The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-12-11
LPPMAN BRO

curiosity to all the white pilgrims who go
over Telegraph trail. The last rays OF the
setting sun fall upon the burial ground u
the savages, and the graves of the ram
tans reflect the sunlight upon the town Oh
Telegraph for an hour later than the town
could otherwise expect the suns hght-
Every grave is above ground-and the COL
fin is of tin, zinc or panied WOOD
The older inhabitants believe in crema-
ton. and when the time comes 20 bury
corpse they take the remains to the grave
ward. lay the body upon a funeral pyre'
and ignite the pitchy wood. When me
body is destroyed they gather up the rem
nants of the bones of the cremated, togetn-
er with a handful of mixed ashes ana de-
post them in a trunk purchased lot the
occasion. whereupon the trunk is erected
upon a pole as high as the deceased IN
dams standing in the tribe. To the eere-
nonv come all the Indians in the vicinity
no matter to what tribe they may beiohg:
INTO the trunk with the ashes are placed
new blankets. new guns, and valuable ar
ticles of all kinds, everything new. IL
NAV seem strange to see an enemy Oh the
dead Indian deposit a new gun and ne"
blanket in the trunk, for the next OF KIN
of the dead man must return the gun ana
blanket tenfold at The next ''potlatch'
TahItans Arc Great Givers.
.Potlatch" means ito give" An Indian
ranks highest in his tribe according TO the
amount of wealth he has given away me
Indian takes literally to himself the ieXe
"a the effect that it is more blessed to give
than 10 receive. and the happiest day Of
his life is when he can call all the lholahs
| together and give away everything ne pos
! sesses down to the clothes he STANDS IN
The Tahltan. who has never given pot
tr1t fa hove
Ground. He who has given most potlatches
| ~ his tribe is che HAS Tyee," or big
| chief and his lin truck is thrust closer TO
| tho skies than are those of his brethren
| While excavating for an addition IN the
| local iail at Telegraph Creek, during the
| mast summer, the wOrkmen unearthed COL
| fins of some of the younger ana more CIV
| iltzed Tahltans, who did not peheVe II
| cremation vet the fact that they, eVeh'
were possessed of some supersutsons was
nroved bv finding in the abnormal cavity
r. aocb skeleton quart bottle of some
white LIQUID while in the grinning jaws
! Of each skull a pipe was placed, with pack
! age of tobacco lying near
| The Tah,tans have lived not more than
| q generation at Tahltan Village. A few
| wears ago their tents extended west near
! " 10 GIenora, and frequent were theiI
| Disbursements with the Shake Indians
| whose reservation JOINS the town site o.
| Glenora Finally the Tahltans grew tired
of continual trouble and sent word tc
the "Great Father" at Victoria thar they
| wished him to come to them and aIoi
them a reservation. Officers We're sent tc
survey and allot the reservation, but ole
| Chief Shakes was too smart for both white
| man and Indian. His men brought hin
the news that the surveyors were
approaching, and jumping on his pony
| he FASTENED to the Tahitan camp With
| apparent friendliness, he told the Tail
| tans that officers were coming TO the
| river to arrest them and take them tC
| Victoria, where they would be cast into
Jail for wrong doing, and advised then
| to fly to the woods-which they did. Their
| Chief Shakes returned 10 his camp me-
| the white men, represented himself and
his tribe as the intended benefciaries OIL
the governments land potlatch, and actu.
ally succeeded in securing the Tahltar
reservation, which he had added to his
own. Then, when the frightened Tail
tans came in from their hiding places
old Shakes drove them twenty miles be.
youd his possessions, where they have re-
NAMED TO this day.
AS a result of association with theil
| white brethren, as the years roll by. the
| complexion of the Tahltan Indian grow:
| lighter and their desire TO live in towr
! becomes greater. Time and white blood
! will doubtless eradicate their belief In
! witches, and to these factors the authorl
ties at the head of Indian affairs in Brit.
ish Columbia seems content 10 leave the
| education of the Tahltans.
w. f. Thomson Jr