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SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 78 



The view from the village of Kasaan is beautiful, looking out 

 towards the distant islands with their hills and occasional snow-capped 

 mountains, and the intervening water channels and inlets. If the 

 site of this ancient Indian village had originally been selected from 



Fig. 180. — Interior of Eagle House. Two benches 

 or floor levels rise on each side of the centrally ex- 

 cavated pit. The hearth is at the center of the pit, 

 and the remainder of the floor including the two 

 benches is covered with split cedar slabs. See figs. 



177-179- 



the standpoint of beauty of location, the choice could hardly have been 

 excelled. 



Kasaan was originally a village belonging to a rival tribe, the 

 Tlingit, who were probably driven away by the Haida, according to 

 their traditions, more than loo years ago. The name Kasaan in the 

 Tlingit language means the " village on the rock." The Haida came 

 from the south, originally from the Queen Charlotte Islands far out 



