^ *> ^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I u Hi ^ 1^ IIIIIM 1.8 IL25 i 1.4 6" V] tm 7. ? Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. MS80 (716) 872-4503 T) v-Sw ^ A. ^ VI "4 "*' ^ <^\^ w^^ ^•^% :/i CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHIVI/ICMH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions / Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques ^ * c Technical and Bibliographic Notas/Notas tachniquas at bibliographiquas Tha Instituta has attamptad to obtain tha bast original copy availabia for filming. Faaturas of this copy which may ba bibliographically uniqua, which may altar any of tha imagas in tha raproduction, or which may significantly changa tha usual mathod of filming, ara chackad balow. D D n D D D D Colourad covers/ Couvarture da coulaur I I Covers damaged/ Couverture endommag^a Covers restored and/or laminated/ Couverture restaurte et/ou pellicula I I Cover title missing/ Le titre de couverture manque Coloured maps/ Cartes giographiques en couleur □ Coloured ink (i.e. other than blue or black)/ Encre de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire) I I Colourad plates and/or illustrations/ Planches et/ou illustrations en couleur Bound with other material/ Reli6 avac d'autras documents Tight binding may cause shadows or distortion along interior margin/ La re Mure serr6e peut causer de I'ombre ou de la distortion le long de la marge intirieure Blank leaves added during restoration may appear within the text. Whenever possible, these have been omitted from filming/ II se peut que certaines pages blanches ajout6es lors d'une restauration apparaissent dans la texta, mais, lorsque cela Atait possible, ces pages n'ont pas 6t6 film^es. Additional comments:/ Commentaires suppl^mantairas: L'Institut a microfilm^ le meillour exemplaire qu'il lui a ^ti possible de se procurer. Les details da cat exemplaire qui sont peut-Atre uniques du point de vue bibliographique, qui peuvent modifier une image reproduite, ou qui peuvent exiger une modification dans la mithoda normale de filmage sont indiqute ci-dessous. □ Coloured pages/ Pages de couleur n Pages damaged/ Pages endommagdes □ Pages restored and/or laminated/ Pages restaur^es et/ou pelliculdes Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/ Pages ddcolor^es, tachetdes ou psqut D psqu6es Pages ddtach^es Showthrough/ Transparence Quality of prir Qualit^ in^gale de I'impression Includes supplementary materia Comprend du materiel suppl^mentaire I I Pages detached/ r~~l Showthrough/ I I Quality of print varies/ I I Includes supplementary material/ I I Only edition available/ Seule ddition disponible Pages wholly or partially obscured by errata slips, tissues, etc., have been refilmed to ensure the best possible image/ Les pages totalement ou partiellement obscurcies par un feuillet d'errata, une pelure, etc., ont dt6 film^es A nouveau de fapon d obtenir la meilleure image possible. Th to Th po of filr Or be thi sic oti firi sio or Thi shi Tir wh Ma difj ent be( rigl req me This item is filmed at tha reduction ratio checked below/ Ce document est film6 au taux de rMuction indiqu* ci-dessous 10X 14X 18X 22X 26X 30X v/ 12X 16X 20X 24X 28X 32X The copy filmed here hes been reproduced thenks to the generosity of: L'exempiaire fiim* fut reprodult grice k la gAntrositA de: Harriet Irving Library University of New Brunswicic The images appearing here are the bast quality possible considering the condition and legibility of the original copy and in Iceeping with the filming contract specifications. Original copies in printed paper covers are filmed beginning with the front cover and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrated impres- sion, or the bacit cover when appropriate. Ail other original copies are filmed beginning on the first page with a printed or illustrated impres- sion, and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrated impression. The last recorded frame on each microfiche shall contain the symbol ^»> (meaning "COi^- TINUEO"), or the symbol V (meaning "END"), whichever applies. Harriet Irving Library University of New Brunswicic Les imsges suivantes ont 6t6 reproduites svec le plus grand soin, compte tenu de le condition et de la nettet6 de rexempiaire film*, et en conformity avec les conditions du contrst de filmage. Les exempleires originaux dont la couverture en papier est imprimte sent film^s en commenpant par le premier plat et en terminant soit par la dernidre page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration, soit par le second plat, salon le cas. Tous les sutres exempleires originaux sont fiimis en commenpant par la premiere page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration et en terminent par la dernidre page qui comporte une telle empreinte. Un des symboies suivants apparaftra sur la dernidre image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbols — »> signifie "A SUIVRE", le symbols Y signifie "FIN". IVIaps. plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent §tre filmte d des tsux de reduction