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797870,

THE

ADVENTURES

AND

SUFFERINGS

OF

JOHN R. JEWITT, ONLY SURVIVOR OF THE SHIP BOSTON,

DURING A CAPTIVITY OF NEARLY THREE YEARS

AMONG THE SAVAGES OF NOOTKA SOUND ;

WITH AN ACCOUNT OF THE MANNERS, MODE OF LIVING,

AND RELIGIOUS OPINIONS OF THE NATIVES.

** Dire scene of horror, on a savage shore,

In which, a witness sad, a part I bore.”

AMERICA PRINTED.

EDINBURGH:

REPRINTED FOR ARCHD. CONSTABLE & CO. EDINBURGH: AND HURST, ROBINSON, & CO. LONDON.

1824.

rst gw >

HISTORICAL | MEDICAL

~ Ldn p&

Printed by George Ramsay & Co

»

PREFACE.

Tue Work which is now laid before the Pub- lic has passed through several editions in Ame- rica. It has been printed, without alteration, from the Author’s manuscript ; for though the style was certainly susceptible of improvement, it appeared to possess that clearness and simpli- city which might be expected in the narrative of one who wrote from real impresssions, and set down the daily results of a melancholy expe- rience, with but slender hopes that the record would ever meet the eyes of his countrymen ; and, on the whole, it was deemed advisable to dispeuse with an attempt at ornament, which could only have been obtained at the expence of authenticity.

The Narrative will be found to contain, in a

small space, much valuable information on a

1V PREFACE.

subject of which little is known, blended with much that is calculated to interest the feelings, and to awaken curiosity. The incidents of the Author’s life are striking ; and his descriptions of Nootka and its inhabitants,—the minute ac- quaintance with savage manners and customs, acquired during his forced residence, and em- bodied in this Journal, and the perfect can- dour with which he details every part of his own conduct, which affords the best guarantee for the truth of his statements in other points,— combine to render the work more than usually interesting and important.

Of its authenticity the Narrative itself bears internal evidence, and the statements of the Au- thor, who is now settled at Middletown, in the state of Connecticut, were confirmed by ‘Thomp-

son, the companion of his misfortunes, his im-

prisonment, ‘and his escape.

CONTENTS.

ae CHAPTER I. Page. Birth, Parentage, and early Life of the Author, “ \ CHAPTER II. Voyage to Nootka, - - - - 13

CHAPTER ITI. Intercourse with the Natives—Maquina—Seizure of the Vessel, and Murder of the Crew, - im

CHAPTER IV. Reception of Jewitt by the Savages—Escape of Thompson— Arrival of the Neighbouring Tribes—An Indian Ban- quet, - - - - - -

CHAPTER V. Burning of the Vessel—Commencement of the Journal,

CHAPTER VI. Description of Nootka—Manner of Building—Furniture— Dresses, = aes “ it

CHAPTER VII. Appearance of the Natives—Ornaments—Otter-Hunting— Fishing—Canoes, -— - -

CHAPTER VIII. Music— Musical Instruments — Slaves — Neighbouring Tribes—Trade with these—Arms, - -

b

20

30

50

80

97

CONTENTS.

Page. CHAPTER IX. Situation of the Author—Removal to Tashees—Fishing

Parties, - - b ‘i 112 CHAPTER X. Conversations with Maquina—Fruits—Religious Ceremo- 127

nies—Visit to Upquesta, - “ 3

CHAPTER XI. Return to Nootka—Death of Maquina’s Nephew—Insa- nity of Tootoosch—An Indian Mountebank, - 145

CHAPTER XI. War with the A-y-Charts—A Night Attack—Proposals to Purchase the Author, 3S B 4 160

CHAPTER XIII. Marriage of the Author—His Illness—Dismisses his Wife— Religion of the Natives—Climate, . - 176

CHAPTER XIV. Arrival of the Brig Lydia—Stratagem of the Author—Its

Success, - - - - . 203 Names of the Crew of the Ship Boston, - : 233 War-Song of the Nootka Tribe, - * 08234

A List of Words in the Nootkian Language, a a EE

NARRATIVE

OF

JOHN R. JEWITT.

CHAPTER I.

BIRTH, PARENTAGE, AND EARLY LIFE OF THE

AUTHOR.

I was born in Boston, a considerable borough town in Lincolnshire, in Great Britain, on the 21st of May 1783. My father, Edward Jewitt, was by trade a blacksmith, and esteemed among the first in his line of business in that place. At the age of three years I had the misfortune to lose my mother, a most excellent woman, who died in childbed, leav- ing an infant daughter, who, with myself, and an elder brother by a former marriage of my father, con- stituted the whole of our family. My father, who considered a good education as the greatest blessing he could bestow on his children, was very particu-

A

9g EFARLY LIFE OF

lar in paying every attention to us in that respect, always exhorting us to behave well, and endeavour- ing to impress on our minds the principles of virtue and morality, and no expence in his power was spared to have us instructed in whatever might ren- der us useful and respectable in society. My bro- ther, who was four years older than myself, and of a more hardy constitution, he destined for his own trade, but to me he had resolved to give an education superior to that which is to be obtained in a common school, it being his intention that I should adopt one of the learned professions. Accordingly, at the age of twelve, he took me from the school in which I had been taught the first rudiments of learning, and placed me under the care of Mr Moses, a celebrated teacher of an academy at Donnington, about eleven miles from Boston, in order to be instructed in the Latin language, and in some of the higher branches of the mathematics. I there made considerable pro- ficiency in writing, reading, and arithmetic, and ob-. tained a pretty good knowledge of navigation and of surveying ; but my progress in Latin was slow, not only owing to the little inclination I felt for learning that language, but to a natural impediment in my speech, which rendered it extremely difficult for me

THE AUTHOR. $

to pronounce it, so that, in ashort time, with my fa- ther’s consent, I wholly relinquished the study.

The period of my stay at this place was the most happy of my life. My preceptor, Mr Moses, was not only a learned, but a virtuous, benevolent, and amiable man, universally beloved by his pupils, who took delight in his instruction, and to whom he al- lowed every proper amusement that consisted with attention to their studies. |

One of the principal pleasures I enjoyed was in attending the fair, which is regularly held twice a year at Donnington, in the spring and in the fall, the second day being wholly devoted to. selling horses, a prodigious number of which are brought thither for that purpose. As the scholars on these occasions were always indulged with a holiday, I cannot express with what eagerness of youthful ex- pectation I used to anticipate these fairs, nor what delight I felt at the various shows, exhibitions of wild beasts, and other entertainments that they pre- sented: I was frequently visited by my father, who always discovered much joy on seeing me, praised me for my acquirements, and usually left me a small sum for my pocket expences.

- Among the scholars at this academy, there was

* ha EARLY LIFE OF

one named Charles Rice, with whom I formed a par- ticular intimacy, which continued during the whole of my stay. He was my class and room mate, and as the town he came from, Ashby, was more than 60 miles off, instead of returning home, he used fre- quently, during the vacation, to go with me to Bos- ton, where he always met with a cordial welcome from my father, who received me on these occasions with the greatest affection, apparently taking much” pride in me. My friend, in return, used to take me with him to an uncle of his in Donnington, a very | wealthy man, who, having no children of his own, was very fond of his nephew, and on his account I was always a welcome visitor at thehouse. I hada good voice, and an ear for music, to which I was al- ways passionately attached, though my father endea- voured to discourage this propensity, considering it

(as is too frequently the case) but an introduction -

_ to a life of idleness and dissipation, and having been

remarked for my singing at church, which was re- gularly attended on Sundays and festival days by the scholars, Mr Morthrop, my friend Rice’s uncle, used frequently to request me to sing; he was al- ways pleased with my exhibitions of this kind, and

it was no doubt one of the means that secured me so

THE AUTHOR. 5

gracious a reception at his house. A number of other gentlemen in the place would sometimes send for me to sing at their houses, and, as I was not a little vain of my vocal powers, I was much gratified on receiving these invitations, and accepted them with the greatest pleasure.

Thus passed away the two happiest years of my life, when my father, thinking that I had received a sufficient education for the profession he intended me for, took me from school at Donnington, in order to apprentice me to Dr Mason, a surgeon of eminence at Reasby, in the neighbourhood of the celebrated Sir Joseph Banks. With regret did I part from my school acquaintance, particularly my friend Rice, and returned home with my father, on a short visit to my family, preparatory to my intended appren- ticeship. The disinclination I ever had felt for the _ profession my father wished me to pursue, was still further increased on my return. When a child I was always fond of being in the shop among the workmen, endeavouring to imitate what I saw them do ; this disposition so far increased after my leaving the academy, that I could not bear to hear the least mention made of my being apprenticed to a surgeon, —

and I used so many entreaties with my father to per-

6 EARLY LIFE OF

‘suade him to give up this plan, and learn me his own trade, that he at last consented. More fortunate would it probably have been for me, had I gratified the wishes of this affectionate parent, in adopting the profession he had chosen for me, than thus to have induced him to sacrifice them to mine. However it might have been, I was at length introduced into the shop, and my natural turn of mind correspond- ing with the employment, I became in a short time uncommonly expert at the work to which I was set. I now felt myself well contented, pleased with my occupation, and treated with much affection by my father, and kindness by my step-mother, my father having once more entered the state of matrimony, with a widow much younger than himself, who had been brought up in a superior manner, and was an amiable and sensible woman.

About a year after I had commenced this appren- ticeship, my father, finding that he could carry on his business to more advantage in Hull, removed thither with his family; an event of no little im- portance to me, as it, in a great measure, influenced my future destiny. Hull being one of the best ports in England, and a place of great trade, my father had there full employment for his numerous work-

THE AUTHOR. 7

men, particularly in vessel work. This naturally leading me to an acquaintance with the sailors on board some of the ships, the many remarkable sto- ries they told me of their voyages and adventures, and of the manners and customs of the nations they had seen, excited a strong wish in me to visit foreign _ countries, which was increased by my reading the voyages of Captain Cook, and some other celebrated navigators.

Thus passed the four years that I lived at Hull, where my father was esteemed by all who knew him, as a worthy, industrious, and thriving man. At this period, a circumstance occurred, which af- forded me the opportunity I had for some time wished, of gratifying my inclination of going abroad.

Among our principal customers at Hull were the Americans who frequented that port, and from whose conversation, my father, as well as myself, formed the most favourable opinion of that country, as affording an excellent field for the exertions of industry, and a flattering prospect for the establish- ment of a young man inlife. In the summer of the year 1802, during the peace between England and France, the ship Boston, belonging to Boston, in Massachusetts, and commanded by Captain John

8 EARLY LIFE OF

Salter, arrived at Hull, whither she came to take on board a cargo of such goods as were wanted for the trade with the Indians, on the north-west coast of America, from whence, after having taken in a lad- ing of furs and skins, she was to proceed to China, and from thence home to America. The ship, hav- ing occasion for many repairs and alterations, neces- sary for so, long a voyage, the captain applied to my father to do the smith’s work, which was very considerable. That gentleman, who was of a social turn, used often to call at my father’s house, where he passed many of his evenings, with his chief and second mates, Mr B. Delouisa and Mr William In- graham, the latter a fine young man of about twenty, of a most amiable temper, and of such affable man- ners, as gained him the love and attachment of the whole crew. These gentlemen used occasionally to take me with them to the theatre, an amusement which I was very fond of, and which my father ra- ther encouraged than objected to, as he thought it a good means of preventing young men, who are na- turally inclined to seek for something to amuse them, from frequenting taverns, ale-houses, and places of

bad resort, equally destructive of the health and

THE AUTHOR. 9

morals, while the stage frequently furnishes excel- lent lessons of morality and good conduct. | In the evenings that he passed at my father’s, Captain Salter, who had for a great number of years been at sea, and seen almost all parts of the world, used sometimes to speak of his voyages, and observ- ing me listen with much attention to his relations, he, one day, when I had brought him some work, said to me, in rather a jocose manner, John, how should you like to go with me ? I answered, that it would give me great pleasure ; that I had for a long time wished to visit foreign countries, particularly America, which I had been told so many fine stories of, and that, if my father would give his consent, and he was willing to take me with him, I would go. I shall be very glad to do it, said he, if your father can be prevailed on to let you go; and as I want an expert smith for an armourer, the one I have ship- ped for that purpose not being sufficiently master of his trade, I have no doubt that you will answer my turn well, as I perceive you are both active and in- genious, and on my return to America, I shall pro- bably be able to do something much better for you in Boston ; I will take the first opportunity of speak- ing to your father about it, and try to persuade him A2

10 EARLY LIFE OF

to consent. He, accordingly, the next evening that he called at our house, introduced the subject: my father, at first, would not listen to the proposal. That best of parents, though anxious for my advan- tageous establishment in life, could not bear to think of parting with me, but on Captain Salter’s telling him of what benefit it would be to me to go the voyage with him, and that it was a pity to keep a promising and ingenious young fellow, like myself, confined to a small shop in England, when, if I had tolerabie success, I might do so much better in Ame- rica, where wages were much higher, and living cheaper, he at length gave up his objections, and consented that I should ship on board the Boston as an armourer, at the rate of thirty dollars per month; with an agreement, that the amount due to me, to- gether with a certain sum of money which my fa- ther gave Captain Salter for that purpose, should be laid out by him on the north-west coast, in the pur- chase of furs for my account, to be disposed of in China, for such goods as would yield a profit on the return of the ship, my father being solicitous ‘to give me every advantage in his power,.of well esta- blishing myself in my trade in Boston, or some other maritime town of America. Such were the flatter-

YHE AUTHOR. ll

ing expectations which this good man indulged re- specting me. Alas! the fatal disaster that befel us, not only blasted all these hopes, but involved me in extreme distress and wretchedness for a long period after.

The ship having undergone a thorough repair, and been well coppered, proceeded to take on board her cargo, which consisted of English cloths, Dutch blankets, looking-glasses, beads, knives, razors, &c. which were received from Holland, some sugar and molasses, about twenty hogsheads of rum, including stores for the ship, a great quantity of ammunition, cutlasses, pistols, and three thousand muskets and fowling pieces. The ship being loaded and ready for sea, as I was preparing for my departure, my fa- ther came to me, and taking me aside, said to me with much emotion, John, I am now going to -part with you, and Heaven only knows if we:shall ever again meet. But in whatever part of the world you are always bear it in mind, that on your own con- duct will depend your success in life. Be honest, industrious, frugal, and temperate, and you will not fail, in whatsoever country it may be your lot to be placed, to gain yourself friends. Let the Bible be

your guide, and your reliance, in any fortune that

12 EARLY LIFE OF THE AUTHOR. ,

may befal you, that Almighty Being, who knows how to bring forth good from evil, and who never deserts those who put their trust in him. He re- peated his exhortations to me to lead an honest and Christian life, and to recollect that I had a father, a mother, a brother, and sister, who could not but feel a strong interest in my welfare, enjoining me to write him by the first opportunity that should offer to England, from whatever part of the world I might be in, more particularly on my arrival in Boston. This I promised to do, but long unhappily was it. before I was able to fulfil this promise. 1 then took an affectionate leave of my worthy parent, whose feelings would hardly permit him to speak, and bidding an affectionate farewell to my brother, sister, and step-mother, who expressed the greatest solicitude for my future fortune, went on board the ship, which proceeded to the Downs, to be ready for the first favourable wind. I found myself well accommodated on board as regarded my work, an iron forge having been erected on deck ; this my father had made for the ship on a new plan, for which he afterwards obtained a patent ; while a cor- ner of the steerage was appropriated to my vice bench, so that in bad weather I could work below.

VOYAGE TO NOOTKA. 13

bee

CHAPTER IL. VOYAGE TO NOOTKA,

On the 3d day of September 1802, we sailed from the Downs with a fair wind, in company with twen- ty-four sail of American vessels, most of which were bound home.

I was sea-sick for a few of the first days, but it was of short continuance, and on my recovery I found myself in uncommonly fine health and spirits, and went to work with alacrity at my forge, in put- ting in order some of the muskets, and making dag- gers, knives, and small hatchets for the Indian trade, while in wet and stormy weather I was occupied be- low in filing and polishing them. This wasmy em- ployment, having but little to do.with sailing the vessel, though I used occasionally to lend a hand in assisting the seamen in taking in and making’ sail.

As I had never before been out of sight of land, I

14 VOYAGE TO NOOTKA.

cannot describe my sensations, after I had recovered from the distressing effects of sea-sickness, on view- ing the mighty ocean by which I was surrounded, bound only by the sky, while its waves rising in mountains, seemed every moment to threaten our ruin. Manifest asis the hand of Providence in pre- serving its creatures from destruction, in no instance is it more so than on the great deep ; for, whether we consider in its tumultuary motions the watery deluge that each moment menaces to overwhelm us, the immense violence of its shocks, the little that n- terposes between us and death, a single plank form- ing our only security, which, should it unfortunate- ly be loosened, would plunge us at once into the abyss, our gratitude ought strongly to be excited to- wards that superintending Deity who, in so wonder- ful a manner, sustains our lives amid the waves. We had a pleasant and favourable passage of twenty-nine days to the Island of St Catherine, on the coast of Brazils, where the captain had deter-~ mined to stop for a few days to wood and water. This place belongs to the Portuguese. On entering the harbour we were saluted by the fort, which we returned. The next day the Governor of the Island came on board of us with his suite; Captain Salter

VOYAGE TO NOOTKA. 15

received him with much respect, and invited him to dine with him, which he accepted. The ship re- mained at St Catherine’s four days, during which time we were busily employed in taking in wood, water, and fresh provisions, Captain Salter thinking it best to furnish himself here with a full supply for his voyage to the north-west coast, so as not to be obliged to stop at the Sandwich Islands. St Ca- therine is a very commodious place for vessels to stop at that are bound round Cape Horn, as it abounds with springs of fine water, with excellent oranges, plantains, and bananas.

Having completed our stores we put to sea, and on the 25th of December at length passed Cape Horn, which we had made no less than thirty-six days before, but. were repeatedly forced back by contrary winds, experiencing very rough and tem- pestuous weather in doubling it.

Immediately after passing Cape Horn, all our dan- gers and difficulties seemed to be at an end; the weather became fine, and so little labour was:neces- sary on board the ship, that the men soon recovered from their fatigue, and were in excellent spirits. A few days after, we fell in with an English South Sea whaling ship; homeward bound, which was the

16 VOYAGE TO NOOTKA.

only vessel we spoke with on our voyage. We now took the trade wind, or monsoon, during which we enjoyed the finest weather possible, so that, for the space of a fortnight, we were not obliged to reeve a topsail or to make a tack, and so light was the duty, and easy the life of the sailors during this time, that they appeared the happiest of any people in the world. .

Captain Salter, who had been for many years in the East India trade, was a most excellent seaman, and preserved the strictest order and discipline on board his ship, though he was a man of mild: tem: ° per and conciliating manners, and disposed to al- low every indulgence to his men, not inconsistent | with their duty. We had on board a fine band of music, with which, on Saturday nights, when the weather was pleasant, we were accustomed to be re- galed, the captain ordering them to play for several hours for the amusement of the crew. This to me was most delightful, especially during the serene evenings we experienced in traversing the southern ocean. As for myself, during the day I was con- stantly occupied at my forge, in refitting or repair- ing some of the iron work of the vessel, but princi-

4

VOYAGE TO NOOTKA. 17

pally in making tomahawks, daggers, &c. for the north-west coast. During the first part of our voyage we saw scarce- ly any fish, excepting some whales, a few sharks, and flying fish ; but after weathering Cape Horn, we met with numerous shoals of sea porpoises, several of whom we caught, and, as we had been for some time without fresh provisions, I found it not only a palat- able, but really a very excellent food. To one who has never before seen them, a shoal of these fish } presents a very striking and singular appearance ; ‘beheld, ‘at a distance, coming towards a vessel, they look not unlike a great number of small black waves rolling over one another in a confused manner, and approaching with great swiftness. Assoonasa shoal is seen all is bustle and activity on board the ship, the grains and the harpoons are immediately got rea- dy, and those who are best skilled in throwing them take their stand at the bow and along the gunwale, anxiously awaiting the welcome troop as they come, gamboling and blowing around the vessel, in search of food. When pierced with the harpoon and drawn on board, unless the fish is instantly killed by the stroke, which rarely happens, it utters most

pitiful cries, greatly resembling those of an infant.

