Arizona weekly citizen., 1888-03-17
TOTEM POLES oF ALASKA.
How the Indians Preserve Their F1miI, History In CRrvingz, Mostly of woSi.

How the Indians Preserve Their F.miiv History In cRrvings, Mostly Of woSt. | have said that the family histories ere regulated by the female side Of the hoi.,S.
 and this assertion would seem Co indicate, that they have means of preserving hi..
 tories, rare culturr among the Norts | American Indians. This assertion IS true,
 limited though the historical information
 may be; and the means of preserving these
 s-ant family facts is in carvings. mostly of | wood, in which art, it might be mentioned here these Alaskan and British Column
 bian Indians probably excel all others on the continent.
 In Front of their wooden houses are often seen tall poles, sometimes towering two or three times as high as their little one-story huts, and carved on the outer face from bottom to top. These are called totem poles, and are nothing but long
 sections of the tall trees of the country. which, after being carved on one side. are paced m front Of their houses From a
 great distance these make the village. al- ways just above high water mark on the
 seashOre. look as il it had a large fleet of
 vessels, with great thick masts, in its front.
 The carvings, while well done as A
 matter of workmanship. are Of the mos. diabOllcal character, and each totem pole looks like sculptured representation of so many linear yards Uf nightmare. GrotesqUe and hideous beasts. birds and
 fishes, with abnormal limbS. wings and
 ms, staring eyes and griuning teeth, are
 arranged one above the other. from bot
 tom Co top like SD many imps of satan
 trying tO reach the sky by climbing on
 top or each other Those knowing the
 subject best say these totem poles are
 genealogical records or family trees.
 Generally two are in front of each house.
 one for the man and one for the woman:
 but wacTc there is only one it belongs. as
 hlhied, to the woman, or the wOMans
 family history.
 These Indians are divided, socially. into clans, of more or less aristocratic rreteu- sloEs, and each clan is named after some
 beast, bird, fish or reptile. which the carvings are supposed to represent. Thus. Co take the totem pole of the woman. Tn. carving at the top represents the clan to which she belongs, as the raven. wolf or whale clan, and by stretch of the irnar- nation the beast, or what not. can bs made out of the sculpture. in most hide Ous caricature, however The next below !s that of her mother. and so on down on the wOman's side until the grass Is reached n some ancient female ancestor. each one changing with the clan Co which they be- ionged, and sometimes they are repeated consecutively many times, as one wolf or dogfish following another like a pack of wolves or a string of fish
 The mans totem begins with himself similar to that Of his spouse. but here the similarity ceases; for instead of continuing backwards on his fathers side, Co keep up 1 the resemblance, each recurring totem is )n his mothers side, and representa-. the clans tO which she and her female auccs- tors belonged, making both of the totem poles and their numerous carvings repre- | sent only the many clans Co which the women belonged with the single exccu- ton Of the one noted, which stands for the l lord of creation" in the household before whose door the totem pole rears its quaint i'i curious carved column Frederick | >cawatka in Demorest's Monthly.