GREAT CEDAR CANOES. 175 



Charlotte Islands a group of wild, and densely wooded 

 islands, which on account of lying in the track of a 

 warm ocean current, are blessed with a singularly 

 mild and genial climate, considering their latitude; so 

 that in consequence trees of marvellous size are said 

 to be met with in their forests. The bark of this 

 cedar is of a fibrous nature so that the Indians manu- 

 facture ropes, cords, and mats from it. * It is from 

 this tree also that the Indians make their large canoes, 

 which are really very fine sea boats, and most 

 excellent craft in every way. The birch-bark canoe 

 is never seen on the Pacific coast ; the dug-out takes 

 its place, and is of course, as its name denotes, con- 

 structed out of the trunk of a single tree. 



The finest specimens of these great canoes are 

 made by the Hydahs, the Bella-Bellas, and other 

 tribes inhabiting the Queen Charlotte Islands, where 

 they are fashioned by the native workmen with 

 wonderful skill, partly by the aid of rude tools, and 

 partly by that of fire, upon beautiful lines very similar 

 to those of a clipper ship. They are made of all 

 sizes, from a small boat capable of being worked by 

 one or two men, to a gigantic affair capable of crossing 

 the stormy sea which separates these islands from 

 the great island of Vancouver, - and the mainland, 

 even in pretty heavy weather. A large canoe of this 

 kind has frequently been known to make her passage 

 under these circumstances, paddled by 30 or 40 persons, 

 and carrying several tons of freight in addition to 

 her crew. In former days a descent of a fleet of 

 these canoes, manned by these warlike natives, was 

 much dreaded by the tribes all along the coast. 



* See The Queen Charlotte Islands, by F. Poole, C.E., 1872, p. 114. 



