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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 24, 1899)
OTXfATTA 1 1.1 .TTCrpT > A rm.ii-i i > in 0.1 Totem Pole as a New Element in Civilization The transporting of two totem poles from tliolr nlncos In a deserted Indian village In southern Alaska by the Hnrrlnmn party on lln princely crulso to the AlnBknn , t'n- nlnskan , Siberian and Arctic coasts , and afterwards placing the poles In caotorn iniiscuinB an curios ; also the securing of a totem polo by a party of excursionists that Balled via the Inland route along the Alaskan shore an far as Sltka , and the subsequent ac ceptance of tlio pole by the city of Seattle , a a monument In Pioneer orpiaro In the heart of the city , has Installed the totem polo as anew now clement In civilization. A general In terest as to the appearance , history and pos sible meaning of these unlu.no objects maybe bo conceded. The Soat'tlo totem polo Is fifty-three foot high and Is four feet In diameter at Its base. Ono sitlo of the pole la carved In grotesque escape. The old Indian watched his children and studied their characteristics , and when ho discovered traits In hla child common to animals of a certain kind ho at once decided as to the Identity of his totom. The boy of hugging propensities became his "llttlo bear , " and at maturity he was the man of the bear totom. It Is to bo' regretted that the Indian's knowledge of animals was so limited , but he evidently made allowance for that In bending conditions so as to In clude frogs , ravens , whales and some others. If a child was allowed to reach maturity without a totem ho adopted heroic measures on his own behalf , In retiring to the forest to fast until the totem was revealed. There was no uncertainty as to the result when nn Indian wont out on the warpath after a totem. It was starvation or the totem. It Is nn original supposition that the hu- TOTBM MONUMENT RECENTLY EUECTBD AT SEATTLE. figures and the figures are stained red , yel low , green , black and white. The poles are the properly of ancient Alaskan Indians , or of their descendant ! ! . Hero it may bo said that writers on the subject of totems or Indian Institutions , or of any other unknown relic or conditions , can wrlto but few facts , hence it becomes hla art to dlsgulso his tuippasltloiiH to make them convincing , The first supposition Is that the present Alaskan Indians , the Ilydaha , who own the poles , If they happen to bo around where the poles stand , nro either the progenitors or the doHcondants of the Aztcctt it la not certain which. There Is a mystic something about the poles that grants this gleam of Intelligence. The carving was done by moans of n curved chisel point held between two sticks and ueed as n gouge , by use of shells and by burning , The poles hour marks of UICHQ implements over their entire aurfaco , Many houses had totems and some had more than one. Each totem pole is unlike every other. Grotesque human faces , with bodies na of a bird , bears , frogs , flshoi , and birds are common to the poles , so that It Is hardly possible that tha figures have n special meaning or that the poles were objects of worship. It Is asserted by one authority that "totemlsm" is a belief in the alllnlty of man to the animal creation. The Indlin traced his pedigree back to eome particular animal and that animal became his totem. Their method of procedure was reasonable If crowned with an illogical conclusion. The father sat with his family about him upjii the ground before a lire of blazing fagots. The smoke meandered about in the dark ness to find the hole lu the roof by which to man heads with bodies oa of birds origi nated as a truce to conscience on some of these fasting expeditions the Indian faked the totem when ho really ought to have i starved to death. It Is also nseerted that tbo Indian tried to wrlto a history of his family feuds and of Ma individual triumphs. A story Is told that nn Indian carved a whale on hla totem to record the fact that when ho was out in the open sea in his canoe a porpoltjo ( weight 250 pounds ) become en raged at some offeiiHivo condition in his ma- rlno environment and jumped out of the water , landing in the canoo. The canoe never wabbled or thought of be coming swamped , and the porpoise was still until tbo Indian ( secured a weapon , hit him n killing blow on the head and fin ished him , hcnco the Indian recorded him self a bravo Indian. Thus was glory a gift of the sea , The desire of mankind to