BULL. 301 



STASAOS-LANAS STEATITE 



635 



Stasaos-lanas {Stasa^os Wnas, 'people 

 of Stasaos coast ' ) . A Haida family of the 

 Eagle clan that received its name from a 

 strip of coast along the n. side of the chan- 

 nel between the largest two of the Ciueen 

 Charlotte ids., Brit. Col. Probably they 

 were originally a part of the Kaiahl-lanas, 

 with whom thev used to go about. — Swan- 

 ton, Cont. Haida, 274, 1905. 



Stashum {Sta-fiJnnn). A former Lummi 

 village on Waldron id.. Wash. — Gibbs, 

 Clallam and Lummi, 39, 1863. 



Statannyik {SkVtu)iny7k, 'many ants'). 

 A Pima village on the s. bank of the Gila, 

 s. Ariz., between Vaaki (Casa Blanca) 

 and Huchiltchik. It may be identical 

 with Hormiguero (q. v.). 

 Sta'tannyik.— Russell in 26th Rep. B. A. E., 23, 

 1908. Staw-to-nik,— Dudley in Ind. Aff. Rep. 1871, 

 58,1872. Stotonik.— ten Kate cited by Gatschet, 

 MS., B. A. E., XX, 199, 1888. 



Stature. See Anatomy. 



Stawas-haidagai (Stfawd^s xd^-idaga-i, 

 'witch people' ). A Haida family of the 

 Eagle clan. While these people were 

 living near the Kogahl-lanas the screech- 

 owls {st.'ao) were heard to call so much 

 from their side of the creek that a boy in 

 the town opposite said they ought to be 

 called 'Witch people' {Sffcnvd^s xd'- 

 ida^a-i). This story was probably told to 

 alleviate the application of a rather harsh 

 name. They had the same traditional 

 origin as the Kona-kegawai, Djiguaahl- 

 lanas, and Kaiahl-lanas. AH of them 

 lived in the town of Cumshewa, which 

 was owned by their chief. There were 

 three local subdivisions, the Heda-haida- 

 gai, Sa-haidagai, and Kahligua-haida- 

 gai. — Swanton, Cont. Haida, 273, 1905. 



Steatite. A soft, tough, talcose rock, 

 commonly called soapstone, occurring in 

 massive bodies in connection with other 

 metamorphic rocks, and much used by the 

 Indian tribes N. of Mexico for implements, 

 utensils, and ornaments. Itwas employed 

 for the manufacture of cooking utensils be- 

 cause of its resistance to the destructive 

 action of lire, and for various minor uten- 

 sils and ornaments because readily carved 

 with stone tools and susceptible cf a high 

 polish. The color is usually a somewhat 

 greenish gray, but when polished and sub- 

 jected to long-continued handling it be- 

 comes almost black, presenting an attrac- 

 tive appearance. This material is of very 

 generaldistribution. It occurs in number- 

 less places in the Appalachian highland, 

 extending into New England, New Bruns- 

 wick, and Canada in the N. and into the 

 Gulf states in the s. (see Mines and 

 Quarries). Deposits occur in Wyoming 

 and other states along the Great Divide, 

 and in California it was extensively 

 mined, especially on Santa Catalina id., 

 off the coast of Santa Barbara co. (Schu- 

 macher, Holmes). It is in general use 

 among the Eskimo, some of their sources 



of supply being Cumberland .sd. , Wager r. , 

 and Greenland. Steatite was quarried 

 from the massive deposits by means of 

 stone picks and chisels, and the various 

 shapes were roughed out with the same 

 implements, many of which were left on 

 the quarry sites and on dwelling sites 

 where the utensils were specialized. The 

 implements used in carving were prol)ably 

 halted, but the manner of hafting is un- 

 known. In E. United States a common 

 form of soapstone utensils was a heavy ob- 

 long basin, from a few inches to 20 or more 

 in length, about half as wide, and a few 

 inches in depth, having rudely carved pro- 

 jections at the ends for handles. These 

 crude vessels are believed to have been 

 used for cooking. In this section the ma- 

 terial was in general use for various minor 



STEATITE VESSELS: O, VIRGINIA; 6, C, d, CALIFORNIA; «, ALASKA 



carvings, and especially for tobacco pipes, 

 many elaborate and tasteful examples of 

 which have been obtained from ancient 

 mounds and village sites. In California 

 steatite was employed in the manufacture 

 of utensils of many kinds, notably the 

 globular ollas of the southern part of the 

 state, bakingplates, tobacco pi pes, personal 

 ornaments, fetiches, and various objects of 

 unknown use. In the Arctic regions it is 

 of the greatest value to the Eskimo, by 

 whom it is used in making lamps. On 

 account of the ease with which this 

 material is carved it has been freely 

 used in the manufacture of imitations of 

 the aboriginal work, and fraudulent speci- 

 mens are frequently offered for sale. See 

 Chisels, Mines and Quarries, Picks, Stone- 

 work. 



