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and other remote, manned lighthouses up and down the coast. The Tiglmanns testify they're never bored. They love the solitude, the silence, the scenery. On bad days, they watch the storms. And on good days, they go for walks along the shoreline. She collects polished beach glass that she turns into jewellery; he keeps an eye out for wildlife. "One day, there'll be whales out there," Tiglmann says as he points. "The next, a cougar in the bushes. In summer, there are kayakers and sports fishermen who stop. Or the Uchuck will come from Gold River and we'll have a bunch of people outside wanting to climb the light tower or asking about the life of a keeper." From their questions, Tiglmann has realized that, in the post-modern 21st century, most find his job romantic and anachronistic – like being a cowboy or a skywriting pilot. Each year, 2,500 people sign the lighthouse guest book and extol the view from the island's hilltop. Some arrive after a few days of ocean kayaking along the inlets that feed into Nootka Sound. Others appear after a day of fishing for the salmon, cod and halibut that make the region synonymous with legendary catches. A few arrive muddy and tired after days of beach-walking and plowing through salal on the ancient native trail that links Louie Bay to Yuquot, a fiveday trek. But most come on the weekly run of the Uchuck III, a 136-foot passenger freighter that services the region's logging camps, fishing resorts and remote outposts of civilization, including Yuquot. Many know the famous story of the place – even if they call it by its colonial name, Friendly Cove. How, while looking for the Northwest Passage, Captain Cook received a warm welcome from Chief Maquinna at Yuquot in 1778, setting in motion the European conquest of the continent's until-thenunexplored northwestern coast. Far fewer, however, know the tragic tale of the American trading ship Boston, which arrived at Nootka Sound 25 years later. By offending Maquinna's son and hereditary chief, the Boston's captain provoked a massacre in which 25 of the ship's 27-man crew died, and its two survivors kept as slaves for 28 months (see White Slaves of Maquinna, in sidebar, for details). the epidemics and residential schools of the last 150 years abandoned the village site in 1967, as authorities sought to integrate rural First Nations into the schools and services available in nearby towns such as Gold River. Only one family resisted this assimilation. Beyond the topographic names in the area – Maquinna Point, Bligh Island, Resolution Cove – there is nothing left from when the British explorers arrived at Yuquot. The longhouses, the whaling canoes, the totem poles have mostly returned to the soil. The last remnants of the past are a section of fallen, blackberry-shrouded totem pole, its faces staring skyward, and the abandoned Catholic church, its interior now decorated with colourful totemic figures – Eagle, Killer Whale, Bear – that loom over a mildewing hymnal on the altar. The only living link to Yuquot's native traditions is found at the waterfront carving shed of 44-year-old master artisan Sanford Williams. Sawn logs lie outside the studio along the beach's littoral zone and cedar wood chips, handmade knives, masks and bent boxes fill every corner of the cluttered interior. To Williams, Yuquot is holy. It's where his people came from, where the myths began and where the Mowachaht ghosts still reside. It's his goal, he says, to repopulate Yuquot with the family crests and poles of his ancestors and to transform the stories heard from elders into modern reincarnations in wood. "There's a story I heard about an old woman drying fish," Williams says. "As she cuts the salmon, she daydreams – remembering the days when she was young. I made a transformation mask of her. The old woman has a bone in her nose and salmon tattoos on her face. But when the mask opens, it reveals a second mask inside – of herself as a girl. I call it 'Old Woman Wanting to Be Young Again.' " He pauses. Outside, there's the sibilant sluicing of waves on the cobbled beach; across the curving bay, a lighthouse marks the place where water yields to rock. And inside the lighthouse, unseen, there's a long-time interstate truck driver who now spends his days quietly watching the sea. "We all dream of transformation," Williams says. T A First Nations perspective at Vancouver's Maritime Museum: bcaa.com/maritime Y Member coastal travel, including maps, TripTiks and savings: bcaa.com/thewestcoast oday, seven people, all named Williams, occupy the solitary remaining house at Yuquot. Those Mowachaht families who survived upon closer reflection HOME BASE Moutcha Bay Resort's West Coast-style lodge, marina, art gallery and restaurant is located at the head of one of Nootka Sound's many wilderness fjords — a 1.5-hour boat ride from Yuquot/Friendly Cove and a 2.5hour drive west of Campbell River (or, four hours northwest of Nanaimo). Rooms and yurts feature gas fireplaces, original First Nations art and views of Tlupana Inlet, with Yuquot daytrip options (including drop-off/pick-up); plus, fishing charters, kayak rentals, whale-watching tours, cave exploration and fish hatchery tours. From $199 per night (camping options also available). nootka marineadventures.com BY SEA Mid-June to mid-September, the 100-passenger Uchuck III sails Saturdays for Yuquot/Friendly Cove and the Nootka Light Station from the community of Gold River (a 3.5-hour drive northwest of the Nanaimo ferry terminal), with kayak drop-offs along the island-dotted inland waterway and a three-hour stop at Yuquot/Friendly Cove and adjacent Nootka Light Station. $75 per adult; reservations required. info@getwest.ca; bcferries.com DETAILS • Hikers can make the trek to Yuquot along the rigorous, five-day, 35-km coastal Nootka Trail. Cultural tours and overnight Yuquot cabin/campsite reservations available at the village church. • Mid-August at Yuquot, the Mowachaht host SummerFest, a salmon barbeque and cultural celebration open to the public. • Yuquot's manned Nootka Light Station* is open daily to the public from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., with lighthouse T-shirts, mugs and snacks for sale. READING Guiding Lights: B.C.'s Lighthouses and Their Keepers by Lynn Tanod and Chris Jaksa (Harbour, 1998; $18.95); White Slaves of Maquinna: John R. Jewitt's Narrative of Capture and Confinement at Nootka (Heritage House, 2010; $16.95). See online, Westworld's Friendly Cove Daytripper: bcaa.com/friendlycove *Access to the Nootka Light Station tower is dependent on weather and staff schedules WESTWORLD p28-31_Lighthouse.indd 31 >> S P R I N G 2 0 1 2 31 1/27/12 8:28:18 AM

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