nas,\nKastak-e'raua'i, those born in Skidegate Street.\nThe following gentes are said to exist in one of the Kaigani villages.\nI did not learn the gentes of the eagle phratry.\nI. Ts'atl la'nas, eagle.\nII. Yak' la'nas=middle town. Raven.\nYatl nas :had'a'i Graven house people.\nk-'at nas :had'a'i=shark house people,\ngutgune'st nas :had'a'i=owl house people.\n:h of the Kaigani dialect stands for q of the other dialects,\nby a slight intonation.\nIt is an A preceded ON THE NORTH-WESTERN TRIBES OF CANADA.\nqo'utc nas :had'a'i=bear house people,\nna k-'al nas :had'a'i=empty house people,\nt'a'ro nas :bad'a'i=copper house people,\nkun nas :had'a'i=whale house people.\ng'Egihe't nas :had'a'i=land-otter house people.\nk''et nas :had'a'i=sea-lion house people.\n:hot nas :had'a'i=box house people,\nk'ok' nas :had'a'i=snow-owl house people.\nFrom the first of these lists it will be seen that two of these gentes are\ncalled from the locality which they formerly inhabited. Wemiaminow and\nKrause noted a few Tlingit gentes which were also named from the places\nat which their houses stood, and one name of this kind is found on the\npreceding list on p. 824. The majority of gentes are called from the\nnames and emblems of their houses. If a new house is built by the chief\nof the gens it receives the name of the old one, the place of which it\ntakes. These facts show that the houses must be considered communal\nhouses of the gentes. The members of the gens are connected by ties\nof consanguinity, not by an imaginary relationship through the totem.\nThe latter exists only inside the phratry. It must be borne in mind that\nthe emblems of the gens are onl/y emblems commemorative of certain\nevents, that they do not indicate any relationship between man and\nemblem. This becomes particularly clear in the case of the Haida\nphratries, where the raven is the emblem of the eagle phratry and is not\nused by the raven phratry. Gentes of great numerical strength are subdivided. The houses of each gens always stand grouped together.\nThe single gentes do not possess the whole series of emblems pertaining to the phratry. Among the Skidegate gentes enumerated above, the\none called Na s'a'yas has the following emblems: raven, shark, eagle,\nfrog. Their chief has, in addition to these, the fabulous five-finned whale\nwask' and the fish Va'ma (codfish ?). Before giving a festival the child of\nthe eagle gens must use no other emblem but the eagle.\nAny Haida who has the raven among his emblems, when marrying\na Tlingit, is considered a member of the raven phratry, and vice versa, the\nemblems always deciding to which phratry an individual is to be\nreckoned.\nThe social organisation of the Tsimshian is somewhat different from\nthat of the preceding group of peoples. They have four gentes: the\nraven, called K'anha'da ; the eagle, Laqski'yek (=on the eagle) ; the\nwolf, Laqkyebo' (=on the wolf) ; and the bear, GyispotuwE'da. The\nfollowing is a partial list of their emblems.\n1. Kanha'da: Raven, codfish, starfish.\n2. Laqski'yek : Eagle, halibut, beaver, whale.\n3. Laqkyebo': Wolf, crane, grizzly bear.\n4. GyispotuwE'da: Belphinus orca, sun.\ngrouse, tsEm'aks (a sea-monster).\nmoon, stars, rainbow,\nThe Tsimshian are divided into three classes: common people, middle-\nclass people, and chiefs. Common people are those who have not been\ninitiated into a secret society (v. p. 848) \ by the initiation they become\nmiddle-class people; bui they can never become chiefs, who form a\ndistinct class. Each geny has its own proper names, which are different\nfor chiefs and middle-class people. It seems that, as a rule, the names REPORT 1889.\nare common to all tribes, with the exception of a few chiefs' names,\nwhich will be noted later-on. These names are different, according to\nthe gens to which the father belongs, and have always a reference to the\nfather's crest. Here are a few instances :\u00E2\u0080\u0094\nK'anha'da names.\n1. A K'anha'da woman marries a Laqski'yek man.\nMiddle-class names:\u00E2\u0080\u0094\nMale : Neesyula'ops=grandfather carrying stones.\nFemale: Laqtlpo'n=on a whale.\nChiefs' names:\u00E2\u0080\u0094\nMale : Neeswoksena'tlk=grandfather of the not-breathing one.\nFemale: Ndse'edsd'a'loks=grandmother of?\nNdse'ets le'itlks=watching's grandmother.\nLld'amloqda'u=(eagle) sitting on the ice.\n2. A Kahha'da woman marries a GyispotuwE'da man.\nName of female : NEb6'ht=making noise to each other (killers).\nNames of male : Wud'ada'u=large icebergs (floating at Kuwa'k).\nWiha' = great wind.\nLaqski'yek names.\n1. A Laqski'yek woman marries a K'anha'da man.\nMale : Wonlo'otk (raven) =having no nest.\n2. A Laqski'yek woman marries a Laqkyebo' man.\nFemale : DEmdema'ksk=wishing to be white.\n3. A Laqski'yek woman marries a Gyi'spotuwE'da man.\nNames of females : Wib6'=great noise (of killers).\nWine'eq=great fin (of killer).\nNames of males : Qpi'yelek=half-hairy sea-monster (abbreviated\nfrom Qpi litl hag'ulo'oq).\nHats'Eksne'eq=.dreadful fin (of killer).\nLaqkyebo? names.\n1. A Laqkyebo woman marries a Laqski'yek man.\nChiefs daughter's name : Saraitqag'a'i=eagle having one colour of\nwings. \u00E2\u0080\u00A2\nGyispotuwE'da names.\n1. A GyispotuwE'da woman marries a K'anha'da man.\nFemale: Ba'yuk (raven)=flying in front of the house early in the\nmorning; abbreviated from Seo'pgyiba'yuk. The eldest daughter is\nalways given this name.\nIn each village the houses of members o each gens are grouped\ntogether. The phratries of the Haida correspond to the Tsimshian ON THE NORTH-WESTERN TRIBES OF CANADA.\n825\nin the maternal stage, and\nThere are three of them :\u00E2\u0080\u0094\nstarfish, sun, g'og'ama'tse\nraven liberated it). Their\ngentes in such a way that raven and eagle on one side, wolf and bear on\nthe other, are amalgamated.\nThe Heiltsuk' of Milbank Sound are also\nare divided into clans having animal totems.\n1. K'oiHtenoq (=raven people), raven,\n(box in which the sun was kept before the\nhouse is painted all black.\n2. Wik'oak'Htenoq (=eagle people). Thunder-bird (Kani'sltsua), an\nenormous dancing-hat.\n3. Ha'lq'aiHtenoq (=killer people). Belphinus orca, K'omo'k'oa.\nA huge mouth is painted on the house-front, the posts are killers, two\nfish named MElHani'gun are painted at both sides of the door. Sea-\nlions (which are considered the dog of Komo'k'oa) are the crossbeams.\nThe most southern tribe which belongs to this group are the\nAwiky'e'noq of Rivers Inlet. Further south, and among the Bilqula,\npatriarchate prevails. The social organisation of these tribes differs\nfundamentally from that of the northern group. We do not find a single\nclan that has, properly speaking, an animal for its totem ; neither do the\nclans take their names from their crest, nor are there phratries. It seems\nas though the members of each gens were really kindred. The ' first' of\neach gens is said to have been sent by the deity, or to have risen from\nthe depth of the ocean or the earth to a certain place which became his\nhome.\nI shall give abstracts of a few of these legends, which will explain the\ncharacter of the clans of the Kwakiutl.\nSe'likiUkila and Lbtlemak'\n-He'likilikila descended from heaven in\nthe shape of a bird carrying a neck-ring of red cedar-bark.1 He built a\nhouse and made a large fire. Then a woman called Lotlemak'a rose\nfrom under the earth. He spoke to her: 'You shall stay with me and\nbe my sister.' Thenceforth they lived in opposite corners of the house.\nThe Kwats'e'nok' had heard of He'likilikila's neck-ring, and made a\nfutile attempt to steal it. When one of them entered the house where\nHe'likilikila was sleeping, he was stricken with madness. He'likilikila,\nhowever, cured him, gave him the ring, and the Kwats'e'nok' returned\nhome. Since that day they dance the Tsetsa'ek'a, in which rings of red\ncedar-bark are used.\nLe'laqa.