18 VOYAGE TO NOOTKA,

The flesh, cut into steaks and broiled, is not unlike very coarse beef, and the harslet in appearance and taste is so much like that of a hog, that it would be no easy matter to distinguish the one from the other ; from this circumstance, the sailors have given the name of the herring hog to this fish. I was told by some of the crew, that if one of them happens to free itself from the grains or harpoons, when struck, all the others, attracted by the blood, immediately quit the ship and give chase to the wounded one, and as soon as they overtake it, immediately tear it in pieces. We also caught a large shark, which had followed the ship for several days, with a hook which I made for the purpose, and, although the flesh was by no means equal to that of the herring hog, yet to those destitute as we were of any thing fresh, I found it eat very well. After passing the Cape, when the sea had become calm, we saw great num- bers of albatrosses, a large brown and white bird of the goose kind, one of which Captain Salter shot, whose wings measured, from their extremities, fifteen feet. One thing, however, I must not omit mention- ing, as it struck me in a most singular and extraordi- nary manner. This was, that on passing Cape Horn in December, which was mid-summer in that

VOYAGE TO NOOTKA. 19

climate, the nights were so light, without any moon, that we found no difficulty whatever in reading small print, which we frequently did during our watches.

20 INTERCOURSE WITH THE NATIVES.

CHAPTER III.

INTERCOURSE WITH THE NATIVES—MAQUINA—SEI-

ZURE OF THE VESSEL, AND MURDER OF THE CREW.

In this manner, witha fair wind and easy weather from the 28th of December, the period of our pass- ing Cape Horn, we pursued our voyage to the northward, until the 12th of March 1803, when we made Woody Point in Nootka Sound, on the north- west coast of America. We immediately stood up the Sound for Nootka, where Captain Salter had determined to stop, in order to supply the ship with wood and water before proceeding up the coast to trade. But, in order to avoid the risk of any mo- lestation or interruption to his men from the Indians, while thus employed, he proceeded with the ship about five miles to the northward of the village, which is situated on Friendly Cove, and sent out his

chief mate with several of the crew in the boat to

MAQUINA. 21

find a good place for anchoring her. After sound- ing for some time, they returned with information, that they had discovered a secure place for anchor- age, on the western side of an inlet, or small bay, at about half a mile from the coast, near a smallisland, which protected it from the sea, and where there was. plenty of wood and excellent water. The ship, accordingly, came to anchor in this place, at twelve o'clock at night, in twelve fathom water, muddy bottom, and so near the shore, that, to prevent the ship from winding, we secured her by a hawser to the trees. |

On the morning of the next day, the 13th, several of the natives came on board in a canoe from the village of Nootka, with their king, called Maquina, who appeared much pleased on seeing us, and with great seeming cordiality, welcomed Captain Salter and his officers to his country. As I had never be- fore beheld a savage of any nation, it may readily be supposed that the novelty of their appearance, so different from any people that I had hitherto seen, excited in me strong feelings of surprise and curio- sity. I was, however, particularly struck with the looks of their kmg, who was a man of a dignified

aspect, about six feet in height, and extremely

29 MAQUINA.

straight and well proportioned ; his features were in general good, and his face was rendered remark- able by a large Roman nose, a very uncommon form of feature among these people; his complexion was of a dark copper hue, though his face, legs, and arms, were, on this occasion, so covered with red paint, that their natural colour could scarcely be perceived ; his eye-brows were painted black in two broad stripes, like a new moon, and his long black hair, which shone with oil, was fastened in a bunch on the top of his head, and strewed or powdered all over with white down, which gave him a most curi- ous and extraordinary appearance. He was dressed ina large mantle or cloak of the black sea otter skin, which reached to his knees, and was fastened around his middle by a broad belt of the cloth of the country, wrought, or painted with figures of se- veral colours; this dress was by no means unbe- coming, but, on the contrary, had an air of savage magnificence» His men were habited in mantles of the same cloth, which is made from the bark of a tree, and has some resemblance to straw matting ; these are nearly square, and have two holes in the upper part, large enough to admit the arms; they reach as low as the knees, and are fastened round

MAQUINA. 95

their bodies with a belt about four inches broad of the same cloth.

From his having frequently visited the English and American ships that traded to the coast, Maquina had learned the signification of a number of English words, and, in general, could make himself pretty well understood by us in our own language. He was always the first to go on board such ships as came to Nootka, which he was much pleased in vi- siting, even when he' had no trade to offer, ie he al- ways received some small present, and was in ge- neral extremely well treated by the commanders. He remained on board of us for some time, during which the captain took him into the cabin and treat- ed him with a glass of rum ; these people being very fond of distilled spirits, and some biscuit and molas- ses, which they prefer to any kind of food that we can offer them.

As there are seldom many furs to be purchased at this place, and it was not fully the season, Captain Salter had put in here not so much with an expectation of trading as to procure an ample stock of wood and water, for the supply of the ship on the coast, think- ing it more prudent to take it on board at Nootka,

from the generally friendly disposition of the people,

94 MAQUINA.

than to endanger the safety of his men, in sending them on shore for that purpose, among the more fe- rocious natives of the north. With this view, we immediately set about getting our water casks in rea- diness, and the next and two succeeding days, part of the crew were sent on shore to cut pine timber, and assist the carpenter in making it into yards and spars for the ship, while those on board were em- ployed in refitting the rigging, repairing the sails, &c. when we proceeded to take in our wood and wa- ter as expeditiously as possible, during which time I kept myself busily employed in repairing the mus- kets, making knives, tomaxes, &c. and doing such iron work as was wanted for the ship.

Meantime, more or less of the natives came on board of us daily, bringing with them fresh salmon, with which they supplied us in great plenty, receiv- ing in return some trifling articles. Captain Salter was always very particular, before admitting these people on board, to see that they had no arms about them, by obliging them indiscriminately to throw off their garments, so that he felt perfectly secure from any attack.

On the 15th the king came on board with several

of his chiefs ; he was dressed as before in his mag-

MAQUINA. 25

nificent otter skin robe, having his face highly paint«

ed, and his hair tossed off with the white down,

which looked like snow. His chiefs were dressed in

mantles of the country cloth of its natural colour,

which is a pale yellow ; these were ornamented with a broad border, painted or wrought in figures of se-

veral colours, representing men’s heads, various ani« mals, &c, and secured around them by a belt like

that of the king, from which it was distinguished only by being narrower. The dress of the common

people is of the same fashion, and differs from that

of the chiefs in being of a coarser texture, and paint-

ed red, of one uniform colour.

Captain Salter invited Maquina and his chiefs to dine with him, and it was curious to see how these people, when they eat, seat themselves (in their country fashion) upon our chairs, with their feet un- der them crossed like Turks, They cannot endure the taste of salt, and the only thing they would eat _ with us was the ship bread, which they were very fond of, especially when dipped in molasses ; they had also a great liking for tea and coffee, when well. sweetened. As iron weapons and tools of almost every kind are in much request among them, when-

ever they came on board they were always very at- B

26 MAQUINA.

tentive to me, crowding around me at the forge, as if to see in what manner I did my work, and in this way became quite familiar, a circumstance, as will be seen in the end, of great importance to me. The salmon which they brought us furnished a most de- licious treat to men, who, for a long time, had lived wholly on salt provisions, excepting such few sea fish as we had the good fortune occasionally to take. We, indeed, feasted most luxuriously, and flatter- ed ourselves that we should not want while on the coast for plenty of fresh provisions, little imagin- ing the fate that awaited us, and that this dainty food was to prove the unfortunate lure to our de- struction !

On the 19th the king came again on board, and was invited by the captain to dine withhim. He had much conversation with Captain Salter, and inform- ed him that there were plenty of wild ducks and geese near Friendly Cove, on which the captain made him a present of a double-barrelled fowling- piece, with which he appeared to be greatly pleased, and soon after went on shore. 3

On the 20th we were nearly ready for our depar- ture, having taken in what wood and water we were

in need of.

MAQUINA. a

The next day Maquina came on board with nine

pair of wild ducks, as a present, at the same time he | brought with him the gun, one of the locks of which he had broken, telling the captain that it was peshak, that is bad. Captain Salter was very much offend- ed at'this observation, and considering it as a mark of contempt for his present, he called the king a liar, adding other opprobrious terms, and taking the gun from him, tossed it indignantly into the cabin, and calling me to him, said, “ John, this fellow has broken this beautiful fowling-piece, see if you can mend it.” On examining it I told him that it could be done. As I have already observed, Maquina knew a num« ber of English words, and unfortunately understood but too well the meaning of the reproachful terms that the captain addressed to him. He said not a word in reply, but his countenance sufficiently ex- pressed the rage he felt, though he exerted himself to suppress it, and I observed him, while the captain was speaking, repeatedly put his hand to his throat, and rub it upon his bosom, which he afterwards told me was to keep down his heart, which was rising into his throat and choking him. He soon

after went on shore with his men, evidently much discompsed. |

98 MAQUINA.

On the morning of the 22d, the natives came off to us as usual with salmon, and remained on board; when about noon Maquina came alongside, with a considerable number of his chiefs and men in their canoes, who, after going through the customary ex- amination, were admitted into the ship. He had a whistle in his hand, and over his face a very ugly mask of wood, representing the head of some wild beast, appeared to be remarkably good humoured and gay, and whilst his people sung and capered about the deck, entertaining us with a variety of an- tic tricks and gestures, he blew his whistle to a kind of tune which seemed to regulate their motions. As Captain Salter was walking on the quarter deck, amusing himself with their dancing, the king came up to him, and inquired when he intended to go to sea? He answered to-morrow. Maquina then said, “ You love salmon—much in Friendly Cove, why not go then and catch some?” The captain thought that it would be very desirable to have a good supply of these fish for the voyage, and, on con- sulting with Mr Delouisa, it was agreed to send part of the crew on shore after dinner with the seine, in order to procure a quantity. Maquina and his chiefs staid and dined on board, and after dinner the chief

MAQUINA. 29

mate went off with nine men in the jolly-boat and yawl, to fish at Friendly Cove, having set the steward on shore at our watering-place, to wash the cap- tain’s clothes. | Shortly after the departure of thé boats, I went down to my vice bench in the steerage, where I was employed in cleaning muskets. I had not been there more than an hour, when I heard the men hoisting in the long boat, which, in a few minutes after, was succeeded by a great bustle and confusion on deck. I immediately ran up the steerage stairs, but scarcely was my head above deck, when I was caught by the hair by one of the savages, and lift- ed from my feet ; fortunately for me, my hair being short, and the ribbon with which it was tied slip- _ ping, I fell from his hold into the steerage. As I was falling, he struck at me with an axe, which cut a deep gash in my forehead, and penetrated the skull, but in consequence of his losing his hold, I luckily escaped the full force of the blow ; which, otherwise, would have cleft my head in two. I fell, stunned and senseless, upon the floor. How long I continued in this situation I know not, but, on reco- vering my senses, the first thing that I did was to try to get up; but so weak was I, from the loss of

30 SEIZURE OF THE VESSEL,

blood, that I fainted and fell. I was, however, soon recalled to my recollection, by three loud shouts or yells from the savages, which convinced me that they had got possession of the ship. It is impossi- ble for me to describe my feelings at this terrific sound. Some faint idea may be formed of them by those who have known what it is to half waken from a hideous dream, and still think it real. Never, no, never shall I lose from my mind the impression of that dreadful moment. I expected every instant to share the wretched fate of my unfortunate com- panions, and when I heard the song of triumph, by which these infernal yells were succeeded, my blood ran cold in my veins.

Having at length sufficiently recovered my senses to look around me, after wiping the blood from my eyes, I saw that the hatch of the steerage was shut. This was done, as I afterwards discovered, by order of Maquina, who, on seeing the savage strike at me with the axe, told him not to hurt me, for that I was the armourer, and would be useful to them in re- pairing their arms: while, at the same time, to pre- vent any of his men from injuring me, he had the hatch closed. But to me this circumstance wore a

very different appearance, for I thought that these

AND DESTRUCTION OF THE CREW. 31

barbarians had only prolonged my life in order to de- prive me of it by the most cruel tortures.

{ remained in this horrid state of suspense for a very long time, when, at length, the hatch was open- ed, and Maquina, calling me by name, ordered me to come up. I groped my way up as well as I was able, being almost blinded with the blood that flow- ed from my wound, and so weak as with difficulty to walk. The king, on perceiving my situation, or- dered one of his men to bring a pot of water to wash the blood from my face, which having done, I ‘was able to see distinctly with one of my eyes, but the other was so swollen, from my wound, that it was closed. But what a terrific spectacle met my eyes! six naked savages, standing in a circle around me, covered with the blood of my murdered comrades, with their daggers uplifted in their hands, prepared to strike. I now thought my last moment had come, and recommended my soul to my Maker.

The king, who, as I have already observed, knew enough of English to make himself understood, en- tered the circle, and placing himself before me, ad- dressed me nearly in the following words :—*“ John ——1 speak—you no say no—You say no—daggers come!” He then asked me if I would be his slave

32 SEIZURE OF THE VESSEL,

during my life—If I would fight for him in his bat- tles—If I would repair his muskets, and make dag- gers and knives for him—with several other ques- . tions, to all of which I was careful to answer, yes. He then told me he would spare my life, and order- ed me to kiss his hands and feet to show my sub- mission to him, which I did.—In the meantime, his people were very clamorous to have me put to death, so that there should be none of us left to tell our story to our countrymen, and to prevent them from coming to trade with them; but the king, in the most determined manner, opposed their wishes, and to his favour am I wholly indebted for my being yet among the living.

As I was busy at work at the time of the attack, I was without my coat, and what with the coldness of the weather, my feebleness from loss of blood, the pain of my wound, and the extreme agitation and terror that I still felt, I shook like a leaf, which the king observing, went into the cabin, and bringing up a great-coat, that belonged to the cap- tain, threw it over my shoulders, telling me to drink some rum from a bottle which he handed me, at the same time, giving me to understand that it would

be good for me, and keep me from trembling as I

AND DESTRUCTION OF THE CREW. 33

did. I took a draught of it, after which, taking me by the hand, he led me to the quarter deck, where the most horrid sight presented itself that ever my eyes witnessed—the heads of our unfortunate cap- tain and his crew, to the number of twenty-five, were all arranged in a line, and Maquina ordering one of his people to bring a head, asked me whose it was; i answered, the captain’s ; in like manner the others were showed me, and I told him the names, except- ing a few that were so horribly mangled that I was not able to recognize them.

I now discovered that all our unfortunate crew had been massacred, and learned, that, after getting possession of the ship, the savages had broke open the arm chest and magazine, and supplying them- selves with ammunition and arms, sent a party on shore te attack our men, who had gone thither to fish, and being joined by numbers from the village, without difficulty overpowered and murdered them, and cutting off their heads, brought them on board, after throwing their bodies into the sea. On look- ing upon the deck, I saw it entirely covered with the blood of my poor comrades, whose throats had been cut with their own jack-knives, the savages

having seized the opportunity while they were busy B2

84 SEIZURE OF THE VESSEL.

in hoisting in the boat, to grapple with them, and overpower them by their numbers: in the scuffle the

-captain was thrown overboard, and dispatched by those in the canoes, who immediately cut off his head. What I felt on this occasion may be more. readily conceived than expressed.

After I had answered his questions, Maquina took my silk handkerchief from my neck, and bound it around my head, placing over the wound a leaf of tobacco, of which we had a quantity on board. This was done at my desire, as I had often found, from personal experience, the benefit of this application to cuts.

Maquina then ordered me to get the ship under weigh for Friendly Cove. This I did by cutting the cables, and sending some of the natives aloft to loose the sails, which they performed in a very bungling manner. But they succeeded so far in loosing the jib and top-sails, that, with the advan- tage of fair wind, I succeeded in getting the ship into the Cove, where, by order of the king, I ran her ashore on a sandy beach, at eight o’clock at

night.

RECEPTION OF JEWITT. ‘OD

CHAPTER IV.

RECEPTION OF JEWITT BY THE SAVAGES—ESCAPE OF THOMPSON—ARRIVAL OF THE NEIGHBOURING TRIBES—AN INDIAN BANQUET.

WE were received by the inhabitants of the vil- lage, men, women, and children, with loud shouts of joy, and a most horrible drumming with sticks upon the roofs and sides of their houses, in which they had also stuck a great number of lighted pine torch- es, to welcome their king’s return, and congratulate him on the success of his enterprise. |

Maquina then took me on shore to his house, which was very large, and filled with people— where I was received with much kindness by the women, particularly those belonging to the king, who had no less than nine wives, all of whom came around me, expressing much sympathy for my mis- fortune, gently stroking and patting my head in an

encouraging and soothing manner, with words ex-

36 RECEPTION OF JEWITT

pressive of condolence. How sweet is compassion, even from savages ! Those who have been in a simi- _ dar situation can alone truly appreciate its value.

In the meantime, all the warriors of the tribe, to the number of five hundred, had assembled at the king’s house, to rejoice for their success. They ex- ulted greatly in having taken our ship, and each one boasted of his own particular exploits in killing our men; but they were in general much dissatisfied with my having been suffered to live, and were very urgent with Maquina to deliver me to them, to be put to death, which he obstinately refused to do, telling them that he had promised me my life, and would not break his word ; and that, besides, I knew how to repair and to make arms, and should be of great use to them. 3

The king then seated me by him, and ordered his women to bring him something to eat, when they set before him some dried clams and train oil, of which he ate very heartily, and encouraged me to follow his example, telling me to eatmuch, and takea great deal of oil, which would make me strong and fat. Notwithstanding his praise of this new kind of food, I felt no disposition to indulge in it, both the ~ smell and taste being loathsome to me; and had it been

BY THE SAVAGES. 37

otherwise, such was the pain I endured, the agita- tion of my mind, and the gloominess of my reflec- tions, that I should have felt very little inclination for eating.

Not satisfied with his first refusal to deliver me up to them, the people again became clamorous that Ma- quina should consent to my being killed, saying, that not one of us ought to be left alive, to give informa- tion to others of our countrymen, and prevent them from coming to trade, or induce them to revenge the destruction of our ship; and they, at length, became so boisterous, that he caught up a large club in a pas- sion, and drove them all out of the house. During this scene, a son of the king, about eleven years old, attracted, no doubt, by the singularity of my appear-

ance, came up to me: I caressed him ; he returned my attentions with much apparent pleasure, and considering this as a fortunate opportunity to gain the good will of the father, I took the child on my knee, and cutting the metal buttons from off the coat I had on, I tied them around his neck. At this he was highly delighted, and became so much attached to me, that he would not quit me. The king appeared much pleased with my atten- - tion to his son, and telling me that it was time to go

88 ESCAPE OF THOMPSON.

to sleep, directed me to lie with his son, next to him, as he was afraid lest some of his people would come, while he was asleep, and kill me with their daggers. I lay down as he ordered: me, but neither the state of my mind nor the pain I felt would allow me to sleep.

About midnight I was greatly alarmed by the ap- proach of one of the natives, who came to give in- formation to the king, that there was one of the white men alive, who had knocked him down as he went on board the ship at night. This Maquina communicated to me, giving me to understand, that as soon as the sun rose he should kill him. I en- deavoured to persuade him to spare his life, but he bade me be silent and go to sleep. I said no- thing more, but lay revolving in my mind what me- thod I could devise to save the life of this man. What a consolation, thought I, what a happiness would it prove to me in my forlorn state among these heathens, to have a Christian, and one of my own countrymen, for a companion, and how greatly would it alleviate and lighten the burden of my slavery.

