Re: [Paddlewise] Spanish Victoria

From: "Peter Treby" <ptreby_at_ozemail.com.au>

> And while we're getting historical, what sort of boats did the local Native
> Americans use around Victoria? How far south did kayak use go?

AFAIK, they primarily used dugouts based on the huge trees from the 
boreal rain forests of the Pacific Northwest.  There were some canoes
made from bark - sturgeon-nosed and others - but I'm not sure if they
were coastal or inland.

George Dyson, in Baidarka, documents the use of Aleutian baidarkas as
far south as California.  These were seal hunters spurred on by Russian
fur traders to hunt.  They had to venture further south as the seal 
stocks were depleting as they hunted so aggressively.  Without the 
trade pushing them, I don't remember that they had previously ventured 
very far south - certainly not as far south as Vancouver Island.

BTW, those dugouts are very impressive.  I've seen several in museums
and they are big.  Made for travel on the coast and for whaling, they
were big, beautiful and impressively decorated.

Mike

For the appearance:
http://www.gwaiiecotours.com/haida_canoe.htm

for size,scroll down to the 17m canoe:
http://www.civilization.ca/aborig/haida/havct01e.html

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