The Native Races [of the Pacific states], Volume 1, Wild Tribes

The Koniagas derive their name from the inhabitants of the island of Kadiak, who, when first discovered, called themselves Kanagist.[73 - Kadiak 'is a derivative, according to some authors, from the Russian Kadia, a large tub; more probably, however, it is a corruption of Kaniag, the ancient Innuit name.' Dall's Alaska, p. 532. Holmberg thinks that the word Kadiak arose from Kikchtak, which in the language of the Koniagas means a large island. 'Der Name Kadjak ist offenbar eine Verdrehung von Kikchtak, welches Wort in der Sprache der Konjagen "grosse Insel" bedeutet und daher auch als Benennung der grössten Insel dieser Gruppe diente.' Ethnographische Skizzen über die Völker des Russischen Amerika, p. 75. 'A la division Koniagi appartient la partie la plus septentrionale de l'Alaska, et l'île de Kodiak, que les Russes appellent vulgairement Kichtak, quoique, dans la langue des naturels, le mot Kightak ne désigne en général qu'une île.' Humboldt, Essai Pol., tom. i., p. 347. Coxe affirms that the natives 'call themselves Kanagist.' Russian Dis., p. 135. And Sauer says, 'the natives call themselves Soo-oo-it.' Billings' Ex., p. 175. 'Man verstand von ihnen, dass sie sich selbst Kanagist nennen.' Neue Nachr., p. 114.] They were confounded by early Russian writers with the Aleuts. English ethnologists sometimes call them Southern Eskimos. From Kadiak they extend along the coast in both directions; northward across the Alaskan Peninsula to Kotzebue Sound, and eastward to Prince William Sound. The Koniagan family is divided into nations as follows: the Koniagas proper, who inhabit the Koniagan Archipelago; the Chugatshes,[74 - Tschugatsches, Tschugatsi or Tschgatzi. Latham, Native Races, p. 290, says the name is Athabascan, and signifies 'men of the sea.'] who occupy the islands and shores of Prince William Sound; the Aglegmutes, of Bristol Bay; the Keyataigmutes, who live upon the river Nushagak and the coast as far as Cape Newenham; the Agulmutes, dwelling upon the coast between the Kuskoquim and Kishunak rivers; the Kuskoquigmutes,[75 - Kuskoquigmutes, Kuskokwimen, Kuskokwigmjuten, Kusckockwagemuten, Kuschkukchwakmüten, or Kaskutchewak.] occupying the banks of the river Kuskoquim; the Magemutes, in the neighborhood of Cape Romanzoff; the Kwichpagmutes, Kwichluagmutes, and Pashtoliks, on the Kwichpak, Kwickluak, and Pashtolik rivers; the Chnagmutes, near Pashtolik Bay; the Anlygmutes, of Golovnin Bay, and the Kaviaks and Malemutes, of Norton Sound.[76 - The termination mute, mut, meut, muten, or mjuten, signifies people or village. It is added to the tribal name sometimes as a substantive as well as in an adjective sense.] "All of these people," says Baron von Wrangell, "speak one language and belong to one stock."

The most populous district is the Kuskoquim Valley.[77 - 'Herr Wassiljew schätzt ihre Zahl auf mindestens 7000 Seelen beiderlei Geschlechts und jeglichen Alters.' Baer, Stat. u. Ethn., p. 127.] The small islands in the vicinity of Kadiak were once well peopled; but as the Russians depopulated them, and hunters became scarce, the natives were not allowed to scatter, but were forced to congregate in towns.[78 - 'Es waren wohl einst alle diese Inseln bewohnt.' Holmberg, Ethn. Skiz., p. 76.] Schelikoff, the first settler on Kadiak, reported, in that and contiguous isles, thirty thousand natives. Thirty years later, Saritsheff visited the island and found but three thousand. The Chugatshes not long since lived upon the island of Kadiak, but, in consequence of dissensions with their neighbors, they were obliged to emigrate and take up their residence on the main land. They derived their manners originally from the northern nations; but, after having been driven from their ancient possessions, they made raids upon southern nations, carried off their women, and, from the connections thus formed, underwent a marked change. They now resemble the southern rather than the northern tribes. The Kadiaks, Chugatshes, Kuskoquims, and adjacent tribes, according to their own traditions, came from the north, while the Unalaskas believe themselves to have originated in the west. The Kaviaks intermingle to a considerable extent with the Malemutes, and the two are often taken for one people; but their dialects are quite distinct.

    LAND OF THE KONIAGAS.

The country of the Koniagas is a rugged wilderness, into many parts of which no white man has ever penetrated. Mountainous forests, glacial cañons, down which flow innumerable torrents, hills interspersed with lakes and marshy plains; ice-clad in winter, covered with luxuriant vegetation in summer. Some sheltered inlets absorb an undue proportion of oceanic warmth. Thus the name Aglegmutes signifies the inhabitants of a warm climate.

Travelers report chiefs among the Koniagas seven feet in height, but in general they are of medium stature.[79 - The Malemutes are 'a race of tall and stout people.' Whymper's Alaska, p. 159. 'Die Kuskokwimer sind, mittlerer Statur, schlank, rüstig und oft mit grosser Stärke begabt.' Baer, Stat. u. Ethn., p. 135. Dixon's Voy., p. 186. 'Bisweilen fallen sogar riesige Gestalten auf, wie ich z. B. einen Häuptling in der igatschen Bucht zu sehen Gelegenheit hatte, dessen Länge 6¾ Fuss betrug.' Holmberg, Ethn. Skiz., p. 80. The chief at Prince William Sound was a man of low stature, 'with a long beard, and seemed about sixty years of age.' Portlock's Voy., p. 237. A strong, raw-boned race. Meares' Voy., p. 32. At Cook's Inlet they seemed to be of the same nation as those of Pr. Wm. Sd., but entirely different from those at Nootka, in persons and language. Cook's Third Voy., vol. ii., p. 400. They are of 'middle size and well proportioned.' Dixon's Voy., p. 68. 'They emigrated in recent times from the Island of Kadyak, and they claim, as their hereditary possessions, the coast lying between Bristol Bay and Beering's Straits.' Richardson's Nar., vol. i., p. 364. 'Die Tschugatschen sind Ankömmlinge von der Insel Kadjack, die während innerer Zwistigkeiten von dort vertrieben.' Baer, Stat. u. Ethn., p. 116.] Their complexion may be a shade darker than that of the Eskimos of the northern coast, but it is still very light.[80 - Achkugmjuten, 'Bewohner der warmen Gegend.' Holmberg, Ethn. Skiz., p. 5. 'Copper complexion.' Lisiansky's Voy., p. 194.] The Chugatshes are remarkable for their large heads, short necks, broad faces, and small eyes. Holmberg claims for the Koniagas a peculiar formation of the skull; the back, as he says, being not arched but flat. They pierce the septum of the nose and the under lip, and in the apertures wear ornaments of various materials; the most highly prized being of shell or of amber. It is said that at times amber is thrown up in large quantities by the ocean, on the south side of Kadiak, generally after a heavy earthquake, and that at such times it forms an important article of commerce with the natives. The more the female chin is riddled with holes, the greater the respectability. Two ornaments are usually worn, but by very aristocratic ladies as many as six.[81 - 'They bore their under lip, where they hang fine bones of beasts and birds.' Staehlin's North. Arch., p. 33. 'Setzen sich auch – Zähne von Vögeln oder Thierknochen in künstliche Oeffnungen der Unterlippe und unter der Nase ein.' Neue Nachr., p. 113.] Their favorite colors in face-painting are red and blue, though black and leaden colors are common.[82 - The people of Kadiak, according to Langsdorff, are similar to those of Unalaska, the men being a little taller. They differ from the Fox Islanders. Voy., pt. ii., p. 62. 'Die Insulaner waren hier von den Einwohnern, der vorhin entdeckten übrigen Fuchsinsuln, in Kleidung und Sprache ziemlich verschieden.' Neue Nachr., p. 113. 'Ils ressemblent beaucoup aux indigènes des îles Curiles, dépendantes du Japon.' Laplace, Circumnav., vol. vi., p. 45.] Young Kadiak wives secure the affectionate admiration of their husbands by tattooing the breast and adorning the face with black lines; while the Kuskoquim women sew into their chin two parallel blue lines. The hair is worn long by men as well as women. On state occasions, it is elaborately dressed; first saturated in train-oil, then powdered with red clay or oxide of iron, and finished off with a shower of white feathers. Both sexes wear beads wherever they can find a place for them, round the neck, wrists, and ankles, besides making a multitude of holes for them in the ears, nose, and chin. Into these holes they will also insert buttons, nails, or any European trinket which falls into their possession.[83 - 'They wore strings of beads suspended from apertures in the lower lip.' Lisiansky's Voy., p. 195. 'Their ears are full of holes, from which hang pendants of bone or shell.' Meares' Voy., p. xxxii. 'Elles portent des perles ordinairement en verre bleu, suspendues au-dessous du nez à un fil passé dans la cloison nasale.' D'Orbigny, Voy., p. 573. 'Upon the whole, I have nowhere seen savages who take more pains than these people do to ornament, or rather to disfigure their persons.' At Prince William Sound they are so fond of ornament 'that they stick any thing in their perforated lip; one man appearing with two of our iron nails projecting from it like prongs; and another endeavouring to put a large brass button into it.' Cook's Third Voy., vol. ii., p. 370. They slit the under lip, and have ornaments of glass beads and muscle-shells in nostrils and ears; tattoo chin and neck. Langsdorff's Voy., vol. ii., p. 63. 'Die Frauen machen Einschnitte in die Lippen. Der Nasenknorpel ist ebenfalls durchstochen.' Baer, Stat. u. Ethn., p. 135.]