\u00E2\u0080\u0094Two eagles and their young descended from heaven and\nalighted at Qu'mqate (Cape Scott). They took off their eagle-skins and\nbecame men. The father's name was Na'laqotau; that of the mother\nAnk'a'layuk'oa; and the young was called Le'laqa. One day the latter\npursued a seal, which, when far away from the coast, was transformed\ninto a cuttle-fish, and drowned Le'laqa. After a while he awoke to new\nlife, and flew to heaven in the shape of an eagle. Then he returned to\nhis parents, who had mourned for him, for they believed him to be dead.\nThey saw an eagle descending from heaven. In his talons he carried a\nlittle box, in which he had many whistles imitating the voice of the\neagle. He wore the double mask Naqnakyak'umtl and a neck-ring of\nred cedar bark. He became the ancestor of the gens NEe'ntsa.\nSE'ntlae.\u00E2\u0080\u0094 SE'ntlae, the sun, descended in the shape of a bird from\nheaven, assumed the shape of a man, and built a house in Yik''a'men.\nThen he wandered to Ko'moks, visited the Tlau'itsis, the NEmk'ic, and\n1 It conveys the secrets of the winter dance (see p. 851). 826\nREPORT\u00E2\u0080\u00941889.\nNa'k'oartok', and finally reached Tliksi'uae (=the plain at the mouth of\nthe river, where clover-root is found), in the country of the Kwakiutl,\nwhere he settled at K'aioq. He took a wife among each tribe whom he\nvisited, and his family has the name Sisintle. He resolved to stay in\nTliksi'uae, and took a Kwakiutl woman for his wife. They had a son,\nwhom they called Tsqtsqa'lis. On each side of the door of their house\nthey painted a large sun. The posts are men, each carrying a sun.\nThey are called Lela'qt'otpes, and were Ss'ntlae's slaves. The crossbars\nresting upon the posts also represent men, while the beams are sea-lions.\nThe steps leading to the house-door are three men called Tle'nonis.\nDuring the winter dances the Sisintle use the mask of the sun,.\nTle'selak'umtl; in the dance Ya'wiqa, that of the dog Ku'loqsa (=the\nsun shining red through the clouds), who descended with SE'ntlae from\nheaven. Their heraldic column is called SEntle'qem. It represents a\nseries of copper plates, on the top of which a man called Laqt'otpes\n(singular of Lela'qt'otpes=he who gives presents to strangers only) is\nstanding. Above all is the mask of the sun emitting rays.\n1 Of special importance is the connection of the ancestors of these\ngentes with Ka'nikilak' (meaning doubtful), the son of the deity.\nHe is the ancestor of a gens of the Nak'o'mkilisila, who, upon the\nstrength of this legend, claim a superiority to all others. This point\nseems of sufficient importance to be given in greater detail. I was told\nthat in the far west there lived a chief called Ha'nitsum (the possessor\nof arrows), who had a daughter called AiHtsuma'letlilok' (with many\nearrings of haliotis shells). Ka'nikilak' went into his boat Kok'6'malis,\nand after long wandering he reached Ha'nitsum's house. He married\nthe latter's daughter, and took her home to Koa'ne (near Cape Scott).\nThey had a son, who received the name of Ha'neus. He lived to be a\ngreat chief.\nK'anikilak' wandered all over the world. In his wanderings he\nencountered the ancestors of all gentes of the various Kwakiutl tribes,\nmade friends with them, and filled the rivers of their countries with\nsalmon. I give an example of this kind of tradition. K'anikilak' met\nNomas, the ancestor of the Tlauitsis. He was the first to make fish-lines\nof kelp to catch halibut; therefore the Tlauitsis were the first tribe to\nuse these. K'anikilak* made friends with Nomas, and filled the rivers of\nhis country with salmon. He met O'meatL, who was sitting on an\nisland. When the latter saw K'anikilak' approaching, he pointed his\nfirst finger towards him, which perforated K'anikilak''s head. Then the\nlatter perforated Omeatl's head in the same way. Now they knew that\nthey were equally strong, and parted.\nIn some cases it is very difficult to decide whether a group of men\nderiving their origin from one of these ancestors is really a gens or a tribe,\nparticularly in those cases in which the tribal name agrees with that of\nthe ancestor of one of the gentes; for instance, Ma'malelek'ala (collective of Malelek'ala), or We'wek'ae (collective of We'k'ae). A considerable number of tribal names and the majority of names of gentes are\nsimply the collective form of the name of the ancestor. Others are taken\nfrorn. the regions inhabited by the tribe.\nIt appears that a tribe of the Kwakiutl must be defined as a series of\ngentes, whose ancestors first made their appearance in a certain weHA^\ndefined region. Thus the ancestors of the Nak'o'mkilisila gentes appeared\non or near Cape Scott; those of the Tlatlasik'oala on or near Hope Island, ON THE NORTH-WESTERN TRIBES OF CANADA.\n827\njf the Kwakiutl in Hardy Bay. No other connection between the several\ngentes seems to exist. We shall see later on that the Coast Salish have\nthe same organisation, with the exception that the gentes are named on a\ndifferent principle. The latter, however, have only very slight indications\nof crests, while the crests play an exceedingly important part in the life-\nof the Kwakiutl.\nIn order to make clear the organisation of these tribes, I will enumerate the divisions and gentes of one group of tribes.\nThe following four tribes which inhabit the north-eastern part of\nVancouver Island form one group I enumerate the tribes, subdivisions,\nand gentes of this group according to their rank.\n1. Kwa'kiutl, called by the Bilqula and Coast Salish, Kwako'otl; Fort\nRupert.\nSubdivisions: 1. Kue'tEla, so called by the tribes north of Vancouver Island.\nGentes: 1, Maa'mtakyila. 2, Kwokwa'kum. 3,\nGye'qsEm. 4, La'alaqsEnt'aio. 5, Si'sintlae.\n2. K''6'moyue (=rich people). War name :\nKue'qa (=murderers).\nGentes: 1, Kwokwa'kum. 2, Ha'anatlino. 3,\nYaai'Hak'Eme (=crab). 4, Haailakyawe or-\nLa'gse. 5, Gyi'gyilk'am.\n3. Walaskwakiutl=the great Kwakiutl.\nGentes: 1, Ts'Ents'EnHk'aio. 2, Gye'qsEm. 3,.\nWa'ulipoe. 4, K''6mkyutis (=the rich ride).\n2. Mamalelek'a'la. East of Alert Bay.\nGentes i 1, TE'mtEmtlEts. 2, We'omask'am. 3, Wa'las.\n4, Ma'malelek'am.\n3. NE'mkic, K'a'matsin Lake and Nimkish River.\nGentes: 1, Tsetsetloa'lak'amae. 2, TlatEl'a'min<. 3, Gyi'gyit-\nk'am. 4, Si'sintlae. 5, Ne'nelky'enoq.\n4. Tlauitsis, Cracroft and Turner Islands.\nGentes : 1, Si'sintlae. 2, NunEmasEk'alis.\nGyi'gyilk'am.\nIt remains to describe briefly their crests. Every\ntales in which the reason for their using these crests is explained. I\nshall confine myself in this place to a list of crests of the tribes of\nFort Rupert.\n1. Maa'mtakyila : Carvings : Thunder-bird, crane, grizzly bear, raven,.\nsun. Mask: Ma'takyila, sun.\n2. Kwokwa'kum: Ancestor, Tla'k'oaki'la. Posts: Grizzly bear on top\nof crane, thunder-bird, crane, sun.\n3. Gye'qsEm: Crane on top of a man's head.\n4. La'alaqsEnt'aio : Belphinus orca with man's body.\n5. SE'ntlae: Sun.\n6. Haailikyawe: Large head-ring with raven head attached to it.\nHeraldic columns: Tsono'k'oa, grizzly bear, thunder-bird; Si'siutl,\ncrane, raven.\n7. Kwokwa'kum. Ancestor, No'lis. Dancing utensil: Bear with\nbeaver tail. Post: Sea-lion. Heraldic column: Pole, man on top of it.\n8. Ha'anatlino. Mask: Man, on top of whom moon and eagle. Posts \u00C2\u00A3\nBear, thunder-bird. *est-\n3, Tletlk'et. 4,\ngens has certain 828\nREPORT\u00E2\u0080\u00941889.\n9. TsEnHk''aio. Post: TsEnHk''aio (a species of eagle). Beams: Sea-\nlion. Post: Ts'E'nHk-'ai6. Heraldic column : A little man with a thick\nbelly.\n10. Gye'qsEm. Heraldic column : Long pole, the base of which rests\non a man, on top of which stands a crane, its beak turned downward,\nand a double-headed snake (Sisiutl).\nThis very fragmentary list shows that each gens uses certain carvings\nfor certain purposes. The details of the carvings of their houses are\nprescribed by the legendary description of the house of the ancestor, and\nso are their masks and their heraldic columns. I would call attention to\nthe important fact that the dancing implements and the dances themselves\nbelong to the crest of the tribe, or, more properly speaking, to the customs\nand carvings to which the gens is entitled.