TOWNS OF PUGET SOUND 



north, pillars of verdure in regular rows, seven 

 feet apart and eight or ten feet in height; the 

 long, vigorous shoots sweeping round in fine, 

 wild freedom, and the light, leafy cones hang- 

 ing in loose, handsome clusters. 



Perhaps enough of hops might be raised in 

 Washington for the wants of all the world, 

 but it would be impossible to find pickers to 

 handle the crop. Most of the picking is done 

 by Indians, and to this fine, clean, profitable 

 work they come in great numbers in their 

 canoes, old and young, of many different 

 tribes, bringing wives and children and house- 

 hold goods, in some cases from a distance of 

 five or six hundred miles, even from far Alaska. 

 Then they too grow rich and spend their 

 money on red cloth and trinkets. About a 

 thousand Indians are required as pickers at 

 the Snoqualmie ranch alone, and a lively and 

 merry picture they make in the field, arrayed^ 

 in bright, showy calicoes, lowering the rustling 

 vine-pillars with incessant song-singing and 

 fun. Still more striking are their queer camps 

 on the edges of the fields or over on the river- 

 bank, with the firelight shining on their wild, 

 jolly faces. But woe to the ranch should fir& 

 water get there! 



But the chief attractions here are not found 

 in the hops, but in trout-fishing and bear- 



267 



