Indian Stuff

The two highlights from yesterday, for me at least, were the stop to Billy Proctor's museum and the white sand beach.

Billy has this Smithsonian quality collection of indian arrowheads, spears, fishing hooks, cooking implements and other artifacts in his museum, some labeled 8,000 years old.  Most were made from stone, volcanic glass, and bone (whale, deer, elk) but a few from teeth, whale and beaver.  Just picked them up in the woods and from the beach did he, from here and there, over the years he's lived up there.  I love this kind of stuff.  Seriously, I could have spent the rest of the day talking to him about these finds.  The bottle collection was neat too but It was the arrowheads that made the day.  

Then somewhat related was the white "sand" beach in the I sland group named, the Burdwood's. This beach was not of sand at all but of shell.  Clam shells.  Millions and I mean, millions of them.  The islet we landed on was a clam midden, the largest Indian clam midden I've seen.  I don't know how deep these shells were but at least four feet thick given one exposed bank I could see.  But it's not the shells themselves that are of particular interest to me.  Instead it's the thought of people, family's, kids, thousands of years ago gathered together here on this wind swept islet eking out a living trying to survive.  Eating clams!  Day after day!  Don't like clams - maybe you don't live.  

....still thinking about it.  

Mike