Types of canoes on Puget Sound

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Types of canoes on Puget
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INDIAN NOTES
AND MONOGRAPHS

_

A SERIES OF PUBLICA-
TIONS RELATING TO THE
AMERICAN ABORIGINES

TYPES OF CANOES ON
PUGET SOUND

BY

T. T. WATERMAN

AND

GERALDINE CO

NEW YORK

MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN \pfTttAN

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1920

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INDIAN NOTES
AND MONOGRAPHS

A SERIES OF PUBLICA-
TIONS RELATING TO THE
AMERICAN ABORIGINES

TYPES OF CANOES ON
PUGET SOUND

BY

T. T. WATERMAN

AND

GERALDINE COFFIN

NEW YORK

MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN
HEYE FOUNDATION

1920

Tffls series of INDIAN NOTES AND MONO-
GRAPHS is devoted primarily to the publica-
tion of the results of studies by members of
the staff of the Museum of the American
Indian, Heye Foundation, and is uniform
with HISPANIC NOTES AND MONOGRAPHS,
published by the Hispanic Society of
America, with which organization this

in cordial cooperation.
X • V *^ " ~-~ *\ 1>"

DEC 1.6 1966

115225G

TYPES OF CANOES ON
PUGET SOUND

T. T. WATERMAN

AND

GERALDINE COFFIN

CONTENTS

PAGE

Introduction 7

Specialization of the North Pacific Canoe

into Different Models 10

Points of Interest in the Various Types. . . 14

The War Canoe : 14

The "Freight Canoe" 17

The "Trolling Canoe" . 18

The "Shovel-nose Canoe" 19

The "One-man Canoe" 21

The "Children's Canoe" 22

Native Terms for the Parts of the Canoe . . 23

Distribution of the Various Types 29

Conclusions 36

Bibliography 39

Notes 42

INDIAN NOTES

TYPES OF CANOES ON PUGET
'SOUND

BY

T. T. WATERMAN AND GERALDINE COFFIN
INTRODUCTION

T""^HE canoes and the canoe manufac-
ture of the North Pacific area
have already received a fair
amount of attention in ethno-
graphical literature.1 Many sizes and shapes
of craft are in use, most of which have not
been described in detail. All North Pacific
canoes from Mount St Elias in Alaska to
Eel river in northern California are, to
quote the Handbook,2 of a dugout type. The
area of Puget sound lies in a general way
toward the center of this region, and in this
vicinity the largest variety of canoes seems

INDIAN NOTES

8

PUGET SOUND CANOES

to be in use. Our present purpose is to

describe the types of canoes found at the

present time on Puget sound proper, and

then to outline, so far as is possible on the

basis of scanty information, the distribu-

tion of these types into other regions.

The specimens on which this discussion

is based were collected for the Museum of

the American Indian, Heye Foundation, in

the immediate vicinity of Seattle. The

native terms for the various models and for

the parts of the canoes are in the "Du-

wamish" dialect of Salish. The sounds oc-

curring in this and the other Salish dialects

spoken on the upper part of Puget sound are

represented in the following tabulation.

VOWELS

i, i u, v

e, e o, D

A

a a

i, as in machine u, as in rule

i, as in pin v, as in full

e, as in f&le o, as in note

c, as in met o, as ou in might

a, as in hat a, as in bar

A, as in but

INDIAN NOTES

I

NTRO

DUCTI

ON

9

DIPHTHONGS

ai,

as in aisle

oi,

as in boil

SEMIVOWELS

w, y,

substantially as in English

CONSONANTS

Labial- \Contin-Aff

**-

A/rica-

Stop

ized

stop\ uant

*

Lai

tii'e
lateral

H!

3 o

c

3

1

lH

3

'H
a

0

"S
•3

c

|

1

C/2 CD

—

0>

PM

CA>

c/j

fe

in

C/2

fe

Labial

P

b

p'

Dental

t

rl

f

S

ts

ts'

T.

1

tT.

tL'

Alveolar

C

tc

tc'

Palatal

k

g

£,''

kw

Velar

q

7

r'

qw

qw'

Glottal

'

V

Of these

sounds

the following

need,

for

the casual

reader,

some

explanation. Surd

I (written

L) is

an

/ produced

without

the

help of the

vocal cords'

The symbol c

has

approximately- the

value

of

sh

in

she. The

digraph

tc

is sounded

like ch in

church.

The symbols in those columns which

are

headed

"fortis"

represent exploded

or

cracked

consonants, produced with hard

pressure

of

the tongue, followed

by

an

A

ND

MO

NOGRA

P

H

S

10 PUGET SOUND CANOES

abrupt release. The sound is quite sharp,

markedly different from anything in English.

The "velar" sounds likewise seem quite

strange to English-speaking people; they

are produced by making contact between

the tongue and the back part of the palate

(the. velum). The glottal stop (') repre-

sents a catch which checks the breath in

the throat (larynx). Two sounds resem-

bling English h seem to exist, one of them

very weak, represented here by c. Su-

perior letters represent whispered or weakly

articulated sounds.

