SWANTOX] POTLATCHKS 441 



The chiefs nephew jiiiuped up and said. "Eat it up. P^at it up." 

 CfinukAsayi' said. "I wanted to eat tliis dishful l)ef<)ie the Wrauifell 

 people but not l)et'ore the people up here." He said tliis because the 

 Wrangell people were enemies to those of Sitka. Then the chief's 

 wife rose and said to him, "I want you to eat all the food in that 

 dish. When I was in Sitka with the news, your brotlier said to me, 

 'What dish are we going to eat of when I arrive at Chiikatf Your 

 brother is not heiv, but as you are here I want you to eat up tiie 

 food in that dish." (His brother had been taken sick and so was unalile 

 to go, leaving the duty or penalty to fail upon this man. If a per- 

 son merely whispci'ed to anyone before a potlatch tliat he was going 

 to eat all the food in this dish, it was quickly reported at Chilkat 

 and he was called upon to do so. If he declined he became a subject 

 for ridicule. It was tlie same regarding any remark dropped before 

 a potlatch. There were also eating contests between two individuals, 

 each of whom strove to empty the contents of his dish first. Some- 

 times a man\s nam(> was called out and all the food in the tray passed 

 to him was eaten before the tray reached him. In these various sports 

 the people threw grease on one another and all over the floor.) 



KunduicA't, who was considered a great cater, wanted to get at this 

 dish verj' much, but he was not selected. Then the young men set to 

 and almost succeeded in eating up the food, but not quite. The feat 

 has never l)een accomplished. The Chilkat people made so much fun 

 of them while the^' were eating that the}' concealed the tra}' and held 

 it for payment until Thorn, the Sitka chief, told them to give it u\). 



After another song, the big basket called Mother-basket was Ijrought 

 out and set before the people of Klukwan. All of the guests ate with 

 horn spoons that had belonged to the dead chief. After a feast has 

 gone on for sonii> time and people know that the hosts are hungry, they 

 invite them and their wives in turn. The hosts iind their wives sleep 

 with their blankets gathered up around their waists. 



Next morning the Sitka people were all taken into their hosts' houses 

 to talk with them about taking up the bones of the dead, putting them 

 into a bo.x, and erecting a carving over them. The host asked his 

 visitors to do this, and tliev pei'foi'med the service just ])ef()re the gifts 

 were given out. That was the reason for the feast, and the reason 

 they were summoned. 



Now is wlien the host takes charge of the sport, so next morning 

 two cannons were tired oti, and the host told the women of his clan 

 to dress up. He did this so that his guests might know that he was 

 feeling happy. So all the women of that clan put on carved head- 

 dresses ornamented with abalone shell, and other good clothing. 

 Around the floor of the house were laid all of those mats that the 

 uncles and mothers of the hosts had formerly' used for their guests to 

 sit upon, and one chief had iuuig up his mother's blanket behind the 



