The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1890-09-05
THE SIWASR AND HIS CANOE.
Scenes on Pugent Sound in the Hop
Picking Season.

by the time this reaches you the
.romantic season of this section will
have begun, The hops will he rippn-
ing, and the Coast Indians from far
'an,l near viii he coming to pick
them. Puget Sound will he covered
with their curious canoes, and so will
The edge of he ocean as far north as
Alaska and south 10 the mouth of
|the CQlunIhiA. while at night the
IshoreS will he bright with their
tamp.fires and the air will resuund
with the barking of their dogs.
P The SiWash Indian aud his canoe
Sss!se fiIseg egafab'p. He ana his an'e,-
tnrs we lived in 1t for 81 many gem
err that his legs have grown
sin nj crooked Ivy nature, aud
away rom the wafer he Is practic-
ably helpless. To understand him
and what he is you must first study
the canGe, Ii is fashioned from n
single log and is sihguiarIv light and
graceful ID pattern. People who
know all about botI5 say 1t is built
on the mos accurate model, bnth for
speed and safety, and there is evil
dence that bt has been built on this
model for many, many generations.
There is tothin@ a Sjwash is more
abundantiys supplied with than time
and therefore he eau and does devote
plenty of it to the manufacture of
one OF thpsecan0es. He never needs
to make more than one as they last
more than life time generally, and
descend from father to son as the
most valued OF the family posses
Sious. When however, new one is
needed a tree is selected with great
care. and cedfr is Usually preferred
t. tir. Among trees rom 2U0 to 300
feet biGh ahd all as straight as ar
rows, with no limbs to speak of eX
c"pt at the top, d suitable one is hard
to find. 1t is then feIled, generally
nv The aid OF fire, then heWed to the
model ofa perfect boat. Then the
long and Sl,w pfore-S of hDllowing
out the inside is begun. A long
trench is chopped out OF the middle
and this is flied with water and
hHted stones are thrown into it un-
Wv Aie sides are thoroughly soaked
and steamed. Then they ARE spread
apart by slow and tedious process
Of bracing and more is acWed out of
the interior, and the process OF steam
Ing aud spreading is repeated. When
at last it IS heWed to ali even thick
ness, steamed and spread to the
proper width and flashed up as
neatly as an accomplished cabinet
maker could make it. A long fore
peak or Prov is cut and few round
braces about on inch and a. half in Gi-
ameter are put across near the
top to keep it spread to proper shape,
the whole is painted black with some
native paint that seems never to
change color, and the boat is ready
to be launched. The launching pro-
cess is sometimes difficult because the
best tree is taken where found. with
out reference to the water and some
times the boat has to he carried Il
long distance through tangled wood,
but as time is no object. and perfect
boat every object. no pains of this
kind is avoided. Once the boat is in
the water the owners life work is ac.
complished. He has in it a home, a
means of travel and subsistence com
bined, since by means of it all his
wants are supplied. Such thing a.
seat in it was never known Cl
thought of. An Indian has no ust
for such a convenience. He simply
sguats fashion nesr the stern
while the Kloochman, or sauaW. as
she would be called among the East.
l4A 'JIndians, takes similar comfort.
able position near the prov. and
each with short, sharp paddle fur.
nishes a share of the motive power
that drives it through the water
with surprising grace and swiftnesS
Ii a long journey is to be made, a.
in the hop-picking season. the entire
household effects, teepe, blankets
kettles. papooses and dogs are taken
aboard. The boat then becomes the
family home for the time beng.
have counted thirteen persons in one
OF these canoes at one time and there
seemed to he at lenst one dog to each
person. The older persons ply the
paddles while the children and dogs
look on. Sometimes of late years q
pair of oars is seen as part of the pro
pelling machinery, and now ant
again a sail, but usually the SlwasI
relies on his paddle and it is remark
able what rate of speed he car
maintain with it.
Arrived at the hop fields in the
n IL q