The death totem pole is erected at the grave. On it are engraved the totems of the dead man’s ancestors, as well as his own. The third class of poles are erected to commemorate some remarkable event in history of the tribe or of the man. These poles may be seen up and down the coast from Vancouver to Yakutat.
“And they painted on the grave-posts
Of the graves yet unforgotten,
Each his ancestral totem,
Each the symbol of his household,
Figures of the bear, the reindeer,
Of the turtle, crane and beaver.”
—Longfellow.
The fine flower of the native races of the coast are the Haidas. They are taller and fairer, with more regular features than any of the Columbian coast tribes. They are aliens to the Tlingits, differing from them mentally and physically, in speech and customs. The Tlingits call them “people of the sea.” They were the Norsemen of the Pacific shores; the coppery Erics and Harolds, who sailed the blue waters of the Pacific, sweeping the coast, attacking native villages, Hudson Bay Company posts, and the settlements of the whites. The harbor at Seattle was a place of rendezvous.
The origin of this daring race is a mystery. They hold many traditions in common with the Aztec and Zunis of Mexico. Marchand identifies them with those whom Cortes drove out of Mexico. Many of their images are similar to silver relics found in the ruins of Guatemala.