Sorcery is prevalent. The words and actions of the shaman (sorcerer) are considered infallible. The oiliiccaiioften_hereditary;the son inheriting from the gather the various paraphernalia of drum, rattles, masks, charms, etc. The honor of the shaman depends upon the number of spirits which he can control. He has a separate mask, songs, and dances for each. His hair is never to be cut, When a shaman dies his body is left for a day in each of the four corners of his room; on the fifth day it is carried out, dressed in the costume of his order, and deposited in a small burial house. Ills body is not burned. The Indians are held in abject fear of the conjurers or medicine men. Some of the scenes often witnessed on that coast are thus depicted by a missionary: "An old chief, in cold blood, ordered a slave to be dragged to the beach, murdered, and thrown into the water. His orders were quickly obeyed. The victim was a poor woman. Two or three reasons were assigned for this foul act. One is that it is to take away the dis grace attached to his daughter, who has been suffering for some time with a wound in the arm. Another report is"that lie does not expect his daughter to recover, so lie has killed this slave in order that she may prepare for the coming of his daughter into the unseen world. Immediately afterwards, crowds of people came running out of the houses near to where the corpse was thrown, and forming themselves into groups at a good distance away, from fear of what was to follow. Presently two bands of furious wretches appeared, each headed by a man iu a state of nudity. They gave vent 'to the most unearthly sounds, and the naked men made themselves look as unearthly as possible, proceeding in a creeping kind of stoop, and stepping like two proud horses, at the same time shooting forward each arm alternately, which they held out at full length for a little time in a most defiant manner. Besides this, the continual jerking of their heads back, causing their long blitck hair to twist about, added much to their savage appearance. For some time they pretended to be seeking for the body, and the instant they came where it lay they commenced screaming and rushing around it like so many angry wolves. Finally they seized it, dragged it out of the water, and laid it on the beach,
where they commenced tearing it to pieces with their teeth. The two bands of men immediately surrounded them and so hid their horrid work. In a fewminutes the crowd broke again, when each of the naked leaders appeared with half of the body in his hands. Separating a few yards they commenced, with horrid yells, their still more horrid feast of eating the raw dead body. The two bands of men belonged to that class called "medicine men." Among these "medicine men" there are three general divisions: those who eat human bodies, the dog-caters, and those who have no custom of the kind. Early iu the morning the pupils would be out on the beach, or on the rocks, in a state of nudity. Each had a place in front of his own tribe; nor did intense cold interfere in the slicrlitest degree. After the Poor creature had crept about, jerking his head and screaming for sonic time, a party of men would rush out, and after surrounding him, would commence singing. The dog.eating party occasionally carried a dead dog to their pupil, who forthwith commenced to tear it in the most doglike manner. The party of attendants kept up a low growling noise, or a whoop, seconded by a screeching noise made from an instrument which they believe to be the abode of a spirit. Of all these parties none are so much dreaded as the cannibals. One morning I was called to wit ness a stir in the camp which had been caused by this set. When I reached the gallery I saw hundreds of Tsimshecans s thing in their canoes, which they had just pushed away from the beach. I was told that the cannibal party was in search of a body to devour, and if they failed to find a dead one, it was probable that they would seize the first living one that came in their way; so that all the people living near the cannibals'•house had taken to their canoes to escape being torn to pieces."