THE INDIANS OF CAPE FLATTERY. 49 



food is to be prepared ; but for ordinary purposes pots and kettles are used. Iron 

 pots and brass kettles, with a goodly display of tin pans, are to be found in every 

 lodge, all of which are purchased from the white traders.' 



Songs. — The songs of the Makahs are in great variety, and vary from that of the 

 mother lulling her infant to sleep, to barbarous war cries and horribly discordant 

 "medicine" refrains. Some of the tunes are sung in chorus, and many of the airs of 

 the children do not sound badly when heard in the distance. They are good 

 imitators, and readily learn the songs of the white men, particularly the popular 

 negro melodies. Some of their best tunes are a mixture of our popular airs with 

 notes of their o'wn, and of these they sing several bars, and while one is expecting 

 to hear them finish as they began, they wiU suddenly change into a barbarous 

 discord. Their songs at ceremonials consist of a recitative and chorus, in which it 

 would be difficult for any one to represent in musical characters the wild, savage 

 sounds to which they gave utterance. 



Some of the tribes sing the songs that have been composed by other tribes, and 

 as they cannot always pronounce the words accurately, a person is liable to be 

 misled as to the meaning. I was present, with several other white persons, 

 at the opening ceremonies of the Clallams, at Port Townsend, a few years 

 since. The chorus was a repetition of the words (as we all understood them) " a 

 new-kushu ah yah yah." Kushu in the jargon means hog, and we supposed they 

 were referring to that animal. The words, however, which they did pronounce 

 were " wah-noo-koo-choo ah yah yah," but they said they did not know their mean- 

 ing, they were " tamanawas." I subsequently ascertained that the song originated 

 with the Clyoquots, and by them it is pronounced " wa-na-ka-chee-ah ya yah," and 

 signifies a disposition to break things, or to kill their friends ; and is in evidence 

 of a bold and fearless spirit. Sometimes the young men assemble in the evening 

 and sing some simple air in chorus, the words being generally improvised. They 

 keep time with a drum or tambourine, which is simply a skin stretched tightly on 

 a hoop. These songs sound very well, and are melodious when compared to some 

 of their other chants. Many, both males and females, have good voices, and could 

 be taught to sing, but their own native songs have nothing to recommend them 

 to civilized ears. The words used are very few, seldom extending beyond those of 

 a single sentence, and generally not more than one or two, which are repeated 

 and sung by the hour. Sometimes they take the name of an individual, and repeat 

 this over and over. A single instance will suffice as an illustration : There was 

 a young Nittinat Indian, by the name of Bah-die, who was quite a favorite with 

 the Makah boys. Some prank that he played caused his name to be frequently 

 mentioned, and finally some one sang it to a tune with a rousing chorus. AU 

 the words used were " ah Bah-die," and this would be roared through all the 

 changes in the gamut. This was a popular and favorite tune tiU Bah-die died, 

 and then it was dropped, as they would not mention his name after he was dead. 



* Arrow and spear-heads of stone seem not to have been- used by the tribes in this part of the 

 coast. Basket work and wood take the place of pottery, the manufacture of which article, how- 

 ever, again prevails among some of the tribes of Alaska. — G. G. 

 7 July 1869. 



