CRUISING THE FJORDS OF NORTH PACIFIC 
The family home is a unique affair of 
roughly split slabs and slats, spread over a 
massive frame-work of huge fir trees, felled 
near-by, and asa rule strangely carved and 
wrought after the fashion of the family 
totem-pole, which guards the only opening 
in the house, a small, rude doorway, always 
facing the beach. ‘The structure thus 
formed is an oblong building of proportions 
suggesting a meeting-house rather than the 
shelter for a single family. Mother Earth 
furnishes the mosaic for the floor, in the 
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Such were the simple homes of the Hunts, 
a family of halfbreeds of dominating in- 
fluence among the Fort Rupert and neigh- 
boring Indian tribes. Their grandfather, a 
hardy Scot, came to Fort Rupert in the 
early days, one of the very first sent out by 
the Hudson’s Bay Company to trade there- 
abouts. He wooed and won, as has many 
a Northern trader, an Indian belle. And 
from this union came the present stock— 
shrewd traders, daring sailors, successful 
fishers and crafty woodsmen and hunters. 

A VIEW OF THE INDIAN VILLAGE OF KLOWICH, OF HARBLEDOWN ISLAND 
center of which the fire, which serves at once 
for cooking and heating, is kindled. A hole 
in the roof relieves in a measure the atmos- 
phere of smoke, and lets in the only day- 
light they enjoy indoors. Suspended from 
the huge rafters overhead hang hundreds 
of fish, sun-cured in part, receiving their 
final curing in the dense smoke near the 
roof. They are hospitable people, these 
Siwashes, and benches for the seating of 
the guests at their potlatches, or feasts, run 
round the four walls of every home; in 
fact, the houses are built rather for feast 
purposes than to meet the mere requirements 
of a dwelling. At these potlatches there 
often gather within a single house the entire 
population of several villages, so the 
buildings must needs be large. 
We were fortunate in having under en- 
gagement one of these Hunts, Sam, a grand- 
son of the original sire, together with his 
sailing sloop, for our cruise of the fjords of 
the opposite British Columbian mainland 
and thence down coast to Vancouver. 
We spent several days at anchor off Fort 
Rupert, busily engaged at overhauling our 
little vessel, which, though already fairly 
fitted for commission by Sam, still lacked a 
few finishing touches to suit our more 
esthetic. white tastes. Then, besides, our 
provisions and outfit had to be carefully cut 
out and so stowed away as to economize 
space and at the same time to be readily 
accessible. We had also to gather and 
split a supply of resinous firewood for the 
small cooking stove which contended with 
