Novembbr 3, 1881. 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



265 



BYE-WAYS OF THE NORTHWEST. 



3KVKNTH PAPER. 



WE left Victoria early one bright Friday mowing for 

 Nanaimo. Our passengers might lnve been termed 

 a mixed lot, and the bum of conversation that rose from the 

 decks was emphatically polyglot. English, Iri-h, Scotch, 

 French and Americans gathered on the upper deck, and Si- 

 washes and Chinamen, with a negro or two on the lower. 

 Steaming by the island, yellow with ripened grass, and dotted 

 with clumps of evergreens and patches of bare, gray rock, 

 we startle from their feeding grounds many a flock of the 

 pigeon guillemots, which with much noise and splashing take 

 Wing, or if they have delayed too long, and find the steamer 

 too close upon them seek safety beneath the water's surface, 

 whence they do not emerge until we are far beyond them, 

 Here and there, as we move swiftly along, the placid waters 

 are disturbed by the smooth, shining head of a seal, which 

 gazes curiously at the advancing boat, and then vanishes to 

 be seen no more. 



Everywhere in the water we see floating the stalks of the 

 giant kelp Of the North Pacific, the N&reoeyg& lulkmna. 

 This curious plant grows everywhere along this coast, among 

 the islands and in the inlets. Its roots are attached to any 

 small stone or even to the sand at the bottom, and the length 

 of the stalk may be thirty or forty feet. At its base the stem 

 is very slender, often scarcely as thick as a quill, but it in- 

 creases by a very gradual taper, until near its superior ex- 

 tremity it may be nearly as thick as a man's wrist. At the 

 termination of the stem, or stalk, is a globular swelling 

 which varies in size, but is sometimes a? large as a billiard 

 ball. From a point on this enlargement opposite its attach- 

 ment to the stem, a dozen or twenty long, ribbon-like leaves 

 are sent forth, each being from one to six inches wide, 

 from four to six feet long and fluted or ruffled along its edge 

 for the whole length. The plant is brown in color through- 

 Out, and from the fact that it constantly responds to the mo- 

 tion of the water, has an uncanny, weird look, and almost 

 seems alive. 1 could never see one of these round heads 

 wilh its long clievelure of waving leaves without thinking of 

 a drowned woman, floating face downward in the current, 

 her long hair streaming out before her, and rising and falling 

 with the waves. To another of our party the spherical 

 swelling aud the drifting leaves always suggested the octo- 

 pus floating near the surface, with all bis tentacles drifting 

 ahead of him with the tide. The strength aud toughness of 

 this plant is something remarkable. I have seen a large ca- 

 noe held at anchor by a single stalk of the kelp. It is neces- 

 sary that the strain should be applied gradually, since a sud- 

 den pull is likely either to free the stone to which the roots 

 are attached from its holding at I he bottom, or to forcibly 

 tear them from the object to which they are fastened. The 

 Cape Flattery Indians select the most slender stems of the 

 kelp, aud make from them fishing lines on which they catch 

 200-pound halibut. Some of these lines arc in the Smithso- 

 nian Institution at Washington. This plant frequently grows 

 in thick beds, and the stems moving constantly in the current 

 become after a time inextricably twisted and tangled, so that 

 it is sometimes very difficult to force a canoe through or over 

 them. Not infrequently they become wound about the screw 

 of a propeller, so that it becomes impossible for it to move. 

 The beds of the kelp form resting places for many birds of 

 different species, and it is not unusual to see gulls and sand- 

 pipers standing on them. Further south, off the coast of 

 Southern California, I have often seen the great blue heron, 

 the snowy, egret and other large birds resting, or walking 

 about feeding on the beds of the kelp. There are two other 

 species of seaweed which arc valued by the natives of this 

 coast, being utilized by them as food. Both grow between 

 high and low water mark, and are bright green in color, but 

 they differ markedly in the size of the leaf. One of these sea- 

 weeds is eaten while fresh, and the other is dried, pressed in- 

 to bucks aud used during the winter as an ingredient of soups 

 and stewa. On occasions of great feasts a few years back it 

 was part of the duties of the young squaws to chew the dried 

 seaweed until the particles were fine enough to be added 

 to the differeut articles to constitute the dish, and 

 which were already boiling in the pot. The same mode of 

 preparation still prevails in the villages at a distance from the 

 settlements. Near Victoria, however, the Siwashes have 

 been educated up to the point of cutting up the dried vege- 

 table with a pair of scissors, a tobacco cutter or a knife. 



