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Cc- THE ADVENTURES OF JOHN JEWITT ONLY SURVIVOR OF THE CREW OF THE SHH' BOSTON DURING A CAPTIVITY OF NEARLY THREE YEARS AMONG THR INDIANS OF NOOTKA SOUND IN VANCOUVER ISLAND KIMTED IJ/r// AN INTRODUCTION AND NOTES BY ROBERT BROWN, Ph.D., M.A., F.L.S. COM.MANOEH OK Till- KIKST VANCOUVKK KXlM.nKING KXI'ICDITION WITH THIRTEEN ILLUSTRATIONS CLEMENT WILSON 29 Paternoster Row, London, E.G. 1896 .^'"U-"*-'' -w'^x 1090 y'- « "■' 'V MORRISON AND GIBS, RBINTERS. BDIKOURCH • J If 7 A3 IN MEMORY A SAD interest attaches to this little book. Although published after his death, and therefore deprived of his final revision, it was not the last work which Dr. Robert Brown did. His manuscript was actually completed many months ago, but at his own request it was re- turned to him to receive a last careful overhaul at his hands. This revision had been practically finished, and the MS. lay ready uppermost among the papers in his desk, where it was found after his death. Dr. Brown died on the morning ^( the 26th of October, 1895, work- ing almost to his last hour. Before the leader he had written for the Standard on the evening of the 25th had come under the eyes of its readers, the hand that had penned it was cold in death, l^etween the evening and the morning he went home. He was only fifty-three, but " a righteous man, though he die before his time, shall be at rest." And in one sense Dr. Brown needed rest — ay, even this last and sweetest rest of all. His life had been one of unremitting work — work well done, which the busy, hurrying world mostly heeded not, knowing naught of the hand that did it. Some twenty years ago, when I first knew him, he was a fair, stalwart Northerner, full of vigour, mirthful also, and apparently looking out on the voyage of life with the confident, joyous eye of one who In Memory felt he had strength within him to conquer. His latter days were saddened by incessant toil, performed in weakness of body and jadedness of brain, and by the feeling that his best work, the work into which he put his rich stores of knowledge, was neither recognised nor requited as it should have been. To a sensitive man the daily wear and tear of a journalist's life in London is often murderous, always exhausting — and Dr. Brown was very sensitive. Beneath the genial exterior, which seemed to indicate a care- less, light - hearted spirit, lay great depths of feeling, and a tenderness that shrank from expressing itself. The man was too proud and self-restrained to betray these depths even to those nearest and dearest to him. This was at once a nobility in him and a weak- ness. Had he opened his heart more, he would have chafed and fretted less, little annoyances would not have become mountain loads of care. But the truth is, Dr. Brown was not cut out for the life of an every- day journalist, cither by training, habits, or disposition. The ideal post for him would have been that of a professor at some great university, where he could have had abundant leisure to pursue his favourite studies, where young men would have surrounded him and listened with delight to the outpouring of the wealth of lore with which his capacious intellect was stored. His lot was otherwise cast, and he accepted it manfully, battling with his destiny to his last hours, grimly and in silence of soul, intent only on one thing, to lift his children clear above the necessity for treading the same rough road upon which he ha 1 worn himself out. Other and worthier hands than mine may trace, it is to be hoped, the story of his life, his expeditions in In Memory America and Greenland, and his many literary labours not only in popularising scientific subjects, with a thorough- ness and attractiveness too little recognised, but in walks apart where the multitude could not judge him. My dominant feeling about him for many years has been one of regret that he should be wearing his life away so fast. He never learned to play; to be completely idle for a day even became, latterly, irksome, almost irritating, to him. His fingers itched to hold the pen, to handle a book. Although in earlier times he could enjoy a brief holiday, he ever mixed work with his pleasu'j ; could, indeed, accept no pleasure which did not imply wf)rk somewhere close to his hand. Thus his various journeys to Morocco, ostensibly taken, at any rate the earlier of them, to escape from all kinds of work, and from the sight of the day's newspaper, ended in his becoming the foremost authority in Great liritain upon the literature, present social condition, and probable future of that j)erishing country. The acquisition of this knowledge was all in his day's enjoyment. The testimony of the introduction and notes to this little book is enough to prove how thoroughly and conscientiously everything that Dr. Brown undertook was done. The question of payment rarely entered into his calculations. Some of his very best work was done for nothing, because he loved to do it. Witness his edition of A photograph of Dr. Brown taken in 1870, just after his return from his last expedition to Greenland, and represents him much as he looked when, some years later, he first came to London, after failing to obtain the chair of Botany in Edinburgh University. That was a disappoint- ment which he cannot be said ever to have entirely sur- mounted. The memory of it to some extent kept him aloof from his fellow-labourers in the world of journalism. What work he had to do he did loyally, manfully, and with the most scrupulous care ; but he lived a man apart, more or less, from his first coming among us to the end. In his family circle, and where he was really known, his loss has brought a great sorrow. A. J. W. London, February 16, 1896. CONTENTS INTRODUCTION. By Dr. Robert Brown CHAPTER I Birth, Parentage, and Early Life ok the Aui.i^K . CHAPTER II V-JVAGE TO NOOTKA S0UNI> CHAPTER HI Intkrcourse with the Natives-Maouina— Seizure of the Vessei, and Murder of the Crew CHAPTER IV Reception of Jewitt uy the Savages-Escape of Thompson —Arrival of Neighdouring Tribes— An Indian Feast . CHAPTER V Burning of the Vessel — Commencement of Jewitt's Journal CHAPTER VI Description of Nootka Sound — Manner of Building Houses— Furniture— Dresses CHAPTER VII Appearance of the Natives— Ornaments— Otter-Hunting —Fishing— Canoes PACK 13 43 53 58 70 83 9i 112 10 Contents PAGE CHAPTER VIII Music — Musical Instruments — Slaves — Neighbouring Tribes— Trade with these— Army 129 CHAPTER IX Situation of the Author— Removal to Tashees— Fishing Parties 142 CHAPTER X Conversation with Maquina — Fruits— Religious Cere- monies—Visit TO Upquesta 156 CHAPTER XI Return to Nootka (Friendly Cove)— Death of Maquina's Nephew— Insanity of Tootoosch — An Indian Mounte- bank 172 CHAPTER XII War with the A-y-Charts— A Night Attack— Proposals to Purchase the Author 185 CHAPTER XIII Marriage of the Author— His Illness— Dismisses his Wife— Religion of the Natives— Climate . . .198 CHAPTER XIV Arrival of the Brig " Lydia "—Stratagem of the Author — Its Success 223 APPENDIX I. The "15oston's" Crew 247 II. War-Song of the Nootka Tkidk 248 HI. A List of Words 249 INDEX 253 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS — ♦ — Portrait of Dr. Robert Brown (1870) . . . Frontispku Dr. Brown's "Boy" . ^4 Port San Juan Indians jg Ohyaht Indian . 24 Indian Encampmknt near the Landing-stage, Esquimault t,i lUniTATIONS IN NOOTKA SoUND (TeM1>. 1803) . . . .97 Interior of a Habitation in Nootka Sound . . . ,03 NooTKA Sound Indians Indian Canoes, Victoria, V. I. (Temi-. 1863) .... 125 Uk-Lulac-Aht Indian Salmon Wear near the Indian Village ok (^uamichan, iSi Callicum and Maquilla, Chiefs of Nootka Sound (Temp 1803) ... Indian Chief's Grave (Temp. 1863) 209 11 ADVENTURES OF JOHN JEWITT. INTRODUCTION Many years ago — when America was in the midst of war, when railways across the continent were but the dream of sanguine men, and when the Pacific was a far- away sea — the writer of these lines passed part of a pleasant summer in cruising along the western shores of Vancouver Island. Our ship's company was not distinguished, for it consisted of two fur-traders and an Indian " boy," and the sloop in which the crew and passengers sailed was so small, that, when the wind failed, and the brown folk ashore looked less amiable and the shore more rugged than was desirable, we put her and ourselves beyond hail by the aid of what seamen know as a *' white ash breeze." Out of one fjord we went, only to enter another so like it that there was often a diffi- culty in deciding by the mere appearance of the shore which was which. Everywhere the dense forest of Douglas fir and Menzies spruce covered the country from the water's edge to the summit of the rounded hills which here and there caught the eye in the still little known, but at that date almost entirely unexplored interior. Wherever a tree could obtain a foothold, there a tree 13 H Adventures of John Jewitt grew, until in places their roots were at times laved by the spray. Beneath this thick clothing of heavy timber flourished an almost equally dense undergrowth of shrubs, which until then were only known to us from the specimens intro- duced from North - West America into the European gar- dens. Gay were the thickets of thimble- berry ^ and salmon- berry 2 wherever the soil was rich, and for miles the ground was carpeted with the salal,^ while the huckleberry,* the crab-apple,*^ and the flowering currant ^ varied the monotony of the gloomy woods. In places the ginseng, Oi, as the woodmen call DR. BROWN'S "BOY." j ^^ ^^^ " d e V i I's walking-stick,"' with its long prickly stem and palm-like > /^uhts Nutkamts. '■ Rubus spectabilis. ^ Gaultheria Shallon. * Vaccinimn ovatim. ' Pynis rivularis. " Kibes sani^uineiwi, now a common shrub in our ornamental grounds. ' Echinopanax horridum. Introduction 15 head of great leaves, imparted an almost tropical aspect to scenery which, seen from the deck of our little craft, looked so like that of Southern Norway, that I have never seen the latter without recalling the outer limits of British Columbia. On the few fiat spits where the sun reached, the gigantic cedars^ and broad-leaved maples ^ lighted up the scene, while the dogwood,^ with its large white flowers reflected in the water of some river which, after a turbulent course, had reached the sea through a placid mouth, or a Menzies arbutus,"* whose glossy leaves and brown bark presented a more southern facies to the sombre jungles, afforded here and there a relief to the never-ending fir and pine and spruce. A more solitary shore, so far as white men are concerned, it would be hard to imagine. From the day we left until the day we returned, we sighted only one sail ; and from Port San Juan, where an Indian trader lived a lonely life in an often-beleaguered blockhouse, to Koskeemo Sound, where another of these voluntary exiles passed his years among the savages, there was not a christened man, with the exception of the little settlement ot lumbermen at the head of the Alberni Canal. For months at a time no keel ever ploughed this sea, and then too frequently it was a warship sent from Victoria to chastise the tribesmen for some outrage conihutted on wayfaring men such as we. The floating fur-trader with whom we exchanged the courtesies of the wilderness had indeed been despitefully used. For ' Thuja gii^antea, a tree which to the Indian is what the bamboo is to the Chinese. - ^Xier niacro(izint; llie canoe in which he was sailini;, in revent;c for a slight passed upon the chief. I went ashore at the Oliyaiit village in the same canoe, ami was asked whether I was not afraid, " for liaiiipe was killed in it." There was also a St )i'y that the capsize was an accident. - It may be proper to state in this ])laco thai tlie interior details of th.^t chat are, with very few exceptions, from my exi)lorations. lint the map on which they were iaia down by me has been so often cojiied liy societies, governments, and priv.ate indiviiiuals without permission (and without acknowledgment), that the author of it has long ceased to claim a property so gener.illy pillaged. The original, however, appeared, with a men oiron the interior --'* I)a> Innere der \ancouver Insel " — which has not yet been translated, in Tetermann's Geo^>a/>/iische Miftlicilu?igeii, 1S69. 26 Adventures of John Jewitt that time by two worthies of the names of Mala-koi- Kennis, and Quak-ate-Komisa, whom we left in the delectable condition of each expecting the other round to cut his and his tribesmen's throats. North of this inlet were Ky-yoh-quahts, of the Sound of that name (Kaioquat), numbering two hundred and fifty men. To us they were exceedingly friendly, though a trader whom we met had a different tale to tell of their treatment of him. Kanemat, a young man of about twenty-two, was their chief, though the tribe was virtually governed by his mother, a notable lady named Shipally, and at times by his pretty squaw, Wick-anes, and his lively son and heir, Klahe-ek-enes. The Chaykisahts, the Klahosahts, and the Neshahts of Woody Point are the other Aht tribes, though the latter is not included among them by Mr. Sproat. But they speak their language, of which their chief village is its most northern limit. Everywhere their tribes showed such evident signs of decadence that by this time some of them must be all but extinct. Still, as the whites had not come much in contact with them — though all of them asked us for " lum " (rum), but did not get it, it is clear enough what had been the traders' staple — the " diseases of civilisa- tion " could not be blamed for their decay. Even then the practical extermination of two tribes was so recent that the facts were still fresh in their neighbours' memory. These were the Ekkalahts. who lived at the top of the Alberni Canal, but were all but killed off in the same massacre by which the Opechesahts were decimated. The only survivor was a man named Keekeon, who lived with the Seshahts, most of whom had forgotten li Introduction 27 even the name of this vanquished little nationality. The other tribe was the Koapinahts (or Koapin-ah), who at that time numbered sixty or seventy people, but at the period to which I refer they were reduced to two adults — a man and a woman — all the rest having been slaughtered a few years earlier by the Kwakiools from the other side of the island, in conjunction with the Neshahts of Woody Point. In after days I learned to know these tribes very familiarly, crossing and recross- ing the island with or to them, hunting and canoeing with them, in the woods, up the rivers, or on the lakes, and gathering from their lips " This fair report of them who dwell In that retirement." At first sight these " tinkler loons and siclike com- panie" were by no means attractive. They were frowsy, and, undeniably, they were not clean. But it was only after penetrating their inner ways, after learning the wealth of custom and folk-lore of which they, all unconscious of their riches, were the jealous custodians, that one began to appreciate these primitive folk from a scientific point of view. Even yet, as the writer recalls the days when he was prone to find men more romantic than is possible in "middle life forlorn," it is difficult not to associate the most prosaic of savages with something of the picturesqueness which, in novels at least, used to cling to all their race. For, as the charm of such existence as theirs unfolded itself to the lover of woods and prairies, and lakes and virgin streams, the neglect of soap and of sanitation was forgotten. As Mr. Leland has remarked about the ■KSSAtssiHCBS^snm^sau .^'SjEjr-.^'artr-ss'T 28 j! Adventures of John Jewitt gipsies : " When their lives and legends are known, the ethnologist is apt to think of Tieck's elves, and of the Shang Valley, which was so grim and repulsive from without, but which, once entered, was the gay forecourt of Goblin-land." In those days little was known — and little cared — about any of the Western tribes, except by the " schooner - men," as the Indians called the roving traders. Their very names were strange to the majority of the Victoria people, and I am told that very few of the colonists of to-day are any better informed. It has therefore been thought fitting that I should go somewhat minutely into the condition of the Indians, at a period when they were more primitive than now, as a slight contribution to the meagre chronicles of a dying race. For if not preserved here, it is likely to perish with almost the last survivor of a little band with whom, during the last two decades, death has been busy. Among the many inlets which we entered on the cruise Nootka Sound which has enabled mc to edit this narrative of a less fortunate predecessor, was Nootka Sound. No portion of North- West America was more famous than this spot, for once upon a time it was the former centre of the fur trade, and a locality which more than once figured prominently in diplomatic correspondence. Indeed, so associated was it as the type of this part of the western continent, that in many works the heterogeneous group of savages who inhabit the entire coast between the Columbia River and the end of Vancouver Island was described as the " Nootka- Columbians." More than one species of plant and animal attest the fact of this Sound having been the locality and its memories. ;4 Introduction 29 at which the naturalist first broke ground in North- West America. There are, for instance, a Haliotis Nutkacns's (an ear shell), a Rubus Nutkmnis (a rasp- berry) ; and a yellow cypress, which, however, attained its chief development on the mainland much farther north, bears among its synonyms that of Chavuccyparis Nutkacnsis. For though it is undeniable that Ensign Juan Perez discovered it as early as 1779, and named it Port San Lorenzo, after the saint on whose day it was first seen, this fact was unknown or forgotten, when, four years later. Cook entered, and called it King George Sound, though he tells us it was afterwards found that it was called Nootka by the natives. Hence arose the title it has ever since borne, though this was an entire mistake on the great navigator's part, since there is no word in the Aht language at all corresponding to Nootka, unless indeed it is " No( tche," a mountain, which not unlikely Cook mistook for that of the inlet generally. The proofs of the presence of earlier visitors were iron and other tools, familiarity with ships, and two silver spoons of Spanish manufacture, which, we may take it, had been stolen from Perez's ship. The next vessel to enter the Sound was the Sea Otter, under the command of Captain James Hanna, who made such a haul in the shape of sea-otter skins that for many years Nootka was the great rendezvous of the fur-traders who cruised as far north as Russian America — now Alaska — and, like Port- lock, Dixon, and Mearcs, charted and named many of the most familiar parts of the British Columbian coast. Meares built the North- West Aineriea hy the aid of Chinese carpenters in Nootka Sound in the winter of 1788-89, this little sloop being the first vessel, excci)t a V K£vi23?£«:!&«»R:&S&,':Lie*'l.",i:«-is«"' 30 Adventures of John Jewitt h' a canoe, ever constructed in the country north of California. The lucrative trade done by the English and American traders, some of whom, disposing of their furs in China, sailed under the Portuguese flag and fitted out at Macao as the port most readUy open to them, determined the Spaniards to assert their rights to the original discovery. This was done by Don Estevan Martinez "' taking possession " of the Sound, seizing the vessels there, and erecting a fort to maintain the territory against all comers. A hot diplomatic warfare ensued, the result of which was the Con- vention of Nootka, by which the Sound was made over to Great Britain ; and it was while engaged on this mission of receiving the Sound that Vancouver, conjointly with Quadra, the Spanish commander, dis- covered that the region it intersects is an island, which for a time bore their joint names, but by general consent has that of Vancouver only attached to it nowadays. This was in the year 1795. Being now indisputably British territory, Nootka and the coasts north and south of it became more and more frequented by fur- traders, who found, in spite of the increasing scarcity of pelts, and the higher prices which keener competition brought about, an ample profit in buying tolerably cheap on the American coast and selling very dear to the Chinese, whose love for the sea-otter continues unabated. Many of these adventurers were Americans — hailing, for the most part, from Boston. Hence to this day an American is universally known among the North- western Indians as a " Boston-man," while an English- Introduction 31 man is quite as generally termed a " Kintshautsh man " (Kin^ George man), it being during the long reign of George III. that they first became acquainted with our countrymen. Their barter was carried on in knives, copper plates, copper kettles, muskets, brass-hilted swords, soldiers' coats and buttons, pistols, tomahawks, and blankets, which soon superseded the more costly " Kotsaks " of sea-otter until then the principal garment, though the women wore, as they do still at times (or did when I knew the shore), blankets woven out of pine-tree bark. Rum also seemed to have been freely disposed of. and no doubt many of the outrages which early began to mark the intercourse of the brown men and their white visitors were not a little due to this, and to the customs, ever more free than welcome, in which it is the habit of the mariner to indulge when he and the savage forgather. At all events, the natives and their foreign visitors seem to have come very soon into collision. Indeed, it was seldom that a voyage was completed without some outrage on one or both sides, followed by reprisals from the party supposed to have been wronged. Thus part of the crew of the Imperial Eagle, under the command of Captain Barclay,^ who discovered and named in his own honour the Sound so called, were murdered at " Oueenhythe,"- south of Juan de Fuca Strait, which Barclay was amongst the first to explore, or rather to rediscover. At a later date, namely, in 1S05, the Atahualpa of Rhode Island was attacked in Millbank ' Or Berkeley — for the name is spelt both ways. - Destruction Island, in lat. 47^ 35'. This was almost the same spot as that in which the Spaniards of Bodega's crew were massacred in 1775, and for this reason they named it Isla de Dolores — the " Island of Sorrows. " It is in whdt is now the State of Washington, U.S.A. ' 1 32 Adventures of John Jewitt Sound, and her captain, mate, and six seamen were killed. In 1811 the Tofi(jui/i,hc\o\v^in^ to John Jacob Astor's romantic fiir-tradinf^ adventure, which is so well known from Washiiif^ton Irving's As/oria, was seized by the savages on this coast, and then blown up by M'Kay, the chief trader, with the entire crew and their assailants. The scene of the catastrophe has been stated to be Nootka, but other commentators have fixed upon liarclay Sound, and as late as 1863 an intelligent trader informed me that some ship's timbers, half buried in the sand there, were attributed by the Indians to some disastrous event, which he believed to have been the one in cjucstion.^ I am, however, now inclined to think that in crediting Nahwitti, at the northern end of Vancouver Island, with this notable event in th.e early history of North- VVest America,- Dr. George Dawson has arrived at the truth. To this clay — or until very recently — the Indians of the North-Wcst coast are not accounted very trust- worthy, and at the period when I knew them they were suspected of killing several traders and of looting more th.an one small vessel, acts which earned for them frequent visits from the gunboats at Esquimault, and in several instances the undesirable distinction of ^ Green Low will even blame Wikananish, who figures in Jewitl's narrat- ive, as the instigator of the outrat^e. -The Nahwitti Indians. Compare the Tlfi-tlT-sI — Kwela and Ne- kun)-ke-llsla septs of the Kwakiool peo|)le. They now inhabit a villai;e named Meloopa, on the south-east side of Hope Island. Hut their original hamlet was situated on a small rucky peninsula on the east side of (."ape Conuiierell, which forms the north point of Vanctiuver Island. Here remains of v\i\ houses are still to lie seen, at a ])lace known to the Indians as Nahwitti. It was close to this i>laee that the /i^^/r/Km was blown up. — .S'( u//, t; vol. ix. p. 341. H^.-> ^IM^HI^^H t^H / w H nvr ■ fl ^SSn'ii I v^>^ '.i^P^mj^QI^^^^H rvr • ■ H^H li ■ '.". ,/v \w ^^^Bki * . -■* '*"''' Ik.' HKTiSriWll^^^^B •J a IHl "^1 tmmma P5iK^9!!%» I i Introduction 35 having their villages shelled when they refused to give up the offenders — generally a difficult operation, since it meant pretty well the entire village. But the most famous of all the piracies of the Western Indians is that of which an account is con- John Jewitt and the capture tained in John Jewitt's Narrative. The ofthe'-Boston" ostensible author of this work was a Hull blacksmith, the armourer of the Boston, an American ship which was seized while lying in Nootka Sound, and the entire crew massacred, with the ex- ception of Jewitt, who was spared owing to his skill as a mechanic being valuable to the Indians, and John Thompson, the sail maker, who, though left for dead, recovered, and was saved by the tact of Jewitt in repre- senting him to be his father. This happened in March 1803, and from that date until the 20th of July 1805, these two men were kept in slavery to the chief Maquenna or Moqulla, when they were freed by the arrival of the brig Lydia of Boston, Samuel Hill master. During this servitude, Jewitt, who seems to have been a man of some education, kept a journal and acquired the Aht language, though the style in which his book is written shows that in preparing it for the press he had obtained the assistance of a more practised writer than himself. Still, his work is a valuable contribution to ethnology. For, omitting the brief but excellent accounts by Cook and Meares, it is the earliest, and, with the exception of Mr. Sproat's lecture, the fullest description of these Indians. It is indeed the only one treating specially on the Nootka people, with whom alone he had any minute acquaintance. Some of the habits he pictures are now obsolete, or greatly modified, but a ^'Hi "■■Wi 36 Advkntukks of John Jkwitt others — it may be said the greater number — are exactl>' as he notes them to have been eighty-six years ago. Besides the internal evidences of its authenticity, the truth of the adventures described was vouched for at the time by Jewitt's companion in slavery ; and though there is no absolute proof of its credibility, it may not be uninteresting to state that, thirty years ago, I conversed with an American sea captain, who, as a boy, distinctly remembered Jcwitt working as a blacksmith in the town of Middleton in Connecticut. When the book was first published, in the year 181 5, several editions appeared in America, and at least two reprints were called for in England, so that the Narrative enjoyed considerable popularity in the first two decades of the century. Writing in 1840, Robert Green Low, Librarian to the Department of State at W^ashington, characterises it as "a simple and unpretending narrative, which will, no doubt, in after centuries, be read with interest by the enlightened people of North-West America." Again, in 1845, the same industrious, though not always impartial, historian remarks that " this little book has been frequently reprinted, and, though seldom found in libraries, is much read by boys and seamen in the United States." As copies arc now seldom met with, this is no longer the case, though on our cruise in 1863 it was one of the well-thumbed little library of the traders, one of whom had inherited it from William Edy Banfield, whose name has already been mentioned (p. 25). This trader, for many years a well-known man on the out-of-the-way parts of the coast, furnished a curious link between Jewitt's time and our own. For an old Indian told him that he had, as a boy, served in Introduction Z1 the family of a chief of Nootka, called Klan-nin-itth, at the time when Jeuitt and Thompson were in slavery ; and that he often assisted Jewitt in makinjr spears, arrows, and other weapons required for hostile expedi- tions. Me said, further, that the white slave generally accompanied his owner on visits which he paid to the Ayhuttisaht, Ahousaht, and Klahocjuaht chiefs. This old man especially remembered Jewitt, who was a good-humoured fellow, often reciting and singing in his own language for the amusement of the tribesmen. He was described as a tall, well-made youth, with a mirthful countenance, whose dress latterly consisted of nothing but a manl' j of cedar bark. Mr. Sproat, who obtained his information from the same cjuarter that I did, adds that there was a long story of Jewitt's courting, and finally abducting, the daughter of Waugh- clagh, the Ahousaht chief. This incident in his career is not recorded by our author, who, however, was married to a daughter of Upquesta, an Ayhuttisaht Indian. Apart, however, from Jewitt not caring to enlighten the decent-living puritans of Connecticut too minutely regarding his youthful escapades, it is not unlikely that Mr. lianfield's informant mixed up some half- forgotten legends regarding another white man, who, seventeen years before Jewitt's captivity, had voluntarily remained among these Nootka Indians. This was a scapegrace named John M'Kay, ^an Irishman, who, after being in the East India Company's Service in some minor medical capacity, shipped in 1785 on board the Captain Cook as surgeon's mate, and was left behind in Nootka ' " Maccay " (Meares) ; " M'Key " (Dixon). 