..... HAIDA CULTURE CHANGE: A GEOGRAPHICAL ANALYSIS Dissertation for the Degree of Ph. D. .MiCHiGAN STATE umveasm JOHN R.HENDER30N . 1972 - 31293001120 LIBRARY Ililliiiil'iiiiiiiiiiiliflm Michigan State University This is to certify that the thesis entitled "Haida Cultural Change: A Geographicel t Analysis". presented by Mr. John R. Henderson has been accepted towards fulfillment ' of the requirenients for Ph.D. degreein Geography ’ n ,1. ‘ 51$th 1? I Date 'August 10: 1972 0—7639 ABSTRACT HAIDA CULTURE CHANGE: A GEOGRAPHICAL ANALYSIS By John R. Henderson This study concerns the impact of European contacts on the spatial organization, man-environment relationship, and material culture of the Haida Indians of the Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia. The study attempts (I) to describe differing types and intensities of Euro- pean contact, (2) to illustrate the processes of spatial reorganization, (3) to document the rapid alteration of the Haida material culture, (A) to investigate European attempts to change the basic relationship of the Haida to their en- vironment, and (5) to examine the forces which have caused the economic diversity in the remaining Haida villages. Between 1774 and 1840 EurOpean contacts were based on the fur trade. These contacts were sporadic and ephem- eral. British and later American traders visited the Queen Charlotte Islands to exchange manufactured goods for sea otter pelts. Traders brought liquor and smallpox which caused rapid population decline. Of the estimated nearly John R. Henderson 10,000 Haida in 1774 only approximately 6,600 remained by 18A0. During the 1830's the Hudson's Bay Company intro- duced agriculture to the Haida in order to provide a ready food supply for the sea otter hunters. However, this ag— ricultural experiment failed. During the fur trade era many "totem poles" were erected in the Haida villages. The era between 18A0, the end of the fur trade, and 1876, the coming of the missionary, was characterized by a mining boom and continued population decline. Strikes of gold, copper, and coal brought a tide of fortune seekers. Although the hopes of riches soon faded, the Queen Charlotte Islands became known as a potential mission field. Smallpox epidemics spread through the Islands in the early 1860's reducing the population to an estimated N,A00. Concomitant with the depopulation was the abandonment of villages and migration to new sites or other established villages. In 1840 the Haida occupied thirty—four villages; by 1876 only eleven remained. During the mining era the Haida reverted to an economy based on a seasonal cycle of fishing, hunting, and gathering. The totem poles, during this period, reached their zenith in both size and complexity. The missionary period, between 1876 and 1920, was ‘the time of marked changes in spatial organization, man- enovironment relationship, and material culture. The popu- lation declined to under 600 in 1915 before starting a John R. Henderson gradual upswing. Village abandonment and migration con- tinued until only two villages remained. The missionaries and Canadian Government reinstated agriculture and intro— duced industry into the Haida economy, thus ending any vestige of the traditional seasonal cycle of activities. Under direct influence from the missionaries, the totem poles were removed and the traditional extended family lodges were replaced with single family dwellings. The period from 1920 to 1969 was characterized by a gradual population growth, a return to more traditional eco- nomic pursuits, and a growing economic disparity between two remaining villages. Agriculture was quickly abandoned in favor of fishing and logging. In most instances the seasonal movement was replaced by a daily Journey to work. With the exception of two totem poles and some headstone sculpture, no visible manifestations of the Haida culture remain in the villages. HAIDA CULTURE CHANGE: A GEOGRAPHICAL ANALYSIS By John R. Henderson A DISSERTATION Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Geography 1972 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The completion of this dissertation is the result of a long association with many individuals who aided in its writing. Dr. Daniel Jacobson, Doctoral Committee Chairman, guided this research from its inception. His enthusiasm, encouragement, and good humor throughout the duration of this study is deeply appreciated. I am also indebted to the other members of the committee, Dr. Gary Manson, Dr. Robert Thomas, and Dr. Ian Matley for their support. Many persons helped me during the fieldwork stages of the research. I thank the staff of the Provincial Ar- chives of British Columbia, Victoria7for their interest and untiring help with documentary research, and Rev. A. R. Kreager of Masset for establishing contacts for me in that village. A special word of thanks is given to Rev. and Mrs. Harold Black of Skidegate and Mr. and Mrs. Joe Weir of Masset for taking me into their homes, and to the residents of Masset and Skidegate with whom I visited during my stays on the Queen Charlotte Islands. To my wife, Ann, I owe special appreciation for accompanying me during the first field season, for providing 11 a listening ear, and for her encouragement and help with all aspects of the research and writing of this dissertation. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ii LIST OF TABLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 The Problem 2 Previous Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Field Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . A Explanation of Chapters 5 7 II. THE HABITAT . . Physiography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Geology . . . . . . . . . . . .-. . . . . 12 Climate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Weather Stations . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Temperature Regime . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Precipitation . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Winds . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Climate of Interior. . . . . . . . . . . 20 Flora . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Forest Communities . . . . . . . . . . 23 Meadow Forest Communities . . . . . . . 24 Closed Forest Community . . . . . . . . 25 Montane Communities . . . . . . . . . . 25 III. THE CONTACT CULTURE AND THE FUR TRADE . . . 27 Early Exploration . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Naming the Land . . . . . . . 29 Population and Settlement Pattern . . . . 29 Material Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 iv CHAPTER Page III. (Continued) Technology and Economy . . . . . . . . . . 33 Canoes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Weaving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Skins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Dress of Haida at Time of Contact . . . A0 Subsistence Activity . . . . . . . . . . A0 Subsistence Technology . . . . . . . . . A3 Trade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . AA Social Organization . . . . . . . . . . . A5 Wealth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A7 Warfare . . . . . . . . . . . . A9 Fur Trade, 1787-18A0 . . . . . . . . A9 Impact on Spatial Characteristics . . . . 53 Impact on Material Culture . . . . . . . . 55 Man-Land Relationships . . . . . . . . . . 55 Summary of Fur Trade Era . . . . . . . . . 56 IV. THE ERA OF MINES AND MIGRATIONS 18A0-1876 . 57 Mining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Gold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Copper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Coal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Resistance to the Europeans . . . . . . . 62 Changes in Spatial Organization . . . . . 6A On to Victoria . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 Spatial Organization . . . . . . . . . . . 68 Haida Land Question . . . . . . . . . 7A Material Culture, 18A0— 1876 . . . . . . . 75 Man- Land Relationship . . . . . . . . . . 77 V. THE COMING OF THE MISSIONARY 1876-1920 . . . 81 A Mission to Masset . . . . . . . . . . . 82 A Mission to Skidegate . . . . . . . . . . 87 A Mission to New Gold Harbor . . . . . . . 88 A Mission at New Klew . . . . . . . . . . 89 Other Canadian Settlers . . . . . . . 90 Spatial Organization, 1876- 1920 . . . . . 9O Migration Pattern, 1876- 1897 . . . . . . 95 Impact of Mission Period on Material Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 House Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 Totem Poles. Their Demise . . . . . . . 102 CHAPTER V. (Continued) The Impact of the Missions on the Haida Economy . . . Alteration of the Seasonal Cycle Agriculture as a Way of Life Industrial Development Commercial Lumbering . Transportation, 1876-1920 The Land Grab . . . . VI. HAIDA IN A COMMERCIAL SOCIETY 1920-1969 Spatial Organization Seasonal Cycle Transportation The Contemporary Materiai Culture Houses . . . . . The Cemetery: an Indian Landscape Contemporary Economy . Economy of Contemporary Masset Logging . Boat Building Economy of Skidegate. Logging . . Fishing Boat Building and Handicrafts Diet . . . . . . . Seasonal Cycle The Land Question VII. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS . Spatial Organization 177A-1969 . Man—Environment Relationship ' Seasonal Cycle . . The Material Culture Epilogue APPENDIX A APPENDIX B WORKS CITED vi Page 10A 105 106 108 11A 116 117 126 126 129 130 133 135 138 1A0 1A3 1A5 1A8 1A8 151 153 153 158 159 160 162 162 166 168 168 171 172 17A 176 Table ll. 12. 13. 1A. LIST OF TABLES Weather Stations Average Number of Days of Measurable Precipitation Number of Ships in Waters Around the Queen Charlotte Islands . . Ransom Goods Haida Population Ca. 18A0 Migration 1830-1875 Population Estimate 188A Calculated Population 1870 Haida Population 1889-1900 Haida Age Distribution Total Income 1917-1919 Haida Reserves 1916 Haida Population on Reserves Employment Summary vii Page 1A 19 63 65 73 91 92 93 9A 109 120 127 156 Figure l. \OCDNOUW 10. 11. 12. 13. 1A. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Page Queen Charlotte Islands . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Physiography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Skidegate Inlet and Maude Island . . . . . . 10 Mean Temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Monthly Rainfall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Plant Communities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Coastal Dune Forest Near Masset . . . . . . . 2A Permanent Villages Circa 177A . . . . . . . 31 Haida House at Cumshewa Circa 1880 . . . . . 32 Seasonal Cycle Circa 177A . . . . . . . . . . A3 Haida Migration 1830-1875 . . . . . . . . . . 72 Village of Cumshewa . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 House Frame at Skidegate . . . . . . . . . . 76 Skidegate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 Haida Migration 1876-1897 . . . . . . . . . . 96 Yan Circa 1880 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 Masset Circa 1880 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 Skidegate 1901 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 Masset Circa 1918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102 Totem Pole, Skidegate, 1968 . . . . . . . . . 105 Skidegate Oil Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 viii Figure 3 Page 22. Haida Land Reserves, 1916 . . . . . . . . . . 12A 23. Population Age Profile 1968 . . . . . . . . . 129 2A. Plank Road . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132 25. Skidegate, 1969 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13A 26. New Housing, Masset . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136 27. Haida Homes, Skidegate, 1968 . . . . . . . . 137 28. Alfred Adams Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138 29. Headstone Carving - Masset. . . . . . . . . . 139 30. Headstone Carving - Masset . . . . . . . . . 139 31. Queen Charlotte Cannery, New Masset . . . . . 1AA 32. Dismantled Boat House, Masset, 1969 . . . . . 1A9 33. Boat House, Masset 1968 . . . . . . . . . . . 150 3A. Remains of the Skidegate Oilery . . . . . . . 151 35. Skidegate Fishing Fleet . . . . . . . . . . . 15A 36. Seasonal Cycle Circa 1920-1935 . . . . . . . 159 37. Seasonal Cycles 177A-1969 . . . . . . . . . . 169 ix CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION The North Pacific coast, a narrow strip of land be- tween mountain and sea, stretches from the Olympic Pen- insula northward through the Alaska panhandle. Knowledge of this coast, in terms of recorded history, is quite recent. Only two hundred years have elapsed since Captain Cook sailed these waters. His description and those of others who followed conjure images of mists and forests, of islands and inlets, and of strange natives in swift canoes. Behind the images are places with strange names like Bella Coola, Kitkatla, Metlakatla or Skidegate, and histories connecting images with reality, past with present. It is about such a place and such a history that this study is written. The place is the Queen Charlotte Islands, and the events concern its native inhabitants, the Haida Indians, and the Europeans who came to influence them. Explorers' Journals recorded that nearly 10,000 Haida lived in the Queen Charlottes in 3A scattered villages in the 1770's. Today, only 1,300 Haida live in two villages. We know of large gable-roofed houses and sky-reaching totem poles; now the Island's townscape of small frame houses is repeated thousands of times over. And we know of many great canoes that once ranged along the entire coast; now a few small boats huddle near the quiet shore. What happened here in the Queen Charlotte Islands is a geographic problem involving the complete alteration of the cultural landscape. The term cultural landscape, as used in this paper, involves three categories of phenomena. The first is spatial organization which includes the areal distribution of settlement. The second includes the types of and arrangement of shelter, the type of furnishings, tools, and transport produced by a cultural group, and third the means of food production used by the group.1 The Problem It is the purpose of this study to investigate the impact of European culture on the cultural landscape of the Haida Indians of the Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia. Factors and influences which alter the landscape are isolated and analyzed. Several questions are posed in reference to the im- pact of European culture on the Haida landscape. (1) What 1Carl 0. Sauer, "Foreword to Historical Geography," in John Leighly, ed. Land and Life (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1963}, p. 358. Philip L. Wagner and Marvin W. Mikesell, eds. Readings in Cultural Geography (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1962?, p. 11. influences caused population decline, and what effect did the reduction of population have on Haida spatial organization? (2) What migration pattern arose during the process of vil- lage abandonment and spatial reorganization? (3) What im— pact did European contact have on the Haida seasonal cycle of activity? (A) What forces caused rapid changes in Haida arts and architecture? (5) Why have the Haida been able to successfully compete in the modern Canadian economy, and (6) what types of contact produced the most rapid and extensive changes on the Haida cultural landscape? Previous Studies Little recent research has been done on the Haida. All major studies were completed within a period of about 35 years from the late 1870's to the early 1900's. George Dawson, a geologist for the Geological Survey of Canada, com- pleted the first systematic study of the Haida in 1878. His work was published as an appendix to a Report of Progress by the Survey.2 John R. Swanton worked with the Haida when he accompanied the Jesup North Pacific Expedition in 1905.3 Two of the early missionaries wrote of their experiences with 2George W. Dawson, "Report on the Queen Charlotte Islands," Report of Progress for 1878-79 (Montreal: Geo- logical Society of Canada, 1880), pp. 103-175. 3John R. Swanton, "Contributions to the Ethnology of the Haida," Memoirs, Vol. VIII (New York: American Museum of Natural History, 1905), pp. 1-300. the Haida.