diffirents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour Atre reproduit en un seul ciichd, ii est film6 d partir de i'angle sup6rieur gauche, de gauche & droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images n^cessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la m^thode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 MEMOIR OF THE HON. WILLIAM STURGIS. I'KKl'AKKD AGKKEAIU.Y TO A JJESOLUTION OK THE MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL SOCIETY. By CHARLES G. LORING. BOSTON: PRESS OF JOHN WILSON AND SON. 1864. MEMOIR. The formation of character being the chief purpose of human life, considered in reference alike to this world and to the world of which this is the threshold, the death of any member of our community, who has exhibited a character of commanding-influence, or of peculiar strength or beauty, natu- rally excites the desire to learn by what means the end of living was thus far accomplished. Nor is the inquiry of less usefulness than interest. Recur- rence to the road which has led to moral or intellectual pre- eminence or to conspicuous achievement is needed, not only to indicate the means for attaining to the noblest object of human effort, but to correct an often erroneous estimate of circumstances, generally accounted advantages, which, however, are not infrequently hinderances to the best pro- gress in life ; and to better understand others, which we are pi'one to regard as hardships or privations, but which are, in reality, needful helps in scaling the heights of a worthy ambition. And especially is such recurrence to early influ- ences important in a community like that in which our lot is cast, where the casual relations of birth have no power to raise the possessor to any permanent or widely extended usefulness or power, independently of his individual worth, whatever may have been his lineage or fancied advantages of inherited position. ^- 1 MEMOIR OF WILLIAM STUROIS. It is an instructive fact, that the men, who ot late years have been chiefly distinguished among us for elevation of character in public and private life, — who acquired the largest fortunes for themselves, and assisted others in acquiring them, — and who exerted the greatest influence upon the com- mercial and manufacturing interests of this portion of our country, — were men of no early advantages, excepting the absence of the circumstances usually accounted as such ; with no means of providing their daily bread but their own industry; no better education than our public schools afforded ; and no patrons but such as faithful service in hum- ble stations had acquired for them. Samuel Appleton, Nathan Appleton, Amos Lawrence, Abbott Lawrence, William Apple - ton, and William Sturgis, are names familiar among us as household words, in their suggestion of ability, wealth, in- fluence, and intellectual and moral pre-eminence.. And to the same list may be added the names of Francis C. Lowell and Patrick T. Jackson, who, under some few circumstances usually esteemed more advantageous, rose, independently of them, to be the architects of their own fortunes, and -the founders of the vast manufacturing interests of the Eastern States. The memoirs of such men are also interesting and useful, as exhibiting representative types of the fruit of New- England descent and training. The energy, self-devotion, personal independence, moral purity, and earnestness of the Pilgrim Fathers have come down in undiminished force, though in modified forms, to their descendants. Their in- tensity of character and of purpose has been as visible in the peaceful enterprises of commerce and manufactures, which have made the United States the second commercial nation in the world, as it was when manifested of old in clearing the forest, subduing the savage, and establishing the foundations of republican government in the wilderness. Nor has it been less conspicnona in the generous use made of the fruits of MEMOIR OP WILLIAM 8TURGIS. toil, as the liberal foundations of unprecedentedly numerous and wise institutions for promoting religious, moral, and intellectual culture, and for the relief of human suffering, abundantly testify. And now, in this dark hour of our country's agony, the same intensity of character has burst forth with yet increasing lustre in the voluntary sacrifices of life and property, so generally and nobly made for the suppression of treason, the maintenance of the nation's life, and the glory of its flag. When the history of the present Rebellion shall be written, the voluntary contributions of blood and treasure everywhere laid by the people of the Free States upon the altar of their country, in a resolute defence of the great principles of freedom and of law, and in a self- relying determination to sustain the Government and the honor of the national standard at all hazards and at any price, will constitute an era in the annals of patriotism more glori- ous to the United States, and of better augury for their future safety and power, than any warlike achievements, however illustrious. Perhaps no one, known by the present generation, has