Year: 1973
Type: book
Abstract: The fund was used by the present writer in 1918 and 1919 in obtaining information among the small groups of Indians living near Seattle.A good deal of the field work was done in company with Mr Arthur C. Ballard, of Auburn, who had previously, on his own initiative, recorded a very considerable body of information con- cerning Indian life around Puget Sound.Mr Ballard may be regarded as the leading authority on the In- dians of the State of Washington.His acquaintance with them and with their mode of life has extended over a long period and is extremely intimate.Certain information obtained by Mr Ballard is embodied in the present paper, which to that extent, is a joint enter- prise.Additional inquiry was made possible in January 1921, through the Research Council of the University of California.The history of other investigations among these people is a brief one.The first European to invade the Sound region, the explorer Vancouver, left a well- known record of his observations in his Voyage (Lon- don, 1798).His most important passages for our purposes are those referring to the practice of shearing dogs for wool, and to the use of aerial nets for catching ducks.His observations on the density of the popula-Vll culture.In subsequent years the missionary, Myron Eells, published a number of articles.Edward S. Curtis in his well-known work includes a brief account of the Puget Sound groups, an account less satisfactory on the whole than that of Gibbs, but dealing with certain new matters.In addition to the above-named books, and some that I may have omitted, there have been some papers published locally.I might mention in this connection Carlson's Chief Sealth and Costello's The Siwash.After making a vigorous effort, I still find it difficult to speak of these papers with patience.Little occasion exists for quoting them.In recent years the ceremonies of Puget Sound came under the capable notice of George A. Dorsey and, later on, of H. K. Haeberlin.A brief account of these papers, and of others to which reference is made below, is given in the bibliography.From the standpoint of museum collections, the region has fared somewhat better.Considering the in- terest attaching to the ethnology of the area, surpris-The "State Museum" existing at the University of Washington is of much the same disreputable charac- ter, scientifically, as the one just described, though their cases are not so crowded.One finds good speci- mens mingled with bad; objects installed upside down; almost in the central business section of the city.His present cabin lies within a hundred yards of his birth- place.Numerous other informants live within fifteen miles of the University grounds.All of these people when visited by myself were found to possess utensils and objects illustrating their former mode of life.In March, 1920, the Museum of the American In- dian, Heye Foundation, made provision for collecting *This collection i s catalogued as MAI/HF 10/4880-4966.Other specimens included as illustrations in this volume were collected by Dr. Waterman on earlier or later expeditions as follows: Duwamish, 9/7072-7104; Squamish,
Author: T. T. Waterman
Language: English
Subfield: Anthropology
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W622802007