ALASKA INDUSTRIES. 399 



THE "POTLATCH." 



One of tlie luost curious of the mauy remarlcable customs of tlie 

 natives is the " potlatch,"' and a description of it at some length would 

 seem not out of place. The meaning of the potlatch is very broad, and 

 signifies that which is given by one Indian to another, or by one tribe 

 to another tribe, whether as a pure present, in payment for an assault 

 committed, for an imaginary cause of death, for accidental homicide, 

 or for murder. 



In the first case, should a man desire to make himself popular and 

 rise in the estimation of his fellows to the dignity of a big chief, he col- 

 lects, by great efforts, a considerable quantity of blankets, cami)hor- 

 wooii trunks, biscuit, molasses, Cabot W. blankets, etc., and distrib- 

 utes everything he has among the other members of the tribe, crowning 

 the distribution with a feast, and, if hoocherioo can be obtained, a 

 "drunk." When all has been consumed, his object has been attained 

 and his prominence in the tribe is assured. He is a big man according 

 to the si/e of his potlatch, which is not so barbarous after all. 



In case of an assault, wliich is very rare, the friends of the man who 

 is worsted will demand a potlatch from the conqueror to salve the 

 wounded feelings or disfigured face, and they are always paid without 

 regard to the merits in the case. 



To illustrate a potlatch for an imaginary cause of death, there is 

 instanced the case of a boy who owned a small skiff and who invited 

 other boys to go with him in the skiff after berries. While away they 

 all ate of some poisonous root, from the effects of which one of the boys 

 died. His relations demanded payment from the father of the boy who 

 owned the skiff, their argument being that if the boy had no boat he 

 could not have taken the other boys with him, and, of course, none of 

 them would have eaten the poisonous root and died They got the 

 potlatch, but it almost resulted in a fight. 



Should an Indian accidentally kill another, his relations are made to 

 pay heavily for the death, and if the two principals are members of 

 different tribes the demand is nuich greater, amounting in some actual 

 instances to more than |2,000. The whole tribe of the one who did the 

 killing assist in the payment. For murder of a male Indian a similar 

 payment is required, but if a female is killed a few blankets will suffice. 



A potlatch is given upon the demolition of an old house, and also 

 after the death of any member of the tribe. But it seems the most 

 prolific source of potlatching is the erection of new houses. The loca- 

 tion for the new building is selected at a "smoking council" of the 

 tribe, after which the erection is commenced, the owner being assisted 

 by such members of his tribe as are experts. As it nears completion 

 another council is held, at which is decided the date of the potlatch. 

 The whole tribe is notified, and each member is expected to contribute 

 something toward the potlatcli and the subsequent feast. On the 

 eventful morning all assemble at the new house, each in his best, with 

 the exposed portions of their bodies covered with paint and further 

 embellished with wads of cotton pasted at irregular intervals on the 

 face and in the hair. The festivities commence with a dance, the women 

 executing a species of side shuffle, while the men augment the enthusiasm 

 by stamping their feet. Everybody sings. When the song and danc- 

 ing are finislied, some one hands up a bolt of <'-alico, or some blankets, 

 handkerchiefs, soap, or what not, at the same time mentioning the 

 n line of the person or ])ersons to whom the donor desires the present 

 to be given. (It is well to mention, parenthetically, that the potlatch 



