SIGNS OF PASSAGE.
Could the Vikings have traveled through the Northwest Passage entirely unnoticed and undetected? Probably not, at least in the long term, but then again contact and communication between Greenland and Europe was hardly an everyday occurrence during the entire period in question. Nor, as far as is known, were there any maps - accurate or otherwise - to indicate the precise route the Vikings may have taken or their ultimate destination. All we possess are the Viking Sagas written long after the fact, and as we have already seen, these present a number of difficulties. Moreover, given the immense distances involved and the remoteness of the Central Canadian Arctic it is far from certain that any major indication of their passage would be immediately obvious to us today. There are literally thousands of miles of rarely visited coastline and there is also the exorbitant cost of transacting any sort of business in the Far North. This further exacerbates the problem of carrying out archaeological research in these remote regions, as does the extremely short working season (perhaps three months or so) made all the more unproductive by permafrost, wind, snow and ice. Thus as far as the uncovering of direct evidence of a Viking presence is concerned it is hardly surprising that to date that this has been relatively minimal and confined to the Eastern Arctic alone. But then again, so far there has been little reason to look elsewhere for any such indications. Moreover, to cite a well-known example, Sir John Franklin's ship still defies recovery despite years of diligent searching, and here searchers know exactly what to look for, if not precisely where.
  Although wintering-over would likely have taken place in the Central Canadian Arctic it could still have been a somewhat transitory presence, one that by now may have simply faded into the past. There are many variables to be taken into account here, including possible situations when things might not have gone as planned, caused perhaps by damaged ships, missed rendezvous, unusual ice conditions and adverse weather etc. Such problems might have necessitated unscheduled wintering-over, but if so the consequences might well have been dire, perhaps even fatal. But even if traces of a Viking presence resulted from such an accident, in a resource-diminished region such as the Arctic, any and all material - timber, metal or clothing, etc., not salvaged by the Vikings themselves would most likely have been put to immediate use by the Inuit in any case - a natural distribution process that would have helped eradicate traces of the event.
  On the other hand there may still be places beyond the confines of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago (e.g., further West along the North Slope of Alaska) where lingering signs of passage may eventually be uncovered. Then there remains the possibility that while they may not have left an obvious trail, the Vikings may still have taken pains to mark their passage - for those who followed, if not for posterity. But if something of this nature did take place, how would it have been accomplished? At this point it is necessary to back-track a little to consider what the Vikings may have used for such a purpose and whether their symbols were culture-specific or more universal.

TYLOR'S TWINS.
One of the founding fathers of modern Anthropology, Sir Edward Burnett Tylor proposed that the unexplained occurrence of similar artifacts or customs among widely separated cultures was either the result of cultural diffusion (direct contact, distances notwithstanding) or alternatively: "the like working of like minds." Since this dichotomy is neither racist nor pre-conclusive it functions well as an initial working framework and also places the burden of proof where it should squarely lie, i.e., on the backs of diffusionists who wish to argue in favour of such hypotheses. Nevertheless further complications may still arise, for secondary transmission might also remove objects far from their points of origin; but then again isolated and singular occurrences in the absence of a clear local tradition do little to reinforce diffusionist arguments.
   Such things as "Rock Art" considered on a global basis, however, raises difficulties, especially where the spiral form is involved. Whereas such things as the "sunburst" and the circle (single or concentric) appear to be almost universal solar symbols, it is difficult to explain well executed spirals in similar terms. The spiral is far too complex and difficult to emulate to be treated as such, yet it nevertheless abounds almost globally and its occurrence stretches far, far back it time. As seen in section VII-I, it is found on the megalithic henge monuments of Northumbria, it is featured both outside and inside the Neolithic site at Newgrange in Ireland, and also present at nearby Knowlth (see Krupp 1983:301 for the latter). Furthermore the spiral is found yet again on Malta decorating some of the oldest stone structures on Earth; it occurs in North, Central and South America and much further afield, including New Zealand (on carvings, facial tattooing and the ornamental prows of large canoes) and especially China, where the square spiral likely reaches it finest and most ancient form. The "like working of like minds" then? This seems far from certain in view of the complexities inherent in the form and execution of the various designs under consideration. Diffusion then? That neither, at least when weighed against prevailing views concerning maritime exploration, which is generally considered to be relatively recent, essentially Post-Columbian in fact.
   Which really brings us back to the Vikings again, for in spite of this how can one explain the fact that fine wooden chests similar to those used by the Vikings were also made by the Haida Indians of the Queen Charlotte Islands? For example, the Pacific Northwest chest shown in: Northwest Coast - North American Indians.  Not that this last aspect accounts for the early occurrence of the spiral or the vague hint of earlier maritime exploration that attend it.  Did such a thing occur? Here again it is difficult to say and also necessary to accord that it is not generally thought that it did. What can be traced, however, is the continued passage of the spiral through time and place, including ancient Egypt, by the Minoans (especially adorning the palace walls at Knossos) and by the later Etruscans; e.g., on the handles of the magnificent Falerii "Aurora" vase from the Fourth Century BCE (see Keller:1975:253).

THE SCYTHIANS
Finally there is the ornamentation of the Scythians, which perhaps significantly, appears to be reflected (or continued) in later Viking artwork. More interestingly however, the Scythians also appear to be linked with items recovered from the Anglo-Saxon burial ship at Sutton Hoo which in turn provides a further connection with the Vikings. But the Scythians, like the Greenland Vikings, the Dorset and the Sadlermiut of Southampton Island and the Mandan Indians also suffered a rapid decline. The following summary by Tamara Talbot Rice provides a useful catalogue of Scythian symbology and its link with Scandinavian art. It also includes the advance of Christianity in Russia in the year 988, roughly paralleling the events which took place in Greenland around the same time:

A major feature of the bird of prey on the Sutton Hoo Shield is undoubtedly the spiral forms accentuated on both the beak and the claws, while the Oseberg Ship is noteworthy for not only the magnificent Spiral serpents on prow and stern that crown the ornamentation used in the construction, but also carved heads adorning the carts buried with it. A similar head also adorns a Viking pin and clasp and much more could be said about both vessels in the present context. However, it is the apparent continuance of Scythian art forms among the Vikings that concerns us here and the realization that the latter may by intent or default have become one of the last repositories of their art. Here the solar component may have been subsumed, but it may still have been present. Either way the prominence of the spiral form assumes importance, although beyond the destruction and filtering carried out by Christian zealots there remain huge gaps in present-day knowledge of what may have been retained. Though still largely negated by the image of the blundering, plundering Viking, what may be termed their astronomy is perhaps best evidenced in successful navigational techniques, which in turn may have included a wider and more detailed understanding of geography than is generally supposed. As for their symbolism, it may well be that the "Hammer of the North" is janus-faced - not necessarily only representative of bloodshed and violence, but also knowledge and understanding. Whether the latter pair were to any degree reflected in the spirals and dragons ("serpents of wisdom") on Viking ships is another matter altogether, but what does remain is the suspicion that their symbology might supply a useful guide concerning what the Vikings may have taken with them through the Northwest Passage, and what they may have applied as markers along the way.

Given the strong disaffection with the Church demonstrated by the Viking exodus from Greenland in 1342, it seems reasonable to rule out the Christian Cross and almost everything related to it. Whatever the Vikings may have used to mark their progress was more likely to have been their own and deliberately so. Signs of a Viking presence might therefore be indicated by the following primary symbols, either singly, in pairs or in various combinations:

The magnificent spiral serpent on the prow and stern of the Oseberg burial ship (Fig. 1.1 above) combines both primary symbols while also uniting them with maritime elements inherent in Viking "Dragon Ships", but along with Birds of Prey (Fig 1.3, Viking Horse harness ornaments, and Fig.1.6, the Bird from the Sutton Hoo Burial Ship) these symbols are relatively complex designs that would be difficult to draft and even harder to execute. The same consideration also applies in the case of the Dragon Head (Fig.1.7 from one of the Oseberg Ship's carts) and the mythical beast (Fig. 1.2 from a Viking ship). On the other hand "Thor's Hammer" and the "Sunburst" are comparatively simple, the former especially so in its most basic form.
  But how and where would the way be marked? Simple tools, simple designs and convenient rock walls might well have been the order of the day while traveling but there may have been other considerations too. Given the predictably hostile reaction by the Church to any "unauthorized" departure from Greenland - sadly realized by the Inventio Fortunata episode, it seems - primary symbols such as the Spiral, the Dragon, Bird of Prey and to some extent Thor's Hammer itself would have been far too obvious to leave on the eastern approaches to the Northwest Passage. Furthermore, initially and wherever the Vikings went there would also be the hazards inherent in leaving marks on other people's territory. Rather than trespassing, it would be far better (on both sides and indeed throughout the Northwest Passage) to reinforce local traditions with Viking variants, preferably with the blessing and assistance of the local peoples. Thus it is suggested that the Vikings may have settled on "masks" and "faces" (e.g., Fig. 1.5, a head from one of four on an Oseberg cart, similar to Fig. 1.4, a triple-faced Viking cloak pin) that were barely disguised variants of "Thor" and/or the "Hammer." Such simple designs would have synchronized well enough with Eastern Arctic practices while leaving a detectable trace easily pecked on stone. Initially, the suggested progression would therefore likely have commenced in the Eastern Arctic based on variants of the original Viking forms, ranging from the simple representation inscribed on a soapstone spindle-whorl found at Brattahlid in Greenland (Ingstad 1969:21) to more complex and ornate renditions.

The salient features of the unusual carved head from the Oseberg Ship may be compared with those found on petroglyphs in the Eastern Arctic at Wakeham Bay, while the equally rare examples from Cape Alitak in the Pacific Northwest have more fundamental similarity with the basic form of "Thor's Hammer" itself as seen in Figure 4 below. The exact significance of the Oseberg heads does not appear to have survived the passage of time; the variant used here was described in The Cultural Atlas of the Viking World as:

One of four semi-naturalistic carved men's heads that form the terminals of the cradle that held the Oseberg wagon-body. Three-dimensional carving and human representation were both rare in Viking art. Though fearsome in aspect, the man's mask-like face, with its staring eyes, is shown with a sweeping moustache and well-trimmed beard, while a close fitting cap covers his hair. A distinctive artistic personality can be seen at work in the creation of these four heads, each of which is different. Their significance, however, is lost to us today.

The puzzle remains, but true loss notwithstanding it is nevertheless fortunate that we can find a similar form of representation in an Eastern Arctic petroglyph, namely the retention of the moustache, the cap line, and not least of all the beard - the latter being a rarity among the Inuit - at the lower entrance to the Northwest Passage near Wakeham Bay in northern Quebec. It is tempting to also equate the open mouth ("O" shaped or otherwise) with Thor's Hammer or Thor himself, although the bulging eyes are not in evidence here, merely the eyebrows. But this too is a feature of the stylized versions of Thor's Hammer and perhaps that would have been enough, especially this close to Greenland, i.e., just across Davis Strait.

