OF THE NORTH PACIFIC 33

old carved columns stand out gtim and grey against the
shadow of the woods. Moss and weeds grow upon the
great rafters of their old hewn houses; grass fills the
terraces about the hearth and chokes the doorways of
their strange old habitations. Those who occupied
them are now all dead, and the present generation have
taken up their abode in dwellings of a more modern
kind. The remnants of the thirty-nine clans of this
decaying nation have been gathered into four small
villages, one at Massett, where about four hundred of
them reside, two hundred more live at Skidegate, a small
village at the South end of Graham Island, and the rest
live in two villages on the American side, at Houkan
and Cassan. Why have they so decreased? The main
reason is that, years ago, whole families were swept
away. The prospect of high wages in Victoria, New
Westminster and elsewhere down the coast sixty years
ago induced many to leave their island home; the
temptations of the coast towns ruined their health, and
those who eventually did return were generally physical
and mental wrecks. Their history is only another
example of the inability of the North American Indian
race to survive in contact with European civilization.

The interior of the islands has not even yet been
thoroughly explored and probably will not for some
time to come, since the difficulties of transportation are
insurmountable to ordinary expeditions. The prin-
cipal harbours of the coast have been surveyed from
time to time by officers of the Royal Navy. The
last survey was made under the direction of Captain
F. G. Learmonth of His Majesty’s surveying ship
Egeria in 1907.

After this glimpse into the history of the discovery
of these islands, an endeavour will now be made to trace

their development and progress up to the present day.
Cc