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Show Bringing the Totem Hefe ao te speak, oa the top of the pole, carved, reading from tha top down- hla parents, where he came from, hut "The ether event would tbaa be ' ward la all casee, deacrtblng t&s sua. family, bla assodatea, bla amhltloaa. C. ... v ; ,1 iL . By H. 1. CIIXZSriK. WHIN It seemed a "if the i gamut had beea run la the , eraameaUUoa of the for-atal for-atal garden with It fountains, sua ' disss, boachee and flower vsses. It bay tree and boxwood badges. Jardiniere Jar-diniere aad pergolas, a aaw aad highly amusing form of gardea decors tloa cornea to light la tha ' form of a personal totem pole, Modeled la day aad thea reproduced repro-duced la some more substantial and weatherproof material suck as eon-' eon-' orete. It provides aa interesting point '- of- interest for the owner and hi family, since It la designed to eom- -numerate auch event of oomeaUa importance aa would ordinarily be hung oa ' the genealoglosi family tree. - , . , .... Ts make one's ewa totem pole la, therefore, the new eat term of dlver-- dlver-- aloo among gardes lovers. Alfred C. Boaaom. a New York architect m- -traduced tha Idea upon hla return from aa extended trip to Alaska aad British Columbia. While there be became Interested la these symbol le , ernameata used by the natlvee Uvtng la aouthweetera Alaska aad along tba north coast of British Columbia to UU the world they same ef seed stock. Mr. Boaaom points oat that totem pole lore la primitive heraldry, to ' coaweenorata fan Hies er areata. The thought occurred to him why aot Bvodel one's ewa totem pole, developing develop-ing It according to the Important happenings of eaa family history, Thla ha proceeded to do and the re a suit la more tbaa ordinarily In tar eat ' Ing. Tha Bosaoex totem I to-day doing do-ing duty not only la providing a faithful chronicle of events from the time of hla arrival from Engtauid , eom flftasa year ago, but forms a whimsical gardea ornament for the . owners country home. "Totem polea." aald Mr. Boaaom, "wara made to eeanmomoroto Bunluea ' er event but only ta the case of deceiving parsons. A famous chief, for example, would have a poOateh, which consisted of a party whereia be- gave away everything he poo-unit poo-unit Later, however, hla puis atone were as returned to him at other poUacbes bald by hla friends. To oalebrste the event, a great red cedar tree would be earved, using Ms family ay moot or tribal Insignia. how he became famous, and In fact all of tba Intimate personal event that go to make up a life history, "This Is precisely what Kuropean heraldry baa always consisted of In a - more or less strained form. There I bo ressoa la tba world why aa American should not adopt his or i tier own heraldry aad fashion It after tba North American totem pole." Mr. Boaaom brought with him a large and valuable collection of totem poles; one, tha Thunder Bird, la aald tat be more than 100 years old. This ' fearsome creature waa bought from tig BlmlkUh IadSaaa eg Albert Bay, British Columbia, and I supposed to give a man strength to build hfiusas and) afterward remains to support w him Hs Is supposed to carry a lake oa Ms back and when angry shakee himself, and thus brings oa a thun- dor storm. Totem polea are need only by the Indlanrdrlbee of southeastern Alaska and those oa tba north coast of British Brit-ish Colanxbla. The Hydaa, inhabiting Queen Charlotte and the Prince of Wales Islands, excelled la tha carving ef totem poles, and la their villages eaa still be found some as high as eighty feat, many of them hundreds of years old. Tba large onae stood outside aad tba email one inside the different dwellings. Before the advent of the whites the various Indian chiefs were knowa among tbej owa people, as among ether tribes, by tha skill la which they excelled la hunting a particular I It waa alao generally believed be-lieved that human Intelligence trane-' trane-' migrated Into wild animals. Sab or birds. Tha clan of the mighty hunter was. therefore, knowa as 'bears'; of a whole bus tar aa "whalee.- and ao on, each family representing bird, animal or ash. . The grotesque figures with which the polea are carved aad which, la a crude way represent whales, eagles, ravens, bears, wolves, frogs and Id-diaa Id-diaa faces, demonstrated ths tnter-msrrlsg tnter-msrrlsg of different families, Uke the quartering la the English crests. The totem poles were erected as wall to oommexnorate Important events of peace aad war. Some totems may. therefore, represent the genealogy of B particular family, while others rep-v I mint an Important event ta the history his-tory of tha tribe. All totem polea. I " may add, are regarded with a specie ' of seml-ldolatry among the native. . ' ' - The Thunder Bird totem is shown at the top of the' picture with the Raven totem at the right At the left is a Northwest Coast House In the collection of t-Ve American Museum of Natural History. el ' rsmiight. ISO. sr the Xew Terk Ware Id |