The last three petroglyphs shown above are all from British Columbia in the Pacific Northwest, but there are many, many more scattered throughout the region, as Edward Meade explains:

Distribution of the petroglyphs on the coast varies greatly from region to region, from one Indian territory to another. On the whole, they appear to increase in numbers as one travels southward, though there are vast stretches of the coast on which no petroglyphs have been reported. Doubtless there will be more discoveries as the years go by, when population and travel increases, particularly in the north. On the Brooks Range in Northern Alaska there is only one recognized site, some incised boulders in a Kadigi, or men's house, in a deserted village. Far to the south, on Kodiak Island, are two sites, one on a rock cliff and one on beach boulders. These petroglyphs depict human, non-outlined faces, whales, animals and pecked dots. The non-outlined faces are similar to those found in the Strait of Georgia area, particularly to a non-outlined face found at Cape Mudge on Quadra Island. As has already been noted, the mask-like face is typical of the whole range of coast petroglyphs. (Edward Meade, INDIAN ROCK CARVINGS of the Pacific Northwest,Gray's Publishing, Sidney 1971:14-15)

So perhaps the marking out began with relatively innocuous outlined "faces" with or without beards such as those found at Wakeham Bay. Once through the Northwest Passage the simple, easily identified non-outlined variants such has those left at Cape Alitak on Kodiak Island in Alaska and more elaborately on the Queen Charlotte Islands could also have been used. It is important to note here that although these variants occur in the Pacific Northwest they are nevertheless readily understood to be Norse. Indeed, as Canadian historian Tryggi J.Oleson pointed out in Chapter 10 (The Material Culture of the Thule Eskimos) in his 1963 publication Early Voyages and Northern Approaches 1000-1632:

Before leaving this subject, it should be stated that in the ruins of the Thule culture the most common inscriptions on articles were two runes.  Most frequently found is the symbol of the hammer of Thor, T, but as is well known, Thor was the most popular god in the Icelandic pantheon. The other rune found on many articles across the Canadian Arctic was the so-called man rune, represented usually as Y, but with variants. To suggest as (Therkel) Mathiassen does that this represents a tree, verges on the ludicrous. Both runes attest the heavy intermixture of the Icelanders and the Skraelings to form the Thule Culture.” (Tryggi J. Oleson, Early Voyages and Northern Approaches 1000-1632. McClelland & Stewart, 1963:68-69; emphases supplied).

Here, considering the location involved--predominantly above the treeline--one can only agree with Tryggi Oleson's dismissal of the suggested representation of a tree for the symbol in question.
Again, it is perhaps significant that the initial arctic petroglyphs discussed here are relatively simple and thus examples that could have been completed without expending a great deal of time or trouble.  Interestingly enough, and perhaps significant in their own right, there are a few petroglyphs found on the Queen Charlotte Islands ["Markland"] where elements of simplicity are again apparent:

Until  recently, there has been very little generally known about petroglyphs on the Queen Charlotte Islands. As late as 1971, Edward Meade, who has written one of the few books on petroglyphs in B.C. had to write, “On the Queen Charlotte Islands, in Haida territory, there is only one petroglyph... The carving is shallow pecked, showing human heads and mask faces.” ¹ [Meade, 1971:14]  This information was based on an account by Dr. C.F. Newcombe of Victoria who travelled the coast extensively in the early 1900's. Even so, Meade could not illustrate the petroglyph because apparently no one had seen it since Dr. Newcombe's day.
    In the summer of 1972, A L Porter of Queen Charlotte City took a number of Museum Society people on an outing to Lina Island in Skidegate lnlet. Some twenty years ago, Art Husband had told him that petroglyphs were there, and it was Betty Unsworth who found them that day. I surveyed the site later that year and made drawings, rubbings, and photographs. The petroglyphs were two faces and a number of circles. One face was quite unique. It was carved on the corner of a boulder with an eye on each side, and the nose jutting out. Most petroglyphs are carved on relatively flat surfaces and do not make use of the natural contours of the rock to such an extent.  In the summer of 1973, Josiah Brown, formerly of Haida, told us to look for petroglyphs near the site of Kiusta where we were conducting archaeological investigations. In addition to faces, he said we should find a number of small carvings on rocks you could fit into your hand. After nearly two months of walking among them, Trisha Gessler spotted two, then more until we had located 20 altogether. Four of the petroglyphs at Kiusta were faces and most were concentric circles.
   These faces and concentric circles are similar in style to petroglyphs on Vancouver Island, as far north as Alaska, and as far south as Washington State. The antiquity of these petroglyphs is not known. We did ascertain through experimentation, however, that only a few hours of work might be required to make one. The majority of the petroglyphs on the islands were found carved on small sandstone boulders, which are covered at high tide. (Nick Gessler, with drawings by Trisha Gessler, “Petroglyphs on the Queen Charlotte Islands,” THE CHARLOTTES: A Journal of the Queen Charlotte Islands. (Vol.3), The Queen Charlotte Islands Museum, Massett, 1973:17; emphases supplied. For Kiusta see also the "Latitude sailing" route shown on Maps 4g and 6d below)

Thus the initial set from the Eastern and Western Arctic -- Fig. 4.2 from Wakeham Bay and Fig. 4.3 from Cape Alitak -- may now be expanded to include those further south on the Queen Charlotte Islands ["Markland"], with the last example (Fig. 4.4; drawn by T. Gessler 1973:17) also perhaps illustrating the relationship between "Thor's "Hammer" ("T") and the "Y" man-rune.  Why the shift from outlined to non-outlined? It is difficult to say, of course, but time may have been a factor, especially coming in from the Northwest as winter approaches since these symbols would have been the simplest and quickest to peck out. Then again perhaps overkill and a shift away from "masks" per se, with a few variants supplied in case there were any doubts as to their significance. Perhaps it was also a matter of priorities, since it is here that the first spiral and other geometrical figures are encountered.
    Lastly, it should not be forgotten that there is an alternate route after transiting the Northwest Passage, or perhaps better stated, an additional one that also incorporates the spiral form along the way, as perhaps suggested by the following summary:

Thor Heyerdahl and other archaeologists, and very recently, the Russian A. P. Okladnikov ("The Petroglyphs of Siberia", Scientific American, August, 1969) have noted that there exists a similarity between petroglyph carvings of the Northwest Coast and those of Far Eastern Siberia, particularly the Amur River region, and again, with certain carvings in the South Pacific Islands. So far as is known, these similarities lie mainly in the mask-like faces common to all three areas, though it must be noted that in the Amur River and the South Pacific masks, a spiraled ornamentation is dominant, whereas this is usually absent in the Northwest Coast. The similarities in areas are not particularly strange, however, for it is known that anciently the tribes of all three regions used masks in religious initiation rites into secret male societies. As has already been mentioned, the Canadian archaeologist Harlan I. Smith made note of such rites in connection with petroglyphs at Bella Coola.
Further studies of the petroglyphs of the three areas may reveal still other affinities. In the Amur River region, for instance there are said to be carved and painted mythological monsters, fantastic creatures and grotesque versions of the human face apparently of very great antiquity. On the Canadian Coast Nanaimo, Sproat Lake, at Bella Coola and on Wrangell Island, Alaska, monsters and fantastic sea creatures are numerous. Denman Island, at Cape Mudge and at Bella Coola there several grotesque representations of the human face. It further been noted that the Amur River basin contains drawings "of a human face with rays going from it in all directions.' At Cape Mudge there are two such representations of a sunburst enclosing a human face, both very ancient, very eroded. (Edward Meade, INDIAN ROCK CARVINGS of the Pacific Northwest, Gray's Publishing, Sidney 1971:12)

Further west to Asia by way of the Aleutians and Siberia? Why not? After all, the Northwest Passage was the main stumbling block, and if it had indeed been conquered, then all manner of possibilities and routes remain open - both to the west and also to the immediate south. At which point we may now turn to Pacific Northwest petroglyphs and the insights that they might provide, firstly by way of "Markland" (the Queen Charlotte Islands), then on to "Vinland" at Cowichan Bay on the southeast side of British Columbia's Vancouver Island.

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This forbidding region stretches along the northern edges of the continent from Prince William Sound in Alaska to Labrador in eastern Canada. With the exception of the coniferous forests of the Kodiak Island-Prince William Sound region, it is a land of tundra-wastelands of moss and lichen; a land of bitter cold-short summers and long winters. The Eskimos and the Aleuts sharing a common Eskimo culture live on the coasts of this vast region, seldom venturing far inland. Modern Eskimos have a rather highly developed art in the form of carved ivory and stone but few of their rock drawings have been recorded. The northernmost site on the continent was found in 1950 by a party of geologists in the foothills of the Brooks Range in northern Alaska. Designs resembling corncobs and deeply incised lines arranged in a rather haphazard manner suggesting tool sharpening occurred on a single sandstone slab. It is quite possible this is doodling by an Eskimo hunting party waiting for game. Another site in the Brooks Range occurs in a now-empty village that was occupied until the late 19th century, where there are incised boulders in the kadigi or men's house. On the Peninsula there are some crude paintings in red and black of human figures. These three sites are the only ones known in northern Alaska. The next rock drawings are found far to the south on the southwest tip of Kodiak Island-two sites on cliffs and granite boulders at Cape Alitak. The petroglyphs are made by pecking and are from a quarter to three-quarters of an inch in depth. The subjects are human faces of which only the features are drawn, and whales, land animals, and some simple nonrepresentational figures, like spirals and lines of dots. The nonoutlined faces are not unlike those found in the Puget Sound-Strait of Georgia region. Eskimos on Kodiak Island and nearby Afognak Island have reported numerous paintings in red on these islands similar those on the mainland to the east. According to the Eskimos, the picture were made for hunting magic and to record game killed. Frederica de Laguna has recorded many Eskimo paintings in the Cook Inlet and Prince William Sound, northeast of Kodiak Island again are nonoutlined faces, human figures, game animals, particularly whales and canoes. Eskimo informants said that these pictures were associated with whaling rituals and hunting magic. The nonoutlined face is first encountered on Kodiak Island is a widespread design throughout the Northwest Coast, perhaps the most characteristic area. These Alaskan drawings are all rather crudely conceived and executed: Those from southern Alaska show a strong influence from the Northwest Coast. The only other Eskimo rock-art site is on the other side of continent, in northern Quebec. It is located in an old steatite quarry island near Wakeham Bay. Saladin d'Anglure, carrying out a anthropology study in 1961 was taken to the site by Eskimos while making the trip to get steatite for their carvings. The designs, numbering over 50, were all of masks, some human, others animal. They made extensive use of masks, which, among the Chugach and are supposed to represent the familiar spirits of shamans. Such masks, worn during ceremonies and are often found with mummies in caves. The Eskimo rock drawings appear to be chiefly game and ceremonial masks. The masks may represent a cultural trait from the Northwest Coast Indians, who wore elaborate masks to represent supernatural beings. The age of the Eskimo designs are unknown but there are a few clues; they do not appear to have been by living Indians and there are no articles portrayed of white manufacture. On the other hand, there is no evidence that they are not. It is possible that most of them are late prehistoric. (Campbell Grant, ROCK ART OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN, Crowell, New York 1967:81-82, emphases supplied).

