630 TEE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



carved chair, large enough for a whole family, stands in each of these 

 compartments facing a blazing wood-fire. The smoke fills the whole 

 house, and escapes only slowly through a small opening in the roof 

 and through the chinks of the planks. 



The arrival of the stranger was an interesting topic of conversa- 

 tion, and groups of men and women were seen in eager discussion in 

 our house and on the street whiel^ runs in front of the houses. My 

 friend tried to explain to them that I did not intend to interfere with 

 their feasts and usages, and that I did not want anything but to stay 

 some time in their village and to trade with them. Ilis endeavors, 

 however, were unsuccessful, and the chief deemed it necessary to ar- 

 range a general council in which the presence of the stranger was to 

 be discussed. In the evening I was told that on the next day a great 

 feast was to be held and that my presence was requested. Of course 

 I felt highly honored and was glad to have so soon an occasion to ob- 

 serve the peculiar feasts and customs of the natives. 



Early in the morning all families were astir. The young men went 

 out in their canoes at daybreak and returned about nine o'clock with 

 heavy logs in tow, which were drawn upon the beach, split, and car- 

 ried into the house in which the feast was to be held. Here men and 

 women were busily engaged in preparations. The compartments were 

 torn down, the frames and screens being taken away. The house was 

 swept, and wood for a large fire piled up in the center of the building. 

 Dried halibut, which is kept in large boxes, and fish-oil, which is pre- 

 served in tubes made of dried kelp, were taken from the store-rooms 

 and served in enormous carved wooden dishes which represent the 

 crest animal of the host's family. When everything was prepared, the 

 men assembled. Women are not permitted to partake in the feasts 

 except the eldest daughters of chiefs — if the eldest child happens to be 

 a girl. Their faces are painted red and black ; they are wrapped up 

 in their best blankets ; their hair is carefully arranged and frequently 

 covered with eagle-down. A few old men carry carved sticks, and 

 all sit on mats which are spread at the foot of the jilatform which 

 encircles the floor of the house. The host and a young man who was 

 hired for the purpose looked after the fire. When all were assem- 

 bled, one man took up the drum, a large box made of bent wood, 

 which is painted with the host's crest, and began beating the time with 

 his fist. The old men joined him with their dancing-sticks, the rest 

 of the men clapping their hands. Then the singing-master, who in- 

 structs daily the old and young men, started the tune, and the chorus 

 joined him after a few bars. When the text of the song is long, he 

 calls out the text of every verse, while the time-beating goes on and 

 the chorus repeats the words, singing. The first song was a war- 

 Bong : 



" Do not fight with daggers ; kill your enemies with your arrows. 

 Thus the chief said, and his heart w^as glad when he had killed his 



