The Ozette Prairies of Olympic National Park - Natural Resources ...

[3:37] Billy Hebaladup and Arthur Howeattle, Hunting.
The Quiliutes used to hunt along the banks of the rivers….The prairies too were full of game and they
hunted especially on Quiliute Prairie (c’hikwyaqw or sat’ayaqw), Forks Prairie (qet’Layaqw), Little
Prairie (q’wadiyaqw), Beaver and Tyee Prairies (t’axetal yaqw ), and Lower Bear Creek prairie area
(t’sixwokwotsoqw yaqw). The hunting areas belong to the whole tribe and are available to anyone.
Hunting was done with bows and arrows (taxwLo’ hixat ha’itat). They also snared and trapped animals.
During hunting, dogs were always used (except when hunting from canoes or waiting at blinds
in the prairies). These were the wolf dogs and were highly prized. Tradition has it that they were purchased
by trade from the Neah Bays. Usually a bitch was bought and bred by the Quiliute. Dog collars
(Lichq’adasqwoL) were used only while in camp. These were made of leather and had a long bark line
fastened to it. When ready to start hunting, they painted the dog’s head with red ochre. This was to protect
them from wolves for wolves would not touch dogs whose heads were painted. Dogs were turned
lose when close to game and called in by whistling.
[3:47] The regular and most important hunting season was during the month of June (t’Laxaliqtiya’at).
[ed. - Hal George said, “Too early! They’d go get their elk in late July or early August! That’s when it was
fat.”] In that month the bull elks were really fat. After the rutting season, the bulls become lean and the
hunters went home. Of course, they hunted at other times and when game presented itself, but were not
as successful as in June. When hunting for bull elks in June, a whole party participated consisting of several
families. In the other hunts usually one or at the most two families took part. [Elk hunting, butchering,
distribution among members of the hunt described.]
Deer were usually hunted on prairies during morning and late evenings. These were not hunted with
dogs, but were shot from a convenient hiding place. During mating season elk were hunted with dogs
(in the prairies and lower areas) who cornered the animals until the hunters arrived. In these hunts, the
hunter’s very often caught the bull and cow at the same time, since the bulls did not leave their mates
easily. [description of snares, springpole snares, deadfalls and pitfalls, none of which were commonly
used in the prairies.] A good hunter could shoot (with a bow and arrow) at a target 200 yards (away) and
hit the mark.
[3:127] Arthur Howeattle - Transportation
All travel was done in canoes or on foot…. River canoes are propelled by means of paddles and long
poles, especially on shallow water. These poles were made of hemlock and called t’LixiL. Travel on river
was rather extensive, since the rivers were navigable to the small canoes almost clear up to the Olympic
range… All overland travel eastwards was done during their journeys to the hunting and berrying or fern
grounds. The Quiliute men and women are good walkers. Even today [1916] many women go for camas
as far as Forks (14 miles). Today teams and horses are used occasionally, but owing to lack of pasture
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