Needless to say, the above does not include the possibility of a Viking presence in the Pacific Northwest, nor indeed at the time of writing would there have been any reason to do so. The same observation can also be made with respect to James Keyser's approach to the petroglyphs on the Columbia Plateau, for although a few spirals are apparent the naturalistic style nevertheless predominates over the abstract in this particular region. In fact from the distribution of the rock art styles shown in Map 4d there appears to be a clearly discernable gap after British Columbia down the coastal regions of Washington and Oregon before the more abstract and stylized forms of petroglyphs re-occur in California and the Southwestern States.
    As for the suggested location for Vinland in Vancouver Island's Cowichan Valley, at the price of further complexity it can nevertheless be suggested that the most "complete" examples of the "Thor" motive may well occur among the larger-than-life carvings of the Cowichan themselves, as shown in Map 4c below and the following pair of photographs from Volume 9 of Edward S. Curtis's The North American Indian :

Figures 4c_2 and 4c_3. The larger-than-life Cowichan carvings with "Thor" characteristics. SOURCE:
Northwestern University Library, Edward S. Curtis's 'The North American Indian': the Photographic Images, 2001.
4c_2: "CARVED FIGURE - COWICHAN." B/W reduction from: http://memory.loc.gov/award/iencurt/ct09054v.jpg
4c_3: "COWICHAN HOUSEFRONT."  B/W reduction from: http://memory.loc.gov/award/iencurt/ct09023v.jpg

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PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS: SAILING TIMES AND SAILING DISTANCES
Admittedly, at this stage it is a lengthy and uncertain journey to arrive at "Vinland" in the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island in the Pacific Northwest. It is also, of course, a far cry from prevailing notions that after three and a half centuries or more the Vikings simply faded away on the east coast of Greenland. Or, despite reaching the virtual paradise described in the Icelandic Sagas, that they neither remained in the Pacific Northwest nor voyaged anywhere else "on that side of the World." Or indeed, that they never even ventured further south than the lone Norse site at L'Anse Aux Meadows discovered in the early 1960s on the eastern side of North America.
    The latter discovery may well have been the logical outcome of increased interest in Norse exploration generated by the discovery of the Gokstaad (1897) and Oseburg Viking ships (1904), but the precise location of Vinland has nevertheless remained a contentious subject. However, this ongoing pursuit has necessarily embraced information in the Viking Sagas and related documents, a development that has in turn produced a measure of agreement concerning such crucial matters as sailing times between the three Viking lands - Helluland, Markland and Vinland. Critically, it is the sailing "times" that ultimately provide the "distances," as G.M. Gathorne-Hardy (1921:100) pointed out after equating known distances with associated sailing times between European locations obtained from extant writings. His conclusion was as follows: 

... According to our calculations, then, this average distance covered in twelve hours with a fair breeze would be about seventy-five miles, and having obtained these important data we may now proceed to consider more particularly the unit of distance uniformly employed in the story of Wineland, namely the ' daegr sigling ' or day's sail.
    In its strictly scientific signification there can be no doubt that a ' daegr' is a period of twelve hours. The Rímbegla (not the treatise already cited, but another incorporated in the same collection) is explicit upon the point: " In a day there are two ' daegra ', in a ' daegr ' twelve hours " ( The Norse Discoverers of America: The Wineland Sagas. translated and discussed by G.M. Gathorne-Hardy, Clarendon Press, Oxford 1970. Originally published in 1921)

This is certainly helpful, but a problem nevertheless remains, namely which of the two types of "day's" sailing are meant with respect to the distances between the three legendary Viking lands? The Sagas record that it is "two days" from Helluland to Markland, and another "two days" from Markland to Vinland, but again, what constitues a "day's" progress in these specific instances? And in addition, between which point-to-point geographic locations are these specific "distances" to be measured?
    Concluding his own analysis of sailing times and distances William Hovgaard (1914: 63) summised that: "it is not unlikely that the Icelanders would use the ordinary maximum of a day's sail, about seventy-five miles, as a unit distance," and therefore:

Thus the primary constant for one day's sailing in both cases is the mean speed, which from the above is 6.25 miles per hour. If we accept this, then we have a constant that can be applied uniformly, since sailing for one 12-hour day covers 75 miles, and "one day's" sailing of 24 hours covers 150 miles. Yes, an elementary matter, but why should this pair of values exist in the first place? They arise, one might suspect, because of fundamental differences between coastal cruising (or island-hopping) and ocean sailing. On longer voyages over the open sea there is no choice whatsoever but to keep on sailing, day and night; in other words, the full 24-hour day. Given the privations and limitations of an open boat on such voyages the quicker one reaches land the better. Whereas coasting cruising provides opportunities for over-night rest on solid land -- with or without a warming fire and/or access to fresh water, fish and game, etc. Not to mention the relative safety afforded when sailing/rowing off the rocky shores of the Pacific Northwest, especially the west side of Vancouver Island and coastlines exposed to the unchecked Pacific Ocean further north.
    All of which brings us back on track ourselves and one further step, namely the type of "day's" sailing to be applied in the Pacific Northwest.      

    Here the 75-mile and 150-mile parameters determined by Gathorne-Hardy and William Hovgaard will be applied with the following provisos:

    I.    The 24-hour, 150 mile "day's sailing " is to be applied to voyages over three full days, i.e., 450 miles or greater.
         This applies to latitude sailing on the open sea and the hypothetical latitude routes shown on Map 4g below.

    II.   The 12-hour, 75 mile "day's sailing" is to be applied to south/north, southeast/northwest routes below Yakutat, Alaska.
          This applies to coastal cruising and 2-day sailing times ( = distances) between the "lands" recorded in the Icelandic Sagas.
         
    How well does the 12-hour, 75 miles per day distance work in "practice"? Surprisingly well, but not without further background material and an examination of sailing in the reverse direction, i.e., the south-to-north retreat from Vinland by the Vikings recounted in The Saga of the Greenlanders and The Saga of Eiric the Red. The details are supplied in the next section, but here and now, with the above guides in mind and last qualifiers reserved for later we consider next Latitude Sailing in a Pacific Northwest context.

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INITIAL EXPLORATION ROUTES IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST
A major part of the present hypothesis necessarily entails use of the Northwest Passage with the possibility of a Northeastern route from Scandinavia not excluded. But either way, once through the Bering Strait, whether hugging the far western coast of Alaska or sailing directly southward there remains the Aleutian Peninsula, the Aleutian Islands and ultimately Akutan Pass before access to the Pacific Northwest can be gained (see Maps 4f and 4g below). Once though the pass, however, the Vikings could (and perhaps did in early voyages) follow the coastline eastwards, stopping at Cape Alitak on Kodiak Island(?) then contining below Chugach Peninsula, i.e., essentially eastward along the southern coast of Alaska before swinging southeast to Yakutat and points increasingly southward. At this juncture it is necessary to remember that in suggesting such routes we are not confined to the short interval of one or two decades about "a thousand years ago" allotted to the Vinland Sagas, but two or three centuries (or more) for the establishment and refinement of routes into and around the Pacific Northwest. This would necessarily include sailing times (= distances), preferred passages and also lists of salient features and major characteristics of the region. In other words, a "Pilot and Periplus" approach with "records" initially more verbal than written. Until, that is, we come to those sections of the Icelandic Sagas that deal explicity with Vinland, Markland and Helluland.
    Thus, returning to Northern Alaska and preliminary coastal exploration of the southern regions, after Kodiak Island, proceeding eastward the Vikings would next encounter the territory of theTlingit. Fortunately, due largely to George Thornton Emmons' The Tlingit Indians augmented by the additions, practical observations and the meticulous editing of Frederica de Laguna, there is a wealth of information available. Here Frederica de Laguna's treatment of the the region's petroglyphs is basically similar to that of Grant and Keyser, but despite her qualified dismissal of external origins she nevertheless provides the following historical asterisk:

Most permanent but least intelligible of all of the earlier works of the Tlingit are the petroglyphs which are of frequent occurrence on the shore in the vicinity of old living sites, throughout the inland waters of southeastern Alaska. The present generation, even the oldest natives, have no knowledge of their origin or use, and even deny that they are the work of their ancestors, attributing them to a stranger people who preceded them and left such signs to mark their movements or to guide others who might follow. (Frederica de Laguna;  G. T. Emmons' The Tlingit Indians, 1991:178, emphases supplied)