“ All these studies were ethnographies of the Haida culture and did not deal with cultural change brought on by contact with Europeans. More recent studies deal with Haida archaeology, kinship, and arts.5 Field Methodology The methods used in the study are varied. Data comes from documentary material, interviews, and observations. Most documentary material is from the Provincial Archives of British Columbia and the Northwest collection of the Uni— versity of Washington, and from clergymen and Indian agents serving the Queen Charlotte Islands. Material includes journals from early explorers and traders, diaries, letters of missionaries, reports of the British Columbia Department of Indian Affairs, records of mining companies, newspaper files, and memoirs of former residents of the Queen Charlotte “William Collison, 1n the Wake of the War Canoe (Toronto: Musson Book Co., 19157. Charles Harrison, Ancient Warriors of the North Pacific (London: H. F. and G. Witherby, 1925). 5For example: K. R. Fladmark, "Preliminary Report on Lithic Assemblages from the Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia," in EarlyiMan and Environments in North- west North America, ed. by R. A. Smith and J. W. Smith (Calgary, Alberta: The Students' Press, 1970), pp. 117-136. Wilson Duff and K. Kew, "Anthony Island, A Home of the Haidas," Research Papers (Victoria: British Columbia, Provincial Museum, 1958), pp. 37-6A. T. M. Durlach, The Relationship System of the Tlingit, Haida,_and Tsimshian (New York: American Ethnological Society, 1928). Erna Gunther, "The Social Organization of the Haida as Reflected in Their Slate Carving," Davidson Journal of AnthropologyJ II (1956), pp. 1A9—153. T. H. Ainsworth, "The Art of the Haidas," Museum and Art Notes, 2nd Series, I, (1950), pp. 16-19. Islands. Clergymen and Indian agents provided church records and economic surveys. Interviews with Haida informants pro— vided data about landscape changes during their lifetimes, and their outlook on the future of their people. Observa- tional data were acquired by living in the homes of the Haida and participating in their daily activities. Field research was conducted during June, July, and August of 1968, and August and September 1969. Explanation of Chapters The present chapter provides the introduction; Chapter II outlines the physical environment of the Queen Charlotte Islands. Included are descriptions, maps and illustrations of the geology, physiography, climate and vegetation. Chapter III briefly examines the cultural landscape at the time of first European contact. The distribution of settlements is mapped; the internal structure of the villages and their architecture is reconstructed. This chapter also deals with the first European exploration of the Islands, and with the fur trade era resulting from these early con— tacts. It examines the changing character of the fur trade and the impact of European technology and disease on the Haida. Chapter IV deals with the discovery of gold, copper, and iron on the Islands, and the coming of British and Americans to work the mines between 18A0 and 1876. During this period the arts flourished but the Haida population declined. Along with population decline there was a mi- gration and concentration into 11 villages. During this period agriculture was introduced and traditional Haida lands were taken by the Crown. Chapter V explores the period of most rapid land- scape change. This was the period of intense missionary activity. Population continued to decline to its lowest level and the migration into two villages is examined as is the development of the contemporary cultural landscape. The conclusions reached in the study and the vali- dity of the hypotheses are summarized in Chapter VI. CHAPTER II THE HABITAT Lying on the edge of the continental shelf off the coast of British Columbia, the triangle—shaped archipelago, known as the Queen Charlotte Islands, is composed of ap- proximately 150 islands. The Islands are approximately 156 miles long and 56 miles at their widest point (Fig. 1). The Queen Charlotte Islands provide a varied habitat for the Haida. Over most of the Islands, mountains rise abruptly from the Pacific. Where there are no mountains, wide beaches grade into muskeg. Physiography The Islands are divided into three physiographic regions (Fig. 2). From southwest to northwest the regions are: The Queen Charlotte Ranges; the Skidegate Plateau; and the Queen Charlotte Lowlands. Although most mountains of the Queen Charlotte Ranges are only 2,500 to 3,500 feet high, they appear more impressive because they are extremely rugged and deeply dissected (Fig. 3). The west coast has few beaches because eroded material is quickly carried 8 FIGURE 1 r J .L I, ANGARA l D I X 0 N E N TR A N C E Noden Rose Point Harbo Tow o ’1 m‘ - --540 ‘ 54° b 0 7lan L. I: Maeetlnlet ' I 0 HW%\ , GRAHAM m ' I S L A N D O 90 b “I ‘I b 000ng Charlotte SANDS pm "I Z \ ‘ VXAINA I. HIBBON I. ‘ -53° 530- Q u e e n w In Charlotte Is. (a, ‘I I . I I. nguund \ F 0 :0 final. b I MORESB go ‘ ISLAND ‘ .53» 9 @RNABY I. -52° '5I° KUNGHIT I. “52° BASE MAP Dept. Lands, Forests, and miles 52°— Water Resource, Victoria 0 20 Cup. [I30 7 132° St. James ifh 9 FIGURE 2 I my _54° II b 0 1‘ 0 O 0 N b 2 - 53° Queen Charlotte Is. Physiography QUEEN CHARLOTTE LOWLANDS SKIDE GATE PLATEAU QUEEN CHARLOTTE RANGES SOURCE: Brown." Physiography," p.3l, miles TS“ ENTRANCE 3.LV03H V543 I 10 into deep water. The currents along the east coast of Moresby Island are less formidable and beaches have formed.1 FIGURE 3 SKIDEGATE INLET AND MAUDE ISLAND Source: photo by author, Sept., 1969. The Skidegate Plateau is a dissected erosion sur- face which slopes northeast from the mountains toward Hecate Strait. Flat-topped hills and concordant ridges slope from 2,000 feet in the southeast to 500 feet in the northeast. lA. Sutherland Brown, "Physiography of the Queen Charlotte Islands," Canadian Geographical Journal, Vol. LXI (July, 1960), p. 32. 11 The Queen Charlotte Lowland is a gently undulating uplifted portion of the floor of Hecate Strait. Most of the lowland is drained by sluggish streams which result in numerous and extensive muskeg bogs. Unconsolidated glacial sands and silt comprise the surface of the lowland. These deposits have been reworked to form a wide beach extending from Skidegate Inlet to Masset. The prevailing strong southeast winds drive sand northward to Rose Point, a spit which is continually being forced farther out into Dixon Entrance. Present topography is the result of a combination of glacial and seismic activity. Although the exact glacial history is not well known, it is believed that the Wisconsin ice completely covered the Islands except for some of the highest peaks. Evidence of glacial grooving and polishing is frequently found on hard rock, and erratic boulders, occa— sionally up to six feet in diameter, have been found on crests of 1,200 foot ridges on the eastern slopes of the 2 Direction of ice movement is indi— Queen Charlotte Range. cated by the trend of striations and drumlinoid features. These trends indicate that ice moved from the Queen Charlotte Range well out into Hecate Strait where it met ice coming from the coast ranges of the mainland. Together the masses of ice from the Queen Charlottes and the Coast ranges veered into Dixon's Entrance.3 Upon reaching the edge of the 21bid., p. 33. 31bid., p. 3A. 12 continental shelf on the west end of Dixon's Entrance the ice calved off and drifted away as icebergs. Geology The oldest rocks compose the backbone of the Islands, the Queen Charlotte Ranges. The rocks are slowly deposited Triassic gray and black limestone several thousand feet thick. The Jurassic period, however, witnessed violent ac- tivity - folding, uplift, and erosion followed by deposition of conglomerates, sandstones, and shales. After deposition of this group, the Islands exploded with violent vulcanism. Pillow lava extruded across the Islands and breccias blew over the lavas. When all the outpouring had ended the rock had accumulated to more than 10,000 feet.” As the Lower Cretaceous drew to an end, the Islands resembled the contemporary configuration. Erosion of the highlands deposited a swampy lowland on the east; fluctu— ation of sea level produced deposits alternating between conglomerate, sandstone, shale, and coal-forming vegetation from the brackish swamps. These sediments were folded to form the Skidegate Plateau. The plateau eroded, was covered by Miocene sands, shales and thin lava flow. Uplift, folding and faulting followed deposition. Again the plateau eroded and deposited the Queen Charlotte Lowland. The Miocene uplift was the last major event prior to the Pleis- tocene Glaciation.5 ulbid. 51bid., p. 35. 13 Climate The Haida live in a climate which is found in only one percent of Canada. According to the Koppen climatic classification system the Queen Charlotte Islands is Cfb. The only other place this climate is found is in other coastal areas of British Columbia. The chief climatic con- trols affecting the Islands include the proximity of the Pacific Ocean, the mountain barriers on the mainland to the east, the behavior of the prevailing westerlies, the Aleutian Low and the North Pacific High. The Pacific Ocean is much warmer than the land in winter, and colder than the land in summer. This phenomenon reduces seasonal temperature extremes which are also mini- mized by the mainland mountain ranges which act as a barrier to continental air masses. From mid-May to mid-September the North Pacific High dominates the weather on the Islands. Weather is then char— acterized by dry, sunny conditions. But when the direct rays of the sun are in the southern hemisphere the sharp contrast in temperature between the relatively warm ocean and the very cold continental land mass, produces the Aleutian Low. This large low pressure area dominates the 6The most thorough examination of the climate of the Queen Charlotte Islands is found in James A. Calder and Roy L. Taylor, Flora of the Queen Charlotte Islands (Ottawa: Canadian Department of Agriculture, 1968), pp. 15—A9. lA weather on the Islands from late September to early May, bringing dense clouds, heavy precipitation and very strong winds. The westerly winds bring warm moist air from the ocean over the mountains on the western margin of the Islands. Heavy orographic precipitation results from this movement of air and makes the west coast the wettest part of the Islands. Weather Stations Climatic data is available from 10 stations of the Islands: TABLE 1 WEATHER STATIONS Station Elevation Period of Record Langara 13A ft. Aug., 1936 - date Masset. 10 June, 1897 date Tlell . . 20 Jan., 1950 date Sandspit. 25 Oct., 19A5 date Cape St. James. 292 Aug., 1925 date Tasu Sound. . 18 FGb., 1963 date Dead Tree Point . . . A7 F€b-, 1939 Jan., 1958 Queen Charlotte City. 50 Jan., 1915 Dec. 19A8 Ikeda Bay . 5 July, 1908 Aug., 1920 Alliford Bay. 28 Sept. l9Al - Aug., l9A5 Source: Calder and Taylor, Flora of the Queen Charlotte Islands, p. 17. 15 Temperature Regime Figure A indicates the monthly mean temperature for Langara, Masset, Sandspit, and Cape St. James. FIGURE A MEAN TEMPERATURE so'f Affirfifik 55I- g” 50. 45+ 40 L . .\.,4%/ —I— Sandepit \\ 35 5w" Cape St. James 3OL—d—r A ~g l A A - L A L :— J F an A M, .l J .A S 0 Al D Source: Calder and Taylor, Flora of the Queen Charlotte Islands, p. 19. The influence of the ocean moderates the temperature at the southern and western stations of Langara James more than at the eastern stations, Masset and Cape St. and Sandspit. Temperature extremes and diurnal variations are due to exposure to the ocean rather than latitude. For example, the diurnal variation in winter at Masset is about 9 or 10 degrees, and 13 or 1A degrees in spring and summer. range at Cape St. The James is about one half that of Masset. 16 Masset holds the record for the highest and lowest temper- atures ever recorded on the Queen Charlotte Islands: +8A and -2OF. The influence of the ocean upon the frost free days on the Islands is pronounced. Cape St. James has the longest frost free period in Canada, an average of 266 days. The frost free period extends from late March to mid- December. Masset with much less exposure to the ocean has the shortest frost free season on the Islands, 158 days. Precipitation Precipitation amounts received on the north, east, and southern coasts of the Queen Charlotte Islands are similar to the amounts received on the east coast of Van- couver Island and coastal mainland British Columbia. Pre- cipitation on the west side of the Islands is the highest in Canada. Annual rainfall at north, east, and southern stations is as follows: Langara - 63.60; Masset - 52.51; Sandspit — A7.22; and Cape St. James - 55.92 inches. Cli- matic data from the west coast of the Islands were not sys- tematically kept prior to 1963 when a station was opened at Tasu Sound. In its first 21 months of operation the Tasu Sound station received 3A7 inches of rainfall, or an annual average of approximately 192 inches. Figure 5 shows rain- fall by month at Langara, Masset, Sandspit, Cape St. James, and Tasu Sound.7 17 PI GURE 5 MONTHLY RAINFLLL INCHES l2— .. .. LANGARA I- CAPE ST. JAMES r- t P I. I. L IO - MASSET - SANDSPIT 8 I- L- 6 L .. 4 I- I- .- L— 2 "’ I— b£111111141L4p 1111111114 l2 ._ E - l0 - TLELL I— QUEEN J r CHARLOTTE CITY I. i- s . . " F 4 I- 2 I. I J J N J J J SOURCE: Calder and Taylor, Flora of the Queen Charlotte Islands, p.26. jrh 18 Not only is the amount of precipitation great, but the frequency of precipitation is unsurpassed anywhere else in Canada. The mean number of.days on which measurable precipitation is received ranges from 205 days at Sandspit to 2A9 days at Langara. Between October and March measurable precipitation occurs on 2/3 to 3/A of the days (Table 2). Snowfall on coastal areas average less than 30 inches annually. Less than 10 inches falls at Cape St. James and 10 to 20 inches at Langara, Masset, and Sandspit. Moisture from snowfall constitutes much less than 10 percent of the total amount of moisture which falls on the Islands. Snow depth of one inch or more occurs on an average of 20 days or less. 1111.9: The Queen Charlotte Islands are among the windiest places in Canada. At Cape St. James the average speed is 21.2 mph., which is exceeded only by one other Canadian station, Grindstone, Quebec, where the average speed is 21.5 mph.8 Winds blow predominantly from the southeast or north— west because air moving toward the British Columbia coast tends to be deflected as it approaches the coast and moves parallel to the coast. In winter the tendency for south- east winds is intensified by the counter-clockwise flow into 8Ibid., p. A0. 19 .mm .o .mocmHmH oppoahmzo among on» go whoam ALOHzme ocm Looamo ”oonsom o.mm m.:m m.mm :.NH 3.:H H.ma m.mH m.mH m.ma m.Hm w.om .m.mm moeww .um oomo ©.mm m.mm H.mm m.:H m.HH :.HH m.ma H.MH w.ma o.mH H.ma m.mH ofiomocmm ~.mm m.Hm m.mm 2.0H m.ma H.ma w.:H m.mH 5.0H m.wa m.mfi m.mH pommmz m.mm m.:m m.mm N.ma m.na m.ma m.wH m.na m.ma m.am m.om N.Hm mpmwcmq .oom .>oz .uoo .uoom .w:¢ masw oGSh mm: .LQ< .Lmz .oom .cmw COHuwpm m mqmdB ZOHB¢ the Aleutian Low. Conversely, air flowing clockwise from the North Pacific High increased the tendency for winds to blow from the northwest in summer. Average southeast wind speeds at Sandspit are very high due to the funneling effect of Hecate Strait. South- east winds occur about one—third of the time in fall and winter and nearly one—fifth of the time in spring and summer. During the fall and winter southeast winds average more than 51 mph; during the spring and summer the average falls to Just under 30 mph. The highest hourly windspeed at both Sandspit and Cape St. James is 80 mph., with gusts to 123 mph.9 Climate of the Interior No climatic recording stations are located in the interior of the Queen Charlotte Islands. The climate of the Queen Charlotte Lowlands is modified by the barrier com- posed of the Skidegate Plateau to the west. Temperature and precipitation regimes would be similar to those of Masset and Tlell. The other interior areas include the Skidegate Plateau and the rugged Queen Charlotte Range. Much of these areas have an elevation between 1,000 and 2,000 feet with some peaks rising over A,000 feet. With these elevations the midsummer mean would be approximately 529F. and 300E. in winter. Diurnal temperature ranges would be greater than lowland areas. 91bid., p. A1. 21 Flora Three major plant communities exist on the Queen Charlotte Islands: the bogs, the forests, and the montane communities (Fig. 6).10 Raised bogs occupy much of the lowland areas of northeastern Graham Island. A View of a raised bog reveals a pattern of open bogs connected by thin bands of forest. Scrubby pine and cedar survive in inlets in large bogs. Hummocks in the bogs support woody species such as Juniperus communis, Empetrum nigrum, and several species of the Vaccinium genus. Herbaceous species include among others Scirpus cespitosus, Carex pauciflora, Agrostis acqeuralvis. Extensive areas of blanket bogs are located on the western lower slopes of the Queen Charlotte Ranges on Moresby Island. Blanket bog communities normally live in undulating rocky terrain. The extremely high precipitation of the west coast perpetuates the bog environment. Conifer species of Pinus contorta, Thuja plecata, Tsuga Heterophylla, and Chamaecyparis nootkatensis dominate these bogs. Species of herbaceous plants are similar to those found ir1 the raised bogs. From the air, a blanket bog reveals many large pools connected by a series of rills. Dense vegetation surrounding each pool acts as a dam, and only during periods of high rainfall does water drain from the pools into the rills. 