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INDIAN NOTES
AND MONOGRAPHS
EDITED %Y %. % . HODGE
A SERIES O% P%%LI%A
TIONS RELATING TO THE
AMERI%AN A%ORIGINES
”Q 's fi q —v‘
fl- fl d ~ H A A
NE% YORK
MUSEUM O% THE A M ER I%A N I NDIA NH EYE %OU NDATION
1921
THIS seriesof%
INDIAN NOTES AND
MONOGRAPHS is devoted primarily tothe publ ication of the results of studies
by members of the staff of the Muscum of the American , Indian
,Heye
%oundation, andis uniform with H IS
PANI% NOTES AND MONOGRAPHS, pub
lishedby the H ispan ic Society of
America, w ith w h ich organi%ation this
Museum isin cordial cooperation .
Only thefirst tenvolumes of INDIANNOTES ANDMONOGRAPHS are numbered .
The unnumbered parts mayreadily be
determ ined by consult ing the List of
Publications i ssued asone of the series.
EM MONS SLATE MIRRORS PL.
M I R RO R O% HOMOGENEOUS G RAY—%LA%K S LATE . LENGTH , 5% IN.
%ourtesy of the Ame rican M useum of Na tura l H istory
INDIAN NOTES
AND MONOGRA PHS
ED ITED %Y %. % . HODGE
A SERIES O% P%%L I%A
T IONS RELAT ING TO THE
AMER I%AN A%OR IG INES
NE% YORK
M USE U M O% TH E A M ER I%A N I ND I A NH EY E %OU NDAT I ON
1921
SLATE M I RRORS O% THE
TS IMSH IAN
GEORGE T . EMMONS
SLATE MIRRORS O% THETS IMSH IAN
%Y GE ORGE T . EMMONS ,
L ieutenan t , % . S . Navy
HE pecu l iar physi cal fea tu resOf the Northwes t coast of
Ameri ca , i ts ragged shorel i necu t by deep fiords and in
numerabl e bays , andflanked to seawardby a con t inuou s breakwater of i slands ,Ofieredprotec tion and exceptional advan tages to travel by canoe throughthou sands Of miles of navigabl e channel s .th us bringing toge ther d istan t peopl es .
Thi s resu l ted i n a general interchange o fideas andproducts , and ul timately developeda di sti nc t cu l tu ral area veryd i ff eren t from any o ther on the con ti nen t .
Bu t no tw i th standi ng th i s i n t imacythrough in termarriage and trade relations , each peopl e re tained i ts triba l
I N D I A N N O T E S
S L A T E M I R R O R S
en ti ty and excel l ed i n cer tai n ar ts andi nd ustries . Such migh t be the resu l t ofna tural resou rces , as i n the case of theHaida war and travel i ng canoe fash ionedfrom the gian t red cedar
.
Of theQueen%harlo tte islands , or Of ar ti st i c sense andski l l , as shown by the same peopl e i n thecarved spoons , l ad les , and d ishes madefrom the horn of the moun tain goa t andsheep , which they procured i n tradewi th the mainland natives . Agai n , % h i lespru ce i s equal l y abundan t throughou tthe coast region , no o ther tribe ap
proachedthe northern Tl ingi t i n theweaving and ornamen ta t ion of baske trymade from i ts roo ts . %urthermore , thetransfer of an i ndustry isseen i n the socal l ed %hi l ka t blanke t tha t or i g i natedamong the Tsimsh ian , bu t i n the course
Of time was lost to them and is perpe tua ted by the %hi l ka t Tl i ngi t , fou r h und red miles d istan t .
B u t Of parti cu lar i n teres t are those ar ts
or prod uc ts tha t never passed beyondtribal l imi ts
,being confined to narrow
d is tri c ts . Of th i s class the stone mi rror
I N D I A-N N O T E S
T S I M S H I A N ORIGIN
is a no table example : i t was the produc t ofthe Tsimshian
, andi f known to thei rneighbors of the coast , the Tl i ngi t ,Haida , and Kwakiu tl , i t was never u sedby them
,and is not represen ted i n any
of t he very comple te col l ec t io ns gatheredamong them
,nor men tioned i n the wri t
i ngs of any col l ec tor .The Tsimshian as a whole are made ti p
of severaldifi erent peopl e from both thei n terior and the coas t , tha t have cometoge ther through i n termarriage , migration , or acciden t , and in t ime have beenwelded toge ther i n a homogeneou s body .
