The Jasper news. [volume] (Jasper, Missouri) 1898-1924, 1920-11-25
Indian Chief Engraving Tribal
Records on SkysCraping
Cedar Pole.
HAS ENTHUSIASM OF ARTIST
When Work ls Completed the Pole
VIII Stand In Front Of the School
for the Tribe to Keep Fresh
Legendary History.

Portland, Ore.-ln these days of
profiteering and wild scrambes Tor the
almighty dollar, It Is consolation to
find one man In the world who IL not
money mad and who is working and
has been working assiduously for the
last five years all for an ideal and
with no Interior thought of pecuniary
gain squirting him on. The remark
able part of II is that this artist, for
he is an artist Of the highest type, is
n full-blooded American Indian chief.
He answers to the name of william
Shelton, and when not busy perfect
ing his life work. a mOnstrous and
skyscraping totem pole upon which is
inscribed the history of the Snoho-
mish tribe, he supervises the running
Of the Indian reservation school at
Tulalip.
Although Shelton is well educcted
and thoroughly familiar with the world
of business, he prefers to devote his
time and attention toward the fulfill
ment Of an ideal. Generations ago In
dams lost the art of totem carving. and
he Is the only known totem pole maker
III the world today
Five Years Consumed.
To date Shelton has worked during
his spare time more than five years
on the gigantic post. This work has
been accomplished aside from his du-
ties as head of the reservation school.
Early every morning before he begins
the duties of directing the functions
of the schools he is at work on his his
torlc pole. At the close of the school
session each day finds him again hard
at work with chisel and mRllet. II
can be seen therefore that all Of
the many hours he has devoted to his
ret project might be termed overtime.
When finished the pole will stand
more than 100 feet in height and will
measure nearly seven feet In diameter.
1t has been selected from the greatest
of the big cedars which grow on the
reservation at Tulalip. When the work
is completed the pole will stand in
front Of the school for the tribe, where
for generations to come it will keep
fresh their hereditary history.
zone of the principal reasons for
my devoting so many years to the max
ing of this gigantic history pole" said
Shelton recently, as to shatter the rer-
sstent belief among so many Amcri-
cans as well as others that the totem
pole originally had for its purpose
NANNY the idea of worship. I'll make
wager that two out of every three
white persons who view totem poles In
parks, or who go to visit the gigantic
pole at Seattle Wash. have the idea
that the pole at one time was wOr-
SHIPPED by some Indian tribe.
Pole only Historical.
"Such is not the case. The totem
poe is nothing more nor Jess than II
history done In wood carving. Those
persons who are writing or who will
write the history of the recent great
conflict In Europe are, in the eyes OF
many Indians. in reality totem pole
makers. In short, totem pole maker
is q historian. The historians of the
war will for years keep alive for flu
ture generations the story of the rise
and fall of the much-despised kaiser
OF the rape of belgium, of the coming
of the Yanks, of the battles of the