New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1873-06-15

of shells which must be paid as blood
money, in case of murder
I There is war chief, and peace chief o.
medicine man, besides great number o
petty local mead men, whom the two lead
ers keep well in hand. One Of the principa
functions OF the medicine man is TO ''givt
the people a good heart" which he doe!
through the instrumentality OF speech
sometimes protracted to a length Of twt
hours He has a repeater, who repeats
every sentence after him, though he speaks
with sufficient iOudness to be heard.
| AS these Indians are drawer and more
despOtlc than their southern neiGhb0rs, sc
they are more vrtuous-or were-in theil
native state. It was primitive custom
| among them to destroy any woman who had
commerce with a foreigner; which can be
affirmed Of only TWO or three tribes in Cali
| tOrnia.
| Polygamy il tolerated, and the women
baye not SO much influence as among the
Shasteeeas, though they POSSESS consider
able. They participate freely in ali the
war dances, and other Spartan exercises;
they have the most OF the medical practice,
| and they conduct. in person, neary all the
quaIrels or fights which arise out of JeaI-
Ousy or pOlygamic discord. In all that re-
la.es 10 medicine, midwifery, bathing, etc,
they are notably modest Whole family
sometimes enjoy sweat-bath together, in
]
but it IS conducted with perfect propriety.
The Modocs enjoy privilege which must
render Them the envy Of civilized men;
and that is, the privilege Of killing their
mOthers-in-law. To prevent misapprehen-
sion, it is necessary to say that this is not
COMMON practice, but if an Indian re-
sorts to it his liberty is nowise curtailed
nor his character sullied. A widow inher-
| lts no property from her deceased husband,
merely retaining the baskets and personal
ornaments which she lad herself made;
and il any Of his property is left unburned
1t Is divided among his relatives. So reli-
giously do they destroy the possessions Of
the dead, that, some years ago, when an
American named More, who had consorted
with Kuckaluc woman, died, they burned
| up large quantity OF fence rails he had
lately split. To the bsckwooGsmen this
seemed gratuitous, as rails cost good deal
| OF hard work
The dead are buried in a recnmbe pos
ture, and the relatives dance in a wailing
circle, around the open grave. pile Of
stones, or tent, is erected over it, to pre-
vent wild animals from exhuming the body.
| When one dies at distance he is burned,
for convenience of transportation, and his
J ashes are sacredly carried home and scat
| tered on the graves of his ancestors; tor
| there is nothing tor which the dying savage
| so earnestly pleads with his companions as
I their promise to carry him home to rest,
| and nothing from which he so piteousiv ad-
jures them to deliver Lin as the dishonor Of
being buried in alien soil.
This nation were even worse than the
Modocs N the rapacity and cruelty with
which they protected the slave trade.
To secure supply of slaves they generally
made war on the timid and peaceful Indians
of Pitt river. OF the captives taken they
retained as many as they wished for their
own service, and sold the remainder to the
tribes about The DaJles and Des Chutes.
1t was by means of this barter that they
first obtained stock Of ponies, which their
northern neighbors had learned to use be-
fore themselves. These slaves. like all
other property, were sacrificed upon the
death Of the owner, though the practice is
now discontinued. The last instance when
they attempted it was at the death Of Cap
tain Georges daughter, from the effects of
burn, when they wished TO immediate all
her slaves; but the whites interviewed, and
prevented it.
When maiden arrives at womanhcod,
her father makes kind Of party in her
honor Her young companions assemble,
and together they dance and sing wild,
dithyrambic rOundelays; improvlsed songs
OF the woods and the waters-as thus:
Jumping echoes of the rock.
Squirrels turn ing somers au,te;
GIeel caves, dancing il the air;
FISHES, white as money-sEells
Running ~ inc water, green, ard deep, and still
H!' no n!-ho, hi hay
Hi-hO hi. 10, Inlay!
This is the substance Of one Of the songs, |
as translated for me- and ! have initiated |
the rhythmical movement as nearly as pos !
sble. For five consecutive nights the |
maiden and her chosen companions. locked |
arm in arm, with wristlets and anklets Of |
the chanize bush, walk to and fro on the
same line, all night, rafting amulets and
deers' toes, chanting and singing continu-
ally. The Indians, occasionally, stand |
decoTously by and look on; but, unlike
the exercises. and profane them by no OBJ
scene remarks. When the ceremony is
ended the father makes liberal presents to
the maiden's friends VINO have attended |
her; sometimes even being obliged to sell
a horse to enable him to carry out his gen.
erous impulses.
Those Indians are more attached to their
children than most tribes n California. So
poignant and so overwhelming IS the grief
of father on losing his son, that he some
times rushes away in midwinter, ascends
the highest mountain. pIunges himself in
the snow and 1asts-Weep.ng and beating |
his breast. 1t would seem tia. il bis friends
did not follow him AID bring him back. he
would perish.
They hold that fire was on ce lost through
out the world, but that the coyote and tie
wolf stole it from some quarter and re-
stored it. The coyote mad the secret prlnci-
pie of fire in his toe nails and he impaired
1t to the turtle, then carried him up into
the mountains, where tie turtle con NUM-
Gated it to the tiints and trees, so that an
Indian can now extract i by percussing the
one or drilling the otEer.
Blydelknelokke (.he chief above) gave
them, as they believa, all things tnaI they
possess, and taught them their uses and
names He showe. their ancestors how 10
make elk shin hats and boots or leggins,
and that they should pluck ont their boards;
and he instructed the sGuaws III the art Ut
weaving skull caps, etc. Wien an Indian
walks on the high hills or mountains. he
carefully lefrains from displacing or rolling
down any stones, because Blydelknelokke
walks on the mountains, stepping from
stone to stone, and ne would be offended at
the absence OF sing one.
Before the Muckalucs fell from their
high estate they were happy people.
gave them freely al things
TO enjoy without the toll Of woman's hands.
Pleasant roots had they. and all manner of
hesh-Of elk. OF deer, OF antelope, Of fish
with many green and goodly herbs which
things did they eat, without sweat or
toll or chase. Their day. were full of
songs, and their lights OF sweet love and
laughter and the dance. Their medicines
talked with the Chief On high. and their
words were wise. No pestilence, 70
black death. nor blight, nor deadly
pains, ever passed among Their vi
ages. But maiden of the Muckaiucs
an odiOus thing in the sight
If men. In wrath and vengeance. Blydel-
xnelokke slew her with his hammer. where
with he created and fashioned the world.
He smOte her unto death. on the spot; but
Ter guilty lover escaped. She was turned