\nThe distinction of what constitutes a gens and what a tribe is still\nmore difficult among the Coast Salish. Their legends are very much like\nthose of the Kwakiutl. They tell of fabulous ancestors who descended\nfrom heaven and built houses. From these a certain group of families,\nwho always inhabit one village, derive their origin. They call themselves from the place at which their village stands, or which they claim\nas their original home. Whenever they leave their home, they take\nthe name of their old village to the new place, although the name is\ngenerally a geographical one, taken from certain peculiarities of the\nlocality. For instance, the name Tsime'nes means ' where the landing\nis close by the house,' an epithet that was well adapted to their former\nvillage at the mouth of Cowitchin River, but not to their new home at\n'Chimenes. Many such instances might be enumerated. Some of these\ngentes have certain prerogatives and certain carvings, but these are of\nvery little importance when compared to those of the Kwakiutl, among\nwhom they exert a ruling influence over their whole life. The Snanai-\nmuq, for instance, have the following gentes: Te'wEtqEn, Ye'cEqEn,\nK'oltsi'owotl, Qsa'loqul, Anue'nes. Among these only the first and the\nsecond are allowed to use masks, which have the shape of beavers, ducks,\nor salmon. Each gens has its own proper names.\nI have so far stated only in a very general way that the northern\ntribes have a maternal, the southern a paternal organisation. It remains\nto give some more details on this important subject. One of the main\nfacts is, that the phratries, viz. gentes of the Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian,\nand Heiltsuk', are exogamous, not only among each tribe, but throughout\nthe whole region. A member of the eagle gens of the Heiltsuk', for instance, cannot marry a member of the eagle phratry of the Tlingit.\nThose gentes are considered identical which have the same crest. I do\nnot know whether any such law prevails in the case of marriages between\nthe Kwakiutl and Heiltsuk', which, however, seem to be of very rare\noccurrence. Neither was I able to arrive at a fully satisfactory conclusion regarding the question whether marriages inside a gens of the\nKwakiutl are absolutely prohibited, but I believe that such is the case.\nThis difficulty arises from the fact that the Kwakiutl considers\nhimself as belonging half to his mother's, half to his father's gens, while\nhe uses the crest of his wife. I do not know of a single instance of a\nKwakiutl marrying a member of his own gens. The Salish gentes, for\ninstance those of the Sk'qo^sic,, are not exogamous, but I am not quite\npositive whether this is true>, all cases.\nI do not intend in the ,>sesunt chapter to discuss the customs refer- THE NORTH-WESTERN TRIBES OF CANADA.\n82 9\narriage, and death, all of which have reference to the\njion of these tribes, and which help to gain a better under-\n.nis organisation. It will be sufficient to mention a few facts-\nom these customs which have special reference to the questions\ng. discussion.\nThe members of a gens are obliged to assist each other on every\n.ccasion, but particularly when heavy payments are to be made to other\ngentes. Instances of this kind will be found later on in the description\nof the proceedings at the occasion of the building of new houses and at\nburials. It is a very remarkable fact that the gens of the male line has\nto do certain' services at such opportunities which are not paid by the\nindividual but by the gens. Thus a gens is not permitted to touch the\nbody of one of its members; the burial is to be arranged by the gens to\nwhich the deceased's father belongs. This solidarity of the gens is principally found among the northern tribes, which are in the maternal stage.\nAmong the same tribes mothers' sisters are considered and called\nmothers, fathers' brothers, fathers, while there exist separate terms for\nmothers' brothers and fathers' sisters.\nIt is a noteworthy fact that the Heiltsuk' and the Kwakiutl, who speak\ndialects of the same language, differ fundamentally in regard to their\nsocial organisation. I am inclined to believe that the matriarchate\nof the Heiltsuk' is due to the influence of the Tsimshian, with whom\nthey have frequently intermarried, and upon whom the Heiltsuk' have.\nhad a considerable influence. But the marriage ceremonies of then\nKwakiutl seem to show that originally matriarchate prevailed also\namong them. The husband always assumes, a short time after\nmarriage, his father-in-law's name and crest, and thus becomes a\nmember of his wife's clan. From him this crest descends upon his\nchildren; the daughters retain it, but his sons, on marrying, lose it,\nadopting that of their wives. Thus the descent of the crest is practically\nin the female line, every unmarried man having his mother's crest; but\nstill we cannot call this state matriarchate proper, as the father\nis the head of the family, as he gives up his own crest for that of his\nwife. This law is carried so far that a chief who has no daughters\nmarries one of his sons to another chief's son, the latter thus acquiring\nhis crest. By this means the extinction of gentes is prevented. It seems,\nhowever, that the father's gens is not entirely given up, for the natives\n-/frequently use carvings of both gentes promiscuously, but certain parts-\nof the father's gens, to which I shall refer presently, are excluded from\nthis use. The following.instance, which came under my personal observation, will show the customs of the Kwakiutl regarding this point,\nK'omena'kula, chief of the gens Gyi'gyilk'am, of the tribe Tlatlasik'oala,\nhas the heraldic column of that gens, and the double-headed snake for\nijsjs crest. In dances he uses the latter, but chiefly the attributes of the\n/raven gens. His mother belonged to the gens NunEmasEk'alis, of the\nTlau'itsis; hence he wears the mask of that gens. He had an only\ndaughter, who, with her husband, lived with him. She died, and her\nhusband is the present owner of the heraldic column of the gens. The\nson of this daughter, at present a boy seven years of age,- is the future\ntlhief of the gens.\nhig Among the Salish there is no trace of matriarchal institutions. The\nbecW belongs to the father's gens, the eldest son inheriting his rank and\nmatte.\n808).\nCOnfin' . ffjfifa ^OL\n> to m m ^- L.-,her is \u00C2\u00ABiW,\nWl 830\nREPORT\u00E2\u0080\u00941889.\nClosely connected with the gentes of the Kwakiutt\nsocieties, each of which has certain characteristic dancx\nThey are obtained by marriage in the same way in wn.\nis obtained. There is, however, one restriction to the ac\nthe right to become a member of the secret society. The pei.\nis to acquire it must be declared worthy by the tribe assembled\ncouncil. Not until this is done is the man allowed to marry the g;v\nfrom whose father the right of being initiated is to be acquired. This i..\neven true regarding the 'medicine men.' The emblems of these secret\nsocieties are rings of red cedar-bark, of various designs. The connection\nof the gentes and these institutions may be seen from the legend 'Heli-\nkilikila and Lotlemak'a,' which was told on p. 825.x\nAlthough a few of the tribes inhabiting the country adjoining that of\nthe Kwakiutl have secret societies of the same character among them\nthey are in no way connected with the gens. This fact, as well as the\ndifference in the character of the legends of the gentes, proves that the\nsocial organisation of these groups of tribes is of entirely different\norigin. The southern groups derive their origin from a fabulous ancestor who is either himself the totem or to whose adventures the\ntotem refers. The first is the case in the gens Si'sintlae, which derives its^\noriginfrom the sun,Ts'E'nts'EnHk''aio of the Walaskwakintl, which derives\nits origin from the eagle, and others. In the majority of cases the crest\nrefers to adventures of the ancestor. In the northern groups we observe\na, pure animal totem, but the animal is not considered the ancestor of\nthe gens bearing its name. The crest always refers to adventures of one\n\u00E2\u0096\u00A0of the ancestors.\nGovernment and Law.