For hours we wound in and out among the islands, stop- 

 ping occasionally at little settlements on the larger ones, and 

 now and then slowiug up to take on board a passenger, 

 brought off from some little house which stood upon one of 

 the green hillsides, half hidden among the trees. Some of 

 these islands make excellent sheep ranges, and settlers who 

 have gone into this business are said to have done very well 

 at it. Deer, we were told, were abundant on almost all the 

 larger island which are not too thickly settled. At Gibriola 

 Island we stopped for a few moments to make a last effort to 

 secure a steam launch which was owned by a settler there, 

 but, owing to the fact that she had not been inspected within 

 the year, it was impossible to make any arrangement with 

 the owner, and we therefore returned to the steamer which 

 waited for us in mid-channel. Reaching Nanaimo about 4 

 o'clock in the afternoon, we hired a large canoe and two 

 Indians, and made arrangements to start at ome. Supplies 

 nrchased ; an hour or two devoted to an inspection of 

 the coal mines, which supply fuel for the whole of British 



Columbia, and send, as well a considerable quantity to San 

 Francisco and points on Paget Sound ; the Indians were 

 ordered to be on hand at daylight, next morning, and then 

 oar preparations were completed. 



For the benefit of those who may contemplate a similar 

 trip, it may be worth while to give some idea of what our 

 outfit consisted of; it being born in mind that our party 

 numbered seven individuals, and was provisioned for a thirty 

 days' cruise. Our arms were two rifles, two shot guus and 

 four revolvers. Our kitchen utensils were one axe, with 

 spare helve, one hatchet, a file, two butcher knives, three 

 camp kettles, of different sizes so as to "nest," made of 

 block tin with riveted handles, coffee-pot, tea pot, bake-oven, 

 bread pan, broiler, plates, cups, knives, forks, spoons, a 

 small breaker, or keg, in which to carry fresh water. All 

 our mess kit except the breaker packed very conveniently in 

 a box of moderate size, which was covered so as to be pro- 

 tected from the water. The cover was provided with leather 

 hinges. For provisions we took bacon, flour (two sacks), 

 coffee (ground in 1 lb. tins), sugar (in a box), baking powder 

 in small tins, beans, canned tomatoes, peas, peaches and jel- 

 lies, pepper aud salt, bottle of vinegar, pickles, a box of 

 hard bread and a sack of potatoes. A box similar to the one 

 mentioned above held all our eatableB that were liable to in- 

 jury by water, and was always covered with a reed mat. 

 Besides the articles mentioned we had a fly 12 feet square 

 made of light drilling, some mosquito netting, 100 feet of 

 rope, some flue copper wire, saddlers' silk awl and wax, a 

 quantity of plug tobacco, candles and, of course, ammunition, 

 flies, trolling spoons, lines, a rod, soap, matches, and the 

 numerous small articles that so often prove useful in camp, 

 yet do not take up much room. Each of the party was pro- 

 vided with a suit of oil skins, which are better tknn rubber 

 because lighter, not so apt to tear, and permitting some little 

 circulation of air. 



By four o'clock the next morning we were astir, and an 

 hour and a half later, the canoe stowed and ail hands on 

 board, we pushed off from Nanaims and were soon gliding 

 over the waters of Departure Bay. The morning was not 

 especially propitious for a start. The wind blew from the 

 south-east in gusts, and the sun rose in a loose bank of clouds 

 which, as the day advanced, became more and more threaten- 

 ing. Soon it began to rain, but as the wind was fair or 

 nearly so, we spread mats and rubber blankets over the 

 guns and blankets, and hoisting sail, moved along at a very 

 good rate of speed. The islands so numerous further to the 

 southward, had disappeared, and to windward of us the open 

 waters of the Gulf stretched away for twenty or thirty miles, 

 with nothing to break the force of the breeze. To the north- 

 east Texada loomed up, showing its high peak above the fog, 

 and as we advanced other smaller islands, Denman and 

 Hornby, became visible. The wind, which up to noon con- 

 tinually increased, kicked up quite a sea, and we Shipped 

 considerable water, for the canoe was heavily loaded and sat 

 rather low, but all propositions to reduce, sail were negatived. 

