roTEM poj.es 



of a totem pole to n'pi'cscnt tlic spciikcr or orator 

 oniploycd by an Indian Iiost Ki^''>K " l)an<|U('t :n- l)y a 

 financier niakinj;' an investment somewhat as \Vf lia\c' 

 a lawyer represent us at court. Some of t!u>se are 

 hollow figures in which a siaxc or ser\ant may he 

 secreted to make speeches throuj^h the open mouth. 

 Frequently such a ligure is carved standing' upon the 

 head of another carved Hguri' representing' a slave, 

 tentling to show that the owner ot" the house was rich 

 in slaves. 



The art of the average totem pole is on the whole 

 symbolic and conventional though rather realistic in 

 appearance. This is true not only in the case of the 

 totem poles but also in nearly all of the art of the 

 Northwest Coast p(>oples. On the other hand, the same 

 motifs, animal and human, may be employed for pui*ely 

 decorati\e purposes and some of the baskets and occa- 

 sionally blankets show geometric designs, many of 

 which, however, probably symbolize ideas also, while 

 decorative carvings without ?ynibolic meaning may be 

 inserted here aiifl there on a totem pole to fill up blank 

 spaces between the symbolic carvings. One method of 

 conventionalizing a carving frequently consists in ex- 

 aggerating some salient feature of the animal repre- 

 sented; for instance the carvings of a beaver and a wolf 

 look ^•ery nuicli alike e.Kcept that the beaver is indi- 

 cated by prominent incisors and a flat tail. Again, the 

 artist has sometimes distorted to fit the field what would 

 otherwise ha\-e Ix'cn a nearly realistic figure or a slightly 

 conventionalized one. It must not be forgotten that 

 among Indians as among other peoples great artists are 

 rare, and that men of w^ealth who desire to have a fine 

 totem pole must pay enormous prices in such things as 

 blankets, canoes or slaves in order to have the most 

 perfect work. 



Carved house and grave posts are akin to totem 

 poles. On entering the houses we find that some of 

 the posts supporting the rafters are carved so much like 

 totem poles that where a house has gone to decay and 

 only the posts remain, they may quite naturally be 

 mistaken for small totem poles. Sometimes the house 

 posts are plain, and carved posts which do not bear any 



i 



Tliiifiit niod'.Tii lo- 

 ti'in polf al Wraiigel, 

 Alaska, cotUrasting 

 sharply in idea with a 

 niissiun chiirfh near. 

 The lowest carving is 

 a beaver as sliown by 

 the teeth and tail 



