The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1889-03-13
THE P0TLATCH IN ALASKA.
CURIOUS FESTIVAL AMONG THE
NATIVE THLINKETS.
The Blanket as Social Factor
and Index of WeaIth-Crema-
tion Among the Indians.

The Blanket as a Social Factor
and Index OF WeaIth-Crema-
tion Among the Indians.
A 'potlatch" is a social institution
peculiar to the natives along the North
Pacific coast. The word means a "big
feast" but that does not signify all that
the same words do to the white races.
Blankets are the signs of wealth among
these people. To have so many blankets
is among them to be Just so rich. These
blankets are stored up and boarded just
as the miser boards his gold, but for
totally different purpose. The idea is to
have big "potlatch" some time. Often
this takes place when the owner of the
blankets gets past middle life and feels
that the time has come when he can
aford to make this social display. Again
they are laid up and treasured, so that
big "potlatch' may be held after the
owner is dead.
The Thlinket village just north of and
adjoining Sitka now has about 1900
winter Inhabitants, those who are out
fishing and working at the canneries all
summer having come in to stay until
work begins again in summer. Though
lllCJ hdNC UtCu DIOukub bOlnJ
civilizing influences they are very re
luctantly surrendering their native Gus
toms. Among those to which they still
cling is the custom of the ''potlatch."
Yesterday at 1 o'clock, says a Sitka
letter to the New York Times, cannon
shot was heard over in the village, to the
astonishment of many of the Americans
here. Inquiry disclosed the fact that
one of the headmen of the village had
just died, and that the cannon shot from
an old Russian carronade was to an
nounce the death.
Now comes the 'potlatch." He had
been laying up blankets against the day
of royal, roistering ''pctlatch" in his
lifetime. Yesterday afternoon score OF
natives visited the traders store and
bought nearly ton of stuff for the feast.
Canned goods, boxes of crackers by the
dozen, and everything that could be OBJ
tanned to eat were hauled over by them
to the village on trucks to be consumed
in the "potlatch," " which will last for
several days and nights. A ''potlatch"
without something strong to drink is a
comparatively tame affair. The sale of
whisky to these people IS carefully
guarded against. and when detected
which is quite often, severely punished.
They buy large quantities of molasses,
however, and from this surreptitiously
distil an intoxicating drink called ''hoo-
chenoo," with which they enliven their
'potlatches."
The first night of this one has just
passed, and the howling and dancing
which went on in the large house of the
dead headman showed that considerable
"hoochenoo" had in some way been pro-
vided for the occasion. The house has
no chimney, and the smoke from the
fire, built in the centre of the floor,
escapes through hole in the roof. The
walls glisten with black SCOT. The
dance has no figures, but is simply d
cadenced step in a circle around the fire,
the time being given on a sort of toni
tom or tambourine. When each dancer
gets tired, he squats down anywhere
to eat and rest. So it goes on all night
long, and day in and day out, until the
supplies are all gone, and the blankets
all parted with to buy the means Of
keeping up the ''potlatch.
The duration of the "wake" depends
upon the supply of blankets. The
'potlatches" invariably eud in the i'm
poverishment of those who give them.
A native who gives ''pOtlatch" and re.
tains any of his property afterward is
disgraced. The widow, in this particular
case, has entered eagerly into the festi-
vities, and yet realizes that it will take
the last blanket before it is all over.
Cremation was faVorite form of dis
posing of dead bodies among the Think
lets. 1t has been abandoned here, at
Sitka, for many years, but in the re-
moter villages it is still practiced. Sew
eral weeks ago | went in a canoe seventy
five miles from Killisnoo to a Hoonah
village of about 800 people. They had
neat, comfortable log houses, and had
abundance of food. Their doctor or
medicine man had died only few days
before. The last night before disposing
of the body was spent in a tobacco
smoke in the council house. None but
the men attended. Each one brought
his own tobacco and pipe. The pipe did
not go around as among the Plains and
Mountain Indians, but each one smoked,
while some one in a conversational tone
spoke of the merits and life of the de-
ceased. All were sitting around the
sides of the building in sort of a bunk
or bench, The next day q huge pile of
dry wood and faggots was kindled in
the streets Of the village and the body
was brought out and placed thereon
and cremated, with no attendant cere-