The latter statement, of course, reinforces the present hypothesis and as such is most welcome. But as is often the case, matters are never quite that simple. On the other hand, even when it is pointed out that there is an obvious and natural relationship between some petroglyph locations and favoured fishing sites, this can still work both ways. Prime fishing spots would have had the same value for the Vikings, if not more so since it would take time to become acquainted with them, especially during initial exploratory voyages. Then again, there would be slack times between tides or after fish preparation that could be applied by the locals or the Vikings alike to render the required petroglyphs. Here one is tempted to speculate that to the locals the Vikings might well have merited the title the "Salmon-Eaters" - another Pacific Northwest theme, or similarly further south, those who came "out of the mist" (or Dall Island just over the northern horizon from the Queen Charlotte Islands). But if so there is another factor to be considered. How long were such sites used by the Vikings (if at all), and to what degree (if any) might the petroglyphs represent a mixture of Viking and local handiwork? Did they at any time work together? Such questions might be partly answered by the specific types of symbols used, but even here there is the possibility that the diffusive elements may have already disappeared. No doubt many Pacific Northwest petroglyphs can indeed be explained in terms of shamanistic practices, hunting and fishing "magic" or totemic and kinship elements as others have pointed out. Thus it is not claimed here that a Viking presence or the Vikings themselves were responsible for the majority of the petroglyphs abounding in this region or indeed elsewhere. Perhaps a relatively small percentage could ever be attributed to this source. As for the rest, there are the usual problems arising from changing local boundaries, the ebb and flow of migration patterns, benign diffusion and co-operative efforts, or long-lost hopes perpetuated by "Cargo-Cult" mentalities.
    Either way the possibility of a Viking presence in the Pacific Northwest gives rise to additional questions, including the duration of the Viking presence, i.e., just how much of this huge region may have been covered by their explorations, and how far south may they have journeyed?. These two questions are naturally inter-related, but although far from certain it seems possible that the timescale involved may have been considerably longer than that usually associated with the actions in the Sagas. Between the accepted time of the latter and the exodus from Greenland reported in 1342 CE, over three centuries would have elapsed, followed, perhaps by a further century in addition. Then again, the period in question may not have been anywhere near this long, perhaps cutting off around 1342 or earlier if the worsening climate was a significant factor. But it may still have been an interval measured in centures rather than decades. It is said the Eirik the Red spent three years exploring the southwest coast of Greenland. This may well be an oversimplification; if one has seen one fiord one has seen them all, at least as far as the relatively barren, treeless northwest coast of Greenland is concerned. On the other hand one could easily spend three years exploring the coastal regions of Northwest and Southwest Alaska and still leave huge areas for future exploration without even attempting major excursions inland. Moreover, if rivers were included in any such agenda there would first be the Noatak and Kobuk Rivers before passing through the Bering Straits, then in turn the Kuskokwim and the Yukon. All this before even reaching the Pacific Northwest with its own mighty rivers, e.g., the Stikine, the Nass, the Skeena, the Bella Coola, the Fraser, and further south again, the Columbia.
    Recent archaeological excavations further west along the Aleutians at Unalaska, Alaska ( UNL 50 - Amaknak Bridge Site ) provide further room for thought (if not clues) concerning later and more direct navigational routes to at least "Markland" in the Pacific Northwest. In more detail, because of possible similarities between rectangular stone foundations at Unalaska and remnants of rectangular stone structures on Ellesmere Island (Schlederman 1996), Ungava (Lee 1965-1979), Southampton Island (Collins 1956), MelvillePeninsula (Meldgaard 1957) and "Thor" petroglyphs on the northwestern tip of the Queen Charlotte Islands (near Kiusta), it becomes feasible to combine bi-directional routes from Bering Strait to Unalaska with the "Norse" navigational technique known as "Latitude Sailing."


    Although far from certain it is nevertheless possible that this method was already being used by the Vikings "about a thousand years ago" (i.e., the time of the Icelandic Sagas), as G.J. Marcus explains:

The navigation of the Norsemen was in all probability, like that of Christopher Columbus during the voyage of 1492-3, a skilful combination of dead reckoning and latitude-sailing. By the crude observation of celestial bodies they were able, not merely to 'distinguish the airts' (deila vettit) but also to determine their northing or southing with sufficient precision to keep on their proper track; and if they should be set too far to the northward or southward, through stress of weather or the action of surface currents, only by thus determining their position would they be able to recover it again. Though they could no more than guess at their longitude, they could at least be tolerably sure of their latitude. They could cling to the parallel of their destination, as it were, and follow it across the ocean till they reached their objective. This at least would seem to be the only possible explanation of their safe arrival at their journey's end, on so many occasions, after prolonged periods of drifting and halvilla.
    Judging by the testimony of Hauk Erlendsson in his recension of the Landnámabók, the lodestone must have come into general use on the northern sea-routes at some date before 1300. There is no reference to it in the earlier versions of the Landnámabók; nor is there in the thirteenth-century Icelandic sagas, or in the contemporary Konungs Skuggsjá.
    With the advent of the magnetic compass in northern waters, about the middle of the thirteenth century, the risk of failing into the state of halfvilla was of course considerably diminished. Henceforward the mariner was independent of celestial bodies for knowing at least his direction. Despite fog and overcast skies he could steer confidently across the open sea and put his trust in a device which, as experience had taught him, was a guide as sure and constant as the North Star. It is significant that from this time on no mention is made in contemporary sources, like the Laurentius saga, of any case of halfvilla. This may reasonably be attributed to the introduction of the compass. At the same time, it must be emphasized, there is no reason to suppose that the Norsemen abandoned the traditional methods of ocean navigation; but rather the contrary. As had already been said, the sailing directions for the Greenland passage quoted in the fourteenth century Hauksbók appear to have been based on knowledge of relative latitudes rather than on compass courses.
    It cannot be too strongly emphasized that latitude sailing was the underlying principle of all ocean navigation down to the invention of the chronometer.  Already in the Middle Ages it was practised by Arab pilots sailing to and fro across the Indian Ocean.  It was practised by Christopher Columbus on his voyage of 1492-3. It was practised by Vasco da Gama and his successors sailing to the East. The greatest of the Elizabethan navigators, John Davis, returning from his voyage to the North-West in 1587, sailed to the latitude of the Channel, and then shaped an easterly course until he arrived off his home port, Dartmouth. The Earl of Cumberland, bound for the Azores in 1589, first sailed down to lat. 39° N (which was the latitude of his destination), and then steered west for the Azores. Many other cases might be quoted from this and the following century.
    Precisely how far back the Norsemen may have practised latitude-sailing it is of course impossible to say with certainty. But judging from the range and volume of the traffic which was constantly carried on between Norway and her overseas settlements at the beginning of the eleventh century, there is no reason to suppose that the holding to an approximate latitude presented any more difficulty to the contemporaries of Leif Eirlksson and Thorfinn Karlsefni than it did in the era of Sturlubók and Konungs Skuggsjá.  In particular it is difficult to escape the conclusion that the calculation of their northing or southing by comparison of the sun's height had long been familiar to the Norsemen. (G.J. Marcus, The Conquest of the North Atlantic, Oxford University Press, New York 1981:118; emphases supplied).

LATITUDE SAILING TO HELLULAND AND MARKLAND
Initailly, in view of the "spirit faces" on Kodiak Island (Cape Alitak), on Graham Island (Kiuska), and petroglyphs near Sitka and Wrangell, the following approximate "latitude sailing" routes, distances and sailing times may be proposed:

These are, of course, refined routes assigned to the lengthy period of Norse activities in the Pacific Northwest suggested in the present hypothesis. Against this it must be acknowledged that apart from vague statements in the extant literature ,e.g., "they sailed for a long time," and the like, that there is no direct evidence to confirm their actual use, except perhaps, the geographical distribution of Norse indicators considered so far. Indications then, but not proof.
    However, when we finally get to the Pacific Northwest proper and "Vinland" in particular it is a different matter altogether, especially when the details provided in the available literature -- initially and primarily the Icelandic Sagas -- are consulted.
   As for the region itself, we turn back to a more general matter, i.e., initial Viking indicators in the Pacific Northwest as a whole.
 

Although the question of how Viking ships and Viking activities may have been perceived in the Pacific Northwest provides interesting overtones, it is no doubt wise to take heed of the following warning provided by Joseph H. Wherry:

To completely document the ageless mythology of the aboriginal Northwest Coast Indians, even briefly, would require a shelf of volumes. Consequently it is imperative that any accounting of the genesis mythology relating to the Deity or supernaturals of this region be confined to the most widespread traditions. (Joseph H. Wherry, The Totem Pole Indians, Funk & Wagnalls, New York 1964:64)

Nevertheless, it seems likely that if the Vikings had indeed passed through the Pacific Northwest the impact of Viking ships might well have left an indelible impression. How would they have been perceived? Remember, in addition to less ornate ships constructed after the style of the Gokstad there were also Viking "Dragon Ships" with imposing dragon or serpentine figureheads, often on prow and stern; easily misunderstood at a distance as two-headed sea-monsters by the uninformed. Then there would also be the effect of the oars on either side of the ship - a distinct departure from local canoe paddling arrangements, with a predominantly horizontal motion rather than a vertical one, thus almost "crab-like" in shallow waters. Furthermore, Vikings coming ashore in a potentially hostile situation might well have used time-tested procedures - no "slack" marines here (not if they wanted to get back on the boat, that is). In other words, they would most likely have come ashore behind their shields with speed and efficiency or pay the ultimate price.
    At which point we may now examine some of the more unusual Pacific Northwest maritime myths described by Joseph F. Wherry:

Of all the odd supernaturals, Giant Clam, Rock Oyster, and a huge Crab would seem the most out of place. We know the first of these creatures does exist in the warm waters of the South Seas, but Northwest Coast waters are cold. Yet the Koryak of Siberia have myths of the monstrous crabs and, accepting the generally held view of prehistoric migrations of Mongol races from Asia across the Bering Sea, there is a possible legendary link. The Totemland aborigines almost certainly met Kanaka seamen from Polynesia in late prehistoric or early historic times and the tradition could have started at such a meeting. Embellishments incident to retellings are to be expected.
Thus the supernatural Crab, so large no other living creature of sea or land could prevail against him, caught on with the Naden River Haida of the Queen Charlotte Islands. A legendary Chief Rock had such a Crab servant. His waterfront was never assaulted by any foe until a boy with Halibut's skin overcame it by spirit power after swimming around the world. Jules Verne was a piker compared to these mythmakers...
Serpent, the harbinger of evil, is still all over the southern half of the totem area and in many varieties, some with two heads. A maker of lightning and able to shed its scales when attacked, the Hai-et-lik of the Nootka has only one head. On the Olympic Peninsula this creature once was on many poles. The Quinault (a Salish tribe) and the independent Qufiliute probably obtained the myth from the Makah Nootka at Cape Flattery. Great whalers, the Nootka believed the scales of the great snake gave them supernatural power in the hunt for the leviathans of the deep.
The Sisiutl, the two-headed serpent of the Kwakiutl, was a supernatural creature said, in the lore of the British Columbia coast and Vancouver Island, to be four feet in diameter and up to twenty feet long. At times it was in league with Thunderbird and made thunder and lightning. Its 'house" was either on land or in water. The body had an identical head at each end, with a human face, implying soul power, midway between. Almost always causing death when encountered, it was all the more dangerous because it could shrink itself to a tiny fraction of its true length.
Another two-headed serpent, Tsi-aøkish, was so large it swallowed canoes. One myth tells how a folk hero encountered one so large that when he sang a certain song, it burst open and an entire tribe came forth in something of a multiple Jonah release. (Joseph H. Wherry, The Totem Pole Indians, Funk & Wagnalls, New York 1964:75-76, emphases supplied)