SPECIALIZATION OF THE NORTH

PACIFIC CANOE INTO DIFFERENT

MODELS

In the year 1806 Lewis and Clark noted

that the Indians on Columbia river possessed

a number of different types or models of

canoes.3 Among more recent authors,

Boas,4 Gibbs,5 Swan,6 Niblack,7 and Curtis,8

have made observations to a similar effect.

It may be relied on, therefore, that in the

whole area which lies between Columbia

river and southern Alaska, the canoe has

INDIAN NOTES

WATERMAN— CANOES

DIAGRAM REPRESENTING THE SIX TYPES OF CANOES ON PUGET

SOUND

(a, the "war canoe"; 6,.the "freight canoe;" c, the "trolling canoe"; d,
the "shovel-nose canoe"; e, the "one-man canoe"; /, the "children's canoe,"
used by children and as a knockabout.)

DIFFERENT MODELS

11

been evolved into a number of highly spe-
cialized forms. Various writers, however,
classify canoes in somewhat different ways.
Gibbs, and Lewis and Clark seem to imag-
ine that the various forms are characteristic
of different tribes. With Curtis and Nib-
lack the essential thing, in classification
seems to be a matter of size. Boas alone
has given the proper weight to differences in
form.9 On Puget sound at the present
time there are six types of canoes in use,
which are distinguished by the Indians not
on account of their size but by differences
in the shape of the hull. The variation in
shape is very wide. On these waters one
type of canoe is built for going to sea, and
the lines of the hull are designed with the
idea of enabling the craft to ride waves
without shipping water. Every inch of the
model is carefully calculated to keep it
"dry." No better craft for rough water,
by the way, has ever been devised. The
canoe rides the combers better than the
white man's boat. This was noted by
Lewis and Clark10 more than a hundred
years ago, and similar comments are made

AND MONOGRAPHS

12

PUGET SOUND CANOES

today, even by men who. follow the sea. A
second type of canoe is designed for use on
rivers and" lakes. The bow and stern of this
second model are cut off square, making the
craft very convenient for poling. In spear-
ing salmon in the streams, also, a spearsman
can ride on the extreme tip of the bow and
strike fish almost under his feet, while a
companion paddles. This canoe is of little
use in open waters. The salt-water vil-
lagers take the fish by means of nets and
traps only. Each of the types in this way
has its own particular uses. The series as a
whole is an example of high specialization
in a seafaring mode of existence.

Characteristic specimens of each of the
six types used on Puget sound are illustrated
in the accompanying diagram (pi. i). In
order to bring out differences in outline, the
drawings have been reduced to one length.

In actual practice each model of canoe is
made in a large range of sizes, a matter
which can hardly be presented in a diagram.
Specimens of model a (pi. i) exist which are,
for example, only 16 ft. long, while one other
specimen of the same model exists which

INDIAN NOTES

gg
§1

Q Ui'

DIFFERENT MODELS

13

has a length of 80 ft. Model b in the dia-
gram is usually made of fairly good size, in
the neighborhood of 22 ft. long; but there
is great variation in specimens. Model c
is always small, and model / is never very
large. We have not examined a large
enough number of canoes to make it worth
while to publish the measurements taken.
The specimens from which the drawings

^

> S

FIG. 1. — Diagram showing the outline of the "Alaska"
canoe, used by the Kwakiutl, Tsimshian, and Haida.
It is occasionally seen on Puget sound. (After a diagram
in Boas, 1909.)

were made were collected in the immediate
neighborhood of Seattle and are in the
Museum of the American Indian, Heye
Foundation.
An additional type, the great "Alaska"
canoe, called by the Salish fea&a'xod, is
sometimes seen on the sound. Such canoes
came down from the north, manned usually
by Haida from the Queen Charlotte islands,

AND MONOGRAPHS

14 PUGET SOUND CANOES

or by Nootka from the west coast of Van-

couver island; occasionally by people of

other tribes. These canoes were not used

by the Puget Sound people, and were

looked on with some curiosity. Their out-

line is shown in fig. 1 (after Boas).

POINTS OF INTEREST IN THE VARIOUS

TYPES

A.— THE "WAR CANOE" (ao'txs)

The Songish about Victoria, B. C., have

this model, which they call a'tqEs.11 Its most

characteristic features, both there and here,

are a prominent and lofty bow and stern.

These consist, on Puget sound, of separate

sections hewn out of cedar and fitted care-

fully into their places on the hull. They are

fastened there by pegs of cedar (st'A'stM,

the word now applied to nails) and lashings

of twisted cedar withes (sti'dAgw&t), and the

joint is watertight without being "pitched"

(see Swan, 1868, for the method of fitting).