10The following is a condensation of data presented in Calder and Taylor, Flora of the Queen Charlotte Islands, pp. 55-96. 22 FIGURE 6 53° 52° Queen Charlotte IS. PLANT COMMUNITIES El RAISED 3068 E BLANKET 3063 E COASTAL DUNE FORESTS MEADow FORESTS CLOSED FORESTS MOUNTAIN COMMUNITIES SOURCE! Taylor and Colder. Flora of the Queen Charlotte Islands. pp.55-96, miles 20 li3° 1“" ENTRANCE VOBH 3.L 23 The rills provide a habitat not found in the raised bog and, consequently, the number of species found in the blanket bog is greater. Forest Communities The coastal sand dune forest stands on narrow sand ridges which extend along the north shore of the island from Masset to Rose Point and along the east shore from Rose Point to the mouth of the Tlell River. Similar forest communities occupy the heads of bays on the southern tips of Moresby and Kunglit Islands. Sitka spruce dominates the forest. Mosses and a few other herbaceous plants form the ground cover. Moving inland from the dune forest, the vegetation changes in one of two ways. It may exhibit a rapid decrease in herbaceous ground cover, or it may develop a dense shrub understory. Commonly, the dense understory appears only in the forest on the north shore of Graham Island (Fig. 7). Primary undergrowth species is Gaultheria Shallou. The narrow zone of dense understory quickly changes to a mixed hemlock and spruce community, with mosses covering the forest floor as well as encasing the trunk and limbs of the trees. Coastal dune forests on the east and south coast make the transition from the dominant Sitka spruce forest to a mixed hemlock-spruce forest. 2A FIGURE 7 COASTAL DUNE FOREST NEAR MASSET Source: photo by author, Sept., 1969. Meadow forest communities The meadow forests occupy terraces and alluvial flats along the streams in the lowland areas of the Queen Charlotte Islands. In this environment the Islands' largest conifers grow. Sitka spruce dominates the commu- nity but a few western hemlocks and western red cedars are interspersed among the spruce. The undulating forest floor, 25 the meander scars, and abandoned stream channels are en— cased with vegetation. Such plants as Elymus hirsutus, Trisetum cernuum, and Galium triflorium populate the forest floor. Closed Forest Community The closed forest occupies the majority of the forested lowlands on the Islands. Western hemlock predom- inates with widely scattered western red cedar and Sitka spruce interspersed among the hemlock. Oregon alder appears only along stream banks. The forest forms a complete can— opy broken only along stream courses, but without a con— tinuous understory. Ground cover appears only in wet de— pressions or where the closed canopy is interrupted. Montane Communities Plant life on the Queen Charlotte Ranges is re- markably uniform. Montane plants on the west coast thrive at sea level as well as at the mountain summits. High pre- cipitation and year—around cool temperatures in part cause this phenomena. In addition to the lack of vertical zonation, the plant communities found in different habitats are re— markably uniform. This then is the physical environment of the Haida land. But since the Haida dwell on the ribbon of land be— tween sea and forest, the coastal micro-environment proves most important to the native Islanders. Regional differ— 26 ences in environment play an important role in the 20th century history of the Haida villages. CHAPTER III THE CONTACT CULTURE AND THE FUR TRADE Early Exploration From the deck of his corvette, the Santiago, Ensign Juan Perez peered into the dawn mist enshrouding the Is— lands and watched two canoes, one carrying nine men, the other six, pull up beside the ship. Perez offered these visitors a gift of bread and in return received dried fish.1 An hour passed, and a third canoe with seven aboard, sailed up to Perez's ship. Perez was unable to verbally commu- nicate with the Haida, and the Indians, growing weary of paddling about, returned into the dark mist to their island. This visit marked the first meeting between Haida and Euro- pean; the place was probably off Hippa Island on the west coast of Graham Island. Perez explored the west coast until July 23, then turned southward and sailed to his point of embarkation, San Blas, Mexico. Shortly after returning, Perez was ordered on a second expedition to the north Pacific coast. Three ships left San Blas on March 15, 1775, the Santiago, lFray Tomas de la Pena, "Diary of the Voyages of the Santiago, 177A," Documents from the Sutro Collection (Los Angeles: Historical Society of Southern California, 1891), p. 121. 27 28 commanded by Captain Bruno Hecata, with Perez as second officer; the schooner Sonara under Juan de Ayole, and the schooner San Carlos. The captain of the San Carlos fell ill; Ayole took his place, and Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra assumed command of the Sonara. The fleet was at- tacked by Indians near Destruction Island (off the coast of the Olympic Peninsula). Hecata and Ayole returned to Monterey and Bodega y Quadra in the thirty-six foot schooner continued northward. By mid-August he was ex- ploring the Queen Charlotte Islands. He sailed in to and named Perez Inlet.2 After Bodega y Quadra's voyage, Spanish trading efforts on the Islands quickly waned. The Spanish concentrated their concern on their settlements in California and Mexico, thus leaving the potential trade bonanza open to other nations._ British exploration of the Queen Charlotte Islands began in 1786 when Captains Portlock and Dixon in the ships King George and Queen Charlotte sailed from Vancouver to Hippa Island. Failing to find a suitable harbor, they re— turned to Vancouver. Captain Dixon, however, returned the following year and thoroughly explored the coast. Dixon thought the north end of the Queen Charlotte Islands would be a fine place to gather and process furs. The Islands were centrally situated between Cook Inlet in Alaska and 2Francisco Antonio Mourelle, "Journal of a Voyage in 1775," in Daines Barrington, Trans., Miscellanies (London: J. Nichols, 1781), p. A73. 29 Nootka Sound on Vancouver Island. South of Nootka furs were of inferior quality.3 Naming the Land When Perez first saw the Islands he named them Cabo de St. Mapgarita. Bodega y Quadra inscribed the name Isle de Florida Bianca on his maps. But it was Captain Dixon who applied the name by which the Islands are known today. He named them the Queen Charlotte Islandsfor George III's con- sort, Queen Charlotte, and his ship bearing the same name. What follows is a construct of the Haida culture at the time the Islands were first discovered. Population and Settlement Pattern An estimated 9,800 Native Americans, now called the Haida, lived on the Queen Charlotte Islands at the time the first Europeans sailed to its shores in 177A.LI Village sites were influenced by their social and economic organi- zation. The Haida were divided into two matrilineal exog- amous moities called Raven and Eagle. Each moiety con- tained several clans. Originally, each clan formed a social and political unit, that is, each clan resided in its own 3George Dixon, A Voyage Round the World, But More Particularly to the Northwest Coast of America: Performed in 1785pfl786, 1787L and 1788 12nd ed.; London: George Goulding, 1789), p. 322. “Alfred L. Kroeber, Cultural and Natural Areas of Native North America (Berkeley: University of California Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology, Vol. XXXVIII, 1939). p. 115. 30 village. At the time of contact there were thirty—four clans of Haida living in an equal number of villages. In addition to the permanent villages, each clan owned other territory, including fishing streams, berry patches, stands of red cedar or other resources (Fig. 8). Economic activity also influenced the settlement pattern. Livelihood was wrestled from the sea; the sea provided food, transportation, and fuel. Villages, there- fore, were placed just above the reach of high tide. The village, approachable only by sea, consisted of massive houses strung out eave to eave along the beach. Material Culture A lineage occupied each large house. These houses were rectangular, between forty-five and fifty feet wide and thirty-five feet from front to rear. A frame, hewn from cedar logs, consisted of six, eight, or ten vertical posts. Rafters ten inches wide and three to four inches thick were joined to the upright posts with mortices and tendons. The peak of the gabled roof reached twelve feet above the ground and sloped to a height of six to seven feet at the eaves. The most important feature of the house, however, was the carved vertical pole used as a doorway. This, of course, is the so-called "totem pole." It had a round or oval hole cut through it as a door. The rOQf opened in the middle to serve as both window and chimney. 31 FI GURE 8 WADENS I32 D I X 0 N \ ENTRANCE ANA— INAGAI " 0 54° 0— .“ NAI- 54 b UNG KUN 0 ‘ TIA 1‘ I ‘ CAPE BALL GROUP 0 & m HIPPA TLELL 0 O b 0 I“ HIGAIHA ‘I b SKI DEGATE m 2 CHAATL LT COPPER BAY ’ DJIGUA KAISUN CUMSHEWA GOLD van _ °_ QUee n HARBOR 1 (39(50)st 53 Charlotte Is. 53° U) Q23TANU II P‘ KUNGGA :u b 0‘6 AT'ANA ‘l GOWSRO‘IJP o HAI DA Ia... PERMANENT VI LLAGES CA. I 7 74 ~ NINSTINTS 8 “2° ' am y 0 mm 20 ,2.- Iia" 152° irh 32 A pit five feet deep was dug in the center of the floor, occupying the entire floor except for a six foot ledge on all sides. The pit floor itself, was covered with woven mats (Fig. 9). FIGURE 9 . HAIDA HOUSE AT CUMSHEWA CA. 1880 Eff" "-I I", ,4/7: 5,7547 .; 9' , ' ’_ ~ , I ’J .' I‘d (‘5 3. " ' r I / K‘ «0‘ " 1 -~ ‘ a Source: Provincial Archives, Victoria, British Columbia. The huge houses were occupied only during the win— ter. With the coming of summer, those Haida who were phys- ically able left the permanent village for fishing or gath— 33 ering stations. On these sites, small huts were thrown to- gether. A hut consisted of three poles lashed to a tree and covered with slabs of cedar bark. Although it was barely high enough to sit in upright, early visitors to the Queen Charlotte Islands reported that as many as twelve people ‘ lived in a hut.5 Technology and Economy Wood was the primary raw material. It was used to construct houses and to fabricate items ranging from fish- hooks to sixty foot Canoes. Red cedar was the principal wood. It is a soft, even grained wood which cleaves easily. The spruces, hemlocks and firs, which make up the major part of the forests on the Islands, are cross-grained and too stout to be easily handled with the pre-contact tools of the Haida. The pre-contact Haida logger attacked the towering red cedar with a varied tool kit. Included were adzes, chisels, wedges, mauls, knives, and sanding equipment. Of these tools the adze and the chisel were employed regularly for cutting and planing. Sharp igneous rocks, bone horn, and beaver incisors provided the cutting edge for the chisels. In addition, iron blades occasionally appeared on the Chisels prior to direct European contact. Since no 5F. W. Howay, ed., Voyages of the Columbia to the Northwest Coast 1787—1790 and 1790-1793, Vol. LXXIX, Collections (Boston: Massachusetts Historical Society, 19A1), p. 23A. 3A iron was known to have been smelted anywhere along the Northwest coast, its presence is still a mystery. It could have been obtained through trade via the Bering Strait from Siberia. Another theory suggests that iron parts of wrecked ships were gathered by natives of the Northwest Coast, and diffused through normal inter-tribal trade.6 Felling the giant red cedar was an arduous task. The native logger pecked away at the moss covered trunk with his adze or chisel until it toppled. Once felled, the tree was trimmed, and if the log was to be shaped into a canoe or a container, it was cured for two or three months. Cedars cut solely for construction were split in two with wedge and maul, and then split again to the desired dimension with a variety of angled wedges. Holes were bored with a simple drill consisting of a bit mounted on a shaft which was ro- tated between the palms. Wooden artifacts were finished with "sandpaper" made from the skin of a dog fish. Wood was frequently bent or molded by soaking in hot water or steaming. With this technology the Haida fabricated a great variety of objects including houses, canoes, storage boxes, dishes, weapons, fishing equipment, and delicate rattles and 7 dance masks. 6 An overview of pre-contact culture on the Northwest Coast is presented in Philip Drucker, Cultures of the North- west Coast (New York: Chandler Publishing Company, 1965), p. 23. 7Ibid., pp. 23-A. 35 Canoes The Haida canoe maker was a true craftsman, part forester, part sculptor and part naval architect. His skills were rare and his abilities were valuable to his clan. Even locating and cutting a proper red cedar in- volved much ability. Although red cedars grew near the coast and could be easily felled and transported, coastal trees were poor canoe material. An exposed location such as a sea shore allowed too much sunlight to penetrate the canopy and the trees were prone to develop many branches at low levels on the trunks. These trees would yield unwanted knot holes in the hull of any canoe made from it. When a red cedar of suitable height and diameter was found, it had to be felled. But if the tree was simply chopped down it would become inevitably entangled in the crowns of neighboring trees. Therefore, the Haida crafts- man devised a system to cut the trunk to the correct di— mension. This was accomplished by adzing two deep cuts in the trunk, one near the base and the other up the bole at the desired length of the canoe. These two cuts were gen— erally just over half the diameter of the tree. In the upper cut, wedges were driven down parallel to the trunk to start a split. A large, heavy log was placed into the split and the Haida canoe maker returned to his village and let the action of the winds aid the splitting. As the tree 36 swayed in the wind the split enlarged and the log dropped into the breach. Eventually the bole was split from top out to bottom out and the section fell to the ground. This method eliminated cutting completely through the tree at top and bottom, and also eliminated the problem of entan- glement. Once the section was on the ground it was turned split side down, and the canoe maker began shaping the outer hull with his adze. After the exterior was shaped, a series of small holes were drilled along the keel line and the side. The holes were then filled with charred-tip pegs. The depth of the plugged holes acted as guides for hollowing out the interior. When the craftsman, working with his adze, hit the charred plug he knew the desired thickness had been reached. Fire was frequently used to aid the hollowing of the interior of the canoe, but its use was limited to the rough parts of the work. An adze was always used for the finer work. Usually, this rough work was done in the forest. When enough waste was hewn away and the canoe began to take shape it was dragged to the sea or a nearby stream and pulled to the canoe-maker's village where the canoe was fin- ished. To broaden the beam of a canoe the hull was filled with water and brought to a boil by adding red-hot stones. 8Ibid., pp. 28-29. 37 The hot water and steam softened the wood and made it flex- ible. Very carefully, cross pieces of the desired width were pounded between the gunwales. As the water cooled the sides set in their new position and permanent crosspieces were inserted. Separate pieces were shaped into high bow and stern pieces. The pieces, designed to add seaworthiness in heavy seas, were carefully sewn to the hull with spruce withes through a series of holes drilled through the bow and stern pieces and the hull.9 The hull was finished by careful sanding and scorching to inhibit rotting. Great care was given the new canoe. When not in use it was promptly carried above the high water mark and covered with cedar mats to prevent drying and splitting. If the beach in front of a village was rocky, villagers constructed log runways. Canoes could be rolled down the runways without damaging the hulls. Another specialized product of the wood craftsman was the wooden receptacle. Primarily, these containers were used for storage of food. The simplest receptacles were troughlike dishes carved from a single block of alder, a wood which was easily worked and added no flavor to food. These troughs were usually undecorated. However, wooden dishes used for ceremonial occasions bore elaborate inlays and low-relief carvings. 