The clam, of course, is best known in the context of the "The First Man" legend of the Haida (Sourcebooks - Raven and the First Men - The Legend), which perhaps by coincidence also involves Rose Point (to the east of Naden) on the northern tip of the Queen Charlottes (the suggested route south from Helluland to Markland; see below). At this point it is not out of place to return to the Viking ships discussed in the Introduction, notably the Oseberg and Gokstad burial ships and the light that the design of these earlier vessels sheds on the inverted hull/roof scenario. Inverting canoes for cover on shore, etc., has origins that probably extend back to the earliest forms of river transportation, but when applied to larger craft, size, weight and construction also enter into the equation, as does the size of the crew. In the case of the Tune, Oseberg and Gokstad ships, however, there were no fixed rowing benches.The usual and most probable explanation given for this is that the crew used their own sea-chests--a theory supported by the fact that sea-chests found in the Oseberg ship were exactly the right height for this purpose. There are undoubtedly distinct advantages in not having fixed rowing benches incorporated into the design, not least of all the saving in total weight and the flexibility afforded by removal of chests when such ships are to be brought ashore or maneuvered on land. But more importantly in our present context, if the practice of inverting hulls is also a design consideration, then valuable head-room would also be gained by eliminating built-in benches altogether. This, of course, brings us back to the stone longhouses in the Arctic Regions, where adequate quarters and shelter from the elements would have been of paramount importance for the Greenland Vikings hoping to survive the long arctic winters. But it would also be useful for short stays on beaches above the shoreline. In other words, a quick and temporary shelter against the elements (i.e., overnight) could be provided by simply inverting Viking ships and placing them on portable foundations provided by the dual (now triple) purpose sea-chests aligned on both sides, or one side only, which either way might indeed give the impression of a "Giant Clam" when viewed from a distance.
    As for possible Viking contact both immediate and long-term, all one might suggest here that it was not unknown for Vikings to settle and mingle: "where they found land and opportunity" (Brent 1975:148) and that if this did indeed take place in the Pacific Northwest from time to time it would not be entirely unexpected. Nor would there be any reason to suppose that it was not a harmonious and mutual arrangement, or one that overly influenced the social structures and customs already in place. Nevertheless, commencing from the lands of the Alaskan Tlingit, movement south as far as the coast of Washington necessarily also involves the lands of the Tsimshian, the Haida (primarily the Queen Charlotte Islands), the Northern and Southern Kwakiutl, the Nookta (western Vancouver Island), the Coast Salish of eastern Vancouver Island, the lower mainland of British Columbia, and what is now the northwestern corner of Washington, U.S.A.

Map 6b. Pacific Northwest Coastal First Nations   (after Ashwell 1978)
with some of the primary coastal locations discussed in the text.

Joseph H. Wherry (The Totem Pole Indians, 1964) notes that early Europeans encountered a number of unexpected physiological features among the indigenous population of the region (physical size, hair color, and most surprising of all, the occurrence of facial hair):

When Europeans arrived, the Indians of this region were living a more bountiful life than any other Amerinds of the discovery era.
By the time European culture had fully embraced them, their numbers had been tragically decreased from an estimated sixty thousand to less than half that number by the white man's firewater, his penchant for centralized authority, and most of all by his diseases. There was less warfare between whites and the Indians of Totemland than elsewhere principally because these Indians had nowhere to go: the Pacific Ocean prevented any retreat.
The region - which I like to call Totemland - sprawls northwestward from Grays Harbor in Washington to the Malaspina Glacier in southeast Alaska, about 200 miles, as the raven flies, northwest of Juneau. This narrow strip west of the Cascade Mountains comprises the Olympic Peninsula, the area immediately around Puget Sound, southwestern British Columbia including Vancouver Island, and the Alaskan panhandle. Heavily timbered, and roughly 1050 miles long, Totemland is rarely as much as 100 miles wide on the mainland.
Totemland Indians' height averages nearly 5 feet, 9 inches in the north, with many as tall as 6 feet among the Tlingit. The height of the Haida and Tsimsyan is only slightly less. Stature decreases proportionately toward the south: the Salish tribes of coastal British Columbia average only about 5 feet, 3 inches, but the Olympic Peninsula Salish are slightly taller. The Nootka including their Makah tribesmen around Cape Flattery, Washington's northwesternmost tip, are between the above two extremes in average height, as are the Kwakiutl and Bella Coola. Their most outstanding physiological characteristic - and this took the early European explorers by surprise - is the profusion of facial hair among the males. Mustaches and beards were commonly noted in the earliest records, in marked contrast to Indians everywhere outside this geographical region. The frequently wavy hair emphasizes the physical contrast with Indians elsewhere. Rather than the jet-black color popularly believed to be universal among Indians, a very dark brown prevails. The skin color varies from as light as southern Europeans, in the northern nations, to a somewhat darker hue toward the Puget Sound area. Nowhere in Totemland, however, does the skin coloring of the natives conform to the "redskin" concept so ingrained into American folklore. As a matter of fact, the first European to explore the Bella Coola country, famed Alexander Mackenzie, whose name is legend in Canada, discovered that these ethnic relatives of the Coast Salish and Kwakiutl often had hair of a rich brown shade and comparatively light-colored eyes. Investigating anthropologists and ethnologists, during the past century, disclosed no definitely established reasons for this provocative variation. (Joseph H. Wherry, The Totem Pole Indians, Funk & Wagnalls, New York 1964:5-7, emphases supplied)

Similarly, Edward L. Keithahn's (Monuments in Cedar, 1971) records that:

When the Northwest Coast was first visited by white men some two hundred years ago it was sparsely inhabited, and still is, by five major linguistic groups or tribes, all of whom at some time or other, have carved totem poles or allied monuments of sculptured cedar commonly called totem poles. The northernmost of these people were the Tlingit, known to the Russians in Alaska as Kolosh. They occupied all of the coastal region, islands as well as mainland, from Yakutat and Klukwan on the north to Cape Fox, south of the present town of Ketchikan, with the exception of the southern half of Prince of Wales Island and Dall Island. These areas had been occupied by invading Haidas some three hundred years ago. Their main seat was the Queen Charlotte Islands off the British Columbia mainland just across Dixon Entrance from Alaska. The Alaskan Haidas were formerly referred to as Kaigani from the name of their first settlement in Alaska near the southern tip of Dall Island.
    Opposite the Haida, on the mainland between the Nass and the Skeena Rivers and occupying both river valleys, lived the Tsimshian. The Nass branch was known as the Niska and those living far inland on the Skeena were called the Gitksan. South of the Tsimshian dwelt the Kwakiutl who occupied both the mainland and the northeastern part of Vancouver Island. Totem poles of the Kwakiutl may still be seen in situ at Alert Bay, a picturesque village on the steamer route to Alaska. A branch of the numerous Salish tribe is located on the Bella Coola river and these people are often referred to as Bella Coolas. While associated linguistically with the southern Salish of Washington and Southern British Columbia, these Indians had adopted the culture traits of their Northwest Coast neighbors and had become totem pole carvers.
    Out on the west coast of Vancouver Island were the Nootkas who also were wood carvers, and across the straits of Juan de Fuca at Cape Flattery were the Makah, a branch of the Nootka of Wakashan stock. They did not carve and erect tall totem poles but did carve grave figures in the human form and employed carved houseposts in their dwellings.
While the inhabitants of the Totempolar region spoke a half-dozen mutually unintelligible languages, physically they diverged but slightly except in individuals. With the exception of a few Haidas and some others on Vancouver Island who had red hair, all had coarse, straight black hair, black or brown eyes, and a complexion only slightly darker than Europeans. Their stature was somewhat under that of Europeans although they were well-muscled. Legs and arms were relatively short, and feet and hands were small...
In describing the inhabitants of Yakutat in 1787, George Dixon said in part: "they, in general, are about middle size, their limbs straight and wellshaped, but like the rest of the inhabitants we have seen on the coast, are particularly fond of painting their faces with a variety of colors so that it is no easy matter to discover their real complexion; however, we prevailed on one woman, by persuasion, and a trifling present, to wash her face and hands, and the alternation it made in her appearance absolutely surprised us; her countenance had all the cheerful glow of an English milk-maid; and the healthy red which flushed her cheek, was even beautifully contrasted with the whiteness of her neck; her eyes were black and sparkling; her eyebrows the same colour, and most beautifully arched; her forehead so remarkably clear, that the translucent veins were seen meandering even in their minutest branches-in short, she was what would be reckoned handsome even in England....
    Camille de Roquefeuil, a French navigator who visited the Northwest Coast in 1817 with the object of reviving French trade which had been almost annihilated by the Revolution, made many interesting observations of the people he saw there. Speaking of the inhabitants of "Nitinat" described as a village on Berkeley Sound several leagues south of Nootka, he said, "We saw several men and a greater number of women, whose complexion differed from white only by a tinge of pale yellow. Some young people, of both sexes, had a colour, and many children would have been thought pretty in Europe. The greater number of the Indians have black hair, the remainder a light red, all wear the hair long, and the women comb it carefully, and divide it over the middle of the forehead. Both sexes dress the same as at Nootka, with this difference, that the women wear under their other garments a kind of apron of bark, not woven, but only fastened to a girdle...
The tradition of "red-headed natives in hula skirts" on the Northwest Coast has generally been attributed to the Haidas, among whom there has always been a fair percentage of red-heads but Roquefeuil places them several hundred miles farther south on Vancouver Island rather than in the Queen Charlottes. Red hair is still quite common among the Kaigani Haidas now centering in Alaska at Hydaburg.
    Captain George Dixon visited the Queen Charlotte Islands in 1787 and described the Haidas as follows: "The people in general are about the middle size, their limbs straight, and tolerable well shaped; many of the older people are rather lean, but I never saw one person who could be called corpulent amongst them; both sexes are remarkably distinguished by high prominent cheek bones and small eyes .... In regard to their complexion, it is no easy matter to determine what cast that is; but if I may judge from the few people I saw ... these Indians are very little darker than the Europeans in general. He remarked that the hair of both sexes was long and black, that the young men pluck out their beards but that in advanced years men had beards all over the chin and some had moustaches.
    Marchand also described the Haidas of Queen Charlotte Islands whom he visited in 1791. He found them not differing materially in stature from Europeans, better proportioned and better formed than the Sitkans and without the gloomy and wild look of the latter. Their color he found did not differ from that of Frenchmen, and several were less swarthy "than the inhabitants of our country places' (Edward L. Keithahn, MONUMENTS IN CEDAR: The Authentic Story of the Totem Pole, Bonanza books, New York 1971:19-23, emphases supplied)

Lastly, Francis Poole, an English mining engineer who prospected for copper on the British Columbia mainland and Queen Charlotte Islands during the period 1862-1863 adds to the above reports of light complexions and fair hair with observations of his own:
Even so, it has generally been supposed that if maritime contact in the Pacific Northwest took place it was either from Asia or (perhaps less likely) from the South Pacific. But if it is granted that the Vikings may indeed have entered the North Pacific by way of the Northwest Passage, then a quite different scenario may be proposed. It is after all far easier to see Viking ships proceeding south rather than smaller, less suited ships moving north - a suggestion that may, perhaps, reinforce Thor Heyerdal's view that north-to-south movement may have taken place from time to time.
    As for the physical characteristics listed above, they too may be the result of asiatic influx, but again it is easier to see at least some of the features in terms of a Viking presence, and no doubt a mutually acceptable one at that. Thus perhaps the brown and red hair, the beards and the moustaches. The impressive portrait of Tlina of Massett (1914) at the top of Map 6b is one of a number of fine photographic records of the Haida and Makah made by Edward S. Curtis (The North American Indian, Volume 11, 1916; see also Volume 10 for the Kwakiutl).  Before proceeding, however, since the present search is primarily concerned with ocean-going vessels (however small) further precautions and qualifiers appear necessary. It may not be common knowledge, but Pacific Northwest canoes varied considereably in size, hull shape, and use. Ruth Underhill, in her 1944 publication, Indians of the Pacific Northwest (1944:89-92) gave details of five Pacific Northwest configurations, including the better known ocean-going variety. Undoubtedly, such fine designs have stood the test of time, but whether they were unduly influenced by any external impetus is another matter. Nevertheless, we may at least consider some of the unusual aspects of Pacific Northwest canoes in both northern and Viking contexts. 

