procedure, for among the Hudson Bay Eskimo the men of a group may, in consultation, condemn an obnoxious individual and arrange for some one to dispatch him at the first opportunity.[1] Again, in Greenland there is a definite mode of dealing with an offender by challenging him to a public contest in which he is made to face his opponent who sings derisive songs specifying his misdeeds.[2] Such ordeals are not only used in case of theft and murder, but even to discipline a lazy or incompetent person.
In the great interior of Canada among the Déné tribes and eastward, the fundamental legal procedure was about as above, each group of people being informally dominated by one or more head men who exercised whatever judicial functions there were. The same can be said of the interior salmon area; but throughout, the right of blood vengeance was recognized. For example, we are told that among the Shoshoni the head man, or chief, did not concern himself with murders, but left that to the injured party.[3]
In general, we can say that this loose type of personal freedom to revenge, without definite judicial procedure, is distributed from southern California northward through the Plateaus, the Plains, Canada, Alaska, and Greenland. However, in Washington, Oregon, northern California, and practically everywhere in the Plains, we find the idea of compounding, or paying the injured party. Referring to the map for social groups, we note that this distribution follows closely the limits of the simple band, or village type of grouping.
Turning now to the regions manifesting gens and clan organizations, we note that in the North Pacific Coast area there is little to add, except that the idea of compounding by gifts of property or slaves is rather prominent. When a murder is committed, the essential payment is a life of equal rank, but this applies when the parties are of different families, whereas, within the family, the family chief adjusts the case. In short, the blood vengeance again holds here and a distinct judicial procedure has so far not been brought to notice, nor do we hear of police officers. On the other hand, the blood vengeance was so far formalized that the taking of a life by the
