The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1899-11-15
TOTEM POLE APPRECIATED.
ALASKA INDIANS DIsC0vER II TT
GREAT POSSIBILITIES.
A. . Monument They Aliswed - 10
Go "a Rnin, hist ~ . source Oh
Revenue Many Tribes Claim Own
eYshtp-Rtyai Chiefs ASK DaASees

words OF the poet. absence Hs&~es ss's
heart grow fandsr-"
From being neglected ane aecayahs
landmark In an obscure and abandoned
In6.zu village en- the coast Of Alaska. Inc
totem, r,oie has suddenly become the iorsg-
lest Idol Of a dozen siwash tribes and cd
faIped an alleged money value OF SlJ.os
ann all from q change 81 residence afsc
little ratnbca -hued paint.
The civic pride OF the struggling GEL
lection OF srnoke -begriased and saluies~
scented novels calling Itself Port lem
rsss-fselrg for totem pole purposes
once more infested with a slwasf pep
ulatian--has been deeply stirred. II sp-
pears. by the information that has drifisd
northwasd that the cedar mon1sita wnien
once stood lettering ard ursapPrecsafed
ruin on the village green. was inaeen
monument OF rare historical value ana IN
trinsic worth. and a representative Oh tue
tribe. Chief william r.. Kinfnnack. ras
dispatched to Seattle his friend and cen
fGensiai adviser. Lee McWiliiarns. armed
with a power OF attorney ard full author
fsy TO prosecute against the city OF Seattle
Z claim for the alleged money value Of the
quaint ornament of Pioneer place. snch
a claim. newspaper readers are aware. IL
now pending before the city council.
But Chief Hammock tn not alone in his
frouhies Another sachem oil the faf
North has HIS eye on the totem pole. Ghiel
Ks-Sheeks. the hereditary prince OK the
Cape Fox Indians. has Indirectly notified
the city of Seattle that his people have an
Interest in that totem pole which they pro-
nose 10 assert, even 10 the extent OF man
ming their big war canoe and coming down
prepared 10 carry the gaudy relic home In
triumph or stain the grass plot about II
with the biusst blood OF the tribe.
Other Aboriginal Fingers.
but this is not all. II might take the
wisdom OF modern Solomon. armed with
u eross-cut saw and a broad AK, 10 sue
ces1fuiiy arbitrase tho dispute between
Chief klnnnock and Chief ke-Sheeks,
provided the people Of Seattle were TO
meekiy submit to the loss OF the totem
pole. There are other aboriginal fingers In
the pie. however and several other hyaa
tyees Of the Alaskan archipelago are said
To eovet the pole. now that II has been
discovered to have . value that can be
measured In striped blankets. beads and
..hsochinoo.''
There is reason to believe that Chief
"Bsliy'' Kininnock and Chief Ke-Sheeks
were first stirred To tardy appreciation OF
the totem pole by tho widely circulated
SANDER Of certain individuals and news
papers In Seattle against the members OF
the -fnteiligencer Alaska excursion
who rescued the totem pole from the OBJ
iivion and decay to which 1t had been long
re!egated by its anondnm owners. and
brought 4; to this city. where II might he
restored and preserved as a memsnto OF
fast disappearing race.
II this was the case the maligrere OF
the enterprising exenrsionists huiided we'll.
Seafarng men who run between Seattle
and the towns OF the Alaska coast say that
every tribe that within u century has In
termarried with the Tongaxs mas heard of
the quiet little graft that Chief Kinin-
mock has prepared to work upon the peo-
pie Of Seattle. and that claimants fer
share OF tho family tree" ~ the tctem
pole might be called. viii soon be as plenty
as biaekberries.
Attorney n. n. Sachs. formerly superior
judge OF Jefferson county and until re-
Gently resident of Port Townsend, Ii tho
legal representative of Lee McWilliams.
who in turn claims to represent Chief Kin
innock. Judge Sachs seems 10 be few
chips shy regarding the exact pretensions
OF his siwash client I'm the North. bu, nsi-
mated in recent interview that Chief
kininnock claimed the totem pole as his
own personal property. and was prepared
to prove that he had personally supersn-
tended the carving Of portion of the
monument and erected II in memory Of his
departed father. once the great chief OF
the Tongass tribe,
Mr.. sachs Full Of Denlnls.
With the ardent zeal of u lawyer for his
client. Judge Sachs dsays the claim Of
Chief Re-Sheeks. He admits that that In
dividuai. by virtue az being the head Of
the Cape Fox tribe. which II appears Is n
branch Of the Tonxass. asserts some title
10. the totem pole. bur says that n will ha
found 10 be subordinate and inferior to
that OF Chief Kinlnnock.
Judge Sachs says that the claim Of Chief
kinInnoek IN not 81 recent origin ana states
that ii WAS placed In his hands even before
the totem pole was erected in Pioneer
place. Prior Z, that, Judge saehs says.
Chief Kiainnoek laid the matter ~ the
alleged Dissertation OF his sire's last rest
ing place before Gov. BRADY, % Alaska
MeWllliams. the alleged representative
OF the Tonwass chief seems IN be a man
Of mystery, Judge Sachs SAYS that he is a
mining operator 81 kslchikan, who has
been on intimate terms with the Tongass
Indians Tor years. Whether the intimacy
has extended To the point Of having. also.
a personal interest in the toterl pole aees
not appear.
There are some facts regarding the te,ern
poa with which the people ~ Seattle ara
not acquainted. but fer which all wha went
10 Alaska with the t-sntel}ixeneer rx~
cnrssoa VIII voueh. These facts are ,hAt
the totem pole when taken fresss fha sse-
serted Indian village was in the last stages
of decay. and bare every evidence ~ hsv-
Ing been untouched by the hand 81 man
civilized or uncsvillssa. for tie o@ss part
OF "A century
Changed nv White Mas Hands
The pole Was Simply a ratt3ng cedar log
and the Aera1dic devices carved upan Il
were Ia many cases almost elaborated hs
decay and loB9 exposure go sAa clements
After the stick vas araognt 20 seasftn 4
WAS PLACED IN ;ee hands ~ skilled artisans
who. VIA the as of tAess familiar With
the history Of ghe Alaska Indians ANA ts4ar
hanaiwssk. carefully restored ths cary
ings. unsti Few they Sa douht apgaAs vrae.
ttsAiiy they a!e w}sea fres1 frsrn ia
hard Of she fnaisa sca,7snr. possibly "A
century seo.
Il wenls; - practically ta1no sS3asss - nns
in the whosa territory 90 Alaska such
thing as a nss tpseFn ps9ie sni II VII Ns-
ferss many years hs Impossible 80 l,yss,.ssys
these quaint monuments tAss. scattered