\nThe people of this country are divided into three classes: common\npeople, middle class, and chiefs. While the last form a group by themselves, the members of the class forming the highest nobility, children of\nmiddle-class people are born common people, and remain so until they\nbecome members of a secret society, or give a great feast and take a name.\nAll along the coast the giving away of presents is considered a means\nof attaining social distinction. The chief has numerous prerogatives,\nalthough his'influence upon the members of the tribe is comparatively\nsmall. I am best acquainted with his claims among the Tsimshian, but\nit seems probable that these institutions are much alike among the\nvarious peoples. He has to carry out the decisions of the council; mora\nparticularly, he has to declare peace and war. His opinion must be asked\nby the tribe in all important events. He decides when the winter village\nis to be left, when the fishing begins, &c. The first fish, the first berriesJ\n&c. are given to him. It is his duty to begin all dances. He mustb^\ninvited to all festivities, and when the first whistles are blown in winte\nindicating the beginning of the dancing season, he receives a certain\ntribute. People of low rank must not step up directly to a chief, whose\nseat is in the rear of the house, but must approach him going along th<\nwalls of the house.\nall Tsimshian chiefs is the one of til\nHis name is invariably LEgi'eq. He is consider.\n1 See the author's paper on ' The use of masks on the North-West Coa\nAmerica,' in Internationales Archivfilr Ethnographie, 1888. afer-\nU-\nThe highest in rank among\nGyispaqla'ots tribe. ON THE NORTH-WESTERN TRIBES OF CANADA.\n831\nthe noblest, because a number of secret societies are only permitted to/his\nfamily and tribe. This is accounted for by the fact that these secret\nsocieties were acquired by marriage from the Gyit'ama't. Tradition says\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094and it is undoubtedly correct\u00E2\u0080\u0094that a woman of the Gyispaqla'ots/tribe\neloped with a Gyit'ama't chief, to whose gens these dances belonged./After\nher return the woman was given the name G''amdema'qtl (= only in\neloping ascending mountain). The name LEgi'eq is a Gyit'amait name.\nIt is a privilege of the Gyispaqlaots to trade with the Gyitksa'n; and they\nkept up this privilege successfully even against the Hudson Bay/Company\nuntil the latter purchased it from them in 1886. The Gyit'Erida chiefs\nare relatives of those of the Gyispaqla'ots. They share their privileges,\nand bear the same names, the one LEgi'eq excepted.\nThe Gyitqa'tla are considered higher in rank than any other of the\ntribes of the Tsimshian proper. They have the same secret societies\nwhich the Gyispaqla'ots and Git'Enda' have. They acquired them through\nintermarriage from the Gyitlo'p and Heiltsuk'. Only quite recently the\nHaida acquired them from the Gyitqa'tla.\nThe Gyits'umra'lon are not of Tsimshian origin. Six generations (that\nis, about 150 years) ago a number of Tongas (Tlingit), men and women,\nemigrated from Alaska in consequence of continued wars, and settled on\nthe brook of Gyits'umra'lon. They married a number of Tsimshian womer\nand men, among whom the names Rataqa'q and Astoe'ne are mentioned\nFor a considerable time they continued to speak Tlingit, but finally were\nassimilated by the Tsimshian. Their descendants are still called Gunho'ot\n(runaways).\nIt is becoming to a chief to be proud and to leave his memory to his\ndescendants. Therefore the LEgi'eq, who ruled 150 years ago (the sixth\nback), had his figure painted on a vertical precipice on Nass River. A\nseries of coppers is standing under his figure. Since that time the place\nis called WulgyilEgstqald'amptk (where self on written).\nSeven generations ago Neswiba'sk (grandfather great wind), a chief\nat Meqtlak'qa'tla, had his figure carved on a rock on an island near\nMeqtlak'qa'tla. He lay down, had his outline marked, and the carving\ncompleted in a single night.\nThe Gyitg'a'ata of Grenville Channel are subjects of the chief of the\nGyitwulgya'ts. They have to pay a tribute of fish, oil, berries, and skim\nevery year. The Gyitla'op are subjects of the chief of the Gyitqa'tla.\nWhen a chief dies the chieftaincy devolves upon his younger brother,\nthen upon his nephew, and, if there is none, upon his niece. Only, if a\nchief's family dies out the head man of his crest can become chief. This\nis the only case in which a middle-class man can advance to the rank of\na chief. The chief's property, as well as that of others, is inherited first\nby the nephews; if there are none, then by the deceased's mother or aunt.\nA woman's property is inherited by her children.\nThere are very few common people, for whoever can afford it lets his\nchild enter a secret society immediately after birth, by proxy. The child\nthus becomes a middle-class man. The more feasts are given by him tin\nhigher becomes his rank, but no member of the middle class can evei\nbecome a member of the chief class. The chief's daughter on reaching\nmaturity must grind down her teeth by chewing a pebble of jade (see p.\n808). So far as I know, this is the only deformation of the body which is\nconfined to one class only. /^\nWhen a. familv is liable to *\nt.\n\" xx\" father is\njer.\n~0 fljjrm hr^.\nto fl\u00C2\u00ABV\"+, OTI'\n,n\nh\n!L- -830\nT}T7T>o\"RT_\n-1889.\n832\nREPORT\u00E2\u0080\u00941889.\n\u00E2\u0080\u00A2 *a-\nof his daughters, who then receives a name belonging to his crest. On\nthis occasion a great festival is given. A man cannot adopt more than\none child at a time.\nThe council is composed of middle-class men. Nobody who has not\ntaken a name, or who is not a member of a secret society, is allowed to\ntake part in it. The mother's brother represents his nephews. A woman\nis only admitted if she is the head of a family.\nThe council decides all important questions concerning the tribe, and\nis the court which judges criminals. Those who are found guilty of sorcery are tied up and placed at the edge of low water, and are left there\nto be drowned. According to legends, such people were frequently left\nalone in the winter village to starve to death. If a man does not observe\nthe prescribed rules during dances he is tied and brought before the\ncouncil. If nobody speaks in his favour he is killed, else he is punished\nby being made a slave, or by heavy payments. All crimes can be atoned\nfor by sufficient payments. If such are not made it is the duty of the\nnearest relatives to take revenge.\nThe coast tribes have always been great traders, and they had a certain currency. Dentalia, skins, and slaves were standards of value. For\nless valuable property marmot-skins sewed together served as currency.\nThe Tsimshian used to exchange olachen oil and carvings of mountain-\nToat horn for canoes. The Chitlk'at sold their beautiful blankets; the\nHeiltsuk*, canoes; while the southern tribes furnished principally slaves.\nThe latter were in every respect the property of their masters, who\nwere allowed to kill them, to sell them, or to give them their liberty.\nChildren of slaves were also slaves.\nStrangers are always received kindly and with much ceremony.\nAmong the tribes who still adhere to their old customs they are offered\nthe host's daughter while they remain.\nSo far as I am aware, the institutions of the Haida, Tlingit, and Heiltsuk' are much the same as those described here. I did not learn any\ndetails,' as I did not visit these tribes in- their homes.\nThe following observations hold good for the Kwakiutl and Coast\nSalish, as well as for the northern group of tribes. Polygamy is not\nof rare occurrence, although generally each man has only one wife. The\nfirst wife is of higher rank than those married at a later date. Women\nmust not take part in the councils and feasts, except when they are heads\nof families (or, among the Kwakiutl, chiefs daughters) ; but the husband\ntakes home from the feast a dish of all the various kinds of food that\nwere served. The dish must be returned the same night.