THE INDIANS OF THE NORTHWEST COAST. 331 



Additional notes on the subject of singing will be given in Chapter 

 XIII, in the description of the various ceremonies. 

 Drums. — Portlock (1787) says of a Tlingit chief whom he traded with : 



He was not for transacting his business in a hurry; and perhaps he thought that 

 on his last visit we were not impressed with a suiiicient idea of his importance ; for 

 now he came along-side, with his party, in great pomp and solemnity, all of them 

 singing; and in addition to the vocal concert, they entertained us with instrumental 

 music, which consisted of a large old chest, beaten with the hands, by way of a drum, 

 and two rattles. The rattles were 2 feet long, and about 2 inches round, made of 

 hollow pieces of wood neatly joined together, and a number of small stones being 

 put in, they were closed at both ends. The chief held one ot these rattles in his hand, 

 which he frequently shook with an air of meaning intelligence, and the rest of his 

 tribe seemed to follow his directions in singing in the most exact manner. 



* The usual type of drum, however, is that shown in Fig. 302, Plate 

 LVii, which consists of a piece of deer-hide or sheep-skin stretched 

 across a circular hoop. '' 



Rattles. — These are usually made of cedar wood, generally in sections 

 neatly joined together, and elaborately carved and painted in totemic 

 designs. There are two kinds, snappers and rattles proper. Snappers 

 are usually made in two pieces hinged together in such a way that by 

 pulling a string or jerking it bodily, the two parts come together with 

 a snapping noise. Often these are carved in the form of the head of 

 some animal with enormous teeth and jaws, controlled by a string, being 

 very effective in amusing the multitude when carried in the native 

 dances. The most primitive rattle, mentioned by the early voyagers, is 

 that shown in Fig. 73, Plate xviii, composed of two hoops joined by a 

 wooden cross-piece, the circumference being closely strung with the 

 beaks of the puffin. The usual form of rattle is a hollow wooden 

 chamber with about a dozen small pebbles in it. The forms, variety 

 of carving, and general shapes are so great that only a few typical ones 

 are illustrated in the accompanying plates (lviii, lix, and lx). They 

 are carried in the hand on ceremonial occasions, and serve by their 

 noise to accentuate the measured time of the music in the dance. 

 Those shown in the plates are described in detail in the legend accom- 

 panying each. 



Whistles. — These are shown in great variety in Figs. 298, 299, and 

 301, and in Plates lxi and lxii. While they are not, in one sense, mu- 

 sical instruments, not being capable of giving forth more than two or 

 three distinct notes, yet they serve the purpose of the Indians, although 

 tliey do not speak very highly for their advancement in a musical way. 

 Some of their devices of this kind are essentially for the purpose of 

 making a hideous noise, such, for instance, as that in Fig. 298, consist- 

 ing of a wooden whistle and a bladder like a toy balloon, or, Fig. 329, 

 consisting of a whistle backed by a pair of bellows to furnish the wind. 

 Such instruments are essentially for " cultus" dances, or those intended 

 to amuse the populace. Others are highly ceremonial in their nature. 



* Portlock, Voyage, p. 282. 