 About two o'clock the wind fell and soon after the sky 

 cleared, and for the rest of the day we worked at the paddles 

 under a broiling sun. The canoe, steered by Jimmy, the 

 youngest of our Indians, followed pretty closely the sinuosi- 

 ties of the shore, am} our progress was not as rapid as it 

 would have been had we cut across the bays an: 1 inlets 

 which Vancouver Island is iudented. The Siwashes like to 

 keep close to land, partly, I presume, in order to avoid the 

 force of the tides, and also to be near a harbor in case of the 

 sudden coming up of a storm. Gales often arise on this 

 piece of water without giving any warning, and a sea rises 

 almost as soon as the wind begins to blow. 



During Ihe afternoon I noticed a great many surf and 

 velvet ducks (Peliunetta perspicillata and Melanettu vdvetma) 

 and undoubtedly both these species breed in this neighbor- 

 hood. The common seal was also extremely abundant here, 

 and we saw many fishing along the shore. About six o'clock 

 we reached the mouth of the Quahcum River and made 

 camp, having traveled about thirty-five miles in a direct line 

 from Nanaimo. This spot was evidently quite a favorite 

 landing-place for the Siwashes, and some had been there 

 within a few days, as their recent fires, lately cut tent poles 

 and fresh tracks clearly showed. Some little distance back 

 from the beach was an Indian house, in which were stored 

 four canoes. After dinner the Sergeant and I, with 

 Hamset, the owner of the canoe, paddled quietly up the 

 river for a mile or two, and then, coming to a riffle which 

 we could not pass, left the craft and went on tii tough the 

 timber. We saw no game whatever, and just before dark 

 returned to camp. On the way down the Sergeant suc- 

 ceeded in killing a female merganser (M. mergaiutr), a small 

 flock of mallards were seen and half a dozen young hooded 

 merganser (LoplwdyUs rAUMUatus.) Six o'clock next morning 

 saw the canoe push off, and emerge from the mouth of the 

 Qualieum. The day was bright and pleasant, with light 

 winds which were at times fair and at others contrary. We 

 worked pretty steadily through the day, and made about 

 thirty nules by 4 o'clock, when we camped at Comox Spit 

 two or three miles from the town. There is good water here, 

 and a wide mud flat inside the spit, from which at low water 

 excellent clams and mussels can be gathered. Just before 

 reaching camp we ran through one of the largest rafts of 

 ducks that 1 have ever seen. There must have been tens of 

 thousands of individuals in it and when they rose from the 

 water the whistling of their wings aud the pattering of their 

 feet upon the water reminded me more of the sound of a 



gale in the rigging of a ship as she goes about, than anything 

 I could think of. Little auks (Alle nigncatu) pigeon 

 guillemots (Una coliimM) and glancou-winged gulls 

 {Lara* glaucmcetu)—v/ere abundant. The little auks are al- 

 most invariably seen in pairs, and rarely attempt to escape 

 the approaching boat by flying. As it draws near them, they 

 call to each other with plaintive whistling notes, and swim 

 about with a curious air of indecision as if they were really 

 perplexed as to what they had better do. Suddenly, how- 

 ever, an idea strikes one of them and it turns away, there is 

 a white flash on the water and the bird has disappeared, to 

 be followed in a few seconds by its companion. 



The following day we made the usual early start, camping 

 at night in Oyster Bay at the mouth of a considerable river, 

 which, however, is not down on the British Admiralty 

 chart by which we were sailing. We named it Bird River. 

