The Indians of Puget Sound: The Notebooks of Myron Eells

Myron Eells (text); George Pierre Castile (editor; introduction); William W. Elmendorf (afterword)

ISBN 10: 0295962623 / ISBN 13: 9780295962627

Published by Seattle & London: University of Washington Press / Walla Walla: Whitman College, 1985

About this Item

Quarto. B&W illustrations. Condition: small edge-tear (1 inch) to top edge of rear panel of DJ; else fine in near fine DJ. Pages: xix, 470.

Seller Inventory # 400648A

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Indians of Puget Sound: The Notebooks of Myron Eells
• Publisher: Seattle & London: University of Washington Press / Walla Walla: Whitman College
• Publication Date: 1985
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0295962623
• ISBN 13: 9780295962627
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine

About this title

Reviews

Myron Eells spent more than 30 years (18741907) as a missionary on the Skokomish Reservation in western Washington State, where he recorded details of Indian life. He served during a period of transition, when both federal and religious authorities sought to "civilize" the Indians as rapidly and thoroughly as possible, and Eells observed the cultural changes firsthand. Though he published some articles during his life, the manuscript of his study was neglected; it is published here for the first time. Anthropology professor Castile has edited the work to present an orderly narrative. Eells worked mainly with the Twana and Klallon tribes of the Coast Salish; he had a particular interest in their material culture, but he also describes potlatches, burial customs and religion (including the rise of the Shaker Church). In his afterword, anthropologist Elmendorf appraises Eells's work as an ethnographer. Readers interested in history and anthropology will find this an excellent resource. Illustrations.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Eells's contribution to the ethnography of the Coast Salish is presented intact for the first time since it was written a century ago. Not a trained anthropologist, Eells observed and reported on the history and customs of various tribes in the Puget Sound area while a missionary. Although he was unable to interpret much of what he saw (belief systems, religious rituals, and other cultural intangibles), Eells recorded cultures in transition and described pre-contact customs. His eyewitness accounts are the most valuable part of this book for later anthropologists. Recommended for informed laypersons, scholars, and specialists. Susan Hamburger, Florida State Univ. Lib., Tallahassee
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.