Ghost Canoe

Ghost Canoe (1997), a young adult adventure novel by Will Hobbs, follows Nathan MacAllister who spends an eventful summer becoming close friends with the local Makah Indian tribe and investigating a stranger’s murderous plot to find buried treasure. Hobbs incorporates themes of courage, friendship, perseverance, and family into this suspenseful combination of mystery and historical fiction. Ghost Canoe won the Edgar Allen Poe Award for Best Young Adult Mystery in 1998 and was listed as an Outstanding Title on VOYA’s “Books in the Middle” list for 1997.

The year is 1874, and fourteen-year-old Nathan is doing the work of a man, helping his father, Captain Zachary MacAllister maintain the lighthouse on Tatoosh Island off the northwestern tip of Washington state. The light and its foghorn protect the sailing ships that traverse the dangerous Strait of Juan de Fuca between the United States and Canada. One foggy night, however, a schooner ignores the warnings and crashes on the rocks. Fourteen dead sailors wash ashore, and one lone set of footprints leads away across the beach. The body of the ship’s captain washes ashore later, but stab wounds indicate he was murdered.

Soon after the wreck, Nathan and his mother, Elizabeth, move to the Makah Village on Neah Bay where it is warmer and drier. There on the mainland, Captain MacAllister hopes that Elizabeth will regain her health, which she cannot do in their damp, smoky lighthouse keeper’s quarters. Captain MacAllister and new assistant keepers will stay on Tatoosh to care for the light.



In Neah Bay, Nathan is thankful for his adult friend, Lighthouse George. George is a local Makah Indian, and the son of a tyee, or chief. George, easygoing, kind, and generous, takes Nathan under his wing. He calls Nathan “Tenas Mac,” or “Little Mac” in Chinook, the language used by the Makah people. George takes Nathan out on his canoe, and together they hunt for seals and fish for halibut, salmon, and whales.

On one of their fishing expeditions, Nathan thinks he sees smoke rising from the area around the Hole in the Wall, a cleft carved by the sea into the mainland. Nathan wonders if whoever made the footprints on the beach is hiding out nearby.

Nathan meets big, friendly Captain Bim, the owner of the local trading post, who reports that he has recently been robbed. The thief stole a harpoon, a knife, food, and rope, among other items. Captain Bim also tells Nathan about a Spanish fort that used to stand nearby. Captain Bim believes that the Spanish commander buried gold bullion in the area before he left the fort. Captain Bim warns Nathan not to go exploring in the woods and shares a story of the wild “Hairy Man” that recently frightened some of the local children.



Ignoring Captain Bim’s warnings, Nathan decides to investigate the source of the smoke he thought he had seen behind the rocks. He hikes into the hills and discovers a canoe perched high in a tree, facing out to sea. Climbing a nearby tree, Nathan examines the canoe and finds a skeleton, some other artifacts, and a curious cedar box. Inside the box are bone cylinders that Nathan later learns are sla hal pieces used in a Makah gambling game. Nathan replaces the box carefully, realizing that the canoe is a Makah burial site.

Continuing to explore, Nathan is startled by someone with a shaggy beard. Nathan flees, and runs into Captain Bim, suspiciously burying a large metal box. On his way home, Nathan meets Dolla Bill, a Makah Indian he’s never met. Dolla Bill is badly scarred from smallpox and Nathan thinks he is a bit crazy. George, however, sees the good within Dolla Bill, and Captain Bim makes him a store assistant at the trading post. When Captain Bim’s money box which contains his life savings is stolen, he blames Nathan. Nathan protests that he did not steal the money, and Captain Bim believes him, but their relationship becomes strained. Then George is badly injured on a whaling expedition and no longer recognizes people around him.

Meanwhile, Jack Kane, a blue-eyed stranger arrives in town. Kane buys the trading post from Captain Bim. When Nathan goes to purchase tea for Elizabeth, he recognizes Kane’s knife as the one stolen from Captain Bim. Kane raises the prices of most of the store goods and is buying up sla hal pieces. Nathan visits his father on Tatoosh island and learns that Kane and Dolla Bill have been searching the area. Captain MacAllister shows Nathan a letter that the murdered ship captain sent to his brother just before his death. In the letter, the captain details his plan to search for a two-piece treasure map that will lead him to a fortune in Spanish gold. The captain also shares fears about his partner, Simon Peterson. Nathan and Captain MacAllister realize that Jack Kane is Simon Peterson, but they have no evidence to charge him with the murder of the captain. Captain MacAllister warns Nathan to be careful.



Nathan knows that the sla hal pieces in the ghost canoe are the treasure map, and he is determined to keep Kane from finding them. Kane and Dolla Bill follow Nathan, seizing him and the map pieces. George, now recovered from his injuries, intervenes, but Kane draws a pistol. Wanting to protect George, Dolla Bill lunges at Kane just as the gun fires: he dies. Kane escapes by canoe and finds the gold. Nathan, George, and the Makah pursue Kane. Kane attempts to climb a cliff, but, weighed down by gold, he falls to his death.

A visiting doctor tells Captain MacAllister that Elizabeth will likely contract tuberculosis unless they move to a warmer climate. The family plans to relocate to California and start a small farm. George gives them a bar of gold to help with their plans. Nathan knows he will miss George and promises to return one day.