New-York tribune., 1896-10-24

bounded upon the bench, crying In a loud. firm
voice: Il am ready. ready to die. eI - ., md
followed his friends. taking up the Ielra " u ""N- CO.
chanting low and mournfuy: o-o-o-oo
ha a-ha "a -ch klu-kuk-ch- -klu-kuK' O-o-oo-o'
a-ha-a ha-a." So,
Ready TO die: ready to die; ready to die.
On the bench he paused turned. and erect ana
unhnching courted a martyrs death. In tha'
long line Of faces he saw no pity oniy @sleii! @ ~
termination. He fell. pierced 10 lhe nv hsui, -
the bullet Of the executioner. There WIN MAJ.
urc sobbinC every side in the ecstasirS vi
pity and grief, this innocent victim OF anolnei
crime gave his hearts blood to save the sa'ase
honor Of his people. , &,
modern instance Of this kind occurred IN
Hoonah some five years ago. GoolZuc an lhudn
deliberately shot through the heart n M,
hook, another Indian, with the ola ldea ol "io''
revenge. - T.,
The evening before. Jahoodas,y lknown IN
Hoonah Jim JohnsonD. already drunk W'e -.
hoochinoo, went to tn house Of chuSunsali, az
the other end of the village. to rcnIl MS so.o,, t
Chugungatu furnished the hoochinoo ana sent
his wife with Johnson 10 carry II nome; ,r
.Johnsons manner when outside the uq'l
alarmed the woman and she screamed. her
husband and his friends appeared, ana ne,cc
row ensuod. Johnson returned home alter III.
Ratchet intending to murder ChuSuhsat.L "ui ''S
finding his door closed and barred. cohlen'e"
himself with giving the weather-boardinE se' ,
eral very heavy blows. He then went home ana
to bed. saying to himself. very probahly hrSe eS
cuts on his door will l.. shame enough loi
Chugungatti.' ,.
The friends cf Chugungatti held an ndsna-
tiOp meeting. Are YOU gong 10 Itl tnIS Iti''
In the old days il was never 50. man pdiu
such an insult with his life"
The spark was kin1lej and famed INTO a
flame. Chugungatu and his friends hasteneu
to Johnson's home and called him out. Johnson
seized his knife and. in the skirmish when io-
lowed. Katchkahook. one Of Chugungatu 5
friends, shot johnson through the torsnsau' ,d"S
This happened al O'Clock. December y. 1879:
Goolzuc. friend of Johnson, at once de-
manded satisfaction. The village missionary a J.
ternately begged and threatened but met WIN
Il. .r;ei Kat L a whom
plored TO save himself by surrendering to the
civil authorities. was equally obdurate II shot
Johnson in self-defence;", he said; III Gooizu'
demands my life he shall have IT.
AT | O'clock that afternoon. in presence of the
whole town Katchkahook bounded lightly down
the steps leading from his home 10 the peaCh,
paused, turned abruptly and faced Gool2uc. VINO
raised his gun and shot him through the heart
Among these primitive folk. however, as well
as among their more enlightened and artificial
kinsmen. The iingling of the guinea helps the
hurt that honor feels" There is no wrong. not
even murder that cannot be atoned for ny pay
ment of money or goods. And the Thlinkets
are uncommonly thrifty in collecting such IN
demnity Somebody must pay 1t, whether ne be
the perpetrator of the wrong or not If pay
ment be postponed. the claim Is not forgotten
Years, even generations. may pass, but the de-
mand will one day be renewed. pressed. ana. II
possible enforced. Nor does IL matter. in the
Thlinket code OF ethics. whether the wrong was
intentional or accidental or indeed, whether
there was any wrong committed. So long as n
Thlinket has suffered. even in consequence of
his own unlawful acts. some one must pay
for it.
As one example. the story is told in Sitka Of a
drunken Indian who broke into a miners CABIN
during his absence and emptied his denllohn
of whskey The thief died in consequence "t ms
spree and his friends eXacted payment from the
poor miner whom he had robbed.
Quite as lauchable was the logic Of jim. the
well-known Sitka jeweller one nisht, soon
after the dance given 10 the Hoonahs. he ap-
reared with an interpreter before the Governor
in a state Of greatest excitement: His brother
had died. he said and he felt very bad Tie wait
cd moment for an expression Of rympathY. ana
to let his words have their full effect. then con-
tinued:
"My brother die He catch cold at dance. He
very good brother ard jim feel very bad
And what do you want me to 90 Tor you
asked the Governor.
He wants you to make the man who gave the
dance pay him fifty blankets the Interpreter
explained.
he then feel all right?
"Oh. yes; he feel all right then" answered
the interpreter promptly. quite unconscious "i
any satire in the question.
At the end OF an hour jim went away silenced.
hut none the less doggedy convinced that he
was being robbed Of what was lawfully his due.
The Government, Of course endeavors 10 dis
courage :his system. though not forcibly. and
it has succeeded in diminishing it to a slight eX-
tent With the disappearance Of blood atone
ment for capital offences, the demand for in
demnity for all sorts OF offences and mishaps
has increased. Ferocity has been transformed
into rapacity. Whether such change denotes
much moral elevation may. however, well he
doubted.