3 I r:-*iy^l»» #^ 38 Adventures of John Jewitt Sound, ill the hope that he would so ingratiate himself with the natives, as to induce them to refuse furs to any other traders except those with whom he was connected. This man seems to have been an ignorant, untruthful braggart, who contradicted himself in many important particulars. But entire credence may be given to his statement that in a short time he sank into barbarism, becoming as filthy as the dirtiest of his savage com- panions. For when Captain Hanna saw him in August 1786, the natives had stripped him of his clothes, and obliged him to adopt their dress and habits. He even refused to leave, declaring that he had begun to relish dried fish and whale oil — though, owing to a famine in the Sound, he got little of either — and was well satisfied to stay for another year. After making various excursions in the country about Nootka Sound, during which he came to the conclusion that it was not a part of the American continent, but a chain of detached islands, he gladly deserted his Indian wife, and left with Captain Berkeley in 1 787. To " preach, fight, and mend a musket " seems to have been too much for this medical pluralist. His further history I am unable to trace, though, for the sake of historical roundness, it would have been interesting to believe that he was the same M'Kay who twenty- four years later ended his career so terribly by blowing up the Tonquin, with whose son I was well acquainted. In all of these transactions the head chief of Nootka, or at least of the Mooachahts, figures prominently. This was Maquenna or Moqulla (Jewitt's Maquina), who, with his relative VVikananish, ruled over most of the tribes from here to Nettinaht Inlet, lie was a shifty savage. Introduction 39 endowed with no small mental ability, and, though at times capable of acts which were almost generous, untrustworthy like most of his race, and when offended ready for any act of vin'r^ictiveness. Wikananish was on a visit to Maquenna when the Discovery and Resolution entered the Sound, and among the relics which Maquenna kept for many years were a brass mortar left by Cook, which in Meares's day was borne before the chief as a portion of his regalia, and three " pieces of a brassy metal formed like cricket bats," on which were the remains of the name and arms of Sir Joseph l^anks, and the date 1775 — Banks, it may be remembered, being the scientific companion of Cook. In every subsequent voyage Maquenna figures, and not a few of the outrages committed on that coast were due either to him or to his instigation. Some, like his attempt to seize Manna's vessel in 1785, are known from extraneous sources, and others were boasted of by him to Jewitt. The last of his proceedings of which history has left any record, is the murder of the crew of the Boston and the en- slavement of Thompson and Jewitt, and in the narrative of the latter we arc afforded a final glimpse of this notorious " King." ^ When I visited Nuotka Sound in 1863, fifty-eight Changes since years had passed since the captivity of Jewitt'stime. the author of this book. In the interval 3 lootka. This |o, with tribes kavage. ' There is a portrait of him, apparently anther tic, in Meares's Voya^^cs^ voh ii. (1791). That in tlie original edition of Jenitl's Narrative, like the plate of the capture of the Boston, apjiears to have been drawn from de- scription, though there is a certain resemblance in it to Meares's sketch made fourteen or fifteen years earlier. But the scenery, the canoes, the people, and, above all, the palm trees in Nootka Sound, are purely imaginary. ■^-2^??5g^S£i:'1^ 40 Adventures of John Jewitt many things had happened. But though the Indians had altered in some respects, they were perhaps less changed than almost any other savages in America since the whites came in contact with them. Eighty-five years had passed since Cook had careened his ships in Resolution Cove, and seventy since Vancouver entered the Sound on his almost more notable voyage. Yet the bricks from the blacksmith's forge, fresh and vitrified as if they had been in contact with the fire only yesterday, were at times dug up from among the rank herbage. The village in Friendly Cove — a spot which not a few mariners found to be very unfriendly — differed in no way from the picture in Cook's Voyage ; and though some curio-hunting captain had no doubt long ago carried off the mortar and emblazoned brasses, the natives still spoke traditionally of Cook and Vancouver, and were ready to point out the spots where in 1788 Meares built the North- West America and the white men had cultivated. Memories of Martinez and Quadra existed in the shape of many legends, of Indians with Iberian features, and of several old people who by tradition (though some of them were old enough to have remembered these navigators), could :till repeat the Spanish numerals. And the head chief of the Mooachahts in Friendly Cove — vastly smaller though his tribe was, and much abridged his power — was a grandson of Maquenna, called by the same name, and had many of his worst characteristics. This fact I am likely to remember. For he had been accised of having murdered, in the previous January, Captain Stcv of the Trader^ and since that tiine no whites had ventured near him. lie, however, assured us Introduction 41 that the report was simply a scandal raised by the neighbouring tribes, who had long hated him and his people, and would like to see them punished by the arrival of a gunboat, and that in reality the vessel was wrecked, and the white men were drowned. At the same time, among the voices heard that night at the council held in Maquenna's great lodge, supported by the huge beams described by Jewitt, were some in favour of killing his latest visitors, on the principle thai dead men tell no tales. But that the Noes had it, the present narrative is the best proof. So far as their habits were concerned, they were in a ^ condition as primitive as at almost any period since the whites had visited them. Many of the old people were covered only with a mantle of woven pine bark, and beyond a shirt, in most cases made out of a flour sack, a blanket was the sole garment of the majority of the tribesmen. At times when they wanted to receive any goods, they simply pulled off the blanket, wrapped up the articles in it, and went ashore stark naked, with the exception of a piece of skin round the loins. The w ig a streak of vermilion down the middle division of . u- hair, an' on high occasions the glittering mica sand, spoken of by Jewitt, was called into requisition. Their customs — and I had plenty of opportunities to study them in the course of the years which followed — were in no way different from what they were in Cook's time. No missionary seemed ever to have visited them, and their religious observances were accord- 3 MiB»KaUi»aiMU;^ 1 42 Adventures of^ John Jewitt IS I ' ')S r j Ingly still the most unadulterated of paganism. Jewitt's narrative is, however, as might have been expected, very vague on such matters ; and, curiously enough, he makes no mention of their characteristic trait of compressing the foreheads of the children, the tribes in Koskeemo Sound squeezing it, while the bones are still cartila- ginous, in a conical shape — though the brain is not thereby permanently injured : it is simply displaced. Since that day, the tribesmen of the west coast of Vancouver Ii '; >d have grown fewer and fewer. Some of the smallei have indeed become extinct, and others must be fas; on the wane. They have, however, eaten of the tree of knowledge, and the gunboats have now little occasion to visit them for punitive purposes. Missionaries have even attempted to teach them better manners. The Alberni saw-mills have long been deserted, though other settlers have taken possession of the ground, and several have squatted in Koskeemo Sound, in the hope that the coal-seams there might induce the Pacific steamers to make that remote region their headquarters. Finally, an effort is being made to induce fishermen from the West of Scotland to settle on that coast. There is plenty of work for them, and the Indians nowadays are very little to be feared. Indeed, so far from the successors of Moqulla and Wikananish menacing Donald and Sandy, they will be ready to help them for a consideration ; though a great deal of tact and forbearance will be necessary before people so conservative as the hot-tempered Celts work smoothly with a race quite as fiery and quite as wedded to old ways, as the Ahts among whom John Jewitt passed the early years of this century. R. B. JOHN JEWITT'S NARRATIVE iry jlts as CHAPTER 1 DIRTII, 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 mis- fortune to lose my mother, a most excellent woman, who died in childbed, leaving an infant daughter, who, with myself, and an elder brother by a former marriage of my father, constituted the whole of our family. My father, who considered a good education as the greatest blessing he could bestow on his children, was very parti- cular in paying every attention to us in that respect, always exhorting us to behave well, and endeavouring to impress on our minds the principles of virtue and morality, and no expense in his power was spared to have us instructed in whatever might render us useful and respectable in society. My brother, who was four years older than myself and of a more hardy constitu- tion, he destined for his own trade, but to me he had 43 a u ! 'i 44 Adventures of John Jewitt 1. nil! resolved to give an education superior to that which is to be obtained in a common school, it being his inten- tion that I should adopt one of the learned professions. Accordingly, at the age of twelve he too. 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 obtained 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 to pronounce it, so that in a short time, with my father'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 de- light in his instruction, and to whom he allowed 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. ' These fairs are still held, though the dates are now May 26th, September 4th, and October 27th. School Days and Boyhood 45 to in ar id us le. k As the scholars on these occasions were always in- dulged with a holiday, I carnot express with what eagerness of youthful expectation I used to anticipate these fairs, nor what delight I felt at the various shows, exhibitions of wild beasts, and other entertainments that they presented ; 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 expenses. Among the scholars at this academy, there was one named Charles Rice, with whom I formed a particular 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 sixty miles off, instead of returning home, he used frequently during the vacation to go with me to Eoston, 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 the house. I had a good voice, and an ear for music, to which I was always passionately attached, though my father endeavoured to discourage this propensity, considering it (as is too frequently the case) but an introduction to a life of idleness and dissipation ; and, having bc^n remarked for my singing at church, which was regularly attended on Sundays and festival days by the scholars, Mr. Morthrop, my friend Rice's uncle, used frequently tt) request me to sing ; he was always pleased a M.II iiirai»niit-iBffri"^&. see 46 Adventures of John Jewitt with my exhibitions of this kind, and it was no doubt one of the means that secured me so gracious a recep- tion 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 Doctor 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 apprenticeship. 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 persuade 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, ' The companion of Cook, and for many years President of the Royal Society. u I) Apprknticed 47 It, e, lal 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 corresponding 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 apprentice- ship, 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 importance 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 workmen, particularly in vessel work. This naturally leading me to an acquaint- ance with the sailors on board some of the ships : the many remarkable stories 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 afforded me the oppor- it .», { |! 1*41 ! 48 Adventures of John Jewitt ) i tunity 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 flatter- ing prospect for the establishment of a young man in life. In the summer of the year 1802, during the peace between England and France, the ship Boston, belong- ing to Boston, in Massachusetts, and commanded by Captain John 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 lading of furs and skins, she was to proceed to China, and from thence home to America. The ship having occasion for many repairs and alterations, necessary 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 Ingraham,^ the latter a fine young man of about twenty, of a most amiable temper, and of such affable manners, as gained him the love and attachment of the whole crew. These gentlemen used occasionally to take me with ' This William Ingraham must not be confounded with Joseph In- graham, who also visited Nootka Sound, and played a considerable part in the exploration of the North-West American coast. Captain Salti.r's PuorosAL 49 them to the theatre, an amusement which I was very fond of, and which my father rather encourat^ed tlian objected to, as he thou^t;ht it a good means of pre- venting young men, who arc naturally incHned to seek for something to amuse them, from frequenting taverns, ale-houses, and places of bad resort, equally destructive of the health and morals, while the stage frequently furnishes excellent 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, observing 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 shipped 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 ingenious, and on my return to America I shall probably be able to do something much better for you in Boston. I will take the first opportunity of speaking to your father about it, and try to persuade him to consent." He 4 P 3!' ;-* ■ ■■■ 'ill f 50 Adventures of John Jewitt 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 advantageous 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 tolerable success I might do so much better in America, where wages were much higher and living cheaper, he at length gave up his objections, and consented that I should ship on board the PiOston as an armourer, at the rate of thirty dollars per month, with an agreement that the amount due to me, together with a certain sum of money, which my father gave Captain Salter for that purpose, should be laid out by him on the North-VVest coast in the purchase of furs for my account, to be dis- posed 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 establish- ing myself in my trade in l^oston, or some other mari- time town of America. Such were the flattering expectations which this good man indulged respecting me. Alas ! the fatal disaster that befell 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, etc., which were I !■ i My F'ather's Advice 51 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, 'i'he ship being loaded and ready for sea, as I was preparing for my departure, my father 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. Hut in whatever part of the world you are, always bear it in mind, that on your own conduct 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 lO be placed, to gain yourself friends. Let the i^ible be your guide, and your reliance in any fortune that may befall 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 repeated 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, en- joining 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. I 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 a ■IH TP ' I i i ^' I 1 i I i ; i, ! ,1 1 ! 52 Adventures of John Jewitt wind. I ibund myself well accommodated on board as regarded my work, an iron forge having been erected on deck ; this my fath.-r had made for the ship on a new plan, for which he afterwards obtained a patent • while a corner of the steerage was appropriated to my vice-bench, so that in bad weather I could work below. ii f i I i,i CHAPTER II VOYACxE TO NOOTKA SOUND On the third day of September, 1802, we sailed from the Downs with a fair wind, in company with twenty- 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 my- self in uncommonly fine health and spirits, and went to work with alacrity at my forge, in putting in order some of the muskets, and making daggers, knives, and small hatchets for the Indian trade, while in wet and stormy weather I was occupied below in filing and polishing them. This was my employment, having but little to do with sailing the vessel, though I used occasionally to lend a hand "n assisting the seamen in taking in and making sail. As I had never before been out of sigh*; of land, I cannot describe my sensations, after I baa recovered from the distressing effects of sea-sickni js, on viewing the mighty ocean by which I was surrounded, bound only by the sky, while its waves, rising in moun- tains, seemed every moment to threaten our ruin. Manifest as is the hand of Providence in preserving its creatures from destruction, in no instance is it more so 'i\ !!t m ! ., J' I' I': I'll : I I 54 Adventures of John Jewitt i 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 interposes between us and death, a single plank forming our only security, which, should it unfortunately be loosened, would plunge us at once into the abyss, our gratitude ought strongly to be e ccited towards that superintending Deity who in so wonderful a manner sustains our lives amid the waveh.. 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 determined 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 received him with much respect, and invited him to dine with him, which he accepted. The ship remained 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. Catherine's is a very commodious place for vessels to stop at that are bound round Cape Horn, as it abound > with springs of fine watei, with excellent oranges, plantains, and bananas. Having completed our stores, we put to sea, and on the twenty-fifth of December, at length passed Cape ' Santa Catharina. Life Aboard Ship 55 Horn, which we had made no less than thirty-six days before, but were repeatedly forced back by contrary winds, experiencing very rough and tempestuous weather in doubling it. Immediately after passing Cape Horn, all our dangers and difficulties seemed to be at an end ; the weather became fine, and so little labour was necessary 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 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 peopK,' in the world. Captain Salter, who had been for many years in the East India trade, was a most excellent seaman, and pre- served the strictest order and discipline on board his ship, though he was a man of mild temper and con- ciliating manners, and disposed to allow every indulgence to his men, not inconsistent with their duty. \Vc had on board a fine band of music, with which on Saturday nights, when the weather was pleasant, we were ac- customed to be regaled, 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 ' This is now, so far as Great Ikilain is concernetl, a reminiscence of a vanished trade : the South .Sea whaling is extinct. «■ il' 56 Adventures of John Jewitt Southern Ocean. As for myself, during the day I was constantly occupied at my forge, in refitting or repairing some of the ironwork of the vessel, but principally in making tomahawks, daggers, etc., for the North-West coast. During the first part of our voyage we saw scarcely 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 palatable, 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 to- wards 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. As soon as a shoal is seen, all is bustle and activity on board the ship, the grains and the harpoons are immediately got ready,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, gambolling 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. 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. ' The zoological reader does not require to be told that the porpoise, a very general term apjilied by sailors to many small species of cetaceans, is not a "fish." Catching a Shark 57 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 sev^-fal days, with a hook which I made for the pur- pose, and although the flesh was by no means equal to that of the herring hog, yet to those destitute as we were of anything fresh, I found it eat very well. After pass- ing the Cape, when the sea had become calm, we saw great numbers 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 mentioning, as it struck mc in a most singular and extraordinary manner. This was, that on passing Cape Morn in December, which was midsummer in that 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. ^ Pore pots son of the French, of which porpoise is simply a corruption. a 01 I . i CHAPTER III INTERCOURSE WITH THE NATIVES — MAQUINA — SEIZURE OF THE VESSEL AND MURDER OF THE CREW In this manner, with a fair wind and easy weather from the 28th of December, the period of our passing Cape Horn, we pursued our voyage to the northward until the 1 2th 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 molestation 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 find a good place for anchoring her. After sounding for some time, they returned with information that they had discovered a secure place for anchorage, on the western side of an inlet or small bay, at about half a mile from the coast, * By "Nootka," Friendly Cove, or ' Yucuaht," is meant ; there is no special place of that name ; the word, indeed, is unknown to the natives. Woody Point, or Cape Cook, is in lat. 50^ 6' 31" N. 58 King Maquina 59 near a small island 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 ac 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 1 3th, 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 before 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 curiosity. I was, however, particularly struck with the looks of their king, who was a man of a dignified aspect, about six feet in height and extremely straight and well proportioned ; his features were in general good, and his face was rendered remarkable 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 eyebrows 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 curious and extraordinary appearance. He was dressed in a large mantle or cloak of the black sea-otter skin, which reached to his knees, and was fastened around his h ' 11 : I h I ! 60 Adventures of John Jewitt middle by a broad belt of the cloth of the country, wrought or painted with figures of several colours ; *his dress was by no means unbecoming, 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 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 catne to Nootka, which he was much pleased in visiting, even when he had no trade to offer, as he always received some small present, and was in general 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 treated him with a glass of rum — these people' being very fond of distilled spirits — and some biscuit and molasses, which they prefer to any kind of food that we can offer them.^ 1 The white pine {Piuus moniicola). This is employed for making blankets trimmed with sea-otter fur, but the mats used in their canoes are made of cedar bark ( Thuja gigantea). -This is still true. Many years ago, when tiiere was a threat of Indian trouble at Victoria, Sir James Douglas, famous as the first governor of British Columbia, and still more celebrated as a factor of the Hudson Bay Company, immediately allayed the rising storm by ordering a keg of treacle and a box of biscuit to be opened. Instantly the knives and muskets were tossed aside, and the irate savages fell to these homely dainties with J Taking in Wood and Watku 6i As there arc 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 tradinc^, as to procure an ample stock of wood and water for the supply of the ship on the coast, thinking it more prudent to take it on board at Nootka, from the generally friendly disposition of the people, than to endanger the safety of his men in sending them on shore for that purpose among the more ferocious natives of the north. With this \iew, we immediately set about getting our water-casks in readiness, 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 employed in refitting the rigging, repairing the sails, etc., when we proceeded to take in our wood and water as expeditiously as possible, during which time I kept - /self busily employed in repairing the muskets, making knives, tomaxes,^ etc., and doing such ironwork 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, receiving in return some trifling articles. Captain Salter was always very par- ticular, before admitting these people on board, to see that they had no arms about them, by obliging them the best of goodwill to all concerneii. "Dear me! dear me! there is nothing like a little molasses," was the sage governor's remark. At the Alberni sawmills, on the West coast, the invariable midday meal of the Indians loading lumber was coarse ship's biscuit dipped in a tin i)asin of the cheapest treacle, around which the mollified tribesmen squatted. ' Tomahawks (little hatchets) in more familiar language. a 3:1 w ! 62 Adventurks of John Jkwitt 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 magnificent ottcr-.«kin robe, having his face highly painted, and his hair tossed 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 several colours, representing men's heads, various animals, etc., and secured around them by a belt like that of the king, from which it was distin- guished 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 painted 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 under 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, whenever they came on board they were always very attentive 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 delicious treat to men I I Coming Treachery 63 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 luxuri- ously, and flattered ourselves that we should not want while on the coast for plenty of fresh provisions, little imagining the fate that awaited us, and that this dainty food was to prove the unfortunate lure to our destruction ! On the 19th the king came again on board, and was invited by the captain to dine with him. He had much conversation with Captain Salter, and informed 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. On the 20th we were nearly ready for our departure, having taken in what wood and water we were in want of. 