Part 9

Three Indian reservations lie within the ocean strip and a fourth adjoins it on the south. One of these, the Ozette at the northern end, is no longer inhabited, but there are still signs of the village site. An unimposing bit of rock juts into the water here. This is Cape Alava, which is distinguished by being the western extremity of our country, exclusive of Alaska and Hawaii.

Numerous birds nest on the offshore islands. Many others make rest stops during migration, as the strip lies within a major migration flyway. Birds, including gulls, crows, oystercatchers, and cormorants, are always present along the shore. Usually several bald eagles may be seen during a hike along the beach. They build their nests mostly in the tops of tall snags.

Mammals, too, appear on the beach. Raccoons and skunks take advantage of low tides to feed on the various and abundant life available then. Deer frequently come to the beaches, perhaps to escape a cougar, to sun themselves, or to obtain salt or certain beach plants. Not infrequently a black bear is seen, and, occasionally, an elk.

Camping on the beach is pleasant during dry weather. There is ample firewood everywhere and small streams flow out of the forest, providing fresh water. Some of the streams may be contaminated, however, and the water should be either boiled or treated chemically if its purity is doubtful.

There are several trails leading to the beach. Starting at the north, the most important of these are the following:

INDIAN VILLAGE TRAIL, starting at Lake Ozette and extending 3 miles to the Ozette village site at the beach, leads through delightful forest and prairie. Much of the trail is a boardwalk made of split cedar puncheon.

SAND POINT TRAIL also starts at Lake Ozette and is 3 miles long. The distance between the Indian Village Trail and this trail is also 3 miles along the beach. Thus, a triangular 9-mile round trip is possible.

SECOND BEACH TRAIL is about one-half of a mile long.

THIRD BEACH TRAIL is about three-quarters of a mile long. These two latter trails start from the road near the village of La Push and lead to attractive, clean, sandy beaches.

Man in Olympic

INDIANS OF THE OLYMPIC PENINSULA

In aboriginal times, the Olympic Peninsula was a part of the Northwest Coast cultural area, which stretched along the Pacific shoreline from northern California to Alaska. The inhabitants of this extensive region shared many cultural traits, perhaps the most distinctive of which were a keen sense of personal property and a veneration of wealth. These people did little to change their natural environment, but they showed great skill in utilizing what resources their primitive technology made available. Their dug-out canoes, for instance, fashioned from tree trunks, were probably the finest which have ever been made by any aboriginal people.

This remarkable culture was possible largely because the environment provided an abundance of the necessities of life. Food was easily obtained, and 3 or 4 months of gathering provided enough for the balance of the year. Fish were the staple food. Salmon swarmed up the streams of the Olympic Peninsula each summer and were trapped or speared in great quantity. Smelt were dipped from the surf, and clams and other shelled creatures were taken from the seashore. The diet was augmented by berries and roots from the woodlands. Elk, deer, and birds provided meat. Some of the Olympic Indians hunted seals, porpoises, and whales. The capture of the whales required daring journeys on the open sea in dug-out canoes 30 to 40 feet long and accommodating 6 to 8 men.

The great forests of the Peninsula were vitally important to the Indian economy. Cedars provided hulls for canoes or were split into planks for houses. From cedar bark were made baskets, mats, sails, cordage, clothing, and other household necessities.

Most of the year these Indians lived in villages located above the beaches along the ocean or arms of the sea, generally at the mouths of rivers. Their permanent houses were stoutly built of planks. Some of these rectangular structures, designed to accommodate several families, were more than 60 feet long and 30 to 40 feet wide. Many of them were beautifully decorated with painted designs. During summer it was a common practice of these people to migrate, either inland to gather berries and hunt, or along the watercourses to fish.

By primitive standards, the Indians of the Northwest Coast were wealthy; that is, they had plenty of things to eat, wear, and use for shelter. They also had much winter leisure. This combination of wealth and leisure gave rise to a remarkable political and social system in which power and prestige generally belonged to the richest individuals.

