The Chief Had A Slave, A Young And Good-Looking Girl, Who Waited On
Him, Cooked His Food, Lighted His Pipe For Him, Etc.
Her servitude
seemed by no means galling.
In the morning, just before we left on
the return trip, interpreter John overheard him telling her that
after the teacher came from Wrangell, he was going to dress her well
and send her to school and use her in every way as if she were his
own daughter. Slaves are still owned by the richest of the Thlinkits.
Formerly, many of them were sacrificed on great occasions, such as
the opening of a new house or the erection of a totem pole. Kadachan
ordered John to take a pair of white blankets out of his trunk and
wrap them about the chief's shoulders, as he sat by the fire. This
gift was presented without ceremony or saying a single word. The
chief scarcely noticed the blankets, only taking a corner in his
hand, as if testing the quality of the wool. Toyatte had been an
inveterate enemy and fighter of the Chilcats, but now, having joined
the church, he wished to forget the past and bury all the hard feuds
and be universally friendly and peaceful. It was evident, however,
that he mistrusted the proud and warlike Chilcats and doubted the
acceptance of his friendly advances, and as we approached their
village became more and more thoughtful.
"My wife said that my old enemies would be sure to kill me. Well,
never mind. I am an old man and may as well die as not." He was
troubled with palpitation, and oftentimes, while he suffered, he put
his hand over his heart and said, "I hope the Chilcats will shoot me
here."
Before venturing up the river to the principal village, located some
ten miles up the river, we sent Sitka Charley and one of the young
Chilcats as messengers to announce our arrival and inquire whether we
would be welcome to visit them, informing the chief that both
Kadachan and Toyatte were Mr. Young's friends and mine, that we were
"all one meat" and any harm done them would also be done to us.
While our messengers were away, I climbed a pure-white, dome-crowned
mountain about fifty-five hundred feet high and gained noble telling
views to the northward of the main Chilcat glaciers and the multitude
of mighty peaks from which they draw their sources. At a height of
three thousand feet I found a mountain hemlock, considerably dwarfed,
in company with Sitka spruce and the common hemlock, the tallest
about twenty feet high, sixteen inches in diameter. A few stragglers
grew considerably higher, say at about four thousand feet. Birch and
two-leaf pine were common.
The messengers returned next day, bringing back word that we would
all be heartily welcomed excepting Toyatte; that the guns were loaded
and ready to be fired to welcome us, but that Toyatte, having
insulted a Chilcat chief not long ago in Wrangell, must not come.
They also informed us in their message that they were very busy
merrymaking with other visitors, Sitka Jack and his friends, but that
if we could get up to the village through the running ice on the
river, they would all be glad to see us; they had been drinking and
Kadachan's father, one of the principal chiefs, said plainly that he
had just waked up out of a ten days' sleep. We were anxious to make
this visit, but, taking the difficulties and untoward circumstances
into account, the danger of being frozen in at so late a time, while
Kadachan would not be able to walk back on account of a shot in his
foot, the danger also from whiskey, the awakening of old feuds on
account of Toyatte's presence, etc., we reluctantly concluded to
start back on the home journey at once. This was on Friday and a fair
wind was blowing, but our crew, who loved dearly to rest and eat in
these big hospitable houses, all said that Monday would be hyas klosh
for the starting-day. I insisted, however, on starting Saturday
morning, and succeeded in getting away from our friends at ten
o'clock. Just as we were leaving, the chief who had entertained us
so handsomely requested a written document to show that he had not
killed us, so in case we were lost on the way home he could not be
held accountable in any way for our death.
Chapter XII
The Return to Fort Wrangell
The day of our start for Wrangell was bright and the Hoon, the north
wind, strong. We passed around the east side of the larger island
which lies near the south extremity of the point of land between the
Chilcat and the Chilcoot channels and thence held a direct course
down the east shore of the canal. At sunset we encamped in a small
bay at the head of a beautiful harbor three or four miles south of
Berner's Bay, and the next day, being Sunday, we remained in camp as
usual, though the wind was fair and it is not a sin to go home. The
Indians spent most of the day in washing, mending, eating, and
singing hymns with Mr. Young, who also gave them a Bible lesson,
while I wrote notes and sketched. Charley made a sweathouse and all
the crew got good baths. This is one of the most delightful little
bays we have thus far enjoyed, girdled with tall trees whose branches
almost meet, and with views of pure-white mountains across the broad,
river-like canal.
Seeing smoke back in the dense woods, we went ashore to seek it and
discovered a Hootsenoo whiskey-factory in full blast. The Indians
said that an old man, a friend of theirs, was about to die and they
were making whiskey for his funeral.
Our Indians were already out of oily flesh, which they regard as a
necessity and consume in enormous quantities.
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