THE INDIANS OF THE NORTHWEST COAST. 295 



Shown in Plate xxxiv, Fig. 171. AmoDgst the Haida and other uorth- 

 ern tribes the stern projects backwards and slightly upwards, forming 

 a long spur running down to a straight edge near the water line (Fig. 

 172, same plate). The bow also curves upward and has a regular and 

 gracefully shaped cut- water. 



Voyaging canoes. — 1 hese are from 35 to 65 feet long and 6 to 8 feet beam, 

 with flaring gunwale and long projecting spurs on both bow and stern. 

 These latter are generally scarfed on to the main body of the canoes, 

 and with the flare of the bows help to make them more sea- worthy. 

 Poole (1863) describes the canoe of Chief Kene, of the Queen Charlotte 

 Islands, British Columbia (in which he made a voyage from the latter's 

 village to Victoria, British Columbia), as having three masts, three sails, 

 and a mainstay-sail, and carrying thirty-seven people, with two tons of 

 baggage, freight, etc.* When it is reflected that these large canoes, 

 often with 5 tons capacity, are hewn from a single log, our marvel at the 

 skill displayed in their construction is decidely increased. To-day the 

 custom of painting the bow and stern in elaborate totemic patterns is 

 rapidly dying out, but formerly it was practiced throughout the whole 

 coast. The totem was also sometimes indicated by a carving, either 

 wrought on the spur or secured to it on the top or sides. Vancouver 

 (1793) found this custom as far south as the Kwakiutl, of Gardner 

 Channel, British Columbia. Of a canoe which he saw there he says 

 " its head and stern curiously decorated with carved work and rude 

 and uncouth figures in painting."t 



War canoes.— These, in primitive times, are said to have formed a 

 distinct class in themselves, having been elaborately painted and 

 decorated, but latterly the vo^ aging canoes have practically taken their 

 places, there having been no real difference in point of construction or 

 size between the war and transporting craft. It is doubtful if any real 

 distinction could ever have been drawn. 



Canoes in general. — There is a marked diflerence in the canoes of the 

 northern and southern Indians. It is not so much in the mere outward 

 appearance as in the shape of the cross-section and in the lines. The 

 northern canoe is superior in all the points by which we judge their 

 qualities. At the head of the respective types are those of the Haida 

 in the north, and of the Makah, of Cape Flattery, Washington Terri- 

 tory, in the south. The former have projecting prows, high, spur-shaped 

 sterns, flaring gunwales, and a gracefully rounding or curving cross- 

 section, although without any distinct keel. The latter have the blunt, 

 straight stern, a gracefully curving bow, but a flat bottom, with little 

 curve in the cross section. This type is heavier, roomier, stronger, 

 less cranky, and more durable than the Haida type, but the latter is 

 swifter, handier, and more buoyant. The Haida have in some of their 

 larger canoes somewhat copied the Makah type for the greater strength 



Poole, Queen Charlotte Mauds, p. 269. t Vancouver, Voyage, Vol. i, p. 303. 