toll often ex ceeds his ability to know. Unworthy objects are sometimes rescued from oblivion , OiiiuU'iiiiifil UN Idolatrous. If the carved polo had a definite object or n ntory , the zealous student of the sole re maining works of the Hydah Aztecs cannot prove It. Speculation on the subject becomes all the more fascinating as It admits of un told resource and variety of opinion , colored by the mental tendency of the Individual. The pole In question has already been con demned by the Christian women of the Wo- men's Christian Temperance unl n as the means of rank Indulgence In Idolatry , on the part of Its patrons. They were ovcr-oansl- tlvo on religion It has been a grand and ex quisite work of art and a noble monument to some tho.v wQfP hyprjotlzpd 'jy ' the polo and over-forgiving In favor of reckless goug. Ing It has been a deep mystery , veiling n charmed story to some who spread It as n mantle of charity over all their own Ideal * It has been a "scarecrow" to the unimagi native , a horrible nightmare to the unsenti mental It boa been a graveyard trophy U the superstitious , and to others It has been a matter of study , judgment being suspended The old Indian carved and grunted Just a the Yankee whittles and whistles. The Indian had more time , fewer ornaments monts and less opportunity for personal distinction , so ho whittled a big stick and sot It up before hla door. He may have Imagined that to look at the polo when he had only dried fish to cat tended to repro duce a sensation as of a tlmo when there were berries and mocso meat. Ho may have looked upon animals of the lower kind with an untrained cyo , and what he carved with nn untrained hand ho may have a modest desire to conceal. If the Indian descended from a frog or a whale , It Is not much for us to honor his consciousness of the fact. It an Indian has had blrd-llko or bear-like propensities they did not reach to civilization and we have no cause to rejoice. If "totemlsm" Is ccrrcctly understood , we can have totems of our own. Wo have th trees bigger and better than theirs. We can whittle and wo can fast to discover our affinity to the lower kind. A California redwood tree carved In figures of a masto don , a rhlnoccrcs and a dodo would bo a striking totem polo. An Immense Washing ton fir tree developed In a white elephant , with room left for a few Crees and a whelp wild west monagerlo , would mean something at least of moro Importance than any In dian totem polo. To the traveler who seeks the wilds of Alaska the totem poles standing In great numbers about the deserted habitations of the Indians nt Tongass Islands , Knsam and other deserted villages give a weird distinc tion akin to grandeur to the raolancnoly scene. While the presence of the Indian was not Inspiring , hie departure was a matter of dignity , and his absence Is positively start ling. StrniiKC FiiMciimtion. The totem polo Is n strange fascination and a haunting memory. While reason does not warrant It , no one who has seen these uncanny totem poles on their native soil can escape nn aggravating desire to solve their mystery. Iloason condemns the art of the maker , fancy denies an Ideal , yet the poles them selves rebuke undue ridicule the wild charm of the mystery fascinates to a spell that Is akin to hypnotism. The Harrlman party , of our best and wisest people , fell under this epell. They brought two totem poles back to civiliza tion , not deigning to favor us with a sample of the "salmon-scented" Esquimaux , plenty as they were they brought no Inflated seal skins , no kyaks , no Icebergs , or glaciers , no rooks from the seal rookerlee , no Rus sians from Siberia , and no gold from Nome. The totems at Wrangel , amid the little stores and shops and sidewalks piled high with miners' outfits , are also quite as Im pressive , and are granted an exclusive presence. The combined totem population of Wrangel furnishes a most striking con trast to the combined actual population one Is silent mystery which Is Its own dignity ; the other is noisy revelry and greed which Is Its own undoing. A totem polo as a public monument com pels a record and standing for totem poles or It admits of embarrassment on the part of Its patrons. The Scattlo polo Is a magnet attracting the gaze of each passerby. Llttlo groups of spectators stand and gaze at the pole fern n seemingly Interminable length of Urns. The disenchanted observer can scarcely for bear passing about them with his hands to dissolve the spell and free them from the witchery of the pole. Ono who passes the polo frequently soon has every figure and every line of each figure clearly defined in memory. Krt'iikN on SiMiltlc'N Totoiii. The carving on Seattle's totem polo con sists of figures , one abo. j the other , that are either efforts to reproduce the forms of human beings , and of animals , or else they are hideous , cold-blooded productions A Revelation to the Typewriting Fraternity. 