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 pesJiak} that is, bad. Captain Salter was very much offended 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 • Pesh-s/tnak, IVikoo, or Chunk is also used in the same sense, but tlie first word is most fretjuently employed. P n ! ii; ■' 64 Advkntures of John J i:\vitt him that it could be done. As I have already observed, Maquina knew a number of English words, and unfor- tunately 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 expressed 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 discomposed. On the morning of the 22nd the natives came off to us as usual with salmon, and remained on board ; when about noon Maquina came alongside, with a consider- able number of his chiefs and men in their canoes, who, after going through the customary examination, 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 sang and capered about the deck, entertaining us with a variety of antic trick 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, amus- ing 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 there and catch some ? " The captain thought that it would be very desirable to have a good supply of these fish for Villainy 65 lariety kind As imus- him He love and lid be Ih for the voyage, and, on consulting \\ ith Mr. Dclouisa, 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 stayed and dined on board, and after dinner the chief 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 jjlace, to wash the captain's clothes. Shortly after the departure of the boats, I went down to my vice-bench in the steerage, where I was em- ployed in cleaning muskets. I had not been there more than an hour, when I heard the men hoisting in the longboat, 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 lifted from my feet ; fortunately for me, my hair being short, and the ribbon with which it was tied slipping, 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, ;vhich 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 recovering my senses, the first thing that I did was to try to get up, but so weak was I, from the loss of 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 im- possible for me to describe my feelings at this terrific 5 i y^ -^'^- ' - •-' ^'^^^'^TTT—'^Tni 66 Adventures op^ John Jewitt tr I 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 m^ nind the impression of that dread- ful moment. I expected every instant to share the wretched fate of my unfortunate companions, and when I heard the song of triumph, by which these infernal yells was succeeded, my blood ran cold in my veins. Having at length sufficiently recovered my senses to look around me, after wiping th' 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 repairing their arms ; while at the same time, to prevent any f^f his men from injuring me, he had the hatch closed. But to me this circum- stance wore a very different appearance, for I thought that these barbarians had only prolonged my life in order to deprive me of it by the most cruel torti'.res. I remained in this horrid state of suspense for a very long time, when at length the hatch was opened, 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 flowed from my wound, and so weak as with difficulty to walk. The king, on perceiv- ing my situation, ordered one of hi^ 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 '..ound, that it was closed. But what a terrific spectacle met my eyes : six naked savages, standing in a circle arouna me, My Murdered Mates 67 in and :eiv- pot ving yes, it yes: me, covered with the blood of my murdered comrades, with their daggers upHfted in their hands, prepared to strike. I now thought my last moment had come, and recom- mended my soul to my Maker. The king, who, as I have already observed, knew enough of English to make himself understood, entered the circle, and, placing himself before me, addressed me nearly in the following words : " John — I speak — you no say no ; You say no — daggers come ! " He then asked me if I would be his slave during my life — if I would fight for him in his battles, if I would repair his muskets and make daggers and knives for him — with several other questions, to all of w'lich I was careful to answer, yes. He then told me that he would spare my life, and ordered me to kiss his hands and feet to show my submission to him, which I did. In the meantime his people were very clamorous to have me put to death j^ that there should be none of us left to tell our story to our countrymen, and 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 c^bin, and, bringing up a greatcoat that belonged to the captain, threw it over my shoulders, tailing 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 trem- a (J. T 68 Adventures of John Jewitt fl i m bling as I 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 captain 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, excepting a few that were so horribly mangled that I was not able to recognise 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 themselves with ammuni- tion and arms, sent a party on shore to attack our men, who had gone thither to fish, and, being joined by num.bers 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 looking 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 in hoisting in the boat, to grapple with them, and overpower them by their numbers ; in the scuffle the captain was thrown ^ The Inilians of the North- West co.ist and the wooded region protected by the great rivers always take heads as trophies. The heads are sub- seqviently fixed on poles in front of their cedar-board lodges. The prairie Indians and the tribes east of the Rocky Mountains generally take, and always took, scalps alone, owing, perhaps, to the difficulty of carrying heads. This is no obstacle to fighting men travelling in canoes, on the bows of which they are often fastened while the warriors are returning from hostile expeditions. Icted Isub- lairie I and r'ing the Irom Friendly Cove 69 overboard, and despatched by those in the canoes, who immediately cut off his head. What I felt on this occa- sion, 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 1 had often found, from personal experi- ence, 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 advantage 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. . -isassawsmssrmvr' CHAPTER IV RECEPTION OF JEWITT BY THE SAVAGES — ESCAPE OF THOMPSON — ARRIVAL OF NEIGHBOURING TRIBES — AN INDIAN FEAST. f We were received by the inhabitants of the village, 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 torches, 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 misfortune, gently stroking and pat- ting my head in an encouraging and soothing manner, with words expressive of condolence. How sweet is compassion even from savages I Those who have been in a similar situation, can alone truly appreciate its value. ' A common mode of expressing joy. During dancing and singing this goes on continually. 70 Clamouring for mv Life 71 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 exulted 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. 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 eat much, and take a great deal of oil, which would make me strong and fat. Notwith- standing 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 otherwise, such was the pain I endured, the agitation of my mind, and the gloominess of my reflections, 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 Maquina should consent to my being killed, saying that not one of us ought to be left alive to give information to others of our countrymen, and prevent them from coming to 0'^ ' In 1863, when I made a special in([uiry, the whole number of adult males in the Mooachaht tribe (the so-called Nootkans) was one hundred and fifty. ^Hn^;~V*^-~-',Ji^.^- ^^ 72 Adventures of John Jewitt ■■ 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 passion, 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 appearance, 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 attention to his son, and, telling me that it was time to go 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 approach of one of the natives, who came to give information 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 endeavoured to persuade him to spare his life, but he bade me be silent and go to sleep. I said nothing more, but lay revolving in my mind what method 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 Thompson Alive 73 c ;o y is 5.S ic 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 I was thinking of some plan for his preservation, it all at once came into my mind that this man 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. Towards morning I fell into a dose, but was awakened 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 opinion as to saving his life or putting him to death. They were unanimously for the latter. This determination 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 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 Q 74 Adventures of John Jewitt 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 lose my services ; whereas, by spar- ing 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 conjecture was true. Thompson was there. He had escaped 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 in the night approaching the place where he was, he supposed himself discovered, and, being determined 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 supposition 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 Stripping the Ship 75 him, and presented him to Maquina, who immediately knew him to be the sail-maker, 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, stripping 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, ammunition, cloth, and all the principal articles taken from her, being deposited in the king's house. While they were thus occupied, each one taking what he liked, my companion and myself being obliged to aid them, 1 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 contained 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 resolved, should it be permitted me, to write an account of our capture, and the most remarkable occurrences 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 arrive 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 furnished me and my comrade great consolation in the midst of our mournful servitude, and enabled me, under the favour of Divine Prov'dence, to support with firmness the miseries 9 76 Adventures of John Jewitt of a life which I might otherwise have found beyond my strength to endure. As these people set no value upon things of this kind, I found no difficulty in appropriating them to 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 secured. In this I also put some small tools belonging to the ship, with several other articles, particularly a journal kept by the second mate, Mr. Ingraham, 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 Judge 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 inhabitants were thrown into great confusion, but, soon collecting a number of muskets and blunderbusses, ran to the shore, from whence they kept up so 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 Jtmo 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 would give information to others in what manner they had been received, and prevent them f/om coming to trade with him. A few days after hearing of the capture of the ship. More Savages n there arrived at Nootka a great number of canoes filled with savagi's from lo less t^.'^n twenty tribes to the north and south. Among those from the north were the Ai-tiz-zarts,i Schoo-mad-its,- Neu-wit-ties,^ Savin- nars/ Ah-owz-arts,'"' Mo-watch-its," Suth-setts/ Neu- chad-Hts,** Mich-la-its," and Cay-u-qucts,'" the most of whom were considered as tributary to Nootka. Vxo\\\ the south, the Aytch-arts '^ and Esqui-atcs,'- also tribu- tary, with the Kla-oo-quates,^'' and the Wickannish, a large and powerful tribe about two hundred miles distant. These last were better clad th.in most of the others, and their canoes w rough t with much greater skill ; ' Ayhuttisahts. -This name is unknown to nic. •'Nahwittis, or Flatlashekwill, an almost vanished tril)e, join t' north end of Vancouver Island (CJoletas Channel, Galliano Island, and we^t ward to Cape Scott). * The name of some village, not a tribe. ^ Ahousahts. •Mooachahts. The " Nootkans " proper of Friendly Cove. ^Seshahts, but they are to the south (Alberni Canal) and Barclay Sound. •^ Noochahlahts (lat. 49" 47' 20" N.). "Muchlahts, or Quaquina arm. '' Ky-yohquahts. " This is probably another spelling of the E-cha-chalils. '- Ilishquayahts (lat. 49' 27' 31" N., long. 126' 25' 27" VV. '■' Klahoquahts. This and the other tribes mentioned in the text are no longer tributary to the Mooachahts, and there is no "Wickannish" tribe. As we have already seen (p. 38), it is the name of an individual — protiably the chief of the Klahoquahts. It is a common name. The Nettinahts and the Klahoquahts are still renowned in canoe-making. They chisel them out of the great cedar {Thuja ;^i:^antca) trees in this district, for sale to other tribes. But Jewitt, who had no personal knowledge of the homes of these tribes, makes sad havoc of their names and the direction from which they came. 9 (J 111 ! . 'i 'I wmmmm m 7« Advp:ntukks of John Jkwitt they arc furnished with sails as well ;is 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 acquisition, 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, placing Thompson at the cannon, which had been brought from the ship and laid upon two long sticks of timber in front of the village ; then, taking a speaking trumpet in his hand, he ascended with me the roof of his house, and began drumming or beating upon the boards with a stick most violently. Nothing could be more ludicrous than the appearance 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 broadcloth, 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 apiece 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 perpendicularly with I ^ JCootsik, llie "cotsack" of Meares. k'ootsik-pooin is the pin by which the Indian blanket cloak is fastened. In Meares's time the j)eople dressed in kootsiks of sea-otter skin, l^iit even then they were getting so fond of blankets, that witlioul "woollens" among the barter, trade was difficult. In fifieen years they learned a better use for sea-otters worth ;^20 apiece than to make cloaks of them. Welcoming tiik Visitors 79 i the butt pressed upon the sand, instead of aj^jainst their shoulders, and in this position awaiting 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-mentioned. At the same moment the cannon was fired by Thompson, immediately on which they threw themselves back and began to roll and tumble 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 exploits, and exhibited as trophies what they had taken from us. Notwithstand- ing the unpleasantness of my situation, and the feelings that this display of our spoils excited, I could not avoid laughing 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 invited the strangers to a feast at his house, consisting of whale- blubber, smoked herring spawn, and dried fish and train- oil, of which they ate most plentifully. The feast being over, the trays out of which they ate, and other things, were immediately removed to make room for the dance, which was to close the entertainment. This v^as per- formed 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, drest in their otter-skin mantles, which they wear only on extraordinary occasions and at festivals, having their heads covered over with 10 0i ''t 'I ,1 II 80 Adventures of John Jewitt white down and their faces highly painted, came forward into the middle of the room, each furnished with a bag filled with white down, which the} 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, wrapped loosely around him, and decorated with small bells, with a cap on his head to which was fastened a curious mask in imitation of a wolfs 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 around the house, each of them seated himself, except the prince, who immediately began his dance, which principally consisted in springing up into the air in a squat posture, and constantly turning around on his heels with great swiftness in a very narrow circle. This dance, with a few intervals of rest, was continued for about two hours, during which the chiefs kept up a constant drumming with sticks of about a foot in length on a long hollow plank, which was, though a very noisy, a mosc doleful kind of music. This they accompanied with songs, the king himself acting as chorister, while the women applauded each feat of activity in the dancer, by repeating the words, IV ocas h ! Wocash Tyee ! ^ that is, Good ! very good. Prince ! ' The worcJs were renlly Wa'M-kash (a word of salutation) and Tyee. This is in most common use in Nootka Sound. The order of salutation to a man is Quaache-is, to a woman C/ii'-is, and at parting Klach-she. A married woman is Klootsnah ; a young girl Hah-quatl-is ; an unmarried woman (whether old or young) Hah-ijuatl — distinctions which Jewitt does not make in his brief vocabulary. The Indians have many words to i The King's Reception 8i As soon as the dance was finished, Maquina began 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, etc. W^henever he gave them anything, they had a peculiar manner of snatching it from Hm with a very stern and surly look, repeating each ti.ae the words, H'ocash Tyee. This I understood to be their custom, and was considered 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, besides other things. After receiving these presents, the strangers retired on board their canoes, for so numerous were they that Maquina would not suffer any but the chiefs to sleep in the houses ; and, in order to prevent the property from being pillaged by them, he ordered Thompson and myself to keep guard during 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, etc., after which they in general immediately returned home. I observed that very few, if any, of them, except the chiefs, had arnis, which, I afterwards express variclies uf the same action. 'I'luis pattPs means to wash. But pdttee is to wash all over ; tsont-soomik, to wash the hamls ; tsocuks, to wasli a pan, etc. Haotrvith^ or Hawilth, is the origin.il word for chief, thoiii^h Tyee is commonly used. 6 0: 82 Adventures of John Jewitt 1 ij r 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.^ ' This is one of the earliest — if not tlie first — account cf these periodical givings away of property so characteristic of the North- Western coast Indians, and known to the whites as " Potlatches. " An Indian accumulates blankets and other portable property simply to give away at such feasts. Then if a poor, he becomes a great man, and even a kind of minor chief — a Life Peer, as it were. Bui those who have received much are expected to return the compliment by also giving a " potlatch," to which guests come from far and near. I have described one of these in The Races of Ma/t/a'nd {ihe first edition of T/ie Peoples of the World), vol. i. pp. 75-90. ll St es s. ef ;d Its of ). CHAPTER V BURNING OF THE VESSEL — COMMENCEMENT OF JEWITT'S JOURNAL Earlv on the morning of the 19th the ship was dis- covered to be on fire. This was owing to one of the savages having gone on board with a firebrand at night for the purpose of plunder, some sparks, from which fell into the hold, and, communicating with some com- bustibles, soon enveloped the whole in flames. The natives regretted the loss of the ship the more as a great part of her cargo still remained on board. To my companion and myself it was a most melancholy sight, for with her disappeared from our eyes every trace of a civilised country ; but the disappointment we experi- enced was still more severely felt, for we had calculated on having the provision to ourselves, which would have furnished us with a stock for years, as whatever is cured with salt, together with most of our other articles of food, are never eaten by these people. 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 83 U •0 ll I 84 Adventures of John Jewitt . I a great comfort to us for some time ; and from one of the natives I obtained a Nautical Almanack 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 Maquina, hav- ing assi^mbled all the men at his house, gave a feasL, 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, apprehensive for our safety, thought it prudent to retire privately into the woods, where we continued till past midnight. 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 a state of com- plete intoxication. How easy in this situation would it have been for us to have dispatched 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, however, less strongly impressed on my mind than what appeared to be so evident an interposi- tion of Divine Providence in our fiivour. How little can man penetrate its designs, and how frequently is that ' It was about this date that Long, an Indian trader, described rum as the utiHin tiecessarium for traffic with the savages. It is still eagerly asked for, though its sale or gift is illegal. Recovered of my Wound 8 = intended as a blessing which he views as a curse. The burning of our ship, which wc had lamented so much, as depriving us of so many comforts, now appeared to us in a very different light, for, had the savages 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 in- toxication. This cask, fortunately, and a case of gin, was all the spirits they obtained from the ship. To prevent the recurrence 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 suffer- ings, 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 cop[)er or steel, and in repairing the arms, making use of a large square stone for the anvil, and heating my metal in a common wood fire. This was very gratifying to Maquina, and his women particularly, and secured mc their goodwill. 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 (juantities 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 ^ For salt', of course, to the Indians. Iff : ■HWP 86 Adventures of John Jewitt ij, have it, regardless of the morrow, seldom did the natives experience any want of food during the summer. As to myself and companion, we fared as they did, never wanting for such provision as they had, though we were obliged 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 articles of their food, which to a 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 repast. 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 employed for him, to work for myself in making bracelets and other ornaments of copper, fish-hooks, daggers, etc., either to sell to the tribes who visited us or for our own chiefs, who on these occasions, besides supplying me with as much aj: I wished to eat, and a sufficiency for Thompson, almost always made me a present of a European garment, taken from the ship, or some fathoms of cloth, which were made up by my comrade, and enabled us to go comiortably clad for some time ; or small bundles of penknives, razors, scissors, etc., 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 lierring 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 belonging to Curious Cooking Customs 87 the ship, we should not have had much cause of com- plaint in this respect ; but so tenacious arc these people of their customs, particularly in the article of food and cooking, that the king always obliged me to give what- ever provision I bought to the women to cook. And one day, finding Thompson 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, tak- ing the little we had procured, threw it into the sea. In one instance alone, as a particular favour, he allowed me to boil some salmon in my own way, when I invited him and his queen to cat 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 I picked plenty of strawberries ^ by the middle of the month. Of this fruit there arc 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 further trouble. I had never failed to wash it regularly once a day in sea water, and to dress it with a fresh leaf of tobacco, which I obtained from the natives, who had taken it from the ship, but made no use of it. This was all the dressing I gave it, except applying to it two or three times a little loaf sugar, which Macjuina gave me, in order to remove some proud flesh, which prevented it from closing. My cure would doubtless have been much sooner effected had I have been in a civilised country, where 1 ' Chiefly Fragaria chilensis. ^ 88 Advi:ntures of John Jewitt could have had it dressed by a surgeon and properly attended to. But alas ! I had no good Samaritan, 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 compassion for my misfortunes, which I indeed experienced from the women, particularly the queen, or favourite wife of Maquina, the mother of Sat- sat-sok-sis, who used frequently to point to my head, and manifest much kindness and solicitude for mc. I must do Maquina the justice to acknowledge, that he always appeared desirous of sparing me any labour which he believed might be hurtful to mc, frequently 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 dea.h. My health being at length re-established and my wound healed, Thompson became very importunate for me to begin my journal, and as I had no ink, proposed to cut his finger to supj^ly me with blood for the purpose whenever 1 should want it. On the ist 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, I at length succeeded in obtaining a very tolerable ink, by boiling the juice of the blackberry with a mixture of finely powdered charcoal, and filtering it through a cloth. This I afterwards preserved in bottles, and found it answer very well, so true is it that " necessity f I Begin my Journal 89 is the mother of invention." As for quills, I found no difficulty in procuring them whenever I wanted, from the crows and ravens with which the beach was almost always covered, attracted by the offal of whales, seals, etc., and which were so tame that I could easily kill them with stones, while a large clam-shell furnished me with an inkstand. 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 circum- stance, 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 indispens- able. This man was born in Philadelphia, 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 impressed on board an English man-of-war, and continued in the British naval service about twenty- seven years, during which he was present at the engage- ment under Lord Howe with the French fleet in June 1794, and when peace was made between luigland 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 wholly regardless of his life. Of this the following will furnish a sufficient proof: — One evening about the middle of April, as I was at the house of one of the chiefs, where I had been M W i! I'. 90 Adventures of John Jewitt I I employed on some work for him, word was broiijijht me that Maquina was goinjr to kill Thompson. I immediately hurried home, where I found the king in the act of presenting a loaded musket at Thompson, who was standing before him with his breast bared and calling on him to fire. I instantly stepped 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 persuading him to sit down. On inquiring into the cause of his anger, I learned 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 to tease him, running around him and pulling him by the trousers, 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 savages by an act which was considered as the highest indignity, and a profanation of the sacred person of majesty, may be easily conceived. The king was immediately acquainted with it, who, on coming in and seeing his son's face covered with blood, seized a musket and began to load it, determined to take instant revenge of 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's Temper 91 in a mt II a ild nt Thompson, but would repeatedly say, " ]ohn,j'on die — Thompson kill." But to appease the kinj^was not all that was necessary. 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 however 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 j^eople, saying, that for John's sake they must consent to let him live. The prince, who, after I had succeeded in calming his father, gave me an account of what had happened, told mc 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 eighteen years old, and, according to their custom, was considered as a Tycc, 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 was very clamorous for his death, but Maquina would not consent. I used frequently to remonstrate with him on the imprudence of his conduct, and beg him to govern his temper better, telling him that it was our duty, since our lives were in the power of these savages, to do nothing if*; ■J ft W ':! I ,.jV .ii; ' t IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 7 A 1.0 I.I 1.25 "lii Ilia ■ •- 1122 ■" III 20 IIIIU U III 1.6 1 1 ^» <^ /i A ^ e7y. :§ ^ # ^:^^ I ^ vl <9 / Photographic Sciences Corporation % V 23 WtSV M;. < >TRI£ET WEBSTRRi^Y MS80 (7)6) 872-4503 S I ^ i/l ^ 92 Adventures of John Jewitt )i; 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 backward in manifesting both by his looks and actions, that he declared he never would submit to their insults, 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, ignorant, despicable set of beings. As for myself, I thought very differently. After re- turning thanks to that merciful Being 'vho 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 myrelf, as far as was in my power, to their customs and mode of thinking, trusting that the same divine goodness that h, 1 rescued me from death, would not always suffer me to languish in captivity among these heathens. With this view, I sought to gain their good-will by always endeavouring to assume a cheerful countenance, appearing pleased with their sports and buffoon tricks, making little ornaments for the wives and children of their chiefs, by which means I became quite a favourite with them, and fish-hooks, daggers, etc., for themselves. As a further recommendation to their favour, and what might eventually prove of the utmost importance to us, I resolved to learn their language, which in the f^mfm. Learning the Language 93 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 iiscessary 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 some- thing given me to eat, whenever they had it, and many a good meal have I had from them, when they them- selves were short of provisions and suffering for the want of them. And it was a common practice with me, when we had nothing to eat at home, which happened not unfrequently during my stay among them, to go around the village, and on noticing a smoke from any of ihe 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 constant mild treatment, a.id an attention to please, will not mollify and obtain from some return of kind attention. This the treatment I received from these people may exemplify, for not numerous, even among those calling themselves civilised, are there instances to be found of persons depriving themselves of food to prive it to a stranger, whatever may be his merits. (3 ill 1^ !li II: ■■■■■■I 94 Adventures of John Jewitt It may perhaps be as well in this place to give a description of Nootka; some accounts 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. ,1 • CHAPTER VI if ■ DESCRIPTION OF NOOTKA SOUND— MANNER OF BUILD- ING HOUSES — FURNITURE— DRESSES The village of Nootka is situated in between 49 and 50 deg. N. lat.,^ 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 anchorage 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 a long point or headland, which extends as much as three leagues into the Sound, in nearly a westerly direction.'