Artistically, the shape of the prow strongly

suggests an animal's head, and gives the

canoe (which is exquisite in design) an air

of alertness, as though it were moving of its

INDIAN NOTES

WAR CANOE

15

own accord. From the practical standpoint
these elevated additions to the hull are de-
signed to throw aside the seas. The naked
hull without these bow and stern pieces
would soon fill in rough water. The pieces
seem so slender and inadequate that an
observer would doubt their effectiveness for
such a practical end. The answer is that
in th'e course of generations they have been
reduced to the most slender proportions
which will give the necessary protection,
and they are wonderfully effective in aid-
ing the actual navigation of the canoe.
Many Indians and whites who have followed
the sea tell us that this type of canoe ships
less water in a storm than any craft in the
world. If we are looking for a catchword,
we may call this the "ocean-going canoe."

A number of other terms have been ap-
plied to this class of vessel. A popular
term in the Northwest is the word "Chin-
ook." We find, for example, the " Chinook"
wind, the "Chinook" jargon, and "Chin-
ook" salmon. "Chinook" is also applied
by Indians and whites to the type of hull
just described, and appears in that sense

AND MONOGRAPHS

16

PUGET SOUND CANOES

in the works of Swan and Boas. The term,
bearing in mind, of course, that it is used
in a general sense and is not necessarily to
be associated with the Chinook tribe proper,
living at the mouth of the Columbia, is dis-
tinctive, and has the advantage of usage
behind it. Locally, on Puget sound, the
model goes commonly by this name. This
same type of hull is found in use by all the
tribes from Columbia river northward to
the Quatsino, living at the northern end of
Vancouver island.12 North of this area,
among the Kwakuitl and Tsimshian, Haida
and Tlingit, the sea-going canoe is different,
and is of the type illustrated in fig. 1. Nib-
lack13 and Boas14 have noted the distinction
between the sea-going canoes of the south
and those of the north, and Niblack illus-
trates it with a somewhat misleading figure.
Niblack calls this northern model the "north
coast type," while Boas styles it the "Tsim-
shian" model. The terms " Tsimshian" and
"Chinook" might well be used as catch-
words to mark the distinction between the
two varieties: one found along the coast of
Alaska and British Columbia, the other

INDIAN NOTES

o g

U 43

z5

T

FREIGHT CANOE 17

occurring on the west coast of Vancouver

island and southward as far, at least, as

Columbia river.

B— THE "FREIGHT CANOE" (sti'waL)

The freight canoe differs in several re-

spects from the foregoing. It never reaches

the great size which the first-mentionec1

type sometimes attains, though specimens

exist which are as much as 40 ft. in length.

The cutwater in this type is vertical, or

nearly so. This is the point mentioned by

the Indian informants as the characteris-

tic thing. The Songish term for this craft,

sti'uwaUatl, is translated by Boas as "having

a square bow." I can find no reason for

this peculiarity, nor advantage in it. An

extra piece of cedar is carved and fitted with

dowels on the prow of this craft also, "lift-

ing" the lines of the hull somewhat. This

piece differs greatly from the pieces fitted

on the ocean-going canoe. The stern is

' modeled out of the original log. The tip of

the prow is shaped into a "notch" resemb-

ling an open mouth. This type of canoe is

used for journeys with household posses-

AND MONOGRAPHS

18

PUGET SOUND CANOES

sions in quiet waters. In a storm it is not

particularly safe.

C.— THE "TROLLING CANOE" (sdA'xiciL)

This craft has a very narrow hull, and

the bow has more lift than in the preceding

model.15 Specimens of this type are usu-

ally relatively small, designed to carry only

two or three men. This was the vessel

used for hunting, for harpooning porpoise

and otter, and in trolling for fish. The

model exhibits some elegance of design.

We may perhaps follow Boas in calling this

craft the fishing or trolling canoe. A very

large canoe of this model was called

sdkrwi'lus. For hunting the porpoise a very

swift canoe was needed, for the animal was

alert, and hard to harpoon. Boas gives a

complete account of the pursuit, as carried

on by the Kwakiutl. The term for por-

poise-hunting on Puget sound is ca'sab.

The canoe intended for this purpose was

called casa'bhwlL. It was of the type being

discussed, but a fine, "clear" model and had

to be fast.

INDIAN NOTES

SHOVEL-NOSE CANOE 19

D. — THE " SHOVEL-NOSE CANOE" (tL'ai)

This type of canoe is called the "shovel-
nose" because it is cut off square at bow and
stern and the hull scoops forward like a
shovel. The Songish visited by Boas have
the same term, trial, but the model pictured
by Boas has a configuration somewhat dif-
ferent in certain details from the Puget Sound
specimens seen. On the sound, the boat
is hewn from one piece, while the Songish
are said to add on the flattened end in the
form of a separate plank. In spite of its
shape the "shovel-nose" is in appearance
anything but clumsy. It is excellently de-
signed for a special purpose. A man may
stand at the tip-end of bow or stern, and
push with a pole, in shallow water. The
people also who live up the rivers depend
on this type of canoe for the spearing of
salmon. When the fish are running in the
rivers, one man paddles in the stern while
a companion stands at ease out on the
extreme end cf the prow, with his spear
poised ready for fish. His position there
is ideal for striking salmon, since he lunges

AND MONOGRAPHS

20 PUGET SOUND CANOES

i

at fish almost .directly under his feet. The
bow-end of this boat is more slender than
the stern. This type of boat is useful only
in quiet waters. A characteristic piece of
equipment is the canoe pole, he'^qalsid.
Such a canoe is fine for sandbanks and shoals
where the heavy Chinook type, with its
features designed for protection against
waves, is largely useless. Far up the rivers
no canoes other than the shovel-nose
are seen. The "salt-water" people, or
"xwaldja'bc" relate with amusement that
"forest-dwellers," or La'labi™, that is, the
people living up the rivers, have only one
word for canoe. "If it is a sd^'xwiL, or if
it is a sti'waL, or even if it is a big ao'txs,
they call it a 'shovel-nose,' just the same."