presented a more striking example of the peculiar traits of character of the Pilgrim Fathers, as modified by the advanced civilization of the age, than the subject of this Memoir ; who, entering life upon a little farm on the sands of Cape Cod, began his career of self-reliance when sixteen years old, as a sailor-boy before the mast, on wages of ccven dollars a month, and has recently closed his days on earth at the ripe age of eighty-one years, — possessed of a most ample estate, standing with his family in the foremost rank of American society, and distinguished for a highly cultivated in- tellect, and for remarkably extensive knowledge, that embraced not only the commerce of the globe, but a wide field of his- torical and literary information. Nor was he less conspicuous for firm and liberal principles, for a clear perception of jus- tice, for a high sense of honor, for generous sentiments MEMOIR OP WILLIAM 8TUROI8. and tender affections ; and he died Burrounded by numerous and ardent friends of all ages, — from gray-haired contempo- raries, to the charmed boy with whom he conversed as a com- panion upon the philosophy of life or the events of the times, and the little children who loved to gather around him to listen to his tale of marvels and adventures among the Indians of the North-west Coast. William Sturgis was born on the twenty-fifth day of February, 1782, in the town of Barnstable, on Cape Cod, in Massachusetts, near to Plymouth, the landing-place of the Pil- grims of the " Mayflower." His father, of the same name, was a highly respectable shipmaster of Barnstable, who for many years sailed in command of various vessels from Boston. He was a lineal descendant of Edward Sturgis, the first of the name in this country, who came over from England in 1630, and, having first settled at Charlestown, afterwards removed to Yarmouth, where, in 1638, he is recorded as one of the " first planters " of that town. His mother was Hannah Mills, the youngest daughter of the Rev. Jonathan Mills, a graduate of Harvard University, who was settled in the ministry at Harwich, where he died. His earliest introduction into life was to a sphere of useful- ness and responsibility. His father's nautical pursuits kept him from home for the greater portion of his time, leaving to his wife the care of the young family (in which William was the eldest child and the only son), and of the few acres of land that constituted what was then called a Cape-Cod farm. She was a capable and energetic woman, with a large share of sound common sense; but she found it indispensable to avail herself of the aid of her son, as soon as he was old enough to afford any, in the management of their domestic affairs. She was, however, too judicious to suffer her requirements to interfere with his regular attendance at school, whenever one, public or private, was within reach. The schools of that day were none of them of a high order, compared with those of the MEMOIR OF WILLIAM STURGIS. present time; but such as he attended were probably as good as the average then to be found in country towns at a dis- tance from the metropolis. At the age of thirteen, his mother, being solicitous to procure for him the best education her means would afford, sent him to a private school in Hingham, kept by Mr. James Warren, son of General Warren of Ply- mouth, a prominent patriot of Revolutionary times. Here ho passed a year ; and in a memorandum made by him, from which this brief account of his life is chiefly taken, he bears grateful testimony to his teacher's fidelity, by saying, " If I did not make sufficient progress, it was not the fault of the instructor, who was attentive and efficient." His subsequent love of learning, and the ability in composition to which he atta'ned amidst occupations generally regarded as unfavorable to the cultivation of letters, bear equally satisfactory testimony to the fidelity with which the pupil improved his brief oppor- tunity for gaining the rudiments of an education. In the year 1796 he came to Boston, and entered the counting-house of his kinsman, the late Mr. Russell Sturgis, at that time largely engaged in the purchase and exportation of what were de- nominated " shipping furs." And here, too, his aptitude, and his faithful improvement of his time and of the means of acquiring knowledge in the service of his employer, prepared him in a peculiar manner for taking advantage of the seemingly marvellous contingen- cies, so soon unexpectedly to present themselves, and to be made the stepping-stones of his rapid career to the ulti- mate objects of his ambition. After remaining in this service about eighteen months, he entered the counting-room of Messrs. James and Thomas H. Perkins, merchants of great eminence and extensive commercial relations, and at that time much engaged in trade with the North-west Coast and China. He remained there until the death of his father, which took place abroad in the year 1797, after his vessel had been captured and plundered by piratical privateers in MEMOIR OF WILLIAM 8TUROI8. the West Indies. His family were left