    KADIAK AND KUSKOQUIM DRESS.

The aboriginal dress of a wealthy Kadiak was a bird-skin parka, or shirt, fringed at the top and bottom, with long wide sleeves out of which the wearer slipped his arms in an emergency. This garment was neatly sewed with bird-bone needles, and a hundred skins were sometimes used in the making of a single parka. It was worn with the feathers outside during the day, and inside during the night. Round the waist was fastened an embroidered girdle, and over all, in wet weather, was worn an intestine water-proof coat. The Kadiak breeches and stockings were of otter or other skins, and the boots, when any were worn, were of seal-neck leather, with whale-skin soles. The Russians in a measure prohibited the use of furs among the natives, compelling them to purchase woolen goods from the company, and deliver up all their peltries. The parkas and stockings of the Kuskoquims are of reindeer-skin, covered with embroidery, and trimmed with valuable furs. They also make stockings of swamp grass, and cloaks of sturgeon-skin. The Malemute and Kaviak dress is similar to that of the northern Eskimo.[84 - The Kadiaks dress like the Aleuts, but their principal garment they call Konägen; Langsdorff's Voy., pt. ii., p. 63. Like the Unalaskas, the neck being more exposed, fewer ornamentations. Sauer, Billings' Voy., p. 177. 'Consists wholly of the skins of animals and birds.' Portlock's Voy., p. 249. A coat peculiar to Norton Sound appeared 'to be made of reeds sewed very closely together.' Dixon's Voy., p. 191. 'Nähen ihre Parken (Winter-Kleider) aus Vögelhäuten und ihre Kamleien (Sommer-Kleider) aus den Gedärmen von Wallfischen und Robben.' Baer, Stat. u. Ethn., p. 117. At Norton Sound 'principally of deer-skins.' Cook's Third Voy., vol. ii., p. 484. 'Ihre Kleider sind aus schwarzen und andern Fuchsbälgen, Biber, Vogelhäuten, auch jungen Rennthier and Jewraschkenfellen, alles mit Sehnen genäht.' Neue Nachr., p. 113. 'The dress of both sexes consists of parkas and camleykas, both of which nearly resemble in form a carter's frock.' Lisiansky's Voy., p. 194.]

The Chugatshes, men, women, and children, dress alike in a close fur frock, or robe, reaching sometimes to the knees, but generally to the ankles. Their feet and legs are commonly bare, notwithstanding the high latitude in which they live; but they sometimes wear skin stockings and mittens. They make a truncated conic hat of straw or wood, in whimsical representation of the head of some fish or bird, and garnished with colors.[85 - 'Una tunica entera de pieles que les abriga bastantemente.' Bodega y Quadra, Nav., MS. p. 66. 'By the use of such a girdle, it should seem that they sometimes go naked.' Cook's Third Voy., vol. ii., p. 437.]

    DWELLINGS AND FOOD OF THE KONIAGAS.

The Koniagas build two kinds of houses; one a large, winter village residence, called by the Russians barabara, and the other a summer hunting-hut, placed usually upon the banks of a stream whence they draw food. Their winter houses are very large, accommodating three or four families each. They are constructed by digging a square space of the required area to a depth of two feet, placing a post, four feet high above the surface of the ground, at every corner, and roofing the space over to constitute a main hall, where eating is done, filth deposited, and boats built. The sides are of planks, and the roof of boards, poles, or whale-ribs, thickly covered with grass. In the roof is a smoke-hole, and on the eastern side a door-hole about three feet square, through which entrance is made on hands and knees, and which is protected by a seal or other skin. Under the opening in the roof, a hole is dug for fire; and round the sides of the room, tomb-like excavations are made, or boards put up, for sleeping-places, where the occupant reposes on his back with his knees drawn up to the chin. Adjoining rooms are sometimes made, with low underground passages leading off from the main hall. The walls are adorned with implements of the chase and bags of winter food; the latter of which, being in every stage of decay, emits an odor most offensive to unhabituated nostrils. The ground is carpeted with straw. When the smoke-hole is covered by an intestine window, the dwellings of the Koniagas are exceedingly warm, and neither fire nor clothing is required.[86 - 'Plastered over with mud, which gives it an appearance not very unlike a dung hill.' Lisiansky's Voy., p. 214. Sea-dog skin closes the opening. Langsdorff's Voy., pt. ii., p. 62. The Kuskoquims have 'huttes qu'ils appellent barabores pour l'été.' D'Orbigny, Voy., p. 574. 'Mit Erde und Gras bedeckt, so dass man mit Recht die Wohnungen der Konjagen Erdhütten nennen kann.' Holmberg, Ethn. Skiz., p. 97. 'A door fronting the east.' Sauer, Billings' Voy., p. 175. At Norton Sound 'they consist simply of a sloping roof, without any side-walls.' Cook's Third Voy., vol. ii., p. 484. Build temporary huts of sticks and bark. Portlock's Voy., p. 253.] The kashim, or public house of the Koniagas, is built like their dwellings, and is capable of accommodating three or four hundred people.[87 - 'In dem Kashim versammelt sich die männliche Bevölkerung des ganzen Dorfes zur Berathschlagung über wichtige Angelegenheiten, über Krieg und Frieden, etc.' Baer, Stat. u. Ethn., p. 129.] Huts are built by earthing over sticks placed in roof-shape; also by erecting a frame of poles, and covering it with bark or skins.

