The whole coast is described as remarkably rugged and mountainous; with
dense forests of hemlock, spruce, white and red cedar, cotton-wood,
white oak, white and swamp ash, willow, and a few walnut. There is
likewise an undergrowth of aromatic shrubs, creepers, and clambering
vines, that render the forests almost impenetrable; together with
berries of various kinds, such as gooseberries, strawberries,
raspberries, both red and yellow, very large and finely flavored
whortleberries, cranberries, serviceberries, blackberries, currants,
sloes, and wild and choke cherries.
Among the flowering vines is one deserving of particular notice. Each
flower is composed of six leaves or petals, about three inches in
length, of a beautiful crimson, the inside spotted with white. Its
leaves, of a fine green, are oval, and disposed by threes. This plant
climbs upon the trees without attaching itself to them; when it has
reached the topmost branches, it descends perpendicularly, and as it
continues to grow, extends from tree to tree, until its various stalks
interlace the grove like the rigging of a ship. The stems or trunks of
this vine are tougher and more flexible than willow, and are from
fifty to one hundred fathoms in length. From the fibres, the Indians
manufacture baskets of such close texture as to hold water.
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