Some of these "fresh-water" Indians some
years ago came voyaging down to Port
Washington inlet, near the navy yard at
Bremerton, in a shovel-nose canoe. In try-
ing to negotiate the channel during a breeze
and a change of tide, their canoe, which was
not designed for such operations, filled and
sank under their feet, and they lost their
lives.

INDIAN NOTES

ONE-MAN CANOE

]•:.— THE " ONE-MAN CANOE" (di'fmL)

This is a very diminutive vessel, the
smallest of all the Northwestern canoes.
The term is grammatically the diminutive
of sdk'wiL (c in the diagram, pi. i). Never-
theless, as a glance at the drawing will show,
its hull differs somewhat in shape from that
of its larger namesake. The di'twii will
carry only onf, person; but it is often very
beautifully made. Specimens capsize very
easily, but so long as they remain right-side
up, they may be driven at high speed, and
are light enough to be easily lifted and car-
ried from place to place. They were used
for fishing, and, following the introduction
of firearms, for hunting ducks. Firing a
shotgun over the side, however, turns the
craft over. Bow and stern are finished off
with very small carved pieces, which are set
in place with the usual cedar pegs, and the
bow carries the "notch" characteristic of the
larger type. The canoe is rigged with
thwarts, but the huntsman sits, not on these,
but flat on the bottom of the boat. We may
perhaps speak of this type as "the onev
man canoe."

AND MONOGRAPHS

22

PUGET SOUND CANOES

F— THE "CHILDREN'S CANOE" (qe'lbid)

The canoe pointed out under this name

is a "double-ended" type. The Indians

describe it as a craft with two sterns. Its

ends, which are identical in shape, are

finished off to resemble the stern of the big

war-canoe shown in pi. i, a. This craft,

while not of great length, is very heavy,

since the sides are relatively thick, and it is

also very wide in the beam. It was used

for the commonest purposes. Children got

their first knowledge of the handling of

canoes by "practising" with it. While the

sides are not adzed down to the thinness

which characterizes the hunter's craft, the

vessel is nevertheless well designed in its

own way and is much lighter and more

manageable than a white-man's boat. It is

worth noting that the word qe'lbid, given as

the term for this type of boat, is the general

word for canoe. The term dlq'e'dwlL was

also applied to this type. We may perhaps

speak of this form of craft as the "children's

canoe."

i

INDIAN NOTES

O w>

< 2

_ o

II

-J 'S
U .u

0 i

1 u
CO u-

NATIVE TERMS

NATIVE TERMS FOR THE PARTS OF
THE CANOE

1. Bow, cedst.

2. Stern, i'laaq.

3. Side, sila'lgwil.

A steam vessel is called u'dalgidl,
"burning sides."

4. Gunwale, sb&tctca'lgwil.

5. Additional piece or section, hewn out
separately, set on the bow, and fastened in
place with pegs and lashing of twisted cedar,

stl'a'lu.

It is fastened in place with dowels or
pegs of cedar (No. 6), and lashings of
twisted cedar-twigs (No. 7) .

6. Dowels or pegs used as above,

This word is now used for iron nails.

7. Cedar withes, sti'dagwkt.

Used in fastening on the bow and stern
sections, and in closing up cracks.

8. Stern-piece, stL'a'lal&p.

Seated in place like the bow-piece,
mentioned above.

On the Exterior of the Hull

9. Narrow piece projecting forward at
the tip of the prow,

AND MONOGRAPHS

24 PUGETSOUNDCANOES

The shape of the fonvard part of the
bow-piece strongly suggests the head of
some living creature. The projection
would correspond to a snout or beak.
The Indians say the resemblance is
accidental.

10. A knob or projection on the neck of
the canoe, about two feet below the pre-
ceding feature, Ua'lgwcf.

This word means "navel." The Ma-
kah call this projection the boat's uvula.

11. Ornamentation consisting of parallel
lines, incised with a special tool, like a
reamer, on the side of the neck, astci't'absub.

This is incised with a special tool, in
the old days made of flint, resembling a
reamer. This ornamentation is found
also on the top surface of the bow-piece.

12. Curved line of the prow, cli'bus.

13. Cutwater, tL'kwa'ps&b.

14. A bulge or raised strip at the gunwale,
stLaa'gw&p.

A corresponding excavation on the
inside of the hull is mentioned below (No.
23).