The Koniagas will eat any digestible substance in nature except pork; from which fact Kingsborough might have proven incontestably a Jewish origin. I should rather give them swinish affinities, and see in this singularity a hesitancy to feed upon the only animal, except themselves, which eats with equal avidity bear's excrements, carrion birds, maggoty fish, and rotten sea-animals.[88 - 'Le poisson est la principale nourriture.' D'Orbigny, Voy., p. 574. 'Berries mixed with rancid whale oil.' 'The fat of the whale is the prime delicacy.' Lisiansky's Voy., pp. 178, 195. 'Meistentheils nähren sie sich mit rohen und trocknen Fischen, die sie theils in der See mit knöchernen Angelhaken, theils in den Bächen mit Sacknetzen, die sie aus Sehnen flechten, einfangen.' Neue Nachr., p. 114. They generally eat their food raw, but sometimes they boil it in water heated with hot stones. Meares' Voy., p. xxxv. The method of catching wild geese, is to chase and knock them down immediately after they have shed their large wing-feathers; at which time they are not able to fly. Portlock's Voy., p. 265.] When a whale is taken, it is literally stripped of everything to the bare bones, and these also are used for building huts and boats.[89 - 'Ich hatte auf der Insel Afognak Gelegenheit dem Zerschneiden eines Wallfisches zuzusehen und versichere, dass nach Verlauf von kaum 2 Stunden nur die blanken Knochen auf dem Ufer lagen.' Holmberg, Ethn. Skiz., p. 91.] These people can dispose of enormous quantities of food; or, if necessary, they can go a long time without eating.[90 - The Kadiaks 'pass their time in hunting, festivals, and abstinence. The first takes place in the summer; the second begins in the month of December, and continues as long as any provisions remain; and then follows the period of famine, which lasts till the re-appearance of fish in the rivers. During the period last mentioned, many have nothing but shell-fish to subsist on, and some die for want.' Lisiansky's Voy., pp. 209, 210.] Before the introduction of intoxicating drinks by white men, they made a fermented liquor from the juice of raspberries and blueberries. Tobacco is in general use, but chewing and snuffing are more frequent than smoking. Salmon are very plentiful in the vicinity of Kadiak, and form one of the chief articles of diet. During their periodical ascension of the rivers, they are taken in great quantities by means of a pole pointed with bone or iron. Salmon are also taken in nets made of whale-sinews. Codfish are caught with a bone hook. Whales approach the coast of Kadiak in June, when the inhabitants pursue them in baidarkas. Their whale-lance is about six feet in length, and pointed with a stone upon which is engraved the owner's mark. This point separates from the handle and is left in the whale's flesh, so that when the body is thrown dead upon the beach, the whaler proves his property by his lance-point. Many superstitions are mentioned in connection with the whale-fishery. When a whaler dies, the body is cut into small pieces and distributed among his fellow-craftsmen, each of whom, after rubbing the point of his lance upon it, dries and preserves his piece as a sort of talisman. Or the body is placed in a distant cave, where, before setting out upon a chase, the whalers all congregate, take it out, carry it to a stream, immerse it and then drink of the water. During the season, whalers bear a charmed existence. No one may eat out of the same dish with them, nor even approach them. When the season is over, they hide their weapons in the mountains.

In May, the Koniagas set out in two-oared baidarkas for distant islands, in search of sea-otter. As success requires a smooth sea, they can hunt them only during the months of May and June, taking them in the manner following. Fifty or one hundred boats proceed slowly through the water, so closely together that it is impossible for an otter to escape between them. As soon as the animal is discovered, the signal is given, the area within which he must necessarily rise to the surface for air, is surrounded by a dozen boats, and when he appears upon the surface he is filled with arrows. Seals are hunted with spears ten or twelve feet in length, upon the end of which is fastened an inflated bladder, in order to float the animal when dead.

    THE KUSKOKWIGMUTES AND MALEMUTES.

The Kuskokwigmutes are less nomadic than their neighbors; being housed in permanent settlements during the winter, although in summer they are obliged to scatter in various directions in quest of food. Every morning before break of day, during the hunting-season, a boy lights the oil-lamps in all the huts of the village, when the women rise and prepare the food. The men, excepting old men and boys, all sleep in the kashim, whither they retire at sunset. In the morning they are aroused by the appearance of the shamán, arrayed in his sacerdotal robes, and beating his sacred drum. After morning worship, the women carry breakfast to their husbands in the kashim. At day-break the men depart for their hunting or fishing, and when they return, immediately repair to the kashim, leaving the women to unload and take care of the products of the day's work. During the hunting-season the men visit their wives only during the night, returning to the kashim before daylight.

The Malemutes leave their villages upon the coast regularly in February, and, with their families, resort to the mountains, where they follow the deer until snow melts, and then return to catch water-fowl and herring, and gather eggs upon the cliffs and promontories of the coast and islands. In July is their salmon feast. The fawns of reindeer are caught upon the hills by the women in August, either by chasing them down or by snaring them. Deer are stalked, noosed in snares, or driven into enclosures, where they are easily killed. At Kadiak, hunting begins in February, and in April they visit the smaller islands for sea-otter, seals, sea-lions, and eggs. Their whale and other fisheries commence in June and continue till October, at which time they abandon work and give themselves up to festivities. The seal is highly prized by them for its skin, blubber, and oil. One method of catching seals illustrates their ingenuity. Taking an air-tight seal-skin, they blow it up like a bladder, fasten to it a long line, and, concealing themselves behind the rocks, they throw their imitation seal among the live ones and draw it slowly to the shore. The others follow, and are speared or killed with bow and arrows. Blueberries and huckleberries are gathered in quantities and dried for winter use; they are eaten mixed with seal-oil. The Koniagas are also very fond of raw reindeer-fat. They hunt with guns, and snare grouse, marten, and hares. A small white fish is taken in great quantities from holes in the ice. They are so abundant and so easily caught that the natives break off the barbs from their fish-hooks in order to facilitate their operations.

The white polar bear does not wander south of the sixty-fifth parallel, and is only found near Bering Strait. Some were found on St Matthew Island, in Bering Sea, but were supposed to have been conveyed thither upon floating ice. The natives approach the grizzly bear with great caution. When a lair is discovered, the opening is measured, and a timber barricade constructed, with an aperture through which the bear may put his head. The Indians then quietly approach and secure their timbers against the opening of the den with stones, and throw a fire-brand into the den to arouse the animal, who thereupon puts his head out through the hole and meets with a reception which brings him to an untimely end.[91 - 'Wild animals which they hunt, and especially wild sheep, the flesh of which is excellent.' Lisiansky's Voy., p. 188. They eat the larger sort of fern-root baked, and a substance which seemed the inner bark of the pine. Cook's Third Voy., vol. ii., p. 374. 'Die Eingebornen essen diese Wurzeln (Lagat) roh und gekocht; aus der Wurzel, nachdem sie in Mehl verwandelt ist, bäckt man, mit einer geringen Beimischung von Weizenmehl, süssliche, dünne Kuchen.' Sagoskin, Tagebuch, in Denkschr. d. russ. Geog. Gesell., p. 343.]

    WAR, IMPLEMENTS, AND GOVERNMENT.