- This, as well as I can judge from what I have seen of it, is in general from one to two miles in breadth, and mostly a rocky and unproductive soil, with ifHi ' The exact position of the village is lat. 49" 35' 31" N. ; long. 126° 37' 32" W. 2 According to the Admiralty Sailing Directions, the Cove is about two cables in extent, and sheltered from the sea by a small rocky high-water island on its cast side. It affords anchorage in the middle fur only one vessel of moderate size, though several small vessels might tind shelter. When Vancouver visited it in 1792, no less than eight ships were in it, most of them small, and secured to the shore by hawsers. U5 i 96 Adventures ok John Jf.witt but few trees. The eastern and western 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 extent. From the village to the north and north-east extends a plain, the soil of which is very excellent, and with proper cultivation may be made to produce 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 approached 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 man)' miles around. The village is situated on the ground occupied by the Spaniards, when they kept a garrison here ; the founda- tions of the church and the governor's house are yet visible, and a few European plants arc still to be found, which continue to be self-propagated, such as onions, peas, and turnips, but the two last arc quite small, par- ticularly the turnips, which afforded us nothing but the tojjs for eating. Their former village stood on the same spot, but the Spaniards, finding it a commodious situation, demolished the houses, and forced the inhabit- ants to retire five or six miles into the country.' With ' This means farther up the Sound ; for there are villages in the interior of V^ancouver Island. The Admiralty Sailing Directions declare that not a trace of the Spanish settlement now exists. This is scarcely correct, I c r. < o c z n y. o (3 (J if* !i it J! '1: ': I li -t ■ I < i Houses of the Natives 99 great sorrow, as Maquina told me, did they find them- selves compelled to quit their ancient place of residence, but with equal joy did they repossess themselves of it when the Spanish garrison was expelled by the English. The houses, as I have observed, arc above twenty in number, built nearly in a 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 longest, 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 i.j 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 build- 13 (J for an indistinct ridge shows the site of houses, and here and there a few bricks half hidden in the ground may he detected. I have seen a cannon bail and a Mexican dollar found there. Many of the Nootka Indians have large moustaches and whiskers, which may possibly be due to their Spanish blood, and others were decidedly Chinese-looking, a fact which may be traced to the presence of Meares's Cliinese carpenters in 1778-79. Some of them can, or could, thirty years ago, by tradition, count ten in Spanish; and there is a legend in the Sound to the effect that the white men had begun to cultivate the ground, and to erect a stockade and fort ; when one day a ship came with papers for the head man, who was observed to cry, and ail the foreigners became sad. The next day they began moving their good^ to the ship. But, as Mr, Sproat suggests, this might have reference to Meares's settlement, "~ lOo Adventures of John Jewitt ing, or, if the length of the house requires it, two or more, supporting their ends by similar upright posts ; these spars are sometimes of an ahnost 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 upper 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, 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 completely 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 frc.n being blown off, carrying large stones and pieces of rock with them to secure the boards, always stripping themselves naked on these occasions, whatever may be the severity of the weather, to prevent their garments from being wet and muddied, 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 Houses of the Natives lOI so easily made close as the roof, being built with planks of about ten feet long and four or five wide, which they place between 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 to leave space enough for admitting a plank. The planks or boards which they make use of for building 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 after- wards dubbing them down with their chisels, 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 fireplace, but without any kind of wall or separation to mark their respective limits ; the chief having his apart- ment at the upper end, and the next in rank opposite on the other side. They have no other floor than the ground; the fireplace 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 houses in general, from the ground to the centre of the roof, does not exceed ten feet, that of Maquina's was not far from fourteen ; the spar forming 111 102 AnVKNTURKS OF JoilN JkWITT the ridfjc-polc r)f the latter was painted in red anil black circles alternate!)', b)' way of ornament, and the larj^e posts that suj)ported it hail their tops curiously wrought or carveil, so as to represent human heads of a monstrous size, which were painted in their manner. These were not, however, considered as objects of adoration, but merely as ornaments.' The furniture of these people is very siinple, and con- sists only of bo.xes, in which they put their clothes, furs, and such thinjjs as they hold most valuable ; tubs i'o*- keepin}.' their provisions of spawn and blubber in ; trays from which they eat ; baskets for their dried fish and other purpcses, and ba^'s made of bark mattiiij^, of which they also make their beds, spreading"; a piece of it upon the ground when they lie down, anil usinj^ no other bed coverinjT than their ^armetits. The boxes are of pine, with a top that shuts over, and instead of nails or pe^s, are fastened with flexible twigs; they are extremely smooth anil hij^h polished, ami sometimes ornamented with rows of very small white shells. The tubs are of a square form, secured in the like manner, and of various sizes, some beini; extremely large, having seen them that were si.x feet long by four broad and five deep. The trays are hollowed out with their chi.sels 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 comi)letcly soften ; ■ This is a good description of the house of M.-iquina's grandson, as I saw it fifty-eight years after Jewitt's time. •; heir this t is ten ; as I o < O £3 O 0, G I I III , , if 1- i s: ■ '. Dress of the Natives I Of, 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 moistened with water, in order to separate, with more ease, the hard and woody from the soft and fibrous parts, which, when completed, they parcel 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 their knees into hard rolls, which are after- wards connected by means of a strong thread, made for the purpose. Their dress usually consists of but a single garment, which is a loose cloak or mantle (called kutsack) 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 cioth wrought or painted with various figuies in red or black, representing men's heads, the sun and moon, fish and animals, which arc frequently executed ' Dojj's hair, A trilje on Fraser River uscil to keep flocks of these curs, which they periodically clipped like >heep. t IP % ■Pi lii I 'i 'M io6 Adventures of John Jewitt 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 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 wor~ jn 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 extraordinary occasions ; and one that is made from the skin of a certain large animal, which is brought from the south by the Wickanninish ^ and Kla-iz-zarts.2 This they prepare by dressing it in warm water, scraping off the hair and what flesh adheres to it carefully with sharp mussel-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 usually employ in decorating their persons ; these figures mostly represent human heads, canoes employed in catching whales, etc. This skin is called metamelth, and is probably got ' Probably th ' Klayoquahts (see p. 77)- " Klahosahts. Their Head-Gear 107 from an animal of the moose kind ; it is highly prized by these people, is their great war dress, and only worn when they wish to make the best possible display of themselves. Strips or bands of it, paint;jd as above, are also sometimes used by them for girdles or the border- ing of their cloaks, and also for bracelets and ankle ornaments by some of the inferior class. On their heads, when they go out upon any excursion, 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 c!cr.cr texture, and by way of tassel has a long strip of the skin of the metamelth - attached to it, covered 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, instci^d 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 whale, with the harpooner standing in ' The outside is made of cedar bark, the inside of white-hair bark. - I have mote than once discussed the identity of this animal with Indian traders. None of them recoi^nised it, nor, indeed, were .iC(iuainted with the animal by the name Jewitt applies to it. It is, liowever, not unlikely the North-Western marmot {Arctoiiiys pmiitostis), specimens of which are now and then — though, it must be admitted, rarely — seen in Vancouver Island ; but it is more common farther south. The Albcrni Indians (Seshahts and Opechesahts) used to talk of a beast c.illed Sit-si- tehl, which we took to be the marmot, and Mr. Sproat saw one ; I was not so fortunate. i:! ' 1 08 Adventures of John Jewitt 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, mussels, clams, and berries of various kinds ; all of which are eaten with a profusion of train-oil for sauce, not except- ing 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 steaming, and even the latter is not very frequently practised 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 number of heated stones are then put "n to make it boil, when the salmon or other fish are put in without any other preparation than sometimes cutting off the heads, tails, and fins, the boiling in the meantime 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 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 a 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 Cookery and Meals 109 fish, clams, etc., 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 mussels done in this manner are really excellent.^ These, as I have said, may be considered as their only kinds of cookery ; though I 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 number being spitted upon one stick ; and this kind of food, with a little salt, would be found no contemptible eating even to an European. At their meals they seat themselves upon the ground, with their feet curled up under them, around 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 othei. The king and chiefs alone have separate trays, from which no one is per- mitted to eat with them except the queen, or principal wife of the chief; and whenever the king or one of the |9 * In the opinion of the judicious Jewitt, every one who has eaten food — especially salmon and shell-fish — cooked after this fashion will coincide. Experto crede. no Adventures of John Jewitt 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 pro- visions, 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 ent t the house, and point out to them their respective seats, which is regulated with great punctiliousness as regards rank ; the king occupying 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 belonging to the same family being always placed together, 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 ' Or to one or more of the neighbouiing tribes, such feasts being known as Wwivkoahs, Rkmains from the Feast 1 1 1 to in it )n, ed very singular to my companion and myself, and it was a most awkward thing for us, at first, to have to lug home with us, in our hands or arms, the blubber of fish that we received at these times, but we soon became reconciled to it, and were very glad of an opportunity to do it. NOOTKA SOUND INDIANS. :a ,M Iwn wipwa II f 'I f ! \i CHAPTER VII APrEARANCE 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, robust 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 ^ Yet they are by no means weak in the legs, a coast Indian being capable of long travel in the bush without tiring. The Hydahs of Queen Charlotte Island, and the Tlinkets and Kaloshes of the neighbouring mainland, are splendid specimens of men, tall, comparatively fair, large- headed, regularly-featured, and endowed with courage and intelligence, though their morals leave much to be desired. All the canoe Indians are very strong-handed, owing to the constant use of the paddle. In a scuffle .vith one of them, it does not do to let him get a grip ; better prevent him from coming to close quarters, for in this case the white man has little chance. The Klahoquahts are the finest-looking of the Vancouver west coast tribes. 118 Appearance of the Natives 113 'Wing, lOUgh well in the ithin their ice of being I Queen |)Ouring large- hgence, Indians In a better Ite man Icouver deformity that I saw amongst them was 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 complexioii, when freed from the paint and oil with which their skins are generally covered, is a brown, somewhat inclining to a copper cast. The shape of the face is oval ; the features arc tolerably regular, the lips being thin and the teeth very white and even ; their eyes arc black but rather small, and the nose pretty well formed, being neither flat nor very prominent ; their hair is black, long, and coarse, but they have no beard, completely 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. Maquina's favourite wife in particular, who was a Wickinninish princess, would be considered as a beautiful woman in ' I have rarely seen a corpulent Indian, and not one idiot, or a cripple so deformed that he was incapable of earning his livelihood. It is seldom that they are deformed from birth, and when they are, they generally disappear, so as not to be a burden on the tribe. As a facetious old savage remarked to me, when discussing that curious immunity from helplessness in his tribe, "The climate doesn't agree with them." The brother of Quisto, chief of the Pachenahts in 1865 (San Juan Harbour), was much c'eformed in the legs, but he was an excellenc canoeman. s {% ^^ ill I' 114 Adventures of John Jewitt any country. She was uncommonly well formed, tall, and of a majestic appearance ; her skin remarkably fair for one of these people, with considerable colour, her features handsome, and her eyes black, soft, and lan- guishing ; 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 arc extremely modest ii their deportment and dress ; their mantle, or kutsack, which is longer than that of the men, reaching 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 ornaments consist chiefly of ear-rings, necklaces, bracelets, rings for the fingers and ankles, and small nose-jewels (the latter are, however, wholly confined to the wives of the king or chiefs) ; these are principally made out of copper or brass, highly polished and of various forms and sizes ; the nose-jewel is usually a small white shell ^ or bead suspended to a thread. ' Commonly the flattish nacreous portion of the Abelone, or Ear-shell {Haliotis Kamschatkiana), known as Apats-ern, which is pawned or sold ;t rings (the ves of out of forms shelP TiiEiR Ornaments 1 1 The wives of the common people frequently wear for bracelets and ankle 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 Ifcur axes, of which there was a number saved, fell a ' A species of cedar ( Thuja) is the v/ood used. Ill I I CO r I if !•» ! I'^-'iii^ 186 ff m^msmmm r! ■r 'I' Canoe Building 127 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 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 bottoms of their canoes is practised as often as they acquire 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 substance ; the prows and sterns are almost always ornamented with figures of ducks or some other kind of bird, the former being so fashioned as to represent the head, and the latter the tail ; these are separate pieces from the canoe, and are fastened to it with small flexible twigs or bark cord. Some of these canoes, particularly those employed in whaling, which will hold about ten men, are o»-namented within about two inches below the gunwale 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 ornament of this kind, but are painted on the outside with figures in white chalk, representing eagles, whales, human heads, etc. They are very dexterous in the use of their paddles, which are very neatly wrought, and are five feet long, with a short l fff' smi t:;l I it mmmmmm 128 Adventurks of John Jewitt handle and a blade seven inches broad in the middle tapenng to a sharp point. With these they will make a canoe skim very swiftly on the water, with scarcely any no.se while they keep time to the stroke of the paddle with their songs. ;l;f CHAPTKR VIII MUSIC — MUSICAL INSTKUMKNTS — SLAVHS — NKICII- BOUKINC TKIIIKS— TKADK WHII TIIKSK — ARMY TllEV have a number wliich they sinfr on various occa- sions — as war/ whahnf; and fishiiit;, at their marria<;es and feasts, and at pubh'c 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 them- selves in poetry, or that they borrow their songs from their neighbours; and what the more particularly induces me to the latter opinion is, that whenever any of the Newchemass, a people from the northward, and who speak a very different language, arrived, they used to tell me that they expected a new song, and were almost always sure to have one. Their tunes are generally soft and plaintive, and though not possessing great variclx', are not deficient in harmony. Their singing is generally accompanied with several rude kinds of instrumental music, among the most prominent of which is a kind of a drum. This is ' A specimen of one of their war-songs will be found at the end of this work. 9 niill h 11 I' ,U:. '• ■ • I 1" ' , '.y ^ li t'l 130 Advkntukks (ji- J<>nN Jkwitt nothijijT more than a lon^ plank hollowed out on the under side and made ([uitc thin, which is beat upon by a stick of about a foot lonj^, and renders a sound not unlike beatin^^ on the he.id of an empty cask, but much louder. liut the two inosi favourite instruments arc the rattle and the pipe or wl.istle ; these are, however, only used by the king, the chiefs, or some particular persons. The former is made of dried sealskin, so as to represent a fish, and is filled with a number of small smooth pebbles ; it ha.s a short handle, and is painted red. The whistle is made of bone, generally the leg of a deer ; it is short, but emits a very 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 mussel or cockle shells tied together and shaken to a kind of tune, which is accompanied with the voice. Their slaves, as I 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 co ipelled, however, at times to labour severely, as not only all the menial offices are performed 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 repairing the houses, to supply their masters with fish, and to attend them in war and to fight for them. Til I.Ik Slavk.s •3» re d 1, None but the kiiij^ atul chiefs have slaves, the common people being prevented from holding; them, either from their inability to purchase them, or, as I am rather in- clined to think, from its being consitlered as the privilege of the former alone to have them,' especially as all those made prisoners in war belong either to the king or the chiefs who have captured them, each one holding such as have been taken by himself or his slaves. There is probably, 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 :hose (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, collecting berries, etc., and with regard to food and living in general have not a much harder lot than their mistresses, the principal differ- ence consisting in these poor unfortunate creatures being considered 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 generally untrue, as perhaps in no part of the world is that virtue more prized.^ The houses at Nootka, as already stated, are about ^ This was not the case. Any free-born native, provided he had the means, could own a slave. - This is Inrs^ely a tale of the jvist. ■p m ■ ill! € t'l II M 132 Adventures of John Jkwitt twenty, without comprisinjj those inhabited by the Klahars, a small tribe that has been conquered and incorporated into that of Nootka, though 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 dis- tance 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 arc considered as tributary to them. In giving some account of the tribes that were accus- tomed to visit Nootka, I shall commence at the south- ward Willi the Kla-iz-/.arts, and the Wickinninish, premising that in point of personal appearance there prevails a wonderful diversity between the various tribes on the coast, with the exception of the feet and legs, which are badly shaped in almost all of them from tiieir practice of sitting on them. The Kla-iz-zarts are a numerous and powerful tribe, living nearly three hundred miles to the south, and are said to consist of more than a thousand warriors.- They appear to be more civili;H?d than any of the others, being better and more neath dressed, more mild and affable in their manners, remarkable for their sprightliness and vivacity, and celebrated for their singing and dancing. * It is questionable if there arc now as many people in the whole tribe. Cook estimated the population of P'riendly Cove at two thousand. * This is wrong. The Kla-iz-zarts (Klahosahts) live wo/V// of Nootka Sound. a i 1 The Klaiiosahts 133 They exhibit also greater marks of improvement in whatever is vvrought by them ; their canoes, though not superior to those of Nootka in point of form and hght- ness, are more highly ornamentec). and their weapons and tools of every kind have .1 much higher finish and display more skill in the workmanship. Their cast of countenance is very different from that of the Noot- kians, their faces being very broad, with a less pro- minent 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 arc well formed and strongly set. They have a cistorn which appears to be peculiar to them, as I never observed it in awy 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 remaining. 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. 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 is 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 tiger cat. II ii^.smiuimmim-'^i^i.i h 1 1 \ f 1 1 II f! t 134 Anvr^NTUREs of John Jkwitt The Wickinninish/ their neighbours on the north, are about two hundred miles from Nootka. They are a robust, strong, and warlike people, but considered by the Nootkians as their inferiors in courage. This tribe is more numerous ;han that of Nootka, amounting to between six and seven hundred warriors. Though not so civilised 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 complexion and a much less open and pleasing expression of countenance, while their heads present a very different form, being pressed in at the sides and lengthened towards the top somewhat in the shape of a sugar loaf. These people are very frequent visitors at Nootka, a close friendship subsisting between the two nations, Maquina's Arconiah or queen, Y-ya-tintlii-?io, being the daughter of the Wickinninish king. The Kla-oo-quates - adjoining them on the north are much less numerous, their force not cxceediiig four hundred fighting men ; they are also behind them ir 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 ' In Meares's time (178S) Wickinninish v .s regaided as the most power- ful chief, next to Maquina or Maquilla, as he calls him. His residence was usually at "Port Cox" (Clayoquat Sound), but his territory ex- tended as far south as Nettinaht, his subjects comprising thirteen thousand people. Meares does not fall into Jewitt's blunder of confounding the name of the chief with that of his tribe. But Meares derived his informa- tion first hand, while Jewilt obtained it merely from hearsay, never havini^r visited any other part except the iinme^ i Be^iM^^^^^^K 1 |H ^S ^^ft lteL^^*'^'SHR 1 B^^^^flK, ^ 9 Iw 31 ^H^Bto^'^^^KZC'' 1 U'^'^'.^^j H Kii^^Bfi^KB QH lIKI.r: ..-.MIT INDIAN. To the north the nearest tribe of any importance is the '^iti/zarts;- tiiese, however, do not exce(,'d three ' IIish(iiialu.s. If tiu'y li.ive twenty men, tlial i.s .ill. Thirty years a^o ihey liaf! ^nly thiily .nduli males. - A^ i '• . .saiits. Thirty years aijo they had thirty-si\ men tit to lit,'ht. ' 4: K I: if "nam 136 Adventures of John Jewitt |[ '1 (=1. f( n II I hundred warriors. In anpcarance they greatly resemble the people of Nootka, to whom they are considered as tributary, their manners, dress, and style of living also being very similar. They reside 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 deficient in courage and martial spirit, Maquina having frequently told me thac their hearts < rr a little like those of birds. There are also both at the north and south many other intervening tribes, but in general small in number and insignificant, all of whom, as well as the above- mentioned, speak the same language. But the Newche- mass, who come from a great way to the northward, and from some distance inland, as I 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 kotsuk made of wolf-skin, with a number of the tails attached to it, of which I have seen no less than ten on one garment, hanging from the top to the bottom ; ii I;;, * Ky-yoh-quahts. In i860 they numbered two hundred and thirty adult men. - Namely, the Kwakiool spoki .1 on the east and north coasts of Vancouver Island from Comox northwards, III 1 : Trade of the Tribes 137 though they sometimes wear a similar mantle of bark cloth, of a much coarser texture than that of Nootka, the original of which appears to be the same, though from their very great filthiness it was almost impossible to discover what it had been. Their mode of dressing the hair also varies essentially from that of the other tribes, for they suffer 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, ornamented with small white shells. Their weapons are the chcciolth, or war-club, which is made from whalebone, 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 merchandise consisting principally of the black shining mineral called pdpdth, 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 Nootka was principally train-oil, seal or whale's blubber, fish fresh or dried, herring or salmon spawn, clams and mussels, and the yav.a^- a species of fruit which is pressed and dried, cloth, sea-otter skins, and slaves. ' These implements have fallen out of use. -The salal {Ganlthcria S/iallofi), which forms a carpet to the ground, especially where the soil is poor. Hf iiMlj I 'i I, A J r:le objection. She ur^^ed me repeatedly to return .(.h her, telling me that the Wickinm'nish were much better than the Nootkians ; that her father would treat me more kindly than Maquina, <^ive me better food and clothes, and finally put me on board one of my own country vessels. I felt, however, little dis- posed to accompany her, considerini:^ my situation with Maquina full as eligible as it would be with Wickin- ninish, if not better, notwithstanding all she said to the contrary. On the 3rd of September the whole tribe quitted Nootka, according to their constant practice, in order to pass the autumn and winter at Tashees ' and Cooptce, the latter lying about thirty miles up the Sound, in a deep bay, the navigation of which is very dangerous, ^ " Tashis Canal" of se.imen — the T.isliis River Hows in at its heaii, Coptee is at the moutli, Tashis farther up the stream. 10 'J l;l i l:« f 146 A.DVENTURES OF JoiIN JeWITT from the f^rcat number of reefs and rocks with which it abounds. On these occasions everything is taken with them, even the planks of their houses in order to cover their ne^v dwelHnf^s. To an European such a removal exhibits a scene (juite 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 songs. At these times, as well as when they have occasion to go some distance from their hf)uses, the infants 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 means of a leather band inserted through loops on its edges ; this they also keep them in when at home, in order to |)reserve them in a straight position, and prevent any distortion of the limbs, most probably a principal caiise of these people being so seldom deformed or crooked. The longboat of our ship having been repaired and furnished with a sail by Thompson, Macjuina gave us the direction of it, we being better acquainted with managing it than his people, and, after loading her as deep as she could swim, we proceeded 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 proceeded about fifteen miles up this stream to Tashees, Sojourn at Tasiiees 147 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. Immediately on our arrival, we all went to work very diligently in covering the houses with the planks we had brought, the frames being ready erected, these people never pretending to remove the timber. In a very short time the work was com.plcted, and we were established in our new residence. Tashees is pleasantly situated, and in a most secure position from the winter storms, in a small vale or hollow on the south shore, at the foot of a mountain. The spot on which it stands is level, and the soil very fine, the country in its vicinity abounding with the most romantic views, charmingly diversified, and fine streams of water falling in beautiful cascades from the mounlains. 