438 THE TLINGIT INDIANS [eth .inn-. 26 



At the beginning of a potlatch, when a house had just been completed, 

 all the host's friends as.serabled inside of it and "danced it together"" 

 by making motions four times to the right and four times to the left 

 as the\' danced. These motions were accompanied by as many songs. 



The following is an account of a feast at Cliilkat. sul)stantially as 

 given by Dekinfi'kl", an eyewitness and participant. The givers of 

 the feast were Yelgu'xo and YeJxri'k of the Raven people of Klukwan. 



After Yelgu'xo's house was completed his wife came down from 

 Chilkat with leaf tobacco to invite tlie Sitka people. The tirst house 

 named was the Wolf house (the house of A'naxuts!, chief of the 

 Ka'gwAntfin), and they named all the houses up this way (that being 

 the Ka'gwAutan end of the town). In the evening she invited ail to 

 supper. When they were all seated in the house, she began distrib- 

 uting leaf tobacco and the guests smoked. Then the woman, and those 

 friends who came with her, rose and delivered the invitation. When 

 the meal was over the town people danced before their visitors by 

 way of payment. They took out all of thei r crests — such as hats, woven 

 blankets, and emblem shirts — before the visitors, in order to show them 

 respect. Next day she again feasted them and again they danced for 

 her. The morning after that the woman took a piece of charcoal and 

 threw it outside as an invitation to her people to give her property. 

 She asked for this in order that they might feel just as good as the 

 Klukwan Wolves who had built her husbaiuFs house, for those of Sitka 

 had not had a hand in it. The woman was sent to them because she 

 also was a Wolf. Had the host lived in the same town he would have 

 sent a brother-in-law instead. So the people wont to her that morning 

 and placed before her $1,0U0 worth of property. The woman knew, 

 however, that her husband was very rich, so she demanded more than 

 |2,tt(»0 worth, and obtained it. 



After they had made ready their dancing hats, bark rings for the 

 neck and head, etc. all started off and their hostess followed them. 

 They had four dance leaders, and at every place where they camped 

 they practised dancing. While they were going up the dance leaders 

 had to fast for two days and for some time they had to keep away from 

 women; otherwise they would not livelong. When people invito others 

 they say, ''We will have a war dance together,"' in order to scare 

 them, meaning thereby that they will have a dancing and singing con- 

 test. So the dance leaders had prepared themselves l)y fasting, absti- 

 nence, and the nianufacture of medicines made of tlowers, as if pre- 

 paring for war. When they went along to a potlatch the canoes of 

 visitors would divide and rush together as if they were fighting, 

 brandishing wooden knives. They would also, especially if a powerful 

 clan like the Ka'gWAntan, plunder canoes or even towns of their pro- 

 visions. At thi.s time they carried away all the potatoes from Killisnoo. 



