Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1882-07-28

Geo. n. Dawson, in the August Har-
per. writes:
The climate Of the Queen Charlotte
Islands IL excessively humid, aud the,
are almost everywhere covered will
magnificent coniferOus trees. Noun
talus 4uCo u SUI fest high rise in their
central portion, and they art penetrated
on ali slaes by dark deep fords with
rocky wallis.
10 the northeast, it is true, a wide
stretch Ut low ana nearly level count y
Uc;urs. which may some day support a
farming population, tut at tbs pr~sen,
time Its sOinbre w0Uds. filled with dens,
underground, aud barrlcaded with pros-
Tate trunks IN every stage Of decay.
offer little 10 induce either Indian Or
white ~ penetrate them. The haldas,
therefore, though cultivating here anu
tuor6 along the shores smali potato
patches. Are essentially fishermen. Few
eathS or trails traverse the interior Of
The lslands, and Of these some formerly
Used when the population was greater
are nov abandoned.
The halibut Is found in great album
dance IN tho VICINITY OF the islands, and
It Is more particularly on this iish that
the Haidas depend Their villages are
invsriably situated along the shore,
often ON bleak, wave-lashed parts vi
the coast, but always in proximity to
productive halibut banks. Journeys
..rs made in canoes along the coast.
The canoes are sklllfully followed froM
the great cedar trees of tho region,
which, after being worked down to "a
certain small thickness, are steamed
and spread by the Insertion of crose
pieces till they are made to assume u
uOat graceful form. and show lines
which would satisfy tho mOst faStidious
shipbuildsr. In their larger CANOES the
haidas do not hesitate to make loup
voyages on tho open sea; and in former
days, by tLSir frequent desOents on the
coast Of the mainland. and the faculty.
with they retreAtSd again to their own
islands, they tender themselves more
dreaded than any tribe from Vancouver
| - Sltka.
In their mode of life, and ingenuity
and skill they display IN their manufac
turs OF canoes and other articles, the
daidas do not difTSr Sssenti .liy from the
other tribes inilAbltinx the northern
part of the coes. Of British Columbia
aud Southern Alaska. In the Que. u
Charlotte islands, however, the peculiar
style Ut architecture and art elsewhere
among the In 1 . ~ Of tie west 90 ISL
more or less prom nently sxhibituu ap
pears u attain its greatest development.
whether'this may show that to the Hal
6as or their ancestors the Introduction
Ut this ia due, or Indicate merely that
with the greater isolation Of THESE peo-
pie, and the consequent iuors ased meas
urs Of security. the particulars Of the
indian mind we're able to body them
selves forth more fully, we may never
know. The sitdatlOn of the islands.
and the comparative infrequency with
which they have been visited for many
years, have at least tended to preserve
intact many features whioh have already
vanished from the customs aud manu-
factures of most other tribes.
As before stated. the permanent vii
lagos of the Haidas are invariably attn
ated at the ses,shors. They consist gem
orally of q single long row of houses,
with but a narrow grassy border between
IL and the beach, On which the canoes
of she tribe (for each village constitute.
n chieftainey) are drawn up. In front
Ut each house stands symbolical
carved pOst, while other carved posts,
situated irreguisriy. aud differing some
what in form from those proper to tho
hOuses, are generally niemOri ,is IL tue
dead. Suoh village, seen from little
distance of, the houses and pOsts gray
with tue weather, resembles strip Oi
half-burned forest with dead ''ram-
pikes." The little cloud of smoke fron,
the various fites may, however, serve II
indicate its true character.