no. 731? Per Steve Henrikson, Curator, Alaska State Museum 2/1996: 31. Two Tlingit totem poles in front of houses and outbuildings at Wrangell. These poles stood in front of the house of Kadashan, a chief of the Stikine Kaskakwedi clan. Today, the poles are known as "Kadashan Crane Pole" (left) and "Kadashan Red Snapper Pole" (right). These poles once stood in front of an elaborate two-story house built by Kadishan in 1887. Kadishan was a leader of the Wrangell Tlingit. Both poles appear to be well weathered in a photograph taken when the house was fairly new. The Rev. H.P. Corser describes the figures on the poles: "The [Crane Pole] is surmounted by the Eagle, the crest of the Kad-a-shan family. This is the Eagle of the Tsimsians, and not the one belonging to the tribe that formerly centered around Taku River, and has the Wolf as the coat of arms of its phratry. Below is the Konakadet. Below this is the Crane, and the lowest figure of all is the Konakadet, put in to make the hole [pole?] higher." "The [Red Snapper Pole] is surmounted by the figure of a man. This represents the Creator.... Below is the carving of a Raven with a man between its wings. This is the grandson that made man. Below is La-kig-i-na, the father of Kayak. Kadashan describes his as "all same devil." His career and character are described in the Kayak legend. He wore a coat made from the skin of a red codfish. The fins were so placed that they ran up and down his breast, making a saw. When he killed people he would rip them open by means of this saw. Below this is the spirit of La-kig-i-na. The lowest figure of all is the Thunderbird. He lives on mountains, has a lake on his back, and when he gets uneasy he spills some of the water and this causes rain. Kadashan declares that the Thunderbird has been seen by men and gives instances." (page 35, Corser, H.P. Totem lore of the Alaska Indian and the Land of the totem. Wrangell, Alaska 1932).

Dr. John R. Swanton wrote another description of the "Crane Pole": The smaller post in this figure was copied from a dancing cane, which came from the Haida, and is very highly valued. From above down, the figures are: eagle holding two coppers, Konaqadet holding a copper, frog, sand hill crane (duhl), frog, Konaqadet. The Kasqaguedi had the green paint hat, which was made with two tops side by side, the Nascakiyaihl polewhich they first carved, and an eagle cane obtained from Edensaw's people at Massett, Queen Charlotte Islands." (page 432, Swanton, J.R. Contributions to the Ethnology of the Haida, Jesup N. Pacific Expedition, Mem. of the American Museum of Natural History, New York, 1905-09).

For other photos of these poles, see PCA 87-123 and 87-120 of the Winter and Pond collection.