38 TOBACCO IN AMERICA. 



most remarkable of all the specimens of pipe sculpture 

 executed by the Indians of the north-west, are those 

 carved by the Babeen, or Big-lip Indians, so called 

 from the singular deformity they produce by inserting 

 a piece of wood into a slit made in the lower lip. The 

 Babeen Indians are found along the Pacific Coast, 

 about latitude 54° 40', and extend from the borders 

 of the Eussian dominions east-ward nearly to Frazer 

 Eiver. The pipes of the Babeen, and also of the 

 Clalam Indians occupying the neighbouring Vancou- 

 ver's Island, are carved with the utmost elaborateness, 

 and in the most singular and grotesque devices, from a 

 soft blue clay stone or slate. Their form is in part deter- 

 mined by the material, which is only procurable in thin 

 slabs ; so that the sculptures, wrought on both sides, 

 present a sort of double bas-relief. From this, singular 

 and grotesque groups are carved, without any apparent 

 reference to the final destination of the whole as a pipe. 

 The lower side is generally a straight line, and in the 

 specimens I have examined they measure from two or 

 three to fifteen inches long ; so that in these the pipe- 

 stem is included. A small hollow is carved out of 

 some protruding ornament to serve as the bowl of the 

 pipe, and from the further end a perforation is drilled 

 to connect with this. The only addition made to it 

 when in use is the insertion of a quill or straw as a 

 mouth-piece." Of this latter kind we present an en- 

 graving; they are among the most remarkable pro- 

 ductions of the northern Indians, partaking of most 

 grotesque features, and generally representing men 



