"Travels in Alaska 



that was caulked with a rag where the joint was 

 imperfect. 



Strolling about the village, looking at the tangled 

 vegetation, sketching the totems, etc., I found a lot 

 of human bones scattered on the surface of the ground 

 or partly covered. In answer to my inquiries, one of 

 our crew said they probably belonged to Sitka Indians 

 slain in war. These Kakes are shrewd, industrious, 

 and rather good-looking people. It was at their larg- 

 est village that an American schooner was seized and 

 all the crew except one man murdered. A gunboat 

 sent to punish them burned the village. I saw the 

 anchor of the ill-fated vessel lying near the shore. 



Though all the Thlinkit tribes believe in witch- 

 craft, they are less superstitious in some respects 

 than many of the lower classes of whites. Chief Yana 

 Taowk seemed to take pleasure in kicking the Sitka 

 bones that lay in his way, and neither old nor young 

 showed the slightest trace of superstitious fear of the 

 dead at any time. 



It was at the northmost of the Kupreanof Kake 

 villages that Mr. Young held his first missionary 

 meeting, singing hymns, praying, and preaching, and 

 trying to learn the number of the inhabitants and 

 their readiness to receive instruction. Neither here 

 nor in any of the other villages of the different tribes 

 that we visited was there anything like a distinct re- 

 fusal to receive school-teachers or ministers. On the 

 contrary, with but one or two exceptions, all with ap- 

 parent good faith declared their willingness to re- 

 ceive them, and many seemed heartily delighted at 



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