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About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 5, 1889)
SHORE. of traveling through the water over the swells of the ocean at a railroad rate, drawn by a mounter inhabit ant of the deep. The procession moved in a circle of about fifteen mile in diameter, and it was well in the afternoon of Monday, the third, In-fore the leader commenced to fag. However, U-fore the darkness set in, the monster of the sea had sucumhed to the inevitable and lay Hunting on the Ixmum of the ocean. All this time the wind had Mown fiercely, and nothing had been heard from the misNing eonoe. Little attention, however, was paid to this latter fact, as, after separation from the others and from the whale, an isolated Uuit would Im exeoted to return to shore. All Monday night and the succeeding day the two remaining canoes kept tugging at their prize to land him, and succeeded in bringing him within a few miles of the shore. The wind, however, Ixrunie so violent on Tuesday afternoon that they were forced to leave him to the fast Hooding tide to beach and make a land ing themselves L-forc darkness rendered it extremely haturdoiis, f.-eling confident, however, that the coming ebb title would h ave their game high and dry tin the b in h within view of the jH.irit where they must neces sarily sM-iid the night. Their hors were fully realized, for at .lawn of day a Siwasli who had kept early vigil annount-etl that the whale was stranded at high water mark a short distance Llow their camp, at a reef of roc ks called by the natives "C.ph Palis." or leading rock, aUut two miles northwnrd from the Cli..i...1i. river, and a race It-gun to m-e who would U- the lucky I ''ft tolleh its U.ly.for he would thereby Im-ooii,,. eligible for the oilier of hoa-chin i-ca-hn should the prew-nt one Ite dfNiset or die. After the eyes of the whale had Urn removed by the dreamer, as the custom goes, and had Urn care fully laid away for sum-eding ceremoni.-s, tvt-f..oted inet.N.nger wt-rr sent in every direction to notify the Indians, who live within day's run. and the wo"rk of removing the MuhU-r and cutting up th,. remains U gtl. The whale f011m , of ,(, kwn m the M, k, and m.-nsiir., lifty-live feet in ,,,li;t, ,y eight or nine f.vt in diameter. , md II1)Uth about m f.i-t long, whi.1, strmetl t corroL.rate the time worn Jonah story. The entire skin of the animal was U.ut . half in, !, i thiekn.M, and. with the Hon .f the throat and Ully. j,.t ,at.k Th(1 and Lily were Uaut.fully stri, black ami white what a Mew wuhl call , ,,,, T1(, l,ul,U.r frtMiisu to ,-ight inehes i ,uYkneM Al).l luhU mymut h the fMofaht-g The Indians ,,,inmU. hat they will obt.m fr., .imi to gi,m, )lf from the MuM-r. In the evening the Indian. t thesurrv.undingtxmn try, who had Urn n.ehol by the runners, assembled and a "cultus potlatch" was held. Formerly the " cultus potlatch " was a meeting of the Indians to trade amongst themselves, but since the advent uf the whites it has degenerated into a drunken debauch. On this occasion the ceremonies opened with incantationi over the eyes of the whale, after which the Bkin of the animal was passed around to be eaten by the guextj raw, being considered by them a rare tidbit. After thii the (lowing bowl wns brought forth, and from the howl ing we heard above the ocean's roar, at a distance of half a mile, we judged that the " wolf was on the hill." We left the coast on the following day, ami up to that time nothing of the missing canoe had been heard, and the Indians were convinced that it must have been wrecked and the occupants, seven in number, must have jierished. . I). C, in Omjmnan, COURSING CAYOTES IN MONTANA. 9 LITE a novel sport is indulged in by horsemen in Northern Montana, who course cayotes with greyhounds in true sportsman style. Every one who has read " Roughing It" remembers Mark Twain'i humorous account of the dog that was led to rim him self nearly to death by the careless and deceptive trot of the cayotes that hovered along the overland trail. Kwift as is the speed of the cnyote, and hold in con tempt as he may the mongrel cur of the emigrant or the shepherd of the sheep herder, lie finds more than his match in the long-limbed greyhound, and when those veterans of the chase undertake the task of run- niiig him down, nothing but rare good fortune will save him from capture and death. Along the valley of the Marias, not far from Fort Ilenton, Mr. Daniel Toney, of the Benton & St. Louis Cattle Co., has I pack of six greyhounds, nnd with these ho inaku HJHirt for himself and occasional guests. They procure the best mounts to be had, and sally forth with the logs, certain of finding cayotes skulking about in the vicinity of the cattle, looking for a chance to catch i voting calf. The dogs are held under jn-rfect control until as near an approach to the marauder as Hsible bus U-.-n nid,., nnd then, when the coyote begin to "'ve oir with some sjieed, they are after him. In an KiHtunt all is excitement. The fleet animals take the trail of their prey, their long limbs carrying them over the ground with great Umnds, while the horsemen go thundering after at break-neck sjiml, being barely aide to kirp near enough to the chase to see the Hxrt In one day, a short time ago, three runs were inude, .! m each case the dogs had no dilliculty inowrtak 'g and dispatching their game. Cayotes are so com mon and so destructive on the broad plains and vai ') of the west that coursing them will probablv bo vine a widely extendi! ,,H)rt.