As | was thinking of some plan for his preserva-

tion, it all at once came into my mind, that this man

ESCAPE OF THOMPSON. 39

was probably the sail-maker of the ship, named Thompson, as I had not seen his head among those on deck, and knew that he was below at work upon sails not long before the attack. The more [I thought of it the more probable it appeared to me, and as Thompson was a man nearly forty years of age, and had an old look, I conceived it would be easy to make him pass for my father, and by this means prevail on Maquina to spare his life. To- wards morning [ fell into a doze, but was awaken- ed with the first beams of the sun by the king, who told me he was going to kill the man who was on board the ship, and ordered me to accompany him. I rose and followed him, leading with me the young prince, his son.

On coming to the beach I found all the men of the tribe assembled. The king addressed them, saying, that one of the white men had been found alive on board the ship, and requested their opmion as to saving his life or putting him to death. They were unanimously for the latter: This determina- tion he made known to me. Having arranged my plan, I asked him, pointing to the boy, whom I still held by the hand, if he loved his son, he answered that he did. I then asked the child if he loved his

40 ESCAPE OF THOMPSON.

father, and, on his replying in the affirmative, I said, “ And I also love mine.” I then threw myself on my knees at Maquina’s feet, and implored him, with tears in my eyes, to spare my father’s life, if the man on board should prove to be him, telling him, that if he killed my father, it was my wish that he should kill me too, and that if he did not, I would kill myself——and that he would thus iose my servi« ces ; whereas, by sparing my father’s life, he would preserve mine, which would be of great advantage to him, by my repairing and making arms for him. Maquina appeared moved by my entreaties, and promised not to put the man to death if he should be my father. He then explained to his people what I had said, and ordered me to go on board and tell . the man to come on shore. To my unspeakable joy, on going into the hold, I found that my conjec- ture was true. Thompson was there ; he had escap- ed without any injury, excepting a slight wound in the nose, given him by one of the savages with a knife, as he attempted to come on deck, during the scuffle. Finding the savages in possession of the ship, as he afterwards informed me, he secreted himself in the hold, hoping for some chance to make

his escape ; but that the Indian who came on board 1

ESCAPE OF THOMPSON. 41

in the night, approaching the place where he was, he supposed himself discovered, and being deter- mined to sell his life as dearly as possible, as soon as he came within his reach, he knocked him down; but the Indian, immediately springing up, ran off at ~ full speed. °

I informed him, in a few words, that all our men had been killed; that the king had preserved my life, and had consented to spare his on the supposi- tion that he was my father,—an opinion which he must be careful not to undeceive them in, as it was his only safety. After giving him his cue, I went ~ on shore with him, and presented him to Maquina, who immediately knew him to be the sailmaker, and was much pleased, observing, that he could make sails for his canoe. He then took us to his house, and ordered something for us to eat.

On the 24th and 25th, the natives were busily employed in taking the cargo out of the ship, strip- ping her of her sails and rigging, cutting away the spars and masts, and, in short, rendering her as complete a wreck as possible ; the muskets, ammu- nition, cloth, and all the principal articles taken from her, being deposited in the king’s house.

While they were thus occupied, each one taking

42 PILLAGE OF THE SHIP.

what he liked, my companion and myself being ob- liged to aid them, I thought it best to secure the accounts and papers of the ship, in hopes that, on some future day, I might have it in my power to restore them to the owners. With this view, I took possession of the captain’s writing-desk, which con- tained the most of them, together with some paper and implements for writing. I had also the good fortune to find a blank account-book, in which I re- solved, should it be permitted me, to write an ac- count of our capture, and the most remarkable oc- currences that I should meet with during my stay among these people, fondly indulging the hope that it would not be long before some vessel would ar- rive to release us. I likewise found in the cabin a small volume of sermons, a Bible, and a Common Prayer-book of the Church of England, which fur- nished me and my comrade great consolation in the midst of our mournful servitude, and enabled me, under the favour of Divine Providence, to support, with firmness, the miseries of a life which I might otherwise have found beyond my strength to en- | dure.

As these people set no value upon things of this kind, I found no difficulty in appropriating them to

PILLAGE OF THE SHIP. 43

myself, by putting them in my chest, which, though it had been broken open and rifled by the savages, as I still had the key, I, without much difficulty, se- cured. In this I also put some small tools belong- ing to the ship, with several other articles, particu- larly a journal kept by the second mate, Mr Ing- raham, and a collection of drawings and views of places taken by him, which I had the good fortune to preserve, and on my arrival at Boston, I gave them to a connection of his, the Honourable J udge Dawes, who sent them to his family in New York.

On the 26th, two ships were seen standing in for Friendly Cove. At their first appearance, the in- habitants were thrown into great confusion ; but, soon collecting a number of muskets and blunder- busses, ran to the shore, from whence they kept up se brisk a fire at them, that they were evidently afraid to approach nearer, and after firing a few rounds of grape-shot, which did no harm to any one, they wore ship, and stood out to sea. These ships, as I afterwards learned, were the Mary and Juno of Boston.

They were scarcely out of sight, when Maquina expressed much regret that he had permitted his people to fire at them, being apprehensive that they

44 ARRIVAL OF

would give information to others in what manner they had been received, and prevent them from coming to trade with him.

A few days after hearing of the capture of the ship, there arrived at Nootka a great number of canoes filled with savages, from no less than twenty tribes to the North and South. Among those from the North were the Ai-tiz-zarts, Schoo-mad-its, Neu-wit-ties, Savin-nars, Ah-owz-arts, Mo-watch- its, Suth-setts, Neu-chad-lits, Mich-la-its, and Cay- u-quets ; the most of whom were considered as tri- butary to Nootka. From the South, the Aytch- arts and Esqui-ates, also tributary ; with the Kla. oo-quates, and the Wickannish, a large and power- ful tribe, about two hundred miles distant. These last were better clad than most of the others, and their canoes wrought with much greater skill; they are furnished with sails as well as paddles, and, with the advantage of a fair breeze, are usually but twenty-four hours on their passage.

Maquina, who was very proud of his new acqui- sition, was desirous of welcoming these visitors in the European manner. He accordingly ordered his men, as the canoes approached, to assemble on the

beach, with loaded muskets and blunderbusses,

Ln

NEIGHBOURING TRIBES. 45

placi hompson at the cannon, which had been ae. the ship, and laid upon two long sticks of timber, in front of the village Hs then, taking a speaking-trumpet in his hand, he ascended with me the roof of his house, and began drumming or beat- ing upon the boards with a stick most violently. Nothing could be more ludicrous than the ap- pearance of this motley group of savages collected on the shore, dressed, as they were, with their ill- gotten finery, in the most fantastic manner, some in women’s smocks, taken from our cargo, others in Kotsacks, (or cloaks,) of blue, red, or yellow broad~ cloth, with stockings drawn over their heads, and their necks hung round with numbers of powder- horns, shot-bags, and cartouch-boxes, some of them having no less than ten muskets a piece on their shoulders, and five or six daggers in their girdles. Diverting, indeed, was it to see them all squatted upon the beach, holding their muskets perpendicu- larly, with the butt pressed upon the sand, instead of against their shoulders, and in this position await- ing the order to fire. Maquina, at last, called to them with his trumpet to fire, which they did in the most awkward and timid manner, with their

muskets hard pressed upon the ground, as above

AG INDIAN BANQUET.

mentioned. At the same moment, the cannon was fired by Thompson, immediately on which they threw themselves back, and began to roll and tum- ble over the sand, as if they had been shot, when, suddenly springing up, they began a song of triumph, and running backward and forward upon the shore, with the wildest gesticulations, boasted of their ex- ploits, and exhibited, as trophies, what they had taken from us. Notwithstanding the unpleasant- ness of my situation, and the feelings that this dis- play of our spoils excited, I could not avoid laugh- ing at the strange appearance of these savages, their awkward movements, and the singular contrast of their dress and arms.

When the ceremony was concluded, Maquina in- vited the strangers to a feast at his house, consist- ing of whale blubber, smoked herring spawn, and dried fish and train oil, of which they eat most plentifully. The feast being over, the trays, out of which they eat, and other things, were immediately removed, to make room for the dance, which was to close the entertainment. This was performed by Maquina’s son, the young Prince Sat-sat-sok-sis, whom I have already spoken of, in the following

manner :—Three of the principal chiefs, dressed in

INDIAN BANQUET. ae

their otter-skin mantles, which they wear only on extraordinary occasions, and at festivals, having their heads covered over with white down, and their faces highly painted, came forward into the middle of the room, each furnished with a bag fill- ed with white down, which they scattered around in such a manner as to represent a fall of snow. These were followed by the young prince, who was dressed in a long piece of yellow cloth, wrap- ped loosely around him, and decorated with small bells, with a cap on his head, to which was fasten- ed a curious mask, in imitation of a wolf’s head, while the rear was. brought up by the king himself, in his robe of sea-otter skin, with a small whistle in his mouth, and a rattle in his hand, with which he kept time to a sort of tune on his whistle. After passing very rapidly, in this order, round the house, each of them seated himself, except the prince, who immediately began his dance, which principally con- sisted in springing up into the air, in a squat pos- ture, and constantly turning around on his heels with great swiftness, in a very narrow circle.

This dance, with a few intervals of rest, was con- tinued for about two hours, during which the chiefs

kept up a constant drumming with sticks of about

48 INDIAN BANQUET.

a foot in length on a long hollow plank, which was, though a very noisy, a most doleful kind of music. This they accompanied with songs, the king him- self acting as chorister, while the women applauded each feat of activity in the dancer, by repeating the words, Wocash! Wocash Tyee !—That is good ! very good prince!

As soon as the dance was finished, Maquina be- gan to give presents to the strangers, in the name of his son, Sat-sat-sok-sis. These were pieces of European cloth, generally of a fathom in length, muskets, powder, shot, &c. Whenever he gave them any thing, they had a peculiar manner of snatching it from him, with a very stern and surly look, repeating each time the words, Wocash Tyee. This I understood to be their custom, and was con- sidered as a compliment, which, if omitted, would be supposed as a mark of disregard for the present. On this occasion, Maquina gave away no less than one hundred muskets, the same number of looking- glasses, four hundred yards of cloth, and twenty casks of powder, beside other things.

After receiving these presents, the strangers re- tired on board their canoes ; for so numerous were

they, that Maquina would not suffer any but the

INDIAN BANQUET. 49

chiefs to sleep in the houses; and in order to pre- vent the property from being pillaged by them, he ordered Thompson and myself to keep guard, dur- ing the night, armed with cutlasses and pistols.

In this manner, tribes of savages from various parts of the coast continued coming for several days, bringing with them blubber, oil, herring-spawn, . dried fish, and clams, for which they received, in return, presents of cloth, &c.; after which, they in general immediately returned home. I observed, that very few, if any of them, except the chiefs, had arms, which, I afterwards learned, is the custom with these people, whenever they come upon a friendly visit, or to trade, in order to show, on their

approach, that their intentions are pacific,

50 BURNING OF THE VESSEL.

CHAPTER YV. e BURNING OF THE VESSEL—COMMENCEMENT OF THE

JOURNAL.

Earzy on the morning of the 19th, the ship was discovered to be on fire. This was owing to one of the savages having gone on board with a fire-brand at night for the purpose of plunder, some sparks from which fell into the hold, and communicating with some combustibles, soon enveloped the whole in flames. The natives regretted the loss of the ship the more, as a great part of her cargo still re- mained on board. To my companion and myself it was a most melancholy sight; for with her dis- appeared from our eyes every trace of a civilized country: but the disappointment we experienced was still more severely felt ; for we had calculated ; on having the provisions to ourselves, which would

have furnished us with a stock for years, as what-

BURNING OF THE VESSEL. 51

ever is cured with salt, together with most of our other articles of food, are never eaten by these peo- ple. I had luckily saved all my tools, excepting the anvil and the bellows, which was attached to the forge, and, from their weight, had not been brought on shore. We had also the good fortune, in looking over what had been taken from the ship, to discover a box of chocolate and a case of Port wine, which, as the Indians were not fond of it, proved a great comfort to us for some time; and from one of the natives I obtained a nautical alma- nack, which had belonged to the captain, and which was of great use to me in determining the time. About two days after, on examining their booty, the savages found a tierce of rum, with which they were highly delighted, as they have become very

fond of spirituous liquors since their intercourse with

the whites. This was towards evening, and Maqui- _

na having assembled all the men at his house, gave a feast, at which they drank so freely of the rum, that, in a short time, they became so extremely wild and frantic, that Thompson and myself, apprehen- sive of our safety, thought it prudent to retire pri- vately into the woods, where we continued till past midnight.

52 BURNING OF THE VESSEL.

On our return we found the women gone, who are always very temperate, drinking nothing but water, having quitted the house and gone to the other huts to sleep, so terrified were they at the conduct of the men, who lay all stretched out on the floor, in astate of complete intoxication. How easy in this situation would it have been for us to have dispatch- ed or made ourselves masters of our enemies, had there been any ship near to which we could have escaped, but as we were situated, the attempt would have been madness. The wish of revenge was, how- ever, less strongly impressed on my mind, than what appeared to be so evident an interposition of Divine Providence in our favour. How little can man pe- netrate its designs, and how frequently is that in- tended as a blessing which he views as a curse. The burning of our ship, which we had lamented so

much, as depriving us of so many comforts, now ap-

_ peared to us in a very different light, for, had the sa-

vages got possession of the rum, of which there were nearly twenty puncheons on board, we must inevitably have fallen a sacrifice to their fury in some of their moments of intoxication. This cask, fortunately, and a case of gin, was all the spirits they obtained from the ship. To prevent the recur-

BURNING OF THE VESSEL: 53°

rence of similar danger, I examined the cask, and finding still a considerable quantity remaining, I bored a small hole in the bottom with a gimblet, which, before morning, to my great joy, completely emptied it.

By this time the wound in my head began to be much better, so that I could enjoy some sleep, which I had been almost deprived of by the pain; and though I was still feeble from the loss of blood, and my sufferings, I found myself sufficiently well to go to work at my trade, in making for the king, and his wives, bracelets and other small ornaments of copper or steel, and in repairing the arms, making _ use of a large square stone for the anvil, and heat- _ ing my metal in a common wood fire. This was very gratifying to Maquina, and his women particu- larly, and secured me their good will.

In the meantime, great numbers from the other tribes kept continually flocking to Nootka, bringing with them in exchange for the ship’s plunder such quantities of provision, that, notwithstanding the little success that Maquina met with in whaling this season, and their gluttonous waste, always eating to excess when they have it, regardless of the morrow,

seldom did the natives experience any want of food

54 BURNING OF THE VESSEL.

during the summer. As to myself and companion, we fared as they did, never wanting for such provi- sion as they had, though we were oblized to eat it cooked in their manner, and with train oil as a sauce, a circumstance not a little unpleasant, both from their uncleanly mode of cooking, and many of the arti- cles of their food, which, to an European, are very disgusting ; but, as the saying is, hunger will break through stone walls, and we found, at times, in the blubber of sea animals, and the flesh of the dog-fish, loathsome as it generally was, a very acceptable re- past.

But much oftener would poor Thompson, who was no favourite with them, have suffered from hunger, had it not been for my furnishing him with provision, This I was enabled to do from my work, Maquina allowing me the privilege, when not em- ployed for him, to work for myself in making brace- lets and other ornaments of copper, fish-hooks, dag- gers, &c. either to sell to the tribes who visited us, or for our own chiefs, who, on these occasions, be- sides supplying me with as much as I wished to eat, and a sufficiency for Thompson, almost always made “me a present of an European garment, taken from

the ship, or some fathoms of cloth, which were

BURNING OF THE VESSEL. 5)

made up by my comrade, and enabled us to go comfortably clad for some time, or small bundles of penknives, razors, scissors, &c. for one of which we could almost always procure from the natives two or three fresh salmon, cod, or halibut ; or dried fish, clams, and herring-spawn from the stranger tribes ; and had we only been permitted to cook them after our own way, as we had pots and other utensils be- longing to the ship, we should not have had much cause of complaint in this respect ; but so tenacious are these people of their customs, particularly in the article of food and cooking, that the king always obliged me to give whatever provision I bought to the women to cook. And one day finding Thomp- | son and myself on the shore, employed in boiling down sea-water into salt, on being told what it was, he was very much displeased, and taking the little we had procured, threw it into the sea. In one in-~ stance alone, as a particular favour, he allowed me to boil some salmon in my own way, when I invit- ed him and his queen to eat with me ; they tasted it, but did not like it, and made their meal of some of it that I had cooked in their country fashion.

In May, the weather became uncommonly mild

and pleasant, and so forward was vegetation, that

56 BURNING OF THE VESSEL.

I picked plenty of strawberries by the middle of the month. Of this fruit there are great quantities on this coast, and I found them a most delicious treat.

My health now had become almost re-established, my wound being so far healed, that it gave me no farther trouble. I had never failed to wash it regu- larly once a day in sea-water, and to dress it with a fresh leaf of tobacco, which I obtained from the na- tives, who had taken it from the.ship, but made no use of it. This was all the dressing I gave it, ex- cept applying to it, two or three times, a little loaf sugar, which Maquina gave me, in order to remove some proud flesh, which prevented it from closing.

My cure would, doubtless, have been much soon er effected had I been in a civilized country, where I could have had it dressed by a surgeon, and properly attended to. But, alas! Thad no good Sa- maritan, with oil and wine, to bind up my wounds, and fortunate might I even esteem myself that I was permitted to dress it myself, for the utmost that I could expect from the natives was compas- sion for my misfortunes, which I, indeed, experien- ced from the women, particularly the queen, or fa-

vourite wife of Maquina, the mother of Sat-sat-sok-sis,

# COMMENCEMENT OF THE JOURNAL. 57

who used frequently to point to my head, and mani- fest much kindness and solicitude for me. I must do Maquina the justice to acknowledge, that he al- ways appeared desirous of sparing me any labour which he believed might be hurtful to me, frequent- ly inquiring, in an affectionate manner, if my head pained me. As for the others, some of the chiefs excepted, they cared little what became of me, and probably would have been gratified with my death.

My health being at length re-established and my wound healed, Thémpson became very impor- tunate for me to begin my journal, and as I had no ink, proposed to cut his finger to supply me with blood for the purpose whenever I should want it. On the first of June, I, accordingly, commenced a regular diary, but had no occasion to make use of the expedient suggested by my comrade, having found a much better substitute in the expressed juice of a certain plant, which furnished me with a bright green-colour ; and, after making a number of trials, | at length succeeded in obtaining a very tolerable ink, by boiling the juice of the blackberry with a mixture of finely powdered charcoal, and fil= tering it through a cloth. This I afterwards pre- served in bottles, and found it answer very well, so

C2

58 COMMENCEMENT OF THE JOURNAL.

true it is that “ necessity is the mother of inven- tion.” As for quills, I found no difficulty in pro- curing them, whenever I wanted, from the crows and ravens with which the beach was almost always covered, attracted by the offal of whales, seals, &c. and which were so tame, that I could easily kill them with stones, while a large clam-shell furnish- ed me with an ink-stand.

