American Big Game in its Haunts 



place, and before sailing we had safely stowed 

 away below, in waterproof canvas bags, the provi- 

 sions necessary to last us three months, in the most 

 condensed and evaporated form. 



Most of our fellow passengers were miners. 

 One of them interested me particularly. He was a 

 Finn, one of the pioneer white hunters in the 

 Aleutian country, and his drawn face and stoop- 

 ing shoulders told the tale of trails too long 

 and packs too heavy. I passed much time with 

 him, and learned a good deal about the habits of 

 the big, brown, barren bear, and his methods of 

 fighting when hard pressed. 



Our first Alaskan port was Hunter's Bay, Prince 

 of Wales Island, interesting because here is Clin- 

 con, one of the old settlements of the Haida In- 

 dians, famed for their wonderful totem poles, 

 which tell in striking symbolic language the family 

 histories of the tribe. There were many good 

 faces among these people, and we asked ourselves 

 and others the puzzling question, are they Aztecs, 

 New Zealanders, or Japanese in origin? Among 

 these people families with the same totem pole may 

 not intermarry. An old man, the special wood 

 carver of the tribe, does wonderful work. 



An offshoot of the tribe inhabits Annette Island, 

 under the kindly governorship of an old priest 



226 



