QUEEN CHARLOTTE ISLANDS. 129 B 



This dance is not performed in the house as the others are, but at large 

 through the village. The usual present tariff' for the performance 

 of the ceremony is about ten blankets. On enquiring what the 

 feelings of the man might be whose dog was devoured, I found that 

 afterwards the dog is appraised and paid for to the satisfaction of 

 all parties. This is characteristic of the manner in which, among 

 the Haidas themselves, the principle of nothing for nothing is strictly 

 •carried out. 



6. Hi-atl. This dance is very frequently indulged in, and is on occa-Hi-ati. 

 sion of any joyful event, as the arrival of visitors, &c. It is performed 

 by several or many men, who wear feathers in their hair and paint 

 their faces. The Haida language is used in the song. No distribution 

 of property happens, except in the case of the dance being to denote 

 the conclusion of mourning for a dead friend. In this instance a 

 potlatch occurs by the former mourner, who invites his friends 

 together to dance with him. 



(rambling is as common with the Haidas as among most other tribes, Gambling, 

 which means that it is the most popular and constantly practised of all 

 their amusements. The gambler frequently loses his entire property, 

 continuing the play till he has nothing whatever to stake. The game 

 generally played I have not been able to understand clearly. It is the 

 same with that of most of the coast tribes, and not dissimilar from 

 gambling games played by the natives from the Pacific coast to Lake 

 Superior. Sitting on the ground in a circle, in the centre of which a 

 clean cedar mat is spread, each man produces his bundle of neatly 

 smoothed sticks, the values of which are known by the markings upon 

 them. They are shuffled together in soft teased cedar bark, and 

 drawn out by chance. 



Social customs. 



Some points connected with the social relations of the Haidas have 

 already been touched upon, others may be noted here. 



A man wishing to marry, informs his mother on what girl his heart Marriage. 

 is fixed, and she, going to the mother of the beloved one (sweetheart 

 or ka-ta-dha), endeavours to arrange the match. An understanding 

 having been arrived at, the man, when ready, invites his friends to 

 accompany him, and going together to the house of the girl's parents, 

 the}' enter, and sit down around the fire, beside which the girl and her 

 friends also are. The young man's friends then speak in his favour, 

 recommending him to the father of the girl, and praising his good 

 qualities. When the talk is finished, the girl rises, and going to 

 where her would-be husband is, sits down beside him and takes his 

 hand. The ceremony is then complete, and the father of the girl gives 



