The Coveted Pacific Coast

The Vikings of the North Pacific

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Formidable Fighters

These people also proved to be formidable fighters and, like the other North American Native nations, they assigned a prime role to war. They were not familiar with firearms and their discipline was more that of warriors than that of soldiers. As far as we can determine today, their tactics were based on mass attacks rather than surprise raids. One of their awe-inspiring ruses was to feign friendship and then attack by surprise. Armed with bows and arrows, javelins, clubs and daggers (with blades carved out of bone), these warriors fought either naked or protected by armour made of strips of wood or braided cord. Some wore magnificent wooden helmets sculpted and painted to depict animal heads.