The record-union., 1892-08-03
ALASKAN INDIANS.
Ella Sterling Cummins Among the
Totem Poles of the Far North.
Indians, English and Music-A Tiny
Crone-American Manners and
Indian characteristics.


Victoria, was at Metlakatla. 1t was in
the night time, and the passengers clam
bered down the side of the ship and in
merry boatloads were landed at this most
interesting island.
OF all the tribes of Alaska, none are so
far advanced, nor so capable of self-sup-
port, as the Chimpsian tribe, here to be
found trained and educated under the
guidance of the well-known and even
celebrated missionary, Rev. Mr.. Duncan,
of whom whole history might be told in
itself. He is that missionary who first,
under the sanction of the English church,
undertook to benefit this tribe, and being
beset, hampered and INSTRUCTED in all his
efforts by ritualistic red tape, obtained
permission of the United States Govern
nent to have this island set apart for
them, and withdrerew from British CO.
lumbia the whole tribe ami became
United States settlers and wards. He has
been in reality to the Chimpsians what
Quetzel, the fair god of the Aztecs, is rep
resented to be in all those strange legends
of the past, and if the white man should
suddenly disappear Mr.. Duncan would
become the hero of new mythology, so
great has been his SeIf-Sacrltlce, so great
has been his success.
= 3
in these waters, and SO the passengers
were received Hospitality, and the native
band played for them to dance, and the
young girls presented the ladies with
dainty lunches of wild flowers. strange
and unknown, and when given dime in
return, gave profound bows and said. Il
thank you, very glad"
For our especial benefit the English
man. sent for Joseph Oriole, one of the
best types of the civilized Alaskan. for
whom he had already gotten a dictionary
and grammar, that we might hear him
speak. 1t was toggy and dark this night,
and ii we had been little further away
we should not have known that he was
an Indian. Yes, we are going hunting,
Edward and ], )" was one Of his phrases.
1t was something OF q shock to learn that
this well-bred young man has wife,
Hannah, who throws the dishes at him
when she does not like things generally.
and that she is the 'boss OF the ranch"
The Supposition is that Hannah must be
pretty we'll civilized, too.
And then as the boats came over the
water again the strains of music. made
by these well-wishers of dusky hue,
1oated over the tide as an earnest of what
may be done for the Improvement and
cultivation of this race. Loring and ass
Bay were prettily situated little cannery
hanletS on the water edge, with scrubby
little Indian hutS and house where the
y
her summer. 1t was about this time that
i developed taste for ''old crones." If
any poor Alaskan woman lived to be a
white-haired old lady wanted to see her.
/ was told there was something weird
and strange in the line of living human
mummy in one of the huts at Loring.
This was enough, and though it was wet,
Red Cap and l donned our rubber boots
and waded through the village in search
OF this particular hut.
We opened the door and peeped in, and
there were four women sitting around a
square opening in the floor where was
fire burning and the smoke ascending
through a large hole in the ceiling. In
one corner, on kind of bed covered
with blankets and skins, sat an old
woman wrinkled and gray nobody
knew how old. When given three small
pieces of silver, she knew at once that
one piece had dropped quicker than the
younger ones around her, showing that
though she was half blind she was not
lacking in perception. To us the atmos-
phere was smoky and awful. The only
wonder was why all of them were not
blind.
We asked if there were any other white
haired women, for this was evidently not
the one we were seeking. One of the
younger women arose and led US to an
other house, saying, in a very sad way:
1t is my mother, and she is very poor.n
blanket, lay a something curled up. The
woman spoke in Indian, and up sat a
tiny little creature with grizzled white
hair and eyes Stralnlng to see, though OBJ
scured by evidences of cataract. When
given quarter of dollar she under
stood easily and wished to shake hands
with uS-and her hands were not rough.
Though her tiny form might suggest d
mummy to the ordinary ships passenger,
there was such spirit of intelligence
shown in her quick response, and such a
spirit of gratitude i'll the good wishes she
gave us through her daughter that we
1eIt all distinction or race and civilization
fade away in the presence of one who
soon would tilt away from the Inadequate
earth-life which had been her share.
We were such pigmies in the presence
of the eternity which soon would claim
her. Ancient and shrunken in body as
she was, there was very sweet smile on
her lit brown face, that spoke of a
mysterious force within that was SUPERIOR
TO flesh and blood. 1t was a soul almost
free. The younger woman, who must
have been her granddaughter, explained
that they were Seattle Indians, who had
been stranded among the AlaSkans and
could never get back to their own tribe
again. Red Cap and 1 walked away.
hand-in-hand, very soberly We hoped
that the next time the soul of the tiuy
crone was sent to earth that she would
have place worthy of that beautiful
smile.
There was considerable excitement
when we arrived at Fort Wrangel, for
even from the deck of the Mexico could
we perceive the mysterious totem poles
standing up before the squat houses of
the Indians-we felt we were indeed near
the promised moment. In a kind of nil
grimage the ships passengers strayed
along the single street that circled around.
and faced the little bay, and across a long
bridge TO where the chiefs house stood
All along were women squatting on the
ground, with horn spoons, silver brace
let's and baskets for SALE while several
Indian men had little tables with Alaskan
garnets temptingly displayed, some as
big as marbles, and still half buried in
the slabs OF gray rock, or species of slate
in which they form. These were very
nice for souvenirs, making many people
happy at not such great expense. For
one can spend small fortune on these
absurd cuTios-Sl0 for small slate-caryed
totems, 81 for nice baskets, s. for fox
skins, 50 and $40 up to SO and more for
skins of bears for robes, besides much
small coin which melts away before horn
spoons, carvings, halibut-hooks, dance
mats, ana so on, TO say nothing of the
Chllcat blanket, which is cheap at $50.
l should like to say something about
the boats, gracefully arched, and made
often OF cedar, which are the chief prom
erty OF the prosperous Alaskan. They
were drawn up out of the water and COW
cred with blankets or filled with green
boughs to keep the sun from affecting
them, watched over by the women
mostly, as we would guard a favorite colt
or calf Indeed, / saw ROSY checked
girl filling bucket at the bay and carry
ing it up TO splash over one of them as if
it were labor of love that she was per-
forming. 1t seemed to me there must be
mistake somehow, for she was the liy-
ing IMAGE of Scotch girl in feature and