holmes] aboriginal amebic an antiquities— part i 119 



9. The Northwest Coast Area 



This area comprises a rather narrow strip of the mainland and 

 the contiguous coastwise ishinds in British Columbia and Alaska, 

 and extends from Puget Sound on the south to Mount St. Elias on 

 the north, a distance of twelve or thirteen hundred miles. The 

 present tribes belong to half a dozen stocks, well differentiated in 

 physical characteristics from the Eskimo, with whom they come in 

 contact on the north, and differing somewhat decidedly from the 

 Indian tribes on the east and south. The material culture embodies 

 many noteworthy and exceptional features and, as a whole, stands 

 well apart from all other cultures of the continent. It resembles in 

 some respects that of the coast culture on the south and that of the 

 inland culture on the east. Hunting and especially fishing are and 

 have alwa3^s been the chief food resources of the people, agriculture 

 being unknown. The area abounds in splendid forests, and the 

 people have developed exceptional skill in carving wood, originally 

 with stone tools, and later in greater elaboration with implements 

 of iron and steel. The dugout canoes are often of great size, beauty, 

 and seaworthiness, and are probably the world's highest achievement 

 in this direction. Not less worthy of mention are 

 The Sculpture ^j^^ substantial houses of hewn timbers, and the totem 



Arts ' 



poles, house posts, grave posts, human and animal 

 effigies, and various utensils, masks, and other objects carved with 

 a skill and boldness that would do credit to any people. Although 

 it must be allowed that these results are due in a measure to 

 the acquirement of white men's tools, it can not be denied that 

 the people are endowed with a genius for sculpture without 

 parallel among the tribes of northern America. Their skill in carv- 

 ing extended to stone, shell, bone, and horn, and to a wide range 

 of minor articles of use, ornament, faith, and ceremony. The 

 artifacts of stone include hammers and mauls of the highest known 

 types, adzes, mortars, pestles, knives, batons, tobacco pipes, amulets, 

 ornaments, and other objects, but examples of chipped stone are of 

 rare occurrence. Pottery is unknown, vessels of wood, bone, and 

 horn serving in its place. Slate obtained from deposits on the Queen 

 Charlotte Islands has been much used in recent times for carving, 

 and remarkable results are seen in miniature totem poles, boxes, 

 dishes, pipes, and in diversified animal, human, and fanciful forms. 

 Jade, found in the Frazer Valley and probably elsewhere, was skill- 

 fully cut by primitive abrading processes and shaped into tasteful 

 implements and ornaments. Much taste is shown in the inlaying of 

 ornaments of bone and stone with the brilliant nacre of shells. 

 Petroglyphs are numerous in some sections and probably date back 

 to very early times, although they display the peculiar character- 



