The Osceola times., 1886-01-30
THE AlASkANS.
PecuIiarities of the Alaskan, siietx and
Omaha Inji,

Omaha indians.
Mr.. W ii. Dalls address TO the
Anthropologicsl Section OF the Ameri-
can Association was ON The Native
Tribes of Alaska" Passing by the de-
tails in ii which are chiefly Of interest to
specialists, we are informed that the
tribal limits of the western Innuit, geo.
graphically considered, are very muta-
BILE, and constantly changing in small
details. This arises from the fact that
the geographical group which we have
called a tribe among the lnnuit is not
political organization headed by chief
or chiefs, but simply geographical
aggregation of people who have
by possession obtained certain
de Jacto rights of hunting,
fishing, etc, over certain area. The
jealousy of adjacent groups keeps the
imaginary boundary line pretty well
defined, through fear of reprisals should
il be violated, but under the influence
of the whites, with their trading posts,
the boundaries are becoming viOlable
with impunity, and are falling into OBJ
livion. Hence the geographical names
distinguishing the groups are ceasing
to have any serious significance. The
degree of civilization which the Aleuts
have attained is very promising. The
people are not scattered over the
archipelago except in their hunting
parties. Notwithstanding the nominal
division into groups. they are practically
as much one people AS those OF two
adjacent English counties.
The Rev. Mr.. Dorsey gave an ac-
count of the peculiarities of the Ian
guage spoken at the Silen Indian
Agency, in Oregon, the population Of
which is made up of a consolidation Of
more than twenty tribes. The Indians
are all more or less civilized, some Of
them taking newspapers, are very po-
lite to strangers, and in many respects
resemble the Amos. In their language the
verb varies with the position of the object.
They can not say ''that man, but must
say that man walking or sitting, or
standing, etc. There are three sets OF car
dinal numbers, human. iuhuman, and in
animate. All their villages have local
names, as 1.-THE people of the ash-trees. y
1.-The people by the hill. 1.-THE people
Of the canyon, etc 4 man must marry
a woman from another yitage, and his
children belong to the village of their
father. They will not mention the
names of the wildcat iield-mouse, and
some other animals, before their chill
1ren. less they bring sickness and death
upon them. Five is the mystic number
among them.
Miss A. G. Fletcher described the
sacred war-tent of the Omahas, in
which the sacred and ritual objects are
stored These objects are held in great
reverence. and are under a special
keeper. Among them is the sacred
shell, large Unio. which is contained
in several leathern pouches, one
within the other, and in which
are placed strips of the inner
bark of the cedar, and a scalp. In
the tent is also the sacred wolf-skn, and
two bundles covered with tanned skins.
One of the bundles contains bird-skins
the other contains various deadly poi
sons. here are besides a staff of cedar
and one of iron-wood, a small pipe
stem, two war-ppes, tobacco and a
scalp. The sacred shell must never
touch ground, for, if il should, de-
vourng fire would come from it. II
any one but the keeper touches any of
the objects, he will be afflicted with
grievous sores, but the evil may be
averted by going through certain ritual
ablutions. All of these objects have
been given, with the consent of the
chiefs, to the Peabody Museum of Ar
chaeology Popular Science Monthly.