THE INDIANS OF THE NORTHWEST COAST. 375 



huge beams or rafters^ and their final erection into the frame work of a 

 liouse, all require not only the expenditure of much time and labor, but 

 a very extensive outlay of wealth. The gathering is an occasion of 

 much ceremony, but the work in hand, conducted always with dire con- 

 fusion, shouting, and yelling, occupies but a small portion of the time, 

 the remainder being filled in with gambling, feasting, dancing, speech- 

 making, and dissipations of various kinds. Formerly the custom ob- 

 tained of killing several slaves when a person of consequence built a 

 house, the victims being selected sometime before the ceremony. The 

 bodies of those slain were accorded the right of burial, and in this much 

 were deemed very fortunate. Petroflf says : 



If an iuteuded victim inauaged to escape or to conceal himself he was allowed to 

 live, aiid might return after the conclusion of the festivities at the house of his master 

 without incurring punishment. It frequently occurred that powerful chiefs assisted 

 favorite slaves on such occasions to make their escape.* 



After the house has been finished all these ceremonies take place 

 therein. The dancers paint their faces, and, attired in their best, go 

 through with a dance lasting ai« hour or so. Amongst the Haida the 

 dancers are the relatives of the host's wife. At its conclusion speeches 

 are made (and formerly the slaves sacrificed) and the potlatch takes 

 place, the host presiding. After that they disperse. 



Potlatches. — The potlatch, as entering into other ceremonies, has been 

 described in the first part of this chapter. It is the accompaniment of 

 every gathering designed to elevate the host in the good will of the 

 community and advance him in rank by increasing the respect felt for 

 him in his own and other villages. The potlatch in itself as a separate 

 ceremony is, however, practiced. Invitations to it are sent out as for 

 other gatherings. Usually they are given by chiefs or persons of 

 wealth well-established in the community. According to Dawson, 



Each chief with the Tsinishians had also [in former days] his jester, who is sent on 

 errands of invitation, announces the guests on their arrival, and makes jokes and 

 endeavors to amuse the company, though preserving his own gravity. The jester is 

 not, of course, always in attendance. He receives nothing for his trouble, appar- 

 ently looking on the position as honorable, and inherits nothing on the chief's death. t 



The object of the potlatch thus given as a separate ceremony is to 

 strengthen the giver's position in the community and to increase his 

 reputation at home and abroad. 



Ceremonial dances. — Sufficient data is not at hand to classify the vari- 

 ous dances of the northern Indians of this region. The weight of evi- 

 dence seems to be that amongst the Haida the Tsimshian language is 

 used in the songs accompanying their dances, and that in all probability 

 most of the religious and winter-dance ceremonials of the Haida were 

 originally borrowed from their Tsimshian neighbors. Little is known 

 on this subject, and it presents a most interesting field for future 

 investigation, particularly in the relation of these to the winter dances 

 of the Kwakiutl and other southern tribes. 



" Petroff, Report, p. 178. t Dawson, Report, B, p. 120. 



