Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1889-06-30
INDIAN IDYLS.
LEARNED IN A LOGGING CAMP BY
MISS CAROL GROUSE.
Buttes-Birth of Mounts Hood,
Adams and st. Helena.
Written for the SUNDAY Us1ox.l

| Written for the SUNDAY UNION
All around Puget Sound a canoe is the
family carriage not only of Indians but
whites, and is the first object that attracts
attention to native work. In one piece
always, sometimes 100 feet long, built in
country of heavy forests, they suggest an
immense amount of work in transporting,
without the help of beasts suitable trees
from their birth to launching place. His
! canoe is the Indians horse, house and
criterion of standing; SO upon it he
lavishes months OF patient labor to pro-
duce not only strength but graceful shape,
dainty carving, painting and detail of
finish similar to japanese construction.
His traps are neatly jointed without mails,
his cabin built superior to any other
| American natives Many of his legends
relate to removal from a far colder cline,
and speak of animals common in Japan,
| unknown upon our northern coast, note
| ably the fox, world-renowned for cunning,
highest type of ability to uncivilized man.
| 1t is safe to say no Indian in Alaska ever
saw fox, yet Reynard's phIz is carved
| upon door-posts, canoes. jewelry or monu-
| mentS with most comical expressions of
| malice or glee Whether their traits and
| traditions point to parentage across Behr-
| ing's Strait, or whether an Unborn instinct
| teaches man to speculate upon the creation
of himself and surroundings, our native
neighbors are worth study for comparison
with our own standard of intellectual at
| taInment.
| PoTLATCH PARTY
Is the school where Indian youths are
| taught the legends of their tribe. Gener-
ally in early summer, after the spring rains
make easy padding on little streams, when
the winters log crop has gone to market,
clearing the passage for small crafts, and
| above all, when the men have earned
money by helping sawmills rush through
their spring building orders, then it is
that he or she who wishes summons their
friends to make merry. The hosts duty
is to distribute gifts to all, blankets, dry
goods, groceries, or whatnot At one pot
latch of the writer's knowledge, an old In
dian woman distributed $4,000 in silver,
to get which she had washed for loggers,
sold fish, berries, gum, pitchpine, licorice.
|
cred and starved for years, never eating a
| full meal but in charity. At this reunion
men hunt, fish, play games and gamble
Women visit old friends, knit yarn socks
for the loggers, swap gifts, and sew in crude
fashion their newly given cloths. At
evening the forest products come in and
every hunter cooks his game, while the
women bake biscuits in dutch ovens"
roast potatoes in the ashes, and boil
coffee. After feasting there is built
fire worth seeing. Perhaps since morn
ing big boys have secured the woods for
a pitch-pine stump, and have been all
day bringing it home on several canoes
lashed together Piled high with other
resinous woods, the yule log cracks like
pistol shots, throwing frightful gloom on
pines dark depth and moonlit rivers
breast. The people dance and sing their
native songs far into the night When
weary, space is cleared, and patriarch
recites
HOW PEOPLE CAME.
| Long, long ago when there were no peo-
| pie but Siwashe5 they lived far across Salt
| Chuck (the sea-. 1t was their custom
when boy neared manhood to put him
into the forest where he would be starved
and tortured to show whether he had
bravery that would bring blessings on his
tribe. If endurance failed, life became
burden from ridicule, but if strength and
courage conquered he went in peace. One
time the chiefs son went to undergo the
usual tests. -Four days passing came the
| father to bring home his son, but the lad
| begged another day, promising to return
ere dark. Night came but brought him
not, and the father said, "My son, of whom
| was so proud, would be here had he the
strength to come. Rather than be dis
| graced by this weak-bearted boy will kill
him with my own hand"
The boys grandmother could not bear
to think of so sad a fate for her favorite,
and counseled her son. "Let US take all
the people, all the dogs, houses, food,
everything to keep life in him and go
away. Then he will die and we shall not
see his corpse"
So the chief collected everything INTO
canoes and left. -Four days they padded
Salt Chuck (Behring Strait coming to
new lands, where they disembarked
A day after his appointed time the
chiefs son came home, but gone were all
his people, gone fire, food and iktas (every
thingl. He said, "Alas my father, had You
but waited. The forest fairies babe me
make a robe of bird skins slain by my own
arrow and it should be my Temahnous,
magic wand). | worked hard but could
not get it done on time. Here is the
beautiful robe, but who shall praise my
skill since | am alone? | care not for
life and will end my wretchedness"
Upon the beach sands lay a tinted shell
with sharp, projecting edge. This he
siezed wherewith to cut his throat, but no
sooner did the shell touch his neck than it
changed into a lovely maiden and the
youth said, "Now have companion, but
we care not TO live alone" So together
they collected old clam shells, fish bones
and cultus iktas worthless things), over
which he waved the fairy robe and
changed all into people of many kinds.
The people gathered up bits of wood, from
which the magic wand brought fire. Into
the sea waded he, waved the robe and 10,
a school of fish was thrown upon the
beach. Next in air waved his robe and at
his feet lit big bird with big bag under
its chin. Said the boy, Take load of
these fish to my grandmother" Away
flew his messenger coming where the
grandmother rocked herself in a canoe,
| liS lpol OHS DiIu spit I6T
canoe full of fish, said, ''Here is a present
from your grandson" and disappeared.
Calling on the chief, she said: "See, our
boy lives. We did wrong to leave. Let
US return, because he works magic and can
take care of us all" The chief feared,
and first sent ambassadors, who were aston
ished on reaching their old home to find
strange people there The boy came on
the beach, received them kindly, filled
their canoe with eifts, and said: "Tell
your chief his people are no more my
people. Our tribes are not alike and may
fight. Tell him to keep the country where
he went and | will stay here" The men
returned and the tribes never met. They
spread everywhere, and here we all are
BATTLE OF THE BUTTEs.
There was time when earth knew nc
such forms as now. Great beasts, whose
types long ages since did pass away, roamed
trackless forests deep or woke wierd echoes
with wild cries ere voice of man had yet
been heard, and chaos reigned supreme
One day convulsions seized our Mother
Earth, trembling in thrills of joy and pain
Huge ocean waves spread over undulating