Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1891-09-25
TOTEM POLES or AlAsxA



now .ns Indians Preserve Their F.m,rv
s'ory In Carvings, Mostly Of wooa-
nave SAID that the family histories ara
regulated by the female side az the hone,
una this assertion would seem N indie..ss
mat they have means Of preservin, ~
tories, rare culture among the North
American Indians. This assertion "a t,,,a
UNITED though the historical inforrn.,t@',,
may De; and the means OF preserving nee
scant family facts Is in carvings. mostiv ~
wood, In which art, it might be mentioned
mere, these Alaskan and British Colur,-
pian Indians probably excel ali Others On
the continent. w
IN 'front.' OF their wooden houses ara
oIten seen tall poles. sometimes towering
Two or three times as high as their little
ohe-story nuts, and carved on the outer
iace from bottom TO top. These are called
oteHi poles, and are nothing but long
sections OF the tall trees OF the countrv
whicii, AFTER being carved on one side are
placed IN front OF their houses. From a
great distance these make the VILLAGE. al
ways just above high water mark on the
seashore, look as II it had large feet at
vessels, with great thick masts. in its
front. - 40
Inc carvings, while well done IA a
matter OF workmanship, are Of the mos.
aiaooiicai Character, and each totem pole
looks like sculptured representation 81
30 many linear yards of nightmare.
Grotesque and hideous beasts, birds and
nshes, with abnormal limbs. wings and
ms, staring eyes and grinning teeth. are
arranged one above the other. from hot.
tom to top, like SO many imps Of Satan
trying to reach the sky by climbing an
top OF each other. Those Knowing tbs
subject best say these totem poles arr
genealogical records or family trees
GENERALLY two are in front of each bouse
one Ior the man and one for the woman
put where there is only one it belongs al
nihted, 10 the woman, or the woman'l
family history.
These Indians are divided, socially, intt
Clans, OF more or less aristocratic preten
sions, and each clan is named after some
beast, bird, fish or reptile, which thu
carvings are supposed to represent. Thus
TO take the totem pole Of the woman. tn,
carving at the top represents the clan Il
which she bel9ngs, as the raven, wolf Of
whale clan, and by stretch Of the mag
ination the beast, or what not, can b,
made out OF the sculpture, in most hide
Gus caricature, however The next below
Is that OF her mother, and so on down OF
the woman's side until the grass is reache,
in some ancient female ancestor, each on
changing with the clan to which they be
longed, and sometimes they are repeate,
consecutiyely many times, as one wolf o
dogfish following another like a pack O
wolves or a string of fish.
The mans totem begins with himsel
similar to that of his spouse, but here tn
similarity ceases; for instead of continuin
backwards on his fathers side, to keep u
the resemblance, each recurring totem i
on his mothers side, and representing tn
clans 10 which she and her female ances
tors belonged, making both of the toter
poles and their numerous carvings repre-
sent only the many clans to which til
women belonged, with the single excet
ton Of the one noted, which stands for til
lord of creation in the household befor
whose door the totem pole rears its quair
and curious carved column Frederic
Schwatka in Demorest's Monthly.