The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1897-08-12
THE ALASKAN NATIVE
A Race Neither Indians Nor EsQuimauX,
But MOnsOlianS.
SOME OF THEIR pECULlARlTIES
fast Becoming Acquainted Win
civilized ways, White Many are
Developing "A wonderful Faculty
for Accommodating wealth.

Nhite people gong INTO Alaska are IN
clined to regard the aboriginal inhabi-
tants as branch of the great race OF
American Indians; yet to the anthropolo-
gist they are an absolute and distinct
race, not having drop of the blood OF
the American race in their veins, unless
it has come from cross breeding with the
red Indians further south.
The inhabitants of Southeastern Alaska
and the adjacent British possessions are
purely Monaghan, and without doubt
come from Japanese origin. How they
came to be in America is a question that
will probably never be satisfactorily an
swered, says the New York Tribune.
These people resemble the japanese more
thBn they do any other nation of people
on the face of the globe, both in physiog-
nomy, traits of character, build and other
features. Their crude manufactures,
carvings in wood and walrus ivory have
decidedly Monaghan character and bent.
These people are found along the coast
and to quite an extent inland from sout b
OF Sitka to north OF The Yukon, where
they become a mixed race, having to a
large extent in the Yukon country mixed
with the Eskimo, producing a race that
is neither Eskimo, Aleut nor Alaskan in
the true sense of the term.
These people can be seen in their com
plete purity of blood at Chilkat, on Port
age bay, Lyon canal, about 90 miles north
ofJuneau. Here are situated the two
missions, known as Haines and Chilkat
missions, which are managed by the
Rev. William w. Warne, who is now in
the east, but who will return to Chilkat
this fall.
At Chilkat there are no mixed bloods,
and the people there, were it not for their
dress and their aboriginal life, might
readily be taken for low caste japanese.
They are fishermen mostly, and pay but
little attention to the mines, except that
many OF them go to juneau and work in
the mines there as laborers for day
wages.
When the Chilkat mission was first es
tabished some six or seven years ago
these people lived little better than ami
mails, and practiced the most degrading
and horrible rites of fetchism as their
religion. Their habitations were little
better than pigsties, and often as high
as 20 adults would live in a hut not more
than 10 feet square, with whole reg-
ment of dogs thrown in. Since the mis-
sion has been established, however, they
have learned to build better habtations,
many of them learning mechanical trades
and following them, and also they have
learned to wear the clothing of civiiza-
ton.
With the advent of the Christian mis-
sions, large numbers of the Chikats have
abandoned many OF their ancient Gus.
toms. In the old times they were wont
to indulge in the most cruel robberies of
the helpless. These:cases of looting were
taken by the robbed as a matter OF
course, as it Was the custom, and was
expected. Whenever man died, his rel
atives would turn his widow out of doors
at once and rob her of every piece OF
money, clothing and other property, even
to the rings on her finger and in her ears,
and the bracelets on her arms. They
would not even leave her single blan
ket, not piece of dried salmon, which is
their bread and meat, but would strip
her of everything, even to the clothing
on her person, leaving her standing in
the street OF their village as nude as the
Venus de Medic. When the wife died
her relatives would treat the surviving
husband in the same way, and in both
cases the robbed would have to begin life
over in some way. With the woman il
was usually by finding another husband,
and with the man by finding another
wife. Mr.. Warne, however, has succeed.
ed in breaking up this practice to a great
degree, and few cases now happen.
The Chilkats reckon their wealth in
blankets, and wealthy man will often
accumulate as many as 1000 blankets. To
add to their stock of blankets through
life they would undergo any hardship, in
many cases actually starving themselve
to add 10 their accumulation.
The ordinary food eaten by the Chilkats
is fresh or dried salmon, but when hun
cry they will often consume large guam
titles of lard and other fat. A storekeep,
er in juneau tells of one able bodied Chill
kat who came into his store and puchas-
ed a fourquart tin of hog lard and cotton
seed oil combined, an 4 ate every drop OF
it before leaving the store.
One of their greatest delicacies ia that
known as the salmon berry, a frnit sal
mon-red in color and shaped like black
berries. This fruit has musky and at
the same time an unpleasant flavor for
white people, but the Chilkats call them
their greatest relish. They eat large
quantities of them in an oil, the prepar-
alton Of which. to say the least. is pc
culiar.
In making this oil the women gather