---

PACIFIC NORTHWEST CANOES
Thus the Pacific Northwest canoes, especially those recorded for posterity by American photographer Edward S. Curtis (1868-1952), e.g., the following pair of Kwakiutl ocean-going canoes under sail:




As far as the length of this canoe is concerned, given the date and the geographical restriction cited, it seems likely that Edward S. Curtis and/or the commentator were unfamiliar with the larger canoes built by other coastal First Nations of British Columbia. For example, the 60-foot canoe from Nitinat Lake on Vancouver Island shown below - likely a Nookta canoe, or one similar in size to those used by Nookta whalers - is in fact larger than Skuldelev 5, a Norse longship with 26 oarsmen and a total crew of 30.

The last stages of construction and the initial launching of this type of Nookta canoe are well described by Jon Van Arsdell below; the degree of confidence in the finished product - "there were no excuses and no ballast" - is (to say the least) noteworthy:

    When all carving and fitting was finished, the hull was singed with a torch flame to remove tiny slivers and sanded with dogfish skin.  A final finish of seal oil and red ochre was baked on with torches. Narrow with straight gunwales, long prow and square stern, the Nootka whaling design greatly impressed early white shipmen with its speed and, according to some scholars, inspired the famous "clipper bow" so popular in the mid-19th century.
    The canoe was carried to the water on fir poles padded with cedar bark. It was never dragged or touched on the ground. The Nootka standards of craftsmanship were such that the largest 60-foot dugout, brought through such involved labours by purely instinctive judgement, was expected to float in perfect balance. There were no excuses and no ballast. (Jon Van Arsdell, “B.C. Whaling: the Indians” The Raincoast Chronicles First Five: Stories & History of the British Columbia Coast , Ed. Howard White, Harbour Publishing, Madeira Park, 1996:23.

Interestingly enough, even as early as the 1790's it was reported that Nookta chief Maquinna and sub-chief Tlupananulg were not interested in baubles and beads, but already preferred more useful and functional items - sails included - as their early Spanish visitors noted, i.e., the latter recorded that: "Mocuina [Maquinna] no longer values anything except glass for windows, firearms and blue cloth ... Tlupananulg desires nothing besides gunpowder, canvas sails and hemp line for the use of his canoes.’" (Donald C. Cutter,  Malaspina & Galiano: Spanish Voyages to the Northwest Coast 1791 & 1792. Douglas & McIntyre, Vancouver, 1991:94-95.)
    Moreover, as for the canoes, the use of sails in this context, and the social protocols applied by the Nootka, we know further that:

Of special interest was another visit by the same chief, Tlupananulg, who had earlier been asked to pay a visit with his great war canoe.  On 23 August the awaited visit materialized when the chief arrived at 7 A.M. with his native craft, bringing his aged father of some 65 years, three of his children and twenty strong indians who acted as oarsmen. The huge war canoe approached with the rowers carrying out their efforts in time to a song “which was in no way disagreeable.”
    Tlupananulg and his entourage made several turns about the Spanish vessels, rendered a salute with their oars in passing by, and carried out other interesting manoeuvres in time to the song, without losing a stroke of their oars. After an excellent approach to the Atrevida, the chief was presented with biscuit for his men and with a newly made sail which he intended to use on the war canoe... 
... As a last act, Tlupananulg directed his war canoe to shore where he paid a visit to Alberni, the popular commanding officer of the Catalonian Volunteers.  After conclusion of this short stay, Tlupananulg, making use of his newly acquired sail, and ‘showing some evidence of capability in its management,’ set out for his village near the end of Tlupana Arm.”
(Donald C. Cutter,  Malaspina & Galiano: Spanish Voyages to the Northwest Coast 1791 & 1792. Douglas & McIntyre, Vancouver, 1991:94-95.)

PROW DECORATIONS AND  BIRDBOARDS IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST
Although a surviving ink drawing by Jose Cardero of the Spanish contingent includes a number of unremarkable Pacific Northwest canoes, it also shows Tlupananulg's vessel in the foreground with what can only be called a non-typical stern board, counter-balanced, if you will, by a large figurehead of a bird attached to the prow (see Figure 7.1.3a below). But why should this be of any particular interest?
    The interest and possible relevance stems from information in The Saga of the Greenlanders (990-1030 CE), one of the two Icelandic Sagas that deal with Vinland (the other is The Saga of Eirik the Red discussed later). Here, however, it is stated that while wintering over in Norway after returning from Vinland, that the Viking explorer Thorfinn Karlsefni was approached by "a southerner, from Bremen in Saxony" who wished to purchase the "carved decoration on the prow¹ " of his ship. The Saga also informs us that "it was of maple (mosur or masur) which had been brought from Vinland." Lastly, in the translator's accompanying footnote (1) it is explained further that: "Carved, decorative boards adorned the high prows of ships as well as the roofends of houses." (The Saga of the Greenlanders translated by Keneva Kunz in Hreinsson, Vidar. Ed. The Complete Sagas of Icelanders Including 49 Tales in 5 Vols. Leifur Eiriksson Publishing, Reykjavik, 1997:32; italics supplied).
    How is this applicable to Pacific Northwest? See below, for it is here that similar applications undoubtedly occurred (if not proliferated), albeit centuries later:

Figure 7.1.3a is reduced from the ink drawing by Jose Cardero in Malaspina & Galiano: Spanish Voyages to  the Northwest Coast 1791 and 1792.(Donald C. Cutter, Douglas & McIntyre, Vancouver, 1991:94-95). The lower set of decorative birdboards on poles and "the roofends of houses" are from the Haida villages of Yan and Skidgate located on Haida Gwai (the Queen Charlotte Islands since 2010).  Fig. 7.1.3b is reduced from: "Figure 6. YAN BEAR POLE, E. Dossetter photo, 1881. Courtesy American Museum of Natural History." Fig. 7.1.3c is reduced from "Plate 4. View of the East End of Skidgate. Attributed to Maynard, probably 1884." (Tricia Kessler, “The return of the Haida Totem Poles to the Queen Charlotte Islands,” THE CHARLOTTES: A Journal of the Queen Charlotte Islands (Vol. 4),The Queen Charlotte Islands Museum Society, Skidgate,1976:4). The last examples in Figure 7.1.3d are from the Edwards S. Curtis Collection: "Nimpkish Village at Alert Bay" (Facing page 8, Volume 10).

SAILS IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST
Although shown in Edward S. Curtis' Plate 356 and elsewhere, the routine use of sails by the coastal peoples of the Pacific Northwest does not appear to be fully appreciated. Their use by the Haida, however, seems to have had a lasting effect on the Rev. W. H. Collison, who wrote about his initial encounter with the sea-going Haida in 1874 as follows:

 Whilst engaged in acquiring the language of the Tsimshian and afterwards initiating and evangelizing among them, I became deeply interested in the Haida, who inhabit the Queen Charlotte Islands and Prince of Wales Island on the southeastern coast of Alaska. This interest was intensified by the stories related to me of the depredations and deeds of blood wrought by these fierce islanders at the various camps which we visited. It reminded me of the records of the deeds of the Vikings and sea rovers in northern Europe. So fearful were those Indians who accompanied me, that they often hastened to reduce the campfire when darkness set in, lest it might attract an attacking party during the night.
     In  June 1874, I witnessed for the first time a Haida fleet approaching the shores of the mainland from the ocean. It left an impression on my mind not yet effaced. The fleet consisted of some forty large canoes, each with two snow-white sails spread, one on either side of each canoe, which caused them to appear like immense birds or butterflies, with white wings outspread, flying shorewards. Before a fresh westerly breeze they glided swiftly onward over the rolling waves, which appeared to chase each other in sport as they reflected the gleams of the summer's sun. These were the Masset Haida, who were famed for their fine war canoes. They have always been the canoe builders of the northern coast. As they neared the shore the sails were furled, and as soon as the canoes touched the beach the young men sprang out, and amid a babel of voices hastened to carry up their freight and effects above the high tide mark. These then were the fierce Haida whose name had been the terror of all the surrounding tribes. And truly their appearance tended to justify the report. Many of the men were of fine physique, being six feet in stature; while those whose faces were not painted were much fairer in complexion than the Indians of the mainland. Some of their women wore nose-rings, and not a few of them were adorned also with anklets. All of the women wore silver bracelets; those of rank having several pairs, all carved with the peculiar devices of their respective crests. In their language there was no similarity whatever to the Tsimshian, with which I was now familiar, and which sounded softer and more musical than the Haida.(William Henry Collison, In the Wake of the War Canoe, Ed. Charles Lilliard, SONO NIS PRESS, Victoria, 1981:53-54; emphases supplied)

Here it was obviously not the canoes alone that impressed Collison, but also the size, stature and language of the Haida peoples themselves, along with the unexpected, yet not entirely inappropriate reference to the early Vikings. Indeed, the largest canoe reported - the size is unfortunately uncorroborated - also appears to have belonged to the Haida of the Queen Charlotte Islands. The details concerning the canoe (or canoes) in question were provided in Cyrenius Mulkey's “Excerpts from ‘Eighty-One Years of Pioneer Life", in which he claimed:

' I have measured canoes that were 83 feet keel, 8 1/2 feet beam and 4 1/2 feet deep' ...' The main body of the canoe was all one stick of timber. The bow and stern was a splice of other timber and stood up out of the water ten or twelve feet high.'  (Cyrenius Mulkey, “Excerpts from ‘Eighty-One Years of Pioneer Life," in Philip Mulkey Hunt, “The Lost Mine”, THE CHARLOTTES: A Journal of the Queen Charlotte Islands, Vol. 4. The Queen Charlotte Islands Museum Society, Skidgate, 1976:22; emphases supplied)

