NATIVE TRIBES. 121

amounts relieved him from anxiety lest the whole, if he retained it, might be
destroyed by fire or lost by the raid of a jealous enemy.

Two useful aspects of a potlatch are often overlooked. ‘These tribes had no
form of scrip; in order, therefore, to give security to business transactions these
were carried out with much ceremony in the presence of witnesses, which ensured
accuracy and served as permanent records. ‘They also represented a form of life
insurance. If the giver of a potlatch died young, the welfare of his children was
insured by the method of obligatory repayment of gifts (loans) with interest, not
to the donor only, but to his heirs. Industry and thrift were also exercised of
necessity over long periods of time to provide the gifts and supplies of food
required for potlatch celebrations.

POTLATCHES NOW ILLEGAL.

Nevertheless, many undesirable elements and serious abuses did exist; motives
became vicious, waste of goods was excessive, and enduring hardships were often
inflicted. But the custom was so deeply wrought into tribal life that the opinion
is held by those who should know that the prohibition of potlatches by the Federal
Government has contributed in many ways to the decline of morale among the
North-west Coast people.

‘The case was different among the Interior tribes, for though they celebrated
many festivals associated with taking the name of a deceased ancestor, the
assumption of Chieftainship, with burials or marriages, and though actual pot-
latches were in modified use by the Chilcotin and Carrier, these were merely local
in scope and unassociated with the ill-will or extravagance of those celebrated by
the Coast people.