706 AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST [n. s., i, 1899
provides the food. Thus, when a hunter kills a deer, a particular portion is given to him ; other portions may be given to those who assisted in its capture ; and all the rest is divided according to the needs of the individuals of the clan. The women gather fruits, seeds, or roots ; that which is consumed at the time is divided by like methods, but that which is preserved for future use sometimes becomes the property of the clan. The elder-man of the clan is responsible for the training of children ; and it is no small part of his duty daily to exercise them in their games and to instruct them in their duties. Thus he who enforces clan custom is the same person who instructs in clan custom ; and when councils of tribe or confederacy are held, he is the represen- tative of the clan in such councils. The chief of the confederacy is usually the chief one of the tribes ; and the chief of the tribe is usually an elder-man in one of the clans. There are clan councils, tribal councils, and confederate councils.
The council is the tribal court and legislative body in one. All Indian life is cooperative ; and all cooperative life is regu- lated by the clan, the tribe, or the confederacy. The clan hunt and the clan fishing expedition are regulated by the council ; and when the clan or the tribe would move the site of its village, the council must so decree and regulate the matter. The council of the clan settles disputes between individuals of the clan ; the council of the tribe settles disputes between clans ; and the coun- cil of the confederacy settles disputes between tribes. Sometimes the members of the clan live separately by households ; but often the clan will build a council-house for all its members, when the households will be relegated to distinct sections. It is curious to see the people dissolved into households at one time, and at another aggregated in clans. If the clan moves temporarily to a favorite locality, where roots or fruits are abundant in their season, the clan may dissolve into households and provide for themselves rude shelters of bark, brush, and leaves; but if the clan wishes to change its habitation permanently, it is likely to
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