At 83 feet, such a canoe would have been larger than either the Godstad (71.9 feet) or Oseberg (76.5 feet) Viking ships. And even as late as 1863, when mining engineer Francis Poole departed the Queen Charlotte Islands on a lengthy voyage to Victoria, it was nevertheless by way of a large Haida canoe and a thirty-seven person, two-canoe expedition:

The first was made up of one of the Skid-a-gate chiefs and six of his tribe, three males and three females. They were in a cedar canoe, fourteen feet in length. It carried those seven persons, with their goods, weighing about half a ton, well; but it appeared a mere cock-boat in face of yon out-spanning ocean.
    Chief Klue, five young Klootchmen, and thirty men, together with myself, constituted the second or leading party. Besides our personal weight, we had shipped two tons of freight, namely, a bundle for each Indian, my goods and chattels, and the rest in copper or other ores. Our canoe was what is known in the Far West as a dug-out. Klue had cut and constructed it, foot by foot, with his own hands, out of cedar-wood (thuja gigantea). It carried three jury-masts and a considerable show of canvas, not to mention a main staysail. A proud and truly inspiriting sight was it to view all this canvas spread out to the breeze, and to see thirty-seven human beings all paddling together, with regularity, precision and force.(Francis Poole. Queen Charlotte Islands: A Narrative of discovery and Adventure in the North Pacific, Ed. John W. Lyndon, J. J. Douglas, Vancouver, 1972:269; emphases supplied) 

The "three jury-masts" and "considerable show of canvas" mentioned above brings us back once more to the priceless collection of photographs taken by Edward S. Curtis and the possibility of lingering Norse indicators in the Pacific Northwest. Curiously, as seen in the latter's Plate 356 there appear to be three ocean-going Kwakiutl canoes with different sailing configurations, with the nearest example - apart from the colour of the sails - providing a ready explanation for Collison's unexpected reference above to "two snow-white sails, spread on either side of each canoe."

Fig. 7.1.5   E.S. Curtis, Plate 352 (reduced). Kwakiutl ocean-going canoes with varied sailing configurations.
(Northwestern University Library,  Edward S. Curtis's 'The North American Indian': the Photographic Images, 2001

For the time being, however, we may return to the same 55-foot canoe sans sails shown in Figure 7.1.2. Of particular interest is the unusual insignia that extends along the side representing the "Sisiutl," the legendary Pacific Northwest sea-creature; note the latter's considerable size and also the prominent, upturned snout. Whether the twenty or so small "humps" along the top of the design suggest biological features, or alternatively, a residual image of a forty-oared ship (twenty oars per side, Viking or otherwise) is another matter altogether.
    But whichever way one looks at it, the "Sisiutl" nevertheless remains relevant to the present thread as a distinct "sea-monster," i.e., a Sea-Wolf:

The Kwakiutl tribe, who lived on the British Columbian coast north of the present city of Bella Coola specified that sisiutl was an animal that was "of the earth", not one of the mythical creatures of the sea; this distinctly shows that the Pacific Northwest tribes were convinced of the animal's existence. As far north as Alaska, the Inuit (Eskimos) spoke of the tirichik, mauraa, nikaseenithulooyee, or palraiyuk, a creature which seems analogous with the Sea-Wolf of further south, if not for its six legs...As a final note, depictions of what may be the same animal as the Sea-Wolf have been found as far south as the Nazca Plain, in Peru. One of the famous "Nazca lines" depicts a whale-like sea monster, complete with two forelimbs, crocodilian snout, and large eyes. (defunct link: http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Cavern/7270/wasgo.html).

For more on this complex subject see: The Wasgo or Sisiutl: A Cryptozoological Sea-Animal of the Pacific Northwest Coast of the Americas. by Michael D. Swords.

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SISIUTLS AND VANCOUVER ISLAND PETROGLYPHS
Remaining in the Pacific Northwest, the question naturally arises as to whether representations of the "Sisuitl" might exist among the many petroglyphs in the region. Here we need to bear in mind two things - firstly, the crocodilian snout plus the large eyes, and secondly, that an exact match with a Viking figurehead would be extremely difficult to emulate. Nevertheless, it appears that examples of "Sea-Monster" petroglyphs might still exist in this context, such as those found at Sproat Lake near Barkley Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island and Petroglyph Park (Nanaimo) on the eastern side. Oddly enough, in casting about for a suitable match, one of the most complex figureheads found was that used on the "Sigrid Storrada" replica Viking Ship (lower right, Figure 8-1b below; Defunct link: http://www.sigrid-storrada.com/ ). This figurehead along with that of another working replica, the Danish Vikingship Helge Ask (lower left insert) are compared below with "Sea-monster" petroglyphs at the Nanaimo site:

The latter photograph - courtesy of BC Archives, Petroglyph I-21792 - is possibly inverted, but in any case, in checking further the reader will no doubt soon become aware just how many petroglyphs there are on Vancouver Island and on other islands in the vicinity - stretching as far south as Saturna Island in fact, with major concentrations occurring on both Quadra and Gabriola Islands. The former is better known through the work of Edward Meade (INDIAN ROCK CARVINGS of the Pacific Northwest, Gray's Publishing, Sidney 1971) but nevertheless the extent and distribution of petroglyphs on Quadra Island has only recently received the attention it deserves due to the efforts of Joy Inglis (Spirit in the Stone, Horsdal & Schubart, Victoria 1998; see also January Magazine's review of the latter by Linda Richards).
The awareness of the Gabriola Island petroglyphs on the other hand is something relatively new, in this case largely thanks to the dedicated efforts of Mary and Ted Bentley; see: Gabriola: Petroglyph Island published by Sono Nis Press, Victoria, British Columbia. Alternatively, some details are also available by way of the Gabriola Petroglyphs section of the Gabriola Island Museum. Lastly, and perhaps not that surprisingly, the Gabriola petroglyphs also include a large "Sisiutl" which is again quite similar to those shown above; for related photographs and a full description by Mary and Ted Bentley see Gabriola: Petroglyph Island, pp. 22-25.
The range and the complexities of the petroglyphs on Quadra Island and Gabriola will not be treated here in any great detail except to note that many outlined and non-outlined faces occur at both locations, often exhibiting the large eyes and open mouth discussed earlier. Here again, it is not suggested that many of these particular petroglyphs were of Viking origin per se, but rather that they may have been the work of local shamans and their successors continuing what was perhaps a time-honoured tradition. Nevertheless, as Beth Hill, author of Guide to Indian Rock Carvings of the Pacific Northwest Coast points out:

The petroglyph art of the Northwest Coast is dominated by eyes. Keithahn tell us that spirits could be portrayed as eyes alone. What is the meaning of the faces where the left and right eyes are different? Gutorm Gjessing finds this motif widely distributed throughout Europe, Siberia, the Pacific area, the West Indies and the northeast coast of South America. He looks at the ancient idea of the power associated with one-eyed gods in mythology. Odin gave one of his eyes in exchange for wisdom and a knowledge of things to come. In an interesting parallel, a spirit with one eye named Lqwalus, in a spirit canoe ceremony in the Puget Sound area, says, " Now look at me! I have one only eye and with it I can see everything!" (Beth Hill, Guide to Indian Rock Carvings of the Pacific Northwest Coast, Hancock house, Saanichton, 1975:33, emphases supplied)

Irrespective of the difficulties involved, one may still theorize that something fundamental was understood here, and also that it was deliberately fostered and passed on. But exactly what may be impossible to pin down, even confined to the latest period, i.e., the last thousand years or so. Nevertheless, there are a few indicators that suggest what it might have been, at least in part. As reported earlier, there is the mention of the "spirit people" in this context, and as we have already seen, there is also the information recorded by Frederica de Laguna concerning the Tlingit, namely that the petroglyphs were attributed to: "a stranger people who preceded them and left such signs to mark their movements or to guide others who might follow."  Such statements deal more with origins that later activities, but there is one other piece of information that may provide a further link. Joseph Wherry (1964:92) mentions a memorial totem pole erected in 1900 by the Kiksadi:

The evolution of the natural philosophy on the North Pacific Coast cannot be firmly established because of its isolation and a complete absence of any written language. The Chinook jargon, a late prehistoric synthesis of very limited vocabulary, was the principal vehicle by which the picturesquely thoughtful creation stories of the northern nations filtered into the southern part of the region. The latter's mythology was largely adapted from that of the northerners who were the most artfully skilled and widely traveled. Consequently the myths already examined are, in the main, of northern origination. Conversely the intricacies of the guardian spirit tradition were more pronounced among the Kwakiutl, Bella Coola, Coast Salish, and Nootka than among their northern neighbors.

EAGLE endows the favored person with skill as a hunter of all kinds of game both feathered and furred, with penetrating eyesight, and with exceptional hearing... A northern spirit and a family as wall as clan crest, he favors those who live near mountains. In the southern nations his attributes are ascribed, generally, to Thunderbird. His beak always curves downward.
RAVEN was the most popular crest figure in the north. In the south he was valued as a guardian spirit but less often seen on poles... he was the great "arranger."His symbol has a short, straight beak and, in the north, he often appears holding the light box and with a circle, representing Sun, around his head.
THUNDERBIRD, as a guardian spirit evolved from a parallel concept with Raven of ancient mythology, is known throughout Siberia and half of North America... Regionalized on the North Pacific Coast, he is, to the Coast Salish chief of all guardian spirits by order and creation of Khaals. He has many characteristics of the eagle; he sometimes resembles certain hawks; and he occasionally looks like some large water birds. Tatooch, or Tsoona, is the instrument of "He who dwells above" and carries out the creative will, including creating other spirits, the elements, and so forth... As a totem crest the position of the wings conveys the crest owner's feeling as to Thunderbird power in his life... The protector of good Indians, he is, to southern tribes, the most important of all spirits.
MINK was another of Raven's companions when the world was dark. In fact, Raven at times borrowed this creature's skin. The more southern Indians believed the Creator told Mink that he would confer power on recipients to "catch fish easily by night or day." There is believed to be a relationship between Mink and Kingfisher, and Mink is also a helper and protector of Salmon. Mink is an "arranger".
STAR proteges are able to find the "lost vitalities" or souls of ailing Indians because stars survey the entire world. This, then, is a Medicine Spirit to be invoked to heal the sick of body and mind.
SUN, source of life and suspended in the sky because Raven put it there, is the spirit of the center of the solar system and gives recipients songs and chants to use when engaged in warfare; makes them strong and brave warriors. A protégé, however, must be just and fair or he will lose his power, be shamed, and die.
As a totem symbol Sun is generally shown with Raven, and the stories told of them are the Indian's genesis.
(Joseph Wherry, The Totem Pole Indians, Funk & Wagnalls, New York 1964:87, emphases supplied).