In former times, the Koniagas went to war behind a huge wooden shield a foot thick and twelve feet in width. It was made of three thicknesses of larch-wood, bound together with willows, and with it they covered thirty or forty lancers.[92 - 'Ihre hölzernen Schilde nennen sie Kujaki.' Neue Nachr., p. 114.] They poisoned their arrow and lance points with a preparation of aconite, by drying and pulverizing the root, mixing the powder with water, and, when it fermented, applying it to their weapons.[93 - 'Selecting the roots of such plants as grow alone, these roots are dried and pounded, or grated.' Sauer, Billings' Ex., p. 178.] They made arrow-points of copper, obtaining a supply from the Kenai of Copper River;[94 - 'Die Pfeilspitzen sind aus Eisen oder Kupfer, ersteres erhalten sie von den Kenayern, letzteres von den Tutnen.' Baer, Stat. u. Ethn., p. 118. 'De pedernal en forma de arpon, cortado con tanta delicadeza como pudiera hacerlo el mas hábil lapidario.' Bodega y Quadra, Nav., MS. p. 66.] and the wood was as finely finished as if turned in a lathe.

The boats of the Koniagas are similar to those of the north, except that the bow and stem are not alike, the one turning up to a point and the other cut off square.[95 - At Prince William Sound Cook found the canoes not of wood, as at Nootka. At Bristol Bay they were of skin, but broader. Third Voy., vol. ii., pp. 371, 437. 'Die kadjakschen Baidarken unterscheiden sich in der Form ein wenig von denen der andern Bewohner der amerikanischen Küste, von denen der Aleuten aber namentlich darin, dass sie kürzer und breiter sind.' Holmberg, Ethn. Skiz., p. 99. At Prince William Sound, 'formada la canoa en esqueleto la forran por fuera con pieles de animales.' Bodega y Quadra, Nav., MS. p. 65. 'Qu'on se figure une nacelle de quatre mètres de long et de soixante centimètres de large tout au plus.' Laplace, Circumnav., vol. vi., p. 48. 'These canoes were covered with skins, the same as we had seen last season in Cook's River. Dixon's Voy., p. 147. 'Safer at sea in bad weather than European boats.' Lisiansky's Voy., p. 211.] Needles made of birds' bones, and thread from whale-sinews, in the hands of a Kadiak woman, produced work, "many specimens of which," says Lisiansky, "would do credit to our best seamstresses."[96 - Their whale-sinew thread was as fine as silk. Lisiansky's Voy., p. 207.] They produced fire by revolving with a bow-string a hard dry stick upon a soft dry board, one end of the stick being held in a mouth-piece of bone or ivory. Their implements were few – a stone adze, a shell or flint knife, a polishing stone, and a handled tooth.[97 - The only tool seen was a stone adze. Cook's Third Voy., vol. ii., p. 373.] Yet they excel in carving, and in working walrus-teeth and whalebone, the former being supplied them mostly by the Aglegmutes of the Alaskan Peninsula. The tools used in these manufactures were of stone, and the polishing tools of shell. Traces of the stone age are found in lamps, hammers and cutting instruments, wedges and hatchets. Carving is done by the men, while the women are no less skillful in sewing, basket-making, crocheting, and knitting. The women tan, and make clothing and boat-covers from skins and intestines.[98 - 'Their sewing, plaiting of sinews, and small work on their little bags may be put in competition with the most delicate manufactures found in any part of the known world.' Cook's Third Voy., vol. ii., pp. 373, 374. 'If we may judge by these figures, the inhabitants of Cadiack must have lost much of their skill in carving, their old productions of this kind being greatly superior.' Lisiansky, p. 178. The Ingalik's household furniture is made 'von gebogenem Holz sehr zierlich gearbeitet und mittelst Erdfarben roth, grün und blau angestrichen. Zum Kochen der Speisen bedienen sie sich irdener, ausgebrannter Geschirre.' Baer, Stat. u. Ethn., p. 121.] The Agulmutes are skilled in the carving of wood and ivory; the Kuskoquims excel in wood and stone carving. They make in this manner domestic utensils and vases, with grotesque representations of men, animals, and birds, in relief.

Authority is exercised only by heads of households, but chiefs may, by superior ability, acquire much influence.[99 - 'Tis most probable they are divided into clans or tribes.' Dixon's Voy., p. 67. 'They have a King, whose name was Sheenoway.' Meares' Voy., p. xxvii. 'They always keep together in families, and are under the direction of toyons or chiefs.' Lisiansky's Voy., p. 151.] Before they became broken up and demoralized by contact with civilization, there was a marked division of communities into castes; an hereditary nobility and commonalty. In the former was embodied all authority; but the rule of American chieftains is nowhere of a very arbitrary character. Slavery existed to a limited extent, the thralls being mostly women and children. Their male prisoners of war, they either killed immediately or reserved to torture for the edification and improvement of their children.[100 - Female slaves are sold from one tribe to another. Sauer, Billings' Voy., p. 175.] Upon the arrival of the Russians, the slaves then held by the natives, thinking to better their condition, left their barbaric masters and placed themselves under the protection of the new comers. The Russians accepted the trust, and set them to work. The poor creatures, unable to perform the imposed tasks, succumbed; and, as their numbers were diminished by ill treatment, their places were supplied by such of the inhabitants as had been guilty of some misdemeanor; and singularly enough, misdemeanors happened to be about in proportion to the demand for slaves.[101 - 'Zugleich verschwand auch ihre Benennung; man nannte sie ferner Kajuren, ein Wort aus Kamtschatka hieher übergesiedelt, welches Tagelöhner oder Arbeiter bedeutet.' Holmberg, Ethn. Skiz., p. 79.]

    MORALITY OF THE KONIAGAS.

The domestic manners of the Koniagas are of the lowest order. In filth they out-do, if possible, their neighbors of the north.[102 - 'They will not go a step out of the way for the most necessary purposes of nature; and vessels are placed at their very doors for the reception of the urinous fluid, which are resorted to alike by both sexes.' Lisiansky's Voy., p. 214.] Thrown together in little bands under one roof, they have no idea of morality, and the marriage relation sits so loosely as hardly to excite jealousy in its abuse. Female chastity is deemed a thing of value only as men hold property in it. A young unmarried woman may live uncensured in the freest intercourse with the men; though, as soon as she belongs to one man, it is her duty to be true to him. Sodomy is common; the Kaviaks practice polygamy and incest; the Kadiaks cohabit promiscuously, brothers and sisters, parents and children.[103 - 'Not only do brothers and sisters cohabit with each other, but even parents and children.' Langsdorff's Voy., pt. ii., p. 64.] The Malemutes are content with one wife, but they have no marriage ceremony, and can put her away at pleasure. They prize boy babies, but frequently kill the girls, taking them out into the wilderness, stuffing grass into their mouth and abandoning them; yet children are highly esteemed, and the barren woman is a reproach among her people. Such persons even go so far as to make a doll or image of the offspring which they so greatly desire, and fondle it as if it were a real child.[104 - 'Images dressed in different forms.' Lisiansky's Voy., p. 178. 'The most favoured of women is she who has the greatest number of children.' Sauer, Billings' Voy., p. 176.] Two husbands are also allowed to one woman; one the chief or principal husband, and the other a deputy, who acts as husband and master of the house during the absence of the true lord; and who, upon the latter's return, not only yields to him his place, but becomes in the meantime his servant.

