In 1899 this house and Yehlh-hit (Raven) House adjoining were torn down and preparations for the erection of new buildings were gotten under way, and in the winter of 1901, after the walls were up and the roof on, a great potlach was given by the Kon-nuh-ta-di, to the three Wolf families of the opposite phratry in the tribe and the Ka-gwan-tan of Sitka, in which over ten thousand dollars in property, food, and money were distributed. The head chief of the family the master of the whale house Yehlh-guou "Raven's slave," welcomed his guest upon landing, wearing the Raven hat. The new house although modern in form and of two stories took the old name, and it stands today windowless and doorless, the interior grown up in weeds, a monument of the last great potlatch of the Chilkat, as the chief died soon afterwards and his successor has neither the means to finish it nor the desire to live in it and the elaborate carvings have never been placed but are stored and will probably so remain.
PLATE 1.
Decorative figures carved in bas-relief on the face of the retaining timbers supporting the two interior superimposed platforms. For their positions in the house see Fig. 6. The three upper figures represent the native hammered copper plate, "Tinneh," which was an important feature in the ceremonial life of the Northwest Coast and was the most valued of possessions, while that below was said to symbolize "Kee-war-kow," the highest heaven. (See p. 22.)
Plate 1.
PLATE 2.
Carved and painted screen at the back of the house partitioning off the chief's apartment. It is called Su-kheen, or "rain wall." The central figure with outstretched arms represents the Rain Spirit, while the small crouching figures in the border are called Su-cou-nutchee, "raindrops splash up," or the splash of falling drops after striking the ground.
A portion of the screen has been broken off and the otherwise unsymmetrical form of the drawing is due to photographic distortion. Its position in the house is indicated by Fig. 6. The hole through the body of the symbolic figure is the door or entrance to the apartment behind. (See p. 23.)