The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

british columbia cruising the inside passage by krystyna pottiei when the hardy spanish and english adventurers charted the spectacular labyrinthine ocean trail of british columbias inside pass age they were intent on finding the fabled northwest sea between eur ope and china thanks to these intrepid sailors and the captain and crew of bc ferries queen of prince rupert todays vacationer can relax and absorb the spectacular scenery aboard a floating hotel the queen of prince rupert plies the 528 kilometres between kelsey bay at the northern end of vancouver island and prince rupert on british columbias main land in 20 hours year round it pro vides an overnight pleasure cruise a deck chair or a picture window in the ships licensed lounge are equally good vantage points for en joying the mystic beauty of the northern bc coastline russian sealers boston whalers and scottish fur traders sought year round safe harbour in the smokcy fjords that snake off from the main channel of the passage coastal indian tribes found inspiration for their totem poles in the soaring peaks glaciers waterfalls and forest clad islets that remain virtually as they knew them centuries ago the narrowest passage on the route is the grcnville channel between 480 and 600 metres wide 1600- 4800 feet and 24 to 256 km long 1516 miles the big ship sails this stretch in the tranquil shadows of snowcapped mountains and the roar of precipitous waterfalls along the way youll see indian fishing villages and log booms the past and pre sent of british columbias coastal life its not uncommon to see log barges working their way south to vancouver and freighters bound north to alaska passing through queen charlotte sound islands give way to open sea the queen of prince rupert can accommodate 430 passengers in state rooms ranging from twoberth de luxe to fourberth standard all staterooms are equipped with a private bath or are adjacent to washrooms she carries up to 90 automobiles and can accommodate pickups and campers car deck clear ance is 52 m 14 ft 8 in but reservation requests should include vehicle height if it exceeds 19 m 6 ft 5 in during the summer season from early may to the end of september there are alternate daily departures from prince rupert and kelsey bay reservations can be made by writing british columbia ferries 1045 howe street vancouver bc v62 1p6 for general information about cana da as a travel destination write the manitoba government travel 200 vaughan street winnipeg mani toba r3c 1p5 hrctic treh5ures exciting inuit art by gabriella goliger theres an inuit hunting camp on the vast rugged coast of the cana dian arctic a hunter sits on the tundra in front of his summer tent at work on a soapstonc carving with axe file and sandpaper trained eyes and skilled hands he creates an image of life from the rough stone with the visit of canadian artist james houston to villages in the north in thel950s the modern history of inuit art began it was a time of economic hardship for the hunters who were then dependent on a de clining fox fur trade houston saw great potential in the imaginative carvings of stone bone and ivory he collected 1000 of these which he sent for exhibition in montreal within a few days every piece was sold and the reputation of inuit art firmly established today arts and crafts is the largest industry in the north contributing to the in come of 50 to 80 per cent of the native population most inuit arts and crafts arc marketed through local cooperatives owned by village shareholders the artist sells his or her work to the coop which in turn sends it to a wholesale agency such as canadian arctic producers in the south the piece may then be sent to a craft store in montreal a gallery in new york or a private collector in europe the village coop has often been the salvation of arctic communities ad justing from a hunting to a cash economy the revenue from carvings contimtj pjt 29 27