SOME OCCUPATIONS OF INDIAN TRIBES At many points along the shores of British Columbia the traveller may notice the large strongly-built dwellings of the coast Salish, who are experts in splitting stout logs from the cedar tree by means of implements made from the horns of the elk and wood of maple trees. Such large dwellings, some of which had a length of over 200 feet, were, of course, occupied by more than one family, and as a rule there were at least half a dozen hearths, each belonging to one of several closely related families who occupied the same large dwelling. The interior of the building was divided into rooms by curtains manufactured from reeds or grasses; temporary screens of this kind were easily removed when the whole room was required for winter dancing festivities, which were generally connected with religious beliefs. Extending all round the walls of the hut was a low platform, which, covered with skins and blankets made from hair of dogs and mountain goats, served as a most comfortable bed, while on its under side could be stored dried fish, roots and berries collected during summer, and vast quantities of fir cones and firewood. Such stores were frequently hidden in the forest, for years ago, before the Canadian police were known, large bands of fierce Indians, named “Kwakiutl,” from Vancouver Island preyed upon the quieter coast Salish, carrying off their women, children, and stores. Even now, says a missionary named Father Morice, the Déné are afraid of the fierce, warlike tribes who paddled their long canoes for many miles up the Fraser River. The only pieces of furniture worth mentioning are large treasure chests constructed from planks of cedar firmly held by wooden rivets, so that the joints are quite watertight. Such boxes held blankets, costumes worn at dances, and other treasures, of which a chief owned a vast supply. Salish tribes of the interior had two sets of dwellings, a heavy timber one for winter use, and for summer a light cool structure made by stretching mats over a wooden framework. A similar summer habitation is made by the northern Déné tribes, whose pointed tent has the appearance of a true Indian “wigwam,” and at the present time an encampment of these tribes has the same appearance as it had a century ago, when visited by the great explorer Sir Alexander Mackenzie.