January 19, 1906.] 



SCIENCE. 



103 



been trained in writing the language by long 

 practise, and under tbe guidance of the editor. 

 All the tests have been phonetically revised 

 with the assistance of other Indians. Not- 

 withstanding the care that has been taken, 

 there remain many uncertainties and obscure 

 points; but the material seems sufficient to 

 elucidate all the main points of the Kwakiutl 

 language. 



In the eighteenth chapter tests of speeches 

 and war accounts are given, translations of 

 which were published in Franz Boas's account 

 of the ' Secret. Societies and Social Organiza- 

 tion of the Kwakiutl Indians,' published in 

 the Report of the U. S. National Museum for 

 1895. 



The style of most of the tests is diffuse, but 

 it was thought well to retain the full accounts, 

 because the stories contain a great many data 

 relating to the eveiy-day customs and beliefs 

 of the tribe. 



A second volume of texts of this tribe is in 

 press. It contains the mythological traditions 

 relating to the origin of the world, and sup- 

 plements in this respect the material con- 

 tained in the first volume. 

 Vol. v.. Part I., Contribution to the Ethnol- 

 ogy of the Haida. By John E. Swanton. 

 This volume contains parts of the results 

 of an expedition undertaken by Dr. John E. 

 Swanton to the Queen Charlotte Islands. 

 His expedition was undertaken in coopera- 

 tion with the Bureau of American Ethnology, 

 the understanding being that the linguistic 

 results (that is, the grammar and dictionary 

 of the Haida language) were to be published 

 by the Bureau of Ethnology, while the eth- 

 nological results and traditions were to be 

 published by the Jesup North Pacific Expe- 

 dition. 



The present volume contains, primarily, 

 data relating to the social organization of the 

 Haida. In the first chapter of the book, in- 

 teresting information is given on shamanism, 

 witchcraft, medicine, customs, taboos and 

 games of the tribe. In the beginning of the 

 book the cosmic notions of the Haida are 

 described, which are of great importance for 

 a clear understanding of their social organ- 

 ization. It is interesting to note tfeSt'' the 



supernatural beings of the Haida are divided 

 into two groups, in the same way as the tribes 

 themselves — the Eaven group and the Eagle 

 group. 



Perhaps the most important part of the 

 author's discussion is the description of the 

 division of the two sides of the Haida into 

 families. The two sides, or clans, are exo- 

 gamic, while the families are primarily local 

 subdivisions of the clans. The detailed ex- 

 planation of this grouping is given in a 

 chapter entitled ' 'Haida History,' in which 

 the author endeavors to present the history of 

 the present families of the Haida as conceived 

 by the Haida themselves. He begins with the 

 mythological period, when the islands, the 

 home of the Haida, arose from the ocean, and 

 continues with the origin of the ancestors of 

 the Eaven clan and of the Eagle clan, through 

 more or less mythical events, down to the 

 historical events of the last few centuries, 

 describing the gradual splitting-up and re- 

 combination of various families. Based on 

 this discussion, he has reached the interesting 

 conclusion, that, according to the idea of the 

 Haida, the Raven clan is indigenous, while 

 the Eagle clan may possibly represent de- 

 scendants of immigrants from the mainland. 

 There is, however, some evidence of a tendency 

 to make the traditions of the two clans uni- 

 form. 



The families settled in the various villages 

 have certain prerogatives, the most important 

 of which are the crests. A discussion of these 

 shows that the principal crests of the Eaven 

 clan are the killer-whale and grizzly bear, 

 while the principal ones of the Eagle clan are 

 the eagle and beaver. Besides these, there are 

 a great many scattering crests, many of which 

 were obtained by purchase or gift, and which 

 can not be in any way considered as totems. 



A rather full discussion of the representa- 

 tion of the crest and of the myth in art con- 

 tains detailed descriptions of a considerable 

 series of totem-poles, showing that most of 

 these are crest figures of a house-owner and 

 of his wife, while others represent incidents 

 in myths. Similar representations are found 

 on grave-posts and on canoeS', and on boxes, 

 spoons and other utensils used by the people. 



