Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-11-18
HOOPA VALLEY INDIANS
Some OF Their Queer Customs Described by
DE. Charles Woodruff.

some OF Their queer customs DeScrt0eo Dy
DE. Charles Woodruff.
At the regular fortnightly meeting Of the
Anthropological Society, held last night in the
Assembly Hall of the Cosmos Club. two papers
Of unusual interest were read and q report was
received from the delegates who represented
the society at the recent geological congress
held in this city. The first paper was by DR..
Charles Woodruff, U. s. A., on the Indians Of
the Hoopa Valley, Cal, :" read by DR.. Hoffman,.
The other paper was by Prof Otis Mason on
the LAND Problem in Anthropology."
DR.. Woodruf's paper dwelt at length upon
the peeuliarities Of the Hoopas, whom he de-
scribed as one of the strangest races Of abo-
rhymes on the continent. They had been so
long isolated from civilization within their
beautiful valley amid the mountains, never
having seen white faces until late in the former
half of the present century, that they have had
to mako wonderful strides in The past few years
to make any progress at all. There are a few
old Indians still living among them whose in
tiuence in favor Of the old ways of life and the
numerous and become less SO each year, so
that the tribe is rapidly becoming self-support-
ing and manly. There are a number OF queer
customs TO be noted in study of the tribe,
many OF them quite unique. yet there are
strong traces of similarity with the habits of
tinent.
SOME QUEER CUSTOMS.
1t is noted a crime to take note Of age among
the Hoopas, or, at least.if not a crime, matter
of very bad taste. There is no way of counting
time among them and records are therefore
vague Bodies of the deceased are buried as in
other tribes, and articles belonging to the de-
parted are placed on the grave. where they are
quite safe from molestation and theft. In case
al Al rl,a
tribe is called upon for tribute to the parents.
In cases of epidemic this means a severe drain
upon his resources. but there is usually q re-
bate granted in such instances. All diseases
are treated in the same way. by what Is known
as the ''sweat cure A cellar is set apart for
this purpose and in it fierce fire is built,
heating up the atmosphere SO that the patient,
who takes his scat within the close room. is made
to sweat profusely. When the proper degree Of
temperature is obtained he rushes out into the
air without clothes and jumps into the river
that runs through the valley, bathing there for
some minutes. This process kills more Indians
each year than any other cause, for all who are
i'll resort to it, whether in the first or last stages
of disease.
The delegates to the geological congress then
presented their reports individually. These
delegates were Messrs ". J. McGee, Thomas
Wilson and W. II. Holmes Each one read his
own individual report, and these documents
went over much of the ground that was covered
In IHE STAR at the time OF the meetings OF the
congress.
THE LAND PROBLEM.
Prof. Mason next read his paper on 'The Land
Problem in Anthropology." He said that the
land problem was intimately connected with
this science, first, by showing that the earth is
in itself vast reservoir Of resources; second,
that these are parts of a wonderful mechanism,
all of whose parts are related third. that in its
behavior the earth may be viewed as living
being, capable of civilizing and being civilized,
of barbarizing and being barbarized. Man,
in relation to the earth or the land in this
view occupies a series of relations. beginning
with savagery and ending with the highest
civilization. Each set of relations introduces
new elements into the problem, until at pres
ent the unknown quantities are almost in
Vulnerable The proper understanding of the
problem will rest therefore upon a careful his
torie study of mans relationship to the earth
through the period of human life on the globe.