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 c nsequence 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 piovisions, which consists principally of salmon, and the spawn of that fish ; to which may be added herrings and sprats, and herring spawn. The latter, however, is always procured by them at Nootka, previous to their quitting it. At the seasons of spawning, which '■}¥ m If ! B ■Hi } I'l'll ^f fi ' r ; ^ i f 148 Adventures of John Jewitt are early in spring and the last of Auf^ust, they collect a great quantity of pine branches, which they place in different parts of the Cove at the depth of about ten feet, and secure them by means of heavy stones. On these the herring deposit their spawn in immense quantities ; the bushes are then taken up, the spawn stripped from the branches, and, after 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 [)laccd about eight inches apart. At the end it tapers almost to a poitit, near wl'iich 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 deef), and the fish, driven from above with long poles, are intercepted 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 ' Salmon used to lie bouj^ht at Albcrni at the late of a cent apiece. There have been times when the garden at Eort Kiiiiert was inanureil with fresli salmon, » ;« ang foot .light :imes IplL'CC. wiih < L> O Isi o 'A O RMj J: i: i< 119 f: ■■' ( BSKH-^BHHliiPmi PI i!}i h A Fish Dinner I5» known a few of the striped bass taken in this manner, but rarely. At such times there i? '^reat feastincr and merriment 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 the^e, instead of curing whole, they cut up into small pieces for that purpose, and ex- pose to the sun. The spawn of the salmon, which is a principal article 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 person, is to invite him to eat Quaka^niss, the name they give this food, though scarcely anything 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 nses. When boiled it 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 1 have known upwards of twenty-five hundred brought into Maquina's nlMj "I % \->. it J: 1; • m "' I, II i V mssm mfmsmmmam 152 Advhnturks of John Jkwitt 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 frecjuently to go out with Matjuina upon these fishing parties, and was ahvays sure to receive a hand- some present of salmon, which I had the privilege of calling mine ; I also went with him several times in a canoe, to strike the salmon, which I have attempted to do myself, but could never succeed, 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 shooting wild ducks and teal, which are very numerous here, though rather shy. These they cooked in their usual manner, by boiling, without any farther dressing than skinning them. In many respects, however, our situation was less pleasant here than at Nootka. We were more incom- moded for room, the houses not being so spacious, nor so well arranged, and as it was colder, we were com- pelled to be much more within doors. We, however, did not neglect on Sr.ndays, 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 Jifter (jur arrival at this place, that 1 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 A Royal Robk 153 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 cheetolth, in which I succeeded so far to his satisfaction, that he gave me a present of cloth sufficient to make me a 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 kotsnk or mantle, a fathom square, made entire!)' 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 otterskin, with which the arm-holes were also bordered ; while the bottom was further 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 exclaimed, in a transport of exultation, '' Klciv slush Kotsuk — ivick kuin '.n hi nil i/i/[^t/iia, Nortli-Wfst Anierini, Ari^onatit, and Princess Koyal, then trading under the I'ortuguese flag, and acted in so arbitrary a manner to the officers and crew, that it was easy to believe he was not over scrupu- lous in his dealings with the Indians. It was during his stay in Nootka Sound that Callicum, a relation of .Maf[uina's, and next to liiin in rank, was barbarously murdered by an officer on board one of the S|i:uiish sliips, and his father refused permission to dive for the body until he had handed over a nund)er of skins to the white savage. ' Captain James Ilanna was the second European to enter Nootka Sound after Captain Cook had left it. The Sea Otter, a vessel uniler 70 tons, was fitted out in China, and reached Nootka in Aufjust 17S5 ; when Maquina, presuming upon the inferior size of the craft and the small number of the crew, made a desperate attack upon her. This was re- pulsed by the courage of the ship's company, after which luisiness proceeded on such friendly terms that he jjrocured five huiidreil antl eiglity-five sea- otter skins in five weeks, which were sold in Canton for 20,600 dollars. It was Ilanna who discovereil Fitzhugh .Sound, Lance Island, Sea Otter Harbour, and other now well-known spots on the Nonh-West coast of America. The incident related by Macpiina is not to be found in the records of the expedition which have descended to us. lie made another voyage in 1786, solely for commercial purpv)ses. 'k ^1; ff •!» \ ; 158 Advkntures of John Jkvvitt our ship, which Miuiuina fiiuh'ni; not ^auirdcd with the usual vij^ilancc of the North-West traders, and feelinj^ his desire of revcnt^e rekindled by the insult offeretl him by Captain Salter, formed a plan for attacking, and on his return called a council of his chiefs, and communi- cated it to thein, ac(iuaintinL,^ them with the manner in which he had been treated. No less desirous of aven[X- ing this affront offered their kintj than their former injuries, they readily ai^reed to his jjroposal, which was to t;o on board without arms as usual, but under different pretexts, in j^reat numbers, and wait for his sii^nal for the moment of attacking tiieir unsuspectinsj^ victims. The execution of this scheme, as the reader knows, was unhappily too successful. And here I cannot but induli^e a reflection that has frequently occurred to me on the manner in which our people behave towards the natives, l^'or, thouj^h they are a thievish race, >-et I have no doubt that many of the melancholy disasters ha\e princip.illy arisen froin the iminudent conduct of some of the captains and crews of the ships employed in this trade, in exasperat- in[^ them by insullini,'-, phmderint^, and even killing them on sliLjht t^rounds. This, as nothinijj is more sacred with a savage than the principle of revenge, and no people are so impatient under insult, intluces them to wreak their vengeance upon the first vessel or boat's crew that offers, making the iimocent 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 iirin- cipally be ascribed the sanguinary disposition with li'^l CAI.LICL'M AM) MAijI'II.I.A, lllliJ'.S Or NOmKA SOUND. l.'.'.i 3 "It; i ■ "i.f . I 1 ;■ ■^ a m •1 ' ' 1- ;ir \l i H ^ '1' h I' II : ii ! V 1 : ! |i' : .1 ■f ,! >! How TO Di:al with Savages i6i which these people are reproached, as Maquina re- peatedly 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 <-hey would find their account in it ; not that I should recommend to them a confidence in the good faith and friendly professions of these people, so as in any degree to remit their vigilance, hut, on the contrary, to be strictly on their guard, and suffer but a very few of them to come on board the shij:), and admit not many of their canoes alongside at a time ; a precaution that would have been the means of prevent- ing some of the unfortunate events that have occurred, and if attended to, may in future preserve many a valuable life. Such ^ regulation, too, 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 Tashces, I must not omit mentioning a fruit tliat is very important, as forming a great article of their food. This is what is called by them the Ynma^ a species of berry that grows in bunches like curiants, upon a bush from two :o three feet high, with a large, round, and smooth leaf. This berry is black, and about the size of a pistol shot, but of rather an oblong .shape, ai'd open at the top like the b.ue whortleberry. The taste is sweet, but a little acrid, and when first gathered, if eaten in any great ' GanUIuria Sliallon (sec p. 137). I I ?! it I ; i, i'.: I:' ' ' I 162 Adventures of John Jevvitt quantity, especially without oil, is apt to produce colics. 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 collect great quantities. I have known Maquina's queen and her women return loaded, bringing with them upwards of twelve bushels. In order to preserve 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, etc., there are great quantities 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. Msh is, however, their great article of food, as almost all the others, excepting the yama, may be considered as accidental. They nevertheless are far from dis- relishing 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 tl • 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, etc., the fish, though at ever so great a distance off, would come to the know- ledge of it, and be so much offended thereat as not to allow themselves to be taken by any of the inhabit- ants. This I had an opportunity of observing while clis- flesh. ingular bligcd latever stitious bear's :)Ugh at : know- .is not inhabit- vvhilc •;^ 11 Dressing the Beak 163 at Tashees, a bear having been killed early in December, of 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 myself not tasting it, on being told by Maquina the consequences. As there is something quite curious in their manage- ment of this animal, when they have killed one, I shall give a description of it. After well cleansing 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 posture, 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 occasion of great rejoicing throughout the village, all the in- habitants being invited to a great feast at the king's house, though but few of them, in consequence of the penalty, will venture to eat of the flesh, but generally content themselves with their favourite dish of herrintj; spawn and water. The feast on this occasion was closed by a dance from Sat-sat-sok-sis, in the manner I have already described, in the course of which he repeatedly shifted his mask for another of a different form. * These observances are well worth noting in connection with the others which attach to the bear among nearly all savage races. ! ■ j 'I % ■'\\ > i 1 fl u i In 1 1 i- ' i ii*. f 1 ' ,1 164 Adventures of John Jewitt A few days after, a second bear was taken, like the former, by means of a trap. This I had the curiosity 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 mountains 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 endeavouring 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 escaj^e.^ 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 contrary, it is hardly possible for fish to be in too putrid a state for them, and I have frequently hnown them, when a whale has been driven ashore, bring pieces of it home with them in a state of offensiveness insupportable to anything but a ' These traps are still in common use. ^ A Religious Ceremony 165 crow, and devour it with high relish, considering it as preferable to that which is fresh. On the morning of the 13th of December, commenced what to us appeared a most singular farce. Apparently without any previous notice, Maquina discharged a pistol close to his son's ear, who immediately 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 heads, and exclaiming that the prince wa dead. At the same time a great number of the inhabitants rushed into the house, armed w ith their daggers, muskets, etc., inquiring the cause of their outcry. These were immediately 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 ujjon their backs, retiring 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, ordered us to quit the house, and not return to the village before the expiration of seven da)-s, 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 we were with sufficient provision lor that term, it was not very unpleasant to us, more par- ticularly Thompson, who was always desirous to keep as much as possible out of the society and sight of the natives, whom he detested. Taking with us our pro- visions, a bundle of clothes, and our axes, we obeyed the directions of Maquina, and withdrew into the woods, .;' ' :3 m II tf '! % « ^ ' • i If h li i 1 66 Adventures of John Jewitt where we built ourselves a cabin to shelter us, with the branches of trees, and, keeping up a good fire, secured ourselves pretty well from the cold. Here we passed the prescribed period of our exile, with more content than much of the time while with them, employing the day in reading and praying for our release, or in rambling around and exploring the country, 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 Ai-tiz-zart with their king or chief at Tashees, who had been invited by Maquina to attend the close of this performance, which I now learned was a celebration, held by them annually, in honour of their god, whom they call Qtialiootac} to return him their thanks for his past, and imj^lorc his future favours. It terminated on the 21st, the day after our return, with a most extraordinary exhibition. Three men, each of whom had two bayonets run through his sides, between the ribs, apparently regardless of the pain, traversed 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 country a day of the greatest festivity, when our fellow-countrymen, assembled in their churches, were celebrating the good- ness of God and the praises of the Saviour. What a "^ Qtiawfeaht, the supreme being of all the tribes speaking the "Aht" language. Christmas Day 167 reverse did our situation offer ! — captives in a savage land, and slaves to a set of ignorant beings, unacquainted with religion or humanity, hardly were we permitted to offer up our devotions by ourselves in the woods, while we felt even f'^ratcful 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 Klctsup} which we cooked by steaming, and found it very palatable. This root consists of many fibres, of about six inches long, and of the size of a crow quill. It is sweet, of an agreeable taste, not unlike the Qi^a^vfioosc, and it is eaten with oil. The plant that produces it I have never seen. On the 31st all the tribe quitted Tashces for Cooptee, whither they go to pass the remainder of the winter, and complete their fishing, taking off everything 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 covering the houses, which was soon completed. 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 narrcjw valley at the This seems the bracken fern root, which is oaten, applied to it is Sheetla. Uut the name usually 1 1, ! ' i i 1 % II '^:i' ""^f nmj I l l pTniil ii i ii l TTiTTTTI \ 168 Adventures of John Jewitt I 1 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 impatient 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 Day; a day that, like Christ- mas, brought with it painful recollections, but 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 Ai-tiz-zarts, who had invited him to attend an exhibition at his village, similar to the one with which he had been entertained 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 Cooptce, just within its entrance, in a valley of much greater extent than that of Tashees ; it consists of fourteen or fifteen houses, built and disposed in the manner of those at Nootka. The tribe, which is con- sidered 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 JJWas/i, IV ocas J I ! We were welcomed by the chiefs messenger, or master I A Visit of Statk 169 of ceremonies, dressed in his best garments, with his hair powdered with white down, and holding in his hand the cheetolth, the badge of his office. This man preceded us to the chiefs house, where he introduced and pointed out to us our respective scats. On entering, the visitors took off their hats, which they always wear on similar occasions, 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 acquainted with their language, I preserved the strictest 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 to them. On hearing me address them in their own language, they were greatly astonished and delighted, and told Maquina that they now perceived that I was a man like themselves, exce[)t that I was white, and looked like a seal, alluding to my blue jacket and trousers, which they wanted to persuade me to take off, as they did not like their appearance. Maquina in the meantime gave an account to the chief of the scheme he had formed for surprising 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 t i \ I .. ■ I i r iU f^m i I § !'■' I k I 11 ;: i ^ II 170 Adventures of John Jewitt herring spawn and train-oil were soon after brought in and placed before us, neither the chief or any of his people eating at the same time, it being 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 different 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 chiefs 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 advanced, singing and boasting, was forcibly drawn back by a person having hold of it. After this performance 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 whalebone, 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 Herring Fishing 171 the water in great quantities, he strikes it with both hands upon them, and at the s ime mofpont, turnin- it up, brings it over the ide 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 dexterous at this kind of fishing, as they seldom fail, when the shoals arc numerous, of taking as many as ten 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. ii ' :', arsgn wemm iW— ■■llllllllllMlllWIllllllilliXaiUlUlll I I'' lill M •! 'i II Hi; CHAPTER XI RETURN TO NOOTKA (FRIENDLY COVE) — DEATH OF maquina's nephew— insanity of TOOTOOSCH — AN INDIAN MOUNTEI5ANK Ar>0UT the beginning of February, IMaquina gave a great feast, at which were present not only all the inhabitants, but one hundred persons from Ai-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 provision is expended, or rather wasted, on such an occasion, when they always eat to the greatest excess. It was at this feast that I saw upwards of an hundred salmon cooked in one tub. The whole residence at Cooptee presents an almost uninterrupted succession of feasting and gormand- ising, and it would seem as if the principal object of these people was to consume their whole stock of provision before leaving it, trusting entirely to their success in fishing and whaling, for a supply at Nootka. 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, not- 172 Dkath of a Ciiiei"'s Son ^71 withstanding the melanciioly recollections which it excited, we hoped before loiii^ to see some vessel arri\c to our relief, and for this we became the more solicitous, as of late we had become much more ai)prehensive of our safety, in consecjuencc of information brought Maquina a few days before we left Cooptee, by some of the Cayuciuets, that there were twenty ships at the n(jrthward, preparing to come against him, with an intent of destroying him and his whole tribe, for cutting off the Jioston. This story, which was wholly without foundation, and discovered afterwards to have been invented by these people, for the {)urpose of disquieting him, threw hiin into great alarm, and, notwithstanding all 1 coukl 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 satne nation, th.at he treated us with much harshness, and kept a very suspicious eye upon us. Nothing, indeed, could be more unpleasant than our present situation, when I reflected that our lives were altogether 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 Mat[uina's sister, a boy of eleven j-CcU's 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, wliich, awakening Thompson and mj'self, so disturbed us that we left the house. This lamentation was kept up during the i :■ i: 1 f ''■ ! ( -1 1 174 Adventures of John Jewitt / I remainder of the night. In the morning, 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 Ife-whaw, four prime sea-otter skins, and two small trunks, containing our unfortunate captain's clothes and watch. This boy was considered as a 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 pro[)erty is burned or buried with him ; it is, however, wholly confined to the chiefs, and appears to be a mark of honour appropriate to them.^ In this instance, Maquina furnished the articles, in order that his ne[)hew might have the pro[)er honours rendered him. Tootoosch, his father, was esteemed the first warrior of the tribe, and was one who had been particularly active in the destruction of our ship, having killed two of ' When an Indian dies, all of his property which has not been given away, is either buried with him, or, in extreme cases, burned, not for the purpose of accompanying him to the Spirit Land, but, so the people have told me, to prevent any temptation to indulge in the bad luck of meution- ing his name. The only things that are exempted from this practice are the dead man's best canoes, his house-planks, and fishing and hunting ini])lemcnts, which, with any slaves he may possess, go to his eldest son. I have known the deceased's house and all its contents to be burned ; but when tliis is not tlie case, then the materials are removed elsewhere, and another building is erected. Around his grave — a box raised from the grouiul on pillars, often quaintly carved, or a canoe, or a box fixed up a tree — are placed various articles belonging to him (or her). At one time they buried his money wiih him. But for obvious reasons this custom has lallcn into abeyance. An Insane Chief 175 our poor comrades, who were ashore, whose names were Hall aiul Wood. About the time of our removal to Tashees, while in the enjoyment of the hit^hest health, he was suddenly seized with a fit of delirium, in which he fancied that he saw the ghosts of those two men constantly standing by him, and threatening him, so that he would take no food, e>'cept what was forced into his mouth. A short time before this he had lost a daughter of about fifteen }-ears of age, which afflicted him greatly, and whether his insanity, a disorder very uncommon amongst these savages, no instance of the kind having occurred within the memory ol 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 purposes, 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 jjeriod until his death, which took place but a tew weeks after that of his son, was incessantly occupied with the images of the men whom he had killed. This circumstance made much impression upon the tribe, particularly the chiefs, whose uniform opposition to putting us to death, at the various councils that were held on our account, I couUl not but in ^)art attribute to this cause; and Maquina used frcquentl}', in speaking of Tootoosch's sickness, to express much satisfaction that his hands had not been stained with the blood of any of our men. Mi I m < ^ 1^ i I 176 Adventures of John Jewitt H: li . When Maquina was first informed by his sister of the strange conduct of her husband, he immediately went to his house, taking us with him ; suspecting 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 raving about Hall and Wood, saying that they were pcsJiak^ that is, bad. Maquina then placed some provision before him, to see if he would cat. On perceiving it, he put forth his hand to take some, but instantly withdrew it with signs of horror, saying that Hall and Wood were there, and would not let him eat. Maquina then, pomting to us, asked if it was not John and Thompson who troubled him. "f'F//-,"^ he replied, — that is, no; ''John klushisJi — ThoDipson klushish" — John and Thompson are both good ; then, turning to me, and patting me on the shoulder, he made signs to me to eat. I tried to persuade him that Hall and Wood were not there, and that none were near him but ourselves ; he said, " I know very well you do not see them, but I do." At first Maquina endeavoured to convince him that he saw nothing, and to laugh him out of his belief, but, finding that all was to no purpose, he at length became serious, and asked me if I had ever seen anyone affected in this manner, and what was the matter with him. I gave him to understand, pointi'ig to his head, that his brain was injured, and tha. he did not see things as formerly. Being convinced by Tootoosch's conduct that we had ' Wi/c actually means " Not I." Good is Klooceiihalli or Klootakloosch. near onot h.-id ''.loOHh, Treating the Madman 177 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 persons 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 hin? to his, in order to undergo the operation. Thompson was the person selected to administer this •■'"•Tiedy, which he undertook very readily, a'.d for t. ,." ..urpose provided himself with a good num.ber of spruce branches, with which he whipped him most severely, laying it on with the best will imaginable, while Tootoosch displa}'ed the greatest rage, kicking, spitting, and attempting to bite all who came near him. This was too much for Maquina, who at length, imable 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 ^^ beneficial effect on Tootoosch, for he afterwards became still more deranged ; in his fits of fury sometimes seizing a club ' This, it must lie remembered, was in t!ie days before Connnlly. Ma([uina's remark that if an insane man could not be cured but by whipping him, he must remain mad, proves that the savage chief was in .advance of his time. Insanity is, however, extremely rare among the Inilians. 12 I \, \. i a I i i "1 ^k 178 Adventures of John Jewitt 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 Maquina was out almost every day in his canoe in pursuit of thom, but for a considerable time with no success, one day breaking the staff of his harpoon, another 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 th.c instrument. At these times he always returned very morose and out of temper, upbraiding his men with having violated their obligation to continence preparatory to whaling. In this state of ill -humour he would give us very little to eat, which, added to the women i»ot cooking when the men are away, reduced us to a very low fare. In consequence of the repeated occurrence of similar accidents, I proposed to Macjuina 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. lie 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 headland in the offing. All the canoes were immediately launched, and, [Urnishcd with harpoons Bringing Home the Whale 179 i i and sealskin 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 ap[)eared at the mouth of the Cove, those on bor rd 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 con- gratulate the king on his success, drumming most furiously on the planks, and exclaiming IVocash — zuocashy Tycc ! The whale, on being drawn on shore, was immediately 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 mc, which I was permitted to cook as I 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 recjuiro no less than five or six men lo carry. Several of the chiefs, among whom were Maquina's brothers, who, after the king has caught the first v/hale, are privileged to take them also, were very desirous, on discovering the superiority of my har|)0(jn, that 1 should make some for them, but this Alacjuina would not permit, reserving for himself this improved weapon. Me, how- 31 ■ I i i * i i 1 . i ■ ■ 1 1 80 Adventures of John Jewitt ever, gave me 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 observances 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 manners. A short time before leaving Tashces, the king makes a point of passing a day alone on the mountain, whither he goes very privately early in the morning, and does not return till late in the evening.^ This is done, as I after- wards learned, for the purpose 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 observes 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 theii- whaling, both himself and the crew of his c inoe observe a fast, eating 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 ' He was, as the Indians say, " making his medicine," a term of very elastic raeaninj,'. ill I ' "* Funeral Rites i8i ^ torn with briers. 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 village, 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 lying some time in this manner, he was wrapped in an otter-skin robe, and, three fathoms of Ife-whaw being put about his neck, he was placed in a large coffin or box of about three feet deep, which was ornamented on the outside with two rows of the small white shells. In this, the most valuable articles of iiis property were placed with him, among which 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 family, 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 repaired to Maquina's house, where a number of articles 1 " Tootoosch " is the Thunder Bird of " Ahl " mytholo-y. ■ ,! 