91bid., p. 30. 38 The most important vessels made by the Haida were their storage boxes. All four sides of these boxes were made from a single piece of wood. A plank, hewn to the de— sired thickness, was grooved transversely at the points which were to be the corners. The grooved wood was steamed and bent to form a square or rectangle, and each end of the board was mitered and sewn together to form water-tight seals. A bottom was fitted and secured by sewing, and a lid was flanged to insure a tight fit. Intricate designs were carved into the sides and top of the boxes before being used as a storage container. The seams of the boxes were fitted carefully enough so that they could be used as containers for whale and oulachen oil, for boiling water, and for fresh water. Weaving Weaving was a third important form of technology. Garments, hats, mats, and containers were produced by weaving spruce roots, inner bark of cedar, cattail fibers, and fibers from other native plants. Spruce roots were woven into hats and basketry. The technique, called twining, renders hats and basketry waterproof. Twined baskets, there- fore, were used as cooking vessels into which hot stones were dropped. Red and yellow cedar bark was woven, also twined, into robes and water-repellent rain capes. These capes, generally made from shredded red cedar bark, were 39 cone shaped with the apex of the cape cut for a head hole. Thick strands of bark formed the warps, but the wefts were thin, tightly spun cords which were widely spaced. The surface of a cedar garment was formed only by the warps. Another important product of the Haida weavers was cedar bark matting. The bark, cut into strips of equal width, were woven into a simple checker work pattern. If extraordinarily long mats were needed, the bark would be woven diagonally. These mats found applications as furni— ture, bedding, floor covering, as shrouds, and as protec— tive coverings for canoes. me Because the climate of the northwest coast of North America is continually damp, animal skins were difficult to prepare and dry. A leather made in the wet littoral would remain soggy, stretch, and tear easily, and quickly rot. Therefore, buckskin developed in the dry interior was found on the Queen Charlotte Islands only as a trade item. How- ever, pelts of fur seal and sea otter were made into highly prized robes. Preparation of seal and otter pelts required little scraping, stretching, or drying, but this simplicity of curing left the pelts neither flexible nor durable.lO lOIbid., p. 38. A0 Dress of Haida at time of Contact Good descriptions of the physical appearance and dress of the Haida were recorded by early explorers of the Queen Charlotte Islands. Standard apparel for both men and women were cloaks and robes of woven fiber or animal pelts, usually the sea otter, and conical rain hats woven from cedar roots. Women, in addition to a cape, wore a thin frock, of skin or fibers, which reached below the knees. The legs of the men and the feet of both sexes were left bare. Ornaments were worn by both sexes. Shells were popular and usually worn as necklaces, suspended through perforated ear lobes or in the pierced septum of the nose. Haida women wore a labret, or lip—piece, of carved wood. The size of the labret was increased as a woman grew older until it reached three inches long, one and three quarters inches broad, and one and one half inches thick.11 The Haida also practiced extensive tatooing. Designs of clan crests especially among those of high rank, covered the body. Subsistence Activity The Haida gathered food from a variety of sources depending on the time of year. When spring arrived, they 11Jonathan S. Green, Journal of a Tour on the North Coast of America in the Year 1829 (New York: Hartman's Historical Series, 1915), p. A2. Al moved to summer villages and fishing stations, and sought their primary food species, the halibut. These fish, which when mature range from 80 to 200 pounds, were eaten fresh or cut into strips and dried. Halibut was harvested until early summer. Some men left for the North Coast for the opportunity to kill fur seal passing through Dixon's Entrance.l2 Following the seal migrations, about mid-July, the men moved to the streams to fish for the sockeye salmon. Berries ripened with the coming of spring. The women gathered strawberries, thimbleberries, currants, and goose- berries to be eaten fresh. Salmon berries and fireweed were stored in oulachen oil for winter consumption; salal berries and blueberries were crushed, made into cakes, dried and stored for winter use. Frequently the cambium layer of spruce or of hemlock was eaten fresh, or it was dried and stored in boxes.13 Because there are so few fresh water streams on the Islands, salmon was not nearly as important to the Haida as the halibut. However, sockeye salmon was caught in July at the mouths of the Ain or Yakoun Rivers and Skidegate Chuck. Pink salmon began to run in August and continued into Jan— uary. Most Haida families returned to their permanent win- ter villages with dried and smoked halibut and salmon. On 2Harrison, Ancient Warriors, p. 91. 13A. E. Pickford, "The Haida of the Queen Charlotte Islands," (paper prepared for the Provincial Museum, Vic- toria, British Columbia, 19A7), p. 26, (Typewritten). A2 their return they gathered cedar bark to weave and chose suitable cedar trees to be used as canoes. Roe collected from the salmon was boxed with oil and buried at the high water mark in the beach in front of their village to cure. In a week or two the roe was dug up and eaten. As the wet and cool autumn turned into a wetter and cold winter, some fishermen returned to their streams to catch more salmon for the winter. But most of the Haida feasted and danced, exchanged stories of their exploits, and raided their neighbors from November to mid-February. This time was used by the women to weave garments and mats, and by the canoe makers to carve their vessels. In late February the canoe maker and his family went to their lin— eage territory to cut the tree they had chosen earlier, felled the section of the bole for the canoe, completed the rough work, and towed the semi-finished canoe back to their village for completion. Work on a canoe ususally continued well into April before it was completed. After completion of the feasting and ceremonials in mid-February, many young men set out for the west coast of the Islands, especially to Hippa Island to hunt sea lions. Other men would prepare to move into the forests to trap land mammals, particularly land otter, martin, and bear. Hunting for land and sea mammals were minor activities. Some men went to hunt and trap; most villagers, by late March, began readying their canoes and fishing gear for the A3 journey back to their hereditary halibut and salmon fish- ing stations. The winter villages were abandoned in early May, and with the beginning of the halibut season the cycle of activities was renewed (Fig. 10). FIGURE 10 SEASONAL CYCLE CIRCA 177A J F'MAMJ JASOND _ WINTER FEASTING L._ ' CANOE BUILDINI? l ’_A SEA MAMMAL HUNTING I j 'PREPARATION 1FOR FISHING 'TISHING AT SUMMER CAMPS A SOURCE: Compiled by author Subsistence Technology Halibut, the chief Haida food source, was caught with hook and line. The halibut hook was about ten inches long, made from two pieces of wood, mitered to form a "V" and bound together with spruce roots. On one arm a barb of bone or iron was bound with the point of the barb pointed to- ward the vertex of the two arms. Strands of cedar bark or dried kelp were made into halibut lines. The cedar bark was shredded and woven into cord; the kelp was soaked in fresh water streams until all slime was removed and then AA it was dried and braided together to form a tough cord.lLl Salmon were caught as they swam upstream by the use of a weir. The salmon weir used by the Haida consisted of two lines of closely spaced stakes driven into the stream bed which formed a truncated "V" with the apex pointing up- stream. As the salmon swam upstream they were diverted into the small aperture in the fence where they could be easily netted or speared. Preservation of fish was accomplished by three tech- niques; drying, smoking, or packing in oil. Both halibut and salmon were dried. The fish were cleaned, cut into strips and hung on specially constructed racks in front of the houses. Salmon was frequently packed into boxes and covered with oulachen grease which had preservative quali- ties. Land mammals were trapped with deadfalls, but cap- turing sea mammals required more effort. Capturing the sea otter involved as many as twelve small canoes which were used to surround the otter herd. Becoming frightened of man and canoes, the otter dove repeatedly until it be- came exhausted, surfaced, and was clubbed. Trade In pre-European times the Haida had established trade relations with some of their neighbors. The Haida l”Joe Weir, informant, September, 1969, in Masset. II5 canoe was the standard by which all Northwest native canoes were measured, and, therefore, was the most sought after trade item. Canoes were traded to the Tsimpshian and Hailasa of the Nass River for oulachen oil, unavailable“in the waters of the Queen Charlotte Islands but used by The Haida in great quantities. Canoe and sea otter pelts were exchanged with the Chilkat section of the Tlingit for the now famous Chilkat blanket. The Chilkat blanket is, more correctly, a shawl woven from cedar bark and mountain goat hair. On it was woven the highly stylized motifs of North— west Coast art. Haida of rank or wealth prized them for their beauty and value. Social Organization Although this paper specifically deals with social organization as it affects settlement patterns, it is nec- essary to provide a general construct of the complex Haida social organization. As mentioned in the section regarding the settlement pattern the main unit of kinship is the 10— calized, autonomous, matrilineal clan. Each lineage is a member of an exogamous moiety. Within this localized ex- tended family, a person is a member of one of three classes; the nobles, the commoners, or the slaves. Class barriers were insurmountable; membership in a class was hereditary. Slaves were regarded as mere creatures, not really members of the group. Within the noble and common class, each A6 person held a unique position; no two persons held the same rank. Placement within this continuum of rank was also de- termined by birth. A first born son held higher rank than that of the second, the second higher than the third, and 15 so on. Certain lineages within clans held higher status. To preserve property and rights of rank, members of these lineages tended to intermarry. A man of high rank usually directed group activities. He was a "foreman" in house building; he directed the otter hunts, decided where to hunt, fish, and construct villages. The highest ranking man in a village held the position of chief. Although classes were sharply defined, no noble—serf relationship existed. Nobles did not exploit the commoner because they were not his subjects, but were his kinsmen. And all members of a clan had a stake in the general prop— erty of the village.16 Attitudes toward slaves were modeled after the noble- commoner relationship. Slaves were the_booty of warfare. The Haida, in the ten fathom canoes, plied the waters of the Gulf of Georgia, Queen Charlotte Strait, and Puget Sound. They raided the Bella Coola, the Bella Bella, the Coast Salish, the Kwakiutl, and the Nootka for slaves. Once a slave, a man was neither destined to remain a slave nor were his children slaves. Over a period of years l5 Pickford, "Haida," p. 89. l6Drucker, Cultures of the Northwest Coast, p. A9. A7 slaves frequently became full and active members of the group which had captured him. Wealth One of the unique features of the Haida and other groups on the Northwest Coast was their quest for and ac— cumulation of material wealth. Objects regarded as rare, or products of arduous labor were deemed valuable. Of par- ticular value were "coppers," plaques pounded from native copper, pelts of the sea otter, "Chilkat blankets," or rare shells, such as Dentalium pretiosum, portions of fishing streams, timber stands, and burying grounds. An important reason for accumulating material wealth was to give it away in a potlatch. A detailed discussion of the potlatch is beyond the scope of this paper.18 It is not known if the potlatch was given prior to European contact. Briefly, a potlatch "was a ceremonial given by a chief and his group, as host, to guests composed of another chief or chiefs with their respective group, at which the guests were given wealth goods."19 The purpose of the pot- latch was to announce an event of social significance: marriage of a noble, birth of an heir to an important per- l7lbid. 18 Discussions of the potlatch are numerous. See, for example: Homer G. Barnett, "The Nature of the Potlatch," American Anthropologist (n.s.) XL (1938), pp. 3A9-358- Philip Drucker, Indians of the Northwest Coast (New York: McGraw-Hill, 19557. pp. 125-129. 19Drucker, Cultures of the Northwest Coast, p. 55- A8 son, or inheritance of wealth or a title. The potlatch acted as a primitive form of social security, for it was the original "chain letter." For example, if chief A had born to him an heir, he would give a potlatch, invite chiefs B, C, D, and E, feast them and give them a "Chilkat blanket." Now chiefs B, C, D, and E were indebted to chief A. When chief B celebrated an important event with a pot— latch, he invited along with others, chief A. The Chilkat blanket given to B from A was returned with a sea otter skin as an interest payment. Chief C, D, and E likewise potlatched and gave to chief A a Chilkat blanket plus another article as interest. This process was repeated time and again; it served many necessary social functions. As a man grew old and less productive, his needs were filled by the returns with interest from potlatches he had given as a younger man.20 The earliest description of a potlatch was recorded in 179A: The house was thronged with guests and spectators. The scene was then opened by the ceremony of intro- ducing the wives of Enow and Cunneah (two of the chiefs) and the candidates for incision or boring; each coming separately and backwards from behind the scenes — being saluted by a regular vocal music of all present and which had no unpleasant effect. In the same manner the presents were ushered in and displayed to the view of all present and thrown together in a heap being a profuse collection of Clamons (war garments), racoons and other cutsarks, comstagas both iron and copper and 2OMany views of the purpose and value of the potlatch have been espoused. Ideas given above are those of two informants, William Mathews and Edward Jones of Masset. A9 a variety of ornaments. This being done the spectators were dismissed and the guests placed in order around the house. The incision was then performed on the lips and noses of two grown and two small girls which ended the distribution was then begun of the above articles, the Captain receiving 5 otter skins the other articles were distributed among the different chiefs according to their distinction, after which the Captain took his leave and returned on board.21 Warfare Warfare constituted an integral part of the social organization. War was made by single villages or occa- sionally by two or three villages, but never by the united Haida. In fact, frequently one Haida village raided another Haida village. War was carried on with their neighbors up and down the North Pacific Coast. Motives for plundering included revenge for a real or imagined affront, booty for a potlatch, slaves, or simply adventure. Fur Trade, 1787-18A0 Changes in the Haida began soon after the Europeans arrived on the Islands. Many British and American vessels, lured by sea otter pelts, sailed to the Islands laden with trade goods. George Dixon's mission on his voyage in 1787 was to establish a trade system with the Haida. First trading encounters proved fruitful. They traded pewter basins and tin kettles for Chilkat blankets. The natives quarreled among themselves to be the first in 21F. W. Howay, "A Yankee Trader on the Northwest Coast," Pacific Northwest Quarterly, XX (1930), p. 91. trade. In less than one half hour Dixon acquired 300 sea otter pelts. His greatest day of trading was the first of July, 1787 when two hundred Haida swarmed over his ship trading frantically. Dixon bartered brass pins, buckles, knives, rings for a total of 1,821 pelts of the sea otter.22 The most important trade items were small Chisels called "toes." Overwhelmingly the Indians selected the "toes" in exchange for their pelts. For his effort Dixon collected 2,552 sea otter pelts plus some skins of marmot, land otter, and beaver, and sold their collection for $5A,867.23 An American, Captain Robert Gray from Boston, led the second trading expedition to the Queen Charlotte Is- lands in 1788. Not aware of previous visits to the Islands he dubbed the Islands "Washington Islands" for his sloop which bore that name.214 Trading along the coast, Gray brought new kinds of goods to trade, the most important of which were potatoes and hogs.25 Word of high profits in the sea otter trade rapidly spread in England and the United States. Ships of all 22Dixon, Voyage Round the World, p. 202. 