THE INDIANS OF THE NORTHWEST COAST. 363 



them harshly. Time and whitewash have accomplished wonders for 

 us, but the coating- is too thin iu places to entirely conceal our savage 

 selves of yesterday. 



On all festive occasions, which are numerous, singing and dancing 

 are indulged in, the social proclivities being strong- within them. The 

 dancing usually takes place indoors, and is accompanied by the singing 

 of a selected few, who sit apart and beat on a drum similar to that 

 shown in Fig. 302, Plate LVii, the time being still further emphasized 

 by the leader or others, who carry rattles or thump on the floor or ground 

 with batons similiar to those shown in Plate xvii. 



Bancincj. — Some of the dances are stately, dignified, and formal ; some 

 are wild, passionate, and furious ; others are ludicrous ; but in general 

 the method of dancing them is the same, the movements simply being 

 slow or exaggerated, as the case may be. It consists mainly in contor- 

 tion of the body and hips, with the feet firmly planted and the knees 

 slightly bent. The body is wiggled and swayed from side to side or 

 forward and backward, the legs remaining bent at about the same 

 angle. The dancers advance or change about, by a spasmodic hop 

 or shuffling of the feet, but the movements of the feet play only a 

 small part in the so-called dancing itself. Now and then, with the in- 

 troduction of a new figure or movement by the leader, or the interjec- 

 tion of a witty remark by one of the dancers, the audience will laugh 

 or express its approval by grunts and cries. As the dance proceeds the 

 movements gradually become more and more animated. The leader 

 now and then addresses remarks and ejaculations to the singers and to 

 the other dancers, and the din and contortions are redoubled in fury. 

 Suddenly the music stops and the dancers rest. The costumes worn are 

 various, depending upon the signifiance of the dance; headdresses of 

 cedar bark, and the tall chief's head dresses (Fig. 3.")) filled to the top 

 with birds' down ; Chilcat and cedar blankets ; masks of various kinds 

 and devices ; cedar-bark girdles ; ceremonial coats and leggings ; rattles 

 and whistles ; dance wands and mechanically working snappers ; wooden 

 helmets ; ceremonial bows and arrows ; wooden spears and batons of 

 rank ; to all this add the painted faces and bodies, the eagle's down 

 on the heads and over the paint, and the clouds of birds' down blown 

 from tubes and scattered by the dancers, and one has an outline of 

 these picturesque and interesting gatherings. Some members of the 

 tribe become famous as dancers and as wits. Their antics and contor- 

 tions are always watched with interest, and their sallies greeted with 

 laughter by the women and children. This individual may be a woman 

 or man, or formerly might have been a favorite slave, who posed as a 

 clown or fool to amuse the multitude, and who was granted many priv- 

 ileges not given to other slaves. Amongst the Tlingit the men do most 

 of the dancing, whereas amongst the Haida and Tsimshians both sexes 

 Ijarticipate alike, sometimes one or the other, or both, taking part. 