The extreme solicitude of Thompson, that I should begin my journal, might be considered as singular in a man who neither knew how to read or write, — a circumstance, by the way, very uncommon in an American,—were we less acquainted with the force of habit ; he having been for many years at sea, and accustomed to consider the keeping of a journal as a thing indispensable. This man was born in Phila- delphia, and, at eight years old, ran away from his friends, and entered as a cabin-boy on board a ship bound to London. On his arrival there, finding himself in distress, he engaged as an apprentice to the captain of a collier, from whence he was im- pressed on board an English man-of-war, and con- tinued in the British naval service about twenty- seven years, during which he was present at the en-

gagement, under Lord Howe, with the French fleet

COMMENCEMENT OF THE JOURNAL. 59

in June 1794; and when peace was made between England and France was discharged. He was a very strong and powerful man, an expert boxer, and perfectly fearless. Indeed, so little. was his dread of danger, that, when irritated, he was whol- ly regardless of his life. Of this the following will furnish a sufficient proof :

One evening, about the middle cf April, as I was at the house of one of the chiefs, where I had been employed on some work for him, word was brought me that Maquina was going to kill Thompson. I immediately hurried home, where I found the king in the act of presenting a loaded musket at Thomp- son, who was standing before him with his breast bared, and calling on him to fire. I instantly step- ped up to Maquina, who was foaming with rage, and addressing him in soothing words, begged him, for my sake, not to kill my father, and at length succeeded in taking the musket from him, and per- suading him to sit down.

On inquiring into the cause of his anger, I learn- ed, that while Thompson was lighting the lamps in the king’s room, (Maquina having substituted ours for their pine torches,) some of the boys began te

teaze him, running around him, and pulling him by,

60 COMMENCEMENT OF THE JOURNAL.

the trowsers, among the most forward of whom was the young prince. This caused Thompson to spill the oil, which threw him into such a passion, that, without caring what he did, he struck the prince so violent a blow in his face with his fist as to knock him down. The sensation excited among the sa- vages by an act which was considered as the high- est indignity, and. a profanation of the sacred per- son of Majesty, may be easily conceived. The king ‘was immediately acquainted with it, who, on com- ing in, and seeing his son’s face covered with blood, seized a musket, and began to load it, determined to take instant revenge on the audacious offender ; and had I arrived a few moments later than I did, my companion would certainly have paid with his life for his rash and violent conduct. I found the utmost difficulty in pacifying Maquina, who, for a long time after, could not forgive Thompson, but would repeatedly say, “ John, you die—Thompson kill.”

But to appease the king was not all that was ne- cessary. In consequence of the insult offered to their prince, the whole tribe held a council, in which it was unanimously resolved that Thompson should

be put to death in the most cruel manner. I, how-

COMMENCEMENT OF THE JOURNAL. 61

ever, interceded so strenuously with Maquina for his life, telling him, that, if my father was killed, I was determined not to survive him, that he refused to deliver him up to the vengeance of his people, saying, that, for John’s sake, they must consent to let him live. The prince, who, after I had succeed- ed in calming his father, gave me an account of what had happened, told me that it was wholly out of regard to me, as Thompson was my father, that his life had been spared ; for that, if any one of the tribe should dare to lift a hand against him in anger, he would most certainly be put to death.

Yet even this narrow escape produced not much effect on Thompson, or induced him to restrain the violence of his temper. For, not many weeks after, he was guilty of a similar indiscretion, in striking the eldest son of a chief, who was about cighteen years old, and, according to their custom, was con- sidered as a Tyee or chief himself, in consequence of his having provoked him, by calling him a white slave. This affair caused great commotion in the village, and the tribe were very clamorous for his death ; but Maquina would not consent. I used frequently to remonstrate with him on the impru.

dence of his conduct, and beg him to govern his

62 COMMENCEMENT OF THE JOURNAL.

temper better, telling him, that it was our duty, since our lives were in the power of these savages, to do nothing to exasperate them. But all I could say on this point availed little; for so bitter was the hate he felt for them, which he was no way back- ward in manifesting, both by his looks and actions, that he declared he never would submit to their in- sults, and that he had much rather be killed than be obliged to live among them, adding, that he only wished he had a good vessel and some guns, and he would destroy the whole of the cursed race ; for, to a brave sailor like him, who had fought the French and Spaniards with glory, it was a punishment worse than death to be a slave to such a poor, igno- rant, despicable set of beings.

As for myself, I thought very differently. After returning thanks to that merciful Being, who had, in so wonderful a manner, softened the hearts of the savages in my favour, I had determined, from the first of my capture, to adopt a conciliating conduct towards them, and conform myself, as far as was in my power, to their customs and mode of thinking, trusting that the ‘same Divine goodness that had res- cued me from death would not always suffer me to

languish in captivity among these heathens. With

q

COMMENCEMENT OF THE JOURNAL. 63

this view, I sought to gain their good-will, by al- ways endeavouring to assume a cheerful counte- “nance, appearing pleased with their sports and buf- foon tricks, making little ornaments for the wives and children of their chiefs, by which means I be- came quite a favourite with them, and fish-hooks, daggers, &c. for themselves.

As a farther recommendation to their favour, and what might eventually prove. of the utmost import- ance to us, I resolved to learn their language, which, in the course of a few months residence, I so far succeeded in acquiring, as to be able in general to make myself well understood. I likewise tried to persuade Thompson to learn it, as what might prove necessary to him. But he refused, saying, that he hated both them and their cursed lingo, and would have nothing to do with it.

By pursuing this conciliatory plan, so far did I gain the good-will of these savages, particularly the chiefs, that I scarcely ever failed experiencing kind treatment from them, and was received with a smile of welcome at their houses, where I was always sure of having something given me to eat, whenever they had it; and many a good meal have I had from

them, when they themselves were short of provi-

64 COMMENCEMENT OF THE JOURNAL.

sions, and suffering for the want of them. And it was a common practice with me, when we had no- thing to eat at home, which happened not unfre- quently during my stay among them, to go around. the village, and on noticing a smoke from any of the houses, which denoted that they were cooking, enter in without ceremony, and ask them for something, which I was never refused. Few nations, indeed, are there so very rude and unfeeling, whom con- stant mild treatment and an attention to please will not mollify, and obtain from some return of kind at- tention. This, the treatment I received from these people may exemplify; for not numerous, even among those calling themselves civilized, are there instances to be found of persons depriving them- selves of food to give it to a stranger, whatever may be his merits,

a —

DESCRIPTION OF NOOTKA. 65

CHAPTER VI.

DESCRIPTION OF NOOTKA—MANNER OF BUILDING—

FURNITURE—DRESSES.

It may, perhaps, be as well in this place to give a description of Nootka ; some account of the tribes_ who were accustomed to visit us; and the manners and customs of the people, as far as I hitherto had an opportunity of observing them.

The village of Nootka is situated in between 49 and 50 degrees north latitude, at the bottom of Friendly Cove, on the west or north-west side. It consists of about twenty houses or huts, on a small hill, which rises with a gentle ascent from the shore. Friendly Cove, which affords good and secure an- chorage for ships close in with the shore, is a small harbour of not more than a quarter or half a mile in length, and about half a mile or three quarters broad, formed by the line of coast on the east, and

66 DESCRIPTION OF NOOTKA.

a long point or headland, which extends as much as three leagues into the sound, in nearly a wester- ly, direction. This, as well as I can judge from what I have seen of it, isin general from one to two miles in breadth, and mostly a rocky and unproduc- tive soil, with but few trees. The eastern and west- ern shores of this harbour are steep, and in many parts rocky, ‘the trees growing quite to the water’s edge, but the bottom to the north and north-west is a fine sandy beach of half a mile or more in ex- tent.

From the village to the north and north-east ex- tends a plain, the soil of which is very excellent, and with proper cultivation may be made to pro- duce almost any of our European vegetables ; this is but little more than half a mile in breadth, and is terminated by the sea-coast, which in this place is lined with rocks and reefs, and cannot be approach- ed by ships. The coast in the neighbourhood of Nootka is in general low, and but little broken into hills and valleys. The soil is good, well covered . with fine forests of pine, spruce, beech, and other ~ trees, and abounds with streams of the finest water, ~ the general appearance being the same for many

miles around,

DESCRIPTION OF NOOTKA. ~ 67

The village is situated on the ground occupied by the Spaniards, when ‘they kept a garrison here ; the foundations of the church and the governor’s house are yet visible, and a few European plants are still to be found, which continue to be self-pro- pagated, such as onions, pease, and turnips, but the two last are quite small, particularly the turnips, which afforded us nothing but the tops for eating. Their former village stood on the same spot ; but the Spaniards finding it a commodious situation, de- molished the houses, and forced the inhabitants to retire five or six miles into the country. With great sorrow, as Maquina told me, did they find them- selves compelled to quit their ancient place of resi- dence, but with equal joy did they repossess them- selves of it when the Spanish garrison was expelled by the English.

The houses, as 1 have observed, are above twen- ty in number, built nearly ina line. These are of different sizes, according to the rank or quality of the Tyee, or chief, who lives in them, each having one, of which he is considered as the lord. They vary not much in width, being usually from thirty- six to forty feet wide, but are of very different lengths ; that of the king, which is much the long-

68 MANNER OF BUILDING.

est, being about one hundred and fifty feet, while the smallest, which contain only two families, do not exceed forty feet in length. The house of the — king is also distinguished from the others by being higher.

Their method of building is as follows :—They erect in the ground two very large posts, at such a distance apart, as is intended for the length of the house. On these, which are of equal height, and hollowed out at the upper end, they lay a large spar for the ridge-pole of the building, or if the length of the house requires it, two or more supporting their ends by similar upright posts; these spars are some times of an almost incredible size, having myself measured one in Maquina’s house, which I found to be one hundred feet long, and eight feet four inches in circumference. At equal distances from these two posts, two others are placed on each side, to form the width of the building ; these are rather shorter than the first, and on them are laid, in like manner, spars, but of a smaller size, having the up- per part hewed flat, with a narrow ridge on the outer side to support the ends of the planks.

The roof is formed of pine planks, with a broad feather edge, so as to lap well over each other,

MANNER OF BUILDING. 69

which are laid lengthwise from the ridge-pole in the centre, to the beams at the sides, after which, - the top is covered with planks of eight feet broad, which form a kind of coving projecting so far over the ends of the planks that form the roof, as com- pletely to exclude the rain. On these they lay large stones to prevent their being displaced by the wind. The ends of the planks are not secured to the beams on which they are laid by any fastening, so that in a high storm, I have often known all the men obliged to turn out and go upon the roof to prevent them from being blown off, carrying large stones and pieces of rock with them to secure the boards ; always stripping themselves naked on these occa- sions, whatever may be the severity of the weather, to prevent their garments from being wet and mud- died, as these storms are almost always accompanied — with heavy rains. The sides of their houses are much more open and exposed to the weather ; this proceeds from their not being so easily made close as the roof, being built with planks of about ten feet long and four or five wide, which they place be- tween stancheons or small posts of the height of the roof; of these, there are four to each range of

boards, two at each end, and so near each other, as

10 MANNER OF BUILDING.

to leave space enough for admitting a plank. The planks or boards which they make use of for build- ing their houses, and for other uses, they procure of different lengths, as occasion requires, by splitting them out, with hard wooden wedges, from pine logs, and afterwards dubbing them down with their chi- sels, with much patience, to the thickness wanted, rendering them quite smooth.

There is but one entrance ; this is placed usually at the end, though sometimes in the middle, as was that of Maquina’s. Through the middle of the. building, from one end to the other, runs a passage of about eight or nine feet broad, on each side of which, the several families that occupy it live, each having its particular fire-place, but without any kind of wall or separation to mark their respective limits; the chief having his apartment at the upper end, and the next in rank opposite on the other side. They have no other floor than the ground ; the fire-place, or hearth, consists of a number of stones loosely put together; but they are wholly without a chimney, nor is there any opening left in the roof, but whenever a fire is made, the plank immediately over it is thrust aside, by means of a

pole, to give vent to the smoke. The height of the © 4

FURNITURE. ye |

houses in general, from the ground to the centre of the roof, does not exceed ten feet ; that of Ma- quina’s was not far from fourteen ; the spar form- ing the ridge-pole of the latter was painted in red and black circles alternately, by way of ornament, and the large posts that supported it had their tops curiously wrought or carved, so as to represent hnman heads, of a monstrous size, which were painted in their manner. These were not, how- ever, considered as objects of adoration, but merely as ornaments.

The furniture of these people is very simple, and consists only of boxes, in which they put their clothes, furs, and such things as they hold most va« luable; tubs for keeping their provisions of spawn and blubber in; trays from which they eat ; bas- kets for their dried fish and other purposes, and bags made of bark matting, of which they also make their beds, spreading a piece of it upon the ground when they lie down, and using no other bed-covering than their garments. The boxes are of pine, with a top that shuts over, and instead of nails or pegs, are fastened with flexible twigs; they are extremely smooth and high polished, and some- times ornamented with rows of very small white

"92 DRESSES.

shells. The tubs are of a square form, secured in the like manner, and of various sizes, some being extremely large, having seen them that were six feet long by four broad and five deep. The trays are hollowed out with their chisels from a solid block of wood, and the baskets and mats are made from the bark of trees.

From bark they likewise make the cloth for their garments, in the following manner :—A quantity of this bark is taken and put into fresh water, where it is kept for a fortnight, to give it time to completely sof- ten ; it is then taken out and beaten upon a plank, with an instrument made of bone, or some very hard wood, having grooves or hollows on one side of it, care being taken to keep the mass constantly moist- ened with water, in order to separate, with more ease, the hard and woody from the soft and fibrous parts, which, when completed, they par cel out into skeins, like thread. These they lay in the air to bleach, and afterwards dye them black or red, as suits their fancies, their natural colour being a pale yellow. In order to form the cloth, the women, by whom the whole of this process is performed, take — a certain number of these skeins, and twist them

together, by rolling them with their hands upon — 10

DRESSES. 8

their knees into hard rolls, which are afterwards connected by means of a strong thread, made for the purpose.

Their dress usually consists of but a single gar- ment, which is a loose cloak or mantle (called Kut- sack) in one piece, reaching nearly to the feet. This is tied loosely over the right or left shoulder, so as to leave the arms at full liberty.

Those of the common people are painted red with ochre, the better to keep out the rain, but the chiefs wear them of their native colour, which is a pale yellow, ornamenting them with borders of the sea-otter skin, a kind of grey cloth, made of the hair of some animal which they procure from the tribes to the South, or their own cloth wrought or painted with various figures in red or black, repre- senting men’s heads, the sun and moon, fish and animals, which are frequently executed with much skill. They have also a girdle of the same kind, for securing this mantle, or Kutsack, around them, which is in general still more highly ornamented, and serves them to wear their daggers and knives in. In winter, however, they sometimes make use of an additional garment, which is a kind of hood, with a hole in it for the purpose of admitting the

D

74: DRESSES.

head, and falls over the breast and back, as low as the shoulders; this is bordered both at top and bottom with fur, and is never worn, except when they go out.

The garments of the women vary not essentially from those of the men, the mantle having holes in it for the purpose of admitting the arms, and being tied close under the chin, instead of over the shoulder. The chiefs have also mantles of the sea- otter skin, but these are only put on upon extraordi- nary occasions ; and one that is made from the skin of a certain large anima], which is brought from the South by the Wickanninish and Kla-iz-zarts. This they prepare by dressing it in warm water, scraping off the hair and what flesh adheres to it carefully with sharp muscle-shells, and spreading it out in the sun to dry, on a wooden frame, so as to preserve the shape. When dressed in this manner, it becomes perfectly white, and as pliable as the best deer’s leather, but almost as thick again. They then paint ' it in different figures, with such paints as they usu- — ally employ in decorating their persons: these | figures mostly represent human heads, canoes em- ployed in catching whales, &c.

This skin is called Metamelth, and is probably got

DRESSES. 15

from an animal of the mouse kind ; it is highly priz- ed by these people, is their great war dress, and only worn when they wish to make the best possible dis- play of themselves. Strips or bands of it, painted as above, are also sometimes used by them for gir- dles or the bordering of their cloaks, and also for bracelets and ancle ornaments by some of the infe- rior class.

On their heads, when they go out upon any excur- sion, particularly whaling or fishing, they wear a kind of cap or bonnet in form not unlike a large sugar loaf with the top cut off. This is made of the same materials with their cloth, but is in general of a closer texture, and, by way of tassel, has a long strip of the skin of the metamelth attached to it, co- vered with rows of small white shells or beads. Those worn by the common people are painted entirely red, the chiefs having theirs of different colours. The one worn by the king, and which serves to designate him from all the others, is longer and broader at the bottom ; the top, instead of being flat, having upon it an ornament in the figure of a small urn. It is also of a much finer texture than the others, and plaited or wrought, in black and white stripes, with

the representation in front of a canoe in pursuit of a

16 COOKERY.

whale, with the harpooner standing in the prow prepared to strike. This bonnet is called Seeya-poks.

Their mode of living is very simple—their food consisting almost wholly of fish, or fish spawn fresh or dried, the blubber of the whale, seal, or sea-cow, muscles, clams, and berries of various kinds; all of which are eaten with a profusion of train-oil for sauce, not excepting even the most delicate fruit, as strawberries and raspberries. With so little variety in their food, no great secret can be expected in their cookery. Of this, indeed, they may be said to know but two methods, viz. by boiling and steam- ing, and even the latter is not very frequently prac- tised by them. Their mode of boiling is as follows : —Into one of their tubs they pour water sufficient to cook the quantity of provision wanted. A num- ber of heated stones are then put in to make it boil, when the salmon or other fish are put in with- out any other preparation than sometimes cutting off the heads, tails, and fins, the boiling, in the mean- time, being kept up by the application of the hot stones, after which it is left to cook until the whole is nearly reduced to one mass. It is then taken out and distributed in the trays. In a similar manner

they cook their blubber and spawn, smoked or dried

COOKERY. Po

fish, and, in fine, almost everything they eat, nothing going down with them like broth.

When they cook their fish by steam, which are usually the heads, tails, and fins of the salmon, cod, and, halibut, a large fire is kindled, upon which they place 2 bed of stones, which, when the wood is burnt down, becomes perfectly heated. Layers of green leaves, or pine boughs, are then placed upon the stones, and the fish, clams, &c. being laid upon them, water is poured over them, and the whole closely covered with mats, to keep in the steam. This is much the best mode of cooking, and clams and muscles done in this manner are really excel- lent. These, as I have said, may be considered as their only kinds of cookery ; though [ have, in a ' very few instances, known them dress the roe, ‘or spawn of the salmon, and the herring, when first taken, in a different manner; this was by roasting them, the former being supported between two split pieces of pine, and the other having a sharp stick run through it, with one end fixed in the ground. Sprats are also roasted by them in this way, a num- ber being spitted upon one stick ; and this kind of food, with a little salt, would be found no site

tible eating even to an European.

718 COOKERY.

At their meals, they seat themselves upon the ground, with their feat curled up under them, a- round their trays, which are generally about three feet long by one broad, and from six to eight inches deep. In eating, they make use of nothing but their fingers, except for the soup or oil, which they lade out with clam-shells. Around one of these trays, from four to six persons will seat themselves, constantly dipping in their fingers, or clam-shells, one after the other. The king and chiefs alone have separate trays, from which no one is permitted to eat with them, except the queen, or principal wife of the chief, and whenever the king, or one of the chiefs, wishes to distinguish any of his people with a special mark of favour on these occasions, he calls him, and gives him some of the choice bits from — his tray. The slaves eat at the same time, and of the same provisions, faring, in this respect, as well as their masters, being seated with the family, and only feeding from separate trays.

Whenever a feast is given by the king, or any of the chiefs, there is a person who acts as a master of ceremonies, and whose business it is to receive the guests as they enter the house, and point out to them

their respective seats, which is regulated with great

COOKERY. 19

punctiliousness as regards rank ; the king occupy- ing the highest, or the seat of honour, his son or brother sitting next him, and so on with the chiefs according to their quality ; the private persons be- longing to the same family being always placed to- gether, to prevent any confusion. The women are seldom invited to their feasts, and only at those times when a general invitation is given to the village.