in straitened circum- stances ; and William, being now thrown wholly upon his own resources, and compelled to adopt some occupation that might not only secure his present support, but give promise of future success in life, did that " which was most natural for a young Cape-Cod boy to do " under such circumstances, — he decided "to follow the sea." Having been taught the rudiments of navigation at school, he set earnestly to work, devoting all the time that could be spared from his duties in the counting-room to the acqui- sition of such fufther knowledge of the theory and practice of the art as would qualify him for office on board of a ship, and thus prepare the way for early promotion to the com- mand of one. After a few months of diligent study under the instruction of Mr. Osgood Carlton, a well-known and highly respected teacher of mathematics and navigation in those days, he was pronounced competent to navigate a ship to any part of the world. And events most unlooked for speedily followed, that manifested the fidelity with which he had studied, and the justice of the eulogium of his instructor. In the summer of the year 1798, his employers, the Messrs. Perkins, were fitting out a small vessel, the " EJiza," of one hundred and thirty -six tons (below the average in size of those now employed in the coasting trade), for a voyage to the North-\vest Coast, San Bias on the western coast of Mex- ico, and China, under the command of Captain James Rowan. This officer was a good practical seaman, without education or much theoretical knowledge of navigation; but, having been several times on the North-west Coast, he was well qual- ified to carry on a trade with the Indians, which was con- ducted wholly by barter. The large number of the crew for a vessel so small, amounting to one hundred and thirty-six men, but necessary for defence against the Indians, rendered the passage one of great discomfort to those before the mast, and ex- MEMOIR OF WILLIAM 8TUR0I8. 7 posed the " green liand " to a somewlmt severe experience of the hardships of a sailor's life. Thoy sailed from Boston early in August; and, after touching at the Falkland and the Sand- wich Islands, thoy reached the North-west Coast in the latter p?lrt of the month of Docemher. Captain Rowan soon perceived the peculiar qualillcations and efficiency of young Sturgis, and selected him as his assistant in the management of the trade. This was an opportunity which the youthful aspirant well knew how to appreciate and improve. Ho not only de- voted himself assiduously to the mastery of the business in all its details, but also to a laborious study of the Indian languages, and to the cultivation of friendly relations with the natives by kind words and courteous manners, as well as by the most scrupulous truthfulness and honor in his deal- ings with them. By such means he soon succeeded in securing a degree of affection, respect, and influence among them, to which no other white man bad ever attained, and of nobler worth than even the kindred elevation which he afterwards enjoyed in the best informed and most polished society of his native State. Indeed, his name has ever since been cherished by these untutored savages with sin- gular affection and reverence, in bright contrast with their recollections of the vices and barbarities of others, whose superiority in civilization, if such it can be called, served only as the means of brutal excesses, frauds, and cruelties, of which the former experience of the poor Indian afforded no parallel. Among the latest tidings from that decaying race came affectionate inquiries from an aged chief concerning his old friend, " the good Mr. Sturgis," — the dying echo of the influences of a noble character upon the children of the forest, still reverberating, after more than sixty years, from the shore of the Pacific Ocean to his grave on the shore of the Atlantic. After visiting numerous tribes, and disposing of the portion of the cargo destined for that coast in exchange for sea-otter 1 1 ->-'^ 8 MEMOIR OF WILLIAM 8TURGIS. skins and other furs, they anchored in the port of Caiganee, in latitude 55° north, much frequented by trading vessels. Here they found two Boston ships, — the "Despatch," com- manded by Captain Breck ; and the " Ulysses," by Captain L:*mb. The crew of the latter ship were in a state of mutiny. They and the officers, having revolted a few days before, had seized the captain, put him in irons, and confined him to a state-room, with an armed sentry at the door. This was alleged to have been done in consequence of the cruel treatment by Lamb of those under his command. Captains Rowan and Breck interfered, obtained his release, and took him on board of the " Eliza." After negotiations with the mutineers, occupying several days,, and a promise by Lamb to pardon all that had been done, and to treat them better in future, the crew, with the exception of the officers and two seamen, consented that he should resume the command of his ship. This was done ; the second and third mates, with the two un- willing seamen, being taken on board