Official Report of the Exploration of the Queen Charlotte Islands for the Government of British ColumbiaChittenden, Newton H.
History
Official Report of the Exploration of the Queen Charlotte Islands for the Government of British Columbia
Chittenden, Newton H.
Haida Indians; Queen Charlotte Islands (B.C.)
AIN RIVER, opposite Kwa-kans Island and a group of islets. We ascended
this stream about ten miles, five on foot and thence by canoe through
two small lakes to its source in Soo-u-uns Lake. This fine body of
water is about eight miles long and three miles wide, surrounded by a
thick forest of spruce, red and yellow cedar. Mountains rise gradually
from its western and north-western sides to the height of from eight
to fifteen hundred feet. The river, from fifty to seventy-five feet in
width, is navigable for canoes, about a mile from its mouth, and also
between the small lakes mentioned, by means of several
portages--log-jambs, shoals and rapids. There are seven Indian lodges
at its mouth, this stream being a great resort for salmon.
It is about twelve miles from the mouth of the Ain River to the end of
the north-western arm of the sound, which having no name on the chart,
I have called
NEWTON INLET. It is about six miles in length, and two miles wide,
with an island at its entrance, known as Mut-oos, and several
islets. _En route_ we found two small streams, to the largest of which
my attention was first attracted by the noise of rapids at its
mouth. This is called by the Indians, Ta-tzun-in. Ascending it by
wading, with considerable difficulty, its bed was seen to be chiefly
limestone rock. There are two rivers flowing into Newton Inlet from
fifty to seventy-five feet in width, navigable for canoes at high tide
about half a mile, when shoal rapids are reached.
Steep mountains from 1,500 to 3,000 feet in height, separate this
inlet from the waters of the Pacific. Five or six miles to the
south-eastward begins
TI-IN-OWE INLET, which extends south-westerly between four and five
miles, having an average breadth of two miles. Two streams flow in at
its head, up the largest of which we ascended about one-third of a
mile at high tide, when a log jamb was found. There are three inlets
between Tin-in-owe and the entrance to Tsoo-skatli Inlet, about ten
miles to the south-eastward, and many islands and islets, the largest
of which is called Wat-hoo-us Island. Into the first of these inlets
flows the Awun River, rising in Awun Lake, about one hundred feet wide
at its month, and which we were able to ascend with our canoe about
one mile, when rapids were reached. Advancing several miles beyond on
foot, the river was found choked with frequent log jambs. There is an
Indian cabin and small garden plat cultivated for potatoes, at its
mouth. Proceeding eastward, we next enter a small bay into which
descends, over a precipitous ledge of rocks, a river, the outlet of a
small lake hidden from view by a narrow belt of timber; then follows a
deeper indentation about a mile in length and half a mile in width to
near its head, where an island narrows it for a short distance to less
than a hundred feet. Having seen here the largest number of jelly
fish found on the islands, I have named it Zoos Inlet.*
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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