Evening star., 1917-03-11
Arstocrats Among Indians and Their Alaskan Honnes

otherwise he thinks while before he
risks stopping.
1 am told that most of these Indian
families were founded by women The
Bear family started with a chiefs
daughter, who was out one day with
some other squaws picking strawher-
ries. A great bear came up and All OF
the girls but the chiefs daughter ran
away, but she put her hands on her
hips and laughed at him Thereunon
the bear ran after the other maidens
ana KILLED them. He fell in love with
,ne glrl who had scorned him and made
her ms wife. The fruit of the union
was girl who was half girl and half
bear. and she became the maternal am
cestor OF all the natives who now be-
long to the Bear totem. Another story
tens now family originated in a fe-
male grizzly bear, and a third of how
a woman founded the tribe of Wood
worms.
Indeed. the customs. myths and folk
lore OF these Alaskan Indians are such
that our government should nut irs
scientists to work gathering a record
OF them before il is too late. We
need some such work in Alaska as
Frank Cushing did among the Zunis.
and James Mooney is now doing.
the west. What we have concerning
the natives of Alaska comes largely
from missionaries. and from Ivan Pet
ron. who wrote wrote a great part of the
Gently published by MIR. Livingston F.
Jones, who lived for twenty years
among the Thlingets and got his in
formation concerning them at first
hand. His story is Interesting. It
gives legends of the crow, Deer and
other families. and includes legends
of many Of the tribes. He says that
the Whale family originated from an
Indian boy who amused himself by
carving images of whales out of cedar
and sailing them upon the water. One
day one of his cedar whales expanded
before his eyes and turned into a real
live whale. which swan away. From
this fact his parents knew he would
become great chief, and he did not
disappoint them. for he originated the
Whale tribe. branches of which
are scattered throughout southeastern
Alaska.
The Thlingets have legends which
give the origin OF man and tell how
the sun. moon and stars came TO he.
They have q story of the flood, during
which they say all the men and
animals were destroyed, with the ex-
ception of a raven. This raven. accord
ing to the Haida tradition, was sort
self at will, and put his feathers on
had gone down, he looked about for
mate of his own kind, but could
find none. At last he took cookie
shell from the beach and called IL his
wife BY and by in the shell he heard
a faint cry, like that OF a baby. The
noise grew louder and louder. and at
last a little female child came out or
the shell. This child married the raven
and from the two came all OF the
nf
so the country was peopled
The raven is held sacred among the
Thlingets, and in the past he was con-
sidered a god. He was known as Iehi'
the creator of the world. He was the
of mankind and enjoyed the
greatest respect. His power was un-
limited. He put the sun. moon and
stars in their places, ana from MIN
came man, animals and plants. When
he was born the world was dark and
with him came light. All this was be-
lieyed before the Christian missionaries
began to work in Alaska. Today the
Indians are almost all Christians. Most
of them are church-goers and many OF
them have high ideals OF the Christian
life There are some preachers among
them and religion is generally taught
10 the schools
Few people realize the change that
has been brought about among these
Indians through the work OF the mis-
sionaries and the bringing in OF our
=
tianized the Metlakahtlans. tells me
that cannibalism was common among
the Indians along the coast of British
Columbia, and he describes certain can
oibal feasts which he saw. Slavery ex-
Isted among the Thlingets at the time
we took possession of the territory. and
Ivan Petron. who In 1880 made a report
for the government as to the condition
Of these Indians. says that able-bodted
slaves were slaughtered on festive oc-
,asions. and that it was not uncommon
FOR a rich man or chief to have slaves
killed and buried with him at the time
II his death. in order that he might
nave servants I'm the spirit land. There
ire Indians living in Alaska today who
we're slaves in their youth. and 1T is
said their children are looked down
lpon by the families which have al
ways been free. The slaves were of two
who had been captured
n warfare and those who were born
nto bondage. The children of slaves
became slaves in their turn They watt
ID upon their masters. They did Ali
Iorts Of low work and were cruelty
reatod.
FRANK 0ACARp21ex8A