Elmore bulletin. [volume] (Rocky Bar, Idaho) 1889-1906, 1891-06-13
A P0TLATCH In ALASKA.
CURIOUS FESTIVAL OBSERVED BY
THE THLlNkETS.

Give a nie niow out THAT Leaves the
Giver In cmnp,ete Poverty.
A ''potlatch" Is "a social institution pc
culiar To the natives along the North
Pacific coast The word means a big
feast, but that does not signify all that
4 the same words do 70 the white races
Blankets are the signs OF wealth among
these people. To have SO many blankets
Ii among them 20 be Just so rich These
blankets are stored up and hoarded lust
as the miseT 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 no can af-
+ ford TO make this social display Again
they are laid up and treasured so that
big 'potlatch" may be held after the
\ owner Is dead
I The Thlinket village just north OF and
adjoining Sitka now has about |, 500 win
ter Inhabitants. those who are out fish
ing and working at the canneries all sum
mer having come in To stay until work
begins again in summer Though they
q
influences they are very reluctantly sur
4 rendering their native customs Among
those TO which they still cling is the Gus
/ tom OF the ''potlatch-
ALASKAN PoLYaAMY
I At ] o'clock IA cannon shot was heard
over in the village. TO the astonishment
OF many Of the Americans here. In
| quiry disclosed the fact that one of the
head men OF the village had Just died,
and that the cannon shot from an old
Russian carronnde was To announce the
death. When the whites first began TO
make inroads among these natives poIyg-
amy and slavery were settled institutions
among them Both still exist TO some
extent at points OF the greatest distance
from civilizlng influence The Russian
church in Alaska has steadily pur-
sued the policy of breaking up
poiygamy among the natives ever
since its missionaries began their
work more than "a century ago The
headman of the Sitka village wac
brought within the fold OF that church,
but attempted for long time To conceal
the fact thai he was indulging in q plu.
VI VIVA " AtIAl WI dl
fishing and canning stations he could do
this with impunity. and with little or no
danger that any Of his people would ex.
pose him. They will not testify against
each other IL it can be helped When he
came into the ranch or village last fall
he was detected in this mode of living
and, IN manner, coerccd into surren
dering his youngest and most attractive
vile. He had been married To the first
one United States fashion, and as the
Russian church does not recognize di
vorce he could not put her away in favor
OF the younger one.
The result Of this was that this stolid,
taciturn Indian, whose appearance and
general conduct would Indicate that not
particle Of sentiment entered into his
character. actually pined away and died
OF grief. Nothing that his people could
do would stimulate him To any exertion
None of the Establishments and caresses
of his first wife. and she was kind to
him, could arouse him from his stupor
OF grief, and this stout and lusty fisher
man, who had braved hundreds of fierce
storms in hls cedar canoe. died actually
of a broken heart
THE PoTLATcH.
Now comes the "potlatch." He had
been laying up blankets against the day
OF royal. roistering "potlatch" In his
lifetime. A score of natives visited the
traders store and bought nearly a ton
of stuff for the feast Canned goods.
boxes of crackers by the dozen. and
| everything that could be obtained to eat
were hauled over by them TO the village
ON trucks to be consumed in the pot
latch, which will last for several
days and nights. a ''potlatch" without
something strong To drink is comparae
lively 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, how
ever, and from this surreptitiously distill
an Intoxicating drink called "hooehe-
moo, with which they enliven their
'potlatches.
Tho 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
hoReitipo Hdb III soltle way Deen pro
yided for the occasion. The house has
no chimney, and the smoke from the
fire. built in the center Of the floor, es-
capes through hole in the roof. The
walls glisten with black SCOT The dance
has no figures, but is simply cadenced
step in a circle around the tire, the time
being given on sort of tomtom or tam
BOURNE. When each dancer gets tired,
he squats down anywhere 70 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 tho pot
latch"
The duration OF the wake depends
upon the supply Of blankets. The "p@
latehes" invariably end in the impovs
ishment of those who give them A na-
tive who gives a ''potlatch" and retalas
any Of his property afterwards is dis
graced. The widow. in this particular
case. has entered eagerly into the festivi
ties. and get realizes that il wi i'll take the
last blanket before IL IL all over.
Some idea may be formed Of the way
these ''potlatches" end when state the
fact that the steamer brought up two Indi.
an women and one "buck" from village
200 miles northeast of this, all OF whom