290 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



1892 two others were bouglit and one was built in Seattle, too late for 

 use during that year, all of which were to be put into this lishery iu 

 the following season. 



Whales are pursued in large canoes that often go 15 or 20 miles 

 from the shore. Only harpoons and lances are employed by the Indians 

 in the whale fishery. After being killed, the whale is buoyed with large 

 air bags made from the skins of sea lions and towed to the shore, where 

 it is soon cut up and divided among the tribe. The blubber is cut into 

 long, narrow strips and smoked for later use as one of their favorite 

 articles of food. 



The Indian, almost from infancy, is familiar with the canoe and its 

 management. Very young children are often noticed dexterously 

 manipulating the paddle in miniature canoes, and during youth the 

 greater part of the life of the Indians is spent in their canoes. Strange 

 to say, however, they do not feel safe on the deck of a vessel and seldom 

 become good sailors. Even iu the fur-seal fishery in which the Indians 

 are the owners of the vessels employed, they never go any distance 

 from land without having a white man aboard as navigator. 



On returning from a fishing trip, the work of the Indian fisherman 

 ceases until he again enters his canoe. The women meet the boats as 

 soon as they land and attend to all the details connected with the care 

 and preservation of the catch. 



The canoes used by the Indians are all made of red cedar, each from 

 a single log. Canoes of different sizes are employed in the different 

 fisheries, the standards being about as follows: 



Dimensions and ereios of Indian canoes, Nedh Bay. 



•The quantities and values of the products taken by the Indians of 

 Neah Bay when fishing in their canoes were as follows, the figures 

 applying to each of the years 1889 to 1892, inclusive. In addition to 

 the products shown, the Indians of the same tribe and county living 

 on the Quillaiute River took 300 fur seals, valued at $2,700, and a large 

 amount of fish for local consumption of which no estimate can be given. 