As, whenever they cook, they always calculate to have an abundance for all the guests, a profusion in this respect being considered as the highest luxury, much more is usually set before them than they can eat. That which is left in the king’s tray he sends to his house for his family, by one of his slaves; as do the chiefs theirs, while those who eat from the same tray, and who generally belong to the same family, take it home as common stock, or each one receives his portion, which is distributed on the spot. This custom appeared very singular to my companion and myself; and it was a most awkward thing for us, at first, to have tolug home with us, in our hands or arms, the blubber or fish that we receiv- ed at these times ; but we soon became reconciled to

it, and were very glad of an opportunity to do it.

80 APPEARANCE OF

< CHAPTER VII.

APPEARANCE OF THE NATIVES—ORNAMENTS=— OTTER-HUNTING—FISHING—CANOES.

In point of personal appearance, the people of Nootka are among the best looking of any of the tribes that I have seen. The men are in general from about five feet six to five feet eight inches in height ; remarkably straight, of a good form, ro- bust and strong, with their limbs in general well turned and proportioned, excepting the legs and feet, which are clumsy and ill-formed, owing, no doubt, to their practice of sitting on them, though I have seen instances in which they were very well shaped. This defect is more particularly apparent in the women, who are for the most part of the time within doors, and constantly sitting while employed in their cooking and other occupations. The only instance of deformity that I saw amongst them was

THE NATIVES. $1

a man of dwarfish stature. He was thirty years old, and but three feet three inches high. He - had, however, no other defect than his diminutive size, being well made, and as strong and able to bear fatigue as what they were in general.

Their complexion, when freed from the paint and oil with which their skins are generally covered, is a brown, somewhat inclined to a copper cast. The shape of the face is oval; the features are tolerably regular, the lips being thin, and the teeth very white and even, ‘Their eyes are black, but rather small, and the nose pretty well formed, being nei- ther flat nor very prominent. Their hair is black, long, and coarse; but they have no beard, com- pletely extirpating it, as well as the hair from their bodies,—Maquina being the only exception, who suffered his beard to grow on his upper lip, in the manner of mustachios, which was considered as a mark of dignity.

As to the women, they are much whiter, many of them not being darker than those in some of the southern parts of Europe. They are in general very well looking, and some quite handsome. Ma- quina’s favourite wife, in particular, who was a Wickinninish princess, would be considered as a

D2

82 APPEARANCE OF

beautiful woman in any country. She was uncom- monly well formed, tall, and of a majestic appear- ance; her skin remarkably fair, for one of these people, with considerable colour; her features hand- some ; and her eyes black, soft, and languishing. Her hair was very long, thick, and black, as is that of the females in general, which is much softer than that of the men. In this they take much pride, frequently oiling and plaiting it carefully into two broad plaits, tying the ends with a strip of the cloth of the country, and letting it hang down before on each side of the face.

The women keep their garments much neater and cleaner than the men, and are extremely modest in their deportment and dress. Their mantle, or Kut- sack, which is longer than that of the men, reach- ing quite to their feet, and completely enveloping them, being tied close under the chin, and bound with a girdle of the same cloth, or of sea-otter skin, around their waists. It has also loose sleeves, which reach to the elbows. Though fond of ornamenting their persons, they are by no means so partial to paint as the men, merely colouring their eye-brows black, and drawing a bright red stripe from each corner of the mouth towards the ear, Their orna-

THE NATIVES. 83

ments consist chiefly of ear-rings, necklaces, brace- lets, rings for the fingers and ancles, and small nose-jewels ; the latter are, however, wholly con- fined to the wives of the king or chiefs. These are principally made out of copper or brass, highly po- lished, and of various forms and sizes. The nose- jewel is usually a small white shell, or bead, sus- pended to a thread.

The wives of the common people frequently wear, for bracelets and ancle rings, strips of the country cloth, or skin of the metamelth, painted in figures, and those of the king or principal chiefs bracelets and necklaces, consisting of a number of strings of Tfe-waw, an article much prized by them, and which makes a very handsome appearance. This [fe-waw, as they term it, is a kind of shell, of a dazzling whiteness, and as smooth as ivory. It is of a cylin- drical form, in a slight degree curved, about the size of a goose quill, hollow, three inches in length, and gradually tapering to a point, which is broken off by the natives as it is taken from the water. This they afterwards string upon threads of bark, and sell it by the fathom. It forms a kind of circulat- ing medium among these nations, five fathoms be-

ing considered as the price of a slave, their most va-

84 ORNAMENTS.

luable species of property. It is principally obtain- ed frem the Aitizzarts, a people living about thirty or forty miles to the northward, who collect it from the reefs and sunken rocks with which their coast abounds, though it is also brought in considerable quantity from the south.

Their mode of taking it has been thus described to me :—To one end of a pole is fastened a piece of plank, in which a considerable number of pine pegs are inserted, made sharp at the ends. Above the plank, in order to sink it, a stone or some weight is tied, and the other end of the pole suspended to a long rope. This is let down perpendicularly by the Lfe-waw fishers in those places where that substance is found, which are usually from fifty to sixty fa- thoms deep. On finding the bottom, they raise the pole up a few feet, and let it fall. This they repeat a number of times, as if sounding, when they draw it up, and take off the Zfe-waw, which is found ad- hering to the points. This method of procuring it is very laborious and fatiguing, especially as they seldom take more than two or three of these shells at a time, and frequently none.

Though the women, as I have said, make but little use of paint, the very reverse is the case with the

-

ORNAMENTS. 85

men. In decorating their heads and faces, they place their principal pride; and none of our most fashionable beaus, when preparing for a grand ball, can be more particular ; for I have known Maquina, after having been employed more than an hour in painting his face, rub the whole off, and recom~« mence the operation anew, when it did not entirely please him.

The manner in which they paint themselves fre- quently varies, according to the occasion ; but it of- tener is the mere dictate of whim. The most usual method is to paint the eye-brows black, in form of a half moon, and the face red, in small squares, with the arms and legs and part of the body red. Some- times one half of the face is painted red, in squares, and the other black ; at others, dotted with spots of red and black, instead of squares; with a variety of other devices, such as painting one half of the face and body red, and the other black. But a method of painting which they sometimes employed, and which they were much more particular in, was by laying on the face a quantity of bear’s grease, of about one eighth of an inch thick. This they raised up into ridges, resembling a small bead in joiner’s

work, with a stick prepared for the purpose, and

86 ORNAMENTS.

then painted them red, which gave the face a very singular appearance. On extraordinary occasions, the king and principal chiefs used to strew over their faces, after painting, a fine black shining powder, procured from some mineral, as Maquina told me it was got from the rocks. This they call pelpelth, and value it highly, as, in their opi- nion, it serves to set off their looks to great advan- tage, glittering, especially in the sun, like silver. This article is brought them in bags by the New- chemass, a very savage nation, who live a long way to the north, from whom they likewise receive a superior kind of red paint, a species of very fine and rich ochre, which they hold in much estimation.

Notwithstanding this custom of painting them- selves, they make it an invariable practice, both in summer and winter, to bathe once a-day, and some- times oftener ; but as the paint is put on with oil, it is not much discomposed thereby, and whenever they wish to wash it off, they repair to some piece of fresh water, and scour themselves with sand or rushes. |

In dressing their heads on occasion of a festival or a visit, they are full as particular, and almost as long, as in painting. The hair, after being well

4

ORNAMENTS. 87

oiled, is carefully gathered upon the top of the head, and secured by a piece of pine or spruce bough, with the green leaves upon it. After hav- ing it properly fixed in this manner, the king and principal chiefs used to strew all over it the white down obtained from a species of large brown eagle, which, abounds on this coast, and which they are very particular in arranging so as not to have a single feather out of place, occasionally wetting the hair to make it adhere. This, together with the bough, which is sometimes of considerable size, and stuck over with feathers, by means of turpentine, gives them a very singular and grotesque appear- ance, which they, however, think very becoming, and the first thing they do, on learning the arrival of strangers, is to go and decorate themselves in this manner.

The men also wear bracelets of painted leather or copper, and large ear-rings of the latter ; but the _ ornament on which they appear to set the most va- lue is the nose-jewel, if such an appellation may be given to the wooden stick which some of them em- ploy for this purpose. The king and chiefs, how- ever, wear them of a different form, being either small pieces of polished copper or brass, of which I

88 ORNAMENTS.

made many for them, in the shape of hearts and dia- monds, or a twisted conical shell, about half an inch in length, of a bluish colour, and very bright, which is brought from the south. ‘These are suspended by a small wire or string to the hole, in the gristle of the nose, which is formed in infancy, by boring it with a pin, the hole being afterwards enlarged by the repeated insertion of wooden pegs of an increas- ed size, until it becomes about the diameter of a pipe stem, though some have them of a size nearly suffi- cient to admit the little finger. The common class, who cannot readily procure the more expensive jewels that I have mentioned, substitute for them, usually, a smooth round stick, some of which are of an almost incredible length, ‘for I have seen them projecting not less than eight or nine inches beyond the face on each side ; this is made fast, or secured in its place, by little wedges on each side of it. These sprit-sail-yard fellows, as my messmate used to call them, when rigged out in this manner, made quite a strange show ; and it was his delight, whenever he saw one of them coming to- wards us with an air of consequence proportioned to the length of his stick, to put up his hand sudden-

ly as he was passing him, so as to strike the stick, in 11

OTTER-HUNTING. 89

order, as he said, to brace him up sharp to the wind ; _ this used to make them very angry, but nothing was more remote from Thompson’s ideas than a wish to cultivate their favour.

The natives of Nootka appear to have but little inclination for the chace, though some of them were expert marksmen, and used sometimes to shoot ducks and geese; but the seal and the sea-otter form the principal objects of their hunting, particu- larly the latter.

Of this animal, so much noted for its valuable skin, the following description may not be uninte- resting :—The sea-otter is nearly five feet in length, exclusive of the tail, which is about twelve inches, and is very thick and broad where it joins the body, but gradually tapers to the end, which is tipped with white. The colour of the rest is a shining sil. ky black, with the exception of a broad white stripe on the top of the head. Nothing can be more beautiful than one of these animals when seen swim- ming, especially when on the look-out for any ob- ject. At such times it raises its head quite above the surface, and the contrast between the shining black and the white, together with its sharp ears and a long tuft of hair rising from the middle of its

50 OTTER-HUNTING.

forehead, which looks like three small horns, ren- der it quite a novel and attractive object. They are in general very tame, and will permit a canoe or boat to approach very near before they dive. I was told, however, that they are become much more shy since they have been accustomed to shoot them with muskets, than when they used only arrows.

The skin is held in great estimation in China, more especially that of the tail, the fur of which is finer and closer set than that on the body. This is always cut off and sold separately by the natives. The value of a skin is determined by its size, that being considered as a prime skin which will reach, in length, from a man’s chin to his feet. The food of the sea-otter is fish, which he is very dexterous in taking, being an excellent swimmer, with feet webbed like those of a goose. They appear to be wholly confined to the sea coast, at least to the salt water. They have usually three or four young at a time, but I know not how often they breed, nor in what place they deposit their young, though I have frequently seen them swimming around the mother, when no larger than rats. The flesh is eaten by the

natives, cooked in their usual mode, by boiling, and

FISHING. O1 -

is far preferable to that of the seal, of which they . make much account.

But if not great hunters, there are few people more expert at fishing. Their lines are generally ‘made from the sinew of the whale, and are extreme- ly strong. For the hook, they usually make use of a straight piece of hard wood, in the lower part of which is inserted, and well secured, with thread or whale sinew, a bit of bone made very sharp at the point and bearded ; but I used to make for them hooks from iron, which they preferred, not only as being less liable to break, but more certain of secur- ing the fish. Cod, halibut, and other sea fish, were not only caught by them with hooks, but even sal- mon. ;

_ To take this latter fish, they practise the follow- ing method :——One person seats himself in a small canoe, and, baiting his hook with a sprat, which they are always careful to procure as fresh as possi- ble, fastens his line to the handle of the paddle ; this, as he plies it in the water, keeps the fish in constant motion, so as to give it the appearance of life, which the salmon seeing, leaps at it, and is in- stantly hooked, and, by a sudden and dexterous motion of the paddle, drawn on board. I have

92 FISHING.

known some of the natives take no less than eight or ten salmon of a morning in this manner, and have seen from twenty to thirty canoes at a time in Friend- ly Cove thus employed.

They are likewise little less skilful in taking the whale. This they kill with a kind of javelin or harpoon, thus constructed and fitted:—The barbs are formed of bone, which are sharpened on the outer side, and hollowed within, for the purpose of forming a socket for the staff; these are then secur- ed firmly together with a whale sinew, the point being fitted so as to receive a piece of muscle-shell, which is ground to a very sharp edge, and secured in its place by means of turpentine. To this head or prong is fastened a strong line of whale sinew, about nine feet in length, to the end of which is tied a bark rope from fifty to sixty fathoms long, having from twenty to thirty seal-skin floats or buoys at- tached to it at certain intervals, in order to check the motion of the whale, and obstruct his diving. In the socket of the harpoon a staff or pole of about ten feet long, gradually tapering from the middle to each end, is placed ; this the harpooner holds in his hand, in order to strike the whale, and immediately detaches it as soon as the fish is struck.

FISHING. 93

The whale is considered as the king’s fish, and -no other person, when he is present, is permitted to touch him, until the royal harpoon has first drawn his blood, however near he may approach ; and it would be considered almost as sacrilege for any of the common people to strike a whale, before he is killed, particularly if any of the chiefs should be present. They also kill the porpoise and sea-cow with harpoons, but this inferior game is not inter- dicted the lower class.

With regard to their canoes, some of the hand- somest to be found on the whole coast are made at Nootka, though very fine ones are brought by the Wickinninish and the Kla-iz-zarts, who have them more highly ornamented. T hey are of all sizes, from such as are capable of holding only one person to their largest war-canoes, which will carry forty men, and are extremely light. Of these, the largest of.any that I ever saw was one belonging to Ma- quina, which I measured, and found to be forty-two feet six inches in length at the bottom, and /forty- siz feet from stem to stern. These are made of pine hollowed out from a tree with their chisels solely, which are about three inches broad and six in length, and set into a handle of very hard wood.

94 CANOES.

This instrument was formerly made of flint, or sorne hard stone ground down to as sharp an edge “Aas possible, but since they have learned the use of iron, they have almost all of them of that metal. Instead of a mallet for striking this chisel, they make use of a smooth round stone, which they hold in the palm of the hand. With this same awkward instrument they not only excavate their canoes and trays, and smooth their plank, but cut down such trees as they want, either for building, fuel, or other purposes, a labour which is mostly done by their slaves.

The felling of trees, as practised by them, is a slow and most tedious process, three of them being generally from two to three days in cutting down a large one ; yet so attached were they to their own method, that, notwithstanding they saw Thompson frequently with one of our axes, of which there was a number saved, fell a tree in less time than they could have gone round it with their chisels, still they could not be persuaded to make use of them.

After hollowing out their canoes, which they do very neatly, they fashion the outside, and slightly

burn it for the purpose of removing any splinters or

CANOES. 95

small points that might obstruct its passage through the water, after which they rub it over thoroughly with rushes or coarse mats, in order to smooth it, which not only renders it almost as smooth as glass, but forms a better security for it from the weather : this operation of burning and rubbing down the bot- toms of their canoes is practised as often as they ac- quire any considerable degree of roughness from use. The outside, by this means, becomes quite black, and to complete their work, they paint the inside of a bright red, with ochre, or some other similar sub- stance ; the prows and sterns are almost always or« namented with figures of ducks, or some other kind ot bird, the former being so fashioned as to repre- sent the head, and the latter the tail ; these are sepa- rate pieces from the canoe, and are fastened to it with small flexible twigs or bark cord.

Some of these canoes, particularly those employ- ed in whaling, which will hold about ten men, are ornamented within about two inches below the gun- wale, with two parallel lines on each side of very small white shells, running fore and aft, which has a very pretty effect. Their war canoes have no or- nament of this kind, but are painted on the outside

with figures in white chalk, representing eagles,

96 CANOES.

whales, human heads, &c. They are very dexter- ous in the use of their paddles, which are very neat- ly wrought, and are five feet long, with a short handle, and a blade seven inches broad in the middle, tapering to a sharp point. With these they will make a canoe skim very swiftly on the water, with scarcely any noise, while they keep time to the stroke of the paddle with their songs.

- MUSIC. 97

CHAPTER VIII.

MUSIC——MUSICAL INSTRU MENTS—SLAVES—NEIGH=

BOURING TRIBES—TRADE WITH THESE—ARMS.

Turvy have a number of songs which they sing on various occasions; as war,* whaling, and fishing, at their marriages and feasts, and at public festivals or solemnities. The language of the most of these appears to be very different, in many respects, from that used in their common conversation, which leads me to believe, either that they have a different mode of expressing themselves in poetry, or that they borrow their songs from their neighbours ; and what the more particularly induces me to the latter opi- nion is, that whenever any of the Newchemass, a’ people from the Northward, and who speak a very

pS ee rename en. 5 LARS eens

* 4 specimen of one of their war songs will be found at the end of this work.

E

98 MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

different language, arrived, they used to tell me thatt they expected a new song, and were almost alwayss sure to have one.

Their tunes are generally soft and plaintive, andd though not possessing great variety, are not deficientt in harmony.—Their singing is generally accompa-- nied with several rude kinds of instrumental music;; among the most prominent of which is a kind of as drum. Thisis nothing more than a long plank hol-- lowed out on the under side and made quite thin,, which is beat upon by a stick of about a foot long,, and renders a sound not unlike beating on the head! of an empty cask, but much louder.

But the two most favourite instruments are the: rattle and the pipe or whistle ; these are, however, , only used by the king, the chiefs, or some particu. lar person; the former is made of dried seal-skin, so as to represent a fish, and is filled with a number of small smooth pebbles, it has a short handle, and is painted red. The whistle is made of bone, gene- rally the leg of a deer; it is short, but emits a very

t

shrill sound. They have likewise another kind of *

music, which they make use of in dancing, in the

manner of castanets ; this is produced by a number

of muscle or cockle shells tied together and shaken

SLAVES. 99

toa kind of tune, which is accompanied with the voice.

+ Their slaves, as [ have observed, form their most valuable species of property. These are of both sexes, being either captives taken by themselves in war, or purchased from the neighbouring tribes, and who reside in the same house, forming, as it were, a part of the family, are usually kindly treated, eat of the same food, and live as well as their masters. They are compelled, however, at times, to labour severely, as not only all the menial offices are per-

formed by them, such as bringing water, cutting wood, and a variety of others, but they are obliged to make the canoes, to assist in building and repair- ing the houses, to supply their masters with fish, and to attend them in war, and to fight for them. ~None but the king and chiefs have slaves, the common people being prevented from holding them, either from their inability to purchase them, or, as I am rather inclined to think, from its being consider- ed as the privilege of the former alone to have them, especially as all those made prisoners of war belong either to the king or the chiefs, who have cap- tured them, each one holding such as have been ta~

ken by himself or his slaves, There is probably,

100 SLAVES.

however, some little distinction in favour of the king, who is always the commander of the expedi- tion, as Maquina had nearly fifty, male and female, © in his house, a number constituting about one half of its inhabitants, comprehending those obtained by war and purchase, whereas none of the other chiefs : had more than twelve. The females are employed principally in manufacturing cloth, in cooking, col- lecting berries, &c. and with regard to food and living in general, have not a much harder lot than their mistresses, the principal difference consisting in these poor unfortunate creatures being consider- ed as free to any one, their masters prostituting them whenever they think proper, for the purpose of gain. In this way many of them are brought -on board the ships, and offered to the crews, from whence an opinion appears to have been formed by some of our navigators, injurious to the chastity of - their females, than which nothing can be more ge-. nerally untrue, as: perhaps in no part of the world is that virtue more prized.

The houses at Nootka, as already -stated, are about twenty, without comprising those inhabited by the Klahars, a small tribe that has been conquer- ed and incorporated into that of Nootka, though.