2 :!!| I' i i'.i If; fi ■ ■ i , I 182 Adventures of John Jewitt belonging to the deceased, consisting of blankets, pieces of cloth, etc., 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 put 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-sok-sis, the king's son. The man who performed the ceremony of burning on this occasion was a very singular character named Kinneclimmets. He was held in high estimation by the king, though only of the common class, probably from his talent for mimicry and buffoonery, and might be considered as a kind of king's jester, or rather, as com- bining in his person the character of a buffoon with that of master of ceremonies and public orator to hi.^ 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 entertainments, 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. Almost 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 Clinuner-habbee. This man Kinneclimmets was particularly odious to Thompson, who would never join in the laugh at his The King's Chamuerlain 183 tricks, but when he began, would almost always quit the house with a very surly look, and an exclama- tion of " Cursed fool!" which Maquina, who thought nothing could equal the cleverness of his Climvicr- habbeCy used to remark with much dissatisfaction, asking me why Thompson never laughed, observing that 1 must have had a very good-tempered 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 swallow- ing 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, liad 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 celebration of which he ran three times throucrh 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, etc., 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 men became much alarmed lest they should be seized with if il M II ' (1 i I I ' ;f I ' il; ■4-1 SSSBH m BR? 'KHfKseswn J«KM[ 184 Adventures of John Jewitt the same disorder and die like him ; more particularly, as I had told Maquina that 1 believed his insanity was a punishment inflicted on him by Ouahootze, for his cruelty in murdering two innocent men who had never injured him. larly, r was r his never CHAPTER XII ; WAR WITH THE A-Y-CHARTS — A NIGHT ATTACK— PROrOSALS TO PURCHASE THE AUTHOR Our situation had now become unpleasant in the ex- treme. 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 savage land. We were treated, too, with less indulgence than before, both Thompson and myself being obliged, in addition to our other employments, to perform the laborious task of cutting and collecting fuel, which we had to bring on our shoulders from nearly three miles' distance, as it consisted wholly of dry leaves, 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 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 185 I \\ i i 1 ' 1 \ If 11^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I ilia 1112 m ||M M 1.8 1.25 1.4 lA ^ K ► m ^ 'A /} /y '^A A •> ^. C / Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIU .' :REET WEBSTEK.N Y 1 4580 (716) 872-4503 ,\ ^\^ •O^ :\ ^\^ \ 6^ ^i' II "I till ) i i 190 AnVKNTURES OF JOHN JkWITT apparently afraid to trust any of his own men. At one time, it was a general revolt of his people that he apprehended; then three of his principal chiefs, among whom was his elder brother, had conspired to take away his life ; and at length he fancied that a small party of Klaooquates, between whom and the Nootkians little friendship subsisted, had come to Nootka, under a pretence of trade, for the sole purpose of murdering him and his family, telling us, probably to sharpen our vigilance, that their intention was to kill us likewise ; and so strongly were his fears excited on this occasion, that he not only ordered us to keep near him armed by day, whenever he went out, and to patrol at night before his house while they remained, but to continue the same guard for three days after they were gone, and to fire, at one and at four in the morning, one of the great guns, to let them know, if, as he suspected, they were lurking in the neighbourhood, that he was on his guard. While he was thus favourably disposed towards us, I took an opportunity to inform him of the ill-treatment that we frequently received from his people, and the insults that were offered us by some of the stranger tribes in calling us white slaves, and loading us with other opprobrious terms. He was much displeased, and said that his subjects should not be allowed to treat us ill, and that if any of the strangers did it, he wished us to punish the offenders with death, at the same time directing us, for our security, to go constantly armed. This permission was soon improved by Thompson to the best advantage ; for a few days after, having gone to Beheaded 191 S US, I .tment id the anger with eased, ed to it, he ,t the jtantly 5on to )ne to the pond to wash some of our clothes, and a blanket for Maquina, several Wickinninish who were then at Nootka came thither, and, seeing him washing the clothes, and the blanket spread upon the grass to dry, they began, according to custom, to insult him, and one of them, bolder than the others, walked over the blanket. Thomp- son was highly incensed, and threatened the Indian with death if he repeated the offence, but he, in contempt of the threat, trampled upon the blanket, when, drawing his cutlass, without further ceremony, Thompson cut off his head, on seeing which the others ran off at full speed. Thompson then, gathering up the clothes and blanket, on which were the marks of the Indian's dirty feet, and taking with him the head, returned and informed the king of what had passed, who was much pleased, and highly commended his conduct. This had a favourable effect for us, not only on the stranger tribes but the inhabitants themselves, who treated us afterwards with less disrespect. In the latter part of July, Maquina informed mc that he was going to war with the A-y-cJiarts} a tribe about ' The K-cha-chets are not at present recognised as a separate tribe. But there is a large village in Clayoqiiat Sound on the south end of Waken- ninish Island which bears that name. Like many now all but extinct tribes, who have become absorbed into greater ones, the E-cha-chets seem in Jewitt's time to have been more numerous. In Meares's narrative, *' Lee- cha-ett " is mentioned as a village of Wakenninish, but this could not have been the same place, for Maquina and Wakenninish were at this period on good terms. The river which the expedition ascended to reach the summer salmon fishing village of the tribe w.is probably cither the Bear or the Onamettis, both of which flow through some swampy ground into the head of Bedwall Arm. But as usual Jewitt exaggerated the distance up which the canoemen paddled. There is no river in Van- couver Island navigable for twenty or thirty miles, and few, even when broken by rapids and falls, quite that length. '31 H I ' 1 1 ' 1 1 r 1 ; f P!: I ■ 9 i- 1 ^ M ' 1 > ;ii;, 1 : If 1 19: Adventures of John Jewitt fifty miles to the south, on account of some controversy that had arisen the preceding summer, and that I must make a number of daggers for his men, and chectolths for his chiefs, which having completed, he wished me to make for his own use a weapon of quite a different form, in order to dispatch his enemy by one blow on the head, it being the calculation of these nations, on going to war, to surprise their adversaries while asleep. This was a steel dagger, or more properly a spike, of about six inches long, made very sharj), set at right angles in an iron handle of fifteen inches long, ter- minating at the lower end in a crook or turn, so as to prevent its being wrenched from the hand, and at the upper in a round knob or head, from whence the spike protruded. This instrument I polished highly, and, the more to please Maquina, formed on the back of the knob the resemblance of a man's head, with the mouth open, substituting for eyes black beads, which I fastened in with red sealing-wax. This pleased him much, and was greatly admired by his chiefs, who wanted me to make similar ones for them, but Maquina would not suffer it, reserving for himself alone this weapon. When these people have finally determined on war, they make it an invariable practice, for thiee or four weeks prior to the expedition, to go into the water five or six times a day, when they wash and scrub them- selves from head to foot with bushes intermixed with briers, so that their bodies and faces will often be en- tirely covered with blood. During this severe exercise, they are continually exclaiming, " IVocas/i, Qualiootzc, Tecchavime ah ivelth, ivik-ctish tau-ilth — Kar sub- On tiik War Path 193 oversy [ must utolths ed me ifferent (low on ons, on asleep. t spike, at right ng, ter- so as to :l at the ncc the 1 highly, :he back lad, with < beads, pleased iefs, who Maquina one this on war, or four ,'atcr five lb them- [xcd with :\\ be en- exercisc, hiahootze, ar sub- matemas — Wik-sisli to Jiauk viatonas — / ya-isJi kah- sJiittlc — As-smootisJi ivarick itiatcuuxs " ; whicli signifies, " Good or great God, let me live — Not be sick — Vwd the enemy — Not fear him — Find him asleep, and kill a great many of them." During the whole of this period they have no inter- course with their women, and for a w eek before setting out, abstain from feasting or any kind of merriment, appearing thoughtful, gloomy, anil morose, and for the three last days are almost constantly in the water, both by day and night, scrubbing and lacerating themselves in a terrible manner. iMaiiuina, having informed Thompson and myself that he should take us with him, was very solicitous that we shcnild bathe and scrub our- selves in the same way with them, telling me that it would harden our skins, so that the weapons of the enemy would not pierce ihem, but as we felt no great inclination to amuse ourselves in this maimer, we declined it. The expedition consisted of forty canoes, carrja'ng from ten to twenty men each. Thompson and myself armed ourselves with cutlasses and pistols, but the natives, although they had a plenty of European arms, took with them only their daggers and cheetolths, with a few bows and arrows, the latter being about a yard in length, and pointed with copper, mussel-shell, or bone ; the bows are four feet and a half long, with strings made of whale sinew. To go to A-y-chart, we ascendetl, from twenty to thirty miles,^ a river about the size of that of Tashees, the banks of which are high and covered with wood. ' This is nil oxaggeratetl estimate. 13 ■J I. ! I k\ 194 Adventurks of John Jiavitt At midm'j^ht wc came in sight of the village, which was situated on the west bank near the shore, on a steep hill difficult of access, and well calculated for defence. It consisted of fifteen or sixteen houses, smaller than those at Nootka, and built in the same style, but compactly placed. liy Maquina's directions, the attack was deferred until the first appearance of dawn, as he said that was the time when men slept the soundest. At length, all being ready for the attack, we landed with the greatest silence, and, going around so as to come upon the foe in the rear, clambered up the hill, and while the natives, as is their custom, entered the several huts creeping on all-fours, my comrade aiid myself stationed ourselves without to intercept those who should attempt to escaj)e or come to the aid of their friends. I wished, if possible, not to stain my hands in the blood of any fellow-creature ; and though Thompson would gladi}' have put to death all the savages in the country, he was too brave to think of attacking a sleeping enemy. I laving entered the houses, on the war-whoop being given by Maquina as he seized the head of the chief and gave him the fatal blow, all proceeded to the work of death. The A-y-charts, being thus surprised, were unable to make resistance, and, with the exception of a very few who were so fortunate as to make their escape, were all killed, or taken prisoners on condition of becoming slaves to their captors. I had the good fortune to take four captives, whom Macpiina, as a favour, i)ermitted me to consider as mine, and occasion- ally employ them in fishing for mc. As for Thompson, who thirsted for revenge, he had no wish to take any A Famous Victoi.v •95 lich was tcei) ViUl nee. It an those impactly ack was s he said ^•c lanc\e{\ so as to p the hill, itcrecl the nradc aiid ccpt those the aid of stain my ind though ith all the to think of Ihoop being \\c chief and the work of rised, were Iception of a their escape, Condition of [d the good i(|uina, as a k1 occasion- Thompson, to take any prisoners, but with his cutlass, the only weapon he would employ against them, succeeded in killing seven stout fellows who came to attack him, an act which obtained him great credit with Macjuina and the chiefs, who after this held him in much higher estimation, and gave him the appellation of " Chehiel-suma-har," it being the name of a very celebrated warrior of their nation in ancient times, whose exploits were the constant theme of their praise. After having put to death all the old and infirm of either sex, as is the barbarous practice of these people, and destroyed the buildings, we re-embarked with our booty in our canoes for Nootka, where we were received with great demonstrations of joy by the women and children, accompanying our war - song with a most furious drumming on the houses. The next day a great feast was given by Maquina in celebration of his victory, which was terminated, as usual, with a dance by Sat- sat-sok-sis.^ Repeated applications had been made to Maquina by a number of kings or chiefs to purchase me, especially after he had showed them the harpoon I had made (ur him, which he took much pride in, but he constantly refused to part with me on any terms. Among these, the king of the VVickinninish was particularly solicitous to obtain me, having twice applied to Maquina for that purpose, once in a very formal manner, by sending his messenger with four canoes, who, as he approached the shore, decorated in their highest style, with the white down on his head, etc., declared that he came to buy ' This is one of the best descriptions of West Coast warfare with which I am acquainted. 31 i; : ' 196 Advknturks of John J i:\vitt " Tootcyoohannis," the name by which I was known to thcin, for his master, and that he had brou^dit for that purpose four y(jun^ male slaves, two hi^dily ornamented canoes, such a number of the skins of metamelth, and of the quartlack} or sea-otter, and so many fathoms of cloth and of Ife-whaw, while, as he mentioned the dif- ferent articles, they were pointed out or held up by his attendants; but even this tempting offer had no influence on Maquina, who in the l.'tter part of the sMmmer was again very stronjjjly urt;ed to sell me by Ulatilla, or, as he is generally called, Machee Ulatilla, chief of the Klaizzarts,- who had come to Nootka on a visit. This chief, who could speak tolerable English, had much more the appearance of a civilised man than any of the savages that I saw. He appeared to be about thirty, was rather small in his person, but extremely well formed, with a skin almost as fair as that of an luiropean, good features, and a countenance expressive of can- dour and amiablencss, and which was almost always brightened with a smile. He was much neater both in his dress and person than any of the other chiefs, seldom wearing paint, except upon his eyebrows, which, after the custom of his country, were plucked out, and a few strips of the pelpelth on the lower part of his face. He always treated me with much kindness, was fond of conversing with me in English and in his own language, asking me many questions relative to my country, its manners, customs, etc., and appeared to take a strong ' "Quiaotluk," Jewitt, with innate cockneyism, inscrtinjj .in r after a wherever this is possible. No Indian can pronounce /•, any more than a Chinaman can. '•^ Klahosahts. A Friknm)ly Ciiikf '97 nown to for that amcntcd li, and of horns of I the dif- Lip by his influence nmer was ilia, or, as cf of the it. ,glish, had 1 than any o be about •cmely well I'Ajropean, ve of can- lost always tcr both in icfs, seldom which, after ;, and a few is face. He as fond of /n language, country, its .ke a strong in^ an r after a any more than a interest in my fate, teiUti}; me that if he could persuade Macjuina to part with me, he would put me on hoard the first ship that came to his country, a promise which, from his s* 'isc(iucnt conduct, I have «;u()d reason to think he would have performed, as my deliverance at length from captivity and suffering was, under the favour of Divine Providence, wholly owing to him, the only letter that ever reached an luiropean or Aineririn vessel out of sixteen that I wrote at different times and sent to various parts of the coast, having been delivc red by him in person. So much pleased was I ^^' i i thi.. man's behaviour to me while at Nootka, that I made ft r him a cheeti !'l1i, which I burnished highl)-, and en- graved ',vith figures. With this he was greatly delighted. 1 also would have made for him a harpcjon, wouki Maquina have consented. With hearts full of dejection and almost lost to hope, no ship having appeared off Xootka this season, did my companion and myself accompany the tribe on their removal in September to Tashees, relincjuishing in con- sequence for six months even the remotest expectation of relief. Jl 11 P ! m i I. chaptp:r XIII MARRIAGE OF THE AUTHOR— IIIS ILLNESS — DIS- MISSES HIS WIFE— RELIGION OF THE NATIVES — CLIMATE Soon after our establishment there, Maquina informed me) that he and his chiefs had held council both before and after quitting Nootka, in which they had deter- mined that I must marry one of their women, urging as a reason to induce me to consent, that, as there was now no probability of a ship coming to Nootka to release me, that I must consider myself as destined to pass the remainder ot my life with them, that the sooner I conformed to their customs the better, and that a wife and family would render me more contented and satisfied with their mode of living. I remonstrated against this decision, but to no pur- pose, for he told me that, should I refuse, both Thompson and myself would be put to death ; telling me, however, that if there were none of the women of his tribe that pleased me, he would go with me to some of the other tribes, where he would purchase for me such a one as I should select. Reduced to this sad extremity, with death on the one side and matrimony on the other, I thought proper to choose 198 Jkwitt a-Wooing Goks 199 lSS — DIS- SIATIVES— a informed both before had dcter- n, urging as ; there was Nootka to as destined m, that the the better, ;r me more of living. 1 o no pur- •cfuse, both oath ; telling the women with me to lid purchase Reduced to ,ne side and icr to choose what appeared to me the least of the two evils, and consent to be married, on condition that, as I did not fancy any of the Nootka women, I should be permitted to make choice of one from some other tribe. This being settled, the next morning by daylight, Maquina, with about fifty men in two canoes, set out with me for Ai-tiz-zart,* taking with him a quantity of cloth, a number of muskets, sea-otter skins, etc., for the purchase of my bride. With the aid of our paddles and sails, being favoured with a fair breeze, we arrived some time before sunset at the village. Our arrival e.xcited a general alarm, and the men hastened to the shore, armed with the weapons of their country, making many warlike demonstrations, and displaying much zeal and activity. We, in the meantime, remained quietly seated in our canoes, where we remained for about half an hour, when the messenger of the chief, dressed in their best manner, came to welcome us and invite us on shore to eat.- We followed him in procession to the chief's house, Maciuina at our head, taking care to leave a sufficient number in the boats to i)rotect the property. When we came to the house, we were ushered in with much ceremony, and our respective seats pointed out to us, mine being next to Maquina by his request. After having been regaled with a feast of herring spawn and oil, Maquina asked me if I saw any among the women who were present that I liked. I immediate!)- ' Ayhuttisaht, also in Xuotk.i Sound. - This is the custom if the ■ isit of the slranijers has not been aniioun'- -1 in .idvance, || nji'' f' 1 ' • 1 ■ 1 ) 1 200 Advknturks of John Jewitt pointed out to a young girl of about seventeen, the daughter of Upqucsta, the chief, who was sitting near him by her mother. On this, Maquina, making a sign to his men, arose, and, taking me by the hand, walked into the middle of the rooin, and sent off two of his men to bring the boxes containing the presents from the canoes. In the meantime, Kinneclimmets, the master of ceremonies, whom I have already spoken of, made himself re" ly for the part he was to act, by powdering his hair with white down. When the chests were brought in, specimens of the several articles were taken out, and showed by our men, one of whom held up a musket, another a skin, a third a piece of cloth, etc. On this Kinneclimmets stepped forward, and, address- ing the chief, informed him that all these belonged to me, mentioning the number of each kind, and that they were offered to him for the purchase of his daughter lui - stoch - ee - e.\(pia, as a wife for me. As he said this, the inen who held up the various articles walked up to the chief, and with a very stern and morose look, the complimentary one on these occasions, threw them at his feet. Immediately on which, all the tribe, both men and women, who were assembled on this occasi(;n, set up a cry of Klack-ko- Tycc} that is, " Thank ye, chief." His men, after this ceremony, having returned to their places, Macpiina rose, and, in a speech of more than half an hour, said much in my praise to the Ai- tiz-zart chief, telling him that I was as good a man as themselves, differing from them only in being white, ' Ooshyiiksovtayts is another expression meaning much the same thing. A Ckktificate ov Ciiakactkk 201 :en, the ng near g a sign , walked o of his nts from lets, the poken of, , act, by he chests iclcs were horn held : of cloth, l1, address- belonged [kind, and rchasc of for me. le various very stern on these diately on who were Klack-ko- •eturned to :h of more to the Ai- ood a man being white. c same ihinj;. that I was besides acquainted with many things of which they were ignorant ; that I knew how to make daggers, chcetolths, and harpoons, and was a very valuable person, whom he was determined to keep always with him ; praising me at the same time for the goodness of my temper, and the manner in which I had conducted myself since I had been with them, observing that all the people of Xootka, and even the children, loved me. While Maquina was speaking, his master of cere- monies was continually skippi:^'^ ubcjut, making the most extravagant gestures, and exclaiming" Wocnsh!" When he had ceased, the Ai-tiz-/.art chief arose, amidst the acclamations of his people, and began with setting forth the man>' good qualities and accomplishments of his daughter ; that he lo\ed her greatly, and as she was his only one, he could not think of jjarting with her. He spoke in this maimer for some lime, but finally concluded by consenting to the proposed union, requesting that she might be well used and kindly treated by her husband. At the close of the speech, when the chief began to manifest a disposition to con- sent to our union, Kinneclimmets again began to call out as loud as he could bawl, " Wocash ! " cutting a thousand capers and spinning himself around on his heel like a top. When Upquesta had finished his speech, he directed his people to carry back the presents which Maquina had given him, to me, together with two young male slaves to assist me in fishing. These, after having been placed before me, were by Maquina's men taken on board the canoes. This ceremony being over, we were I.' ■I ', 202 Adventures of John Jewitt invited by one of the principal cliiefs to a feast at his house, of Klussaniit} or dried herring, where, after the eating was over, Kinncclimmcts amused the com- pany very highly with his tricks, and the evening's entertainment was closed 'uy a new war-song from our men, and one in return from the Ai-tiz-zarts, accom- panied with expressive gestures, and wielding of their weapons. After this our company returned to lodge at Up- cjuesta's, except a few who were left on board the canoes to n'atch the property. In the morning 1 re- ceived from the chief his daughter, with an earnest request that I would use her well, which I promised him ; when, taking leave of her parents, she accom- panied me with apparent satisfaction on board of the canoe. The wind being ahead, the natives were obliged to have recourse to their paddles, accompanying them with their songs, interspersed with the witticisms and buffoonery of Kinneclimmets, who, in his capacity of king's steersman, one of his functions which I forgot to enumerate, not only guided the course of the canoe, but regulated the singing of the boatmen. At about five in the morning we reached Tashees, where we found all the inhabitants collected on the shore to receive us. We were welcomed with loud shouts of joy, and exclamations of " J F^m^'//!.^" and the women, taking my bride under their charge, conducted her to Maquina's house, to be kept with them for ten days ; it being ' Kloosmit is " herring " {Meletta cirrtika) generally, dried salmon, a more common article of food. Klooshist is ;ast at i, after e com- ening's am our accom- of their at Up- arcl the ,g I re- earnest )romisecl : accom- d of the Dliged to ng them sms and pacity of forgot to \e canoe, At about vhere we shore to joy, and aking my Vlaquina's it being h'looshist is Marriage of thk Author 203 an universal custom, as Maquina informed mc, that no intercourse should take place between the new married pair during that period. At night Maquina gave a great feast, which was succeeded by a dance, in which all the women joined, and thus ended the festivities of my marriage.^ The term of my probation being over, Maquina assigned me as an apartment the space in the upper part of his house between him and his elder brother, whose room was opposite. Here I established my- self with my family, consisting of myself and wife, Thompson, and the little Sat-sat-sok-sis, who had always been strongly attached to mc, and now solicited his father to let him live with me, to which he con- sented. This boy w^as handsome, extremely well formed, amiable, and of a pleasant, sprightly disposition. 1 used to take a pleasure in decorating him with rings, bracelets, ear -jewels, etc., which I made for him of copper, and ornamented and polished them in my best manner. I was also very careful to keep him free from vermin of every kind, washing him and combing his hair every day. These marks of attention were not only very pleasing to the child, who delighted in being kept neat and clean, as well as in being dressed off in his f.i.v.iy, but was highly gratifying both to Maquina and his queen, who used to express much satisfaction at my care of him. In making my domestic establishment, I determined, ' Jewitl's marriage was less ceremonious than is usual with Indians of any rank, and the ten days' probation was not according to modern customs. I, ■ 'I ' ! 