24 CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES [PROC. 4rn SEK. 



THE LuMMi-NooKSACK COUNTRY. 



This region extends from the Sumas Mountains in West 

 ern Washington westward to Georgian Bay and from the 

 southern point of the Lummi Peninsula northward to the 

 International Boundary Line. For the most part, its practic 

 ally low, level surface consists of estuary and glacial deposits, 

 some trap and granite rock and a small patch of Eocene, 

 exposed at Bellingham. The whole region was once heavily 

 timbered, but now it is almost half cleared and the other part 

 might be termed &quot;logged-off lands.&quot; 



The archaeological remains found here are middens and 

 mounds. The middens are of two classes, ancient and recent. 

 As will be seen by examining the map of the Lummi Reser 

 vation, a portion of it is marked &quot;glacial deposits.&quot; This 

 was an island until in recent times. The delta deposits of 

 the Nooksack and Red or Lummi rivers were filled in by 

 said rivers against this island till it is now mainland. These 

 deposits are more than 30 feet thick, as is shown by the find 

 ing of logs at a depth of 30 feet at several places in the 

 delta area. While this delta was still covered with ocean 

 water, the Indians lived at several places on the glacial 

 island adjacent to this now filled-in delta area. These In 

 dians were fishing Indians, the same as the aborigines who 

 now occupy the region. They lived on the water front 

 as they were a canoe-using people and consequently would 

 not have their villages far from water. These people were 

 clam-eating Indians and clam and mussel shells constituted 

 the principal middens marking their village sites. One mid 

 den heap occurs about one and one-half miles northwest of 

 Fish Point, another on the west side of the peninsula, on the 

 west side of the island, about due west of the last-named 

 midden heap. Another occupies about the north point of 

 the island. These middens are covered over with from a 

 foot to three feet of sand and loam, and over them were 

 growing trees that must have been 500 years old. This 

 would make the middens quite ancient, if the rate of delta 

 depositing was as slow formerly as now, probably 1,500 

 years old. Similar middens were found about a mile south 

 of Fish Point, also on the southwestern point of the penin- 



