356 ACCULTURATION IN SEVEN AMERICAN INDIAN TRIBES

Slaves, taken in war or purchased from the Coast, formed a
most insignificant part of the population; but attitudes toward
the few slaves they had were modeled precisely upon those pre-
vailing at Bella Coola. A slave who had been freed by his master
and had acquired enough wealth could potlatch and become a
noble. At least some individuals of slave status were escaped
slaves who had taken refuge at Alkatcho from the Coast. The
Carrier claim that nobles used slaves as workers and as trade
commodities. Ivhe slave could not hold property and could not
marry out of his class; but freed slaves apparently could acquire
trap-line property.

‘There were a number of individuals, alkoh, heralds, or chief’s
speakers, who not forming a social class, occupied a rather am-
biguous social position. Among the Kwakiutl, the position of
alkoh (derived from Kwakiutlalk”, “chief's speaker’) was a so-
cially distinguished one. But at Alkatcho, as at Bella Coola, the
herald had to endure the insults of the potlatch guests, and was
frequently the butt of general ridicule. A visiting chief enjoyed
forcing the alkoh to consume candlefish oil until he vomited, or
until the latter’s chief came to his rescue with a distribution of
property. The position of alkoh had its compensations, though.
An alkoh was privileged to demand property from visiting chiefs,
who were subjected to ridicule if they refused; but he could de-
mand only property that was visibly present. This prerogative
was hardly a cherished one, and in general the alkoh was viewed
with no little contempt. Only children of poor men ever vol-
unteered their services as alkohs. Yet when the alkoh by his
begging prerogative accumulated enough wealth to potlatch and
become a noble, he threw off the stigma of his former position.
A faint aroma of disrepute, however, still clung to an ex-alkoh.

All nobles belonged either to one or a number of crest groups,
the analogues of the Northwest Coast secret societies, stripped
clean of religious content, and relatively bare of ritual. The most
prominent crest groups, (nEts?), were Tsayu, “Beaver Medicine,”
Datsan, “Raven,” and Cas, “Grizzly Bear.” Membership was
either hereditary or purchased. In any event, membership had
to be validated by a property distribution.

A novitiate into the Tsayu was offered a beaver tail by the