NEIGHBOURING TRIBES. 101

they must be considered as in a state of vassalage, as they are not permitted to have any chiefs among them, and live by themselves, in a cluster of small houses, at a little distance from the village. The Nootka tribe, which consists of about five hundred warriors, is not only more numerous than almost any of the neighbouring tribes, but far exceeds them in the strength and martial spirit of its people ; and, in fact, there are but few nations within a hundred miles either to the north or south but are consider- ed as tributary to them.

In giving some account of the tribes that were accustomed to visit Nootka, I shall commence at the southward with the Kla-iz-zarts and the Wickinnin- ish, premising, that, in point of personal appearance, there prevails a wonderful diversity between the va- vious tribes on the coast, with the exception of the feet and legs, which are badly shaped in almost all of them, from their practice of sitting on them.

The Kla-iz-zarts are a numerous and powerful tribe, living nearly three hundred miles tothe south, and are said to consist of more than a thousand war-~ riors. They appear to be more civilized than any of the others, being better and more neatly dressed,

more mild and affable in their manners, remarkable

102 NEIGHBOURING TRIBES.

for their sprightliness and vivacity, and celebrated for their singing and dancing. They exhibit also greater marks of improvement in whatever is wrought by them ; their canoes, though not supe- rior to those of Nootka in point of form and light- ness, are more highly ornamented, and their wea- pons and tools of every kind have a much higher fi- nish, and display more skill in the workmanship, Their cast of countenance is very different from that of the Nootkians ; their faces being very broad, with a less prominent nose, and smaller eyes, and the top of the head flattened as if it had been pressed down with a weight. Their complexion is also much fairer, and their stature shorter, though they are well formed and strongly set.

They have a custom, which appears to be pecu- liar to them, as I never observed it mm any of the other tribes, which is, to pluck out not only their beards, and the hair from their bodies, but also their eyebrows, so as not to leave a vestige remain- -ing. They were also in general more skilful in painting and decorating themselves; and I have seen some of them with no less than a dozen holes in each of their ears, to which were suspended strings of small beads about two inches in length.

NEIGHBOURING TRIBES. 103

Their language is the same as spoken at Nootka, but

their pronunciation is much more hoarse and guttural. "These people are not only very expert in whaling, but are great hunters of the sea-otter and other animals, with which their country 1s said to abound, and the metamelth, a large animal of the deer kind, the skin of which I have already spoken of, another of a light grey colour, with very fine hair, from which they manufacture a handsome cloth, the ‘beaver, and a species of large wild cat, or tyger-cat.

The Wickinninish, their neighbours on the north, are about two hundred miles from Nootka. They are a robust, strong, and warlike people, but consi- dered by the Nootkians as their inferiors in courage. This tribe is more numerous than that of Nootka, amounting to between six and seven hundred war- riors. Though not so civilized as the Kla-iz-zarts, and less skilful in their manufactures, like them they employ themselves in hunting as well as in whaling and fishing. Their faces are broad, but less so than the Kla-iz-zarts, with a darker complex- ion, and a much less open and. pleasing expression of countenance, while their heads present a very dif- ferent form, being pressed in at the sides, and length

ened towards the top, somewhat in the shape of a su-

104 NEIGHBOURING TRIBES. :

gar-loaf. These people are very frequent visitors at Nootka, a close friendship subsisting between the two nations, Maquina’s Arcomah, or Queen, Y-ya- tintla-no, being the daughter of the Wickinninish king.

The Kla-oo-quates, adjoining them on the north, are much less numerous, their force not exceeding four hundred fighting men; they are also behind them in the arts of life. These are a fierce, bold, and enterprising people; and there were none that visited Nootka, whom Maquina used to be more on his guard against, or viewed with so much suspi- cion, The Eshquates are about the same number ; these are considered as tributary to Maquina: Their coast abounds with rivers, creeks, and marshes.

To the north the nearest tribe of any importance is the Aitizzarts; these, however, do not exceed three hundred warriors. In appearance they great- ly resemble the people of Nootka, to whom they are considered as tributary ; ‘their manners, dress, and style of living, also bemg very similar. They re- side at about forty miles distance up the sound. A considerable way farther to the northward are the Cayuquets ; these are a much more numerous tribe than that of Nootka, but thought by the latter to be

NEIGHBOURING TRIBES. 105

deficient in courage and martial spirit, Maquina having frequently told me that their hearts were a little like those of birds.. ,

There are also both at the north and south many other intervening tribes, but in general small in num- ber and insignificant ;. all of whom, as well as the above mentioned, speak the same language. But the Newchemass, who come from a great way to the northward, and from some distance inland, as 1 was told by Maquina, speak quite a different language, although it is well understood by those of Nootka. These were the most savage-looking and ugly men that I ever saw; their complexion being much darker, their stature shorter, and their hair coarser, than that of the other nations, and their dress and appearance dirty in an extreme. _ They wear their beards long like Jews, and have a very morose and surly countenance. Their usual dress is a Kootsuk made of wolf-skin, with a number of the tails at- tached to it, of which I have seen no less than ten on one garment, hanging from the top to the bot- tom ; though they sometimes wear a similar mantle of bark cloth, of amuch coarser texture than that of Nootka, the original of which appears to be the

E 2

106 NEIGHBOURING TRIBES.

same, though, from their very great filthiness, it was almost impossible to discover what it had been.

Their mode of dressing their hair also varies es- sentially from that of the other tribes; for they suf- fer that on the back of the head to hang loose, and bind the other over their foreheads in the manner of a fillet, with a strip of their country cloth, ornament- ed with small white shells. Their weapons are the Cheetoolth, or war-club, which is made from whale- bone, daggers, bow and arrows, and a kind of spear pointed with bone or copper. They brought with them no furs for sale excepting a few wolf-skins, their merchandize consisting principally of the black shin- ing mineral called pelpeth, and the fine red paint, which they carefully kept in close mat bags, some small dried salmon, clams, and roes of fish, with occasionally a little coarse matting cloth. They were accustomed to remain a much longer time at Nootka than the other tribes, in order to recover from the fatigue of a long journey, part of which was over land, and on these occasions taught their songs to our savages.

The trade of most of the other tribes with Noot- ka was principally train oil, seal or whale’s blubber, fish, fresh or dried, herring or salmon spawn, clams

TRADE, 107

and muscles, and the yama, a species of fruit, which is pressed and dried, cloth, sea-otter skins, and slaves. From the Aitizzarts and the Cayuquets, particularly the former, the best I-whaw, and in the greatest quantities, was obtained. The Esh- quates furnished us with wild-ducks and geese, par« ticularly the latter. The Wickinninish and Kla-iz- zarts brought to market many slaves, the best sea- otter skins, great quantities of oil, whale sinew, and cakes of the yama, highly ornamented canoes, some I-whaw, red ochre, and pelpeth of an inferior qua- lity to that obtained from the Newchemass, but par- ticularly the so much valued metamelih, and. an ex- cellent root, called by the Kla-iz-zarts Quawnoose. This is the size of a small onion, but rather longer, being of a tapering form, like a pear, and of a brownish colour. It is cooked by steam, is always brought in baskets, ready prepared for eating, and is, in truth, a very fine vegetable, being sweet, mealy, and of a most agreeable flavour. It was highly esteemed by the natives, who used to eat it, as they did every thing else, with train oil. From the Kla-iz-zarts was also received, though in no great quantity, a cloth manufactured by them from

108 TRADE.

the fur already spoken of, which feels like wool, and is of a grey colour.

Many of the articles thus brought, particularly the provisions, were considered as presents, or tri- butary offerings ; but this must be viewed as little more than a nominal acknowledgment of superior- ity, as they rarely failed to get the full amount of the value of their presents. I have known eighteen of the great tubs in which they keep their provi- sions, filled with spawn, brought m this way. On these occasions, a great feast is always made, to which not only the strangers, but the whole village, men, women, and children, are generally invited ; and I have seen five of the largest tubs employed at such a time in cooking at the king’s house. At these feasts, they generally indulge in eating to an excess, making up, in this respect, for their want of inebriating liquors, which they know no method of preparing in any form,—their only drink being water.

Whenever they came to visit or trade, it was their general custom to stop a few miles distant, un- der the lee of some bluff or rock, and rig themselves out in their best manner, by painting and dressing |

TRADE. 109

their heads. On their first coming on shore, they were invited to eat by the king, when they brought to him such articles as he wanted, after which the rest of the inhabitants were permitted to purchase, the strangers being careful to keep them in their canoes until sold, under strict guard, to prevent their being stolen, the disposition of these people for thieving being so great, that it is necessary to keep a watchful eye upon them. | This was their usual mode of traffic; but when« ever they wished to purchase any particular object, as, for instance, a certain slave, or some other thing, of which they were very desirous, the canoe that came for this purpose would lie off a little distance from the shore, and a kind of ambassador or repre- sentative of the king or chief by whom it was sent, dressed in their best manner, and with his head co. vered with the white down, would rise, and after making known the object of his mission in a pom- pous speech, hold up specimens of such articles as he was instructed to offer in payment, mentioning the number or quantity of each, when, if the bar- gain was concluded, the exchange was immediately made.

On their visits of friendship or traffic, the chiefs

110 ARMS

alone used to sleep on shore,—this was generally at the house of the king or the head chief,—the others passing the night on board of their canoes, which was done not only for the preservation of their pro- perty, but because they were not permitted to re- main on shore, lest they might excite some disturb- ance, or commit depredations.

All these people generally go armed, the common class wearing only a dagger, suspended from their neck behind with a string of metamelth, and some- times thrust in their girdles. The chiefs, in addi- tion to the dagger, carry the cheelolth, or war-club, suspended in the same manner beneath their mantles. This, in the hands of a strong man, is a powerful weapon, in the management of which some of the older chiefs are very dexterous. It is made from the bone of a whale, and is very heavy. The blade is about eighteen inches long, and three broad, till it approaches near the point, where it expands to the breadth of four inches. In the middle, from whence it slopes off gradually to an edge on each side, it is from one to two inches in thickness. This blade is usually covered with figures of the sun and moon, a man’s head, &c.; and the hilt, which is

- made to represent the head of a man or some ani-

ARMS. 111

mal, is curiously set with small white shells, and has a band of metamelth fastened to it, in order to sling it over the shoulder. Some of the tribes have also a kind of spear, headed with copper or the bone of the sting ray, which is a dangerous weapon. This is, however, not usual, and only carried by the chiefs. The bow and arrow are still used by a few ; but, since the introduction of fire-arms among them, - this weapon has been mostly laid aside.

112 SITUATION OF

CHAPTER IX.

SITUATION OF THE AUTHOR—REMOVAL TO TASHEES

—FISHING PARTIES.

Bur to return to our unhappy situation. Though my comrade and myself fared as well, and even better than we could have expected among these people, considering their customs and mode of liv- ing, yet our fears lest no ship would come to our release, and that we should never more behold a Christian country, were to us a source of constant pain. Our principal consolation, in this gloomy state, was to go on Sundays, whenever the weather would permit, to the borders of a fresh water pond, about a mile from the village, where, after bathing, and putting on clean clothes, we would seat our- selves under the shade of a beautiful pine, while I read some chapters in the Bible, and the prayers ap- pointed by our Church for the day, ending our de-

THE AUTHOR. 113

votions with a fervent prayer to the Almighty, that he would deign still to watch over and preserve our lives, rescue us from the hands of the savages, and permit us once more to behold a Christian land.

In this manner were the greater part of our Sun-: days passed at Nootka; and I felt grateful to Hea- ven, that, amidst our other sufferings, we were at least allowed the pleasure of offering up our devo- tions unmolested ; for Maquina, on my explaining to him, as well as was in my power, the reason of

our thus retiring at this time, far from objecting, readily consented to it. The pond above mention- ed was small, not more than a quarter of a mile in breadth, and of no great length, the water being very clear, though not of great depth, and bordered by a beautiful forest of pine, fir, elm, and beech, free from bushes and underwood,—e most delight- ful retreat, which was rendered still more attractive by a great number of birds that frequented it, par- ticularly the humming bird. Thither we used to go to wash our clothes, and felt secure from any in- trusion from the natives, as they rarely visited it, except for the purpose of cleansing themselves of their paint. In July, we at length thought that the hope of

114 SITUATION OF

delivery we had so long anxiously indulged was on the point of being gratified. A ship appeared in the offing ; but, alas! our fond hopes vanished al- most as soon as formed ; for, instead of standing in for the shore, she passed to the northward, and soon disappeared, I shall not attempt to describe our disappointment. My heart sunk within me, and I felt as though it was my destiny never more to be- hold a Christian face. Four days after, there oc- curred a tremendous storm of thunder and light- ning, during which the natives manifested great alarm and terror, the whole tribe hurrying to Ma- quina’s house, where, instead of keeping within, they seated themselves on the roof, amid the severest of the tempest, drumming upon the boards, and looking up to heaven, while the king beat the long hollow plank, singing, and, as he afterwards told me, begging Quahootze, the name they give to God, not to kill them, in which he was accompanied by thé whole tribe. This singing and drumming was continued until the storm abated.

As the summer drew near its close, we began to suffer from the frequent want of food, which was principally owing to Maquina and the chiefs being out whaling, in which he would not permit Thomp-

THE AUTHOR. 115

son and myself to join, lest we should make our escape to some of the neighbouring tribes. At these times the women seldom or ever cook any provision, and we were often hungry, but were sometimes fortunate enough to procure secretly a piece of salmon, some other fish, spawn, or even blubber, which, by boiling in salt water, with a few onions and turnips, the remains of the Spanish gar- den, or young nettles, or other herbs, furnished us a delicious repast in private.

In the meantime, we frequently received ac- counts from the tribes who came to Nootka, both from the north and south, of there being vessels on the coast, and were advised by their chiefs to make our escape, who also promised us their aid, and to put us on board. These stories, however, as I afterwards learned, were almost all of them without any foundation, and merely invented by these people with a view to get us into their power, in order to make slaves of us themselves, or to sell us to others.

But I was still more strongly solicited to leave

' Nootka by a woman. This was a Wickinninish

princess, a younger sister of Maquina’s wife, who was there on a visit. I had the good fortune, if it

may be so called, to become quite a favourite with

116 REMOVAL TO TASHEEKS.

her. She appeared much interested for me—asked me many questions respecting my country, if I had a mother and sister at home, and if they would not grieve for my absence. Her complexion was fairer than that of the women in general, and her features more regular, and she would have been quite hand- some had it not been for a defect in one of her eyes, the sight of which had been injured by some acci- dent, the reason, as Maquina told me, why she had not been married, a defect of this.kind being by these savages considered as almost an insuperable objection. She urged me repeatedly to return with her, telling me that the Wickinninish were much better than the Nootkians ; that her father would treat me more kindly than Maquina, give me better food and clothes, and finally put me on board one of my own country vessels. I felt, however, little disposed to accompany her, considering my situa- tion with Maquina full as eligible as it would be with Wickinninish, if not better, notwithstanding all she said to the contrary.

On the 3d of September, the whole tribe quitted Nootka, according to their constant practice, in or- der to pass the autumn and winter at Tashees and

Cooptee, the latter lying about thirty miles up the

REMOVAL TO TASHEES, 117

Sound, in a deep bay, the navigation of which is very dangerous, from the great number of reefs and rocks with which it abounds. On these occa- sions every thing is taken with them, even the planks of their houses, in order to cover their new dwellings. To an European, such a removal exhi- bits a scene quite novel and strange: canoes piled up with boards and boxes, and filled with men, women,.and children, of all ranks and sizes, making the air resound with their cries and song's.

At these times, as well as when they have occa- sion to go some distance from their houses, the in- fants are usually suspended across the mother’s shoulders, in a kind of cradle or hammock, formed of bark, of about six inches in depth, and of the. length. of the child, by meang of a leather band in- serted through loops on its edges; this they also keep them in when at home, in order to preserve. them in a straight position, and prevent any distor- tion of the limbs, most probably a principal cause of these people being so seldom deformed or crooked.

The long boat of our ship having been repaired and furnished with a s by Thompson, Maquina gave us the direction of it, we being better ac-

quainted with managing it than his people, and

118 REMOVAL TO TASHEEFS.

after loading her as deep as she could swim, we pro- ceeded in company with them to the north, quitting Nootka with heavy hearts, as we could entertain no hopes of release until our return, no ships ever coming to that part of the coast. Passing Cooptee, which is situated on the southern bank, just within the mouth of a small river, flowing from the east in a narrow valley at the foot of a mountain, we pro- ceeded about fifteen miles up this stream to Tashees, between a range of lofty hills on each side, which extend a great distance inland, and are covered with the finest forest trees of the country. Imme- diately on our arrival, we all went to work very di- ligently in covering the houses with the planks we had brought, the frames being ready erected, these people never pretending toremove the timber. In a very short time the work was completed, and we were established in our new residence.

Tashees is pleasantly situated, and in a most se- cure position from the winter storms, in a small vale or hollow on the south shore, at the foot of a moun- tain. The spot on which it stands is level, and the soil very fine, the a its vicinity abounding with the most romantic 'views, charmingly diversi-

fied, and fine streams of water falling in beautiful 1]

REMOVAL TO TASHEEs. 119

cascades from the mountains. The river at this place is about twenty rods in width, and, in its deepest part, from nine to twelve feet. This village is the extreme point of navigation, as immediately beyond, the river becomes much more shallow, and is broken into falls and rapids. The houses here are placed in a line like those at Nootka, but closer together, the situation being more confined ; they are also smaller, in consequence of which, we were much crowded, and incommoded for room.

The principal object in coming to this place is the facility it affords these people of providing their winter stock of provisions, which consists princi- pally of salmon, and the spawn of that fish; to which may be added herrings and sprats, and her- ring spawn. ‘The latter, however, is always pro- cured by them at Nootka, previous to their quitting it. At the seasons of spawning, which are early in spring and the last of August, they collect a great quantity of pine branches, which they place in dif- ferent parts of the Cove, at the depth of about ten feet, and secure them by means of heavy stones. On these the herring "e their spawn in im- mense quantities ; the bushes are then taken up, the spawn stripped from the branches, and after

120 FISHING PARTIES.

being washed and freed from the pine leaves by the women, is dried and put up in baskets for use. It is considered as their greatest delicacy, and eaten both cooked and raw: in the former case, being boiled and eaten with train oil, and in the latter, mixed up with cold water alone.

The salmon are taken at Tashees, principally in pots or wears. Their method of taking them in wears is thus :—A pot of twenty feet in length, and from four to five feet diameter at the mouth, is formed of a great number of pine splinters, which are strongly secured, an inch and a half from each other, by means of hoops made of flexible twigs, and placed about eight inches apart. At the end it tapers almost to a point, near which is a small wicker door, for the purpose of taking out the fish. This pot or wear is placed at the foot of a fall or rapid, where the water is not very deep, and the fish driven from above with long poles, are intercept-

ed and caught in the wear, from whence they are

taken into the canoes. In this manner I have seen .-

more than seven hundred salmon caught in the space of fifteen minutes. I have also sometimes known a few of the striped bass taken in this man-~

ner, but rarely. 10

FISHING PARTIES. 121

At such times there is great feasting and merri- ment among them. The women and female slaves being busily employed in cooking, or in curing the fish for their winter stock, which is done by cutting off the heads and tails, splitting them, taking out the back-bone, and hanging them up in their houses to dry. They also dry the halibut and cod; but these, instead of curing whole, they cut up into small pieces for that purpose, and expose to the sun. The spawn of the salmon, which is a principal ar- ticle of their provision, they take out, and without any other preparation, throw it into their tubs, — where they leave it to stand and ferment ; for though they frequently eat it fresh, they esteem it much more when it has acquired a strong taste, and one of the greatest favours they can confer on any per- son is to invite him to eat guakamiss, the name they give this food, though scarcely any thing can be more repugnant to an European palate than it is in this state ; and whenever they took it out of these large receptacles, which they are always careful to fill, such was the stench which it exhaled, on being moved, that it was almost impossible for me to abide it, even after habit had, in a great degree, dulled the delicacy of my senses. When boiled it

¥

122 FISHING PARTIES.

became less offensive, though it still retained much of the putrid smell, and something of the taste.