23"Letter and Memorandum from Capt. George Dixon to Sir Joseph Banks Regarding the Fur Trade on the Northwest Coast, A.D. 1789," The White Knight ChapbooksJ Pacific Northwest Series, No. 10, (White Knight Press, March, 19A1), n. p. 2“Charles Harrison, "Reminiscences," The Queen Charlotte Islander, Nov. 27, 1911, n. p. 25F. W. Howay, "Voyage of the Hope," Washington Historical Quarterly, XI (1920), pp. 6—8. 51 descriptions entered the waters around the Queen Charlotte Islands to trade with the inhabitants. The following table indicates the frequency of visits by ships to the North Pacific Coast. TABLE 3 NUMBER OF SHIPS IN WATERS AROUND THE QUEEN CHARLOTTE ISLANDS Year No. of Year No. of Ships Ships 177A. 1 1788. . . 8 1775. 2 1789. . . 1A 1776. 2 1790. . . 8 1778. 2 1791. . . 16 1779. 2 1792. . . 33 1785. 1 1793. . . 17 1786. 9 179A. . . 12 1787. 6 Source: George I. Quimby, "Culture Contact on the Northwest Coast Between 1785 and 1795," American Anthropologist, n.s. L (19A8), p. 2A7. It is not known if all these vessels actually visited the Queen Charlotte Islands, but they were in the waters around the islands. By 1791 the character of the bartering changed. The Haida became shrewd traders; no longer would a "toe" or a knife bring a sea otter pelt for the Europeans. They re- ceived only a dried halibut for such trinkets. One moose hide brought three prime otter skins. A ship's tailor sewed women's garments from old sails which were worth one 52 otter skin apiece. Carpenter tools became much in demand by the 1790's, and sails designed for the Haida canoes brought three pelts. After the early 1790's "trinket" trade goods glutted the Islands. The Haida wanted little to do with them. In— stead, the Indians drove hard bargains: muskets instead of chisels, blankets instead of bracelets, and staple goods instead of fashion whims. During the decade between 1790 and 1800, the Haida demanded and received muskets, powder, shot, cloth, molasses, rice, and bread for sea otter pelts. They also traded their pelts for tobacco, beads, buttons, brass ware, needles, thread, scissors, and womens' stock- ings.26 Declining markets for sea otter pelts began the end of the trade shortly after the turn of the 19th century. Fewer ships entered the harbors of the Queen Charlotte Is- lands to trade. In 1807 the H.M.S. Egeria sailed down the west coast of the Islands, gathered furs, and sold them in Canton for $90,000.27 As the market slumped, and the sea otter neared extinction, trading expeditions gradually fell off. The Hudson's Bay Company, after merging with the Northwest Company, moved into the territory now known as 26Wilson Duff, The Indian History of British Columbia (Victoria, The Provincial Museum, 196A), p. 57. 27 Harrison, "Reminiscences," n.p. 53 British Columbia to take control of the fur trade. The Bay built gathering centers at Fort Simpson (1831), Fort Victoria (18A3), and Fort Rupert (18A9). The Haida, along with other Northwest Coast groups, gathered frequently around Fort Simpson to bring furs for trade. The major mediums of exchange were the Hudson's Bay Company blankets and muskets. The number of "points" on a blanket deter- mined its value. A point was a black line woven into one edge of a blanket, and they ranged in number from one to three. The more points, the more value. Muskets, in ad- dition to serving as a means of payment also served as a unit of measurement for furs. A pile of otter furs as tall as the height of a musket carried a certain value. Appar- ently, the Bay hedged on this system; over the years the barrels of trade muskets got longer and longer.28 Cheating was not one-sided, however, for some Haida trapped beaver, stretched their pelts to approximate the size of a sea otter, and cleverly concealed the beaver skins in the center of the stack of otter skins. Impact on Spatial Characteristics Traders for England and the United States brought, in addition to tools and clothing, death through disease, and warfare. Smallpox scourged the Haida in the 1780's and 1790's and again in 1829. The Haida affixed the name "Tom 28William Mathews, Informant, July, 1968, in Masset. 5A Dyer" to the disease for the sailor who supposedly first brought smallpox to the Islands.29 The second epidemic spread from Victoria and was named "sickness of the iron people."3O Measles and tuberculosis in epidemic propor- tions repeatedly swept through the Haida villages. The English traders introduced liquor by the early 1790's. A traveler, P. J. Cleveland reported liquor in the Haida vil— lages in 1799, and Vancouver offered rum to some Haida. They were familiar with it by 179A.31 With increasing con— tact between Indian and European, many children of mixed parentage were born and most often killed. Muskets were one of the most prized products of the fur trade, but they made inter-tribal and inter-village warfare bloody and deadly. A game-like fight with few injuries turned into a battle with heavy casualties. These phenomena, smallpox and other diseases, in- fanticide, and warfare directly resulted in population de- cline. In 177A, the date of first European contact, pop- ulation stood at an estimated 9,800; by 1839, only 6,693 remained - a loss of over thirty percent in 65 years.32 29Green, Journal of a Tour, p. 39. 30H. A. Collison, "Mission Years Among the Haida," p. 172. The Haida named the Europeans "Yatz Haade" or Iron People. 31F. W. Howay, "The Introduction of Intoxicating Liquors Amongst the Indians of the Northwest Coast," British Columbia Historical Quarterly, VI (19A2), pp. l63—16A. 32Edward Curtis, Indians of North America, Vol. XI (Cambridge: The University Press, 1916), p. 115. 55 Impact on Material Culture The basic design and size of the Haida house re- mained unchanged, but by 1829 detached carved posts or totem poles appeared in great numbers.33 Houses arranged in a lineal pattern remained as they were in pre-contact times. Clothing exhibited the most radical and most rapid changes. Men replaced their cedar bark cloaks with Euro— pean blankets. Women, too, wore blankets over their tra- ditional leather frocks. New tools, especially the iron chisel, or "toes," enabled Haida craftsmen to expand the size and complexity of their products. Canoes were more easily fashioned, and planks for houses hewn more quickly with European iron— bladed hatchets and adzes. Man-Land Relationships With the advent of the fur trade, the cycle of sea- sonal activity was only slightly altered. The sea otter hunting season was extended from mid-June until mid—October, but most men engaged in hunting. Prior to the fur trade very few engaged in other hunting. English and American traders used muskets as a medium of exchange. The combi- nation of using guns plus the clamoring for more pelts re- sulted in otter over-kill. By 1829, the Haida detected a quite noticeable depletion in number of sea otter available.3Ll 33Green, Journal of a Tour, p. 8A. 3“Ib1d., p. 86. 56 Chiefs controlled all the trading for their own village; by doing so they became very wealthy. Potatoes, introduced by English travellers, were grown by many Haida. By 1825 traders were purchasing po- tatoes from the Haida. By the 1830's enough traders vi- sited the Islands to make the curio trade profitable. Haida craftsman made hats, baskets, carved pipes and poles from black argillite and sold them to visitors or to the Hudson's Bay Company at Fort Simpson. Summary of Fur Trade Era Population decline was the most important change to occur during the years of the fur trade. Houses and set— tlement patterns remained unchanged. New trade allowed increased efficiency in making traditional products but it did not create a new culture. The introduction of agri— culture produced a new, but ephemeral relationship to their environment. CHAPTER IV THE ERA OF MINES AND MIGRATIONS 18A0—1876 The years between the end of the fur trade, 18A0, and the coming of the missionary in 1876 were tragic ones for the Haida. Relations with the white man deteriorated. The discovery of gold, copper, and coal created a rush to exploit the Queen Charlotte Islands. Epidemics racked the Haida, causing abandonment of many villages and migration to larger ones. Mining Gold On the 18th of August, 1850, a Haida took a gold bearing rock to trade at Fort Simpson. The Hudson's Bay Company assayed it at $16,000 per ton, and organized an expedition to search for the gold. On March 29, 1851, the expedition sailed for Skidegate Inlet under the command of Capt. Mitchell in the brig Ugg.1 Mitchell discovered the source of the gold along the southwest extremity of Skidegate Inlet at a place called 1British Columbia, Provincial Archives, Copies of Extracts of Correspondence Relative to the Discovery of Gold at Queen Charlotte Island, 1853, p. l. 57 58 Kuper Inlet. It soon became known as Gold Harbor.2 Addi— tional gold bearing quartz was taken from Mitchell Inlet, a finger of Kuper Inlet. The following year, Mitchell re- turned with a group of miners to the Inlet bearing his name to extract the ore. A ship from the United States, the Susan Sturgis was also in the Inlet on a similar mission. Miners from the Ug§_blasted out the small vein and returned between $20,000 and $75,000 worth of ore. The Haida from a nearby village encamped near the mine became uneasy by the "white man" taking the valuable "rock" from hip land. In order to avoid bloodshed Mitchell ordered the ore loaded onto the ship and left with his booty. A short distance outside of Mitchell Inlet, the Egg ran aground, caught fire, burned to the waterline, and sank. Fortunately, the Amer— ican ship, Susan Sturgis was near enough to rescue Capt. Mitchell and his crew. But the Egg and her valuable cargo slid from the rocks to the bottom of Moore Channel. Although the Gold Harbor venture proved disastrous, the governor of the Hudson's Bay Company, James Douglas, remained optimistic for a rich strike on the Queen Charlotte Islands. Gold fever subsided after 1852 only to flare up again in 1859. Once again the Hudson's Bay Company sent an expedition to the Queen Charlotte Islands. This search, under the command of Robert W. Torrens, began from Victoria 2Gold Harbor, or Kuper Island now bears the name Hibben Island. 59 on July 1, 1859. After spending the 16th through the 22nd at Fort Simpson, Torrens set sail for Skidegate Village to see if the villagers knew of any gold discoveries. Hearing of no new sites, Torrens sailed through Skidegate Inlet to the village of Skatskais (Chaatl). Near the village Torren's miners found only small veins of gold in quartz.3 The local chief, Edenshaw, with two of Torren's men sailed to Copper Islands on the east coast to gather samples. Assayers valued the samples: copper 96 lbs. per ton valued at $72.00, iron and gold $135.00 per ton.“ Hopes for a gold rush faded, but copper brimmed on the horizon as a poten— tial boom. Copper After the first copper finds by Edenshaw and Torren' men, rumors of new-found riches radiated from the Queen Charlottes. In Victoria, officials of the Queen Charlotte Mining Company heard these rumblings of riches. The com— pany sent Francis Poole, a young mining engineer to inves- tigate the rumors. Poole arrived at Burnaby Island, on the east coast of Moresby Island near Edenshaw's first finds. He sank a test hole and discovered a rich copper vein. The mining company sent workers to extract the ore which was sold in England. But the copper mines soon played out; 3Letter, Capt. Robert W. Torrens to Gov. James Douglas, Dec. 29, 1859, British Columbia, Provincial Archives, pp. 1-3 (Handwritten). “Ibid., p. 5. 60 the mines closed, and the miners moved away. Coal Ten years passed between the discovery of copper on Burnaby Island and the coal finds near Skidegate Inlet.5 However, nothing was done with the coal until the Queen, Charlotte Coal Mining Company was formed in 1865 to work 6 the seams. In contrast to the gold and copper deposits, the coal seams were extensive. But the operation quickly succumbed to poor transportation to the sea and lack of nearby markets. The mining era lasted but a brief fiteen years, yet its impact was permanent. Although mining did not spur the economy of the Islands, it did bring Europeans to settle on Haida lands. The mining settlements were small and ephemeral, but they gave rise to grandiose plans of pio- neers. Roads would be built, railroads would grace the Islands, and large cities would be built.7 Through mining, the Islands and their native peoples became known to mis— sionary societies which sent key personnel to investigate the Islands as a new mission field. The Islands became known to speculators who sought land for mining or agri— 5C. Nogero, ed., Queen Charlotte Islands (Jedway, British Columbia: Jedway Commercial Association, gg. 1909), n.p. British Columbia, Provincial Archives, Memorandum of Association of the Queen Charlotte Mining Co. Ltd., Oct. 1A, 1865, p. l. 7Nogero, Queen Charlotte Islands, n.p. 61 culture. The mines opened the Islands to permanent Euro- pean settlement. Traders settled first. Hudson's Bay Company posts at Fort Simpson and Victoria attracted most of the Haida trade. With Fort Simpson and Victoria, the Bay saw no need for a port directly on the Islands, that is until an Amer- ican invaded their territory and set up a trading post in the village of Cumshewa, then moved to Masset and built a blockhouse for a trading post and home in 1869. Upon hearing of the Yankee incursion into Company territory, Bay offi- cials in Victoria became agitated. The trader, Charley the Langleyman, built his trade on cheap liquor known locally as "hootchum." Charley did a roaring business. Unfortu- nately for Charley, one night when the villagers of Masset were roaring drunk they attacked his blockhouse and forced him to flee one hundred miles to Skidegate.8 Charley ob- tained a canoe, sailed to Fort Simpson, and sold his trading post and remaining stock to the Hudson's Bay Company. The Bay hired a Mr. A. Cooper to man the post at Masset, to which he moved in 1871, marking the date of the first per- manent settlement on the Queen Charlotte Islands by a non— Indian. In 187A, Martin H. Offutt and his Tsimpshian wife assumed management of the Masset post. By this time, trade included, in addition to fur seals and sea otter, a con- 8 Kathleen E. Dalzell, The Queen Charlotte Islands, 177A-l966 (Terrace, British Columbia: C. M. Adam, 1968), p. 76. 62 Siderable amount of fish oil, rendered from dog fish livers. These fish traders from the Hudson's Bay Company Iopened the Queen Charlotte Islands to settlement by non- .Iridians. Others soon followed. They will be discussed in (Zriapter V. Resistance to the Europeans Intrusion of the white man onto Haida lands was not siiljnays warmly greeted. Haida hostility toward Europeans swLAJrfaced in 1851. The sloop Georgiana ran aground in an i.r1fi1et in sight of Cape St. James on November 21, 1851. 1\ {group of Haida sailed up to the wreck, climbed aboard, Elrdmi robbed the crew and passengers of their valuables and tikueeir clothing. The looters, determined to milk this op— F><2rrtunity to the limit, held the twenty—seven passengers Ellfild crew for ransom. The native Islanders demanded blan- k“Eats, shirts, trousers, coats, muskets, cotton prints, . 1"aléisr.ndkerchiefs, comforters, pistols, caps, blue beads, pearl 83141ttons, tin dishes, silver dollars, shoes, vests, powder, SVklot bags, blue duffles, scarlet cloth, some shot and ball, Eirld a little rum from the Hudson's Bay Company.9 In re- SDonse to the demands made by the Haida, the Bay at Fort V1ctoria shipped the goods listed in Table A on December 1, 1851. C.‘ C )Letter, William Rowland, Master of the 8100p Georgiana to the Commanding Officer at Fort Simpson, Dec., 1851, British Columbia, Provincial Archives. 