The extreme north-eastern land of the island, is more extensive than indicated by the chart. Mr. Maynard, the photographer, who accompanied my Indian guide in a canoe around it, while I was engaged in examining the country inland, says that they were thrown with great force on the spit by a heavy breaker more than three miles off the extreme point of land of the peninsula, which split and would doubtless have sunk the canoe, had we not taken the precaution to strengthen it with ribs before leaving Massett. The north shore of the island is generally low, Chown and Yakan Points and Tow Hill being its only elevations exceeding fifteen or twenty feet. Between them are long stretches of very fine beaches, sandy, wide and gradually sloping.
There are no harbors, though canoes and small boats take refuge in stormy weather at the mouths of the rivers already mentioned. A thick growth of spruce and cedar generally reaches down to the sea shore. About seven miles south of Rose Spit Point there is a lagoon three or four miles in length, which we have named Long Lagoon. The Hoy-kund-la River, not mentioned on the charts, about two rods in width, and choked with the usual obstructions, was passed, ten miles further south. Three brooks, from ten to fifteen feet in width, were crossed between it and
TLELL RIVER.
This stream, about thirty miles north of Skidegate, is the most important water-course on the island, east of Massett Inlet. It is from seventy-five to 150 feet in width, and navigable at high tide for about three miles. South of Tlell River there are several small brooks, but no rivers as far as Skidegate Inlet.
There are no harbors on the east coast of Graham Island, and only canoes and small vessels could find refuge in its small bay indentations in stormy weather. Shoals extend nearly its whole length, upon which many rocky reefs are visible at low tide. Mr. McGregor, of the Skidegate Oil Co., says that their small steamer struck a rock at least three and a half miles off this coast. Mr. Maynard also reports that our canoe hit a rock over a mile from shore, when near the mouth of Tlell River. The general elevation of the eastern is much higher than that of the northern shore of the island, rising to bold sand bluffs from 50 to 250 feet in height for the greater portion of the distance between the Hoy-kund-la and Tlell Rivers.
Having thus briefly outlined the most prominent physical features of the section traversed, I will return to the point of departure on Massett Inlet, and notice its
AGRICULTURAL, GRAZING AND TIMBER LANDS.
Of strictly agricultural lands, the quantity found is quite limited. At the mouth of Cedar Creek there are about twenty acres of overflowed land which could easily be reclaimed by dyking. Along Canoe Passage there is a considerably larger tract of tide-land, probably 150 acres, which from two to three feet of levee would protect from overflow. Proceeding northward there is no open country until Deleatlay* is reached, where there are about 900 acres of level land, about one-half of which is subject to overflow at high tides. This produces an abundant growth of meadow grass. It is situated about two miles southeast of the village of Massett. Passing over to the north coast there is a strip of grazing land from fifty to ten rods in width, narrowing as it is followed eastward, which extends from the village named, unbroken, for five or six miles along the immediate seashore. It produces a coarse sea blade bunch grass and affords considerable grazing. This tract comprises about 1,000 acres, most of which is of too uneven surface to admit of cultivation with the plow.
On the inlet extending from Skoonan River westward, there are about seventy-five acres of tide-lands which could be reclaimed by a short, inexpensive dyke. Near Yakan Point, to the eastward, there are about twenty acres of level meadow land, with a small patch adjoining, where the Indians have raised potatoes. In the meadow I found cranberry vines, upon which last season's fruit was still hanging. About one mile south-west of Tow Hill and half a mile from the sea shore, with timber intervening, there is a marsh containing about 200 acres, which could probably be drained and converted into good grass land. Here I also found cranberry vines in a flourishing condition and their fruit. Three or four miles back from the coast at this point, lies a tract of several hundred acres of swamp grass land, which by drainage, would afford considerable pasturage. A narrow strip of grazing land, from five to fifteen rods in width, extends for about three miles along the seashore, eastward from near the mouth of the Hi-ellen River. Five or six miles south-west of Rose Spit peninsula, I found a hay marsh of probably 150 acres.
Rose Spit peninsula embraces from 1200 to 1500 acres of rolling grazing land, portions of which are suited to agriculture. Immediately to the eastward of Long Lagoon there are about 200 acres of meadow land, a portion of which is quite low and wet. To the south and westward lies an irreclaimable swamp, covering from five to seven thousand acres, filled with dead trees, standing.