the other vessels, and the chief mate being confined in irons on board of the " Ulys- ses." This arrangement left that ship with no officer except- ing the boatswain, v/ho was illiterate, and without a knowl- edge of navigation. Captain Lamb made very liberal proposals to induce some officer from the "Eliza" or the "Despatch" to take the situation of chief mate on board of his ship, but unsuccessfully ; for, so bad was his reputation for ill treating his officers as well as his men, that no one was willing to go with him. It was indispensable, however, that there should be some officer on board capable of navigating the ship, and of managiug the trade with the Indians, to take the place of Captain Lamb, in the event of hi - death, or of his inability to continue in command. Young Sturgli being competent for both of those duties, although deficient in practical seamanship. Captain Lam'u proposed, that he should take the place of chief mate of the " Ulysses," with liberal wages ; and should also act as his MEMOIR OP WILLIAM STURGIS. 9 laiganee, vessels. !h," com- Captain ■ mutiny, lore, had lim to a ,8 alleged tment by- wan and him on utineers, ardon all ture, the seamen, his ship. Q two un- sels, and e " Ulys- r except- a knowl- proposals es patch" ship, but I treating ing to go re should ship, and place of inability ie duties, in Laiuu ,te of the ct as his assistant in trading with the Indians, and for his services should receive a small commission upon all furs collected on the Coast. Such an offer to a lad of seventeen, then a boy in the forecastle, doing duty as a common sailor, but eager for advancement in the profession he had chosen, was too tempt- ing, in regard both to station and emolument, to be rejected ; and, on the thirteenth day of May, he left the " Eliza," and joined the " Ulysses," though not without serious misgivings. They remained on the Coast, collecting furs, until November ; when they sailed for China, and arrived at Canton near the close of the year. There they found the "Eliza," which, after visiting several ports on the western coast of Mexico, reached Canton in October, and was then nearly ready to sail for home. Young Sturgis had found his situation on board of the " Ulysses " less uncomfortable than he had apprehended, but nevertheless far from being a pleasant one ; and he eagerly accepted a proposal from Captain Rowan to rejoin the "Eliza," and take the position of third mate on her homeward passage. As Captain Lamb could easily procure experienced officers at Canton, he consented to this arrangement; and, professing entire satisfaction with the manner in which Mr. Sturgis had performed his duties, promptly paid him his wages and com- missions. The "Eliza" soon afterwards sailed, and arrived in Boston in the spring of the year 1800. The reputation of Mr. Sturgis Avas now so far established, that he was immediately engaged to serve as first mate and assistant-trader on board of the ship " Caroline," owned by Messrs. James and Thomas Lamb and others, and then fitting out for a three-years' voyage to the Pacific Ocean and China, under the command of Captain Charles Derby of Salem, — a worthy man, but not particularly qualified for the enterprise, as he was in feeble health, had not before visited the Coast, and knew nothing of the Lidian trade. He appeared to be in a consumption when they sailed; and his health failed so rapidly, that, before the end of the first year, ho virtually 2 10 MEMOIR OF WILLIAM STURGIS. gave up the command to Mr. Sturgis ; and, in the course of the second year, he formally resigned it to him, went on shore at the Sandwich Islands, and there died shortly afterwards. Thus this young man, at the early age of nineteen, and with less than four years' experience at sea, became master of a large ship in a far distant country j the sole conductor of an enterprise requiring the hif^hest qualifications of seaman- ship, together with the greatest energy and discretion in the management of a large crow, employed in peculiar and miscellaneous services on shore as well as on board; and requiring also unceasing vigilance and courage to prevent surprises and attacks by the savage inhabitants, and great judgment and skill in conducting a barter trade, now com- mitted wholly to his cara and responsibility. He proved himself worthy of the trust. He completed the voyage with entire success. He had obtained a valuable collection of furs on the Coast, which he exchanged at Canton for an assorted China cargo, and with this returned to Boston in the spring of the year 1803, to the great satisfaction and profit of his em- ployers ; and thus entitled himself to stand in the foremost rank in the most difficult and responsible department of his chosen profession. It is difficult to imagine a state of more intense satisfac- tion and of more laudable pride, than that with which this youth, just entering upon manhood, and not yet invested with its legal responsibilities, must have greeted the shores of his native State. Only five years before, he had left it as a stripling before the mast, and he was now returning to it as the master of a noble ship, with a valuable cargo on board, the fruit in great measure of his own skill and exertions, and with the consciousness of an established reputation that would thereafter enable him to command opportunities in the road to rank and fortune. The combination of circumstan"ccs which thus led liim at this i '4 1 MEMOIR OP WILLIAM 8TURGIS. 