15. Bottom, s'a'tskp.

16. Where the bottom turns up toward
the gunwale to form the sides, cAxdts'a'ladi.

17. Sharp blade or half -keel, under the
canoe's forefoot, st\tci'lnt.

INDIAN NOTES

NATIVE TERMS

25

This acts as a "muffler." It cuts into

the waves as the canoe forges ahead,

without splashing. The canoe moves

silently.

18. Forward extremity of the half-keel,

s'ilqs.

On the Interior of the Hull

19. Interior of the canoe, xuxta'ts.

20. Where the bottom turns up to form

the sides, wUa'ladiL.

21. Offset where the canoe widens at the

gunwale, stpu'tsid.

This corresponds to the s'Laa'gicAp

(No. 14 above).

22. Side of the canoe, i'lalgwiL.

23. Trench leading sternward from the

tip of the prow, sxwo'qbus.

24. Vertical line of the hull at the stern,

stLkwa'-lap.

Additional Fittings

25. Thwarts, cxahvi'ld.

These are round poles instead of flat

benches, as in the canoes of Alaska and

in our own boats. When on a trip the

Indians pad them with an old mat,

folded.

AND MONOGRAPHS

26

PUGET SOUND CANOES

26. Withes of twisted cedar limbs, which

fasten the thwarts, cli'dclidgAs.

They are rove through a perforation

in the thwart, and then through perfor-

ations in the side of the boat. Similar

withes are used for mending cracks and

in fastening the bow and stern sections

in place (see No. 7 above). The present

word refers to the way in which they

are manipulated in fastening thwarts in

place.

27. Strip of wood a^ong the gunwale,

stL'a'lalgWLL.

This is pegged to the top surface of

the gunwale, to where the paddles rub,

to prevent the sides of the canoe from

being worn.

28. Painter, or boat rope, LAdgwi'lad.

Used for mooring the boat, or anchor-

ing it.

29. Crack in the hull, actc&'x.

30. Knot-hole, stc'a'ctalus (knot, stcact).

31. "Patched place," stkka'lgwa.

When the side of a canoe is broken, a

section is cut out bodily, a piece of plank

being carefully shaped to fit in the space.

This plank is fastened in place with

cedar pegs and by " sewing" with cedar

withes.

32. A "long patch," sApp'a'tsgwiL.

This term refers to a place where a

longitudinal crack in the bottom of the

INDIAN NOTES

i

i

NATIVE TERMS

27

hull has been closed by stitching it up

with cedar withes.

33. Holes bored in making the canoe, to

test the thickness of the sides, itdtc\'stAd.

These holes are later closed by plugging
them with round pegs of maple, which

swells greatly on being wet.

34. Mast, xputdale (cf. pu'td, sail).

Informants insist that masts and sails

are aboriginal. Vancouver, writing in

1792, says they are not.

35. Step or socket for the mast, tcugwa-

Ca'gwAp.

36. Sail, pu'tid.

This was a "square" sail, of checker-

work matting, and was hoisted only when

the breeze happened to come directly

over the stern.

37. Upper yard, taLa'Lqud.

38. Lower yard, tLi'd&p.

39. Paddle, xobt.

Terms of Direction

40. Ahead, tudzi'q™.

41. Astern, tuxula'q™.

42. Starboard, or right side, dzaha'lgwisa-

43. Port, or left side, kala'lgwisap&p.

. 44. Forward, tuca'dst (cf. ctdst, bow).

AND MONOGRAPHS

28

PUGET SOUND CANOES

45. Aft, tue'laq (cf. i'laaq, stern).

46. Amidships, o'dugwiL.

Linguistically there is evident similarly

between certain of the words in this list, as

shown by the following groups:

(5) Bow-piece, stL'a'lu.

(8) Stern-piece, stL'a'lalAp.

(13) Cutwater, tL'kwa'pskb (cf. especial-

ly No. 26 below).

(14) Raised strip along gunwale, stLaa'-

gw&p.

(24) Vertical line at stern, stLkwa'-lap.

(27) Strip pegged to gunwale, stL'a'lalgwiL

(6) Dowels, or pegs, st'k'stkd.

(33) Holes bored to test the thickness of

the hull, udtc\'stbd.

One is inclined to suspect the presence of

a common suffix in the following cases:

(12) Curved line of the prow, cli'bus.

(23) Trench leading backward from the

prow, sxwo'qbus.

The presence of a suffix is obvious in the

following cases:

(3) Side, sila'lgwil.

INDIAN NOTES

DISTRIBUTION

29

(4) Gunwale, sbAtclea'lgwil.

(22) Side of the canoe (interior), I'lalgwiL.

(31) Section of plank used as a patch,

st&ka'lgwiL.

(32) Closing of a crack by sewing,

sApp'a'tsgwiL.

(11) Ornamental lines, astci't'dbsub'.

(13) Cutwater, tL'kwa'ps^b.

(15) Bottom, s'a'ts&p.

Analysis of these expressions is not pos-

sible at the present time.

