THE INDIANS OF THE NOETHWEST COAST. 275 



SlaveMllers. — These are ceremouial implements formerly used by 

 the chiefs in dispatching the slaves selected as victims of sacrifice on 

 occasions of building a house, or on the death of a chief or other impor- 

 tant personage, as described in Chapter xin. Some varieties of these 

 instruments are illustrated in Plate xlvi. The pointed ends were 

 driven by a quick blow into the skull of the victim, whose body was 

 accorded special consideration in burial. They seem in general to have 

 been made of bone, or of wood tipped with stone. Naturally, with the 

 advent of the whites, this custom has had to be abandoned, and these 

 implements have, in time, become very rare. 



