O
��ESCHATOLOGY OF THE QUILEUTE INDIANS 1 BY LEO J. FRACHTENBERG
INTRODUCTION F the numerous phases of primitive life which confront and
��attract the attention of the student of primitive races, none is more interesting and none yields a better insight into the philosophical concepts of a given set of people, than the attempt, on the part of these people, to explain the mysterious causes which surround a person's death and the speculations con- cerning the complexion of the next world, and the forms of life assumed in the hereafter by the soul of a departed person. It is the study of eschatology, the investigations conducted into the beliefs, held by primitive races, concerning after-life and the composition of the human being, which reveal to us the deepest and minutest philosophical thoughts of primitive man. And, if it be true that the aptitude for mental achievenent of a given race may be measured by the depth of its speculations into the philosophy of life, its origin and future, as evinced in the logical beliefs held regarding souls and forms of after-life, then the American Indian, and par- ticularly the Indian of the Northwest coast, must be regarded, on the basis of such a study (even if all other criteria were lacking) as having achieved a high stage of intellectual development. It may be safely supposed that a high mental aptitude goes hand in hand with a corresponding aptitude for attaining to a high develop- ment of certain phases of material culture, such as pottery, basketry, woodcarving, or certain accomplishments pertaining to a sea-faring life. In this respect, a close parallel suggests itself between Ancient Greece and the various units that go to make up the Northwest Coast area. In both regions, we find a high mentality closely followed by, or to put it differently, effecting, an unusual develop- ment of material culture. The Tlingit, Haida, Kwakiutl, Nootka,
1 Published with the permission of the Smithsonian Institution.
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