Daily camera., 1897-10-06
A STRANGE PEOPLE.
Some .Ceremonials Of Southern
Alaska Indiana
TheiCnrnival of Ghosts Is One of Their
Most impressive Festivals-
Their Queer Cor
tunes.

dixie are obliged to go through coun-
try inhabited by some very queer alb
origines who dwell along the coast of
southern Alaska. These natives DO most
of the freighting across the passes into
the interior, carrying loads on their
backs; but their population during
many centuries has been SO shut away
from other tribes by gigantic ranges of
snow-clad mountains that they have
developed a peculiar culture and Gus
tome unknown anywhere else. Hence
the exceptional value of monograph
about them, prepared by DR.. Franz
Boaz, a distinguished ethnologist, which
is to be published soon by the National
museum.
One of the most remarkable of the
festivals celebrated by the Indians is
carnival of ghosts, which is held each
winter. II scems to be derived from a
tradition that tells of a journey made
10y an adventurous individual to a re-
zion beneath the earth, inhabited by
phantOms. The celebration itself is a
mimical representation of the visit to
hades aforesaid, and the performer who
represents the submundane traveller
wears a necklace and headdress set
cound with skulls.
This festival requires elaborate prep
arations. Speaking tubes of dried giant
kelp are laid under the foot Of the lodge
house So as 10 terminate in the fire.
place. When the ceremonial is in prog
ress he performer disappears into a
ditch previously dug behind the fire
place, and then many voices are heard
coming out of the flames-really the
voices of persons hidden in adjoining
sooms, who speak through the tubes.
Later on an image representing ghost
is seen to rise out of the ground, carry
ing the performer.
Lannibalism is very conspicuous in
the myths current among these people,
who have themselves been eaters of hu-
man flesh up to a recent period. Indeed,
thongh the whites are supposed to have
put stop to such practices, it would
seem that secret indulgence in them
has not been wholly done away with.
Quite a number of strange demons
are worshiped as guardian spirits,
among them a cannibal demon that
lives on the mountains and always is
engaged in the pursuit of human beings
for his table. The smoke of his chin
ney 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 fabulous bird with an
immensely long beak which lives on
the brains of persons whose skulls it
fractures with it's bill. Anybody who is
so unfortunate as to encounter the can
nibal spirit may be transformed into a
grizzly bear. On the other hand if he
can please the demon he may obtain
power to handle fire without being
burned
Another guardian spirit is a fear
some warrior who lives in the far north.
lie travels constantly and never leaves
his canoe. By obtaining his protection
a man may become invulnerable, or he
may acquire power to catch the invisi-
Bile 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 this worm
can throw it into the body of an enemy,
who will die at once.
These Indians wear wooden masks in
their ceremonials Some of them are
cf enormous size and astonishingly gro
tesque The mask worn by performer
who represents the cannibal spirit, for
example, isIa huge, crocodile-like' head.
Another, representing the 6ird servant
of this spirit, is like the head of bird
with a bill four feet long. BY means
of strings pulled by the wearer the
great beall is made to open and shut
rapidly, producing loud clapping.-
ST. Louis Republic.