But the most repugnant of all their practices is that of male concubinage. A Kadiak mother will select her handsomest and most promising boy, and dress and rear him as a girl, teaching him only domestic duties, keeping him at woman's work, associating him only with women and girls, in order to render his effeminacy complete. Arriving at the age of ten or fifteen years, he is married to some wealthy man, who regards such a companion as a great acquisition. These male wives are called achnutschik or schopans.[105 - 'Der Vater oder die Mutter bestimmen den Sohn schon in seiner frühsten Kindheit zum Achnutschik, wenn er ihnen mädchenhaft erscheint.' Holmberg, Ethn. Skiz., p. 121. 'Male concubines are much more frequent here than at Oonalashka.' Langsdorff's Voy., pt. ii., p. 64. They 'are happy to see them taken by the chiefs, to gratify their unnatural desires. Such youths are dressed like women, and taught all their domestic duties.' Sauer, Billings' Ex., p. 176. 'Ces peuples sont très adonnés aux plaisirs des sens et même à un vice infame.' Choris, Voy. Pitt., pt. vii., p. 8. 'Of all the customs of these islanders, the most disgusting is that of men, called schoopans, living with men, and supplying the place of women.' Lisiansky's Voy., p. 199. This shameful custom applies to the Thlinkeets as well. 'Quelques personnes de l'Equipage du Solide ont rapporté qu'il ne leur est pas possible de douter que les Tchinkîtânéens ne soient souillés de ce vice honteux que la Théogonie immorale des Grecs avoit divinisé.' Marchand, Voy. aut. du Monde, tom. ii., p. 97.]

    KONIAGAN SWEAT-HOUSES.

A most cruel superstition is enforced upon maidens at the age of puberty; the victim being confined for six months in a hut built for the purpose, apart from the others, and so small that the poor inmate cannot straighten her back while upon her knees. During the six months following, she is allowed a room a little larger, but is still permitted no intercourse with any one. Daughters of principal men obtain the right of access to the kashim by undergoing a ceremonial yielding up of their virginity to the shamán.[106 - 'Der Schamane hat seiner Obliegenheit gemäss oder aus besonderem Wohlwollen sie der Jungferschaft beraubt und sie wäre unwürdig vor der Versammlung zu erscheinen, wenn sie ihre erste Liebe irgend einem Anderen und nicht dem Schamanen gezollt hätte.' Baer, Stat. u. Ethn., p. 133.] Marriage ceremonies are few, and marriage engagements peculiar. The consent of the father of the intended bride being obtained, the aspirant for nuptial honors brings wood and builds a fire in the bath-room; after which, he and the father take a bath together. The relatives meanwhile congregate, a feast is held, presents are made, the bridegroom takes the name of the bride's father, the couple are escorted to a heated vapor-bath and there left together. Although extremely filthy in their persons and habits, all Indians attach great importance to their sweat-baths. This peculiar institution extends through most of the nations of our territory, from Alaska to Mexico, with wonderful uniformity. Frequently one of the side subterranean apartments which open off from the main hall, is devoted to the purposes of a sweat-house. Into one of these caverns a Kadiak will enter stripped. Steam is generated by throwing water upon heated stones. After sweltering for a time in the confined and heated atmosphere, and while yet in a profuse perspiration, the bather rushes out and plunges into the nearest stream or into the sea, frequently having to break the ice before being able to finish his bath. Sometimes all the occupants of the house join in a bath. They then clear the floor of the main room from obstructions, and build a hot fire under the smoke-hole. When the fire is reduced to coals, a covering is placed over the smoke-hole, and the bathers proceed to wash themselves in a certain liquid, which is carefully saved for this and other cleansing purposes, and also for tanning. The alkali of the fluid combines with the grease upon their persons, and thus a lather is formed which removes dirt as effectually as soap would. They then wash in water, wrap themselves in deer-skins, and repose upon shelves until the lassitude occasioned by perspiration passes away.

Festivals of various kinds are held; as, when one village is desirous of extending hospitality to another village, or when an individual becomes ambitious of popularity, a feast is given. A ceremonial banquet takes place a year after the death of a relative; or an entertainment may be announced as a reparation for an injury done to one's neighbor. At some of these feasts only men dance, and at others the women join. Upon these occasions, presents are exchanged, and the festivities sometimes continue for several days. The men appear upon the scene nearly or quite naked, with painted faces, and the hair fantastically decorated with feathers, dancing to the music of the tambourine, sometimes accompanied by sham fights and warlike songs. Their faces are marked or fantastically painted, and they hold a knife or lance in one hand and a rattle in the other. The women dance by simply hopping forward and backward upon their toes.[107 - 'Their dances are proper tournaments.' Sauer, Billings' Ex., p. 176. They are much addicted to public dances, especially during winter. Whymper's Alaska, p. 165. 'Masks of the most hideous figures are worn.' Lisiansky's Voy., p. 210. 'Use a sort of rattle composed of a number of the beaks of the sea-parrot, strung upon a wooden cross,' – sounds like castanets. Langsdorff's Voy., pt. ii., p. 64. 'Die Tänzer erscheinen, eben so, mit Wurfspiessen oder Messern in den Händen, welche sie über dem Kopfe schwingen.' Baer, Stat. u. Ethn., p. 118.] A visitor, upon entering a dwelling, is presented with a cup of cold water; afterward, fish or flesh is set before him, and it is expected that he will leave nothing uneaten. The more he eats, the greater the honor to the host; and, if it be impossible to eat all that is given him, he must take away with him whatever remains. After eating, he is conducted to a hot bath and regaled with a drink of melted fat.

Sagoskin assisted at a ceremony which is celebrated annually about the first of January at all the villages on the coast. It is called the festival of the immersion of the bladders in the sea. More than a hundred bladders, taken only from animals which have been killed with arrows, and decorated with fantastic paintings, are hung upon a cord stretched horizontally along the wall of the kashim. Four birds carved from wood, a screech-owl with the head of a man, a sea-gull, and two partridges, are so disposed that they can be moved by strings artfully arranged; the owl flutters his wings and moves his head; the gull strikes the boards with his beak as if he were catching fish, and the partridges commence to peck each other. Lastly, a stake enveloped in straw is placed in the centre of the fire-place. Men and women dance before these effigies in honor of Jug-jak, the spirit of the sea. Every time the dancing ceases, one of the assistants lights some straw, burning it like incense before the birds and the bladders. The principal ceremony of the feast consists, as its name indicates, in the immersion of the bladders in the sea. It was impossible to discover the origin of this custom; the only answer given to questions was, that their ancestors had done so before them.

    SUPERSTITIONS OF THE KONIAGAS.

The shamán, or medicine-man of the Koniagas, is the spiritual and temporal doctor of the tribe; wizard, sorcerer, priest, or physician, as necessity demands. In the execution of his offices, the shamán has several assistants, male and female, sages and disciples; the first in rank being called kaseks, whose duty it is to superintend festivals and teach the children to dance. When a person falls sick, some evil spirit is supposed to have taken possession of him, and it is the business of the shamán to exorcise that spirit, to combat and drive it out of the man. To this end, armed with a magic tambourine, he places himself near the patient and mutters his incantations. A female assistant accompanies him with groans and growls. Should this prove ineffectual, the shamán approaches the bed and throws himself upon the person of the sufferer; then, seizing the demon, he struggles with it, overpowers and casts it out, while the assistants cry, "He is gone! he is gone!" If the patient recovers, the physician is paid, otherwise he receives nothing.[108 - 'Les sorciers et chamans jouissent d'une grande faveur dans cette région glacée de l'Amérique.' D'Orbigny, Voy., p. 574. 'Schamane und alte Weiber kennen verschiedene Heilmittel.' Baer, Stat. u. Ethn., p. 135. 'Next in rank to the shamans are the kaseks, or sages, whose office is to teach children the different dances, and superintend the public amusements and shows, of which they have the supreme control.' Lisiansky's Voy., p. 208.] Colds, consumption, rheumatism, itch, boils, ulcers, syphilis, are among their most common diseases. Blood-letting is commonly resorted to as a curative, and except in extreme cases the shamán is not called. The Koniagas bleed one another by piercing the arm with a needle, and then cutting away the flesh above the needle with a flint or copper instrument. Beaver's oil is said to relieve their rheumatism.

