The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1885-02-05
THE QUEEN CHARLOTTE ISLANDS

THE QUEEN CHARLOTTE ISLANDS,
Dknlfal 1sdlsn Carving-Ab Aboriginal wor.
shlp-Iessnds Of tho Hydshs.
tEdwardsA Roberts IN San Francisco Chronicle.l
Comparatively speaking the Queen
Charlottt islands are but thinly settled.
They canseasily accommodate thousands
Of people and they only have few
OF white men living on them
there are very few and the Hydah In
dians do not number over 500. The
Hydahs, IS tribe, or people, belong to
tho great Thlinket division of Indians.
Though most rcsolutely protesting
against allowing white men to come
among them in the past, they have
lately been less inclined to
wage war against foreigners and
have evinced more desire to
have trade relations with the outside
world. They are . rather distinguished
people, the Hydahs, we'll formed, cner-
getic and capable. They make the best
canoes that arc made, they have tho
tallest and most claborately carved
totem poles, and the baskets, jewelry,
carved spoons and forks that they man
ufacture have a better finish and are in
many ways more artistic than the arti-
cles turned out by the neighboring In
dians inhabiting the islands farther up
the coast.
Aside from the villages one finds
scattered about the Queen Charlotte
islands, and which always have pictur-
esque interest for one who has never
seen q group Of Indian habitati0ns, the
most agreeable pleasure is in studying
the carved totem poles and the images
Of beasts and men that the Indians have
fashioned out of slate, wood and bone.
A few years ago there was much larger
collection Of curiosities to study than at
present. Many of the most valuable ar
ticles have been gathered by collectors
and shipped to museums in the states,
but still tho larger totem poles are left
and all the curiously fashioned carvings
have not been taken. Many Of the most
valuable goods are family heirlooms and
cannot be bought. An Indian is ex-
ceedingly loath to part with his totem,
for it IS his family tree and sometimes a
history Of his ancestors for many years.
The articles most generally sold are
bracelets and baskets. Tho bracelets
are made from silver half dollars, melted
and fashioned and often elaborately
carved, and tho baskets are manufaC-
tured from grasses that are woven with
great skill and decorated with brilliant
cOl0fs. An Indian daubs on paint with
but little idea of what the effect will be
and vet the combination is never glar-
ingly offensive. Indeed, it is quite the
reverse. One is attracted by the col0rs
Of basket before noticing its careful
make The hucs are brilliant and the
dye strong.
It has been thought by many that the
far northwestern Indians were all
idolators. The carvings Of animals on
heraldic and mortuary columns have
been often taken for idols, TO which
prayers wero offered or sacrifices made.
It is as usual to see totem or carved
column in an Indian cabin as to sec an
idol or god in the room of Chinaman.
But the Indian is not an idolator in any
sense of tho word, for he does not bow
down and worship the image Of any
created thing. The totems are picture
writings, giving by the aid Of signs ant
images q history of families, or, telling
the story of some legend that has beer
handed down from generations Of the
past. The mythology of the Alaska and
Queen Charlotte islands is full Of The
stories of giants and demons, fairies and
enchanters. No other regions in the
world have more NEUROLOGICAL tales con.
nectcd with their every headland than
these islands of the north Pacific. The
bear and the whale, the raven and man
are heroes of many tale, and all the
stories are told in the carvings and
in the rudely drawn figures that decor
ate the walls of canyons and the in.
terror Of caves.
The Hydahs have been dextcrous
carvers and picturegraphists for years.
So long ago as 1891 q French navigator
named Marchand visited the islands and
reported that the Indians had covered
their canoes and household utensils
with carvings. He was of the opinion
that the Hydah works of art could bt
distinctly traceable to an Aztec origin
and that the taste for decoration owed
its origin to sOmc ancient state Of sOciet,
now lost in the obscurity of antiquity.
If this is 90, there may be more import
ance attached to tho works than there
is at present, and the Hydah hiero
glyphics may yet bc studied with profit
BY the students Of prehistoric days. But
valuable or not, tho totems and thu
drawings, as well as the Indians them
selves, arc interesting to tho most un
learned travellers, while tho islands
with their dense forests and oddly fash
ioned villages, are well worth yisi
from all bound to and from our terri
| tory Of Alaska.