11 le master ductor of F seaman- ion in the iliar and aid; and 3 prevent and great now com- e proved yage with ion of furs n assorted 5 spring of of his em- e foremost ent of his le satisfac- (vhich this ested with ores of his 3ft it as a ing to it as on board, irtions, and that would n the road him ill this early age so suddenly and unexpectedly to the pinnacle of his ariJbition, and a position of such grave and honorable respon- sibility, cannot but arrest the attention c:' the most thought- less reader. To such as may be disposed to account it fortuitous it certainly presents a remarkable probleln in the calculation of chances. But to those who believe, that there is " a Divinity that shapes our ends, rough-hew them how we will," this wonderful adaptation of the means to the end, and these events, seemingly so accidental and disconnected, working harmoniously to show how capacity and success may be the reward of energy and faithfulness in the spring- time of life, will suggest a more inspiring solution, in the lesson of instruction and encouragement which it was intended to convey. There is not the slightest reason for believing that young Sturgis entered the counting-room of his kinsman with any especial purpoce in reference to his subsequent career, the only apparent cause being the willing- ness of a relative to lend to hirii a helping hand in preparing him for mercantile life; but the knowledge which he thus acquired of the qualities and relative natures of furs was doubtless the chief external cause of his early and surpris- ing success. It induced his first commander to select him as his assistant in trading with the natives. This opened wide to him the door for the learning of their languages, the cultivation of their confidence and friendship, and the acquisition of tact and skill in dealing with them ; and these attainments, already great, were doubtless of most important influence in causing hi appointment as chief mate of the " Ulysses," which, again, was the introduction to his subse- quent precocious and successful career. As his early qualification had, while he was gaining it, no direct reference to the great results to which it led, so the opportunities for its almost immediate and successful appli- cation had no probable connection with any such use of it in the ordinary course of events. The most extravagant fancy m ! 12 MEMOIR OP WILLIAM STURGIS. could not have pictured a more improbable thing than the sudden elevation to which a mutiny on board of another ship, upon a far-distant and wild coast, was so soon to raise him ; or the further advancement which was to follow so iramedifttely, in his next voyage, from the resignation of the master, vesting in him the command of the ship, and consti- tuting him the sole conductor of one of the most arduous and responsible enterprises of the naval profession. Of course the owners of the vessel were solicitous for the continuance of such an agent in their service. She was accordingly at once fitted out, and sailed under his command on another similar voyage, which also proved eminently suc- cessful, terminating in June in the year 1806. Mr. Sturgis, or, as he was then uniformly styled, Captain Sturgis, was now first in the foremost rank of all engaged in this department of commercial enterprise ; and his services were of course eagerly sought for. Mr. Theodore Lyman, a merchant of Boston, had become largely interested in the North-west trade. He had, at this time, two ships on the Coast ; and was fitting out another for the same destination, named the " Atahualpa." He offered Captain Sturgis very liberal terms to take command of this ship and proceed to the Coast for one season, and assume the charge and direction of all his business there ; and thence to go on to Canton, taking with him one of the two other vessels, and the furs collected by all of them, to be exchanged for homeward cargoes. This offer was accepted ; and, in October, he sailed on his fourth voyage round the world. Thus the sailor-boy of 1798 had become in 1806, as it were, an admiral, in command of a fleet upon the Coast, where, eight years before, he had arrived in the humblest station. This expedition also proved very profitable both to Mr. Lyman and to himself, and termi- nated on his arrival in Boston in June, 1808. The threatening aspect of the foreign relations of the United States, and the embargo which then paralyzed com- MEMOm OF WILLIAM STUUGIS. 