66 G. M. DAWSON ON THE KWAKIOOL 



to recent years, but appears to have occurred as far back as tradition goes. In such case, 

 each tribal subdivision often has its own place of summer residence. "When the small-pox 

 first ravaged the coast, after the coming of the whites, the Indians were not only much 

 reduced in numbers, but became scattered, and new combinations were probably formed 

 subsequently; while tribes and portions of tribes, once forming distinct village communities, 

 drew together for mutual protection, when their numbers became small. The establish- 

 ment of Fort Eupert, at Beaver Harbour (in 1849), resulted in the migration of several 

 tribes to that place and their permanent residence there. The same may probably be 

 said of Bella-Bella, to the north, and occurred again much later on the erection of a trading 

 post at Alert Bay, Cormorant Island. At all these places, however, old Indian villages, 

 or at least old village sites, previously existed, Circumstances of this kind have particvalarly 

 affected the tribes of Queen Charlotte Sound and its vicinity, which were besides 

 from the first closely allied by intermarriage and otherwise. The Rev. A. J. Hall, in a 

 letter in answer to certain enquiries on these people, writes : — "It would appear that the 

 Indians had no settled home till the whites came. During the summer months, they 

 were scattered to the mouths of the rivers, collecting food, and many tribes amalgamated 

 at such places as Alert Bay to amuse themselves with feasting and dancing during the 

 winter." 



On the advice of the medicine men, or shamans, the village sites were, further, not 

 infrequently changed at times of public calamity or sickness, or for other reasons, and as all 

 these Indians subsist largely on shell-fish, such abandoned village sites are permanently 

 marked by shell heaps, and generally by white beaches formed of the bleached and worn 

 fragments of shells. Low shores well adapted for the landing and beaching of canoes 

 haA^e usually been selected for the more important villages, especially where such a shore 

 is contiguoiis to some rocky point or promontory or small high rocky island which could 

 be utilised as a fortification. Almost every suitable rock along the coast shows evidence 

 of having, at one time, been inhabited as a fortified village of this kind. On G-aliano 

 Island and the small adjacent islands of the Gordon Group alone there are eight or ten 

 places recognised by the Indians as former village sites, and known to them by special 

 names, as having, at some former time, been inhabited by the tribes, or portions of the 

 tribes, now living at Mel'-oopa (" Nawitti " of the whites.) 



Though there is abundant evidence that the Kwakiool people is now much reduced 

 in number, the circumstances above noted render it improper to argue as to the former 

 populousness of the region from the great number of old village sites. The sites of 

 permanent villages appear to have been changed more frequently and easily by this 

 people, than by the Haida or other races of the coast with which I am acquainted. As a 

 result of such changes, particularly in Queen Charlotte Sound, it is difficult, or even 

 impossible, exactly to define the territory appertaining to particular tribal subdivisions. 



In the tabular enumeration of tribes, I have adopted, in each case, the most correct 

 orthography, comparing the tribal names as written down at the time from the dictation 

 of different individuals. It will thus be found that the orthography does not exactly 

 correspond, in several instances, with that given in the " Comparative Vocabularies," 

 though it is, in all cases sufficiently near to permit of easy identification. In his official 

 returns to the Indian Department, Mr. Blenkinsop adopts a still different spelling, in which 

 the "English" rather than the "Continental" sounds are given to the vowels. Mr. 



