THE INDIANS OF CAPE FLATTERY. 15 



select a kelp stem of the largest size, and trail it along the beach. The other boys, 

 armed with miniature harpoons with wooden buoys attached, follow after, and 

 dart their harpoons into the kelp, until it is full or split, when they get another, 

 and keep up the game with eagerness for hours. Another sport is to set a pole 

 upright in the sand and climb to the top, which they do readily by tying a piece of 

 rope so as to form a loop, which is passed once around the pole, forming stirrups for 

 the feet. As they climb, the rope is slipped up by the feet, but becomes fast on 

 pressing the weight upon it; this affords a foothold, tiU the hands are raised for a 

 fresh grasp of the pole, when the feet are again lifted, and thus alternately by hands 

 and feet, they rapidly ascend to the top. The use of the bow and arrow is early 

 learned by the boys, and is a favorite source of amusement. A description of them 

 will be found under Arts and Manufactures. The amusements of the girls consist 

 in dressing up clam shells with strips of rags, and setting them in rows in the sand 

 to resemble children. They are also very fond of dolls, and appear much pleased 

 with any toys such as white children use. They are early taught to make little 

 baskets and mats, and their simple sports are varied by excursions into the woods 

 after berries, or among the rocks, at low tide, in search of shell fish. Like the 

 boys, they are accustomed from infancy to the use of canoes, and may be seen on 

 any pleasant day throughout the summer, paddling in any pool of water left by the 

 receding tide, or in the little bays formed at the mouths of the brooks by the sand 

 which may have been washed in during high water. During the spring, when the 

 flowers are in bloom and the humming birds are plenty, the boys take a stick 

 smeared with the slime from snails, and place it among a cluster of flowers. This 

 slime is an excellent bird lime, and if a humming bird applies his tongue to it 

 he is glued fast. They will then tie a piece of thread to its feet and holding the 

 other end let the birds fly, their humming being considered quite an amusement. 

 They however are cruel to all animals, and particularly birds, which they torture in 

 every conceivable manner. Among their sports is wrestling, which is common 

 not only with the boys but the men also. The parties are entirely naked, and at a 

 signal advance and seize each other by the hair. Each then strives to throw his 

 antagonist, and the victor is rewarded by the shouts of his friends. 



Formerly, deadly combats or duels were often fought. Each fighter being armed 

 with a dagger held in the right hand, grasps firmly with the left the long hair of 

 his antagonist ; then holding each other fast, they inflict wounds with their knives 

 till one or both are mortally wounded, or else both are exhausted, when friends 

 interfere and the parties are separated. Some fighting is done with big stones 

 instead of knives, when each tries to beat the other's brains out ; but these gladia- 

 torial scenes are of very rare occurrence of late years. The most common prac- 

 tice in vogue at present is shooting each other with guns or pistols. 



Dress. — The usual dress of the men consists of a shirt and blanket ; but some, 

 especially the old men, are content with a blanket only. Nearly all of them how- 

 ever have suits of clothes of various kinds, which they have procured from the 

 whites ; but these are only worn on occasions of visits to the settlements up the 

 Strait, on the arrival of strangers, or when at work for the white people, and are 

 usually taken off when they return to their lodges. It is not an unusual sight to 



