swAXTciM HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT 407 



Qoti's! hit (house looking out on tlie sea) 



Chief, Yfi'mljiyltgrix (hun^iry wolf cryin}; for food) 

 Clan, Kuk hit tan 

 Llade'n hit (lionse standing .sidcwavH ) ; it was the highest ranking liouseof the Box- 

 House people 

 Chief, Qotce'n (named from a hear I 

 Clan, Kfdv hit tan 

 !Xas! hit (cowhide house; probably moose house originally); once when they pot- 

 latched and were without a roof, they covered their house \,ith cowhide 

 Chief, Yctnawu' (dead raven) 

 Clan, Koskle'di (subdivision, Xas! hit tan) 

 Ceada'yi hit (named from a creek called Cgada'yi, where the first house of this 

 name stood. It was near a waterfall, referred to in the stories, just so\ith of 

 Yakutat 

 Chief, ti!ai'tk!i (Raven has eaten of it, referring to food left over by Raven) 

 Clan, KosklO'di 

 Kii hA'ta hit (house of the stick, or frame, with which salmon used to be chased 

 downstream) 

 Chief, Ltavi' (color of an alder tree about his nose) 

 Clan, Ka'gwAntfin 



HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT 



The THngit quite uniforinlj^ trace the origin of iu>ariyall their clans 

 to the Tsiinshian coast ' ' below Port Simpson ; '' that is, to the neighbor- 

 hood of the mouth of Skeena river. It is said by some that nearly all 

 of the present clans immigrated in this manner, and that most of the 

 "old Alaskans," those whom they found in possession, have died out. 

 Katishan, chief of the Kastjlague'di at Wrangell, mentioned some of 

 these by name, but a thorough investigation would probably develop 

 quite different stories regarding them, especially as many are very 

 small and are more likely to have been subdivisions than surviving 

 groups. The only point that may have significance is the fact thiit 

 nearly all so enumerated were of the Kaven clan. There are several 

 other bits of evidence which seem to show that the distinction between 

 the two phratries was of more importance historically than would at 

 first appear. Thus, according to a Sitka interpreter, the Eagle peo- 

 ple were called Na (nation) or Cengoqedi'na," but there was no one name 

 for all the Ravens, they being one simply in marriage laws, eniljlcms, 

 and in some other respects. According to Katishan all of the Wolf 

 clans used to be denominated SlT'tqoedT* and all of the Raven clans 

 Gon.\tiiAna'yi, the latter of which expressicms seems to bo identical with 

 the word ajiplied by an individual to those of the opposite pliratry.<^ 

 This suggests the question whether distinction of phratry could have 

 been associated originally with a racial difference, and such a possi- 



aThi.s is cvuiently taken from the name of a clan which the writer ha.« elsewhere caHeii Cah- 

 kuke'di. The rensoii tor appljing this name to the entire pliratry is not apparent. I'ossihly the 

 interpreter was mistaken. 



l> Not to be coiifdiindefl with the Slitlqoe'dl of Sumdum (p. 39a) . 



<; Katishan declared that " there are more Ravens in Alaska than Wolves." 



