There is, perhaps, no positive evidence that cannibalism ever prevailed among the Indians of this region, yet it is gravely hinted that it did on the occasion of these funeral potlatches years ago. To sacrifice the life of one or more of the slaves of the deceased we know was common, and if their bodies were not barbecued and eaten, then these natives of the North Pacific were entirely different in this respect from those who lived in the South Pacific. The medicine-men, even to-day, devour portions of corpses, believing that they acquire control of the spirit of the deceased thereby, and gain influence over demon spirits in the other sphere. Such practices are, however, rare, though Mr. Duncan of Metla-katla tells us he has witnessed the repulsive performance. The places near each hamlet where the dead are finally placed often number many more graves, or square boxes containing the bodies, than there are present inhabitants in the settlement. All this region was formerly many times more populous than it is to-day. Here, as in Africa, New Zealand, California, and Australia, where the white man appears permanently, the black man slowly but surely vanishes. The progress of civilization, as we call it, is fatal to native, savage races all over the world. Catlin, who lived among and wrote so well about our Western Indians, summed up the matter thus: “White man—whiskey—tomahawks—scalping-knives—guns, powder and ball—smallpox, debauchery—extermination.” But it is not alone gunpowder, rum, and lasciviousness which are the active agents to this end; there is also a subtle influence which is not clearly understood, and which it is difficult to define, but which is as potent, if not more so, than the agencies above suggested. The destiny which heaven decrees for a people will surely come to them. This has been clearly exemplified in the instance of the North American Indians, as well as among the South Sea Islanders in Australia and the Hawaiian Islands. Of an entire and intelligent people, the aborigines who once occupied Tasmania, there is not to-day a living representative! The land is solely possessed and occupied by white Europeans, before whom the natives have steadily vanished like dew before the sun.