Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1886-03-08


pie Wrestling with an Alarming Di-
Iemma Cremation and Other Method.
Of Dispo,ing of the Dead.
The ~haman. or medicine man. il an
OmHiprrSrnt living c0nundrum To his un-
sophisticated people. He is a mystery
which they can not comprehend. and "A
terror always for while he Is "A handy sort
Of parsonage to have III Il community,
and is supposed 10 have power to heal the
sick, he is. nevertheless, believed to be in
league with the devil The malign intlu-
enCe of his spells IS u constant menace
and no one can tell when or upon whom
It may mOmrntdrlIy fall. This is u hard
reputation to have. but the @haman pro
notes II. He Is a selfCUustljut"d buga-
boo, having duly qualified himself for the
role by course ut irving Ordral- by lire
water. famine. and dirrSt torture It Is
probably his attcsted ability to survive III
iictiOns which in ordinary course would
cause death, rather than absolute i'm
munity from any physical injury, which
inspires his people with a ~uperStitious
fear At the same time he i himself in
constant apprehension Of some Clandes-
own II his iucantaIIons and mummrrits
fail Of success hc charges lis failure and
is blame to whum~Uevrr he chooses
Many an innocent life has eNpiated an al
legged interference in days gone by Hap
PLY, his supremacy i now at an end.
THE IiEDT,INE MANS RATTLE
Ii is the professional business Of the
Shaman to scare people and to keep them
\.
money. instead Of holding a man up" he
shakes hi, rattle at him one shake will
mpoverlsh any ordinary Siwash two
will clean him out. II Is the same with
bodily ailments. As n musical praC-
.itiuner he dispises the u>e of nostrums
and diScardS all physic. His method is to
,righten disease away When summoned
II a case of sickness he rigs himself out in
1 garb that would scare a hobgUblIu and
Increase the pallor Of "A Gh"St An in.
yalid must be In great extremity. indeed.
when he will consent to send for doctor
An appointment with a nightmare would
not require half the nerve. The patient
Knows Just what to expect. He has pre-
Dared himself to be- frightened bV long
,OurSe of mental enerNHtluu. and he feels
hat il i merely a toss up which shall
stand the internal raCke: the longest
himself or the allmrnt. la fact. if ne
'hOuld iRll to be- frightened al all. the en-
'hantmeur Is kulru> no good and the
ioCtor wIthdrawS, a mortified and dis
yruntled Shaman.
such dilemma is alarming. but the
medicine man i prepared to wreStle with
I. He at once doms a frIghtful hradgear
If mountain goa horns. with mask Of
lideOus deNice and down ms naked spine
4 row of horns, jet black ami polished.
extends in abnormal development TO the
;ery base Long pendants made of dried
'kunk skins aud assorted iHteStincS dangle
rom his head. armlet~ and anklets equally
'epulslve enCiTCle his ~hrivelcd limbs and
his whole body glows with Ochre OF green,
yellow and red. Armed with huge
wooden rattle and cOupstiCk, he advances
ntO the room with IA series of pustures and
Jerks which impreSslvely emphasize his
iggresSIvenesS. OverpOwering the patient
and leaving him limp and paralyzed with
error IT. however. the disease should
prove reCalcitrant, the Shaman seats him
self on the earth in the center Of the room
with his back to the fire and proceeds to
Deat the ground with his stick, shaking
llo lhtNAt anu Slll5 ilAS WIN ali MS IlABIl-
He seems in dead earnest, and if there il
anything in the logic of sympathy the
patient ought to get well instanter. But
ieath too often plays the stronger hand.
'arrying off the victim and the malady to
;ether, much to the disgust Of the doctor.
THE DISPOSITION DF THE DEAD
On the Alaska coast the reputable deaJ
are usually cremated, and the bones col,
ected into a box and preserved. The
,alcined remains are carefully placed in
miniature houses like the Shamans; but,
instead of being iSsOlated from each other,
he houses are grouped in a common
a. in civilized communities
The sites are chosen with picturesque at
ractiOn on grassy island. shapely ridges
If land, and curves OF the shore On a
burial island near Methlakatla the
indians have fashioned a number Of fir
rees into very artistic patterns. At Sitka
here is long ridge lined with several
'core Of these mortuary receptacles,
painted in gaudy Colors and arranged
n parallel rows, interSpersed with
anCiful totem poles in quaint
leviCes on the apex of each
me of which is a bear, a raven, or an
,agle, denOtiug the clan to which the de-
,eased belonged. These houses are sell
ION more than five or six cube, with a
,yramidal roof, sometimes surmounted
~ a carved image, and are very credit
Ible bits Of architecture, considering that
he boards have been split with an AK and
with an adZe.
There are cemeteries elsewhere which
ire enclosed with neat whitewashed pal
ngs, and yOu often see small jackstaffs
With pennants of white and colored cotton
10th standing by the graves This is
where the method of interment has been
ldOpted from the whites, the bodies being
placed in the earth and carved slabs set
lp in lieu of headstOues There are no
ess than three other modes of sepulture
n AlaSka-burial in tents and canoes
ased on saddles out of reach of ami
mails, aquatic burial beneath the waves,
md III canoes turned adrift-Cor. New
;ork sun.