252 SOCIAL EVOLUTION 



tioii the youth may obtain three powers. Another spirit 

 who grants to his wards nine powers is, ' ' The-First-One- 

 to-Eat-j\Ian-at-the-Mouth-of-the-Kiver. ' ' These spirits 

 are hereditary and their number is limited to various 

 clans in different tribes. As they appear only in winter, 

 the ceremonials connected with them are held in the win- 

 ter. During the rest of the year the Indians are organ- 

 ized, in common with other Pacific Coast tribes, in a sys- 

 tem of three classes — nobility, common people, and slaves. 

 As the slaves are rated on a par with personal property, 

 the social structure really consists of the nobles and com- 

 mon people. These two classes comprise the clans and 

 families. The ancestor of each family has a tradition 

 of his own, apart from the clan tradition, and possesses 

 certain crests and privileges. In each family the single 

 man who impersonates the ancestor and enjoys his rank 

 and privileges, is one of the nobility. Nobles range in im- 

 portance according to the rank of their ancestors. Dur- 

 ing the period of the winter ceremonial this social order 

 is thoroughly rearranged. Individuals are no longer 

 groui^ed according to clans and families, but according 

 to the spirits that have initiated them. At this time the 

 people are divided into two main groups — the initiated, 

 called "seals," and the uninitiated, called "sparrows." 

 Throughout the ceremonies these two groups are hostile 

 to one another, and the "seals" attack and torment the 

 "sparrows. "^2 



Throughout these ceremonies there is continuous use 

 of elaborately carved wooden masks. When an Indian 

 has on one of these grotesque masks he is regarded by 

 the people as impersonating the spirit who gave the mask. 

 These masks are painted and carved to represent certain 



32/6i(Z., pp. 399-499. 



