The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1899-08-20

west, for he belongs to q
race Of fisher folk, and
hence b amphibious- indeed his better half
may b termed aqueous without any great
stretch Of elther the trath or the lmasi-
nation. Very slowly IL the canoe being
supplanted, though gradually: mere and
there the white mans boat II encroaching,
cosval with the march Of the white mans
methods. the white mans implements.
and the white man himself For this rea-
con the race Of canoe builders. learned In
their cunning craft. h slowly disappearing
and II need be no caise for wonder that
the right hand OF the aborIgne II forget
ding his whiiom cunning. beth IN wood
craft and ia seacrsff
II requires little imagination 10 follow
graphically with the minds eye the evoits-
ton of the canoe. Is It not Dryden who
eays:
Some log. perhaps. upon the waters
An useless drift, which. rudeiy cut within
And hollowd. first Heating trough be-
And cross some rivTet passage did be-
gin
We can readily picture primitive man
navigating the fringe Of water bordering
the shore. his gallant craft drifting tree
81 log. and bis means OF propu.sion COM
psistng only that afforded by sticks or
vorabiy he found II advantageous TO hoist
= fragment Of brush as a SAIL We can
seasiIy imagine that he was not long in dis
covering that the paddle Was mightter than
the pole. and that II gave more speed In
return for an expenditure of less exertion;
moreover. It did not compel him to limit
his excursions TO the shallow water near
the shcre. Nor In his primitive sailing
could he have been overriding In discover
ho IL nj al
watt his log along better than brush. Hut
the log itself Vas unsea worthy and rolled
in rough water unheagabfy. To overcome
this ne split the log IN half. In order to 10
rid Of the unstable top hamper This made
such an Improvement In seaworthipess
that ne straightwsy began to hollow the
log out. not only In make II still lighter.
but also TO make room fer himself and the
fruit OF his fofays. II was. az the poet
himself very practically sings:
I'm shipping such ~ this. the Irish kern
And untaught Indian on the stream did
r.. :harp-hesrd boats to stem the Tide did
or an.a.s oars did spread from side to
The many refinements which have since
sprung into existence have all been % de-
cidedly numerous and advantageous that
today we would hardly recognise In the
slender and handsome race canoe the or
spring Of our primitive proGenlior's un-
wieidy ana unpromtsinw log.
IA cance builders the Indians OF Britain
Columbia are acknowledged TO excel ala
others among the tribes adjacent TO Puget
sonnd-at least In the making OF the large
sc-cAlled Chinook" canoe: II y from such
source thar most OF the Indians OF the
vicinity obtain their craft. either By barter
or by purchase Not that good builders do
wf&k Hal ~
Sound country. bat they do not exist a. q
distinctive class and the few Instances are
only sporadic cases HE the proverhial ex-
ccptis'ns that prove the rule. The British
Columbia Indians for soune reason do not
seem TO have adopted the methods OF civil
tsStion to quite the same extent - their
brethren on this side Of the line. They OF
the ''other side. stiil adhere 10 many.
many Of their old customs. hahtse and oc-
equations and they have not suffered them
selves to totally forget the knack OF canoe
building and the skili Of sea craft and
thus add another to the already large and
growing list of se-caiied ''lost arts" Con-
eeQuentiy their canoes are In more or less
demand and IRE. large Chinook canoes In
good condition frequently bring as high n
efaN or even more. Yet they can also be
obtained ~ very much more rsasonahe
figure, 20 that they may be classed a. nee
essities or fuxurtes 80 suits the case. II Il
IN the making Of the Chinook canoe that
the British Columbia Indians excel for the
others are made almost universally all
over Puget sound. indeed wherever an In
dams shack may dot the beach.
Some well-known authorities consider the
birch bark canoe 20 be the very highest
type of aboriginal nautical craft. bat Ia
very many Instances the canoes In com
mon use by the natives OF the Pacific
Northwest equal and Indeed often excel
n Indeed the nsreh bark canoe Is only
superior in tghsness. ease of repair
and In portability. this latter property al