and things to eat on people's
graves," said Ted. "Why do they do it?"

"Of the dead we know nothing," said Tanana, "Perhaps the warrior spirit
wishes his arrows in the Land of the Great Unknown."

"Yes, but he can't come back for them," persisted Ted.

"At Wrangel, Boston man put flowers on his girl's grave," said Kalitan,
drily. "She come back and smell posy?"

Having no answer ready, Ted changed the subject and asked:

"Why do you have the raven at the top of your totem pole?"

"Indian cannot marry same totem," said Kalitan. "My father was eagle
totem, my mother was raven totem. He carve her totem at the top of the
pole, then his totem and those of the family are carved below. The
greater the family the taller the totem."

"How do you get these totems?" demanded Ted.

"Clan totems we take from our parents, but a man may choose his own
totem. Before he becomes a man he must go alone into the forest to fast,
and there he chooses his totem, and he is brother to that animal all his
life, and may not kill it. When he comes forth, he may take part in all
the ceremonies of his tribe."

"Why, it is something like knighthood and the vigil at arms and
escutcheons, and all those Round-Table things," exclaimed Ted, in
delight, for he dearly loved the stirring tales of King Arthur and his
knights and the doughty deeds of Camelot.

"Tell us about that," said Kalitan, so Ted told them many tales in the
moonlight, as they sat beneath the shadows of the quaint and curious
totem-poles of Kalitan's tribe.

CHAPTER VIII

THE BERRY DANCE

Teddy's month upon the island stretched out into two. His father came and
went, finding the boy so happy and well that he left him with an easy
mind. Ted's fair skin was tanned to a warm brown, and, clad in Indian
clothes, save for his aureole of copper-coloured hair, so strong a
contrast to the straight black locks of his Indian brothers, he could
hardly be told from one of the island lads who roamed all day by wood and
shore. They called him "Yakso pil chicamin,"[12] and all the village
liked him.

[Footnote 12: Copper hair.]

Tanana's marriage-feast was held, and she and Tah-ge-ah went to
housekeeping in a little hut, where the one room was as clean and neat
as could be, and not a bit like the dirty rooms of some of the natives.
Tanana spent all her spare time weaving beautiful baskets, for her slim
fingers were very skillful. Some of the baskets which she made out of the