CCC carvers ca. 1938. From right to left: Felix Young, Peter Jones, Walter Young and James Peele, who donated the cedar for the pole. Note Native type of adzes with which most of the carving was done. Each workman made his own adzes to suit his style of carving.

The tree itself came form Kina Cove, an arm of Kasaan Bay in southeastern Alaska, and was 70 feet long with a 30-inch wide top. More durable than hemlock, from which the original was made, the timber for the new pole was red cedar. This cedar was graciously donated for the pole by James Peele, a Haida who had selected the tree to carve a duplicate pole for his father, Chief Son-I-Hat of Old Kasaan. The log was towed to the workshop at Saxman, where it was cut to 56 feet in length, the bark and sapwood removed, and the pole trimmed to symmetrical shape ready for the carvers. The bottom of the pole was 4 1/2 feet in diameter with a six-foot base, making the carved section 50 feet long.

Native types of long handled adzes and knives fitted with steel blades were used throughout construction. After the head carver had marked out and roughed in the figures, the other carvers worked in the outlines. As many as 10 men worked on the pole. Photograph by Ray C. Snow.

Photo courtesy Manuscripts, Special Collections, University Archives, University of Washington Libraries image #3505.