13 than the [ another n to raise follow 80 on of the id consti- luous and ua for the She was command lently suc- i, Captain mgaged in s services I Lyman, a •,ed in the ps on the estination, irgis very eed to the irection of ;on, taking 9 collected oes. This lis fourth 1798 had nand of a 3, he had so proved and termi- ins of the lyzed com- mercial enterprise, detained Mr. Sturgis at home until April in the year 1809 ; when he again sailea in command of the " Atahualpa," for Mr. Lyman, upon a direct voyage to Canton, with an outfit exceeding three hundred thousand Spanish milled dollars, to be invested there in a return cargo. In this adventure the late Mr. John Bromfield Avas associated with him, — a gentleman of great intelligence and elevated charac- ter. A warm friendship immediately grew up between them, which constituted much of the happiness of their lives, until the lamented death of Mr. Bromfield in the year 1849. The vessel, lightly armed with a few small cannon, came to anchor in Macao Roads (about seventy miles from Canton) on the night of the 21st of August; and, early the next morning, was attacked by a fleet of sixteen Ladrone or pirati- cal vessels, some of them heavily armed, under command of Appotesi, a noted rebel-chief. The fight was a very desperate one oil the part of the comparatively small crew of the " Ata- hualpa," and continued for more than an hour ; some of the pirates being so near as to succeed in throwing combustibles on board, which set the vessel on fire in many places. But the coolness and intrepidity of her commander, aided by the presence and assistance of Mr. Bromfield, inspired her gal- lant crew with invincible courage. The pirates were repulsed with great slaughter, and the ship was enabled to escape, and find protection under the guns of the Portuguese fort. She was again attacked by them on lier passage up, in company with four other American ships, but finally reached Canton in safety. This voyage, like all the rest in which he had been engaged, terminated very successfully, and he arrived at Boston in April, 1810. By twelve years of arduous effort and unremitted toil in the service of others, at sea and in foreign lands, and by pru- dent economy, Mr. Sturgis had at last acquired suflicient means for establishing himself in business on his own account. He concluded, therefore, to abandon the sea; and now entered into 14 MEMOIR OF WILLIAM STURGIS. copartnership with Mr. John Bryant, under the name and firm of " Bryant and Sturgis," as merchant? resident in Boston for the prosecution of foreign trade. Th'.d copartnership continued for more than half a century, being for many years the oldest in the city of Boston, and was indeed terminated only by the death of Mr. Sturgis. Although these gentlemen were unlike in many respects, and entertained different views on many subjects, their connection was entirely harmonious ; and the writer of this Memoir heard Mr. Sturgis, not long before his decease, remark that no unpleasant word had ever passed between them. Their business was principally with places upon the Coast of the Pacific and with China; and, from the year 1810 to 1840, more than half of the trade carried on with those countries from the United States was under their direction. They occasionally, however, had commercial inter- course with nearly every quarter of the world. In the year 1810, Mr. Sturgis was united in marriage to Elizabeth M., daughter of John Davis, Judge of the Dis- trict Court of the United States for the District of Massa- chusetts : clarum et venerabile nomen, which, to those who knew him, recalls the image of one of the most scholarly, benignant, and venerable gentlemen, and one of the purest, most enlightened, and humane judges, that ever blessed so- ciety, or ever adorned the bench. His presence was felt as a benediction no less in court than everywhere else. It was he, who, not long before his death, while sitting, in an autumn twilight, at his window in the country, conversing with a friend upon old age, and the falling leaves as illustrative of the decay of life, replied, " Yes ; but th ^n we see the stars more plainly." Mr. and Mrs. Sturgis had six children: one son, who died at an early age ; and five daughters, all of whom were mar- ried, and three of whom, with their mother, survive him. It could not be otherwise than that a person of the mental strength and activity of Mr. Sturgis should soon become MEMOIR OP WILLIAM STURGIS. 15 and firm (ston for ontinued le oldest y by the :e unlike on many and the efore his r passed h places from the arried on ider their jial inter- marriage • the Dis- of Massa- liose who scholarly, le purest, essed so- s felt as a t was ho, n autumn ig with a trative of the stars who died were mar- him. he mental in become m generally known and appreciated, and that any political party should desire to increase its power and influence by sending him as its representative in the public councils. Nor was it less natural, that one whom rapid and unexampled success must have inspired with confidence should be willing to widen the sphere of his reputation and influence. We find accordingly, that, in the year 1814, he was elected a representative of the town of Boston in the Legislature of Massachusetts ; and such was his capacity and fidelity, that, from that period until 1845, he was for the greater