I40 GRINNELL 



to be packed away. In this condition they will keep in- 

 definitely. 



Besides the fish that they catch, the Indians do much 

 hunting in the mountains and on the islands along the 

 coast. Deer are abundant, and great numbers of them 

 are killed at all seasons of the year. In winter, the na- 

 tive steals along in his canoe, close to the shore, looking 



for deer that have ventured out of 



the forest to feed on the seaweed and 



the grass along the beach. Very 



■-, quietly he slips up to the game, 



and when near enough, kills it by 



a shot from his rifle. Many 



~ of the men are good hunters 



TLINKIT CANOE, <_! ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^^ 



SOUTHEAST ALASKA. ^3" 



the great brown Sitka bear, 

 which is larger than the grizzly and quite as much dis- 

 posed to fight. 



On the Alaska coast the water is the common highway. 

 Away from the settlements there are no roads nor trails, 

 for the many wide inlets and rivers which run back into 

 the mountains at frequent intervals prevent land travel up 

 and down the coast. The Indians make all their journeys 

 by canoes, and in the handling of these they are most ex- 

 pert. A child is scarcely out of its cradle before a tiny 

 paddle is thrust into its fist. Infants not more than three 

 or four years old may be seen paddling for hours at a 

 stretch. Thus trained from childhood, these Indians are 

 enormously strong in their arms and hands, and can ac- 

 complish a wonderful amount of work of this kind with- 

 out showing fatigue. The upper part of the body is much 

 more robust than in the Indians of the Plains, 



Different types of canoes are in use in different locali- 

 ties. All the sea travel is done by means of paddles, but 

 in ascending rivers where the current is too swift to be 