63 TABLE A RANSOM GOODS Value Goods s/— d. 250 plain blankets, Blue—bar (3 pts.). . 116 2 11 :1550 plain blankets, Red- bar (3 pts. ) . . 70 6 3 83596 yds. 27 in. grey cotton. . . . 22 8 3 2 plain blankets, Blue-bar (2 pts. .). . 22 15 A 650 fine cotton shirts . . . . . . . 1A 5 A 93 lbs. Canadian Roll tobacco . . . . 13 19 A ESA plain Red- bar blankets (3 pts. ). . . 25 6 3 227 blue cloth capes . . . . . . . . 28 7 3 227 warm vests with sleeves. . . . . . . l9 2 6 227 warm corduroy trousers . . . . . . . 16 17 6 14% doz. long waisted hose . . . . . . . 1A 1 3 £27 pr. strong shoes . . . . . . . . . . 16 A 3 227 Scotch bonnets . . . . . . . . . . . 5 A 2 :37 blue serge shirts. . . . . . . . . . 9 18 2 227 pr. white serge drawers. . . . . . . 7 l7 6 22% doz. white cotton braces . . . . . . l 3 7% 383 2 1% \ ($1L838.9l) Source: Letter, William Rowland to Commanding Officer, Fort Simpson. Another example of the growing resentment felt by t31’1e Haida toward the white man occurred in 1859 when PiCDbert W. Torrens master of the schooner Victoria Packet, Alainded at Skidegate village. Relations with the villagers InJere friendly and cordial until evening when Torrens and 111s party were asleep. Torrens related the following incident in his journal. 6A We were awakened to the Suspicion of Treachery by the first of the Indians (who were not armed when we landed) rushing down in great numbers to our tent armed and evincing the strongest excitement. An angry altercation ensued among them - ourselves being silent Spectators - unconscious of its origin yet prepared for any emergency that might occur. Maskilkengans a Man of Note, tho not a chief, was the instigator of this moment, and it became at once apparent that both by language and gesture he was en- deavoring to excite a feeling of hostility towards us on the part of the Indians. Our somewhat critical position may best be understood by my recording the tenor of as translated to us in Chinook (Jargon) the Tribe - 'these white men,‘ he said, take our lands and our property from us assist me to ut them to death, not one ten minutes.’ Fortunately for Torrens and his men <3k3:1ef stood on their side. After three or his Argument by one of 'are come to - if you will be living in the Skidegate four hours, with tlkjre aid of the chief, they fled to canoes and fiercely E>Eaxidled under a flood of musket fire to the Victoria Packet. Changes in Spatial Organization John Work, a Hudson's Bay Company official, gathered I3C>13ulation data and estimates from traders and other visi— t3<2>rs to the Queen Charlotte Islands. He produced the first ESES‘timated census from 1835-18AO of the Islands. Unfortu- l“Ettely some of the villages he named cannot be traced be— cause Work's interpretation of the names is dubious, or his SBelling renditions are so different from those used more recently. Table 5 is Work's census. g 10Letter, Torrens to Gov. James Douglas, p. 2. 65 wcsmmx ocm cam moosaocfi pommmz pom madman coapmHSQOQ map .mmm .Amoma .maoumfim Hmpdpmz mo Ezmmsz covanms< .II. .IIIII "xaow 3ozv naaoEoz HHH> .Ao> .ooanm mnp go zwoaocnpm on» on mCOHpanppcoo .QOpQMZm .m snow on wcfippooo oqmfi .ao one13al population.11 The scourge returned in 1862. A passenger aboard ‘t;}1(3 ship Rebecca bound from New Aberdeen to Victoria via t3lfle Queen Charlotte Islands fell ill with smallpox on the r1<2>rthward leg of the Journey. To prevent contamination of t:lele entire crew and passengers, the captain ordered the in- I‘ei'cted passenger put ashore at the Queen Charlottes near Czelxxafifin James. He rapidly infected the Ninstints villagers and many died . l2 \ llHarrison, Ancient Warriors, p. 175; Duff, The 'ngian History of British Columbia, p. A2. _ l2Francis Poole, The Queen Charlotte Islands (London: Hurst and Blackett, 18727, pp. 19A—95. 67 9n to Victoria The movement back and forth to Victoria fit into the annual cycle, especially for the villagers from the :southern Islands. A high proportion of Haida always were eibsent from the Islands. However, a majority of those ab- sseent were prostitutes, not only in Victoria but also in sseattlements on the Frazer River, Puget Sound and the gold nq:1nes of the Cariboo in the interior of British Columbia.13 Jiruhabitants of the northern villages shuttled to Fort ‘VJIéangel and Fort Simpson and other northern settlements for tzlrade and prostitution. Prostitution brought with it ve— rleereal disease, crippling and/or killing more of the already Ci.j_sease—ridden Haida. Charles Harrison, an early Anglican Dmiissionary, lay blame for the Haida downfall to their ‘VV<3men and smallpox. Before the advent of the missionary, smallpox and the corruption of their women were the principle causes for their disappearance. The Haida women being good looking in comparison with the women of the other coast tribes, had before my arrival been special prey of the coarse libertines of a large pop- ulation in Victoria and New Westminstfir, until vir— tue was almost unknown amongst them.1 In the 18A0's members of many coastal groups gath- €¥red at Fort Simpson, on the British Columbia mainland. \ 13Robert Brown, "The Land of the Hydahs, a Spring Journey due North: The Voyage of the Goldstream to Queen Charlotte Islands with a Reconnaisance of the Coast of B.C. and the Eastern Coast of Vancouver Island, Spring of 1866," British Columbia, Provincial Archives, p. 2, (Transcribed from the handwritten). l”Charles Harrison, "Reminiscences," The Queen Char- lotte Islander Vol. I, June 10, 1912, n.p. 68 At one time, according to eyewitness reports, more than lA,000 Indians were camped near the fort. This same wit- 11885 also noted the prominent evidence of smallpox and syphillis . 15 Spatial Organization By the 18A0's repeated sickness, alcohol, and inter- tLI‘lbal warfare had cut the population of the Haida. Two (inescades later the Hudson's Bay Company started trading g><:>sts at Masset and Skidegate which were frequented reg- 11.3.arly by trading vessels. Haida from other villages .5 (burneyed to either Masset or Skidegate to barter for_Euro- F>€eeu1txede goods. Although desire for trade goods was an i.rlcentive to abandon villages and migrate to others, no Esijnngle reason can be established for all the migrations. fI7ldough no one cause can be pinpointed, a definite pattern (Dif‘ndgmation appears over the nearly fifty years in which ‘tllne Haida were leaving old villages, founding new commu— r1:ities, or consolidating in older ones. Migration focused on the villages of Masset and ESkidegate, but these two villages were the last to receive ‘tlde moving population. As a general rule villages farthest Eiway from the eventual receptors, Masset and Skidegate, Were abandoned first. Those distant communities relocated generally at points nearer the ultimate receptors but not 15George Simpson, Narrative of a Journey to the Northwest Coast, 18Al-l8A2 (London: Henry Colburn, 18A7), pp. 206-7. 69 in these villages. Migration to Masset and Skidegate was accomplished in a series of steps. The west and north czoast villages were first vacated; the east coast villages unere abandoned after 1876. Migration was brought about by a combination of gardenomena: rapid reduction of village population, village s;j_tes no longer appropriate for changing technology, and tzlne quest for trade advantages. As indicated earlier in this chapter, recurrent rav- eangges of smallpox and other diseases rendered many villages i.r1viab1e. The survivors of a stricken village sought refuge Vv1i_th a neighboring group. Changing technology, specifically the changing trans— .E><3rtation technology rendered village site locations obso- .3A€3te. Originally village sites were chosen because they ‘areere not easily accessible from the sea. An enemy found it Citiifdcult to rush quickly into a village. However, the Es:1te quality of inaccessibility became a great disadvantage. ‘Ealfiemy canoes were kept out, but sailing vessels and later E5teamers were also kept away. The advantages of site thus 1?€eversed themselves under the impact of European culture. THEE least desirable village site in traditional times be- came the most desirable site in the post-contact era. Migration also occurred in order to seek a better relative location. Traders established a post at Masset in 1871 and used Skidegate as a port for collection and 70 trade. Other villages vying for trade moved nearer these two ports or sought to establish trading posts in their own villages. Around 1850, the people of Yaku-lanas, a village on sari arm of Gowgaia Bay in Moresby Island, were being attacked :izacessantly by the Ninstints people from Anthony Island. 1x:fter many raids and losses to Ninstints slavery, the Yaku- 1.£1nas abandoned their villages and moved northward to the lfiieead of a small bay on Graham Island, now known as Tian IESEiy. Then the Yaku-lanas built the village of Tian (Teaen).l6 I?‘x~om the Haida folklore the Ninstints apparently continued ‘tllieir attacks on the Yaku-lanas people after they built the \Itillage of Tian. After several years the people of Tian Eiggain fled northward to a site in Perry Passage between r\Iorth and Graham Islands. They were welcomed by Edenshaw, (Zihief of the village of Kiusta. Here the Yaku-lanas people ‘ED‘uilt another new village called Yaku.l7 Edenshaw moved his village, Kiusta, in 1853. He tDelieved that leaving his village in the treacherous waters <>:f Perry Passage and moving to a site with a better harbor l“lis village would draw more trade with passing vessels and ‘She Alaskan Indians. Edenshaw chose a site in Naden Harbor to build the new village of Kung.18 This Naden Harbor site # l6James Deans, Tales from the Totems of the Hidery (Chicago: International Folklore Association, 1899), pp. 63-A. 17Ibid., p. 6A. 18Dalzell, Queen Charlotte Islands, p. 65. 71 again was not suitable for attracting trade, so in 1875 Kung was abandoned and the villagers moved to a point of land known as Klashwun Point and founded the village at Yatza (Knife—point town).19 A faction of the Ninstints people of Anthony Island traveled northward in the 1860's to Frederick Island, called Susk by the Haida. There this group built the village of Te, commonly known by the name of the Island - Susk. By the end of the decade of the 1850's Susk was abandoned and the remaining villagers moved to Alaska. Another west coast village, Tian, south of Susk moved to Yan, a village site across Masset Inlet from the village of Masset. Table 6 indicates migration between the 1830's and 1875. The trading posts at Masset and Skidegate created strong centripetal forces on the Queen Charlottes. With the exception of the Yaku—lanas to Yaku move and the Kiusta to Kung move, all migration occurred in or after 1871. Figure 11 illustrates the migration pattern to 1876. Village names underscored with a solid line represent those villages which existed in 1875. Those underscored with a broken line represent villages which received in-migration and later, they, themselves, were abandoned. The general pat- tern exhibits a west to east trend with a concentration near the sites of the trading posts, Masset and Skidegate. But Dawson, "Report on the Queen Charlotte Islands," p. 162. 72 FIGURE 11 ALASKA ENTRANCE ANA- INAGAI 3 54°— b 0 1‘ I ‘ CAPE BALL 0 "I 0 0 b 0 m ‘I b "I Z NEW GOLD HARBOR DJIGUA —53° Q U 99 n "2:2: SKEDANS (”53"— Charlotte ls. ~1 30 b \I HAIDA MIGRATION l83O - |875 SOURCE: Compiled by author ,2. miles NINSTINTS _ —:—= 52 . o 20 . 'i’ 'I" irh 73 TABLE 6‘ MIGRATION 1830-1875 Date Village New Village Abandoned or Recipient pre-l836 At'ana (Ramsey Is.) pre—1836 Hagi (Bogus Is.) 33. 1850 Yaku-lennas Yaku 1853 Kiusta Kung 1870 Tian Yan Koga Skedans Kungga Tanu 1875 Kung Yatza Ninstints Susk (Te) Hippa Tsahl 1870-75 Chaatl Xaina (New Gold Harbor) Kaisun " Gold Harbor " Susk (Alaska) Naikun Skidegate Lana-Inagai Cape Ball group Cape Ball Skidegate 1875 Yaku Masset these two migration. villages themselves, received only minor in- Masset absorbed only the people of Yaku, and Skidegate received the inhabitants of Nai-kun, Lana—Inagai, and the Cape Ball group. In 1875 the villages of Yatza, Yan, Masset, Skidegate, New Gold Harbor, Tsahl, Skedans, Tanu, a fraction of Nin- stints, Dadens, Cumshewa, and Kayung remained. Thus, Haida migration reached the second of three phases. Although fishing and hunting still required some movement to traditional sites, the most important spatial movements during the period between l8A0 and 1876 were those 7A innovative migrations involving permanent changes in the settlement pattern. Migration continued until the close of the 19th century. Details of these movements and influ- encing forces will be discussed in the next chapter. Haida Land Question Five hundred miles south of the Queen Charlotte Is- lands in Victoria meetings were underway which would have marked effects on Haida spatial organization and economy. The first Legislative Assembly of the Colony convened in 1856, and at that meeting James Douglas, first governor of the Colony of Caledonia, reiterated his policy toward the Indians of the Colony. I shall, nevertheless, continue to conciliate the good will of the native Indians tribes by treating them with Justice and forbearance and by riggtly protecting their civil and agrarian rights. Governor Douglas took steps to protect Indians from exploitation by miners after the gold strikes on the Fraser River in 1858. Douglas proposed that each family be granted land which could not be sold, only inherited from generation to generation. Later, in 1861, the governor ordered sur- veys made "for marking out distinctly the Indian Reserves throughout the colony."21 2OOfficial Treatment of the Indians of British Co- lumbia (Ottawa: Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, 1967), p. 7. 21Ibid. 75 These original movements toward establishment of Indian reserves would later have marked effects on Haida spatial organization and the economy. Material Culture, l8AO—l876 The thirty-six year period between l8AO and 1876 were difficult years for the Haida. Death from diseases cut their population in half. But as villages were aban— doned, and numbers declined, their grand houses continued to be built and totem poles reached ever Skyward (Figure 12). FIGURE 12 VILLAGE OF CUMSHEWA -' ‘ zmafifv ‘- Source: Provincial Archives, Victoria, British Columbia. 76 Houses remained as large as they were at the time of contact, forty by fifty feet; some were reported with dimensions to seventy-five by one hundred feet.22 Figure 13 illustrates the immensity of the framework of the houses built in the l8A0—l876 era. The village pattern, however, remained unaltered through the era. FIGURE 13 HOUSE FRAME AT SKIDEGATE Source: Provincial Archives, Victoria, British Columbia. Although houses changed little during the first cen— tury of contact, house posts, or totem poles, changed dra- matically. Totem poles, as pointed out in Chapter III, ap- peared very early in contact history. Ingraham, in his 22Harrison, Ancient Warriors, p. 55. 77 Journal of 1790, reported "2 pillars in front of Haida vil- lages, . . . . A0 feet high."23 Development of the so- called classic totem pole began after 18A0 and reached its zenith between 1860 and 1880 during the period of trade and, later, occupation by the white man.2u The Haida displayed their wealth gained through the fur trade by erecting totem poles. After 1860 the number, size, and quality of totem poles broadcast the economic 25 Intense and bitter rivalries sprang status of a villager. up over the size and quality of the poles. As a result of these rivalries, forests of poles erupted in front of the Haida villages (Fig. 1A). Man—Land Relationship The usual pattern of subsistence - total resources from the sea - had continued unbroken from the time of con- tact until the early 1850's. In 185A the Hudson's Bay Company introduced agriculture to the Queen Charlottes' Haida. The Company believed that if the Haida had a stable agricultural source of food, they could spend more time in search of furs, and less time in search of food. In their earlier years of trading, the Bay found that potatoes were .readily eaten by the Haida. In 183A, the Company introduced 23Edward Keithman, Monuments in Cedar (Ketchikan, £19A5), p. 33. 2“Ibid. 25Marius Barbeau, Totem Poles (2 vols.; Ottawa: Akrtional Museum of Canada, 19A2), I, p. 513. 78 seed potatoes and growing techniques to the Haida.26 By 1859 patches of cleared land near the villages sprouted with potatoes and turnips.27 FIGURE 1A SKIDEGATE .‘_. .1 ’ 2': ¢ . 9" L.“ O v Source: Provincial Archives, Victoria, British Columbia. Although gardening was successfully introduced, too little arable land was available to support the population. 26R. C. P. Baylee, "Vancouver and Queen Charlotte's Island," The Colonial Church Chronical, May, 185A, p. A16. 