An important feature of the social structure was the giving away of possessions during a feast, called a potlatch. Years, even a lifetime, of saving and privation were frequently endured in order to accumulate sufficient wealth for this purpose. Guests were invited from many tribes. The host gave such valuable gifts as canoes, slaves, food, fishing equipment, and, in more recent years, commercial blankets. As a rule, gifts were given only to guests who could afford to give a return potlatch. Gift-giving was a good investment for the host because the recipient was obligated to give a larger gift in return. This act of giving away one’s possessions elevated the giver and his family in the social scale. Wealth was measured not so much in terms of what was owned as by what was given away.

In recent years the Bureau of Indian Affairs has exerted pressure to discourage the potlatch system, and it has declined greatly; but potlatches are still held in modified form.

Today, the scene at Indian villages along the Olympic Peninsula is quite unlike that of a century ago. The cedarplank communal houses are no longer built; and, as the climate is not conducive to preservation, the old ones have disappeared. White man’s clothes have replaced garments of skin and shredded bark. Customs, too, have been modified under the impact of modern civilization. Still, much of the old Indian tradition survives, though it may not be discernible on the surface.

The main source of livelihood still is fishing. The Indians prefer to use dug-out canoes, but now these are usually propelled by outboard motors. Nearly every family owns a canoe, although only a few expert canoe makers build them. They are similar to the oldtime canoes in design, but the tools used to carve them are steel rather than the stone, shell, or bone used for blades in primitive tools.

Thrilling dug-out canoe trips on the Quinault River are available in summer for a moderate fee. The Quinault Indians at Amanda Park, where the river flows out of Lake Quinault, offer such trips over the entire distance of 35 miles to the ocean.

EXPLORATION BY SEA

The first white men to explore the Olympic Peninsula came by sea. Spanish navigators venturing northward from Mexico may have coasted the shoreline as early as the 16th century. Juan de Fuca, said to have been a Greek pilot in the service of Spain, claimed to have entered the strait, which bears his name, in 1592, but satisfactory proof of this discovery is lacking.

Extensive exploration of the Northwest Coast did not begin, however, until the latter part of the 18th century, when rumors that the Russians were venturing southward from Alaska stirred the Spaniards to fresh efforts. In 1774, during the first of these renewed voyages, Juan Perez saw the present Mount Olympus and named it “Santa Rosalia.” He was the first European to name a geographic feature in what is now the State of Washington.

During the next 25 years the Northwest Coast, including that of the Olympic Peninsula, was widely explored and mapped by Spaniards, Englishmen, and Americans. The Spaniards were the first actually to set foot on the Peninsula. During a voyage made by Bruno Heceta and Juan de la Bodega y Quadra in 1775, Heceta landed at Point Grenville, near the mouth of the Quinault River.

Capt. James Cook was the first of several English navigators to explore the Northwest Coast. In 1778, during his search for the Northwest Passage, he named Cape Flattery, in the northwest corner of the Olympic Peninsula. While on the coast, some of Cook’s crewmen obtained furs from the natives and later sold them in China for high prices. This event turned the eyes of English and American businessmen toward the Pacific Northwest, and thereafter exploration of this region was stimulated by the fur trade.

In 1788, Capt. John Meares, an English trader, saw the mountain which Perez had named 14 years earlier. Not knowing of the earlier discovery, he christened the peak “Mount Olympus.”

Juan Francisco de Eliza, a Spanish captain, entered Juan de Fuca Strait in 1791 and named the harbor, where present Port Angeles is situated, “Puerto de Nuestra Senora de Los Angeles,” which means “Port of Our Lady of the Angels.” In the following year the Spaniards established a fort and settlement at Neah Bay. The members of this colony, which existed for only 5 months, were the first white settlers to touch the soil of the Olympic Peninsula and, indeed, of the State of Washington.