The Snowflake herald., 1921-01-28
CARVE HISTORY
ON TOTEM POLE
Indian Chief Engraving Tribal
Records on Skyscraping
Cedar Pole.
HAS ENTHUSIASM or ARTIST
When Work Is Completed the Pole
Will Stand in Front Of the School
for the Tribe to Keep Fresh
Legendary History.

Portland, Ore.-In these days Of
profiteering and wild scrambles for the
almighty dollar, it is a consolation to
find one man in the world who is not
money mad and who is working and
has been working asSiduOuSly for the
last five years all for an ideal and
with no ulterior thought of pecuniary
gain spurring him on. The remark
able part of 1t is that this artist, for
he is an artist of the highest type, is
a 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 we'll educated
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
dians lost the art of totem carving and
he is the only known totem pole maker
in 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
| torc pole At the close of the school
session each day finds him again hard
at work with chisel and mallet. 1t
can be seen therefore that all Of
the many hours he has devoted to his
pet 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
I
fresh their hereditary history.
"One of the principal reasons for
my devoting so many years to the max
ing of this gigantic history pole" said
shelton recently, "is to shatter the per-
sistent belief among so many Ameri-
cans as well as others that the totem
pole originally had for its purpose
mainly the idea of worship. I'll make
a wager that two out of every three
white persons who view totem poles in
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
pole is nothing more nor less than a
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, a totem pole maker
is historian. The historians of the
war will for years keep alive for fu-
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
Marne, the Somme, the Argonne and of
the armiStice and the peace table. Fol
centuries to come people will read
about those great twentieth century
events from the printed pages of many
BOOKS. Totem poles are in reality In
dian books and the marks and curious
carvings upon them take the place of
the printed words in the white mans
books. and are quite as readily trans
lated by the Indians of the tribe to
which the pole belongs"
Shelton is filed with enthusiasm
about his work, the enthusiasm of a
real artist. His face lights up at the
opportunity to talk Of his work, and
his black eyes flash. He is about
forty-five years old and in full Indian
regalia he looks as if he might have
just stepped from the printed pages
Of wild western fiction. In his store
clothes, however, although he would
not be mistaken for other than a red
skin, he resembles an acute business
man of today. During the war, al
though he was too old for active serv.
Ice. he showed an amount Of patriot.
ism that won him commendation from
the government At that particular
time he proved himself to be ''really''
American. Appearing in full Indian
regalia he was a great aid at swelling
subscriptions to all of the Liberty
loans, and also played a conspicuous
part In other war work.