Such is the immense quantity of these fish, and they are taken with such facility, that I have known upwards of twenty-five hundred brought into Ma- quina’s house at once, and at one of their great feasts, have seen one hundred or more cooked in one of their largest tubs.

I used frequently to go out with Maquina upon these fishing parties, and was always sure to receive a handsome present of salmon, which I had the pri- vilege of calling mine; I also went with him, seve- ral times in a canoe, to strike the salmon, which I have attempted to do myself, but could never suc- ceed, it requiring a degree of adroitness that I did not possess. I was also permitted to go out with a gun, and was several times very successful in‘shoot- ing wild ducks and teal, which’ are very numerous here, though rather shy. These they cooked in their usual manner, by boiling, without any farther dress- ing than skinning them.

In many respects, however, our situation was less _ pleasant here than at Nootka. We were more in- commoded for room, the houses not being so spa-

cious, nor so well arranged, and as it was colder, we

FISHING PARTIES. 123

- were compelled to be much more within doors. We, however, did not neglect on Sundays, when the weather would admit, to retire into the woods, and by the side of some stream, after bathing, return our thanks to God for preserving us, and offer up to him our customary devotions.

I was, however, very apprehensive, soon after our arrival at this place, that I should be deprived of _the satisfaction of keeping my journal, as Maquina one day observing me writing, inquired of me what I was doing, and when I endeavoured to explain it, by telling him that I was keeping an account of the weather, he said it was not so, and that I was speaking bad about him, and telling how he had taken our ship and killed the crew, so as to inform my countrymen, and that, if he ever saw me writing in it again, he would throw it into the fire. I was much rejoiced that he did no more than threaten, and became very cautious afterwards not to let him see me write.

Not long after I finished some daggers for him, which I polished highly ; these pleased him much, and he gave me directions to make a cheetoolth, in which I succeeded so far to his satisfaction, that he

gave me a present of cloth sufficient to make mea

124 FISHING PARTIES.

complete suit of raiment, besides other things. Thompson, also, who had become rather more of a favourite than formerly, since he had made a fine sail for his canoe, and some garments for him out of European cloth, about this time completed another, which was thought by the savages a most superb dress. This was a Kootsuk or mantle, a fathom square, made entirely of European vest patterns of | the gayest colours. These were sewed together, in a manner to make the best show, and bound with a deep trimming of the finest otter-skin, with which the arm-holes were also bordered; while the bottom was farther embellished with five or six rows of gilt buttons, placed as near as possible to each other. Nothing could exceed the pride of Maquina when he first put on this royal robe, decorated, like the coat of Joseph, with all the colours of the rainbow, and glittering with the buttons, which, as he strutted about, made a tinkling, while he repeatedly exclaim- ed, in a transport of exultation, Klew shish Kat- suk—wick kum atack Nootka. A fine garment— __ Nootka, can’t make them.

Maquina, who knew that the chiefs of the tribes who came to visit us had endeavoured to persuade

me to escape, frequently cautioned me not to listen

FISHING PARTIES. 125

to them, saying, that should I make the attempt, and he were to take me, he should certainly put me to death. While here he gave me a book in which I found the names of seven persons belonging to the ship Manchester, of Philadelphia, Captain Brian,

viz.—Daniel Smith, Lewis Gillon, James Tom,

~' Clark, Johnson, Ben, and Jack. These men, as

Maquina informed me, ran away from the ship, and came to him, but that six of them soon after went off in the night, with an intention to go to the Wickinninish, but were stopped by the Eshquiates, and sent back to him, and that he ordered them to be put to death; and a most cruel death it was, as I was told by one of the natives, four men holding one of them on the ground, and forcing open his mouth, while they choked him by ramming stones down his throat.

As to Jack, the boy, who made no attempt to go off, Maquina afterwards sold him to the Wickinni- nish. I was informed by the princess Yuqua, that he was quite a small boy, who cried a great deal, being put to hard labour beyond his strength by the natives, in cutting wood and bringing water, and that, when he heard of the murder of our crew, it had such an effect on him, that he fell sick and died

126 FISHING PARTIES,

shortly after. On learning the melancholy fate of this unfortunate lad, it again awakened in my bosom

those feelings that I had experienced at the shocking

death of my poor comrades.

CONVERSATIONS WITH MAQUINA. 127

CHAPTER X.

CONVERSATIONS WiTH MAQUINA—FRUITS—RELI-

GLOUS CEREMONIES—VISIT TO UPQUESTA.

Tue king, finding that I was desirous of learning their language, was much delighted, and took great pleasure in conversing with me. On one of these occasions, he explained to me his reasons for cut- ting off our ship, saying, that he bore no ill will to my countrymen, but that he had been several times treated very ill by them. The first injury of which he had cause to complain was done him by a Cap- tain Tawnington, who commanded a schooner which ‘passed a winter at Friendly Cove, where he was well treated by the inhabitants, This man, taking advantage of Maquina’s absence, who had gone to the Wickinninish to procure a wife, armed himself and crew, and entered the house where there were

‘none but women, whom he threw inte the greatest

128 CONVERSATIONS WITH MAQUINA.

consternation, and searching the chests, took away all the skins, of which Maquina had no less than forty of the best; and that about the same time, four of their chiefs were barbarously killed by a Captain Martinez, a Spaniard.

That soon after Captain Hanna, of the Sea-Ot- ter, in consequence of one of the natives having stolen a chisel from the carpenter, fired upon their — canoes which were alongside, and killed upwards of twenty of the natives, of whom several were Tyees, or chiefs, and that he himself being on board the vessel, in order to escape was obliged to leap from the quarter-deck, and swim for a long way under water. o

These injuries had excited in the breast of Ma- guina an ardent desire of revenge, the strongest passion of the savage heart, and though many years had elapsed since their commission, still they were not forgotten, and the want of a favourable oppor- tunity alone prevented him from sooner avenging them. Unfortunately for us, the long wished for opportunity at length presented itself in our ship, which Maquina finding not guarded with the usual vigilance of the North-West Traders, and feeling his desire of revenge rekindled by the insult offered him

#

CONVERSATIONS WITH MAQUINA. 129

by Captain Salter, formed a plan for attacking, and on his return, called a council of his chiefs, and com- municated it to them, acquainting them with the manner in which he had been treated. No less de- sirous of avenging this affront offered their king than their former injuries, they readily agreed to his proposal, which was to go on board without arms ‘as usual, but under different pretexts, in great num- bers, and wait for his signal for the moment of at- _ tacking their unsuspecting victims. The execution of this scheme, as the reader knows, was unhappily too successful.

And here I cannot but indulge a reflection that has frequently occurred to me on the manner in which our people behave towards the natives. For, though they are a thievish race, yet I have no doubt that many of the melancholy disasters have principally arisen from the imprudent conduct of some of the captains and crews of the ships em- ployed in this trade, in exasperating them by insult- ing, plundering, and even killing them on slight grounds. This, as nothing is more sacred with a savage than the principle of revenge, and no people are so impatient under insult, induces them to wreak

their vengeance upon the first vessel or boat’s crew FZ

130 CONVERSATIONS WITH MAQUINA.

that offers, making the innocent too frequently suffer for the wrongs of the guilty, as few of them know how to discriminate between persons of the same general appearance, more especially when speaking the same language. And to this cause do I believe must principally be ascribed the sanguinary dispo- sition with which these people are reproached, as Maquina repeatedly told me that it was not his wish to hurt a white man, and that he never should have done it, though ever so much in his power, had they not injured him.

And were the commanders of our ships to treat the savages with rather more civility than they sometimes do, I am inclined to think they would find their account in it; not that I should recom- mend to them a confidence in the good faith and friendly professions of these people, so as in any degree to remit their vigilance, but, on the contrary, to be strictly on their guard, and suffer but a very few of them to come on board the ship, and admit not many of their canoes alongside at a time; a precaution that would have been the means of pre- venting some of the unfortunate events that have occurred, and if attended to, may, in future, pre-

serve many a valuable life. Such aregulation, too,

FRUITS. 131

from what I know of their disposition and wants, would produce no serious difficulty in trading with the savages, and they would soon become perfectly reconciled to it.

Among the provisions which the Indians procure at Tashees, I must not omit mentioning a fruit that is very important, as forming a great article of their food. This is what is called by them the yama, a species of berry, that grows in bunches, like cur- rants, upon a bush from two to three feet high, with a large, round, and smooth leaf. This berry 1s black, and about the size of a pistol shot, but of ra- ther an oblong shape, and open at the top, like the blue whortle-berry..’ The taste is sweet, but a little acrid, and when first gathered, if eaten in any great quantity, especially without oil, is apt to produce cholics. To procure it, large companies of women go out on the mountains, accompanied by armed men, to protect them against wild beasts, where they frequently remain for several days, kindling a fire at night, and sheltering themselves under sheds, constructed of boughs. At these parties, they col- lect great quantities, I have known ’ Maquina’s queen and her women return loaded, bringing with them upwards of twelve bushels. In order to pre-

182 FRUITS.

serve it, it is pressed in the bunches between two planks, and dried and put away in baskets for use. It is always eaten with oil.

Of berries of various kinds, such as strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, &c. there are great quan- tities in the country, of which the natives are very fond, gathering them in their seasons, and eating them with oil; but the yama is the only one that | they preserve.

Fish is, however, their great article of food, as al- most all the others, excepting the yama, may be ton- sidered as accidental. They, nevertheless, are far from disrelishing meat,—for instance, venison and bear’s flesh. With regard to the latter, they have a most singular custom, which is, that any one who eats of it is obliged to abstain from eating any kind of fresh fish whatever for the term of two months, as they have a superstitious belief, that, should any of their people, after tasting bear’s flesh, eat of fresh salmon, cod, &c. the fish, though at ever so great a distance off, would come to the knowledge of it, and be so much offended thereat, as not to allow them- selves to be taken by any of the inhabitants. This I had an opportunity of observing while at Tashees ;

a bear having been killed early in December, of

DRESSING THE BEAR. 133

which not more than ten of the natives would eat, being prevented by the prohibition annexed to it, which also was the reason of my comrade and my- self not tasting it, on being told by Maquina the consequences.

As there is something quite curious in their ma- nagement of this animal, when they have killed one, I shall give a description of it. After well cleans-

ing the bear from the dirt and blood, with which it is generally covered when killed, it is brought in, and seated opposite the king, in an upright Pogpure, with a chief’s bonnet wrought in figures on its head, and its fur powdered over with the white down. A tray of provision ‘is then set before it, and it is invited by words and gestures to eat. This mock ceremony over, the reason of which I could never learn, the animal is taken and skinned, and the flesh and entrails boiled up into a soup, no part but the paunch being rejected.

This dressing the bear, as they call it, is an occa- sion of great rejoicing throughout the village, all the inhabitants being invited to a great feast at the king’s house, though but few of them, in conse- quence of the penalty, will venture to eat of the flesh, but generally content themselves with their

134 METHOD OF

favourite dish of herring-spawn and water. The feast, on this occasion, was closed by a dance from Sat-sat-sak-sis, in the manner I have already de- scribed, in the course of which he repeatedly shift- ed his mask for another of a different form.

A few days after, a second bear was taken, like

the former, by means of a trap. This I had the cu- | riosity to go and see at the place where it was caught, which was in the following manner :—On the edge of a small stream of water, in the moun- tains, which the salmon ascend, and near the spot where the bear is accustomed to watch for them, which is known by its track, a trap or box, about the height of a man’s head, is built of posts and planks, with a flat top, on which are laid a number of large stones or rocks. The top and sides are then carefully covered with turf, so as to resemble a little mound, and wholly to exclude the light, a narrow entrance of the height of the building only being left, just sufficient to admit the head and shoulders of the beast. On the inside, to a large plank that covers the top, is suspended by a strong cord a salmon, the plank being left loose, so that a forcible pull will bring it down. On coming to its

usual haunt, the bear enters the trap, and in endea- ee |

CATCHING THE BEAR. 135

youring to pull away the fish, brings down the whole covering, with its load of stones, upon its head, and is almost always crushed to death on the spot, or so wounded as to be unable to escape.

They are always careful to examine these traps every day, in order, if a bear be caught, to bring it immediately ; for it is not a little singular, that these people will eat no kind of meat that is in the least tainted, or not perfectly fresh, while, on the con- trary, it is hardly possible for fish to be in too pu- trid a state for them; and I have frequently known them, when a whale has been driven ashore, bring pieces of it home with them, in a state of offensive- ness insupportable to any but a crow, and devour it with high relish, considering it as preferable to that which is fresh.

On the morning of the 13th of December com- menced what to us appeared a most singular farce. Apparently without any previous notice, Maquina discharged a pistol close to his son’s ear, who imme- diately fell down, as if killed, upon which all the women of the house set up a most lamentable cry, tearing handfuls of hair from their head, and ex- claiming that the prince was dead ; at the same time, a great number of the inhabitants rushed into the |

136 RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES.

house, armed with their daggers, muskets, &c. in- quiring the cause of their outcry. These were im- mediately followed by two others, dressed in wolf skins, with masks over their faces, representing the head of that animal. The latter came in on their hands and feet, in the manner of a beast, and taking up the prince, carried him off upon their?backs, re- tiring in the same manner they entered. We saw. nothing more of the ceremony, as Maquina came to us, and giving us a quantity of dried provision, or- dered us to quit the house, and not return to the village before the expiration of seven days ; for that, if we appeared within that period, he should kill us.

At any other season of the year, such an order would by us have been considered as an indulgence, in enabling us to pass our time in whatever way we wished ; and even now, furnished as were with suf- ficient provision for that term, it was not very un-

pleasant to us, more particularly Thompson, who

was always desirous to keep as much as possible out

of the society and sight of the natives, whom he de- tested. Taking with us our provisions, a bundle of clothes, and our axes, we obeyed the directions of Maquina, and withdrew into the woods, where we

RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES. 137

built ourselves a cabin to shelter us with the branches of trees, and keeping up a good fire, secured our- selves pretty well from the cold. Here we passed the prescribed period of our exile, with more con-— tent than much of the time while with them, em- ploying the day in reading and praying for our re- lease, or in rambling around and exploring the coun- try, the soil of which we found to be very good, and ‘the face of it beautifully diversified with hills and valleys, refreshed with the finest streams of water ; and at night enjoyed comfortable repose upon a bed of soft leaves, with our garments spread over us, to protect us from the cold.

At the end of seven days we returned, and found several of the people of A-i-tiz-zart, with their king, or chief, at Tashees, who had been invited by Maz - quina to attend the close of this performance, which I now learned was a celebration, held by them ‘an- nually, in honour of their god, whom they call — Quahootze, to return him their thanks for his past, and implore his future favours. It terminated on the 21st, the day after our return, with a most ex- traordinary exhibition. Three men, each of whom

had two bayonets run through his sides, between - the ribs, apparently regardless of the pain, traversed

138 RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES.

the room backwards and forwards, singing war songs, and exulting in this display of firmness. ~

On the arrival of the 25th, we could not but call to mind, that this, being Christmas, was in our coun- try a day of the greatest festivity, when our fellow countrymen, assembled in their churches, were ce- lebrating the goodness of God, and the praises of the Saviour. What a reverse did our situation offer! Captives in a savage land, and slaves to a set of ig- norant beings, unacquainted with religion or huma- nity, hardly were we permitted to offer up our de- votions by ourselves in the woods, while we felt even grateful for this privilege. Thither, with the king’s permission, we withdrew, and after reading the service appointed for the day, sung the hymn of the Nativity, fervently praying that Heaven, in its goodness, would permit us to celebrate the next festival of this kind in some Christian land.

On our return, in order to conform as much as was in our power to the custom of our country, we were desirous of having a better supper than usual. With this view we bought from one of the natives some dried clams and oil, and a root called Kletsup, which we cooked by steaming, and found it very palatable. This root consists of many fibres, of

COOPTEE. 139

about six inches long, and of the size of a crow quill. It is sweet, of an-agreeable taste, not unlike the Quanoose, and it is eaten with oil. The plant that produces it I have never seen.

On the 31st, all the tribe quitted Tashees for Cooptee, whither they go to pass the remainder of the winter, and complete their fishing, taking off every thing with them in the same manner as at Nootka, We arrived in a few hours at Cooptee, which is about fifteen miles, and immediately set about cevering the houses, which was soon com- pleted.

This place, which is their great herring and sprat fishery, stands just within the mouth of the river, on the same side with Tashees, in a very narrow valley at the foot of a high mountain. Though nearly as secure as Tashees from the winter storms, it is by no means so pleasantly situated, though to us it was a much more agreeable residence, as it brought us nearer Nootka, where we were impa- tient to return, in hopes of finding some vessel _ there, or hearing of the arrival of one near.

The first snow that fell this season was the day ' after our arrival, on New-Year’s; a day that, like

Christmas, brought with it painful recollections, but

140 VISIT TO UPQUESTA.

at the same time led us to indulge the hope of a more fortunate year than the last.

Early on the morning of the 7th of January, Maquina took me with him in his canoe on a visit to Upquesta, chief of the A-i-tiz-zarts, who had in- vited him to attend an exhibition at his village, si- milar to the one with which he had been entertain- ed at Tashees. This place is between twenty and thirty miles distant up the sound, and stands on the banks of a small river about the size of that of Cooptee, just within its entrance, in a valley of much greater extent than that of Tashees ; it con- sists of fourteen or fifteen houses, built and disposed in the manner of those at Nootka. The tribe, which is considered as tributary to Maquina, amounts to about three hundred warriors, and the inhabitants, both men and women, are among the best looking of any people on the coast.

On our arrival we were received at the shore by the inhabitants, a few of whom were armed with muskets, which they fired, with loud shouts and exclamations of Wocash, wocash.

We were welcomed by the chief’s messenger, or master of ceremonies, dressed in his best garments,

with his hair powdered with white down, and hold-

VISIT TO UPQUESTA. 14]

ing in his hand the cheetoolth, the badge of his of- fice. This man preceded us to the chief’s house, where he introduced and pointed out to us our ree spective seats. On entering, the visitors took off their hats, which they always wear on similar oc- easions, and Maquina his outer robes, of which he has several on whenever he pays a visit, and seated himself near the chief.

As I was dressed in European clothes, I became quite an object of curiosity to these people, very few of whom had ever seen a white man. They crowded around me in numbers, taking hold of my clothes, examining my face, hands and feet, and even opening my mouth to see if I had a tongue, for, notwithstanding I had by this time become well ac- quainted with their language, I preserved the strict- est silence, Maquina, on our first landing, having enjoined me not to speak until he should direct.

Having undergone this examination for some time, Maquina at length made a sign to me to speak tothem. On hearing me address them in their own language, they were greatly astonished and delight- ed, and told Maquina that they now perceived that I was a man like themselves, except that I was white, and looked like a seal, alluding to my blue

11

142 VISIT TO UPQUESTA.

jacket and trowsers, which they wanted to persuade me to take off, as they did not like their appear- ance. Maquina in the meantime gave an account to the chief of the scheme he had formed for sur- prising our ship, and the manner in which he and his people had carried it into execution, with such particular and horrid details of that transaction as chilled the blood in my veins. Trays of boiled herring-spawn and train oil were soon after brought in and placed before us, neither the chief nor any of his people eating at the same time, it be- ing contrary to the ideas of hospitality entertained by these nations, to eat any part of the food that is provided for strangers, always waiting until their visitors have finished, before they have their own brought in.