\nThe principal work of the women is gathering berries and clams,\ndrying fish, and preparing the meals. They weave mats, blankets, and\nhats. The men, on the other hand, hunt and fish, they fetch fuel\u00E2\u0080\u0094if\nlarge logs are wanted\u00E2\u0080\u0094and build houses and canoes. They also make the\ncarvings and paintings.\nThe property of the whole gens is vested in the chief, who considers\nthe salmon rivers, berry patches, and coast strips, in which the gens has\nthe sole right, as his property. Houses belong to the man who erected\nthe framework. They are always inhabited by members of one gens.\nCanoes, fishing-gear, &c. are personal property. Women own boxes,\ndishes, and other household goods.\nThe Kwakiutl.\u00E2\u0080\u0094As among these tribes paternal institutions take the ON THE NORTH-WESTERN TRIBES OF CANADA.\n833\nto the northern group of tribes. If such is possible, the rank of each\nman is here still more exactly fixed than among their neighbours. The\nrank is determined by the gens to which a man belongs, by the feasts he\nhas given, and by the secret societies to which he belongs. In the list\nof gentes on page 827 I have enumerated the Kwakiutl gentes according\nto their social standing. In great festivals celebrated for the purpose of\nacquiring rank by giving away property, the noblest guests sit in the\nrear part of the house, nearest the fire, and the lower in rank the farther\nback they sit. When only one row is formed those lowest in rank sit\nnearest the door.\nThe affairs of the whole tribe are discussed in council, in which only\nmen participate. Before the opening of the discussion four songs are\nsung and four courses are served. Then the public affairs are discussed\nin long and elaborate speeches, delivered principally by the chiefs. In\ntime of peace there is no chief who has acknowledged authority over the\nwhole tribe, but each gens has its own chief. A certain superiority of\nsocial standing is acknowledged in those who have given a great donation\nfeast. In times of war a war chief is elected.\nThe chief represents his gens, and carries out the decision of the\ncouncil. Except on delivering speeches, he does not speak to people of\nlow rank, but converses with them through messengers.\nXf a single person is offended, the gentes of both his father and mother\nare obliged to come to his help. Thus the long war between the Coast\nSalish and Lekwiltok originated. Formerly these wars were of so\nfrequent occurrence that the villages all along the coast were protected\nby stockades.\nThe institutions of the Coast Salish and of the Kwakiutl are pretty\nmuch the same, except that the former have a pure patriarchate, and the\nchild inherits his father's rank and property.\nAmong the Sk'qo'mic, for instance, the chieftaincy devolves upon the\nchief's son. If there is only a daughter his grandson is the successor.\nIf there are no children a new chief is elected from among his gens. If\nthe successor is a young boy a representative is. elected who acts as chief\nnmtil the boy is grown up and has assumed a name. If a man dies his\nwife inherits all the property and keeps it until her children are grown\n(up. After the death of the husband she gives a potlatch to his memory.\nAmong all the tribes heretofore described each gens owns a certain\n[district and certain fishing privileges. Among the Tlingit, Haida, and\nTsimshian each gens in each village has its own fishing-ground; its\nmountains and valleys, on which it has the sole right of hunting and\npicking berries; its rivers in which to fish salmon, and its house-sites.\nFor this reason the houses of one gens are always grouped together. I\ndo not know of any tradition which accounts for this fact, or of any other\n[foundation of their claim. The Kwakiutl, who have the same distribution of land among the various gentes, account for this fact by saying\nthat the ancestor of each gens descended from heaven to the particular\nregion now owned by his descendants. Later on K'anikilak', the son of\nthe- deity (see p. 826), in his wanderings encountered these ancestors,\nand gave them the couTriry they inhabited as their property, filling at\n\he same time their rij pa with salmon. The Coast Salish derive their\nClaims to certain tracts vf land in the same way from the fact that the\nIncestor of each gens c^ime down to a certain place, or that he settled\njhere after the great flool. The right of a gens to the place where it\n1889. 3h\n111 834\nREPORT\u00E2\u0080\u00941889.\nL\noriginated cannot be destroyed. It may acquire by war or by other I\nevents territory originally belonging to foreign tribes, and leave its home j\nto be taken up by others; the right of fishing, hunting, and gathering]\nberries in their old home is rigidly maintained. A careful study shows\u00E2\u0096\u00A0\nthat nowhere the tribe as a body politic owns a district, but that each\ngens has its proper hunting and fishing grounds, upon which neither\nmembers of other tribes nor of other gentes must intrude except by\nspecial permission. It would be an interesting and important object of).\nstudy to inquire into the territorial rights of each gens, for such a study '\nwould undoubtedly throw much light upon the ancient history of these'\npeoples. These rigid laws in regard to the holding of land by the gentes.\nare very important in the past history of the Indians of British Columbia,r\"\nand are of prime importance in their present relations to the whiteL\nsettlers.\nOne of the most complicated and interesting institutions of these \\ntribes is the so-called potlatch\u00E2\u0080\u0094the custom of paying debts and of ]\nacquiring distinction by means of giving a great feast and making\npresents to all guests. It is somewhat difficult to understand the\nmeaning of the potlatch. I should compare its most simple form to our ji\ncustom of invitation or making presents and the obligations arising\nfrom the offering, not from the acceptance, of such invitations and\npresents. Indeed, the system is almost exactly analogous, with the sole\nexception that the Indian is more anxious to outdo the first giver than\nthe civilised European, who, however, has the same tendency, and that j\nwhat is custom with us is law to the Indian. Thus by continued pot-\nlatches each man becomes necessarily the debtor of the other. According\nto Indian ideas any moral or material harm done to a man can be made\ngood by an adequate potlatch. Thus if a man was ridiculed by another \\nhe gives away a number of blankets to his friends, and thus regains his\nformer standing. I remember, for instance, that the grandson of a chief\nin Hope Island by unskilful management of his little canoe was upset\nnear the beach and had to wade ashore. The grandfather felt ashamed\non account of the boy's accident, and gave away blankets to take away\nthe occasion of remarks on this subject In the same way a man whd\nfeels injured by another will destroy a certain amount of property ; then\nhis adversary is compelled to do the same, else a stain of dishonour\nwould rest upon him. This custom may be compared to a case when a\nmember of civilised society gives away to no good purpose a considerable)\namount of money ostentatiously in order to show his superiority over a'\ndetested neighbour. I adduce these comparisons to show that the custom]\nis not so difficult to understand, and is founded on psychical causes as!\nactive in our civilised society as among the barbarous natives of British\nColumbia. A remarkable feature of the potlatch is the custom of giving\nfeasts going beyond the host's means. The procedure at such occasions\nis also exactly regulated. The foundation of this custom is the solidarity\nof the individual and the gens, or even the tribe, to which he belongs.\nIf an individual gains social distinction his gens participates in it. If he\nloses in respect the stain rests also on the gens. Therefore the gens\ncontributes to the payments to be made at a\" festival. If the feast isf\ngiven to foreign tribes the whole tribe contrib' tes to these payments;\nThe method by which this is done has beer, well set forth by Dr[\nG. M. Dawson (' Trans. Roy. Soc. Can.' 1887, page 80). The man whc\nintends to give the potlatch first borrows as many blankets as he needt ON THE NORTH-WESTERN TRIBES OF CANADA.