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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