"The Kadiak people," says Lisiansky, "seem more attached to their dead than to their living." In token of their grief, surviving friends cut the hair, blacken the face with soot, and the ancient custom was to remain in mourning for a year. No work may be done for twenty days, but after the fifth day the mourner may bathe. Immediately after death, the body is arrayed in its best apparel, or wrapped with moss in seal or sea-lion skins, and placed in the kashim, or left in the house in which the person died, where it remains for a time in state. The body, with the arms and implements of the deceased, is then buried. It was not unfrequent in former times to sacrifice a slave upon such an occasion. The grave is covered over with blocks of wood and large stones.[109 - 'The dead body of a chief is embalmed with moss, and buried.' Sauer, Billings' Ex., p. 177.] A mother, upon the death of a child, retires for a time from the camp; a husband or wife withdraws and joins another tribe.[110 - 'In one of the small buildings, or kennels, as they may very properly be called, was a woman who had retired into it in consequence of the death of her son.' Lisiansky's Voy., p. 184.]

The character of the Koniagas may be drawn as peaceable, industrious, serviceable to Europeans, adapted to labor and commerce rather than to war and hunting. They are not more superstitious than civilized nations; and their immorality, though to a stranger most rank, is not to them of that socially criminal sort which loves darkness and brings down the avenger. In their own eyes, their abhorrent practices are as sinless as the ordinary, openly conducted avocations of any community are to the members thereof.

    THE ALEUTS.

The Aleuts are the inhabitants of the Aleutian Archipelago. The origin of the word is unknown;[111 - 'The word Aleutian seems to be derived from the interrogative particle allix, which struck strangers in the language of that people.' Kotzebue's Voy., vol. iii., p. 312. The Unalaskas and 'the people of Oomnak, call themselves Cowghalingen.' 'The natives of Alaska and all the adjacent islands they call Kagataiakung'n.' Sauer, Billings' Ex., p. 154. 'The inhabitants of Unalashka are called Kogholaghi; those of Akutan, and further east to Unimak, Kighigusi; and those of Unimak and Alaxa, Kataghayekiki. They cannot tell whence these appellations are derived; and now begin to call themselves by the general name of Aleyut, given to them by the Russians, and borrowed from some of the Kurile Islands.' Coxe's Russ. Dis., p. 219.] the original name being Kagataya Koung'ns, or 'men of the east,' indicating an American origin.[112 - Yet, says D'Orbigny, Voyage, p. 577: 'Si on interroge les Aléoutiens sur leur origine, ils disent que leurs ancêtres ont habité un grand pays vers l'ouest, et que de là ils sont avancés de proche en proche sur les îles désertes jusq'au continent américain.'] The nation consists of two tribes speaking different dialects; the Unalaskans, occupying the south-western portion of the Alaskan Peninsula, the Shumagin Islands, and the Fox Islands; and the Atkhas, inhabiting the Andreanovski, Rat, and Near Islands. Migrations and intermixtures with the Russians have, however, nearly obliterated original distinctions.

The earliest information concerning the Aleutian Islanders was obtained by Michael Nevodtsikoff, who sailed from Kamchatka in 1745. Other Russian voyagers immediately followed, attracted thither in search of sea-animal skins, which at that time were very plentiful.[113 - Trapesnikoff took from an unknown island in 1753, 1920 sea-otter skins. Durneff returned to Kamchatka in 1754, with 3,000 skins. In 1752 one crew touched at Bering Island and took 1,222 Arctic foxes, and 2,500 sea-bears. Cholodiloff, in 1753, took from one island 1,600 otter-skins. Tolstych in one voyage took 1,780 sea-otter, 720 blue foxes, and 840 sea-bears. Coxe's Russ. Dis., pp. 43, 44, 49, 51, 53.] Tribute was levied upon the islanders by the Russians, and a system of cruelty commenced which soon reduced the natives from ten thousand to but little more than one thousand.

The Aleuts, to Langsdorff, "appear to be a sort of middle race between the mongrel Tartars and the North Americans." John Ledyard, who visited Unalaska with Captain Cook, saw "two different kinds of people; the one we knew to be the aborigines of America, while we supposed the others to have come from the opposite coasts of Asia."[114 - Sparks, Life of Ledyard, p. 79.] Their features are strongly marked, and those who saw them as they originally existed, were impressed with the intelligent and benevolent expression of their faces.[115 - A great deal of character. Langsdorff's Voy., pt. ii., p. 32.] They have an abundance of lank hair, which they cut with flints – the men from the crown, and the women in front.[116 - 'Rather low of stature, but plump and well shaped; with rather short necks; swarthy chubby faces; black eyes; small beards, and long, straight, black hair; which the men wear loose behind, and cut before, but the women tie up in a bunch.' Cook's Third Voy., vol. ii., p. 510. 'Von Gesicht sind sie platt und weiss, von guter Statur, durchgängig mit schwarzen Haaren.' Neue Nachr., p. 150. 'Low in stature, broad in the visage.' Campbell's Voy., p. 112. Hair 'strong and wiry;' scanty beard, but thick on the upper lip. Sauer, Billings' Ex., p. 154.] Both sexes undergo the usual face-painting and ornamentations. They extend their nostrils by means of a bow-cylinder. The men wear a bone about the size of a quill in the nose, and the women insert pieces of bone in the under lip.[117 - 'Les femmes aléoutes portaient aux mains et aux pieds des chapelets de pierres de couleur et préférablement d'ambre.' D'Orbigny, Voy., p. 579. 'None are so highly esteemed as a sort of long muscle, commonly called sea-teeth, the dentalium entalis of Linnæus.' Langsdorff's Voy., pt. ii., p. 40. 'Women have the chin punctured in fine lines rayed from the centre of the lip and covering the whole chin.' They wear bracelets of black seal-skin around the wrists and ankles, and go barefoot. Sauer, Billings' Ex., p. 155. 'Im Nasen-Knorpel und der Unterlippe machen beide Geschlechter Löcher und setzen Knochen ein, welches ihr liebster Schmuck ist. Sie stechen sich auch bunte Figuren im Gesicht aus.' Neue Nachr., p. 169. 'They bore the upper lip of the young children of both sexes, under the nostrils, where they hang several sorts of stones, and whitened fish-bones, or the bones of other animals.' Staehlin's North Arch., p. 37.] Their legs are bowed, from spending so much of their time in boats; they frequently sitting in them fifteen or twenty hours at a time. Their figure is awkward and uncouth, yet robust, active, capable of carrying heavy burdens and undergoing great fatigue.[118 - 'Leur conformation est robuste et leur permet de supporter des travaux et des fatigues de toute sorte.' D'Orbigny, Voy., p. 577.]

    ALEUTIAN HAT AND HABITATION.