The terms in the above list apply espe-

cially to the sea-going canoe. Similar words

are applied to the other types of canoes,

except where the corresponding parts are

missing.

The notch at the bow of the trolling canoe

is simply called qa'dxu, "notch."

DISTRIBUTION OF THE VARIOUS TYPES

A situation with many points of interest

exists in regard to the distribution of these

forms of canoes. For example, on Puget

sound we have the six types of dugout canoes,

which have been described; in northern Cali-

AND MONOGRAPHS

i

30

PUGET SOUND CANOES

fornia we have only one. The question at
once suggests itself, How far southward along
the Pacific coast does the use of six types
of canoes extend? And, again, as we
travel southward, do all six of the Puget
Sound types disappear from use at once,
being replaced by new types of craft, or are
certain of these Puget Sound types more
widely distributed than the others? The
last question, I think, is the more easily
answered. The single type which is used
on Klamath river and on Humboldt bay in
northern California is probably a modifica-
tion of one of the types used on Puget
sound — the "shovel-nose" model described
above (pi. I, d). The appended diagram
(pi. n) shows these two craft side by side.
There seems to be in a general way a marked
similarity in these canoes. They are both
dugouts, of a "square-ended" type, and in
each case the model has reached a high
degree of refinement. There is a skilful
"pinching-in" of the lines of the craft
toward the ends, and also a very graceful
"lift" of the bottom at bow and stern. It
may be asserted from experience that both

INDIAN NOTES

DISTRIBUTION

craft are very light and easily handled. The
California canoe has no gunwale-strips,16 and,
moreover, it has in the stern some foot-
braces and a seat, hewn in one piece with
the hull, which are absent in the Puget
Sound boat. The California boat, on the
other hand, has no thwarts. The most
striking difference, however, is that the
bow and the stern of the California craft
are crowned up into a peak, and the bow
s further graced with a removable carven
ornament, shaped like an inverted V. These
differences seem superficial and underneath
them the present writers see almost iden-
tical lines in the two vessels.

So much for the general resemblance.
The facts of distribution make the idea of
relationship much more plausible. It is
worthy of remark that in California south
of Humboldt bay there are no dugout canoes
at all. Northward, however, dugouts are in
use among all tribes as far as Puget sound.
Moreover, in the case of some, at least, of the
intervening tribes the shovel-nose or square-
ended type of dugout occurs. This is true
of the tribes about Klamath lake, for in-

AND MONOGRAPHS

32

PUGET SOUND CANOES

stance, as shown by a specimen of their
canoes collected by Dr Barrett, now in the
Museum of the University of California.
Information on this point is unsatisfactory,
for in this intervening area few observers
have taken the pains to note in detail what
kinds of canoes were used. This is true of
much of Oregon, even on the coast. Van-
couver says of the Indians of Port Orford
that "their canoes, calculated to carry
about eight people, were rudely wrought
out of a single tree; their shape much re-
sembled a butcher's tray, and seemed very
unfit for a sea voyage or any distant expedi-
tion."17 This seems almost certainly to indi-
cate that he saw craft of a shovel-nose
type. We can find few other statements on
this matter, in the literature. On Columbia
river, as shown by the statements of Boas,18
on the coast of Washington as illustrated by
the photographs of Curtis,19 on Puget
sound and northward to an unknown dis-
tance, as observed by the present writers,
shovel-nose canoes are in general use. The
bare facts, as we have them, seem to be
most readily explained on the assumption

INDIAN NOTES

DISTRIBUTION 33

that one type of dugout canoe, of wide dis-
tribution on the North Pacific, has spread
also as far south as the Yurok and neigh-
boring tribes in northern California. The
increased complexity of the design as found
among the Yurok and their neighbors, as
shown especially in the ornamentation, is
possibly explainable by the fact that these
tribes exhibit a distinctly higher culture in
many respects than do their neighbors to the
south, the east, or the north. For some ,
reason, in the region about the mouth of'
Klamath river a secondary center of high
culture has developed. It is not unlikely
that this has produced the peculiar traits of
their canoe.

It is noticeable also that there seems to
be a gradual modification of all types of
canoes as we move southward toward Cali-
fornia. On Puget sound, five canoes out of
six show a lift in the gunwales toward bow
and stern. On the coast south of the Straits
of Juan de Fuca, as shown by the photo-
graphs of Curtis,20 canoes other than the
shovel-nose have an abrupt "raise" at the
prow, but amidships and at the stern they

AND MONOGRAPHS

34

PUGET SOUND CANOES

are "flush," the gunwales forming a straight
horizontal line. Apparently this arrange-
ment might be considered as an approach
to the California type of canoe, where the
gunwales are perfectly flat, without any
lift at either end.

If our inference is correct, it is apparent
that, as we travel southward from Columbia
river, five of the North Pacific types become
modified and finally cease to be used. It
has not been possible to find any evidence
in the literature that indicates the point
where the distribution of any of these models
ceases.

