MALLERY. ] HAIDA TATTOO. 403 
I am of the opinion, judging from my own observation of over twenty years 
among the coast tribes, that but few females can be found among the Indians, not 
only on Vancouvers island, but all along the coast to the Columbia river, and per- 
haps even to California, that are not marked with some device tattooed on their 
hands, arms, or ankles, either dots or straight lines; but of all of the tribes men- 
tioned, the Haidas stand preeminent for tattooing, and seem to be excelled only by 
the natives of the Fiji islands or the King’s Mills group in the south seas. The 
Fie. 526.—Tattooed Haidas. 
tattoo marks of the Haidas are heraldic designs or the family totem, or crests of the 
wearers, and are similar to the carvings depicted on the pillars and monuments 
around the homes of the chiefs, which casual observers have thought were idols. 
These designs are invariably placed on the men between the shoulders just below 
the back of the neck, on the breast, on the front part of both thighs, and on the 
legs below the knee, On the women they are marked on the breast, on both shoul- 