 At tho mouth of this stream the salmon were jumping in 

 great numbers, most of them, however, being small ones not 

 more than a foot in length. The Professor and I tried very 

 faithfully to catch some but without success. Deer are 

 plenty at this point, I concluded from the signs that I saw, 

 but although I traveled through the timber for two or three 

 hours I was unable to see any game or any tracks less than 

 two or three days old. The Sergeant with his shot gun killed 

 a few ducks. Just north of the mouth of the river are some 

 extensive meadows, half a mile wide, which separate the 

 forest from the bmch. These meadows are intersected by 

 tidewater sloughs, such as in Virginia would be called 

 thoroughfares, there being a narrow break in the beach near 

 the western end of the meadow. On these open places the 

 deer feed, and I found there numerous beds only a few days 

 old. In the timber it is almost impossible to do any still 

 hunting, for the undergrowth is very thick, and noiseless 

 progress is almost impossible. The next day we were obliged 

 to cros3 a channel four or five miles wide in order to get 

 under the lee of Valdes Island. Both wind and tide were 

 against us and the pull was a hard one. There were long 

 periods when it did not seem as if we made a foot of progress. 

 This is about the point, as laid down in the charts, where the 

 opposing tides, one flowing from the north and the other from 

 the south, meet, and we crossed some tide rips, which were 

 very violent. The water was broken up into short chopping 

 seas, and whirlpools of considerable size and depth were 

 encountered at short intervals. The Indians, however, 

 understood the eccentricities of the current, and although the 

 work was hard and slow we at last drew out of the current 

 aud turned north, following the shore. 



About noon we stopped at a village of the Cape Mudgc In- 

 dians where we purchased some dried salmon. Here, for the 

 first time since I had been in the Province, I saw Indians 

 clothed like Indians— that is, in a breech clout and blanket. 

 Near the rancherie is an extensive burial place. The bodies 

 of the dead areusually planed in small board houses, from eight 

 to ten feet square, although those of the poor are sometimes 

 deposited in an old canoe, which is then covered over with 

 boards, in front or at the side of these houses stand a num- 

 ber of small poles, ten or twelve feet high, to indicate the 

 number of potlatches, or great feasts, that the dead man has 

 given to his friends, each pole standing for a potlateh. Stouter 

 and longer poles bore small images of canoes carved out of 

 thin boards, and these show how many canoes the deceased 

 has given away during his life. Near many of the tombs 

 stood large crosses from eight to ten feet high, covered with 

 white cloth. The Indians of this coast are most of them sup- 

 posed to be Christianized, although it is exceedingly doubtful 

 if the teachings of the good missionaries exercise any very 

 •potent influence over the daily walk and conversation of the 

 average Siwash. Before several of the more pretentious 

 tombs were to be seen somewhat elaborately carved images, 

 and near many of them were large canoes, placed there, of 

 course, for the convenience of the departed, that he may 

 travel with comfort over the placid waters of the Spirit land 

 where the salmon and the hoolichans abound, and where the 

 deer are always standing on the rocks waiting to be shot. In 

 front of several of the houses in the village stood poles from 

 forty to sixty feet high and curiously carved. One new one, 

 not yet erected, bore on its extremity a sort of dragon's head. 



The custom of giving potlatches deserves a word or two 

 of explanation. The highest ambition of these Indians is to 

 accumulate property in order that they may give it away. 

 Wealth, in fact, seems to be the standard of rank among them. 

 The man who gives away most is the biggest ty/iee, or chief, 

 and receives, as well, a material reward, for at subsequent 

 potlatches, given by others, he receives a gift proportionate to 

 the amount of his own potlateh. Therefore when an Indian 

 has accumulated a lot of money, he is very likely to go off aud 

 buy a great quantity of crackers, tea, sugar, molasses, flour, 

 calico and blankets, and then to invite all his friends, up and 

 down the coast, to a potlateh. The feast consists of boiled deer 

 meat and salmon, with the edibles already mentioned, and hoo- 

 lichanoil. Every guest has all the crackers he can cat ; there is 

 perhaps a small canoe full of molasses. To each one is given 

 so many yards of calico ; part of the blankets are distributed 

 among the important visitors, and the remainder are scrambled 

 for by the young bucks. The ceremonies may last for a 

 week, and when they are over the Indians go their several ways 

 leaving the giver of the feast a poor man. When, however, 

 the next potlateh takes plsce he recovers a portion of his 

 wealth, and after a few more lie is better off than ever— until 

 he gives another one. Sometimes canoes are given away at 

 these feasts, at other times guns or ammunition, and the 