The use of dugout canoes extends, of
course, up the rivers which flow toward the
Northwest coast. Thus the Wishram at the
falls of the Columbia use the "Chinook"
model described in the present paper, and
other dugout models besides. George Gibbs
stated that the shovel-nose type is the only
one used on the Columbia above The
Dalles.21 Curtis has one picture of a dug-
out canoe used by the Nez Perces.22 It is of
the shovel-nose type (though shockingly
clumsy, heavy, and ill-made — merely a log

INDIAN NOTES

DISTRIBUTION

roughly shaped and somewhat hollowed
out). Chamberlain states23 that the Koo-
tenay have a dugout type of craft, of what
shape we do not know. It seems to be
impossible to trace in detail the distribu-
tion of the shovel-nose in this direction
on the basis of any material now in print.
We may speak with certainty, therefore,
only of the region immediately about
Seattle, where the present authors have had
a chance to make observations. In this
vicinity the only type of canoe used on the
upper courses of the streams is the shovel-
nose.

Concerning the distribution, in a north-
erly direction, of these types of canoes, little
can be said at the present time. As re-
marked above, the Kwakiutl use in place
of the ao'txs, a great sea-going canoe of
somewhat different and more complicated
model, and much more elaborately orna-
mented.

The evolution of canoes probably took
place among the people somewhat north-
ward of Puget Sound peoples, whose general
level of culture is higher. Going southward

AND MONOGRAPHS

36

PUGETSOUND CANOES

from the Kwakiutl, say, canoes are steadily

less and less specialized, until we come to the

tribes of northern California with their one

model. South of the California tribes just

mentioned, these influences are not appar-

ent at all. Concerning the canoes of the

coast north of the Kwakiutl, we can get at

the present time no information. It is not

known whether several types are in use, or

only one. The pictures of Curtis, which

might tell the story, are not nearly so useful

as they are in other cases, since he photo-

graphed very few canoes in this area; possibly

because he found so much else to picture.

CONCLUSIONS

The situation as regards canoes in the

area under discussion may be essentially

like that respecting types of pottery in the

Southwest, as presented by Nelson.24 He

has shown in a most interesting way that

the archaic types of pottery arc also the

types with the widest distribution. As we

pass from center to periphery of the cul-

tural region which he discusses, we en-

counter tvpes of pottery which are more

INDIAN NOTES

CONCLUSIONS

37

and more primitive. One striking differ-
ence between Nelson's problem and the
present one is that a great mass of evidence
has been assembled in the Southwest, while i
in regard to 'canoes on the Northwest coast
the data are largely lacking. Another dif- !
ference is that Nelson carried out extensive
investigations in the field, while the present
discussion is based largely on scattered ref-
erences in the literature. Nelson's conclu-
sions, to be brief, are based on knowledge
and facts, while our own must be in the last
degree inferential.

The idea seems plausible, however, that
the original type of canoe on the Northwest
coast was the shovel-nose. Several con-
| siderations point in this direction. The
shovel-nose is the simplest model. This
raises a logical presumption that it may
well be the oldest. It is associated with
rivers, being of use only in streams and
other quiet water. This also suggests that
it may represent an early type. It may be
regarded as certain that the first man or
the first group who experimented with navi-
gation on the North Pacific coast, experi-

AND MONOGRAPHS

38

PUGET SOUND CANOES

mented on the rivers, and not on the high
seas. This would seem to imply that the
river craft would be the first to reach per-
fection. The sea-going "Chinook" type,
and models showing points of similarity to
it, are in all human probability later in
origin. When we consider the distribution
of the various types of canoes, we emerge
for a moment from the jungle of speculation
into the field of evidence, though that evi-
dence is scanty. It is a fact that the shovel-
nose type of canoe is of wider distribution
than the other types. It is the only type
found in the marginal regions to the east
and south of the area of typical North
Pacific Coast culture. Thus is raised the
presumption that it represents an older
type of craft than do the other models.

The connection between northern Cali-
fornia and the North Pacific area, which
seems to be exemplified in the distribution of
dugout canoes, is also a matter of some im-
portance. Ultimately it will doubtless be
proved by a careful comparison, in the two
areas, of houses, geographical notions,
monev and financial institutions, and other

INDIAN NOTES

BIBLIOGRAPHY

39

matters, that the mode of life of the tribes

in extreme northern California is a direct

offshoot of the type of culture found in the

Northwest.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOAS, FRANZ

1889 First general report on the Indians of

British Columbia. In Report of the

Committee appointed for the purpose

of investigating . . . the north-

western tribes of the Dominion of

Canada. Report of the Fifty -ninth

meeting of the British Association for

the Advancement of Science, held . . .

in . . . 1889, pp. 801-803. [Deals

with the Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian,

and Kootenay.]

1890 Second general report on the Indians

of British Columbia. Same series as

above. Report of the Sixtieth meeting,

held . . . in . . . 1890, pp. 562-715.

[Deals with the Nootka, Salish, and

Kwakiutl.]

1895 Fifth report on the Indians of British

Columbia. Same series as above.

Report of the Sixty- fifth meeting, held

. in 1895 pp 5^3-592

[Deals with the Tinneh of Nicola valley,
Ts'Ets'a'ut, and Nisk-a of Nass river.]

