The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1897-09-10
ARE CANNIBALS, TOO
ALASKA HAS OTHER DRAWBACKS
BESIDES IOEBERGs.

Il
BESIDES ICEBERGS.
Myth in the Form of . Woman Who Lives
| IN the Woods and Travels Around with
I . Great Basket Stealing Children fos
! tho Purpose Of Eating Thsn-sEr.ngs
| Beliefs Of . Savage Alsakan Tribe
Which has Been Alienated From the
Rest of the World Gold-seekers Csc
| Them to Advantage.
| San Francisco, Sept. 9.-Aiong the
| coast Of Southern Alaska dwell some
very queer aborgines. as gold seekers
! fiocking 10 the klondike region will sure
" discover. They do the most Of the
frcighting across the passes into the in
terror, carrying loads on their backs, but
! their population during many centuries
his been SO smut away from other tribes
by gigantic ranges of snow clad mum
! tains that they have developed pecui-
ia culture and customs unknown any
wherc else. Hence the exceptional value
OF monograph about them prepared by
DR.. Franz Boaz, distinguished ethnoi-
oSist, which is to be published shortly
By the Ma tional Museum.
These natives may be said to live
{ largely in a world Of Imagination, mas
much as their habits and customs of liv-
ing are based to great extent upon the
ideas and beliefs wholly supernatural.
Creation from their point of view, is peo-
pied by strange monsters and demons,
which. while normally hostile to man,
may be rendered friendly ard even help
full with the aid Of certain ceremoniais
Of quasi religious character.
For example, the most important Of
these monsters is a serpent which has
head at each end of its body and a
human head in the middle. To touch
this strange monster these natives be-
ileve is death althe joints of the victim
becoming dislocated, but specially fav-
ored individuals are enabled to perform
wonderful feats by wearing a belt Of its
skin, while its eyes, used as sling stones,
will kill any animal, even whales. An
other of these fabulous beings is a wild
woman who lives in the woods. She has
enormous breasts, and carries a basket
into which she puts children whom she
steals for the purpose of eating.
One of the most remarkable Of the fes-
rivals celebrated by theindians is car
nival of ghosts, which is held each win
ter. 1t seems to be derived from a ira
dition that tells Of journey made by an
adventurous individual to a region be-
meath the earth, inhabited by phantoms.
The celebra ton itself is mimic represen-
tation of the visit to Hades aforesaid,
and the performer who represents the
submundane traveller wears a necklace
and headdress set round with skulls
Cannibalism is very conspicuous in the
myths current among these people, who
have themselves been eaters of human
flesh up to recent period. Indeed.
though the whites are supposed to have
put stop to such practice, il would seem
that secret indulgence in them has not
been wholly done away with.
Quite number of strange demons are
worshipped as guardian spirits-among
them a cannibal demon that lives on the
mountains and is always engaged in the
pursuit OF human beings for his table.
The smoke Of his chimneys is the color
OF blood, and he has a female slave who
gets food for him by catching men and
collecting corpses. In his house is a fab
ulou5 bird, with an immensely long beak,
which lives on the brains of people whose
skulls is fractured with its bill. ANY,
body who is so unfortunate as to encoun-
Ter the cannibal spirit may be formed
into a grizzly bear. On the other hand,
If he can please the demon. he may OBJ
tain power to handle fire without being
burned.
Another guardian spirit is a fearsome
warrior who lives in the far north He
travels costantly, and never leaves his
canoe. By obtaining his protection a
man may become invulnerable. or he
may acquire power to catch the invisible
disease demon. This demon is at all
times flying about in the air in the form
OF a worm. The fortunate protege of the
warrior spirit catching the worm can
throw IL into the body of an enemy. who
will die at once. The suggestion if the
modern germ theory Of disease contained
in this belief is quite interesting. Not
to be neglected amony the guardian spir-
its are certain ghosts. which bestow the
power Of returning to life after death.
DR.. Boaz has secured for the National
Museum a large number OF masks, such
as are worn by the indians of the Alas
kan coast in their ceremonials. Some of
them are OF enormous size and astonish-
ingly grotesque.