\n835\nfrom both his friends and from those whom he is going to invito to the\nfeast. Everyone lends him as many as he can afford, i.e. according to\nhis rank. At the feast these are given away, each man receiving the\nmore the higher his rank is. All those who have received anything at\nthe potlatch have to repay the double amount at a later day, and this is\nused to repay those who lent blankets. At each such feast the man who\ngives it acquires a new and more honourable name.\nAmong the Snanaimuq I observed the following customs : The chief's\nson adopts, some time after his father's death, the latter's name. For this\npurpose he invites all the neighbouring tribes to a potlatch. The Snanaimuq have a permanent scaffold erected in front of their houses, on\nwhich the chief stands during the potlatch, assisted by two slaves, who\ndistribute the presents he gives away among his guests, who stand and sit\nin the street. As it is necessary to give a great festival at the assumption\nof the chief's name, the new chief continues sometimes for years and years\nto accumulate wealth for the purpose of celebrating this event. At the\nfestival his father's name is given him by four chiefs of foreign tribes.\nI will give here some details on the wars of this tribe. The warriors\nwere thoroughly trained. They were not allowed to eat while on the warpath. Before setting out on such an expedition they painted their faces\nred. When near the village they intended to attack, the party divided\none half hid in the woods behind the village, while the others watched\nin their canoes. When the latter gave a sign both parties attacked the\nvillage. When successful, the men were killed, the women and children\ncarried off as slaves. The heads of the slain were cut off, taken home, and\nplanted on poles in front of the houses.\nIt may be of interest to hear the history of one of these wars that\nraged for many years about the middle of this century as told by a chief\nof the Snanaimuq. K'oa'Elitc, a chief of the Si'ciatl, had a daughter, who\nwas the wife of a chief of the Snanaimuq. Once upon a time the former\ntribe was attacked by the Le'kwiltok', and many men had been killed.\nThen Koa'Elitc sent to the chief of the Snanaimuq and called upon him\nfor help. They- set out jointly and met the Le'kwiltok' at Qu'sam\n\u00E2\u0080\u00A2(Salmon River). In the ensuing struggle the Si'ciatl and Snanaimuq\nwere victorious, but many of their warriors were killed. They brought\nhome many heads of their enemies. The friends of the Snanaimuq, however, were sad when they heard of the death of so many of their friends,\nand they resolved to take revenge. They all, the Pena'leqats, T'a'tEkE,\nYeqo'laos, Qela'ltq, CEk'Eme'n, Snono'os, Snanaimuq, and Si'ciatl,\ngathered and made war upon the Le'kwiltok\". Another battle was fought\nat Qu'sam, in which the Le'kwiltok' were utterly defeated, and in which\nmany slaves were captured. Now the Le'kwiltok' called upon their\nnorthern neighbours for help. They were greatly reduced in numbers ;\nof the Tlaa'luis only three were left. Then these tribes went south to\ntake revenge, and in a number of battles fought with the southern tribes,\nwho had meanwhile been joined by the tribes of Puget Sound. While the\nwar was thus raging with alternating success, part of the tribes on Vancouver Island had removed to the upper part of Cowitchin River, others\nto Nanaimo River, still others to the mainland. Posts were continually\nmaintained to keep the tribes informed of movements of the Le'kwiltok*\nand their allies. Once they had unexpectedly made an expedition southward before the tribes were able to gather. They had gone past Fraser\nRiver to Puget Sound and had massacred the tribes of that region.\n3 h 2 836\nREPORT\u00E2\u0080\u00941889.\nMeanwhile those assembled on Cowitchin River had sent word to the tribes\nof Fraser River and summoned them to come to the island. They told them\nto pass through Cowitchin Gap and to look on the shallow beach on the\nnorth side of that channel for a signal. They obeyed. Meanwhile all the\ntribes on the island had assembled and determined to await the return of\nthe Le'kwiltok' in Maple Bay. To indicate this they erected a pole,\nsprinkled with the blood of a blue jay, at the beach in Cowitchin Gap, and\nmade it point towards Maple Bay. Thus they all assembled. Early one\nmorning they heard the Le'kwiltok* coming. They sang songs of victory.\nUnexpectedly they were attacked. Almost all of them were slaughtered,\ntheir canoes sunk, and women and children enslaved. A few reached the\nshore, but were starved near Comox. This was the last great battle of the\nwar. The narrator's father made peace with the northern tribes. He\nwas the first to settle again on Gabriola Island. He emancipated his\nslaves. When peace was made the chiefs made their peoples intermarry.\nI have no observations to offer on the government or laws of the\nKutona'qa, except that usually the chief is succeeded by his son. If the\nlatter is not considered worthy the new chief is elected from among his\nfamily.\nCustoms regarding Birth, Marriage, and Death.\nKrause gives the following reports of the customs of the Tlingit observed\nat the birth of a child. He says that, according to Kemiaminow, the women\nare assisted by midwives. After the child is born the young mother has\nto remain for ten days in a small hut, which is erected for this purpose,\nand in which the child was born. The new-born infant is washed with\ncold fresh water and kept in a cradle filled with moss. It is not given\nthe breast until all the contents of its stomach (which are considered\nthe cause of disease) are removed by vomiting, which is promoted by\npressing the stomach. A month after birth the mother is said to leave\nher hut for the first time; then she washes her child and puts on new\nclothing. For five days after birth the mother does not partake of any\nfood, but drinks a little lukewarm water.\nAmong the Tsimshian I observed the following customs : A woman\nwho is with child is not allowed to eat tails of salmon, as else the confinement would be hard. She must rise early in the morning and leave the\nhouse before any of the other inhabitants leave it. Before the child is\nborn the father must stay outside his house, and must wear ragged clothing. After the child is born he must abstain from eating any fat food,\nparticularly porcupine, seal, and whale. The mother is confined in a\nsmall house or in a separate room.\nNumerous ceremonies must be observed when girls reach maturity.\nWhen about thirteen or fourteen years old they begin to practise fasting,\neating in the afternoon only, as a very severe fasting is prescribed at the\ntime when they reach maturity. It is believed that if they had any food\nin their stomachs at this time they would have bad luck in all future.\nThey must remain alone and unseen in their room or in a porch for ten\ndays, and abstain from food and drink. For four days they are not even\nallowed a drop of water. For a fortaight the girl is not permitted to chew\nher own food. If she desires to have two or three boys when married,\ntwo or three men chew her food for her ; in tUe other case, two or three I ON THE NORTH-WESTERN TRIBES OF CANADA.\n837\nwomen. At the end of this fasting they are covered with mats and held\nover a fire. It is believed that by this ceremony her children are made to\nbe healthy; if it were omitted they would die, even if they grow up to be\na few years old. The girl is not allowed to look at fresh salmon and\nolachen for a whole year, and has to abstain from eating it. Her head is\nalways covered with a small mat, and she must not look at men. She\nmust not lie down, but always sit, propped up between boxes and mats.