They occu py the ex treme nor thw estcoast Of B ri ti sh %ol umbia , the ad%acen ti slands , and the val leys of the S'keenaand the Nass . They comprise threed ialec ti c d ivisions , made u p of vi l lage
.
bands , tribal as to terri tory , which i sd ivided among the various clans , eachof which is i ndependen t u nder i ts ownch ief . H ence there i s no cen tral i%edgoverning power i n e i ther tribe or vi l lage .
Those known specifical ly as Tsimshianl ive d irectl y on the seaboard and claim
A N D M ON OG R A P I—I S
S L A T E M I R R O R S
the lower waters of the Skeena ‘as thei rfish ing righ ts . Thei r princi pal win terhabi ta tion was a t M e tlakahtla u n ti l1 835, when t he H udson
’ s Bay %ompanyestabl ished a post a t Por t S impson ,
where the ma%ori ty Of the people moved ,
and i t thus became the cen tral tradingpoi n t on the northern coast , to which al lthe di ff eren t tribes flocked ; th i s brough tpresti ge and weal th to the residen ts , andthey became the mos t progressive andimportan t of the three d ivisions .
The N i shka people occu py the val l eyof the Nass and form a l i nk be tween thecoas t and the in terior . % hi l e possibl yl ess advancedthan the Tsimsh ian of
the coast , they are equal ly in tel l i gen t ,and are arti st i c i n a h igh degree . In
fact,I th ink tha t the most del i cate and
pl easing examples of carving and paint ingga thered throughou t the whole ex ten t of
the coast are from th is peopl e .
The Kitikshan peopl e of the Sh ian
or who claim the Skeena riveras thei r own , are the original s tock fromwhich the other two Tsimshian branches
I N D I A N N OT E S
PA RT O%A %AR%ED M I R RO R O% HOMOGEN EOUS G RAY-%LA%K S LATE .
MA% I M UM % I DTH , I N .
%ourtesy of the American M useum of Natura l H istory
came ; they are sca t tered along the upperreaches of the river and i ts tribu taries .
The Kitikshan are the mos t primi tived ivision of the three , and from theirnecessi ties and the charac ter of thei rcoun try are more hu n ters and trai l ersthan wa ter men , al though they look tothe river for thei r staple food-su pply of
salmon .
The stone mirror was common to al lthe d ivisions of the Tsimsh ian , and Ifound one specimen among thei r Athapasean neighbors , the Babine . %p to thepresen t , af ter d i l i gen t search , on l y n i nespecimens have been located i n ei thermuseums or priva te col l ec tions . Noneremain i n possession of the people ,al though oldhouses and vil lage-s i tesmay ye t yield a few . That so few of
these Ob%ects su rvive a cen tury of disusei s no t su rpri sing , when the fragi l e materialandthei r del i ca te proportions are considered; for when the early E uropeantraders reached thi s coas t , i n the la t terhal f Of the eigh teen th cen tu ry
,they
d istribu ted andtraded unl imi ted numbers
A N D M O N O G R A PHS
S L A T E M I R’
R O R S
of smal l looki ng-glasses , which were somuch more prac ti cal and so i nexpensivetha t the na t ive ones of s tone were a tonce di scarded .
The N i shka claim to have been theorigina tors of the mirror i n this region .
They fash ioned i t from a homogeneou s ,grayish-black sla te fou nd i n a ledge onthe north bank Of the Nass , across fromthe Old vi l lage of Kita ix , flush ing therock wi th wa ter to procure pieces Ofsu i tabl e si%e for working . I t i s a facttha t specimens found among the N i shkaand the coas t Tsimsh ian seem to be of
l ike ma terial andare similar i n form , thustendi ng to substan tia te the N i shkaclaim . The mirrors floundon the u pperSkeena are of a much harder , blackers tone , and somewha t di fferen t i n shape ,whi le the one from the Babine of Bulkleyriver i s u nl i ke any o ther i n ei ther ma terialor form .
The mirror was the property of thewomen of the higher class , and was wornsuspended around the neck by a cord ofhide or Of twisted roo t , hanging over the
I N D I A N N O T E S
N I S H K A % L A I M
breast . % hen required for u se , i t waswe tted %most convenien tl y l i cked or
spi t upon) and rubbed over , then held atsu ch an angl e to the l i gh t as was mostfavorabl e for reflec tion . I f requ ired fora comparat ively long period , i t wasrubbed over wi th a th i n coa t of grease or
Oil . The usual form had a handle atthe narrower end , a con trac ted neckcu rved or notched , around which theneck-cord passed , and an expandedreflec ti ng surface . Some were double ,tha t i s , pol i shed on bo th faces ; o therswere i nci sed or ca rved on one side , andno tched along the u pper or lower edges .