27Letter, Torrens to Gov. James Douglas, p. 5. 79 Fishing and the seasonal cycle it produced remained the dominant mode of living for the natives of the Queen Char— lotte Islands. In addition to fishing, gardening, and fur trading,‘ the Haida engaged in the manufacture of argillite carvings, gold, silver and wooden Jewelry and household utensils. Already, by the mid-1860's Haida handicrafts were widely known and sought by art and curio collectors. These new economic pursuits entered and altered the seasonal cycle. Early each summer, those engaged in ar- gillite carving sailed from their village to the argillite quarry on the banks of Slate Chuck Creek. Slate Chuck is located one mile north of Anchor Cove in Skidegate Inlet. The quarry itself is found a few miles up stream from the mouth of the stream. Upon completion, the argillite car— vings were taken to Fort Simpson, Victoria, Wrangell, Alaska, and Seattle in the 1850-60's. In the 1870's Prince Rupert and Ketchikan, Alaska were added to the trading stops. Trade was not limited to curios. Exchange with neigh- boring groups flourished. Hudson's Bay Company blankets replaced otter and seal skins as the medium of exchange. 28Hudson's Bay Company trade blankets were distin- guished by points or lines woven into the edge of the ma- terial. All trade goods were valued in blankets, even other blankets. The most valuable blanket was the four-point, which, at $1.50 per point, was worth $6.00 Canadian dollars. 80 With the Tsimpshian, the Haida traded blankets for oulachen grease and in return the Tsimpshian exchanged blankets for Haida canoes. CHAPTER V THE COMING OF THE MISSIONARY 1876-1920 Until 1876 European impact on the spatial organi— zation, man—land relationships, and cultural landscapes had been covert. Migration, depopulation from disease, and the rise and fall of the fur trade all produced marked effects on the Haida. Yet all these forces were incidental. No one imposed their will on the Haida way of life until the missionaries came to the Queen Charlotte Islands. The idea for a mission station on the Islands in the mid-1850's originated with R. C. P. Baylee who wrote a let— ter to the Colonial Church Record which stated that ". the establishment of a mission to endeavor to rescue the natives from their state of heathenism and barbarism by dif- fusing among them the knowledge of Him who came to be 'the light' of the world."1 Baylee wrote of frequent wars, oc— casional cannibalism and of the Haida ability to carve stone and build ships. Because of these skills, Baylee saw fit to call the Haida the "Anglo-Saxons" of the North Pacific Coast. In order to break the chain of "degradation" lBaylee, "Vancouver and Queen Charlotte's Island," p. All. 81 82 Baylee felt "we must take as many of the native children as possible into schools, and keeping them separate from their parents and friends."2 Baylee's first call for an Island mission went un— answered and was forgotten. Sixteen years later, however, Mission Life published another plea to open a mission on the Islands. The author said, "No one can look into Mr. Poole's encouraging account without seeing that a band of true missionaries would have a very helpful prospect in trying to place the future civilization of the Queen Char— lotte Islands on a right basis."3 A Mission to Masset From the time of the establishment of Metlakatla on the mainland in 1857 the spiritual needs of the Islanders were met by ministers who Journeyed to the Islands for short A stays. Many Haida in search of medical services and Euro- 2lbid., p. A16. 3"An unoccupied Mission Field," Mission Life, 1869, p. 13. This note was written in response to an account of life on the Queen Charlotte Islands by Francis Poole which was published in Mission Life, Feb. 1868, p. 97. “William Duncan, from the Church Missionary Society in London in 1857 set up a mission at the Tsimpshian village of Metlakatla 20 miles from the Hudson's Bay Company Post of Fort Simpson. Duncan set up a church and school and trained local Tsimpshian as lay ministers in addition to other English missionaries who eventually went to the Queen Charlottes and other coastal outposts. V After the government of British Columbia denied Indian claims to the land, Duncan and his 1,000 charges in 1887 moved to Alaska and built New Metlakatla. See Henry S. Well- come, The Story of Metlakahtla (2nd ed., London: Saxon and Company, 1887), and George T. B. Davis, Metlakahtla, A True Narrative of the Red Man (Chicago: The Ram's Horn Company, 190A). 83 pean trade goods left the Islands and settled in Metlakatla. A young missionary, William Collison, serving at Metlakatla volunteered to operate a mission at Masset, the site of the Hudson's Bay Company Trading Post. In June of 1876 Collison and his wife boarded the canoe sent to bring them back to Masset. Collison took to Masset the rules and obJectives of the Metlakatla mission set forth by its founder, Rev. William Duncan. The obJectives were: 1 To give up Indian deviltry 2. To cease calling conJurors when sick 3. To stop gambling A. To cease potlatch or giving away their property for display 5 To cease drinking intoxicating liquors 6 To cease painting their faces 7 To rest on the Sabbath 8 To attend religious instruction 9 To send their children to school 10. To be cleanly 11. To be industrious 12. To be liberal and honest in trade 13 To build neat houses 1A To pay the village tax With those obJectives in mind, Collison landed at Masset. He was first impressed by the foul odor which palled about the place. Curious he searched for the source of the odor And found, to my astonishment a great pile of the remains of the dead, some in grease boxes tied around with bark ropes, some in cedar bark mats which have fallen to pieces revealing the contents, whilst skulls and bones were scattered around. Collison persuaded the Masset villagers of the health haz- 5Wellcome, Story of Metlakahtla, p. 20. 6William Collison, In the Wake of the War Canoe (Toronto: Musson Book Company, 1915), p. 103. 8A ards of these remains, and had pits dug near the mortuary poles to push in the moulding remains.7 Collison obtained smallpox vaccine from the Canadian government, and vaccinated many Masset villagers, but some who received the vaccine had violent reaction to the drug. They threatened to shoot Collison for poisoning them.8 Collison served at Masset until 1883. During his tenure he built a church, ministered to the sick, and traveled to preach at other Haida villages, including Skidegate. Upon his return to Metlakatla, a replacement was sent to Masset. Charles Harrison, a young Scotsman, was the choice. In March, Harrison arrived to begin his work. Harrison, whose outlook was less altruistic than Collison's, found only four adults and two children had been baptized. Of the people he wrote: The whole of the people were heathens and the cult of the medicine man was in full swing and rattling over the sick and making the night hideous with his screech- ing were the two principle parts of his profession.9 Harrison considered the large plank houses too large and cold. To improve their houses he made arrangements with a lumber firm in Port Essington to ship over schooner loads of lumber in order that the Indians could build "white men's houses."10 7Ibid., p. 220. 8Ibid., p. 203. 9Harrison, "Reminiscences," The Queen Charlotte Islander, Vol. I, May 28, 1912, n.p. lOlbid. 85 His next goal was to end the potlatch which he re— ferred to as the "impoverishing native custom of giving away property."ll And his tactics proved efficient. After a potlatch had been given and a man had distributed all his wealth, Harrison would call a meeting of all who had re- ceived goods to convince them not to give a potlatch in re— turn as custom dictated. Harrison quickly convinced enough people to stop the reciprocity custom, therefore anyone who gave a potlatch was in danger of becoming completely and perhaps permanently impoverished. Harrison believed that only the most careful Chris- tian training could save the Haida from speedy extinction. To Harrison, Christian training meant strict rules and en~ forced disciplinary activity. Some of this activity seems to have very little Christian content. (For example, of military drills he wrote: "recreation and Joy which young and old derive from the military orders are very beneficial and have a tendency to abolish their old heathen customs en— tirely from their minds."12 Harrison wrapped village government and Christian training into a single idea. He established a Church Coun- cil to "promote brotherly love amongst the baptized, to llHarrison, "Reminiscences," The Queen Charlotte Islander, Vol. I, May 28, 1912, n.p. l2Charles Harrison, Church Missionary lntelligencor and Record, Sept. 188A, pp. 55-56. 86 (Hicourage all Indians to attend church, and to give up Ehinday work . . . "13 The rules of this council acted also as civil law for the village of Masset. Among the civil laws were: 1. No one is allowed to be out of doors after the bugle sounds at 10 p.m. 2. No cannon is to be fired after 8 p.m. 3. No work is to be done on Sundays A Visitation of the sick and aged only by the baptized.1u Although Harrison was a zealot for strict order among his Indian charges, his personal behavior was less than exemplary. Marital problems quickly led him to alco- hol and his drunkenness became habitual. For his behavior the Church Missionary Society in London defrocked him in 1890. Out of a Job, Harrison returned to Scotland for a short time, but soon came back to Masset, bought land near Delkatla Slough and settled down. Being the only lay white .man near Masset he was granted the Job of constable and customs agent in addition to being the first white farmer on the Islands. His Delkatla "estate" cost twenty-five cents an acre. Here he planted potatoes and raised beef. He sold potatoes at a dollar a bag or one cent per pound, and his beef brought nine cents per pound.15 l3Charles Harrison, "The Hydahs of the Queen Char- lotte Islands," Church Missionary Intelligencer and Record II new series (1886), p. 18A. 1A Ibid. 15William Mathews, interview, Aug. 1968, Masset. 87 After his retirement Harrison's behavior did not im- prove. Stories linger of how Harrison rustled cattle be— longing to the Masset villagers, butchered the cattle, and sold the meat back to the Masset Haida. Other tales were told of his action as a customs agent. Many Masset villagers sailed to Ketchikan, Alaska for supplies and upon returning Harrison, as customs agent, collected a portion of their food and clothing as payment of import duty.16 In summary, Harrison influenced greatly the devel- opment of Haida society. The extent of the influence as it pertains to this study will be examined at length later in this chapter. A Mission to Skidegate Early in his tenure at Masset, Rev. Collison Jour- neyed to Skidegate and New Gold Harbor to conduct services. After this visit, the Skidegate villagers under the leader— ship of Gedanst (Amos Russ) issued a plea to the Anglican Church in Metlakatla for a full time minister and teacher. These requests went unanswered.17 Undaunted, the Skidegate villagers sent the same re— quest to the Methodist (United Church of Canada) mission at Fort Simpson. A teacher at the mission school, George l6William Mathews, interview, Aug. 1968, Masset. l7Rev. Thomas Crosby, Up and Down the North Pacific Coast by Canoe and Mission Ship (Toronto: The Missionary Society of the Methodist Church, 191A), p. 263. 88 Robinson, volunteered to go to Skidegate in 1883.18 Robin- son remained in Skidegate two years and built a small church. Robinson left after steamer service between Fort Simpson and Skidegate was curtailed. A series of short term missionaries followed Robinson including: G. F. Hopkins in 188A, Rev. A. N. Miller in 1888 to 1892, a lay teacher S. Lazier from 1892 to 1893, and B. C. Freeman in 1893.19 Freeman stayed fifteen years and was re- placed by Dr. John C. Spencer who took charge in Skidegate between 1908 and 1915. Freeman and Spencer left their im— pact on the Haida.2O A Mission to New Gold Harbor Villagers at New Gold Harbor on Xaina Island first refused a missionary, and chided those at Skidegate for asking the help of a white man. But Xaina Islanders saw that some benefits were to be had and asked that a teacher be sent to their village. Because New Gold Harbor was small and very near Skidegate the Methodists urged these Xaina Islanders to move to Skidegate. They refused to move. Skidegate was no better than New Gold Harbor. The Meth- odists decided to send a lay teacher to New Gold Harbor to avoid the rivalries. In October, 1885, the mission steamer Glad Tidings put ashore George Edgar and his wife to fill l9 lBIRiQo, p. 17. Ibid., p. 266. 20A complete list of missionaries who served at Skidegate and Masset is found in Appendix A. 89 the charge in Xaina Island.21 Expecting a white missionary, the Xaina Islanders, became angry to see that Edgar was in fact a Tsimpshian. Why should a Haida listen to an inferior Tsimpshian? After much disagreement, the Gold Harbor vil— lagers agreed to give Edgar a chance. The villagers accepted Edgar and planned and built a little church. However, by 1893 inhabitants of New Gold Harbor abandoned the village, and moved the wood from their church and personal belongings to Skidegate.22 A Mission at New Klew On a voyage aboard the mission ship Glad Tidings to the remaining southern villages, Skedans, Cumshewa, and Tanu, Rev. Thomas Crosby saw the deplorable condition in these villages. At Tanu, Crosby was asked to provide a teacher and a missionary. Crosby tried to convince the people of Tanu to move to Skidegate which was then under the direction of Rev. Hopkins. They, like the people of New Gold Harbor refused to Join with Skidegate. They, too, wanted to be in their own village. Crosby, however, did per- suade the Tanu villagers to move to a new village site on ‘the north shore of Louise Island on Cumshewa Inlet. This new village, named New Klew, was near enough to Skidegate for the minister to pay bi—monthly visits to the village. 2lRobert C. Scott, My Captain Oliver, A Story of Two Missionaries on the British Columbia Coast (Toronto: United Church of Canada, 19A7), p. 27. 22Crosby, Upgand Down the North Pacific Coast, p. 271. 90 New Klew remained viable until the last half of the last decade of the 19th century. In 1897 New Klew was vacated in favor of Skidegate.23 All the Haida in the southern part of the Queen Charlotte Islands were united into one village. Other Canadian Settlers Other white settlers followed the missionaries to the Queen Charlotte Islands — sparingly at first - then in relatively large numbers.2u The non-Indian population at Masset in 1881 consisted of Mr. Alexander, the Hudson's Bay Company factor, his wife and ten children, Rev. J. H. Keen and his wife, Charles Harrison and Alexander McKenzie. McKenzie, a former Hudson's Bay Company factor at Masset, 25 became Harrison's drinking-partner. Spatial Organization 1876-1920 The missionaries impact on the Haida produced marked changes in their spatial organization, economy, and cultural landscape. They were for many years unsuccessful in revers— ing the continual population decline. Prior to the first 23lbid. 2”A more complete picture of European settlement from the time of the first missionaries to the 1920's is given in Dalzell, Queen Charlotte Islands. 25Wiggs O'Neill, "My Memories" (unpublished MS, British Columbia, Provincial Archives, 196A), p. 10. It is told that McKenzie met his death after a drinking binge with Charles Harrison. Apparently, on the day of his death, McKenzie was walking home from Harrison's house, fell into Delkatla Slough, and drowned in a few inches of water. (Joe Weir, informant, Sept. 1969, Masset). 91 census in 1889, population estimates vary greatly. William Collison, the first missionary at Masset, estimated the total population in 1876 to be approximately 1,300 with 800 in the northern and 500 in the southern parts of the Queen Charlotte Islands.26 Dawson on his geological expedition of 1878 approximated the total population in the range be- tween 1,700 and 2,000.27 Chittenden, in his official re- port on an expedition to the Queen Charlotte Islands for the British Columbia government, estimated only 800 in 188A. Chittenden's estimates are included in Table 7. TABLE 7 POPULATION ESTIMATE 188A Village Population Houses Masset . . . . . . . . . 350 A0 New Gold Harbor. . . . . 108 Cumshewa . . . . . . . . 60 18 Skedans. . . . . . . . . 12 25 Tanu . . . . . . . . . . 150 22 Ninstints. . . . . . . . 30 20 Skidegate. . . . . . . . 