204 Adventures of John Jevvitt II ij'i r> •! I ■■ as far as possible, to live in a more comfortable and cleanly manner than the others. For this purpose I erected with planks a partition of about three feet high between mine and the adjoining rooms, and made three bedsteads of the same, which I covered with boards, for my family to sleep on, which I found much more comfortable than sleeping on the floor amidst the dirt. P'ortunately, I found my Indian princess both amiable and intelligent, for one whose limited sphere of ob- servation must necessarily give rise to but a few ideas. She was extremely ready to agree to anything that I proposed relative to our mode of living, was very attentive in keeping her garments and person neat and clean, and appeared in every respect solicitous to please me. She was, as I have said, about seventeen ; her per- son was small but well formed, as were her features ; her complexion was, without exception, fairer than any of the women, with considerable colour in her cheeks, her hair long, black, and much softer than is usual with them, and her teeth small, even, and of a da/.zling whiteness; while the expression of her countenance indicated sweetness of temper and modesty. She would indeed have been considered as very pretty in any country, and, excepting Maquina's queen, was by far the handsomest of any of their women. With a partner possessing so many attractions, many may be apt to conclude that I must have found myself happy, — at least, comparatively so; but far otherwise was it with me. A compulsory marriage with 'H' As ONE OK Themselves 205 , many found ut far ge with the most beautiful and accomph'shcd person in the world can never prove a source of real happiness ; and, in my situation, I could not but view this connection as a chain that was to bind me down to this savage land, and prevent my ever again seeing a civilised country ; especially when, in a few days after, Maquina informed me that there had been a meeting of his chiefs, in which it had been determined that, as I had married one of their women, I must be con- sidered as one of them, and conform to their customs, and that in future neither mjsclf nor Thompson should wear our European clothes, but dress in kutsaks ^ like themselves. This order was to me most painful, but I persuaded Maquina at length so far to relax in it as to permit me to wear those I had at present, which were almost worn out, and not to compel Thompson to change his dress, observing that, as he was an old man, such a change would cause his death. Their religious celebration, which the last year took place in December, was in this commenced on the 15th of November, and continued for fourteen days. As I was now considered as one of them, instead of being ordered to the woods, Maquina directed Thompson and myself to remain and pray with them to Quahootze to be good to them, and thank him for what he had done. It was opened in much the same manner as the former. After which, all the men and women in the ' Ktitsak, or kotsack, or kootsick, or cotsack, for all these forms occur, was the blanket worn cloakwise, rendered familiar to Europeans in so many pictures and sketches. I \ H TWSTM am i IK- '511 PI 5)1 -'P 206 AnVENTURKS OF JoHN JkWITT village assembled at Maquina's house, in their plainest dresses, and without any kind of ornaments about them, having their heads bound around with the red fillet, a token of dejection and humiliation, and their countenances expressive of seriousness and melancholy. The performances during the continuance of this cele- bration consisted almost wholly in singing a number of songs to mournful airs, the king regulating the time by beating on his hollow plank or drum, accom panied by one of his chiefs seated near him with th great rattle. In the meantime they ate but seldom, and then very little, retiring to sleep late, and rising at the first appearance of dawn, and even interrupting this short period of repose by getting up at midnight and singing. The ceremony was terminated by an exhibition of a similar character to the one of the last year, but still more cruel. A boy of twelve years old, with six bayonets run into his flesh, one through each arm and thigh, and through each side close to the ribs, was carried around the room suspended upon them, without manifesting any symptoms of pain. Maquina, on my inquiring the reason of this display, informed me that it was an ancient custom of his nation to sacrifice a man at the close of this solemnity, in honour of their God, but that his father had abolished it, and substituted this in its place.^ The whole closed on the evening of ' Human sacrifices are quite common among the Northern tribes. But in Vancouver they were very rare in my time, and are now still less frequent. In 1863 the burial of a chief was celebrated by the heads of several tribesmen being fixed about his grave. These were not taken by force, but surrenderee! by the trembling tribesmen, the victims being most aincst about le red 1 their icholy. s ccle- lumbcr ig the accom- ith th seldom, 1 rising rupting idnight ion of a )ut still ith six rm and bs, was without on my e that rifice a lof their stituted ning of Ibes. But still less heads of It taken by Ijeing most HUSRANI) AND WiFK loy the 29th, with a great feast of salmon spawn and oil. at which the natives, as usual, made up for their late abstinence. A few days after, a circumstance occurred, which, from its singularity, I cannot forbear mentioning. I was sent for by my neighbour Yealthlower, the king's elder brother, to file his teeth, wiiich operation having been performed, he informed me that a new wife, whom he had a little time before purchased, having refused to sleep with him, it was his intention, provided she per- sisted in her refusal, to bite off her nose. I endeavoured to dissuade him from it, but he was determined, and, in fact, performed his savage threat that very night, saying that since she would not be his wife, she should not be that of any other, and in the morning sent her back to her father. The inhuman act did not, however, proceed from any innate cruelty of disposition or malice, as he was far from being of a barbarous temper ; but such is the despotism exercised by these savages over their women, that he no doubt considered it as a just punishment for likely slaves. In 1788, Meares affirm:-;, on what we believe to be insuffi- cient evidence, that Maquina (Moqulla) sacrificed a human being every new moon, to gratify "his unnatural appetite" for human flesh. The victim was a slave selected by the blindfolded chief catching him in a house in which a number were assembled. Meares even declares that Maquina acknowledged his weakness, and that though Callicum, another chief, avoided cannibalism, he reposed on a pillow filled with human skulls. If so, the practice has ceased. \'et cannibalism was undeniably practised at times among the Indians of both the East and West coasts. There were in 1866 Indians living in Koskeemo Sound, who still talked of the delights of human tlesh. Many years ago, the Bella- Bellas ate a servant of the Hudson Bay Company, and the Nuchaltaws of Cape Mudge are affirmed by old traders to have paid the same doubtful compliment to a sailor who fell into their clutches. '■*«;4MMi#w>.«d4>i. 208 Ai)Vi,NTURi:s 01 John Jhwitt ■' K .'hi ii i I her offence, in beiiii^ so ( l)stinate and perverse ; as he afterwards told me, that in similar cases the hushand had a ri^ht with them to (h'sfiL,aire his wife in this way or some other, to prevent her e\er marr}'in_Lj a_i;ani. About the mitldle of Di-cember, we left Tashecs for C'oo|)tee. As usual at this season. \\c found the herrin,L,^s in i^reat plent)-, and here the same scene of riotous feastini; that I witnessed last year was renewed by our improvident natives, who, in addition to their usual fare, had a plentiful sui)ply of wild ^cese, which were brou<^ht us in f^reat ([uantities by the Kshciuates. These, as Macjuina inforiuetl me, were cau^L^ht with nets made from bark in the fresh waters of that country. Those who take them make choice for that purpose of a dark and rainy night, and, with their canoes stuck with lit^hted torches, proceed with as little noise as possible to the place where the i^feese are collected, who, dazzled by the light, suffer themselves to be approached very near, when the net is thrown over them, and in this manner from fifty to sixty, or even more, will sometimes be taken at one cast. On the 15th of Jaiuiary 1805, about midnight, I was thrown into considerable alarm, in consequence of an eclipse of the moon, being awakened from my sleep by a great outcry of the inhabitants. On going to discover the cause of this tumult, I found them all out of their houses, bearing lighted torches, singing and beating upon j)ieces of plank ; and when I asked them the reason of this proceeding, they pointed to the moon, and said that a great cod-fish was cn- i ; as he usb.'uul in this arryin;^ I'ashrcs md the c scone ear was addition of wild tilies by me, were h waters cc choice md, with eed with here the ht, suffer n the net fifty to In at one kit, I was Ice of an Iny sleep I going to ithem all singing I asked lointed to was cn- >0 I ! H I HI''! i ll « Clad as a Nativi: I I dcavouring to swallow her, and that they were driviiipj him away. The orif^in of this superstition 1 could not discover. Though, in some respects, my situation was rendered more comfortable since my marriage, as I lived in a more cleanly manner, and had my food better and more neatly cooked, of which, besides, I had always a plenty, my slaves generally furnishing me, and Upquesta never failing to send me an ample supply- by the canoes that came from Ai-ti/.-zart ; still, from my being obliged at this season of the year to change my accustomed clothing, and to dress like the tiatives, with only a piece of cloth of about two yards long thrown loosely around me, my l'!!uropean clothes having bet i for some time entirely worn out, I suffered more than I can express from the cold, especially as I was compelled to perform the laborious task of cutting and bringing the firewood, which was rendered still more oppressive to me, from my comrade, for a considerable part of the winter, not having it in his power to lend me his aid, in consequence of an attack of the rheumatism in one of his knees, with which he suffered for more than four months, two or three weeks of which he was so ill as to be under the necessity to leave the house. This state of sufferiiig, Vvith the little hope I now had of ever escaping from the savages, began to render my life irksome ro me; still, however, I lost not my confidence in the aid of the Supreme Being, to whom, whenever the weather and a suspension from the tasks imposed on me would permit, I never failed regularly on Sundays to retire to the wood to 2 12 Adventures oe John Jewitt iii*i J:l m H worship, taking Thompson with me when he was able toga On the 20th of l<"cbruary, we returned to our summer quarters at Nootka, but on my part, with far different sensations than the last spring, being now almost in despair of any vessel arriving to release us, or our being permitted to depart if there should. Soon after our return, as {preparatory to the whaling season, Maquina ordered me to make a good number of harpoons for himself and his chiefs, several of which I had completed, with some lances, when, on the 1 6th of March, I was taken very ill with a violent colic, caused, I presume, from having suffered so much from the cold, in going without proper clothing. For a number of hours I was in great pain, and expected to die, and on its leaving me, I was so weak as scarcely to bo able to stand, while I had nothing comforting to take, nor anything to drink but cold water. On the day following, a slave belonging to Maquina died, and was immediately, as is their custom iw such cases, tossed unceremoniously out of doors, from whence he was taken by some others and thrown into the water. The treatment of this poor creature made a melancholy impression upon my mind, as I could not but think that such probably would be my fate should I die among these heathens, and so far from receiving a decent burial, that I should not even be allowed the common privilege of having a little earth thrown over my remains. The feebleness in which the violent attack of my disorder had left me, the dejection I felt at the almost Departure of Jewitt's Wife -13 hopelessness of my situation and the want of warm clothint; and proper nursing, though my IncUan wife, as far as she knew how, was ahvays ready, eveii soh'citous, to do everything for me she could, still kept me very much indisposed, which Maquina perceiving, he finally told me that if I did not like living with my wife, and that was the cause of my being so sad, I might part with her. This proposal I readily accepted, and the next day Maquina sent her back to her father. On parting with me she discovered much emotion, begging me that I would suffer her to remain till I had recovered, as there was no one who would take so good care of me as herself. But when I told her she must go, for that 1 did not think I should ever get well, which in truth I but little expected, and that her father would take good care of her and treat her much more kindly than Maquina, she took an affec- tionate leave, telling me that she hoped I should soon get better, and left her two slaves to take care of me. Though I rejoiced at her departure, I was greatly affected with the simple expressions of her regard for me, and could not but feel strongly interested for this poor girl, who in all her conduct t^^n-ards me had discovered so much mildness and attention to my wishes ; and had it not been that I considered her as an almost i isuperable obstacle to my being permitted to leave the country, I should no doubt have felt the deprivation of her society a real loss. After her departure, I requested Macpiina that, as I had i)arted with my wife, he would permit me to resume my I ! 14 Adventures of John Jewitt Kli •l European dress, as, otherwise, from not having been accustomed to dress like them, I should :ertainly die. To this he consented, and I once more became com- fortably clad. Change of clothing, but, more than all, the hopes which I now began to indulge that in the course of the summer I should be able to escape, in a short time restored me to health, so far that I could again go to work in making harpoons for Maquina, who probably, fearing that he should have to part with me, determined to provide himself with a good stock. I shall not, however, long detain the reader with a detail of occurrences that intervened between this period and that of my escape, which, from that dull uniformity that marks the savage life, would be in a measure but a repetition, nor dwell pon that mental torture I endured from a constant conflict of hope and fear, when the former, almost wearied out with repeated disappointment, offered to ojr sinking hearts no j)rospcct of release but death, to which we were constantly exposed from the brutal ignorance and savage disposition of the common people, who, in the various councils that were held this season to determine what to do with us in case of the arrival of a ship, were almost always for putting us to death, expecting by that means to conceal the murder of our crew and to throw the blame of it on some other tribe. These barbarous sentiments were, however, universally opposed by Macjuina and his chiefs, who would not consent to our being injured. But, as some of their customs and traits of national character TiiK Kingly Offick 215 ig been nly die. le com- which I think deserving of notice have not been mentioned, I shall proceed to give an account of them. 2 hopes 3urse of a short Id again na, who art with a good r with a een this that dull Id be in ion that onflict of iried out sinking hich we gnorance le, who, eason to arrival of to death, lurdcr of me other however, iefs, who But, as character The office of king or chief is, with those people, hereditary, and descends to the eldest son, or, in failure of male issue, to the elder brother, who in the regal line is considered as the second person in the kingdom. At feasts, as I have observed, the king is always placed in the highest or seat of honour, and the chiefs according to their respective ranks, which appear in general to be determined by their affinity to the royal family ; they are also designated by the embellishments of their mantles or kutsaks. The king, or head /jvv, is their leader in war, in the management of which he is perfectly absolute. He is also president of their councils, which are almost always regulated by his opinion. But he has no kind of power over the property of his subjects, nor can he require them to contribute to his wants, being in this respect no more privileged than any other person. He has, in common with his chiefs, the right of holding slaves, which is not enjoyed by private individuals, a regulation probably arising from their having been originally captives taken iii battle, the spoils of war being understood as appertaining to the king, who receives and apportions them among his several chiefs and warriors accordinij to their rank and deserts. In conformity with this idea, the plunder of the Pwston was all deposited in Maquina's house, who distributed part of it among his chiefs, according to their respective ranks or degree of favour with him, giving to one three hundred muskets, to another one hundred and fift)', with i" i \ if : 2i6 x\dventures of John Jewitt other things in like proportion. The king is, however, obliged to support his dignity by making frequent entertainments, and whenever he receives a large supply of provision, he must invite all the men of his tribe to his house to eat it up, otherwise, as Maquina told me, he would not be considered as conducting himself like a Tycc, and would be no more thought of than a common man. 1 1 With regard to their religion. — They believe in the existence of a Supreme Being, whom they call Quahootae, and who, to use Maquina's expression, was one great Tyce in the sky, who gave them their fish, and could take them from them, and was the greatest of all kings. Their usual place of worship appeared to be the water, for whenever they bathed, they addressed some words in form of prayer to the God above, entreating that he would preserve them in health, give them good success in fishing, etc. These prayers were repeated with much more energy on i)reparing for whaling or for war, as I have already mentioned. Some of them would sometimes go several miles to bathe, in order to do it in secret ; the reason for this I could never learn, though I am induced to think it was in consequence of some family or j^rivate quarrel, and that they did not wish what they said to be heard ; while at other times they would repair in the same secret manner to the woods to pray. This was more particularly the case with the women, who might also have been prompted by a sentiment of decency to retire for the purpose of bathing, as they are remarkably modest. The Natives' Theology 217 I once found one of our women more than two miles from the village on her knees in the woods, with her eyes shut and her face turned towards heaven, uttering words in a lamentable tone, amongst which I distinctly heard, Wocash Ah-welth, meaning "good Lord," and which has nearly the same signification with Quahootze. Though I came very near her, she appeared not to notice me, but continued her devotions. .And I have frequently seen the women go alone into the woods, evidently for the purpose of addressing themselves to a superior Being, and it was always very perceptible on their return when they had been thus employed, from their silence and melancholy looks, They have no belief, howevei in a state of future existence, as I discovered in conversation with Maquina at Tootoosch's death, on my attempting to convince him that he still existed, and that he would again see him after his death ; but he could comprehend nothing of it, and, pointing to the ground, said that there was the end of him, and that he was like that.^ Nor do they believe in ghosts, notwithstanding the case of Tootoosch would appear to contradict this assertion, ' This, in common with other statements of llie lelf, and JOHN Thdn'I'son, Sai!-wal\r of I/k: .uiiii slii/^. I have been asked how I dared to write in this manner: my answer is, that from my long residence among these people, I knew that I had little to api)re- hend from their anger on hearing of their king being confined, while they knew his life depended upon my release, and that they would sooner have given up five hundred white men, than have had him injured. This ^t^B" mdm m J 1 I i 228 Adventures of John Jewitt will serve to explain the little apprehension I felt at their menaces afterwards, for otherwise, sweet as liberty was to me, I should hardly have ventured on so hazard- ous an experiment. On my giving the letter to Maquina, he asked me to explain it to him. This I did line by line, as he pointed them out with his finger, but in a sense very different from the real, giving him to understand that I had written to the captain that, as he had been kind to me since I had been taken by him, that it was my wish that the captain should treat him accordingly, and give him what molasses, biscuit, and rum he wanted. When I had finished, placing his finger in a significant manner on my name at the bottom, and eyeing me with a look that seemed to read my inmost thoughts, he said to mc, " John, you no lie ? " Never did I undergo such a scrutiny, or ever experience greater apprehensions than I felt at that moment, when my destiny was suspended on the slightest thread, and the least mark of embarrassment on mine, or suspicion of treachery on his part, would probably have rendced my life the sacrifice. Fortunately I was able to preserve my composure, and my being painted in the Indian manner, which Maquina had since my marriage required of me, pre- vented any change in my countenance from being noticed, and I replied with considerable promptitude, looking at him in my turn, with all the confidence I could muster, — "Why do you ask me such a question, Tyee? Have you ever known me to lie? " "No." \ I Making the King Prisoner 229 felt at liberty nazard- l me to pointed lifferent I had d to me ny wish and give rrnificant o eing me thoughts, 2r did I ; greater len my and the Dicion of rendced mposurc, r, which me, pre- m being ptitude, fidence I ? Have " Then how can you suppose I should tell you a lie now, since I have never done it ? " As I was speaking, he still continued looking at me with the same piercing eye, but, observing nothing to excite his suspicion, he told me that he believed what I said was true, and that he would go on board, and gave orders to get ready his canoe. His chiefs again attempted to dissuade him, using every argument for that purpose, while his wives crowded around him, begging him on their knees not to trust himself with the white men. Fortunately for my companion and myself, so strong was his wish of going on board the vessel, that he was deaf to their solicitations, and, making no other reply to them than "John no lie," left the house, taking four prime skins with him as a present to the captain. Scarcely had the canoe put off, when he ordered his men to stop, and, calling to me, asked me if I did not want to go on board with him. Suspecting this as a question merely intended to ensnare me, I replied that I had 'TO wish to do it, not having any desire to leave them Oi; T'/''k on board the brig, Maquina immediately ga\ ^ 1-is fnesent of skins and my letter to the captain, who, oil ■■.•9'Mng it, .^sked him into the cabin, where he gave him some biscuit and a glass of rum, at the same time privately directing his mate to go forward, and return with five or six of the men armed. When they appeared, the cap*^ain told Maquina that he was his prisoner, and should continue so, until the two men, wl' .Ti he knew to be on shore, were released, at the same t' .! 'rdering him to be put in irons, and the windows seciu . \ which was instantly done, and a couple of men ' ' sesBi '■ 'i I a hf\^ 230 Adventures of John Jewitt placed as a guard over him. Maquina was greatly sur- prised and terrified at this reception ; he, however, made no attempt to resist, but requested the captain to permit one of his men to come and see him. One of them was accordingly called, and Maquina said something to him which the captain did not understand, but supposed to be an order to release us, when, the man returning to the canoe, it wa: j '^^ V'jed ofif with the utmost expedition to the shore. As the canoe apfjioached, the inhabitants, who had all collected upon the beach, manifested some uneasi- ness at not seeing their king on board, but when, on its arrival, they were told that the captain had made him a prisoner, and that John had spoke bad about him in the letter, they all, both men and women, set up a loud howl, and ran backwards and forwards upon the shore like so many lunatics, scratching their faces, and tearing the hair in handfuls from their heads. After they had beat about in this manner for some time, the men ran to their huts for their weapons, as if preparing to attack an invading enemy ; while Maquina's wives and the rest of the women came around me, and, throwing themselves on their knees, begged me with tears to spare his life ; and Sat-sat-sok-sis, who kept constantly with me, taking me by the hand, \\ ept bitterly, and joined his entreaties to theirs, that I would not let the white men kill his father. I told them not to afflict themselves, that Maquina's life was in no danger, nor would the k ist harm be done to him. The men were, however, extremely exasperated with me, more particularly the common people, who came running in the most furious manner towards me. tly sur- r, made permit cm was to him losed to ning to jedition 'ho had uncasi- /hen, on d made lOut him ;ct up a ipon the CCS, and or some )ns, as if aquina's me, and, c with |ho kept bitterly, not let o afflict gcr, nor ted with lo came Irds me, "Stkikk, but Hkar" 231 brandishing their weapons, and threatening to cut me in pieces no bigger than their thumb-nails, while others declared they would burn me alive over a slow fire sus- pended by my heels. All this fury, however, caused me but little alarm, as I felt convinced they would not dare to execute their threats while the king was on board the brig. The chiefs took no part in this violent conduct, but came to me, and inquired the reason why Maquina had been thus treated, and if the captain intended to kill him. I told them that if they would silence the people, so that I could be heard, I would explain all to them. They immediately put a stop to the noise, when I in- formed them that the ca{)tain, in confining Maquina, had done it only in order to make them release Thompson and myself, as he well knew we were with them ; and if they would do that, their king would receive no injury, but be well treated, otherwise he would be kept a prisoner. As many of them did not appear to be satisfied with this, and began to repeat their murderous threats — " Kill me," said I to them, " if it is your wish," throwing open the bearskin which 1 wore. " Here is my breast. I am only one among so many, and can make no resistance ; but unless you wish to see your king hanging by his neck to that pole," pointing to the )'ard-arm of the brig, " and the sailors firing at him with bullets, you will not do it." " Oh no," was the general cry, " that must never be ; but what must we do ? " I told them that their best plan would be to send Thompson on board, to desire the captain to use Maquina well till I was released, m t i I fC fi! Ml III i\ .. II' 232 Adventures of John Jhwitt which would be soon. This they were perfectly willing to do, and I directed Thompson to go on ^ lard. But he objected, saying that he would not leave me alone with the savages. I told him not to be under any fear for me, for that if I could get him off, I could manage well enough for myself; and that I wished him, immediately on getting on board the brig, to see the captain, and request him to keep Maquina close till I was released, as I was in no danger while he had him safe. When I saw Thompson off, I asked the natives what they intended to do with me. They said I must talk to the captain again, in another letter, and tell him to let his boat come on shore with Maquina, and that I should be ready to jump into the boat at the same time Maquina should jump on shore. I told them that the captain, who knew that they had killed my shipmates, would never trust his men so near the shore, for fear they could kill them too, as they were so much more numerous, but that if they would select any three of their number to go with me in a canoe, when we came within hail, I would desire the captain to send his boat with Maquina, to receive me in exchange for him. This appeared to please them, and after some whisper- ing among the chiefs, who, from what words I oxer- heard, concluded that if the captain should refuse to .send his boat with Maquina, the three men would have no difficulty in bringing me back with them, they agreed to my proi?osal, and selected three of their stoutest men to convey me. Fortunately, having been for some time accustomed to see me armed, and suspecting no design on my pa."t. they paid no attention to the pistols that I had about me. Within Sight ov Liberty 233 As I was going into the canoe, little Sat-sat-sok-sis, who could not bear to part with me, asked me, with an affectmg simplicity, since 1 was going away to leave him, if the white men would not let his father come on shore, and not kill him. I told him not to be concerned, for that no one should injure his father, when, taking an affectionate leave of me, and again begging me not to let the white men hurt his father, he ran to comfort his mother, who was at a little distance, with the assurances I had given him. On entering the canoe, I seated myself in the prow facing the three men, having determined, if it was practicable, from the moment I found Maquina was secured, to get on board the vessel before he was released, hoping by that means to be enabled to obtain the restoration of what property belonging to the Boston still remained in the possession of the savages, which I thought, if it could be done, a duty that I owed to the owners. With feelings of joy impossible to be described did I quit the savage shore, confident now that nothing could thwart my escape, or prevent the execution of the plan that I had formed, as the men appointed to convey and guard me were armed with nothing but their paddles. As we came within hail of the brig, they at once ceased paddling, when, presenting my pistols at them, I ordered them instantly to go on, or I would shoot the whole of them. A proceeding so wholly unexpected threw them into great consternation, and, resuming their paddles, in a few moments, to my inexpressible delight, I once more found myself alongside of a Christian ship, a happiness which I had almost despaired of ever again \ i ! f I 1 . r I f ■ r 1 4 j; h. 1 234 AnVKNTURES OF JoiIN JeWITT enjoying. All the crew crowded to the side to see me as the canoe came up, and manifested much joy at my safety. I immediately leaped on board, where I was welcomed by the captain, Samuel Hill, of the brig Lydia of Boston, who congratulated me on my escape, informing me that he had received