\nHer mother's clan give a great feast and many presents to her father's\nclan. At this feast her ears are perforated, and she is given ear-ornaments. When a chief's daughter- reaches maturity she is given a jade\npebble, which she must bite until her teeth are completely worn down in\nthe middle. When the festival was held slaves were often given away or\nkilled.\nI will mention in this place that women when drinking for the first\ntime after marriage must turn their cup four times in the same direction\nin which the sun is moving, and drink very little only. The perforation\nof the ears is repeated at later occasions, and every time a new hole is\nmade a new festival is celebrated.\nAfter a death has occurred, the relatives of the deceased have their\nhair cut short and their faces blackened. They cover their heads with\nragged and soiled mats, and go four times around the body singing\nmourning songs. They must speak but little, confining themselves to\nanswering questions, as it is believed that they would else become\nchatterboxes. Until the body is buried they must fast, eating only a very\nlittle at night. Women of the gentes to which the deceased did not\nbelong act as wailers, and are paid for their work, the whole gens of the\ndeceased contributing to the payment. In wailing the women must\nkeep their eyes closed. The gens to which the deceased person's father\nbelongs must bury him. The body lies in state for a number of days.\nIt is washed immediately after death, placed upright and painted with\nthe crest of the gens of the dead person. His dancing ornaments and\nweapons are placed by his side. Then the body is put into a box which\nis tied up with lines made of elk-skins. These are furnished by the gens\nof the deceased, and kept as a payment by the other gens. The bodies,\nexcept those of shamans, are burnt. The box is placed on the funeral\npile, the lines of elk-skin are taken off and kept by the father's gens. A\nhole is cut into the bottom of the box and the pile is lighted. Before all\nis burnt the heart is taken out of the body and buried. It is believed\nthat if it were burnt, all relations of the deceased would die. The father's\ngens, besides receiving the lines, is paid with marmot-skins and blankets.\nThe nearest relations mourn for a whole year. Some time after the\nburial a memorial post is erected and a memorial festival celebrated. If\nmany members of one family die in quick succession, the survivors lay\ntheir fourth fingers on the edge of the box in which the corpse is deposited\nand cut off the first joint ' to cut off the deaths ' (gyidig*'ots). The\nbodies of shamans are buried in caves or in the woods. These customs\nare common to the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian.\nBilqula.\u00E2\u0080\u0094Among the Bilqula I noted the following customs: They\nhave professional midwives to assist the woman, who is delivered in a\nsmall house built for this purpose. The child is washed in warm water.\nThe mother must remain for ten days in h ?r room. Father and mother\n\"Nm\n[are not allowed to go near the river for\ntake offence.\na year, else the salmon would\nm 838\nREPORT\u00E2\u0080\u00941889.\nGirls when reaching maturity must stay in their bedroom, where they\nhave a fireplace of their own. They are not\" allowed to descend to the\nfloor, and do not sit by the fire of the family. After a while they may\nleave their room, but only through a hole cut in the floor (the houses-\nstanding on piles), through which they must also enter. They are\nallowed to pick berries, but for a whole year they must not come near\nthe river or the sea. They must not drink more than is absolutely\nnecessary. They must not eat salmon of the season, else they would\nlose their senses, or their mouths would be transformed into long beaks.\nThey must not eat snow, which is much liked by the Indians, nor must\nthey chew gum.\nKwakiutl.\u00E2\u0080\u0094There are the same restrictions regarding the place in\nwhich women are confined and regarding the food of girls reaching\nmaturity. The marriage customs are of peculiar interest on account of\nthe transition from maternal to paternal institutions that may be observed\nhere. If a young man wishes to marry a girl, he must send messengers\nto the girl's father and ask his permission. If the father accepts the\nsuitor, he may demand fifty or more blankets, according to his rank, to\nbe paid at once. He demands double that number to be paid after three\nmonths. After this second payment has been made, the young man is\nallowed to live with his wife in his father-in-law's house. When he goes\nto live there the young man gives a feast to the whole tribe, without\ngiving away any blankets, and receives from his father-in-law fifty blankets\nor more. At the same time his father-in-law states when he intends to\nrefund the rest. During the feast, in which the young wife takes part,\nshe tells her father that her husband wishes to have his carvings and\ndances. Her father is obliged to give them to him, and promises to do so\nat a future occasion. After three months more the young man pays his\nfather-in-law 100 blankets to gain permission to take his wife to his\nown home. The blankets which he has given to his father-in-law are\nrepaid by the latter with interest. At the appointed time the woman's\nfather gives a great feast to the whole tribe. He steps forward carrying\nhis copper, the emblem of richness and power, and hands it to his son-in-\nlaw, thus giving him his name, carvings, and dances. Tlje young man\nhas to give blankets to every guest attending the feast; the nobler the\nguest is, the more blankets he receives.\nThe dowry of the bride consists of bracelets made of beaver-toes and\ncopper; so-called ' button-blankets,' copper-plates, and the gyi'serstal.\nThe last is a heavy board shaped like one of the lids of Indian boxes.\nIts front is set with sea-otter teeth. It is said to represent the human\nlower jaw, and I was told that it indicates the right of the husband to\ncommand his wife to speak or to be silent as he may desire.\nThe bride receives her boxes and other household goods from her\nparents. After the marriage she makes presents of dishes, spoons, trays,\nand similar objects to the whole tribe in behalf of her husband, in order to\nshow his liberality. If the woman should intend to separate from her\nhusband, and to return to her parents, her father must repay twofold all\nhe has received from his son-in-law. If there should be a child, he has\nto repay him threefold. This third part becomes the property of the\nchild. Frequently this is. only a sham divorce, entered into to give an\nopportunity to the father-in-law to show his liberality and wealth. As\nsoon as he has paid the husband, the latter repurchases his wife. I was ON THE NORTH-WESTERN TRIBES OF CANAD4..\nFig. 3.\nThe\ntold that the -gyi'serstdl is not used by the Le'kwiltok'. It is certainly not\nknown to the Coast Salish.\nAmong the Tlatlasik'oala and Awiky'e'nok' the gens of the young man\ngo out to meet his bride. They connect four boats by long boards and perform a dance on this platform. The dance is called la'tiaU by\nthe Tlatlasik'oala. Among the Awiky'e'nok another dance is performed, in which a woman has the chief part. She carries a\ncarved piece of wood about a foot and a half long, of the shape\nshown by the figure, and set with haliotis shells. Besides her,\nfour masked dancers take part in the dance. They are called\nWinoque'lak', Yaiaua'lak'ame, Aiquma'lakila, and Yaiawino'akisla.\nUnfortunately I was unable to understand the meaning of their\ndance.\ndead are put into boxes and buried either in a separate burial \\nground or deposited in the higher branches of trees. The tribes living at\nthe northern end of Vancouver Island have separate burial grounds for\nehiefs and^for common or middle-class people. The box containing the\nbody is placed in a small house similar to those of the Tlingit and Haida.\nThe house is covered with blankets,, and strips of blanket are fastened to\npoles erected near the grave or to lines drawn from one tree to the other.