100 30 810 Source: Newton H. Chittenden, "Official Report of the Exploration of the Queen Charlotte Island for the Government of British Columbia (unpublished MS, British Columbia, Provincial Archives, 188A), pp. 23-2A. 26Dawson, "Report on the Queen Charlotte Islands," p. 17A. 271bid. 92 Chittenden enumerated the houses he saw in the village. By using the factor of 7 to 8 per house, the total popula- tion can be estimated for 91333 1870 (see Table 8). The es— timate does not include west coast villages nor does it take into account that many of the houses in the villages of Skedans, Tanu, and Cumshewa were not occupied.28 If the same density per house equivalent is employed the total pop— ulation circa 1820 could be in the neighborhood of 2,000 at the time of the greatest migratory activity. TABLE 8 CALCULATED POPULATION 1870 Village Number of Houses (x 7—8) Total Parry Passage Kiusta and Yaku . . . 21 1A7-168 Tadense (Dadens) . . . . 6 A2- A8 Kung . . . . . . . . . . 15 105—120 Yan . . . . . . . . . . 2O 1A0-16O potential totals A3A-A76 totals Table 8 810-810 12AA-1286 Source: Chittenden, "Report of the Exploration," pp. 23—2A. 28Crosby, Up and Down the North Pacific Coast, p. 270. 93 The first official census was conducted by the pro— vincial government in 1889 and published in the first an— nual report of the Dept. lumbia of that year. HAIDA POPULATION 1889-1900 TABLE 9 of Indian Affairs of British Co- Village 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 189A Masset AA5 A38 A07 A01 A05 385 New Klew 93 9A 93 8A 77 73 Skidegate“ . . 192 198 193 197 192 181 New GOld 11an01”. _ __ _ —_ — _:_ 73C 730 693 682 67A 639 Village 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 Masset 36A 35A 363 373 378 373 New Klew 58 66 _ _ _ _ Skidegate . . 171 178 2A6 252 259 257 New Gold Harbor. - - - - - - 593 598 609 625 637 630 Source: Annual Report for 1889, p. 1890, 2A3-A; Annual Report for 1891, p. Annual Report Department of Indian Affairs of British Columbia, 263; Annual Report for 2AA; 1893, p- 309; Annual Report Annual Report for 189A, p. 280; 1896, p. A32; Annual Report 1899, p. for 1892, p. 31A; Annual Repprt for for 1895, p. 359; Annual Report for for 1898, p. 258; Annual Report for 235; Annual Report for 1897, p. 85; Annual Report for 1900, p. 277. *The population for Skidegate and New Gold Harbor were combined until 189A. 9A In spite of missionary efforts, the native popula- tion on the Queen Charlotte Islands generally continued to decline. Some migrated to seek Jobs in Alaska, or in the growing cities around Puget Sound. Disease, too, contin- ued to weaken the Haida. By 1895 the British Columbia De- partment of Indian Affairs called the Haida among the weakest native populations on the Northwest Coast.29 Measles combined with whooping cough swept the population and tu- 30 The population ebbed. Fewer berculosis became chronic. children survived infancy and the birth rate also declined. The population age structure of 1903 reveals further decline. TABLE 10 HAIDA AGE DISTRIBUTION 1903 Age Village less 6-15 16-20 21-65 over 65 than 6 Masset . . . 65 55 A8 175 27 Skidegate. . 36 35 33 1A6 1A total each 101 90 81 321 A1 age group percent total 15.9 15.7 12.7 50.6 6.A population Source: Annual Report for 1903, p. 26A. 29Annual Report for 1895, p. 165. 3OHarrison, Ancient Warriors, p. 61. 95 Migration Pattern 1876-1897 Figure 15 illustrates the migration pattern from 1876 to 1897. The missions exerted direct influence on the movement of the people of Tanu and New Klew in 1883. In— directly, the missions exerted centripetal forces in the form of potential education and medical care which might have saved the dwindling Haida from extinction. The sick and broken remaining handful of the once powerful Ninstints people moved to Tanu about 1880.31 More southern villages chose to move including Skedans. Skedans, which wanted its own missionary decided to Join the new community of New Klew instead. Tsahl Joined New Gold Harbor. By 1889 Cum— shewa had Joined Skidegate, leaving only New Klew, New Gold Harbor, and Skidegate in the south.32 On the north end of the Islands, migration to Masset occurred earlier. By 188A, the villagers of Yatza had split with the maJority relocating in Masset and a few moving to Yan, directly across the Inlet from Masset. All those at Yan, including the former Yatza people, linked with Masset prior to 188A. Masset's closest neighbor in the south, Kayung also was abandoned by 188A.33 Villagers at Dadens on North Island Journeyed to Alaska by 1882 to Join other Haida who had left Susk and Masset. In 1889 all the village sites on the north shore 31Deans, Tales from the Totems, pp. 6A-65. 32Chittenden, "Report of the Exploration," p. 23. 33Ibid. 96 FIGURE 15 .I» E N TR A N c E MASSET 7w KAYUNG 54,. I "I 0 L ‘I "I _ N '.'.". —- 53 Queen 2 SKE DANS (1)53 Charlotte Is. i I] 1: fi HAIDA MIGRATION I876 - I897 SOURCE: Compiled by author NINSTINTS .5555}: r—SZO miles 52°— . 0 20 . If: 132 irh 97 of Graham Island were extinct, but the Yatza and Dadens sites saw limited summer habitation as fishing stations. The eight intervening years between 1889 and 1897 witnessed the demise of two more villages along Skidegate Inlet. In 1893 villages at New Gold Harbor dismantled their houses and church and transported them along with all other belongings to Skidegate.3u At New Klew, the village razed their church in 1893 and floated the pieces to Skidegate. With the materials from the New Gold Harbor and New Klew chapels, Rev. B. C. Freeman and his charge built an addition to Skidegate church. Dismantling the New Klew church fore— shadowed that villages future. For in 1897, the 66 remaining souls of New Klew moved to Skidegate. Of the original 3A villages, only two, Masset and Skidegate, survived the 19th century. Impact of Mission Period on Material Culture The missionary period witnessed a complete change in the cultural landscape on the Queen Charlotte Islands. Re- peated moving and in—migration to Masset and Skidegate rap— idly altered the traditional village plan. In-migration caused crowding in Masset and Skidegate which resulted in the addition of second and even third rows of houses. A second force which helped change the internal structure of the Haida villages and still connected with in—migration was 3“Crosby, Up and Down the North Pacific Coast, p. 271. 98 the carry over of traditional political autonomy in each village. As a village (hence a political unit under one headman) migrated to Masset all members of the migrating village remained together and formed a small enclave attached to the main village of Masset. Therefore, several political entities actually made up the villages of Masset and Skide- gate. When Charles Harrison became the Anglican missionary at Masset in 1883 that village was divided into three units. House Types Changes in house type followed the alteration of in- ternal village structure. William Collison, the first mis— sionary at Masset, and Charles Harrison, the second, urged the villagers to give up their large, damp, drafty lodges and build cozy English-type houses. Harrison related that the Haida "had only their large and cold wigwams" which were uncomfortable and offered little privacy when he arrived in 1883.35 To alleviate this perceived problem Harrison ar— ranged to have a firm from Port Essington, R. Cunningham and Sons, ship loads of lumber until the Haida had enough material to build "white man's houses." The first shipment arrived in 1886, but the schooner, Skeena, sank on a return voyage in late December, 1886.36 Masset, and later the Skidegate Haida, did indeed begin the conversion to small 3SHarrison, "Reminiscences," Queen Charlotte Islander Vol. I, May 25, 1912, n.p. 35lbid. -——-—- 99 houses. Concommitant with the urgings for smaller houses was the pressure to establish single family domiciles. Only some twenty years passed before the transition from traditional to European style housing had occurred. Deans reported all but three traditional houses razed and replaced by European dwellings in Masset by 1892.37 Figure 16 illustrates the traditional house in the village of Yan between 1870-1880. No European influence FIGURE 16 YAN CIRCA 1880 Source: Provincial Archives, Victoria, British Columbia. 37J. H. Keen, ”The Masset Mission" Church Missionary Society Gleaner, 1891, p. 36. Deans, Tales from the Totems, p' 1?- 100 appears in the form or material used in these structures. The second photograph, Figure 17, made in Masset, seat of most intense European contact indicates that much change has taken place. Note the alteration in material, but the FIGURE 17 MASSET CIRCA 1880 Source: Provincial Archives, Victoria, British Columbia. general consistence in form on these houses. The dwelling in the right fore-ground utilizes a horizontal clapboard siding to replace, or perhaps to cover the traditional 101 vertical planks. Windows frequently were added as a modi- fication to traditional houses. The third photograph of Skidegate in 1901 (Fig. 18) illustrates the extent of conversion to European architecture by the turn of the century. And the fourth photograph FIGURE 18 SKIDEGATE 1901 Source: Provincial Archives, Victoria, British Columbia. 102 (Fig. 19) taken at Masset circa 1918, reveals a near com- plete succession to a European cultural landscape, except for two "totem poles" nearly indistinguishable in the cen- ter of the photograph. FIGURE 19 MASSET CIRCA 1918 Source: Provincial Archives, Victoria, British Columbia. Totem Poles: Their Demise The early missionaries on the'Queen Charlottes were never amused by the elaborately carved poles which punc- tuated the village beaches and house fronts. Their presence, in the minds of these Europeans, smacked of idolatry and 103 sinfulness. William Collison quickly dissuaded the use of mortuary poles. These "burial" poles containing the molder- ing dead produced a powerful odor and Collison convinced the Masset villagers that these remains harbored disease. But the house pole and detached crest poles were not easy to dispose of. The poles standing in the 1880's were those carved and erected during the high period of totem pole construc- tion from 18A0 to 1880.38 By the mid—1880's the mission- aries were able to prevent the continued flourishing of the practice. Gradually as the Haida converted to Christianity, they gave up carving. On occasions of zealous religious fervor, many Haida cut down their poles and burned them.' Still others, with economic rather than religious motiva- tion, cut and sold their totem poles to eager museums or collectors.39 In ten years from the end of the high water mark of the carved pole art, 1880, most of the "totems" in the inhabited villages had been destroyed or sold. The date of the last manufactured pole in Masset is not known. However, one informant, aged 70, vividly remem- bers as a young boy a preacher telling the villagers that the poles must be cut down or all the people of Masset would go to Hell. The informant reported further that many old people felt badly and wept, but the majority of the poles 38Barbeau, Totem Poles, p. 512. 39Ibid. 10A A0 were cut down, burned or buried. Figure 19 reveals two poles remaining in Masset giggg 1918, but one, the small one to the left, was a memorial pole for Albert Edenshaw who had died in 189A.ul Apparently the two remaining poles were destroyed sometime in the 1920's, removing any trace of this cultural manifestation until 1969, when a new gov- ernment funded pole was erected. The totem poles in Skidegate followed generally the fate of those in Masset. Consistent, although less direct pressure from the missions, combined with villagers who sought modernity dealt rapid blows to the poles. Many were sold, others simply decayed and fell into ruin. No evi- dence was found of any forced cutting of the poles. This conclusion is further evidenced by the presence of a totem pole which survives to this day in Skidegate (Fig. 20). It was probably erected in the late 1880's. The Impact of the Missions on the Haida Economy The impact of the missionary on the traditional Haida economic system proved as radical as their impact on the spatial organization and cultural landscape. Changes in the Haida use of their natural environment is best illustrated in 1) the continued alteration of the traditional seasonal cycle; 2) the movement toward an agricultural subsistence; 3) the introduction of an industrial economy; and A) the uOJoe Weir, informant, Sept. 1969, Masset. ”lbalzell, Queen Charlotte Islands, p. 68. 105 establishment of Indian Reserves. FIGURE 20 TOTEM POLE, SKIDEGATE, 1968 Source: photo by author, July, 1968. Alteration of the Seasonal Cycle Continued population losses and the abandonment and migration which resulted from it reduced the range of the Haida. But under the influence of the missionaries, the traditional cycle, as described in Chapter 111, came to an 106 end. Not all movement ended, but one move was replaced with yet another. For example, the summer move to the fish— ing stations was replaced by a summer move to work in the canneries on the mainland. Rather than returning from the fishing grounds with the winter's food the Islanders re— turned with the winter supplies purchased at Fort Simpson or Ketchikan.“2 The outstanding characteristics of the seasonal cycle during the Missionary period were the continual truncation of seasonal movements to their virtual elimination. The mission period, therefore, converted the Haida from a far ranging to a sedentary society. Agriculture as a Way of Life As noted earlier the Hudson's Bay Company encouraged agriculture to insure an ample food supply for their fur hunters. Their persuasion proved fruitless, but the idea of an agricultural Haida still remained. Shortly after the turn of the century, the two Haida villages contained many small garden plots and additional cultivated lands on traditional family land which had been set aside as reserves. Potatoes grew as the chief crop on these small plots. Turnips, other roots, and hay composed other cultivated crops.u3 From 1917 to 1919, these crops A2Martha w. Boss, "A Tale of Northern British Columbia from Cariboo to Cassiar," (unpublished MS., British Columbia Provincial Archives, 19A8), p. 23. u3Joe Weir, informant, Sept. 1969, Masset. 107 played only a small role in the economy of the Queen Char- lotte natives. For example, 700 bushels of potatoes were harvested from seven acres. Other roots, grown on ten acres yielded 1,000 bushels; six tons of cultivated hay was cut.uu Indians consumed most of the potatoes and other food crops, but enough was sold to bring in $700 to horticulturalists. This income is really insignificant when compared to the total income of all Haida of $60,972.3A.“5 By 1919 the amount of cultivated land rose, however, from seventeen to thirty-nine acres. Nine acres of pota- toes yielded A50 bushels, other root crops, on five acres, produced 250 bushels, and hay and other fodder crops grew on the remaining acreage.L46 Value of farm products rose to $3,200 in 1919 as total income fell to $5A,73l.56.u7 Government aid encouraged agriculture. Each budget for the Queen Charlotte Agency included small allocations for aid in the form of seeds, fencing, and breed animals. Amounts were only a maximum of $118.72 of a $A,951.32 budget. Husbandry quickly overtook horticulture in value. By 1917 the income derived from sale of beef was $900; by 1919 beef brought in $5,500 far exceeding the income from uuCanada, Department of Indian Affairs, Annual Report for 1917 (Ottawa: Kings Printer, 1918), p. 32. A 5Ibid., p. 56. u6Canada, Department of Indian Affairs, Annual Report for 1919 (Ottawa: Kings Printer, 1920), p. 53. u7Ibid., p. 76. 108 agricultural sales. Table 11 indicates total income from all sources during the years 1917, 1918, and 1919. Even though missionaries and government Indian agents outlined the benefits of agriculture and financially sup- ported it, agriculture never became an important economic pursuit of the Haida. After 1920 pressures toward agri- culture were reduced and it quickly faded from the scene as an economic endeavor. The table does reveal, however, the economically im- portant activities - wage earning and fishing - by the end of the missionary period. Industrial Development Wage—earning from industrial operations proved to be the greatest departure from the traditional economic pur- suits of the Haida. Initial development of copper and coal extraction was attempted during the mid—19th century. These incipient developments were important to the Queen Char- lotte natives, but did not directly involve the Haida or their traditional man-land relationships. However, the in- dustrial ventures begun in the 1870's directly affected and included the Haida. 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