1fl I THE WAY TOUCH TYPEWRITING IS THE WAY TOUCH TYPEWRITING IS TAUGHT AT THE TAUGHT AT OTHER SCHOOLS. OMAHA COMMERCIAL COLLEGE. The above cuts are suggestive. Tlio yo ung lady is using the Mosher Copy Holder , , which gives her position , promotes health and facilitates speed and accuracy. The ' 3I young man represents n victim of a school'of Inferior equipments and antodeluvlan methods. Ho excites our commiseration. Q ulck consumption will soon Ilx him for the undertaker. If ho were only attending the Omaha Commercial College , where modern equipments nro provided and modern methods used , ho would now be on the highway to success. Our copy holder , devised by our te achcr , Prof. Mosher , our new typewriters and our charts on Touch Typewriting , gives us superior advantages. The copy holder enables the student to use a typewriter the same as a musician would play a piano. Our equipments and modern methods Insure marvelous results. Surely It will pay you to select a progressive school. It will cost you nothing to visit our school , Inves tigate our methods or obtain our catalogue. We start new classes In both Shorthand * and Typewriting Tuesday morning , Jan. 2. Addrets , Omaha Commercial College , llnlirliouifli JtroH. , I'I-OIIM. . Over HoHtoii Store. imii niul DouirliiN Slrec-tn. of awful freaks of Imagination and of mon strosities. No one will over know whether the Indian that carved the pole was a bad artist or the victim of an awful hallucination. The pole reasonably proves both unless It Is a freak of savage humor. Consider the figure at the base. The face Is red. It Is not excitement , not the "hootch" mania and not the blush of mod esty. It Is Just a shiny , sticky , dull red , and not like the color of any living thing. It Is the color of Georgia red clay mud knee deep In springtime all right as a com plexion for a totem but useless In a beauty parlor. The mouth Is a wide square-cornered aperture In the face not a cupld's mouth , nor a mouth for strawberries and Ice cream. It Is moro like the sidewalk entrance to a coal bin. The cornea of the eyes , which are rolled up In a lovesick expression , Is a lurid greenish yellow , like the congratulations of an old maid at a wedding ; but there Is no such reality about Mils totem he is simply trying to endure his nose , which Is the beak of nn Immense bird. Poor totem ! Ho la undergoing metamorphosis his arms al ready hang In heavy , useless , shleld-llko wings , with some bread yellow stripes with black lines down the centers for feathers and ho has big talons below. Ho was standing still and saying over andover ever again : "Tho birds can fly and why can't I ? " for nn age before Darius ever built his flying machine , and In a far moro aggravated sense , for Darius was n man with machinery attachment , and the totem Is n man that Is a bird. The next figure above Is a black face with no mouth , but what ho cannot say ho Is looking cross-eyed to convey , If some one can determine the language of a cross-eyed expression the eocrrt of the totems may bo eolved. The nfxt figure ! s a human head with an exaggeration of mouth It te one of the large , round , continuously open mouths that fnrpver say nothing. This figure Is benefited ( Continued on Sixteenth Page. ) TOTEM FOREST IN ALASKA. Commercial Stationery and Office Supplies Webster Star Typewriter Ribbons , Webster Carbon Papers , Typewriter Supplies. C. J. MOVER , 1001 N. Y. Life Building , OMAHA. Bicluslve residence district High , dry. healthy. Good Neigh borhood. Water , Gas , Electric ity. Uniform Shade. Beet of Schools. Street car fare Co , transfers to all Omaha lint * . Low Taxes No Saloois FR 5 BE UP TO DATE a TilE LATEST FAD Stainpyniirlnlllnllnpllt nn > our Btntloiiurj-.llnuiis , hunks etc. In onlor to Iiitroilnco our InnVlllilo 1..U end tilt , wonru ( tolnn to fiivo niviiy n.nooof tlioso Itnlilior M imp Init ials. Tlil8Jajiftaepecl.il Introiluctory offer mm v.-IU 'art lint .1 limited tlmo. Bond ] 0o t < pny | i > stin.rn mid n.icklnc and . wo Mill tnmf nny Initial you Uoblro. 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