The link between the above and petroglyphs may appear minimal, but although interpretations of petroglyphs are exceedingly rare, there remains a complex multiple representation described by Emmons (Emmons/de laguna 1991:79) as: "Petroglyphs on a boulder at the mouth of a stream in Nakwasina Sound, four miles north of Sitka, Baranof Island, illustrating a Raven myth: "(a) Raven carrying fire in his bill (?). (b) "where the sun comes from" (the Box of Daylight?). (c) The Earth, (d) The North Wind. (e) Ga'nukw ("Petrel"). guardian of fresh water, in the form of a wolf (the moiety crest)."  Here item b is a spiral. The same source also supplies an illustrated list of Tlingit petroglyph types according to George Emmons (Emmons/de Laguna 1991:80) . Among this illustrated list petroglyph types n, o, p and q are respectively three concentric circles, two concentric circles with a central dot, a "sunburst" circle with central dot - all said to represent the Sun - followed by the last petroglyph (q), which is a tight spiral.
    For the petroglyph in question, another spiral and additional information see the Rockart Section of the Tongass National Forest Web Site, the source of the gif-converted graphic shown below:

Figure 8.2  The complex multiple petroglyph near Sitka, Alaska.

0f comparatively recent origin is this Haida memorial pole carved about 1925 by one of the few active native carvers of the time, Robert Ridley of Masset in the Queen Charlotte Islands. Now standing in Thunderbird Park in Victoria, British Columbia, this totem is less boldly executed than the ancient poles. The symbols (from the top down) are: Eagle with wings folded, meaning peace, holding small face figure meaning the soul; Indian medicine man wearing headdress and holding a medicine or soul-catching device in each hand; Beaver (without usual horizontal stick in forepaws) with soul symbol between hind legs; Bear Mother with cub child; Frog with head down; and Eagle. (Joseph Wherry, The Totem Pole Indians, 1964:90, emphases supplied)

Thus Pacific Northwest symbolism is not only incorporated in petroglyphs and totem poles, it is also evident on wall paintings (see again the Sisiutl in this context, and the painting on a cedar House Screen by Tlingit Chief Shakes). For an interesting aside concerning the latter, see also The Mysterious Tahltan Chieftainess by Jerod Rosman. Moreover, complex symbolism is further demonstrated on numerous other items, including masks, coppers, clothing, ornamental rattles, ceremonial staffs and personal ornamentation - often in a style that is unique to the Pacific Northwest yet somehow still vaguely familiar. It has been noted earlier that although spiral petroglyphs are found in the region they do not occur in profusion. However, where the spiral does occur, e.g., at Wrangell (Figure 7.2) it seems to have been assigned additional importance. It might just be that Edward Keithahn was correct in surmising that petroglyphs preceded totemic representation, in other words, essentially a shift away from markings on natural rock formations to the more mobile and flexible format available though wood carving and other art forms. All of which further complicates an already complex matter.

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For the present, however, the inquiry naturally expands to include items of personal ornamentation, particularly those worn by the Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, Kwakiutl and Coast Salish. With this in mind we return to representations of the Dragon, the Sea-wolf and the Bear, noting both the similarities and the differences between the following items from both Northern Europe and the Pacific Northwest: 

Fig. 9.1.  Ornamentations on Heiltsuk silver earrings and an 11th century Norse (Gotland) Silver arm-ring.

The wearing of anklets and silver bracelets by Haida women was noted Collison (1981:54) and although his first encounter with the Haida makes no mention of earrings the latter were nevertheless documented in Pliny Earle Goddard's Indians of the Northwest Coast (1934). The latter work also included a line drawing of a Kwakuitl anklet and bracelet that employed a twisted rod technique to form the underlying spirals:


A photograph of this item (or one very similar) is held in the Royal British Columbia Museum at Victoria, British Columbia (RBCM Catalogue Number 1255); it is included below as Figure 9.2(D).

As far as bracelets may be concerned, judging by the number of remaining examples there seems little doubt that they must have been relatively common in the Pacific Northwest. Against this, of course, is the almost universal nature of such ornaments, or, if one wishes, their occurrence here is once again the "like working of like minds." Nevertheless, there are still stylistic elements and methods of construction that are of interest, e.g., the following representative selection that ranges from solid bar through rolled, indented and twisted multi-strand bracelets, all from the collection at the Royal British Columbia Museum:
        
         Figure  9.2.   Examples of Pacifc Northwest bracelets in the Royal British Columbia Museum.
         (The examples shown here have been reduced and/or rotated for ease of viewing).
            Fig. 9.2A : Haida Copper Bar Bracelet, Hammered, bent. RBCM, CN 12931,12932.           
            Fig. 9.2B : Kwakwaka'wakw Heavy Brass Bracelet, Oval cross-section, linear motifs. RBCM, CN 15570.
            Fig. 9.2C : Kwakwaka'wakw Copper Bracelet, Hammered, bent, engraved. RBCM, CN 161.        
            Fig. 9.2D : Kwakwaka'wakw Brass Bracelet. Twisted, bent. RBCM, CN 1255.

    The Royal British Columbia Museum also holds a collection of Pacific Northwest bracelets made from gold and silver, though these items appear--to some extent at least--to blur the past with the present  But even so it seems that some of the older design elements still persist, though largely among more modern ornaments of beaten silver and gold; see, for example, the following:

A number of ceremonial representations in the Pacific Northwest remain to be explored, including face paintings and associated ceremonial stamps and woodcuts. Pliny Earle Goddard, for example, shows eight Haida face paintings, six representing "Beaver, Raven, Killer-whale, Dogfish, Sculpin, Starfish," plus two unusual representations said to represent "Mouth of Sea Monster" and "Probosis of Mosquito." The latter is the bottom-right illustration in Figure 9.3; make of it what you will...

Fig. 9.3  Haida Face Paintings including (bottom right)  "Probosis of Mosquito."

Although the last illustration in Figure 9.3 remains a rare occurrence and biological oddity in this context, continuing with facial ornamentation brings us next to the ceremonial face stamps of the Tlingit carefully inked by George T. Emmons and pressed into his notebooks. A selection from Emmon's collection is shown below accompanied by his brief commentary concerning their origins and meanings (for the Pacific Northwest locations mentioned here see Map 6b above).

The above is part of a larger set that includes numerous clan motifs and also three relatively rare floral designs, two of which are shown above (Left, Figure 9.4b and right, Figure 9.4d); all three floral designs are shown together in Figure 9.5. Given that some of the illustrations include handles, however, e.g., Fig. 9.4 Left (c) and Figure 9.5(e), it may be that in a number of cases we see the mirror-images on the stamps themselves rather than the designs after application. A small matter? Yes, but not entirely so, because oddly enough this issue takes us to the Gudbrandsal region of Norway by way of Illinois, U.S.A.

    This unexpected diversion owes its origins to an earlier attempt (of my own) to understand the unsual Pacifc Northwest "Coppers" that in the present case naturally included the copper-shapedTlingit face stamp in Figure 9.5a(b) along with its rare floral design. Belonging to the next section, Gudbrandsdal also comes to the fore by way of Fridfof Nansen's researches on the Icelandic Sagas. For the time being, however, the small  floral design in Figure 9.4 Right (d) now serves to bring both together in the following comparison: 

Figure 9.5 (e) is clearly the stamp itself, whereas both (a) and (d) appear to be designs as applied. However, (d) initially looks odd, but nevertheless appears "normal" when laterally reversed, i.e., d" (added) which in turn provides both "C" and "S" configurations after the Gudbrandsdal style with both (a) and (e) also depicting the latter's longer floral design elements. Again, although only marginally different a" (added) is also laterally reversed to conform to the Gudbrandsdal "S" configuration.
 From an outsider's view, it can at least be said that "an imitation of carving" and the "3-dimensional look" that describes the Gudbrandsdal rosemaling style favours the wood-carving specialists of the Pacific Northwest, and that this leads by extension (perhaps fortuitously) to the Tlingit face stamps mentioned above
     Mere coincidence? The occurrence of relatively precise artistic elements over such a wide distance is not easily explained by Tylor's Twins, i.e., to be simply the result of the "Like Working of Like Minds." There is, of course, a geographical comparison that can be made, for in the Pacific Northwest it is only the Coastal and Inland Tlingit who inhabit territory that extends as far north as Norway's Gudbrandsdal region, i.e. above the 60th parallel. Coincidence again? Most likely, but it may still not be quite that simple, even so.

    There are no doubt historical issues and problems with relative chronology to be considered here too, but coincidence or otherwise, what can be said is that in theory, relocating to near identical latitudes at least brings with it familiar lengths of daylight and seasonal rounds that could be advantageous and initially reassuring. In general the technical side of the matter should not pose difficulties either, given that face painting and similar adornments number among the oldest activities on Earth, nor should there be any problerms posed by the materials so used in the Pacific Northwest.
    It can be suggested that the carved Tlingit facial stamps are a relatively modern innovation, but perhaps not. George T. Emmons, in a monograph on the use of slate mirrors by the Tsimshian in the Pacific Northwest (1921:21) notes that the Tlingit  " knew nothing of the stone mirror and had no other means of examining themselves than in a pool of still water, until trade mirrors were introduced."  This no doubt would have made the application of face painting difficult in earlier times, whereas re-usable face stamps would standardise both clan motifs and complex designs as well as simplify their application.

    The present inquiry resumes in the next section with a more mundane task, which is the long-delayed analysis of the contents of the Icelandic Sagas from a distinctly Pacific Northwest perspective.

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THE LAST VIKING
Introduction to The Last Viking
Paer  1.  Viking Press and Viking Ships
Part   2.  West by Northwest
Part   3. Three Steps Back
Part   4. The Nova Groenlandiae Map
Part   5. The Mysterious Akilinik of the Greenlanders
Part   6. Symbols, Markers and Indicators [Current Selection]
Part   7. Reflections in the King's Mirror
Part   8. South by Southeast
Part   9. The Copper Canoe
Part 10. The Warp and the Weave
Part 11. Helluland, Markland and Vinland
Part 12. The Golden Apples of the Sun
Epilogue

Maps:  Partial Map Listing for The Last Viking

Postscript 1: A Fir Tree of the Mind (pdf)
Postscript 2: RongoRongo and the Raven's Tail

OTHER: Easter Island Stone Structures

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Copyright © 1999. John N. Harris, M.A.(CMNS). Last updated on March 6, 2015.