42 
THE MUSEUM. 
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For The Museum. 
IDOLATRY AMONG THE INDIANS OF 
PUGET SOUND, WASHINGTON 
TERRITORY. 
BY REV. M. EELLS. 
“ Are there any idols among the Indians 
here ? ” was the question which was asked me 
by a visitor not long ago. I will reply in this 
article. I had not been here long before I 
became satisfied that the principle of idolatry 
They found certain stones or made 
sticks and posts in which they be¬ 
lieved certain, powerful spirits 
dwelt at times, and it was not safe 
to abuse these sticks, or the spirit 
which sometimes lived there, and 
which always watched over and 
took care of his earthly home, 
would become angry, so that it 
would take its revenge in some 
way, especially by making the 
people sick. Generally these 
sticks are posts which are used to 
support the houses used in their 
greatest festivals, but sometimes 
are in private houses, and occa¬ 
sionally are placed near the head 
of the bed, as a protector. Figures 
i and 2, about eight feet long, are 
posts, set on large cross beams, to 
support the ridge pole, in a large 
communal house, No. 2 having 
been unveiled with great cere¬ 
mony. (In the engravings the 
black portions represent red, the 
horizontal shading, blue , and the 
vertical, black. The unshaded portions rep¬ 
resent white paint). Figure 3 was a board in 
another large house, where several hundred 
Indians gathered for a week’s festival. At 
this time a few persons gave to their invited 
friends several hundred dollars in money and 
other valuable things, and it was said that 
the spirit which dwelt in it really gave away 
the presents. 
To show how much the people 
were afraid to molest these, I will 
relate the two following incidents: 
A half-breed boy of fourteen or 
fifteen years was telling a lady how 
afraid some of the people were to 
touch these sticks and stones, 
when the lady said to him, “You 
would not be afraid to touch them, 
would you ? ” “I—I don’t know,” 
he replied, slowly. Here he 
was, brought up mainly among 
whites, in school ever since he had 
been old enough to go, and yet 
really afraid to touch them. 
Nine or ten years ago, when I 
had been among these Indians 
only a year or two, as I wished to 
obtain something of the kind for 
my collection, I asked one Indian, 
who was so civilized that he cared 
nothing about tjjese things, 
whether I would be likely to find 
anything that would suit me at an 
old communal house four miles distant, which 
had been deserted for years'and of which 
nothing remained 
but the posts and 
beams. He said that 
he thought I could. 
Accordingly, I went 
there, and supposing 
that all had been 
removed which was 
of value, I cut down 
the best carved one, 
about eight feet high 
and two feet wide, 
put it in my boat 
and started for home. 
On my way home I 
began to think that, perhaps, it would have 
been best first to have asked the chiefs about 
it. Stopping to see one of the younger In¬ 
dians, I told him about it, and he seemed to 
think nothing of it. But on rowing up to 
another house, an old man came to me, and 
on seeing it, said, “ The devil has got you 
now!” He then told me how afraid the peo- 
