The National tribune., 1892-09-08
THE CHILkAT INDIANS.
The Character and Change of Customs of
These Aborigincs.

The Character and Change of Customs of
These Aborigincs.
From an illustrated article on Pioneer Pack
horses in Alaska" by E. J. Glave in The Cent
N7y. the following quotation is made: The
d-time Chilkat, dressed in skins and furs OBJ
tained from the inland tribes, had his garments
picturesquely fringed, and tas5eled. and beaded,
and woven in with stained swanauils. He
wore bracelets OF copper, and carried copper
spears, knives and arrows. He was warrior,
aud lived but to perish in battle. In those
days no ceremony was complete unless attend
ed by human sacrifice; execution of slaves was
of frequent occurrence for superstitious belief
deemed disaster and illness the doing of angry
spirits, only to be appeascd by the shedding of
human blood. Tribal wars and hand to hand
fights followed from the slightest disagreement.
1T was the custom then for all the young
men of the village to plunge each morning.
Winter and Summer, into the chilly stream,
stay in the icy waters till benumbed with
cold, and then to thrash one another with
stout thonged whips till circulation and ami.
nation were thoroughly restored. This novel
apprenticeship is said to have had the effect of
creating unusual stamina producing the abil-
ity to withstand cold and hunger, and deaden-
ing feeling. The Indians say that warrior
thus trained, though MORALLY wounded, would
face his foe and cut and stab while life remain
ed. In such duels they protected their heads
with wooden helmets, shaped in design accord
ing to their nation they also wore bnckskin
shirts, and bound their arms with strips of
leather Commanding competitions used to
be a popular form of entertainments an i'm
mense trough called Klook- Ook- Tsik, ID feet
long. ID inches in width, and Is in depth, was
filled with meats, bear and mountain goat, fish,
berries. and oil.
"The present generation of Chilkat Indians
is fast relinqushng tribal customs and cere-
MONIES and is taking but little interest in the
history of it's ancestors. Dances are no longer
held in which family head dresses and cos
tunes are worn. The great wooden banquet
ing-trough is now embodied in moss and in
grass that grows between the floor boards In
tho house where once old Kay Ts0o' assem-
bled his followers by drum beat, dispatched
them on the trail for war or trade, declared
the guilty and the innocent, and condemned to
death as he willed.
"In character these Indians are q strange
mpositon-unemotio morOse, unsympa-
thetic, superstitious, indifferent to death, with
out the slightest idea Of gratitude, and hav-
ing an astonishing respect for the property
of others When on trading journey or out
hunting, they will leave their belongings hang
ing on bushes all along the trail; and
snow-shoes, sometimes q musket, blankets,
leg of smoked bear, dried salmon, are fire.
quently noticed along an Indian path.
strates their utter want of feeling for the in
terests of others. While at one of our camps
party of Indians returned from journey to
the interior which they had made on snow
Shoes noticed that their chief, Klenta Koosh,
was not with them on their return, and l asked
one of the Indians, Kusu Klenta Koosh
('Where is Klenta Koosh y? Klake sekoo,
klake setteen e don't know, have not seen
him). Then he explained that he had noe
seen the chief for three DAYS While crossing
the mountains they were caught in dense fog
the party kept together for time by calling
constantly to one another, but finally the voice
of the chief grew fainter and fainter, and then
could no longer be heard. In the same breath
with the explanation the Indian asked me,
Have the salmon started to run up our river'
/ ignored the question and asked again, But
where is Klenta Koosh?' AS if disguised
at my interest in such a trivial matter, the
man answered quite snappishly, : don't know;
either he has been killed by bear or drowned
crossing one of the swollen streams'n