OUR ALASKAN EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 



101 



and examined it with profound astonish- 

 ment. Finally, pointing to the cartridge 

 and then to some hills, several miles distant, 

 he signaled his faith in this great engine of 

 death. 



The little open box containing the nee- 

 dles finally caught his eye. That was the 

 thing. It was the wonder of wonders. He 

 stooped low over the box and examined it 

 from every side. Then he very cautiously 

 lifted a package of the needles, looked at 

 them and carefully replaced them. Stand- 

 ing erect he now gazed at me, and then at 

 the needles. All this time not a word had 

 been spoken, but that face — what a study 



with different members of this tribe and 

 learned much of their history. They are 

 the only tribe living on the Stickeen and 

 number 270 souls. The Sticks, from Ft. 

 Wrangle, hunt the lower Stickeen but have 

 no homes there. 



The Tahltans are tall, slender and ath- 

 letic; good travelers and good hunters. 

 They produce, annually, in addition to other 

 furs, about 100 silver foxes, or 1-14 of the 

 world's output. 



The Tahltans live in comfortable log 

 houses, or rancharies, covered with boards. 

 Many of the houses are also partially or 

 completely floored with rough pine boards, 



HOME CAMP, RECREATION'S EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 

 Head of Canoe Navigation, Stickeen River, Alaska. 



for an artist! Expressions of wonder, 

 amazement, curiosity, delight, doubt, anx- 

 iety, hope, expectation, all followed one an- 

 other over it with the greatest rapidity. 



He was no ordinary business man. He 

 was a diplomat, and he won his case by the 

 practice of native sagacity and cunning. I 

 walked over to the pack, gave him a paper 

 of needles and his delight and gratitude 

 were unbounded. 



So ended the embarassment of the early 

 evening. It had been converted into an 

 unusually interesting entertainment, afford- 

 ing me a most excellent opportunity for a 

 study of the character and expressions of 

 these simple minded people. Later in the 

 fall I met in camp this same outfit on the 

 same camp ground, and they brought us 

 wood and tent poles to burn. They did not 

 ask for pay. We were friends now. 



I spent many evenings in conversation 



whip sawed from the trees by hand. The 

 practice regarding the disposition of the 

 dead is not uniform. Some of them cre- 

 mate, others bury the body. In either case, 

 the belongings of the dead are carefully 

 packed, in cheap wooden trunks, and placed 

 on the grave. 



The decoration of their graves is not so 

 elaborate as in the case of the Tlingits; 

 nor do the Tahltans erect totems. 



When a young man wishes to marry, he 

 makes his wishes known to an uncle, or an 

 elder, who purchases for him the object of 

 his fancy. After marriage this young man 

 assumes his wife's tribal name — i.e., if his 

 wife is a crow and he was a wolf, he now 

 becomes a crow. He goes to live with his 

 wife's people, becomes one of their hunting 

 party and, in fact, severs all relationship 

 with his own family. 



The Tahltans no longer recognize a chief l 



