The Davidson Glacier was named for Professor George Davidson, who was
one of its earliest explorers. A heavy forest growth covers its terminal
moraine, and detracts from its lower beauty.
Pyramid Harbor, at the head of Chilkaht Inlet, has an Alaska Packers'
cannery at the base of a mountain which rises as straight as an arrow
from the water to a height of eighteen hundred feet. This mountain was
named _Labouchere_, for the Hudson Bay Company's steamer which, in 1862,
was almost captured by the Hoonah Indians at Port Frederick in Icy
Strait.
Pyramid Harbor was named for a small pyramid-shaped island which now
bears the same name, but of which the Indian name is Schlayhotch. The
island is but little more than a tiny cone, rising directly from the
water. Indians camp here, in large numbers in the summer-time, to work
in the canneries. The women sell berries, baskets, Chilkaht blankets of
deserved fame, and other curios.
It was this harbor which the Canadians in the Joint High Commission of
1898 unblushingly asked the United States to cede to them, together with
Chilkaht Inlet and River, and a strip of land through the _lisiere_
owned by us.
The Chilkaht River flows into this inlet from the northwest. At its
mouth it widens into low tide flats, over which, at low tide, the water
flows in ribbonish loops. Here, during a "run," the salmon are taken in
countless thousands.
The Chilkahts and Chilkoots are the great Indians of Alaska. They
comprise the real aristocracy. They are a brave, bold, courageous race;
saucy and independent, constantly carrying a "chip on the shoulder," or
a "feather pointing forward" in the head-gear. They are looked up to and
feared by the Thlinkits of inferior tribes.
Their villages are located up the Chilkaht and Chilkoot rivers; and
their frequent mountain journeyings have developed their legs, giving
them a well-proportioned, athletic physique, in marked contrast to the
bowed- and scrawny-legged canoe dwellers to the southward and westward.
They are skilful in various kinds of work; but their fame will
eventually endure in the exquisite dance-blankets, known as the Chilkaht
blanket. These blankets are woven of the wool of the mountain goat,
whose winter coat is strong and coarse. At shedding time in the spring,
as the goat leaps from place to place, the wool clings to trees, rocks,
and bushes in thick festoons. These the indolent Indians gather for the
weaving of their blankets, rather than take the trouble of killing the
goats.
This delicate and beautiful work is, like the Thlinkit and Chilkaht
basket, in simple twined weaving. The warp hangs loose from the rude
loom, and the wool is woven upward, as in Attu and Haidah basketry.
The owner of one of the old Chilkaht blankets possesses a treasure
beyond price. The demand has cheapened the quality of those of the
present day; but those of Baranoff's time were marvels of skill and
coloring, considering that Indian women's dark hands were the only
shuttles.
Black, white, yellow, and a peculiar blue are the colors most frequently
observed in these blankets; and a deep, rich red is becoming more common
than formerly. A wide black, or dark, band usually surrounds them,
border-wise, and a fringe as wide as the blanket falls magnificently
from the bottom; a narrower one from the sides.
The old and rare ones were from a yard and a half to two yards long. The
modern ones are much smaller, and may be obtained as low as seventy-five
dollars. The designs greatly resemble those of the Haidah hats and
basketry.
The full face, with flaring nostrils, small eyes, and ferocious display
of teeth, is the bear; the eye which appears in all places and in all
sizes is that of the thunder-bird, or, with the Haidahs, the sacred
raven.
There is an Indian mission, named Klukwan, at the head of the inlet.
The Chilkahts were governed by chiefs and sub-chiefs. At the time of the
transfer "Kohklux" was the great chief of the region. He was a man of
powerful will and determined character. He wielded a strong influence
over his tribes, who believed that he bore a charmed life. He was
friendly to Americans and did everything in his power to assist
Professor George Davidson, who went to the head of Lynn Canal in 1869 to
observe the solar total eclipse.
The Indians apparently placed no faith in Professor Davidson's
announcement of approaching darkness in the middle of the day, however,
and when the eclipse really occurred, they fled from him, as from a
devil, and sought the safety of their mountain fastnesses.
The passes through these mountains they had held from time immemorial
against all comers. The Indians of the vast interior regions and those
of the coast could trade only through the Chilkahts--the scornful
aristocrats and powerful autocrats of the country.