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advantages, these canoes, which one would suppose to be the work of years, 

 are made in a few weeks. A canoe, liowever, is verj^ highly prized. In 

 traffic, it is an article of the greatest value, except a wife, which is of equal 

 consideration, so that a lover generally gives a canoe to the father in ex- 

 change for his daughter." 



The canoes employed by the more northern Indians are sometimes 

 even of greater size and more solid construction than this. They are also 

 better adapted to sea-going, as they are free from the incumbrance. 

 With them, the Indians venture from Queen Charlotte Islands, and even 

 from Sitka, as far south as Puget Sound, bringing, besides their crew, 

 their whole worldly property, by no means an inconsiderable cargo. 

 One which I saw at Victoria carried three masts, and was estimated at not 

 less than seventy feet in length. The usual method of constructing canoes 

 is to cut or burn the tree down and into a suitable length, rough-hew the 

 outside, cut out the inside with a hatchet and chisel or hand-adze, then turn 

 it over and hew the outside to correspond with the inside. When in this state 

 it is filled with water, which is boiled by means of hot stones, a fire being 

 made all around the canoe on the outside. This is for the purpose of spread- 

 ing the canoe, which is too narrow for its depth, and the thwarts are put 

 and secured by cords passed through small holes in the side to keep it in 

 shape. The prow of the Tsinuk canoe, and projecting parts of others, 

 which are too large to be cut from a single tree, or would cross the grain, 

 are mortised in and secured by cords in like manner. Should, unluckily, 

 knots or other defects appear in the sides, the piece is cut out and another 

 set in in its place. This is done by boring small holes, through which the 

 patch is fii'mly sewed with twine, and which are then plugged. The seam 

 is caulked with pitch and cedar-bark, scraped to the consistence of tow. 

 When finished, the outside is slightly charred, and painted with coal made 

 from rashes and mixed with whale-oil. The inside is colored with a chrome, 

 which, when burned, becomes red. In constructing their canoes, the Indians 

 use no lines or artificial aid. The whole is modeled by the eye. Of course, 

 there is a great diff'erence in quahty, according to the skill of the builders, 

 and particular persons have a high reputation for their superiority in this 

 respect. 



