Daily camera., 1899-05-02

eURle6 crown the gate posts Oh ances-
trail halls. evidencing, with more or less
OF truth, the antiquity or valor OF the
dwellers therein, are the heraldic de-
scendants Of totem posts or yerita BILE
family trees. found among red Indians
and other barbaric folk. Therefore, the
unlucky burning of one or more of
these interesting relics at Fort Wran
gel. in Alaska. should command the
sympathy OF our Kings of Arms, Rouge
Croix. Blue Mantle and Rouge Dragon.
For the totem is the family crest Of
the barbarian, the genuineness Of
which not even that merciless exposer
of sham coats-of-arms would venture
TO question. Moreover, it has sig
nificance. and. assuredly, a history,
usually lacking in the devices which,
for consideration, your genealogy
hunter will discover or invent And
the significance lies in the words with
which a Micmac legend begins: In
the olden time men were as animals.
and animals as men; how this was no
one knows" For in early bar barrie
thought there was no dividing line be-
tween living things. fact to which,
only on more assured ground, modern
science bears witness. the vague
guesses of the past thus having con-
frmation from the certainties OF the
present.
The barbaric idea carried with II be-
lief in the descent OF the tribe from
some beast or bird, fish. or even insect,
and, since the savage also saw 10 di-
vlding line between the living and noa-
living. in descent from the great sun
himself or wayside stone. The an
testor from lom descent was traced
was his Ito - or 'otem," corrup-
tion OF the yonkin dodhaim. mean
ing clan mark" The Haidas believed
in their descent from the crow: the
Chippewyan totem is the dog. for
which reason that tribe would not
| make the creature beast Of burden ;
while the Delawares were As proud Of
their tortoise world bearing ancestor
as our old nobility OF their fore fath ers'
arrival here in the ConQueror'. ret
inue.
Among some Australian blackfellovs
he word ''kobong meaning friend"
or protector. Is the generic term for
The animal or plant from which de-
scent is claimed. Now this remarka-
BILE belief in the totem OF "kobonR,'
the range OF which is world wide, both
f. time and space-traces of 1t in these
islands and other civilized parts OF the
! globe havipS been affects
] the life of the savage constantly and
deeply. And, notably. in three ways
first, in worship of the totem: second.
in abstaIning from eating the totemic
animal or plant: third. in forbidding.
with the severest penalties against
/ transgressors, marriage between per
! sons OF the same totem that is, having
| the same name. and wearing OF using
I the same crest
Then theories of trinsmigration en-
/ ter into the general iiea. the Moquis.
/ for example. believing that after death
they live \ the form o: their totemic
/ animals, those OF the deer family be-
/ coming deer. OF the bear becoming
/ lears. and SO forth Hence too, tha
/ espect paid to the cries of animals
/ and the songs OF birds, since II is ar
/ tued that that which is akin to man
must have communion wiln him The
subject neighbors Itself to number oi
/ others in directions which cannot b
| followed IN this outline. but obviously
| has its chief Importance in the throl
| customs noted above. As to the first
named. II here suifices TO say that the
, orship of animals has its source a
| impetus in the attribution OF som<
| spirit or power incarnate in them
which. for the time being, puts theE
en- higher plane than man. for whom
| dread of thing exists in the degree
that the thing is unknown.
The properties of stimulating to fren
zy, or of soothing as narcotics. or o
healing or poisoning, which certain
plants possess, would fo ster like belle
in them. as among the Ojibways. wht
believe that the god OF the bsxz1al,
grass causes madness, and among tn,
Algonkin. who credit tie corn. the to
bacco and other plants with indwelhnl
spirits. The reluctance to eat the to
TEN. overcome only by ethrsateufnl
starvation. when the animals pArdoi
is asked, and propitiatory sacrifices ef
fered at the slaughter. is probably n
I
c}ean and unclean ruling many an OBJ
sCure custom, and explaining many
prejudice, as that. for example. agains
eating the hare. which Caesar speak
of as prevailing in Britain in his time
when our torefathers were so primi
| tive.
Inc totem poles represent the clal
crests OF those living In the house out
side which they are flxed. and, as fam
lilies OF different totems sometime
dwell together, the poles otter strans
mixtures of figures. The destructio
OF the poles at Fort Wrangel Ia n
grettable; but fortunately other group
in Alaska survive. notably that at Fos
Tongas; and. pictorially. the totem
with us In the ornamentsd bows q
canoes, which have their represents
, tive survivsls in the ngurehsads {
ships. And It's influence may be trace
. in the great animal mounds OF Mort
|, = nerica. in the grave posts OF II
| Australian continent in tAftOOinR An