The following day closed their festival, with an exhibition of a similar kind to that which had been given at Tashees, but still more cruel,—the differ- ent tribes appearing on these occasions to endeavour to surpass each other in their proofs of fortitude and endurance of pain. In the morning, twenty men > entered the chief’s house, with each an arrow run through the flesh of his sides, and either arm, with

a cord fastened to the end, which, as the performers

VISIT TO UPQUESTA. 143

advanced, singing and boasting, was forcibly drawn back by a person having hold of it. After this per- formance was closed, we returned to Cooptee, which we reached at midnight, our men keeping time with their songs to the stroke of their paddles.

The natives now began to take the herring and sprat in immense quantities, with some salmon, and there was nothing but feasting from morning till night.

' The following is the method they employ to take the herring :—A stick of about seven feet long, two inches broad, and half an inch thick, is formed from some hard wood, one side of which is set with sharp teeth, made from whale-bone, at about half an inch apart. Provided with this instrument, the fisherman seats himself in the prow of a canoe, which is paddled by another, and whenever he comes to a shoal of herrings, which cover the wa- ter in great quantities, he strikes it with both hands upon them, and at the same moment turning it up, . brings it over the side of the canoe, into which he lets those that are taken drop. It is astonishing to see how many are caught by those who are dexter- ous at this kind of fishing, as they seldom fail, when

the shoals are numerous, of taking as many as ten

144- VISIT TO UPQUESTA.

or twelve at a stroke, and in a very short time will fill a canoe with them. Sprats are likewise caught in a similar manner.

About the beginning of February, Maquina gave a great feast, at which were present not only all the inhabitants, but one hundred persons from A-i-tiz- zart, and a number from Wickinninish, who had been invited to attend it. It is customary with them to give an annual entertainment of this kind, and it is astonishing to see what a quantity of pro- vision is expended, or rather wasted, on such an occasion, when they always eat to the greatest ex- cess. It was at this feast that I saw upwards of an hundred salmon cooked in one tub. The whole resi- dence at Cooptee presents an almost uninterrupted succession of feasting and gormandizing, and it would seem as if the principal object of these people was to consume their whole stock of provision be- fore leaving it, trusting entirely to their success in fishing and whaling, for a supply at Nootka.

RET URN TO NOOTKA. 145

CHAPTER XI.

RETURN TO NOOTKA—DEATH OF MAQUINA’S NE-

_ PHEW-—INSANITY OF TOOTOOSCH—-WHALE-FISH-

| ING—DEATH OF TOOTOOSCH——AN INDIAN MOUN- TEBANK.

On the 25th of February, we quitted Cooptee, and returned to Nootka. With much joy did Thompson and myself again find ourselves in a place where, notwithstanding the melancholy recollections which it excited, we hoped before long to see some vessel arrive to our relief, and for this we became the more solicitous, as of late we had become much more apprehensive of our safety, in consequence of information brought Maquina a few days be- fore we left Cooptee, by some of the Cayuquets, that there were twenty'ships at the northward, pre- _paring to come against him, with an intent of de-

G

146 DEATH OF MAQUINA’S NEPHEW.

stroying him and his whole tribe, for cutting off the Boston.

This story, which was wholly without founda- tion, and discovered afterwards to have been in- vented by these people, for the purpose of dis- quieting him, threw him into great alarm, and not- withstanding all that I could say to convince him that it was an unfounded report, so great was his | jealousy of us, especially after it had been con- firmed to him by some others of the same nation, that he treated us with much harshness, and kept a very suspicious eye upon us. Nothing, indeed, could be more unpleasant than our present situa- tion, when I reflected that our lives were altoge- ther dependent on the will of a savage, on whose caprice and suspicions no rational calculation could be made.

Not long after our return, a son of Maquina’s sis- ter, a boy of eleven years old, who had been for

some time declining, died. Immediately on his death,

which was about midnight, all the men and women

in the house set up loud cries and shrieks, which awakening Thompson and myself, so disturbed us that we left the house. This lamentation was kept

up during the remainder of the night. In the morn-

INSANITY OF TOOTOOSCH. 147

ing, a great fire was kindled, in which Maquina burned, in honour of the deceased, ten fathoms of cloth, and buried with him ten fathoms more, eight of J-whaw, four prime sea-otter skins, and two small trunks, containing our unfortunate captain’s clothes and watch.

This boy was considered asa Tyee or chief, being the only son of Tootoosch, one of their principal chiefs, who had married Maquina’s sister, whence arose this ceremony on his interment; it being an established custom with these people, that whenever a chief dies, his most valuable proper ty is burned or buried with him ; it is, however, wholly confined to the chiefs, and appears to be a mark of honour ap- propriate to them. In this instance Maquina fur-

nished the articles, in order that his nephew might have the proper honours rendered him.

Tootoosch, his father, was esteemed the first war- rior of the tribe, and was one who had been parti- cularly active in the destruction of our ship, having killed two of our poor comrades, who were ashore, whose names were Hall and Wood. About the time of our removal to Tashees, while in the enjoy- ment of the highest health, he was suddenly seized with a fit of delirium, in which he fancied that he

148 INSANITY OF TOOTOOSCH.

saw the ghosts of those two men constantly stand-

ing by him, and threatening him, so that he would

take no food, except what was forced into his mouth.

A short time before this he had lost a daughter of about fifteen years of age, which afflicted him great-

ly, and whether his insanity, a disorder very un-

common amongst these savages, no instance of the

kind having occurred within the memory of the

oldest man amongst them, proceeded from this : cause, or that it was the special interposition of an

all-merciful God in our favour, who, by this means,

thought proper to induce these barbarians still

further to respect our lives, or that, for hidden pur-

poses, the Supreme Disposer of events sometimes

permits the spirits of the dead to revisit the world,

and haunt the murderer, I know not, but his mind

from this period, until his death, which took place

but a few weeks after that of his son, was incessant-

ly occupied with the images of the men whom he

had killed.

This circumstance made much impression upon the tribe, particularly the chiefs, whose uniform op- position to putting us to death, at the various coun- ~ cils that were held on our account, I could not but

in part attribute to this cause, and Maquina used

INSANITY OF TOOTOOSCH. 149

frequently, in speaking of Tvotoosch’s sickness, to express much satisfaction that his hands had not been stained with the blood of any of our men.

When Maquina was first informed by his sister of the strange conduct of her husband, he immedi- ately went to his house, taking us with him ; sus- pecting that his disease had been caused by us, and that the ghosts of our countrymen had been called . thither by us to torment him. We found him rav-

_ing about Hall and Wood, saying, that they were peshak, that is, bad. Maquina then placed some provision before him, to see if he would eat. On perceiving it, he put forth his hand to take some, but instantly withdrew it with signs of horror, say- ing, that Hall and Wood were there, and would not let him eat. Maquina then pointing to us, asked if it was not John and Thompson that troubled him. Wik, he replied, that is, no, John klushish— Thomp- son kluskish—John and Thompson are both good ; then turning to me, and patting me on the shoul- der, he made signs to me to eat. I tried to per- suade him that Hall and Wood were not there, and that none were near him but ourselves; he said, [ know very well you do not see them, but I do.

At first, Maquina endeavoured to convince him

150 INSANITY OF TOOTOOSCH.

that he saw nothing, and to laugh him out of his be- lief ; but finding that all was to no purpose, he at length became serious, and asked me if I had ever seen any one affected in this manner, and what was the matter with him. I gave him to understand, pointing to his head, that his brain was injured, and that he did not see things as formerly. |

Being convinced by Tootoosch’s conduct that we - had no agency in his indisposition, on our return home, Maquina asked me what was done in my country in similar cases? I told him, that such per- sons were closely confined, and sometimes tied up and whipped, in order to make them better. After pondering for some time, he said, that he should be glad to do anything to relieve him, and that he should be whipped, and immediately gave orders to ‘some of his men to go to Tootoosch’s house, bind him, and bring him to his, in order to undergo the ope- ration. Thompson was the person selected to admi- nister this remedy, which he undertook very readi- ly ; and, for that purpose, provided himself with a good number of spruce branches, with which he whipped him most severely, laying it on with the best will imaginable, while Tootoosch displayed the greatest rage, kicking, spitting, and attempting to

WHALE-FISHING. 151

bite all who came near him. This was too much “for Maquina, who, at length, unable to endure it longer, ordered Thompson to desist, and Tootoosch to be carried back, saying, that, if there was no other way of curing him but by whipping, he must remain mad.

The application of the whip produced. no benefi- cial effect on Tootoosch, for he afterwards became still more deranged ; in his fits of fury sometimes seizing a club, and beating his slaves in a most dreadful manner, and striking and spitting at all who came near him, till, at length, his wife, no longer daring to remain in the house with him, came with her son to Maquina’s.

The whaling season now commenced, and Maqui- na was out almost every day in his canoe, in pursuit of them ; but, for a considerable time, with no suc- cess, one day breaking the staff of his harpoon, an- other, after having been a long time fast to a whale, the weapon drawing, owing to the breaking of the shell, which formed its point, with several such like accidents, arising from the imperfection of the instrument. At these times he always returned very morose and out of temper, upbraiding his men with having violated their obligation to continence

152 WHALE- FISHING.

preparatory to whaling. In this state of ill humour he would give us very little to eat, which, added to the women not cooking when the men are away, re- duced us to a very low fare.

In consequence of the repeated occurrence of si- milar accidents, I proposed to Maquina to make him a harpoon, or foreganger, of steel, which would be less liable to fail him. The idea pleased him, and | in a short time I completed one for him, with which he was much delighted, and the very next day went out to make a trial of it. He succeeded with it in taking a whale. Great was the joy throughout the village, as soon as it was known that the king had secured the whale, by notice from a person stationed at the head-land in the offing. All the ca- noes were immediately launched, and, furnished with harpoons and seal-skin floats, hastened to assist in buoying it up, and towing it in.

The bringing in of this fish exhibited a scene of universal festivity. As soon as the canoes appear- ed at the mouth of the Cove, those on board of them singing a triumph to a slow air, to which they kept time with their paddles, all who were on shore, men, women, and ‘children, mounted the roofs of their houses, to congratulate the king on his success,

WHALE-FISHING. 153

drumming most furiously on the planks, and ex- claiming Wocash—wocash Tyee.

The whale, on being drawn ashore, was imme- diately cut up, and a great feast of the blubber given at Maquina’s house, to which all the village were invited, who indemnified themselves for their lent, by eating, as usual, to excess. I was highly praised for the goodness of my harpoon, and a quantity of blubber given me, which I was permit- ted to cook as | pleased; this I boiled in salt water, with some young nettles and other greens, for Thompson and myself, and in this way we found it tolerable food.

Their method of procuring the oil is to skim it from the water in which the blubber is boiled, and when cool, put it up into whale-bladders for use, and of these I have seen them so large as, when filled, would require no less than five or six men to carry. Several of the chiefs, among whom were Maquina’s brothers, who, after the king has caught the first whaie, are privileged to take them also, were very desirous, on discovering the superiority of my harpoon, that I should make some for them, but this Maquina would not permit, reserving for him- self this improved weapon. He, however, gave me

G 2

154 WHALE-FISHING.

directions to make a number more for himself, which I executed, and also made him several lances, with which he was greatly pleased.

As these people have some very singular observ- ances preparatory to whaling, an account of them will, I presume, not prove uninteresting, especially as it may serve to give a better idea of their man- ners, A short time before leaving Tashees, the king makes a point of passing a day alone on the moun- tain, whither he goes very privately early in the morning, and does not return till late in the evening. This is done, as I afterwards learned, for the pur- pose of singing and praying to his God for success in whaling the ensuing season. At Cooptee the same ceremony is performed, and at Nootka, after the return thither, with still greater solemnity, as for the next two days he appears very thoughtful and gloomy, scarcely speaking to any one, and ob- serves a most rigid fast. On these occasions, he has always a broad red fillet made of bark, bound around his head, in token of humiliation, with a large branch of green spruce on the top, and his great rattle in his hand. In addition to this, for a week before commencing their whaling, both him-

self and the crew of his canoe observe a fast, eating

DEATH OF TOOTOOSCH. 155

but very little, and going into the water several times in the course of each day to bathe, singing and rubbing their bodies, limbs, and faces, with shells and bushes, so that, on their return, I have seen them look as though they had been severely torn with briars. They are likewise obliged to abstain from any commerce with their women for the like period, the latter restriction being considered as in- dispensable to their success.

Early in June, Tootoosch, the crazy chief, died. On being acquainted with his death, the whole vil- lage, men, women, and children, set up a loud cry, with every testimony of the greatest grief, which they continued for more than three hours. As soon as he was dead, the body, according to their custom, was laid out on a plank, having the head bound round with a red bark fillet, which is with them an emblem of mourning and sorrow. After laying some time in this manner, he was wrapped in an

otter-skin robe, and three fathoms of I-whaw being | put about his neck, he was placed in a large coffin or box of about three feet deep, which was orna- mented on the outside with two rows of the small white shells. In this, the most valuable articles of

_ his property were placed with him, among which

156 _ DEATH OF TOOTOOSCH.

were no less than twenty-four prime sea-otter skins. At night, which is their time for interring the dead, the coffin was borne by eight men, with two poles, thrust through ropes passed around it, to the place of burial, accompanied by his wife and fami- ly, with their hair cut short, in token of grief, all the inhabitants joining the procession. The place of burial was a large cavern, on the side of a hill, at a little distance from the village, in which, after depositing the coffin carefully, all the attendants re- paired to Maquina’s house, where a number of arti- cles belonging to the deceased, consisting of blank- ets, pieces of cloth, &c. were burned by a person appointed by Maquina for that purpose, dressed and painted in the highest style, with his head covered with white down, who, as he puts in the several pieces, one by one, poured upon them a quantity of oil to increase the flame, in the intervals between making a speech, and playing off a variety of buffoon tricks, and the whole closed with a feast, and a - dance from Sat-sat-sak-sis, the king’s son.

The man who performed the ceremony of burn- ing, on this occasion, was a very singular character, | named Kinneclimmets. He was held in high estima-

tion by the king, though only of the common class,

AN INDIAN MOUNTEBANK. 157

probably from his talent for mimicry and buffoon- ery, and might be considered as a kind of king’s jester, or rather as combining in his person the cha- racter of a buffoon with that of master of ceremonies and public orator to his majesty, as he was the one who at feasts always regulated the places of the guests, delivered speeches on receiving or returning visits, besides amusing the company, at all their en- tertainments, with a variety of monkey pranks and antic gestures, which appeared to these savages the height of wit and humour, but would be considered as extremely low by the least polished people. Al- most all the kings or head chiefs of the principal tribes were accompanied by a similar character, who appeared to be attached to their dignity, and are called in their language Climmer-habbee.

This man Kinneclimmets was particularly odious to Thompson, who would never join in the laugh at his tricks, but, when he began, would almost always quit the house, with a very surly look, and an ex- clamation of “ Cursed fool!” which Maquina, who thought nothing could equal the cleverness of his Climmer-habbee, used to remark, with much dissa- tisfaction, asked me why Thompson never laughed, observing, that I must have had a very good-tem-

158 AN INDIAN MOUNTEBANK.

pered woman indeed for my mother, as my father was so very ill-natured a man.

Among those performances that gained him the greatest applause was his talent of eating to excess ; for I have known him devour at one meal no less than seventy-five large herrings; and at another time, when a great feast was given by Maquina, he © undertook, after drinking three pints of oil by way of a whet, to eat four dried salmon, and five quarts of spawn, mixed up with a gallon of train oil, and actually succeeded in swallowing the greater part of this mess, until his stomach became so overloaded, as to discharge its contents in the dish. One of his exhibitions, however, had nearly cost him his life ; this was on the occasion of Kla-quak-ee-na, one of the chiefs, having bought him a new wife, in cele- bration of which he ran three times through a large fire, and burned himself in such a manner, that he was not able to stir for more than four weeks. These feats of savage skill were much praised by Maquina, who never failed to make him presents of cloth, muskets, &c. on such occasions.

The death of Tootoosch increased still more the disquietude which his delirium had excited among

the savages ; and all those chiefs who had killed our 11

CHIEFS ALARMED. 159

men became much alarmed, lest they should be seiz- ed with the same disorder, and die like him; more particularly as I had told Maquina, that I believed his insanity was a punishment inflicted on him by Quahootze for his cruelty in murdering two inno-

cent men, who had never injured him.

160 SCARCITY OF PROVISIONS.

CHAPTER X.

WAR WITH THE A-Y-CHARTS—A NIGHT ATTACK—

PROPOSALS TO PURCHASE THE AUTHOR.

Our situation had now become unpleasant in the extreme. The summer was so far advanced, that we nearly despaired of a ship arriving to our relief, and with that expectation almost relinquished the hope of ever having it in our power to quit this sa- vage land. We were treated, too, with less indul- gence than before, both Thompson and myself be- ing obliged, in addition to our other employments, to perform the laborious task of cutting and collect- ing fuel, which we had to bring on our shoulders from nearly three miles distance, as it consisted wholly of dry trees, all of which, near the village, had been consumed.

To add to this, we suffered much abuse from the

common people, who, when Maquina or some of the

SCARCITY OF PROVISIONS. -161

chiefs were not present, would insult us, calling us wretched slaves, asking us, where was our Tyee or captain ?—making gestures signifying that his head had been cut off, and that they would do the like to us; though they generally took good care, at such times, to keep well out of Thompson’s reach, as they had more than once experienced, to their cost, the strength of his fist. This conduct was not only provoking and grating to our feelings in the high- est degree, but it convinced us of the ill disposition of these savages towards us, and rendered us fearful lest they might, at some time or other, persuade or force Maquina and the chiefs to put us to death. We were also often brought to great distress for the want of provisions, so far as to be reduced to collect a scanty supply of muscles and limpets from the rocks, and sometimes even compelled to part with some of our most necessary articles of clothing in order to furnish food for our subsistence. ‘This was, however, principally owing to the inhabitants themselves experiencing a great scarcity of provi« sions this season ; there having been, in the first place, but very few salmon caught at F riendly ‘Cove,—a most unusual circumstance, as they gene-

rally abound there in the spring, which was by the

162 SCARCILY OF PROVISIONS.

natives attributed to their having been driven away by the blood of our men, who had been thrown into the sea, which, with true savage inconsistency, ex- cited their murmurs against Maquina, who had pro- posed cutting off our ship. Relying on this supply, they had, in the most inconsiderate manner, squan- dered away their winter stock of provisions, so that, in a few days after their return, it was entirely ex-. pended.

Nor were the king and chiefs much more fortu- nate in their whaling, even after I had furnished Maquina with the improved weapon for that pur- pose, but four whales having been taken during the season, which closes the last of May, including one that had been struck by Maquina and escaped, and was afterwards driven on shore, about six miles from Nootka, in almost a state of putridity. These af- forded but a short supply to a population, including all ages and sexes, of no less than fifteen hundred persons, and of a character so very improvident, that, after feasting most gluttonously whenever a _ whale was caught, they were several times, for a_ week together, reduced to the necessity of eating but once a day, and of collecting cockles and mus- cles from the rocks for their food. a

FILTHY HABITS. 163

And even after the cod and halibut fishing com- menced, in June, in which they met with tolerable success, such was the savage caprice of Maquina, that he would often give us but little to eat, finally ordering us to buy a canoe and fishing implements, and go out ourselves and fish, or we should have nothing. To do this, we were compelled to part with our great-coats, which were not only import- ant to us as garments, but of which we made our beds, spreading them under us when we slept. From our want of skill, however, in this new em- ploy, we met with no success ; on discovering which, Maquina ordered us to remain at home.

Another thing, which to me in particular proved an almost constant source of vexation and disgust, and which living among them had not in the least reconciled me to, was their extreme filthiness, not only in eating fish, especially the whale, when in a state of offensive putridity, but while at their meals, of making a practice of taking the vermin from their heads or clothes, and eating them, by turns thrust- ing their fingers into their hair and into the dish, and spreading their garments over the tubs in which the provision was cooking, in order to set | in motion

their inkMpitants.

164: FILTHY HABITS.