20 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
canoes, and find that they bring quite as good a price without these ornaments as with them. I have 
noticed, however, among some of the Clallams, who are apt to keep a canoe much longer than the 
Makahs, that the shell ornaments are still used. When the canoe is finished it is painted inside with 
a mixture of oil and red ocher. Sometimes charcoal and oil are rubbed on the outside, but more 
commonly it is simply charred by means of long fagots of cedar splints, set on fire at one end like a 
torch, and held against the side of the canoe. The surface is then rubbed smooth with a wisp of grass 
or a branch of cedar twigs. When the bottom of a canoe gets foul from long use, it is dried and 
charred by the same process. 
The paddles are made of yew, and are usually procured by barter with the Clyoquot Indians. 
The blade is broad like an oar blade, and the end rounded in an oval or lanceolate form. The handle 
is a separate piece fitted transversely with the length of the paddle, and sufficiently long to afford a 
good hold for the hand. These paddles when new are blackened by slightly charring them in the fire, 
and then rubbed smooth and slightly polished. 
The sails were formerly made of mats of cedar bark, which are still used by some of the Clyoquots, 
although most of the tribes in the vicinity now rise cotton. The usual form is square, with sticks at the 
top and bottom like a vessel’s yards ; a line passes through a hole in the top of the mast, rigged from 
the lower stick, and the sail is easily and quickly hoisted or lowered. When taken in it is rolled 
round the lower yard, and can be enlarged to its full size or reduced to adjust it to the force of the 
wind. Some Indians have adopted sprit-sails, but they are not in general use, nor are they as safe or 
convenient for the canoe as the square sail. 
In cruising on the Strait they usually keep well inshore, unless they intend to cross to the 
opposite side; and if the canoe is large and heavily laden they always anchor at night, and for this 
purpose use a large stone tied to a stout line. Sometimes they moor for the night by tying the canoe 
to the kelp. When the craft is not heavily burdened it is invariably hauled on the beach whenever 
the object is to encamp. If the wind is fair, or they have white men on board, they will travel all night, 
but on their trading excursions they usually encamp, which causes much delay in. a long journey. 
I have been seven days, in the winter season, making the passage between Neah Bay and Port Townsend, 
about 100 miles, and in the summer have made the same trip in but little over 24 hours. The average 
passage, however, is about three days for the distance named, which includes camping two nights. * 
Wilkes, who visited the Northwest something more than half a century ago, seems 
to have been much impressed with the canoes he saw there, and particularly so with 
the ingenious manner in which the natives repaired their boats. He makes the 
following statements : 
The canoes of this region [Oregon] differ from anything we had seen on the voyage. They were 
made from a single trunk and have a shape that may be considered elegant, and which is preserved 
from change from stretching or warping by means of thwarts. The sides are exceedingly thin, seldom 
exceeding three-fourths of an inch, and they are preserved with great care, being never suffered to lie 
exposed to the sun for fear of rents and cracks. When these do occur, the canoe is mended in a very 
ingenious manner : holes are made in the sides, through which withes are passed and pegged in such a 
way that the strain will draw it tighter; the withe is then crossed and the end secured in the same 
manner. When the tying is finished, the whole is pitched with the gum of the pine. This is neatly 
done, and answers the purpose well, t 
The fishing canoes are generally propelled only by paddles, and are usually pro- 
vided with fishing lines made of kelp or sinew, baskets in which spare hooks and lines 
are kept, a number of the peculiar halibut hooks used by the Indians, and clubs for 
killing the fish. 
In recent years, since pelagic fur-sealing has been prosecuted from* the Puget 
Sound region, Indians have often constituted a large portion of the crews of sealing 
vessels, and these have generally preferred the light dugouts for chasing seals. 
* “The Indians of Cape Flattery” (Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge), by J. Cf. Swan. 
t Narrative of the United States Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842, by Commander Charles Wilkes, 
U. S. N., vol. iv, page 300. 
