54 THE INDIANS OF CAPE FLATTERY. 



presence of the white men prevented resort to such extreme measures, and they were 

 obliged to content themselves with seizing each other by the hair, and scuffling for 

 a fall. After they had pulled one another about till they were tired, the victor, who 

 in this instance was the man to whom the squaw really belonged, was considered 

 entitled to her by the voice of the collected crowd. The affair was then considered 

 satisfactorily settled. Others have been more serious. One young chief who 

 had a grudge of long standing against another of equal rank, satisfied himself 

 by shooting a brother of his adversary with a pistol, inflicting a serious though 

 not a mortal wound. This affair, which caused much excitement, was finally 

 compromised by the payment of certain articles. A common and favorite means 

 of revenge consists in defacing or destroying canoes, and in other wanton acts 

 of malice which would disgrace school boys ; but as a general thing they have 

 very few quarrels among themselves, compared with the breaches of the peace 

 which so frequently occur in white settlements containing an equal number of 

 individuals. This fact can be attributed to their freedom from the use of in 

 toxicating liquor, which has been .entirely prohibited on the reservation by the 

 exertions of the agent. When, in former times, they had access to liquor, they 

 were quite as quarrelsome as any other savages. Whenever, a slave commits an 

 offence, the owner administers punishment according to his own fancy, without con 

 sulting with others, or being held responsible for his acts. Two instances came 

 within my knowledge where the slaves were killed. In one of these a slave 

 went to Kwilleyute and murdered a man and woman, and on his return home 

 was shot by his master. Peace was thus preserved between the two tribes, the 

 murderer being rightly punished. In the other, a woman used abusive language 

 toward her master, which he bore for a long time, till, finally, becoming exas 

 perated, he struck her a blow on the head with a club, which stunned, but did not 

 quite kill her. She remained in that state all night, and tpward morning partially 

 recovered; but the owner s wrath was not appeased, and he killed her with his 

 knife. No notice was taken of this affair by the tribe. The owner, however, for 

 this and several other crimes, was taken to Fort Steilacoom, and imprisoned for 

 several months by order of the Indian agent. The Indians say, that formerly when 

 slaves were more numerous, and more easily obtained, they were oftener punished. 

 Instances are related in which an offender has been bound hand and foot, placed in a 

 canoe and set adrift, while a strong east wind was blowing, which would carry him 

 out to sea, and insure a miserable death by starvation. Others have been hung, 

 and others tortured; but they are getting more moderate of late years, and extreme 

 measures are seldom resorted to. The presence of white men has exerted a salu 

 tary influence in this respect, and the fear of being held responsible renders them 

 more gentle in their deportment to their slaves. 



The authority of the chief is respected relative to anything cast ashore by the 

 tide, whether drift lumber, dead whales, or wrecks. Formerly, when each village 

 contained but one head chief, he claimed and owned all the land between certain 

 points, and everything cast ashore became his by right of seigniorage, and of this 

 he could make distribution among his friends as he saw fit. The chief, for 

 instance, who owned the land around Neeah Bay, was named Deeaht or Deeah, 



