70 THE BIG CANOE

The white chief bids you come on board and receive
many fine presents which he has brought to you.
Never have the Haidas seen such presents.”

Amazed beyond words were the chief and his men
when they heard Weah’s voice calling to them from
the vessel, when they saw the smiling face of the
young chief peering over the rail. Was he alone
among those strange white beings? Weah the Timid!
Weah, who had always been afraid of darkness!
They could hardly believe that he had dared to do
at night what none of the others dared do in the day-
time. They could hardly believe that he had dared
to board the ship, to visit with these strange white
men.

Not until they had been urged by the white trader
in the Niska tongue, not until they had been entreated
again and again by Weah, did the warriors dare to
draw near the vessel and climb warily on board. But
they soon saw that they had nothing to fear, and they
were given wonderful presents by the captain—tools
and dishes, cloth and bright-colored beads, and foods
which were unlike anything they had ever tasted.

Soon they were all as excited and happy as Weah
himself, and followed him eagerly around the deck,
admiring, as he had done, the intricate network of
sails and rigging. They stared in wonder at the wheel
and the binnacle, peered into the dark recesses of
the galley and the forecastle, and looked at the com-
pass and the sextant. The iron chains and cables im-