The weekly herald. [volume] (Cleveland, Tenn.) 1876-1888, 1880-07-08
THE ALASKA INDIANS.
How They Lve, Their Manners ant
Customs.

a hNAAAN1 AA1A9 80
about $4,000; RuSsians, 300 or 4OOi
Americans and others, 500. The Indians
can be divided into three great classes:
The Innuit Of Yukon district; the Aleu-
tian and the Tuski Of the Sitkandistrict.
And these again are divided into tribes,
settlements and families. These are
largely in acondition OF degraded super
s%tition, and liable to all the horrible
cruelties of heathenism. The old, sick
and useless are put TO death with various
cruelties and disgusting rites.
The Indians are again s%ubdivided into
various families, each of which have
their family badge. The badges are the
whale, the porpoise, the eagle, the coon,
the wolf and the frog. These crests ex-
tend through different tribes, and their
members have q closer relation to one
another than the tribal connection. Fol
instance. members ofthe same tribe may
marry, but not members OF the same
badge. Thus, a wolf may not marry
into the wolf family, but may into thai
of the whale.
Upon all public occasions they are
seated according TO their rank. Ihli
rank is distinguished by the height OF q
pole erected in front oftheir houses. Ihe
greater the chief. the higher his pole.
Some OF these poles are over lOO ieei
high. Mr.. Duncan, the missionary, re-
lates how, upon one occasion a head
chief of the Nasse river Indians put up
a pole higher than isrank would allow.
The friends OF the chief whose heads he
would thus step over, made fight with
guns, and the over-ambitlous chief wa'
shot in the arm, which led him 70
quickly shorten his stick.
Their houses are from twenty-five to
forty feet square, without a window,
the only openings being a small door fol-
entrance, and a hole in the roof for the
escape of the smoke. The door is three
or four feet above the ground level, and
opens on the inside upon a broad plat
form, which extends around the four
sides.
In front of their leading houses and al
their burial places are sometimes i'm
mense timbers covered with carvings.
Those that attended the Centennial will
remember such posts. These are the
genealogical records of the family. The
child usually takes the totem of the
mother. For instance, at the bottom o.
the post may be the carving of a whale
over that a fox, a porpoise, and az
eagle-signifying that the great-grand'
father of the present occupant of the
house, on his mothers side, belonged tC
the whale family, the grandfather tc
the fox family, and the father to the
porpoise, and he himself to the eagle
family. These standards are from two
10 five feet in diameter, and often ovel
sixty feet in height, and sometimes cos
from 81 600 to 81, 900. Forming the en-
trance to the house was a hole through
this standard, but latterly they are com
mencing to have regular doors hung OF
hinges. Among the Stickines these
badges, trees or totems are usually off Il
one side Of the door.
A man wanting a wife sends a mes
sage to that effect to the girls relations
If he receives a favorable answer ht
sends them all the presents he can pro
cure. Upon the appointed day he goei
to her fathers house and sits down or
the doorstep with his back to the house
The relations who have assembled there
sing a marriage song, at the close o.
which furs and calico are laid across the
floor and the girl is escorted over then
from the corner where she has been sit
ting, and takes her seat by the side Of
the man. Their dancing, singing anC
eating are kept up by the guests unit
! they are tired. In these festivities the
couple take no part. After this they
fast for two days, and then after a slight
repast they fast for two days more
Four weeks after they come together
and are recognized as husband and wife
Among the Nehaunes and Talcolins
when q man dies, his widow is com.
PEELED to ascend the burning funera.
pile, throw herself upon the body, anG
remain there until the hair is burned
from her head, and she is almost suffo'
Gated. She is then allowed to staggel
from the pile, but must frequently thrust
her hand through the flames and place
itupon his bosom, 10 show her continued
devotion. Finally the ashes are gath.
cred UP and placedin little sack, which
the widow carries on her person fol
two years. During this period of mourn.
ing she is clothed in rags and treated as
a slave.
Among the Chuckees the old and
feeble are sometimes destroyed. This is
done by placing a rope around the neck,
and dragging them over the stones. II
this does not kill, then the body is
stoned or speared, and left to be eaten
by the dogs. Occasionally the old ask
to be killed. Then they are taken, stu
pefed with drugs, and, in the midst OF
various in~cantations, bled to death.