\nMemorial columns, showing the crest of the tribe, are erected near the\ngraves. Large spoons are placed alongside the houses, and are filled with\nfood when the body is buried. At the same time food is burnt on the\nbeach. If the body is hung up in a tree, the lower branches are carefully\nremoved to make it inaccessible. Sometimes chiefs are buried in canoes.\nThe Koskimo frequently bury their dead in a cave. The graveyards\nare generally situated on small islands or grounds near the village, and\nare one of the most remarkable sights on the coast, on account of the\ngreat display of colours and carvings.\nThe regulations referring to the mourning period are very severe.\nIn case of the death of husband or wife, the survivor has to observe the\nfollowing rules: For four day s after the death the survivor must sit\nmotionless, the knees drawn up toward the chin. On the third day all\nthe inhabitants of the village, including children, must take a bath. On\nthe fourth day some water is heated in a wooden kettle, and the widow\nor widower drips it upon his head. When he becomes tired of sitting\nmotionless, and must move, he thinks of his enemy, stretches his legs\nslowly four times, and draws them up again. Then his enemy must die.\nDuring the following sixteen days he must remain on the same spot, but\nhe may stretch out his legs. He is not allowed, however, to move his\nhands. Nobody must speak to him, and whosoever disobeys this command\nwill be punished by the death of one of his relatives. Every fourth day\nhe takes a bath. He is fed twice a day by an old woman at the time of\nlow water, with salmon caught in the preceding year, and given to him\nin the dishes and spoons of the deceased. While sitting so his mind is\nwandering to and fro. He sees his house and his friends as though far,\nfar away. If in his visions he sees a man near by, the latter is sure to\ndie at no distant day; if he sees him very far away, he will continue to\nI live long. After the sixteen days have passed, he may lie down, but not\n\ stretch out. He takes a bath every eighth day. At the end of the first\nmonth he takes off his clothing, and dresses the stump of a tree with it.\nAfter another month has passed he may sit in a corner of the house, but\nfor four months he must not mingle with others. He must not use the 840\nREPORT 1889.\nN>\nhouse-door, but a separate door is cut for his use. Before he leaves the\nhouse for th\u00C2\u00AB first time he must three times approach the door and return,\nthen he may leave the house. After ten months his hair is cut short,\nand after si year the mourning is at an end. At present the Indians\nabstain, during the mourning, from the use of European implements.\nFood- is burned for the dead on the beach, sometimes in great quantities, wuich is intended to serve for their food. The mourners wail every\nmorning on the beach, facing the grave. The women scratch their faces\nwith/their nails, and cut them with knives and shells.\nAfter the chief's death a great feast is celebrated, in which the son\nadopts his father's name. At first mourning songs are sung, in which\nsjtones are used instead of sticks for beating time. Then the whistle\nTs'e'koityala is heard, which ends their mourning and restores happiness\nto their minds. After a while the chief's son enters, carrying his copper\nplate, and, assuming his father's name, becomes the new chief.\nCoast Salish.\nI am best acquainted with the customs of the Snanaimuq, which are\nprobably almost identical with those of the other tribes of this group, the\nCatlo'ltq excepted, whose customs are more alike to those of the Kwakiutl\nthan to those of the other Coast Salish.\nIt is the custom of the Snanaimuq that, if a woman is to be\ndelivered, all the women are invited to come, and to rub cedar-bark,\nwhich is used for washing and bedding the babe. Two women, the\nwives of chiefs, wash the' new-born babe. All those who do any work on\nbehalf of the mother or child are paid with pieces of a mountain-goat\nblanket. The mother must not eat anything but dried salmon, and is\nnot allowed to go down to the river. The children are not named until\nthey are several years old. Then all the gentes of the tribe are invited,\nand at the ensuing festival the child receives the name of his grandfather\nor that of another old member of the gens. Names once given are not\nchanged, except when that of a chief is assumed by his son.\nThe man who wants to marry a girl goes into the house of her\nparents, and sits down, without speaking a word, close by the door.\nThere he sits four days, without eating any food. For three days the\ngirl's parents abuse him in every way, but on the fourth day they feign\nto be moved by his perseverance, and the girl's mother gives him a mat\nto sit on. In the evening of the fourth day the girl's parents call on the\nchief of the gens, and request his wife to invite the young man to sit\ndown near the fire. Then he knows that the parents will give their\nconsent to the marriage. A meal is cooked ; some food is served to the\nyoung man, and some is sent to his parents in order to advise them of\nthe consent of the girl's family. The latter; on receiving the food, accept;\nit, and turn at once to cooking a meal. They fill the empty dishes in\nwhich the food was sent, and return them to the girl's parents. Then j\nboth families give jointly a great feast. The young man's parents load\ntheir boat with mountain-goat blankets and other valuable presents, and\nleave the landing-place of their house and land at that of the bride's\nhouse. They are accompanied by the members of their gens. Meanwhile the bride's gens has assembled in her house. The chiefs of the\ngroom's gens deliver the presents to the bride's parents, making a long\nand elaborate speech. In return, the bride's parents present these chiefs\n(e\ny\nes\nre\nr\nr\ns.\nr\nn\nVI ON THE NORTH-WESTERN TRIBES OF CANAD/\nwith a few blankets, which are handed to them by the c.\ngens. Then the groom's gens is invited to partake in a\nAfter these ceremonies are ended, the young man and his gen\nthe boat, and stay for a few hours on the water. Meanwhile tL\nintrusted to the care of the highest chief of her gens, who take,\nthe hand, carrying a rattle elaborately carved, of mountain-goat h\nthe other. Besides this, he carries a mat for the bride to sit on.\nthe highest chief of the other gens takes her from the hands ot\nformer, and leads her into the boat. The presents given by the pare\nof the young man are restored, later on, in the same proportion by ti.\nbride's parents.\nWhile these formal ceremonies are always observed when both parties\nare of high rank, in other cases, if both parents are of the same rank, the\nmarriage is sometimes celebrated only by a feast and by a payment of\nthe value of about forty blankets to the bride's parents by those of the\ngroom. These are also restored later on.\nIf the families are of different social standing, the whole gens of those\nparents who are of higher rank may go to the young couple and recover\nthe husband or wife, as the case may be. This is considered a divorce.\nOr the chiefs of the offended gens summon a council, and the case is\nsettled by a payment of blankets.\nThe following funeral customs are practised by the Snanaimuq. The\nface of the deceased is painted with red and black paint. The corpse is\nput in a box, which is placed on four posts about five feet above the\nground. In rare instances only the boxes are fastened in the tops of\ntrees, which are made inaccessible by cutting off the lower branches.\nMembers of a gens are placed near each other, near relatives sometimes\nin a small house, in which the boxes are enclosed. A chief's body is put\nin a carved box, and the front posts supporting his coffin are carved.\nHis mask is placed between these posts. The graves of great warriors\nare marked by a statue representing a warrior with a war-club. There is\nnothing to distinguish a shaman's grave from that of an ordinary man.\nThe mourners must move very slowly. They are not allowed to come\nnear the water and eat the heads of salmon. They must cook and eat\nalone, and not \u00C2\u00A3