THE KWAKIUTL INDIANS. 639 



are to be performed, and drimi with their heels on boxes or boards, producing a 

 sound resembling thunder. The torches of pitch wood are flashed through the roof 

 of the bouse, and at each flash the thunder rolls, and then the whole assemblage 

 whistles like the wind. As soon as the noise of the performers commences, the 

 uninitiated fly in terror and hide themselves, so great being their superstitious 

 belief in the supernatural powers of the Dukwally that they have frequently fled to 

 my house for protection, knowing very well that the tama'nawas performers would 

 not come near a white man. They then visit every house in the village, and extend 

 an invitation for all to attend the ceremonies. This having been done, the crowd 

 retire to the lodge of ceremonies, where the drumming and singing are kept up till 

 near daylight, when they are quiet for a short time, and at sunrise begin again. 

 The first five days are usually devoted to secret ceremonies, such as initiating can- 

 didates, and a variety of performances, which consist chiefly in songs and chorus 

 and drumming to imitate thuiuler. They do this part very well, and their imitation 

 of thunder is quite equal to that produced in the best equipped tlieatre. 



What the ceremony of initiation is I have never learned. That of the Clallams, 

 which I have witnessed, consists in putting the initiates into a mesmeric sleep ; but if 

 the Makahs use mesmerism, or any such influence, they do not keep the candidates 

 under it for any great length of time, as I saw them every day during the cere- 

 monies, Avalking out during the intervals. The first outdoor performance usually 

 commences on the fifth day, and this consists of the procession of males and females, 

 with their legs and arms, and sometimes their bodies, scarified with knives, and 

 every wound bleeding freely. The men are entirely naked, but the women have 

 on a short petticoat. * * * [The wounds are made as follows:] A bucket of 

 water was placed in the center of the lodge, and the candidates squatting around it 

 washed their arms and legs. Tlie persons who did the cutting, and who appeared 

 to be any one who had sharp knives, butcher knives being preferred, grasped them 

 firmly in the right hand with the thumb placed along the blade, so as to leave but 

 an eighth or quarter of an inch of the edge bare; then, taking hold of the arm or 

 leg of the candidate, made gashes 5 or 6 inches long transversally, and parallel with 

 the limb, four or five gashes being cut each way. Cuts were thus made on each 

 arm above and below the elbow, on each thigh, and the calves of the legs; some, 

 but not all, were likewise cut on their backs. The wounds Avere (hen washed with 

 water to make the blood run freely. >^ * * When all was ready, the procession 

 left the lodge and marched in single file down to the beach, their naked bodies 

 streaming with blood, presenting a barbarous spectacle. A circle was formed at the 

 water's edge, round which this bloody procession marched slowlj', making gesticula- 

 tions and uttering howling cries. 



Five men now came out of the lodge carrying the principal performer. ( Jne held 

 him by the hair, and the others by the arms and legs. He, too, was cut and bleeding 

 profusely. They laid him down on the beach on the wet sand, and left him, while 

 they marched ott" and visited every lodge in tlie village, making a circuit in each 

 lodge. At last the man on the beach jumped up, and seizing a club laid about 

 him in a violent manner, hitting everything in his way. He, too, went the same 

 round as the others, and after every lodge bad been visited, they all returned to the 

 lodge from which they had issued, and the performances outdoor were closed for 

 that day. In the meanwhile a deputation of fifteen or twenty men, with faces 

 painted black and sprigs of evergreen in their hair, had been sent to the other villages 

 with invitations for guests to come and receive presents. They went in a body to 

 each lodge, and after a song and a chorus the spokesman of the party, in a loud 

 voice, announced the object of their visit, and called the names of the invited per- 

 sons. Anyone has a right to be present at the distribution, but only those specially 

 invited wiU receive any presents. 



Every evening during the ceremonies, excepting those of the first few days, is 

 devoted to masciiierade and other amusements, when each lodge is visited and a 



