136 THE AMEHICAX Mrs}] CM .JOl'liXAL 



THK ForHTII PUNTING 



Thr lirrdtl Mithirs (,f t/i, H,U(t Cooln 



This scene is in llic hcautiful Bella ( Oola \alley, about ei^'lity miles up 

 the fiord at the delta of the river. The narrow valley lies between moun- 

 tains coNcred in jjlaees with perpetual snow and glaciers. 



The purple of the mountain^ with thr delicate greens of cottonwoods 

 ranged along the river'.s edge, are portrayed in the ujjper planes of the 

 painting. In the lower plane, beside the winding glacial stream, are swamp 

 lands where skunk cabbage is abundant and hemlocks grow. .\t the left 

 of the composition the man supported high on the tree trunk is scraping 

 away the inner bark or eamliium and dropping the moist strips to the ceflar 

 mat held below by tlie woman and the boys. 



The edible value ot the cambium is well understood by Indians; that 

 of the pine, spruce and fir is eaten in the spring time, wliile that of the 

 yellow pine, hemlock and red ahk'r is preserved for winter use. A hole in 

 the ground is lined with hot stones, which are eo\erefl with the leaves of 

 the skunk cabbage to keep the bark from buiinng. Within this the muci- 

 laginous strips are packed and eoxered with the skunk cabbage leaves, 

 then over all are placed layers of bark and cedar mats. In four days the 

 cambium steamed to a pulp is groimd with a pestle on a flat stone, then 

 formed into brick-like cakes and dried in the sun. 



This fourth painting has especial distinction iiecause of the sense of 

 space conveyed and of the highly picturesque character of the landscape. 

 The simplicity f)f the grouping of the figures and the admirable arrangement 

 of the masses of light and dark coloring complete a composition which can- 

 not fail to have lasting charm. 



Both the Museum and the artist are to be congratulated. Xot every 

 painter would have striven with such sincerity to tell the simple stories of 

 the handicrafts of the.se various tril)es. The color scheme holds together 

 in these four canvases as well as it would in a suite of old tapestries. There 

 is self-restraint and subordination of detail; and there is good measure of 

 the literal and the educational. .Vrt has pre\ ailed over all. Mountain 

 mists and steam-clouds are gracious mediums for invoking the ideal; and 

 yet the.se are good portraits of the lands where live the Tlingit and the 

 Haida, the Tsimshian, and the Bella ( Oola. 



