The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1890-06-19

uhic:l is beaten in almost p<rfess unison by
. dsxea or more nasn with club il each
band and box for aruna- a leader os
drum mayor stands before ftaena. indicates
iae cassfEce and lines the song
ne poet Of trior il palsi Tor his eompo-
ssfaon. and il Is each persons aneision TO
nave Z song made for himself
The drum maser il sometimes . woman.
IN fscf- taeusa they clean tbs fsh and
sometimes catch them. the women seem To
have equal rights. and where . man goes
his -kiooschmans goes with him and
sesnss 10 have just as much TO say about
everything.
Free from care and apparently contentsd.
they seem happy people. They gsxsse
and laugh more shaa the t-xditaonal school
girl
To Sc them rotund and jolly one could
hardly believe them capable OF such cruelty
- they have often exhibited. A woman
bad hook inserted in the skin az each
shoulder and thigh. ropes connected them
to pole and thus. hanging TO = pole. she
vas carried about the rsncherie. The men
are living there ret who. Ii is said, killed
Two sailors by driving sharpened stakes
through them. and who gave two slaves for
execution TO the BTi ish government rs
being the murderers.
REAL MEANING or A rorLArcH.
Chief Jim made raid on q neighboring
tribe and brought back seven heads and
one slave and chopped . slave down on
the open beach. This same Chief Jim was
10 give potiatch this winter. A potIaich
IL something novel to . white man. Ii Is
saving for years 70 accum ulate blankets or
other property and then giving il eli away.
Blankets are standard currency. as dollars
with as. 1t is understood that q potlatch
Is gift that must be returned in kind and
double the amount whenever the receiver
principles the WHY Siwash gives largely to
those from whom he expects quickest re-
Turns. sometimes q hundred blankets,
while the man Of doubtful future only gets
one. The potlatch is generally blankets.
but may be buttons. canvas or even, as one
given by Ned, oatmeal mush and molasses.
thoaga | think the strangest one / ever
saw was large earshenware wash bowls.
They were used as soup bowls by the re-
eipients. Chief Wallace gave potlatch
while we were At koskimo of | SOD blankets,
bag of silver and \ lot OF other things
Stranger than this is there enmity,
shown by destroying their own property.
canoes, blankets. coppers, etc. The enemy
must destroy rs much or more OF his own
property or be disgraced, and this strange
moral obligation is so strong that not to be
able to comply is spoken Of ~ breaking
his heart"
Their houses are very large. some. fifty
BY one hundred feet, and twenty feet high.
The ridge pole is log from two TO three
feet in diameter and the full length OF the
house. To get this immense tree on top OF
like posts twenty feet above ground is ac-
complished by building up q crib in the
middle, ~ they bear down first one end.
then the other. till the desired height Is At
tanned. A similar log is ut the caves. cross
pieces and shakes form the roof, while the
sides are upright hewn boards These
hewn boards are marvels OF workmanship.
being true. straight aud OF even thickness,
and would be mistaken for sawed lumber
unless examined for the countless adx
marks. A tall, carved totum pole stands
in front Of the house. The single door 70
the big room il always exactly in the CEN
ter OF the front gable end. A few feet
either way would save a great amount of
work, for to attain it they either have two
ridge poles or two posts and cross log ~
each end OF the single ridge poles. These
high posts are carved from ground to
roof quite skilliuliy. but often in such real
istic devices ~ to cause . less prude than
Anthony Comstock to blush.
~urfn rArr or NoRkIIvy
There may be exceptions. but
the universal statement is there
is no virtue among them. Ger
tainly what the children see from their
youth up is not conductive to il. and their
annual pilgrimage TO the hop fields adds
fuel to the flames that Is consuming them.
There are no roof supports, As there is
but one large room. Sometimes IN old
sail may partition off = private nook. but
most OF their doings are open to the gaze Of
all the others. When il is dark or cold,
they stay close by the fire built on the
the ground. A few. shakes taken
from the roof let the smoke out.
They squat with knees close to the body
for hours, and are buried i'm that posture. .
shoe box proving just the right shape. The
burying, however. consists in having the
box set in the limbs of tree or in wave
made cave on the beach.
The culinary operations are simple. A
low tide is q free market, and CLANS. cock
les or muscles are boiled or roasted on the
Goals. The staple winter diet is dried sal
mon and oolikan grease The latter is
made by rotting the oolikan or candle fish.
in pit 1t is most nauseat;ng In smell
and taste and would gag anything bat ST.
wash. The dried salmon or halibut is like
q thin single 1t Is thrown on the open
fire little while, folded, pressed under the
grease and passed TO you as delicious
morsei. II yeur stomach can stand that.
il will stand anything.
Another dainty is to pick vermin from
the head. This, however. is not shared.
The catcher places it ia the hand OF the
grower, who eats IL Reciprocity Is main
tanned BY change o. picker and pickee.
The deyilfish Is another staple OF diet,
not the sauid. bat the real octopus. The
flesh is snow white and not bad TO eat. If
one eoald forget how ugly they look and
the horrible stories about them.
The sea egg, or sea ufchin, Is q cup vary
ing from one that will hold o half pint 10
two quarts, covered on the outside with
hundreds OF spikes like q porcupine. Ii
has within five parts like section of an
orange, separated by brown liquid.
These yellow sections, raw, fried or boiled.
are quite palasabie. Fish and game are
plensy when they take the trouble TO get
them
On warm. sunny days the entire popuia-
ton turn out and squat or lie basking in
the sun. LYMAN BANKS.
A GRAND JURY UNDER FIRE
IL Receives . sfisgsng Judicial Resake