﻿NO. 7 



SMITHSONIAN EXPLORATIONS, I926 



181 



leaving mere traces. It was the duty of the writer to attempt to 

 preserve these realistically carved representations of human and ani- 

 mal figures and the totem pole itself wherever possible. 



The task of restoring the abandoned village of Kasaan is practically 

 an impossibility owing to the deterioration and decay of many years. 

 No repair work has ever before been done. Houses have with one 

 exception completely fallen into ruins. The Indians never repainted 

 their memorial columns, once the pole was erected. The rotting 

 process is practically continuous throughout the year. This may be 

 better realized when one considers the number of rainy days in a year. 



Fig. 182. — Central section of Old Kasaan as it appeared in 1924. Eagle House 

 may be seen on the left, while the front house posts and roof beams of another 

 house, " More-back House," is visible in the background on the right. 



reaching a total of 235 at Ketchikan, the nearest observing station. 

 Winters are mild and are hardly severe enough to freeze the rank 

 vegetation. Alders and salmon berry bushes grow in profusion and 

 have completely hidden from view the fallen timbers of the house 

 frames. Large cedars and spruces grow out of what was once a house 

 interior. In one case a cedar sprang up at the base of the hollowed 

 back of a totem pole, and it has now grown up and filled the hollowed 

 cavity, splitting the totem pole which still adheres to the living tree, 

 forming two decorative panels. All remaining poles which were worth 

 preserving were scraped. The rotted wood was removed and the pole 

 was then given a treatment of creosote. No attempt to paint the poles 

 in their original colors was attempted, as such expense would hardly 