% he ther these marks were decorativei n charac ter or were desi gned for identifica tion i s no t known , bu t cer tai nly thework on the one i l l u s tra ted i n pl . I I i sornamen tal i n a h igh degree .
A comparison of al l the known specimens shows the material to be of sla teand exhibi ts general u ni formi ty in shape ,the most no ti ceabl e d i fferences being i nthe handl e and the connecting neck .
The five specimens %pl . I — v and
A N D M O N O G R A P H S
S L A T E M I R R O R S
fig . I , 2 ) ob tai ned among the coas tTsimsh ian andthe N i shka are Of
same grayish -black slate . Pl . I
%IG . L — Outl ine of a sla te m irror in the col lect ion of
Dr R . % . Large , Port S impson , %. %. %Length ,42 in . ; max imum w idtn , 3%in .)
fig . I show mirrors wi th plain facesthey are almos t exac tly al i ke i n si%e andou t l i ne , and bo th are no tched a t top and
I N D IA N N O T E S
bo ttom . Those i l l u stra ted i n pl . I I I andfig . 2 have s traigh t sides , and the former
%IG . 2 .— Outl ine of a sla te m irror from Nass R iver
d istrict , in the col lect ion Of the %enerab le A rchdeacon% . H . %ol l ison , of Nass Harbor , %. %. %Length , 5 in . )
a longer handle ; both are scored wi thl ines or cross-l ines on the back .
The mirror represen ted i n pl . I I ,
A N D M O N O G R A P H S
which was procu red , wi th the one shownin pl . 1 , from a Tsimshian who knew onlytha t i t had been found abou t the Nass ,i s u nfortuna tel y broken , bu t i t showsthe back of the reflec ti ng surface elabora tel y carved i n low rel ie f . The princi paldesign represen ts a crude face , morehuman than animal
,which , bisec ted ,
exhibi ts two profi l es d i ffi cul t to determine .
Below are three paral l el d ivisions Of l i nesand cross-l i nes . Ornamen tation Of precisely this charac ter is commonly foundincised
.
on the hu n ti ng and trappingimplemen ts of bone employed by theTahl tan and the Babine , wi th whom theN i shka l iving farther i nland come i ncon tact ; i t bears no resemblance to thedel i cate techni c of N i shka art Of the lasthundred years , as known to us from theirar ti facts of wood , bone , and ivory , bu t i tmigh t express the work Of a much earl ierperiod i n the l i fe of this peopl e when someof the divisions that claim an inland originst i l l re tai ned the practi ce of - thei r ances
tors and had no t ye t adop ted the cu l tureOf the coast tribes .
I N D I A N N O T E S
EM MONS SLATE M IRRORSPL. I%
S LATE M I R RO R %ROM UPPER SKEENA R I%ER%ourtesy Of the Peabody Museum of Harvard %n iversity . Len
gth, 7% in .
S L A T E M I R R O R S
%IG . 3 .-Outl ine of a m irror Of sla te , without gra in ,
from the %ab ine village of Haw ilget . at the mouth Ofthe %ulkley R iver canon , %. %. Provincial M useum ,
%ictoria . %Length , 6% in . ; w idth , 4% in . ; th ickness ,in .)
I N D I A N N O T E S
years,when i t had descended to a
younger generat ion,which th inks l i t t l e
of the past , tha t i t was procu red .
The mirror i l l u s tra ted in fig . 3 was
Ob tai ned from an Older woman Of theBabine l iving a t Haw ilge t , on B ulkleyriver
,near i ts mou th . There i s no known
history connec ted wi th i t , excep t tha ti t was an Oldfami ly piece and had beenpreserved , as such things usel ess i nthemselves are treasu red , for sen timen talreasons by primi tive peoples . I t i s
qu i te d i fferen t from any Tsimsh ianspecimen
,being of brown i sh sla te , and
larger and heavier , as i t is a t l eas t hal fan i nch i n th i ckness . Both ends , moreover , are no ti ceably rounded , and theu pper edge is scal loped . The handleand the reflec ting surface are barelysepara ted from each other by a verysl i gh t notch for the neck-cord .