The hat of the Aleut is the most peculiar part of his dress. It consists of a helmet-shaped crown of wood or leather, with an exceedingly long brim in front, so as to protect the eyes from the sun's reflection upon the water and snow. Upon the apex is a small carving, down the back part hang the beards of sea-lions, while carved strips of bone and paint ornament the whole. This hat also serves as a shield against arrows. The Fox Islanders have caps of bird-skin, on which are left the bright-colored feathers, wings, and tail.[119 - At Shumagin Island, their caps were of sea-lion skins. Müller's Voy., p. 46. On the front are one or two small images of bone. Cook's Third Voy., vol. ii., p. 510. A wooden hat, 'which in front comes out before the eyes like a sort of umbrella, and is rounded off behind.' Langsdorff's Voy., pt. ii., p. 38. 'Einige haben gemeine Mützen von einem bunten Vogelfell, woran sie etwas von den Flügeln und dem Schwanz sitzen lassen; – sind vorn mit einem Brettchen wie ein Schirm versehn und mit Bärten von Seebären – geschmücket.' Neue Nachr., pp. 151, 152.] As a rule, the men adopt bird-skin clothing, and the women furs, the latter highly ornamented with beads and fringes.[120 - On a feather garment, 'a person is sometimes employed a whole year.' 'The women for the most part go bare-footed.' Langsdorff's Voy., pt. ii., pp. 36, 39. 'Seams covered with thin slips of skin, very elegantly embroidered with white deer's hair, goat's hair, and the sinews of sea animals, dyed of different colours.' Sauer, Billings' Ex., p. 156. 'Ihr Pelzkleid wird über den Kopf angezogen, und ist hinten und vorn ganz zu. Die Männer tragen es aus Vogelhäuten; die Weiber hingegen von Bibern und jungen Seebären.' Neue Nachr., p. 152. 'Boots and breeches in one piece.' Campbell's Voy., p. 113.]

The habitations of the Fox Islanders are called Ullaa, and consist of immense holes from one to three hundred feet in length, and from twenty to thirty feet wide. They are covered with poles and earthed over, leaving several openings at the top through which descent is made by ladders. The interior is partitioned by stakes, and three hundred people sometimes occupy one of these places in common. They have no fire-place, since lamps hollowed from flat stones answer every purpose for cooking and light.[121 - 'Round the sides and ends of the huts, the families (for several are lodged together) have their separate apartments, where they sleep, and sit at work; not upon benches, but in a kind of concave trench, which is dug all around the inside of the house, and covered with mats.' Cook's Third Voy., vol. ii., p. 512. 'When they have stood for sometime, they become overgrown with grass, so that a village has the appearance of an European churchyard full of graves.' Langsdorff's Voy., p. 32. 'In den Jurten wird niemals Feuer angelegt und doch ist es gemeiniglich sehr warm darinnen, so dass beide Geschlechter ganz nakkend sitzen.' Neue Nachr., p. 150.] A boat turned bottom upward is the summer house of the Aleut.[122 - 'A bidarka or boat is turned up sideways, and at the distance of four or five feet, two sticks, one opposite to the head and the other to the stern, are driven into the ground, on the tops of which a cross stick is fastened. The oars are then laid along from the boat to the cross stick, and covered with seal skins, which are always at hand for the purpose.' Lisiansky's Voy., p. 152.]

Raw seal and sea-otter, whale and sea-lion blubber, fish, roots, and berries are staple articles of food among the Aleuts. To procure vegetable food is too much trouble. A dead, half-putrefied whale washed ashore is always the occasion of great rejoicing. From all parts the people congregate upon the shore, lay in their winter supplies, and stuff themselves until not a morsel remains. November is their best hunting-season. Whale-fishing is confined to certain families, and the spirit of the craft descends from father to son. Birds are caught in a net attached to the end of a pole; sea-otter are shot with arrows; spears, bone hooks, and nets are used in fishing.[123 - 'Among the greatest delicacies of Oonalashka are the webbed feet of a seal, which are tied in a bladder, buried in the ground, and remain there till they are changed into a stinking jelly.' Kotzebue's Voy., vol. ii., p. 165. Almost everything is eaten raw. Cook's Third Voy., vol. ii., p. 520. The sea-dog is caught with nets, killed when asleep, or enticed on shore by a false cap made to resemble a seal's head. Lisiansky's Voy., p. 205.] After the advent of the Russians, the natives were not allowed to kill fur-animals without accounting to them therefor.[124 - 'L'Aléoute peut tuer les phoques et les oiseaux, sans être obligé d'en rendre compte à la compagnie.' Choris, Voy. Pitt., pt. vii., p. 4.]

Their weapons are darts with single and double barbs, which they throw from boards; barbed, bone-pointed lances; spears, harpoons, and arrows, with bone or stone points. At their side is carried a sharp stone knife ten or twelve inches long, and for armor they wear a coat of plaited rushes, which covers the whole body.[125 - 'Die Spitze selbst wird theils aus Obsidian oder Lavaglas, theils auch aus Trachyt verfertigt.' Kittlitz, Reise, vol. i., p. 268. Spear-handles are feathered, the points of sharpened flint. Neue Nachr., p. 102, 'Arrows are thrown from a narrow and pointed board, twenty inches long, which is held by the thumb and three fingers. They are thrown straight from the shoulder with astonishing velocity.' Lisiansky's Voy., p. 205. 'Les armes défensives consistaient en une cotte de joncs tressés qui leur couvrait tout le corps.' D'Orbigny, Voy., p. 579. 'No such thing as an offensive, or even defensive weapon was seen amongst the natives of Oonalashka.' Probably they had been disarmed by the Russians. Cook's Third Voy., vol. ii., p. 515. 'Wherever any one has fixed his habitation, nobody else dares to hunt or fish.' Staehlin's Nor. Arch., p. 37. For birds they point their darts with three light bones, spread and barbed. Sauer, Billings' Ex., p. 157. 'Indeed, there is a neatness and perfection in most of their work, that shews they neither want ingenuity nor perseverance.' Cook's Third Voy., vol. ii., p. 514.] An Aleut bear-trap consists of a board two feet square and two inches thick, planted with barbed spikes, placed in bruin's path and covered with dust. The unsuspecting victim steps firmly upon the smooth surface offered, when his foot sinks into the dust. Maddened with pain, he puts forward another foot to assist in pulling the first away, when that too is caught. Soon all four of the feet are firmly spiked to the board; the beast rolls over on his back, and his career is soon brought to an end.

    CUSTOMS OF THE ALEUTS.

Notwithstanding their peaceful character, the occupants of the several islands were almost constantly at war. Blood, the only atonement for offense, must be washed out by blood, and the line of vengeance becomes endless. At the time of discovery, the Unimak Islanders held the supremacy.

The fabrications of the Aleuts comprise household utensils of stone, bone, and wood; missiles of war and the chase; mats and baskets of grass and the roots of trees, neat and strong; bird-beak rattles, tambourines or drums, wooden hats and carved figures. From the wing-bone of the sea-gull, the women make their needles; from sinews, they make thread and cord.[126 - They make 'baskets called ishcats, in which the Aleutians keep all their valuables.' Lisiansky's Voy., p. 181. 'Thread they make of the sinews of the seal, and of all sizes, from the fineness of a hair to the strength of a moderate cord, both twisted and plaited.' Sauer, Billings' Ex., p. 157. Of the teeth of sea-dogs they carve little figures of men, fish, sea-otters, sea-dogs, sea-cows, birds, and other objects. Langsdorff's Voy., pt. ii., p. 46.] To obtain glue for mending or manufacturing purposes, they strike the nose until it bleeds.[127 - 'Wollen sie etwas an ihren Pfeilen oder sonst eine Kleinigkeit leimen, so schlagen sie sich an die Nase und bestreichen es mit ihrem Blute.' Neue Nachr., p. 173.] To kindle a fire, they make use of sulphur, in which their volcanic islands abound, and the process is very curious. First they prepare some dry grass to catch the fire; then they take two pieces of quartz, and, holding them over the grass, rub them well with native sulphur. A few feathers are scattered over the grass to catch the particles of sulphur, and, when all is ready, holding the stones over the grass, they strike them together; a flash is produced by the concussion, the sulphur ignites, and the straw blazes up.[128 - Sauer, Billings' Ex., p. 159; Campbell's Voy., p. 59.]