my letter off Kloiz-zart ^ from the chief Machce Ulatilla, who came off himself in his canoe to deliver it to him, on which he immediately pro- ceeded hither to aid me. I returned him my thanks in the best manner I could for his humanity, though I hardly knew what I said, such was the agitated state of my feelings at that moment, with joy for my escape, thankfulness to the Supreme Being who had so mercifully preserved me, and gratitude to those whom lie had rendered instrumental in my delivery, that I have no doubt that, what with my strange dress, being painted with red and black from head to foot, having a bear- skin wrapped around me, and my long hair, which I was not allowed to cut, fastenec' on the top of my head in a large bunch, with a sprig of green spruce, I must have appeared more like one deranged than a rational creature, as Captain Hill afterwards told me that he never saw anything in the form of man look so wild as I did when I first came on board. The captain then asked me into the cabin, where I found Maquina in irons, with a guard over him. He looked very melancholy, but on seeing me his counten- ance brightened up, and he expressed his pleasure with the welcome of " Wocash, John," when, taking him by the hand, I asked the captain's permission to take off his irons, assuring him that, as I was with him, there was ' This seems another variant of Klaosaht, \ A Freed Man 235 no danger of his being in the least troublesome. He accordingly consented, and I felt a sincere pleasure in freeing from fetters a man who, though he had caused the death of my poor comrades, had nevertheless always proved my friend and protector, and whom I had requested to be thus treated, only with a view of securing my liberty. Maquina smiled, and appeared much pleased at this mark of attention from me. When I had freed the king from his irons. Captain Hill wished to learn the particulars of our capture, observing that an account of the destruction of the ship and her crew had been received at Boston before he sailed, but that nothing more was known, except that two of the men were living, for whose rescue the owners had offered a liberal reward, and that he had been able to get nothing out of the old man, whom the sailors had supplied so plentifully with grog as to bring him too much by the head to give any information. I gave him a correct statement of the whole proceed- ing, together with the manner in which my life and that of my comrade had been preserved. On hearing my story, he was greatly irritated against Maquina, and said he ought to be killed. I observed that, however ill he might have acted in taking our ship, yet that it might perhaps be wrong to judge an uninformed savage with the same severity as a civilised person, who had the light of religion and the laws of society to guide him. That Maquina's conduct in taking our ship arose from an insult that he thought he had received from Captain Salter, and from the unjustifiable conduct of some masters of vessels who had robbed him, and, without provocation, killed a number of his people. Besides, i, Ii ,13. i;' 1 I WIMMHkii.iiMtb«< . ! .1 236 Adventures of John Jewitt that a regard for the safety of others ought to prevent his being put to death, as I had lived long enough with these people to know that revenge of an injury is held sacred by them, and that they would not fail to retaliate, should we kill their king, on the first vessel or boat's crew that should give them an opportunity ; and that, though he might consider executing him as but an act of justice, it would probably cost the lives of many Americans. The captain appeared to be convinced from what I said of the impolicy of taking Maquina's life, and said that he would leave it wholly with me whether to spare or kill him, as he was resolved to incur no censure in either case. I replied that I most certainly should never take the life of a man who had preserved mine, had I no other reason, but as there was some of the Bostons property still remaining on shore, I considered it a duty that I owed to those who were interested in that ship, to try to save it for them, and with that view I thought it would be well to keep him on board till it was given up. He concurred in this proposal, saying, if there was any of the property left, it most certainly ought to be got. During this conversation Maquina was in great anxiety, as, from what English he knew, he perfectly comprehended the subject of our deliberation ; con- stantly interrupting me to inquire what we had deter- mined to do with him, what the captain said, if his life would be spared, and if I did not think that Thompson would kill him. I pacified him as well as I was able, by telling him that he had nothing to fear from the captain, that he would not be hurt, and that if Thompson H Maquina's Terror ^':>7 prevent nrh with is held 2taliate, r boat's nd that, t an act f many whjit I ind said to spare nsure in lid never le, had 1 Bostons t a duty riat ship, thought IS given lere was It to be great perfectly , con- deter- his life )mpson las able, [om the )mpson wished to kill him, he would not be allowed to do it. He would then remind me that I was indebted to him for my life, and that I ought to do by him as he had done by me. I assured him that such was my intention, and I requested him to remain quiet, and not alarm himself, as no harm was intended him. liut I found it extremely difficult to convince him of this, as it accorded so little with the ideas of revenge entertained by them. I told him, however, that he must restore all the property still in his possession belonging to the ship. This he was perfectly ready to do, happy to escape on such terms. Hut as it was now past five, and too late for the articles to be collected and brought off, I told him that he must content himself to remain on board with me that night, and in the morning he should be set on shore as soon as the things were delivered. To this he agreed, on condition that I would remain with him in the cabin. I then went upon deck, and the canoe that brought me having been sent back, I hailed the inhabitants and told them that their king had agreed to stay on board till the next day, when he would return, but that no canoes must attempt to come near the vessel during the night, as they would be fired upon. They answered, " Wo/io, ivoJio'' — "Very well, very well." I then returned to Alaquina, but so great were his terrors, that he would not allow me to sleep, constantly disturbing me with his questions, and repeating, "John, you know, when you was alone, and more than five hundred men were your enemies, I was your friend, and prevented them from putting you and Thompson to death, and now I am in the power of your friends, you ^3^ Advknturks ov John Jkwitt :i; 1 ■, i ^ ! '(*, ought to do the same by me." I assured him that he would be detained on board no longer than wiiilst the property was released, and that as soon as it was done, he would be set at liberty. At daybreak I hailed the natives, and told them that it was Maquina's order that they should bring off the cannon and anchors, and whatever remained with them of the cargo of the ship. This they set about doing with the utmost expedition, transport- ing the cannon and anchors by lashing together two of their largest canoes, and covering them with planks, and in the course of two hours they delivered everything on board that I could recollect, with Thompson's and my chest, containing the papers of the ship, etc. When everything belonging to the ship had been restored, Maquina was [permitted to return in his canoe, which had been sent for him, with a j^rcsent of what skins he had collected, which were about sixty, for the captain, in acknowledgment of his having spared his life, and allowed him to depart unhurt. Such was also the transport he felt when Captain Hill came into the cabin, and told him that he was at liberty to go, that he threw off his mantle, which consisted of four of the very best skins, and gave it to him as a mark of his gratitude ; in return for which the captain pre- sented him with a new greatcoat and hat, with which he appeared much delighted. The captain then desired me to inform him that he should return to that jjart of the coast in November, and that he wished him to keep what skins he should get, which he Vv-ould buy of him. Farewell to Mauuina 239 This Ma(iuiiia promised, sayinfj to me at the same time, "Jolm, you know I shall be then at Tashees, hut when you come, make /oic," which means, fire a ljuii, "to let me know, and I will come down." When he came to the side of the brig, he shook me cordially by the hand, and told ine that he hoped I would come to see him again in a big ship, and bring much |)lenty of blankets, biscuit, molasses, and rum, for him and his son, who loved me a great deal ; and that he would keep all the furs he got for me, observing at the saine time, that he should never more take a letter of recommendation from any one, or ever trust himself on board a vessel unless I was there. Then, grasping both my hands with much emotion, while the tears trickled down his cheeks, he bade me farewell, and stept into the canoe, which immediately paddled him on shore. Notwithstanding my joy at my deliverance, and the pleasing anticipation I felt of once more beholding a civilised country, and again being permitted to offer up my devotions in a Christian church, I could not avoid experiencing a painful sensation on parting with the savage chief, who had preserved my life, and in general treated me with kindness, and, considering their ideas and manners, much better than could have been expected. My pleasure was also greatly dam])cd by an unfortun- ate accident that occurred to Toowinnakinnish. That interesting young chief had come on board in the first canoe in the morning, anxious to see and comfort his king. He was received with much kindness by Captain Hill, from the favourable account I gave of him, and invited to remain on board. As the muskets were t I •i 'I 240 Adventures of John Jewitt .ii( 1 r. , if '1 Ifl delivered, he was in the cabin with Maquina, where was also the captain, who, on receiving them, snapped a number in order to try the locks ; unluckily one of them happened to be loaded with swan shot, and, going off, discharged its contents Into the body of poor Toowinna- kinnish, who was s'tting opposite. On hearing tne report, I iristantiy ran into the cabin, where I found him weltering in his blood, with the captain, who was greatly shocked at the accident, endeavouring to assist him. We raised him up, and did everything in our power to aid and comfort him, telling him that we felt much grieved at his misfortune, and that it was wholly unintentional ; this he told me he was perfectly satisfied of, and while we dressed and bound up his wounds, in the best manner we could, he bore the pain with great calmness, and, bidding me farewell, was put on board one of the canoes and taken on shore, where, after languishing a few days, he expired. To me his misfor- tune was a source of much affliction, as he had no share in the massacre of our crew, was of a most amiable character, and had always treated me with the greatest kindness and hospitality. The brig being under weigh, immediately on Maquina's ciuitting us, we proceeded to the northward, constantly keeping the shore in sight, and touching at various places fo. the purpose of trading. Having already exceeded the bounds I had prescribed myself, I .shall not attempt any account of our voyage upon the coast, or a description of the various nations we met with in the course of it, among whom were a people of a very singular ajjpearance, called by the At Nootka again 241 atisfied inds, in h great board }1\- on thward, hing at Iscribed [voyage Illations [were a Iby the sailors the Wooden-lips} They have many skins, and the trade is principally managed by their women, who are not only expert in m.aking a bargain, but as dexterous in the management of their canoes as the men are else- where. After a period of nearly four months from our leaving Nootka, we returned from the northward to Columbia River, for the purpose of procuring masts, etc., for our brig, which had suffered considerably in her spars during a gale of wind. We , proceeded about ten miles up the river to a small Indian village, where we heard from the inhabitants that Captains Clark and Lewis, from the United States of America, had been there about a fortnight before, on their journey overland, and had left several medals with them, which they showed us.- The river at this place is of considerable breadth, and both sides of it from its entrance covered with forests of the very finest pine timber, fir, and spruce, interspersed with Indian settlements. From this place, after providing ourselves with spars, we sailed for Nootka, where we arrived in the latter part of November.-^ The tribe being absent, the agreed signal ' These arc (loul)tless the ' lydalis and their kimired, the women of whom insert a wooden or ivory trough in their lower hp. "Lewis and C'lark reached tlie mouth of Columbia River on the 15th of November 1S05, and wintered at " Fort Clatsop," a^ they callei iheir dwellipg among the then numerous Clatsop Indians, until the 23rd if March 1806, '.'hen they began the return journey. The Indians have long ago vanished from the lower Columbia, the remnant of the Clatsops, and the Chinooks on the opposite side, now wearing out tiie tribal existence in inland Reservations. Hut it is still possible to come across one of the medals which the explorers distributed amongst them. ^It is clear, therefore, from this statement that Lewis and Clark had left Fort Clatsop much more than a fortnight before the vessel in which Jewitt was arrived there ; for it is impossible to .suppose that the latter took from 16 li m T ml m 1 B 1 H^' m U 1 242 Adventures of John Jewitt was given, by firing a cannon, and in a few hours after a canoe appeared, which landed at the village, and, putting the king on shore, came off to the brig. Inquiry was immediately made by KinnecHmmets, who was one of the three men in the canoe, if John was there, as the king had some skins to sell them if he was. I then went forward and invited them on board, with which they readily complied, telling me that Maquina had a number of skins with him, but that he would not come on board unless I would go on shore for him. This I agreed to, provided they would remain in the brig in the meantime. To this they consented, and the captain, taking them into the cabin, treated them with bread and molasses. I then went on shore in the canoe, notwith- standing the remonstrances of Thompson and the captain, who, though he wanted the skins, advised me by no means to put myself in Maquina's power ; but I assured him that I had no fear as long as those men were on board. As I landed, Maquina came up and welcomed me with much joy: on inquiring for the men, I told him that they were to remain till my return. " Ah, John," said he, " I see you are afraid to trust me, but if they had come with you, I should not have hurt you, though I should have taken good care not to let you go on board of another vessel." He then took his chest of skins, and, stepping into the canoe, I paddled him alongside the brig, where he was received and treated by Capiain Hill April to Niivemher to yet nt spars and make the return voyage to Nootka. But the journal of Lewis and Clark was not published until 1814, so that, when Jewitt wrote, he had no ready means of checkintj the Indians' state- ment, though neither he nor his editor seems to have troubled books much. Tup: Last of the King 243 were on with the greatest cordiality, who bought of him his skins. He left us much pleased with his reception, inquiring of me how many moons it would be before I should come back again to see him and his son ; saying that he would keep all his furs for me, and that as soon as my son, who was then about five months old, was of a suitable age to take from his mother, he would send for him, and take care of him as his own.^ As soon as Maquina had quitted us, we got under weigh, and stood again to the northward. We continued on the coast until the nth of August, 1806,- when, having completed our trade, we sailed for China, to the great joy of all our crew, and particularly so to mc. With a degree of satisfaction that I can ill express, did I quit a coast to which I was resolved nothing should again tempt me to return, and as the lops of the mountains sank in the blue waves of the ocean, I seemed to feel my heart lighter ' of an oppressive load. We had a prosperous passage to Cliina, arriving at Macao in December, from whence the brig proceeded to Canton. There I had the good fortune to meet a townsman and an old acquaintance in the mate of an English East Indiaman, named John Hill, whose father, a wealthy merchant in Hull in the Baltic trade, was a next-door neighbour to mine. Shortly after our arrival, ' The cavalier manner in which Jcvvitt abandons his family is quite in the fur-trader's fashion. It does not seem that he even asked to see his Indian " princess ! " - If Jewitt's information about the departure of Lewis and Clark from tlie Columbia River is even approximately accurate, the date must be wrong by a year, and the subse([uent one quite as far out of the due reckoning. 1806 may be a misprint for 1807. ill f 1^ 'i H'! '\ii] ] i I ! 244 Adventures of John Jewitt the captain being on board of an English ship, and men- tioning his having had the good fortune to Hberate two men of the Boston's crew from the savages, and that one of them was named Jewitt, my former acquaintance immediately came on board the brig to see me. Words can ill express my feelings on seeing him. Circumstanced as I was, among persons who were entire strangers to me, to meet thus in a foreign land with one between whom and myself a considerable intimacy had subsisted, was a pleasure that those alone who have been in a similar situation can properly estimate. He appeared on his part no less happy to see me, whom he supposed to be dead, as the account of our capture had been received in England some time before his sailing, and all my friends supposed me to have been murdered. From this young man I received every attention and aid that a feeling heart interested in the fate of another could confer. He supplied me with a new suit of clothes and a hat, a small sum of money for my necessary expenses, and a number of little articles for sea stores on my voyage to America. I also gave him a letter for my father, in which I mentioned my wonderful preservation and escape through the humanity of Captain Hill, with whom I should return to Boston. This letter he en- closed to his father by a ship that was just sailing, in consequence of which it was received much earlier than it otherwise would have been. We left China in February 1807, and, after a pleasant voyage of one hundred and fourteen days, arrived at Boston. My feelings on once more finding myself in a Christian country, ?mong a people speakin the same langu-'^ge with myself, may be more readil\- conceived *ti!ii Kindness all Round 0,1 r and men- erate two that one jaintance :ing him. 2re entire with one nacy had rho have ate. He whom he )ture had s sailing, iLirdered. n and aid her could les and a :xpenses, ; on my r for my servation iill, with r he en- ailing, in lier than 45 tlian expressed. I„ the post office in that place I found a letter for me from ,ny mother, acknowledging the rn, "": '"" '''''''' ^^-^P^^-^-^"^^ ^'- ^^-at foy of hey had for a long t.me given up for dead, and request- accordingly d.d. Whde in Boston I was treated with much kmdness and hospitality by the owners of the ship Bos^^on, Messrs. Francis and Thomas Amory o t^at pace, to Whom I feel myself under great obligations o tZrT7.'" "'' '"' '^^ "^■^■■^^-^^ -J^-'^ they so readily afforded a stranger in distress. pleasant 'rived at self in a he same onceived A P P E N I) I X 1. The "JJoston's" Ckew Hos on in Massacliusetts, owned by Messrs J^"and 1 . Amory, Merchants of that i^Iace-All of whom excepting two. were on the 22nd of March, 180^' barbarously murdered by the savages of Noo ka John Salter, U. Delouisa, William Ingraham, Edward Thompson, Adam Siddle, Philip Brown, John Dorthy, Abraham Waters, Francis Duffield, John Wilson (blackman) William Caldwell, Joseph Miner, William Robinson, Thomas Wilson, Andrew Kelly, Robert Burton, James M 'Clay, Thomas I'latten, Thomas Newton, Charles Bates, John Hall, .Samuel Wood, Peter Alstrom, I'rancis Marten, Jupiter Senegal (blackman) John Thompson, of Boston, Ditto, of New York, of Rlyth (England), of Hull, ditto, of Cambridge (Mass.) of Situate, ditto, of i'hiladelphia, of Penton (England), of Virginia, of Boston, of Newport, of Leigh 1 (Scotland), of Air,- ditto, P>itto, ditto, of the Isle of Man, of Dublin, of Blackney, Norfolk, Eng. Ditto, Captain. Chief Mate. Second Mate. Boatswain. Carpenter. Joiner. Blacksmith. Steward. Tailor. Cook. Seaman. Ditto. Ditto. Ditto. Ditto. Ditto. Ditto. of Hull, of St. James Deeping, of Newcastle, of Glasgow (Scotland), Norwegian, Portuguese, Ditto. Ditto. Ditif). Ditto. Ditto. Ditto. Ditto. Sail Maker, John R. Jewitt, Philadelphia, who escaped— since dead, of Hull (England), Armourer, l'r;'\7^^^""'"'^ ^'^'^'" "'^^'^^^ *'"« ^^''^^^-^ i« taken, and who a. present, Ma^ch ,815. resides i„ Middletown. in the State of ConnecUcu. ' Leith. ,. . ' Ayr. 247 ? '( \ ! 248 Api'endix II. VVak-Son(; of The Nootka Tribe Coi)imeucing'ii- '^ '"""■"I |hat it is not necessr.,' to an^lTL he p e In''"^;!"'''^;'''^': TV'' '''-''"^' ^ •n Dawson and Tolmies CowM'a/iW IwX . , '" ^""^^ ^""y'''-<'= ^'"1 "a\e a nuich fuller one in manuscript. :^ Nil ■IN •4 •ih 250 Af'pkndix Kla-tur-miss, . Ken-nuk-see, . Mook-see, Muk-ka-tec, . w:k, . Ile-ho, . Kak-koelth, . Mah-hack, Klack-e-miss, Ouart-lak, Coo-coo-ho-sa. Moo-watch, So-har, . Toosch-qua, . Pow-ee, . Kloos-a-mit, . Chap-atz, Oo-wha-pa, Cliee-me-na, . Chee-men, vSick-a-minny, Toophelth, Cham-mass, . Cham-mas-sish, oot-sus, Chee-pokes, . Hah-welks, Nee-sim-mer-hisc. Chat-ta-yek, . Klick-er-yek, . Quish-ar, Mar-mct-la, I'ook-shit-tle, Ken-a-qui-shit-lle, Ar-leese, Ma-mook-su-mah, Smootish-check-up, Cha-alt-see klat-tur wall Ma-kook, Kah-ah-pah-chilt, Oo-nah, ly ah-ish, Ko-mme-tak, . Earth. Fire or fuel Rock. House. No. Ves. Slave. Whale. Oil. Sea-otter. Seal. Bear. Salmon. Cod. Halibut. Herring. Canoe. Paddle. Fish-hook. Fish-hooks. Iron. Cloth. Fruit. Sweet or pleasant to the taste. Powder. Copper. Hungry. Enough. Knife or dagger. Rings. Smoke. Goose or duck. To blow. To kindle a tire. To bathe. l"o go to fish. Warrior. Go off, or go away. To sell. Give me something. How many. Much. I understand. Al'I'KNDIX 25' lyee ma hak, Km-ma-chap, Kle-whar, Mac-kam-niali-sisli, Kali-ah-coh, Sahwaiik, Att-la, . Kat-sa, . Mooh, , Soo-chah, Noo-poo, At-tle-poo, At-lah-qiiellh, Saw-wauk-queltli, Hy-o, . . Sak-aitz, Soo-jewk, Hy-e-oak, I do not uiulerstand. To play. To laufjli. Do you want lo buy. luring it. One. Two, Three. Four. I'ivc. Six. .Seven. Kight. Nine, i'en. Twenty. One hundred. One thousand. nmmmmmmm •I't i|t| 1 M 1 I 1 1 ^ L ' I N I) K X -♦ — Aht Indians, The . The various tribes of A-y-chart, Journey to Natives, conflict with Bear, Capture of the Management of the IJoston, Arrival at . Reception at, by frienf Boston, The— Burning of Capture of List of crew of . Murder of crew of Canoes, Description of Cayuquets, The China, Arrival at Celebration, A religious Climate Cook and Vancouver Cooptee, Town of . Dkath, Indian customs observed at P^KAST, An Indian . Vxmi, Various kinds of Geese, Mode of capture of . Herring, Mode of capture of Mull, Leave-taking at 253 |'A(;r 19 23 193 194 164 163 244 245 83 32, 64 247 68 124 •36 244 205 221 • 38 145. 16S ^3 80 162 208 171 5' 1 I ", '^ < 254 Index Klaizzakis, The Kla-00-quates, The . Kletsup Root, Description of 132 134 167 Ife-waw, Method of securing 116 I Jewitt — Birth of Domestic management . Early life of Illness of Marriage of Parentage of Proposal to release Proposal to murder Reception of, by savages Received l)y Captain Hill Sufferings from cold Suspicions of, by Maquina Termination of captivity Journal, Jewitt's, Commencement of 43 204 44 212 201 43 232 214 70 235 211 228 234 89 King, Privileges of the 215 m Lanouage, Commencement to learn Lydia, The, Arrival of Departure of — — Letter to captain of Manchester, The Maquina — . Capture and Imprisonment of Council concerning Release of Visit of, to the Lydia . Mooachats, The Moon, Eclipse of the, in 1805 Nevvchemass, The . Native, Indecent burial of a . Natives, Intercourse with Nettinahts, The 93 224 241 227 '54 59, 188 229 236 238 243 38 208 '36 212 58 21 |i i^l Index I'AGK 167 116 43 204 44 212 201 43 232 214 70 23s 211 228 234 89 215 93 224 241 227 154 59, 188 229 236 238 243 38 208 ^36 212 5« 2J 255 Nootka Sound ~ Rjturn to Voyage to Nootkians, The— Complexion and physique Diseases of Dress of Filthiness of Food of General conduct of Houses of Mode of living of Musical instruments of . Ornaments and decorations o Personal appearance of Religion of Slaves of Sports of Superstitions of. War-song o! Nootkian language, List of words PoRPOlSKs, Sea, Capture of QUAHOOTZK, The celebration of Salmon, Method of capture of the Salter, Captain John Savages, Treatment of, 1 ■,• English Savagedom in Western \ancouvfr Sea-otter, Description of the Sundays at Nootka . TASilEES Thompson — Kscape by stratagem of Escape from death of Reception of, by crew of the Zjv/m Pootonsch — Description of . Death of . ' Funeral of Singular Derangement of rA(;R • 28, 95 . 172 53 113 220 105 .87 no 225 97 • 108 f . 129 115, 117 112 216 130 120 ' • , 217 . 248 • 249 • • 56 • 165 121, I4S Commanders . 4«. 55 156, 161 * 16 120 ' • , • '42 '47 74 90 232 '74 181 1S2 176 .--' ' "<' I n ' ■ ft ' ■ II' |I^M 256 Index Toowinnakinnish . . . . Trade, Articles of . Tribes, Arrival of neighbouring Twins, Custom at birth of . Ulatii.la . . . . . Upquesta, Town of . Reception at . War, Preparations for, with the A-y-charts Whale, Method of capture of Whale-oil, Method of procuring Whaling, Observances preparatory to Wickinninish Native, Insult of Wife, Departure of Jewitt's . Wooden-lips, The . . . . Varna fruit. Species of . Yealthlower, Cruelty of . I'AGE 235, 240 137 77 218 198 168 169 192 2, 1 78 •79 180 191 213 241 161 207 MORKISON AND GinD, I'RINTKKS, EDINBURGH. £v"' TACK 235, 240 137 n . 218 198 168 169 192 122, 178 179 180 191 • 213 . 241 161 207 ^f^e 5nve6tor6' IReview. Edited by A. J. WILSON. 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Heroes in Homespun. Scenes and Stories from the American Emancipation Movement. Bv ASCOTT R. HOPE AUTHOR OF "ME^ OF THE liACKWOODS." "reDSK.X ANO I'IlEFACF " ' ROYAL YOUTHS," ETC. ETC. ' One Vol. crown 8uo. Price 6s. romance.''-Z'v!v-i:i /rLv;)''""^ '"'""'' ^^''"^'^ frequently becomes positive last p^^J^^X^^ZlZ Z rlf' "'^^^'•-"'-'^■^'"•S -^^viftness, and when we read the ^ "- 1 ook will serve to keep some noble memories ^reen ''--M-.r ^' , \\ould make a capital gift-book for boys/'-/w4w C/m f , " unflSn«t\f e"s7th"t\:w°nd'"''' ^""^ ^'' '"'"^ inf'.rma^bntingled with " The book is a v-i' .nl?! '^"''/\*r'"'- '''^'^"'"f exc,tement."-C/^,v.//«« ll^or-M. /a„>es's Ca"!:^,. "'''''^ contribution to the literature of the subject. "-67: THE SECRET OF WARDALE COURT. And Other Stories. By ANDREE hope. One Vol. crown 8uo. Price 6s. A Collection of Tales, all more or less sad in tone, by a comparatively new writer of great promise. ^^^^^(^!^o::1!^^-l^i:^^ ''>- «'>-"' ^^-^^ ^ very ^_J-our excellent stories."--.SV^Av„«„. " ^_ Written with remarkable power. "-Z),,//; Te/ecmM " un;is^;^;;;^^/r:^^tt^^S:^^^^^,!:'^''>^ e.citin.."-.M..... CLEMENT WILSON, 29 Paternoster Row, London, E.G. it: I'ij K CLEMENT WILSON'S PUBLICATIONS. THE LIFE OF THOMAS WANLESS, PEASANT. Neiu Edition. One Vol. crown 8uo. Price 88. 6d. " A very powerful story of social wrongs." — Baptist, "The style is remarkable for its power and simplicity, and everything and everybody depicted in the story are real and vivid. " — Bradford Of>se>~c --- ^^-y'lnni^^cu:^ the vo<^t.''-Du»dee Advertise, ^""P^'^'^''^ ^"'^ con.nion-scnse \iew of ce;;a!:;^?o^po;^,:;?:^.!S,:;rx..s.5="'^'^ ^-^ --^ ^^- ''-y--^ schpS.;rr^ - ^^[^^- ^:-^,:-,;•-s^ -on..,., t... Contains an admirable hio'Tinhir-il cl-,.t,.i, , i ■ i bi^es. overlooks wUh .indi^^^Il't^ ^i^^nS^:;:::^ tin,e. ^^5],i,e it^s one o/^^Le'snl^^lSr an" iid;:^t"eduS '^"i' ^' '1''^ one ofthe most complete. "-Av//t'i /.>/,;,«' '-^''t'oni', U is also '< Th".'?hV'"T"''' "l'",°"' "-^'■"•^^'■^^'^ Saturday Journal ve^^est editions of Burnhver \,ublS.ed!'':i5S '5^^.^^ ^^^ ^•^■A noble edition, which holds Us plaee well with all rivals. -/.„/. CLEMENT WILSON, 29 Paternoster Row, London, E.G. I CLEMENT WILSON'S PUBLICATIONS. k i-.ii THE ADVENTURES OF JOHN JEWITT, Only Sukvivok ok tiiu Cni;\v of the Shii' BOSTON, : DiKINO A CAI'TIVITY OF NICARLY TlIRKB Ve;\R,S AMONG TUB lyDIANS OF NOOTKA SOUND. ' In Vancouvep Isi.ANh. Edited, with' an Introduction cund Notes, Dr. ROBERT BROWN, M.A., F.L.S., CoMMANl)i:ii OF THK FIUST VaNCOI'VRK Exi'LOUINO EXPEDITION, ETC. SUNDIAI, S^RII^S. No. I. A CHRISTIAN WITH TWO WIVES. By Rev. DENNIS HIRD, M.A., Rector of Eastnof ; AUTHOR OF "toddle ISLAND," ETC. Paper covers, Is. ; cloth, gilt top, 23. Other Sundials uiill follouj by various Authors. CLEMENT WILSON, 29 Paternoster Row, London, E.G. ( » loii'rit i 91 ■ /■ — / f <:»"i'.'.c2n. (.« / rf3 ti". ] 7^>ti^>t. . /:?.l~o