%or i n formation respec ting mirrorsamong the Dene, I wro te to %atherA . G . Mori ce , whose i n timate study ofth i s people i s so wel l known . H ecour teou sl y repl ied a t some length tha t
A N D M O N O G R A P H S
S L A T E M I R R O R S
the 'stone mirror was u nknown amongthe Athapascan tribes of the far north andtha t he had never seen a specimen amongthem . %ather Morice sta tes
%urther , the age of such articles , I meantheir ant iqu ity .
~
the t ime they came into useamong them is usua l ly pred icated by the kindof noun %primary or secondary root , commonsubstant ive or verba l noun) by which they are
ca l led . . Now , the %arriers ca l l a mirror pefnafitsflndO-nfil’en , which is merely a verb in the impersona l to which is prefix ed the preposit ion pe.result ing in a verba l noun which means ‘wherebyone looks at one's self . ’ This characteri%es su chhousehold andother implementsasare advent it iousamong them .
”
The finding Of a si ngl e specimen amongthe Babine i s no t significan t . Haw ilget
was ori gi nal l y Kitikshan terri tory , andwas given to the Babine only after agrea t rock-sl ide i n t he canon of theBulkley had so Obstruc ted the streamtha t the salmon cou ld no t reach the
val l ey ‘ beyond , thus cu t ti ng off thestaple
'
foodof the former i nhabi tan ts .
I n se ttl i ng a t thi s poin t , onl y fou r mi l esfrom
'
Ha%el ton , the Babine came i n
I N D I A N N OT E S
EMMONS SLATE M IRRORS
S LATE M I R RO R D%G %ROM THE DES ERTED % I L LAGE O% KU LDO ,
UPPER SKEENA R I%ER, %. %.
In the M useum Of the American Ind ian ,Heye %ounda tion .
Length , in .
PL.
% S E A M O N G S A L I S H
cons tan t i n tercourse wi th the Kitikshan ,
and being a crude people , copied muchfrom thei r neighbors . This migh t readi lyaccoun t for th i s piece being i n theirpossession— made by them or possibl ydug u p i n gardeni ng
,as th is l ocal i ty has
furnished some of the most remarkabl eand beau ti fu l ly carved s tone cl ubs thathave been found in the Northwest .
M r %. A . Tei t , of Spences B ridge ,Bri ti sh %ol umbia , wri tes me as fol lows i nanswer to an inqui ry regard i ng thisart icl e among the Sal i sh
The on ly d irect informat ion I have is fromthe Thompson %Ind ians%, who cla im that longago , stone , genera l ly Of a very dark color , wasocca siona l ly made into or used as look ingglasses by them ; they say the stone wasrareandseldom to be found . It took a very highpol ish , andfragm ents used for looking-glasseswere genera l ly sma l l %about 4 inches in width orheight) andthin . Some Of them were bored forsuspension . I have never seen any myself .The Thompson andother inter ior Sa l ish tribesa lso used looking-glasses made of mica , whichminera l can be found in large clear sheets insome pla ces . It seems these were comparativelycommon , whilst stone ones were very rare .
A N D M O N O G R A P H S
S L A T E M I R R O R S
The rema in ing l iving Oldmen here %Spences%ridge) can give me no further l ight on the stonem irrors , except to say they were oblong in shape ,thin , andabout fou r inches in length ; some wereperforated or notched at one endl ike somesap-scrapers . They were ve ry rare andnoneOf the th ree m en I lately inte rviewed remembered ha v ing seen any. Those they hadheardof belonged to O ldmen of Lytton or the ne ighboring pa rt Of %raser river above .
%rom these genera l no tes , parti cu larl yfrom mention of the shape of
.
the sapscraper
,the materia l
, andthe si%e , thesu ggest ion arises whether thi s art icl emigh t not have origina ted hereabou tsand have been carried to the coas tthrough emigra tion or have been brough tth i ther i n trade by the more northerlyin terior tribes .The stone mirror i s va riousl y named
among the Tsimsh ian andneighboringpeople , as noted
'
be lOw :
Ts imshian : nicks-klw—nesk gum t%el ,‘
reflect ionof face , ’ a lso d%a gdt, ‘ shaped l ike afish-ta i l . ’
N ishka na haun , ind icat ing the shining sk inof a fresh sa lm on , from no , a prefixin d icat ing the propert ies of ; haun ,
I N D I A N N O T E S
