The Journal of a Sporting Nomad 
are made from the large intestine of the grizzly 
bear, the edges sewn together. When dry they 
are hard and harsh to the touch, but when wetted 
they become as soft as silk and fit tightly to the 
person. Dressed in this kit the natives do not 
hesitate to negotiate large seas, going straight 
through them, if necessary, without a drop of 
water entering the canoe, which is extremely 
delicate to handle, as it draws but an inch or so 
of water. It is another case of parting your hair 
down the centre to prevent a capsize. I ob- 
tained from this same chief a hat that was made 
from the smallest split-up fibres or roots of the 
spruce. It is a perfect marvel of workmanship 
and must have taken ages to make. It is orna- 
mented with small, round, scimitar-shaped white 
shells, but I was unable to discover whether 
these were taken from fresh or sea water. 
These Indians are great snuff-takers. The 
tobacco they buy at the stores, black though 
it be, is evidently not pungent enough for 
their vitiated tastes, so they have recourse 
to mixing it with a yellowish white fungus 
gathered from the birch trees, dried and pounded 
up together with the tobacco in a wooden 
mortar. Each hut or house I entered pos- 
sessed one of these mortars; they are rather 
unwieldy to carry about, being sometimes formed 
from a log. The specimen I own is comparatively 
small, but this is the exception rather than the rule. 
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