The Aleuts have no marriage ceremony. Every man takes as many women to wife as he can support, or rather as he can get to support him. Presents are made to the relatives of the bride, and when she ceases to possess attractions or value in the eyes of her proprietor, she is sent back to her friends. Wives are exchanged by the men, and rich women are permitted to indulge in two husbands. Male concubinage obtains throughout the Aleutian Islands, but not to the same extent as among the Koniagas.[129 - 'Comme les femmes coûtaient cher en présents de fiançailles, la plupart des Aléoutes n'en avaient qu'une ou deux.' D'Orbigny, Voy., p. 579. Purchase as many girls for wives as they can support. Sauer, Billings' Ex., p. 160. 'Objects of unnatural affection.' Id., p. 160. 'Their beards are carefully plucked out as soon as they begin to appear, and their chins tattooed like those of the women.' Langsdorff's Voy., pt. ii., p. 48. 'The Russians told us, that they never had any connections with their women, because they were not Christians. Our people were not so scrupulous; and some of them had reason to repent that the females of Oonalashka encouraged their addresses without any reserve; for their health suffered by a distemper that is not unknown here.' Cook's Third Voy., vol. ii., p. 521.] Mothers plunge their crying babies under water in order to quiet them. This remedy performed in winter amid broken ice, is very effectual.[130 - 'It often happens that a mother plunges her noisy child into water, even in winter, and keeps it there till it leaves off crying.' Lisiansky's Voy., p. 202. 'Schreyt das Kind, so trägt es die Mutter, es sey Winter oder Sommer nakkend nach der See, und hält es so lange im Wasser bis es still wird.' Neue Nachr., p. 168.]

Every island, and, in the larger islands, every village, has its toyon, or chief, who decides differences, is exempt from work, is allowed a servant to row his boat, but in other respects possesses no power. The office is elective.[131 - 'Have their own chiefs in each island.' Cook's Third Voy., vol. ii., p. 510. 'Generally is conferred on him who is the most remarkable for his personal qualities.' Coxe's Russ. Dis., p. 219.]

The Aleuts are fond of dancing and given to hospitality. The stranger guest, as he approaches the village, is met by dancing men and dancing women, who conduct him to the house of the host, where food is given him. After supper, the dancing, now performed by naked men, continues until all are exhausted, when the hospitalities of the dwelling are placed at the disposal of the guest, and all retire.[132 - Those of the inhabitants who have two wives give their guests one, or a slave. Neue Nachr., p. 171. 'In the spring holidays, they wear masks, neatly carved and fancifully ornamented.' Sauer, Billings' Ex., p. 160.] A religious festival used to be held in December, at which all the women of the village assembled by moonlight, and danced naked with masked faces, the men being excluded under penalty of death. The men and women of a village bathe together, in aboriginal innocency, unconscious of impropriety. They are fond of pantomimic performances; of representing in dances their myths and their legends; of acting out a chase, one assuming the part of hunter, another of a bird or beast trying to escape the snare, now succeeding, now failing – the piece ending in the transformation of a captive bird into a lovely woman, who falls exhausted into the arms of the hunter.

The dead are clothed and masked, and either placed in the cleft of a rock, or swung in a boat or cradle from a pole in the open air. They seem to guard the body as much as possible from contact with the ground.[133 - 'On avait soin de le disposer de manière à ce qu'il ne touchât pas la terre.' D'Orbigny, Voy., p. 579. 'Embalm the bodies of the men with dried moss and grass.' Sauer, Billings' Ex., p. 161. Slaves sometimes slaughtered. Langsdorff's Voy., pt. ii., p. 48. 'Bury their dead on the summits of hills.' Cook's Third Voy., vol. ii., p. 521. 'When a man dies in the hut belonging to his wife, she retires into a dark hole, where she remains forty days. The husband pays the same compliment to his favorite wife upon her death.' Coxe's Russ. Dis., p. 218. 'Die Todten werden begraben, und man giebt dem Mann seinen Kahn, Pfeile und Kleider mit ins Grab.' 'Die Todten umwinden sie mit Riemen und hängen sie in einer Art hölzerner Wiege an einen auf zwey Gabelen ruhenden Querstock in der Luft auf.' Neue Nachr., pp. 101, 154.]

    CHARACTER OF THE ALEUTS.

In their nature and disposition, these islanders are sluggish but strong. Their sluggishness gives to their character a gentleness and obsequiousness often remarked by travelers; while their inherent strength, when roused by brutal passions, drives them on to the greatest enormities. They are capable of enduring great fatigue, and, when roused to action by necessity, they will perform an incredible amount of work, suffering the severest cold or heat or hunger with the most stoical calmness. They are very quiet in their demeanor; sometimes sitting in companies within their dens, or on their house-tops gazing at the sea for hours, without speaking a word. It is said that formerly they were much more gay and cheerful, but that an acquaintance with civilization has been productive of the usual misfortune and misery.[134 - 'Naturellement silencieux.' D'Orbigny, Voy., p. 578. 'Sie verrichten auch die Nothdurft und das Ehegeschäft ohne alle Scheu.' Neue. Nachr., p. 150. 'A stupid silence reigns among them.' 'I am persuaded that the simplicity of their character exceeds that of any other people.' Lisiansky's Voy., pp. 182, 183. 'Kind-hearted and obliging, submissive and careful; but if roused to anger, they become rash and unthinking, even malevolent, and indifferent to all danger.' Langsdorff's Voy., pt. ii., p. 32. 'To all appearance, they are the most peaceable, inoffensive people, I ever met with. And, as to honesty, they might serve as a pattern to the most civilized nation upon earth.' Cook, vol. ii., p. 509.]

It does not appear that the Russians were behind the Spaniards in their barbarous treatment of the natives.[135 - 'To hunt was their task; to be drowned, or starved, or exhausted, was their reward.' Simpson's Jour., vol. ii., p. 229. 'They are harmless, wretched slaves,' whose race will soon be extinct. Kotzebue's Voy., vol. iii., p. 315. The Russian hunters 'used not unfrequently to place the men close together, and try through how many the ball of their rifle-barrelled musket would pass.' Sauer, Billings' Ex. App., p. 56. 'Of a thousand men, who formerly lived in this spot, scarcely more than forty remained.' Langsdorff's Voy., pt. ii., p. 235. 'La variole, la syphilis, voire même le choléra depuis quelques années, en emportent une effrayante quantité.' Laplace, Circumnav., vol. ii., p. 51.] Notwithstanding their interest lay in preserving life, and holding the natives in a state of serfdom as fishers and hunters, the poor people were soon swept away. Father Innocentius Veniaminoff, a Russian missionary who labored among the islanders long and faithfully, gives them the highest character for probity and propriety. Among other things, he affirms that during a residence of ten years in Unalaska, there did not occur a single fight among the natives. Proselytes were made by the Russians with the same facility as by the Spaniards. Tribute was levied by the Russians upon all the islanders, but, for three years after their conversion, neophytes were exempt; a cheap release from hateful servitude, thought the poor Aleut; and a polity which brought into the folds of the church pagan multitudes.