SMITHSONIAN MIS(i;i,l,AN'KC)US COIJJ'.CTIONS VOL. 56 



lowed witli an account of certain animals which were evidently not 

 men. For instance, when the bear goes out to hunt bear his daugh- 

 ter puts on a bear-skin to deceive the hunter. Such oddities will be 

 understood when it is reali/<<1 ili.il ihey arc traditional or folk-lore. 



PSYCHOLOGY OI^ THR NATIVIC 



In order to properly appreciate native customs and stories one 

 must be acquainted with the phases of their mental life, in which 

 they are decidedly oriental. They are fond of mystery and mys- 

 ticism. They have no idea of logic, but readily accept analogy and 

 suggestion as proof of what they wish to believe, and in making 

 inquiries one has to be careful not to ask leading questions, for they 

 will answer in a way most convenient, with utter disregard of actual 

 facts. 



Combined with their child-like simplicity is a cunning secretive- 

 ness, prompting them to withhold information of any value, as, for 

 instance, if one asks a native how to tan a bear-skin or where to 

 limit moose, his comprehension is apparently dulled by an assumed 

 oriental ignorance, and in this state he imparts little information. 



Shyness is the chief characteristic of the females, resembling the 

 form of insanity known as negativism, but it seems to disappear 

 promptly after marriage. The women hide at the approach of a 

 stranger, and, when spoken to, conceal their faces, seldom answering 

 a question, though they understand English well. 



The native believes in a rather concrete existence of dream life, 

 and he sees spirits as if they were real creatures. Only the medicine- 

 man has access to this dream life, and he alone can transfer animals 

 from real to dream life and vice versa. One might assume from 

 the tricks of the medicine-man that he is an impostor, but he is 

 really sincere and believes in himself, although he has the faculty 

 of believing what he must know "isn't so" — the same faculty that 

 we find among hysterics and adherents of various psychic cults. 



ANNUAL MOVEMENTS 



During the winter season they move about wherever game is plen- 

 tiful. 'Phe men go to a place, cache their packs, and then proceed to 

 hunt. The next day the women come, pitch the camp, and prepare to 

 cook. 1 11 the spring they go to the river bank, where they make canoes 

 and nets in preparation for salmon fishing, and during the summer 

 dry and cache large quantities of fish. In the early fall the entire 

 family goes hunting and when a good supply of game is accumulated 