1 896 Sixth report on the Indians of British

Columbia. Same series as above.

Report of the Sixty-sixth meeting, held

AND MONOGRAPHS

40

PUGET SOUND CANOES

. . . in . . . JX96, pp. 569-591. [Deals
with the Kwakiutl and Tsimshian.]

1909 The Kwakiutl of Vancouver island.
Memoirs of the American Museum of
Natural History, vol. vin, pt. 2 (reprint
from Publications of the Jesup North
Pacific Expedition, vol. v, pt. 2).
CHAMBERLAIN. A. F.

1892 Report on the Kootenay Indians of
southeastern British Columbia. In
Report of the Committee appointed to
investigate . . . the northwestern
tribes of the Dominion of Canada.
Report of the Sixty-second meeting of
the British Association for the Advance-
ment of Science held . . . in ... 1892,
pp. 549-615.
COOK, JAMES

1784 A voyage to the Pacific ocean

for making discoveries in the northern
hemisphere . . . performed by Cap-
tains Cook, Clarke, and Gore, in his
Majesty's ship the Resolution and
Discovery, in the years 1776, 1777.
1778, 1779 and 1780. In three vol-
umes (London).
CURTT?, EDWARD S.

1907-1916 The North American Indian
. . . being a series of volumes picturing
and describing the Indians of the
United States and Alaska. In twenty
volumes. [Eleven volumes published
up to the present time.]
GIBBS, GEORGE

1855 Report on the Indian tribes of the

INDIAN NOTES

BIBLIOGRAPHY

41

Territory of Washington. Pacific Rail-
road Report, vol. i, pp. 402-436,
Washington, D. C.

1877 Tribes of western Washington and
northwestern Oregon. Department of
the Interior, U. S. Geographical and
Geological Survey of the Rocky Moun-
tain Region. Contributions to North
American Ethnologv, vol. i, pp. 103-
241.

LEWIS, ALBERT BUELL

1906 Tribes of the Columbia valley and the
coast of Oregon and Washington.
Memoirs of the American Anthropologi-
cal Association, vol. i, pt. 2.

LEWIS and CLARK

1904 Original Journals of the Lewis and
Clark expedition, 1804-1806, printed
from the original manuscript . . .
Edited ... by Reuben Gold
Thwaites, New York .

NELSON, N. C.

1919 Human Culture. Natural History,
New York, vol. xix, no. 2, pp. 131-140.

NIBLACK, A. P.

1890 The Coast Indians of southern Alaska
and northern British Columbia.
Smithsonian Institution, Report of the
U. S. National Museum for 1888,
Washington.

SWAN, JAMES G.

1857 The Northwest coast; or. Three years
residence in Washington Territory.
New York. (Harper.)
1868 The Indians of Cape Flattery at the

AND MONOGRAPHS

42

PUGET SOUND CANOES

entrance to the Strait of Fuca, Wash-

ington Territory. Smithsonian Insti-

tution, Contributions to Knowledge, No.

220.

VANCOUVER, GEORGE

1798 A voyage of discovery to the North

Pacific ocean and round the world

. . . performed in the years 1791-

1792, 1793, 1794, and 1795 in the Dis

covery Sloop-of-War, and the armed

tender Chatham . . . In three volumes

London.

NOTES

1. Boas, 1888, 1890, 1905-1909; Swan, 1868;

Niblack, 1890; Gibbs, 1855; Curtis, 1907-1916;

vols. vm-xi and folios. Of the earlier authors;

Cook, 1784, vol. n, p. 327; Vancouver, 1798;

and Lewis and Clark, 1904, vol. iv, give valu-

able data. For references, see the bibliography.

2. Smithsonian Institution, Bureau of Amer-

ican Ethnology, Bulletin 30.

3. 1904, vol. w, pp. 31,35.

4. 1889, p. 817; 1890, pp. 565, 566; also a

remark quoted by A. B. Lewis, 1906, p. 163.

5. 1855, p. 430; 1877, p. 216.

6. 1857. DD. 79, 80.

7. 1890, p. 294.

8. 1907-1916, vol. ix. D. 60.

9. See especially 1890, p. 817, with figures.

10. 1904, p. 30.

11. Boas, 1890, p. 566.

12. Boas, 1890, p. 566; see also Curtis,
1907-1916, vol. x, Folio, pi. 345.

13. 1890, p. 295.

INDIAN NOTES

NOTES

43

14. 1889, p. 817.
15. The corresponding class of craft is called
snE'quatl among the Songish, and is styled by
Boas the "small fishing canoe."
16. See above, p. 26.
17. 1798, vol. i, p. 204.
18. Quoted by A. B. Lewis, 1906, p. 163, as
noted above.
19. 1907-1916, vol. vm.
20. For example, 1907-1916, vol. ix, p. 98.
21. 1877, p. 215.
22. 1907-1916, vol. vm, p. 46.
23. 1892, p. 566.
24. 1919, pp. 113-136.

AND MONOGRAPHS

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