170 B GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OP CANADA. 



do not exist; they have been little collections of rude houses for tempo- 

 rary use in summer, and have now disappeared. There are still a good 

 many Indians here, but I have seen the place only from a distance, and 

 know little about it. When off this place on July 23rd, Dixon was visited 

 by eight canoes containing "near one hundred people," probably for 

 the most part men, as it is mentioned, on the next day, that about 180 

 people, men, women, and children, came out to the ship. 



Villages on Besides the last mentioned, and the two villages near Gold Harbour, 



there were formerly two or three other places where Haidas were 

 resident on the west coast of the islands. One of these was at Tasoo 

 Harbour, which is reported to be a large sheet of water. I could not 

 learn whether the village here was a permanent one, but think it must 

 have been so. It is not improbably that designated Too in Mr. Work's 

 list, and is marked on an old sketch of the islands as standing on the 

 north-west side of the harbour. A village was situated on the island 

 called Hippa by Dixon, of which the Haida name was, I believe, 

 Mus-too. Dixon gives a sketch of the island and village in the volume 

 already referred to. "Under date July 7th, 1787. he writes of this 

 place. — 



Hippah Island. " About two o'clock in the afternoon, being close in shore, we saw 

 several canoes putting off, on which we shortened sail, and lay too for 

 them, as the wind blew pretty fresh. The place these people came 

 from had a very singular appearance, and on examining it narrowly, 

 we plainly perceived that they lived in a very large hut, built on a 

 small island, and well fortified after the manner of an hippah, on 

 which account we distinguished this place by the name of Hippah 

 Island. 



"The tribe who inhabit this hippah seem well defended by nature 

 from any sudden assault of their enemies ; for the ascent to it from the 

 beach is steep, and difficult of access ; and the other sides are well barri- 

 cadoed with pines and brush wood ; notwithstanding which, they have 

 been at infinite pains in raising additional fences of rails and boards ; 

 so that I should think the} 7 " cannot fail to repel any tribe that should 

 dare to attack their fortification. 



" A number of circumstances had occurred, since our first trade in 

 Cloak Bay, which convinced us, that the natives at this place were of a 

 more savage disposition, and had less intercourse with each other, than 

 any Indians we had met with on the coast, and we began to suspect 

 that they were cannibals in some degree. Captain Dixon no sooner 

 saw the fortified hut just mentioned, than this suspicion was strength- 

 ened, as it was, he said, built exactly on the plan of the hippah of the 

 savages at New Zealand. We purchased a number of excellent cloaks, 

 and some good skins from the Indians, for which we gave a variety of 



