bodies forward and backward
without bending their knees, then sway again, and bend to one side and
then the other, singing all the time. Isn't it odd, father?"

"It certainly is, but it's very graceful," said Mr. Strong. "Some of
the girls are quite pretty, gentle-looking creatures, but the older
women are ugly."

"The very old women look like the mummies in the museum at home," said
Ted. "There's one old woman, over a hundred years old, whose skin is like
a piece of parchment, and she wears the hideous lip-button which most of
the Thlinkits have stopped using. Kalitan says all the women used to wear
them. The girls used to make a cut in their chins between the lip and the
chin, and put in a piece of wood, changing it every few days for a piece
a little larger until the opening was stretched like a second mouth. When
they grew up, a wooden button like the bowl of a spoon was set in the
hole and constantly enlarged. The largest I have seen was three inches
long. Isn't it a curious idea father?"

"It certainly is, but there is no telling what women will admire. A
Chinese lady binds her feet, and an American her waist; a Maori woman
slits her nose, and an English belle pierces her ears. It's on the same
principle that your Thlinkit friends slit their chins for the
lip-button."

"I'm mighty glad they don't do it now, for Tanana's as pretty as a
pink, and it would be a shame to spoil her face that way," said Ted.
"The dancing has stopped, father; let's see what they'll do next. There
comes Kalitan."

A feast of berries was to follow the dance, and Kalitan led Mr. Strong
and Ted to the chief's house, which was gaily decorated with blankets and
bits of bright cloth. A table covered with a cloth was laid around three
sides of the room, and on this was spread hardtack and huge bowls of
berries of different colours. These were beaten up with sugar into a
foamy mixture, pink, purple, and yellow, according to the colour of the
berries, which tasted good and looked pretty.

Ted and Kalitan had helped gather the berries, and their appetites were
quite of the best. Mr. Strong smiled to see how the once fussy little
gentleman helped himself with a right good-will to the Indian dainties of
his friends.

Many pieces of goods had been provided for the potlatch; and these were
given away, given and received with dignified politeness. There was
laughing and merriment with the feast, and when it was all over, the
canoes floated away