GATSCHET KAS. LEG. COMMENTARY. [87] 55 



to mean the Cha'hta only ; bnt he could not perceive any good 

 reason why it should be limited to these, " since the practice was 

 so general and wide-spread" among all the southern tribes. 



In questioning the Indians themselves for the cause of this de- 

 forming custom, which in Columbus' time was practiced proba- 

 bly by one-half of all the American tribes, we obtain very differ- 

 ent replies. The Kalapiiya of Oregon state that a compressed 

 forehead gained in extent, so that more beads and ornaments 

 could be suspended in the hair around it, and that it improved 

 the face. Lawson was told by the Waxsaws that the practice 

 improved the eyesight enormously. Others assert that it 

 straightens and fortifies the bodies of the children. The intel- 

 lectual faculties seem to be neither benefited nor impaired in any 

 degree by the process, but the concrescence of the sutures is evi- 

 dently retarded by side-pressure. The Aht tribes of Vancouver 

 Island imagine that the flattening of the head improves the ap- 

 pearance, and also gives better health and greater strength to the 

 infant.* Many tribes regard it as a token of dignity and nobility, 

 and hence do not flatten the heads of the slaves born among them. 



The true cause of the custom probably lies in the almost uni- 

 versal use of the wooden cradle-board. The mother or nurse, in 

 carrying the child on her back, or leaning it against a tree, rock, 

 etc., when working in the field, soon invented a contrivance to 

 keep its head up to prevent it from sinking down, and thereby 

 from being injured or choked to death. This was accomplished 

 by a strong tie fastened around the head and attached to the 

 baby-board. When the muscles of the infant's neck became 

 stronger, the practice was discontinued. The mothers probably 

 did not at first intend to flatten the heads of their infants ; but, 

 since this was the necessary result of the practice described, and 

 the "fait accompli" could not be changed, they finally thought the 

 alteration to be desirable and even beautiful. Thus the custom 

 of head-pressing may ultimately have become general. 



''But the Palachucolas (;ave them black drink as a sign of 

 FRIENDSHIP," etc. The use of this renowned decoction was so 

 wide-spread among the Indians of the Gulf States, that only a 



* Sproat, " Scenes and Studies," p. 29 (1868). 