portion of the time a member of the House or of the Senate. He was not, however, and from his nature could not be, popular in political life, nor fitted to succeed as an aspirant for political preferment, even if his taste or inclination had pointed in that direction. He was altogether too independent and self-relying, and too single-minded in his conceptions of duty, to enter into the compromises required of the leaders of a political party, however necessary such compromises may be considered, and however justifiable in persons of different temperament, or of what perhaps may be accounted broader views of policy. No party could rely upon his support of measures, or his acquiescence in them, for its own sake, when, in his private judgment, they conflicted with the general welfare. The too often controlling argument, that the preservation of the existence or power of the party is the one thing essential for the public safety, or that " the party is the State," could never weaken his conviction, that he was the servant of the State, an^ not of any party. His political influence, however, was the greater in general society ; and was perhaps as potent as that of any other individual not in the highest rfink of public service. He was nominated for election to the House of Representatives in Congress at the time when Mr. Nathan Appleton was a candidate, as representing the principle of protection in opposition to that of free trade ; but ho withdrew from the canvass in order to secure his friend's 16 MEMOIR OP WILLIAM STURGI3. ! i success. He was an active and influential member of the Convention for revising the Constitution of the State in 1820. For some years preceding his death, he had been the oldest member of the Boston Marine Society, of which he was for a time the President. He was an honorary member of the Massachusetts Mechanics' Charitable Association ; and a member of the Massachusetts Historical Society, to whoso archives he made important contributions, and to whose funds he was a liberal benefactor. Of the character, intellectual ability, and varied attainments of Mr. Sturgis, there happily remain memorials highly valu- able and interesting, which, for the sake of history, and in justice to his memory, should be put in a permanent form. They consist of his " Diary, or Journal of his First Voyage " ; " Three Lectures upon the North-west Coast," originally de- livered before the Mercantile Library Association in 1845-6, and subsequently, by request, before the members of the House of Representatives ; an article in the " North-American Review" in 1822, (vol. xv., art. 18, p. 370,) upon the subject of " The Claims of Russia upon the North-west Coast " ; a pamphlet containing the substance of a Lecture upon the Oregon Question in 1845; and two articles upon the tragedy on board the United States brig-of-war " Somers," printed in the "Semi-weekly Courier" of Aug. 7, 1843, entitled "The Somers Mutiny." The most interesting portion of his life, as affording means for contemplating the formation and the peculiarities of his character, was that which began with his first voyage to the North-west Coast at sixteen years of age, and ended with his last expedition abroad, from which he returned at the age of twenty-eight, after attaining a measure of success, in knowl- edge, reputation, and wealth, which might satisfy the reason- able hopes of most men, if it were the result of a long life ardently devoted to the pursuit. The "Diary" contains not only the records of events of MEMOIR OF WILLIAM STURGIS. 17 ordinary daily interest (us the courses of the vessel, and barters with the natives and others), which might be made in moments snatched from duty or rest, but full descriptions of the places visited, of the various tribes, of the modes of traffic, of the manners and habits of the Indians, interspersed with occa- sional impressive descriptions of scenery, and with anecdotes characteristic of savage life. And with them are mingled citations from Shakspeare, Milton, and Goldsmith ; indicating, that, amid all the severe and engrossing labors of his daily life, this boy-man was nourishing the germs of a literary taste, which was to ornament, and minister to the happiness and use- fulness of, his maturer years. " Ossian " was one of his favorite books at sea ; and, to the mind of a young man, turning from the exhausting drudgeries of daily toil to seek literary* food in pastures of his own choosing, there was a not unaccount- able affinity in the tone and sentiment of that vague and mystical poetry with the wild and often sublime solitudes of the North-west Coast, where so many of his days, and watches of the night, were passed. In this " Diary," also, are contained tables of the longitude and latitude of every place visited, and of the number of skins acquired; also a sort of dictionary or list of the most fa- miliar Indian words, — the English in one column, and those of the several tribes opposite to them in corresponding ones, — evidencing the pains he took for the accurate learning of their languages. Of these he became so thoroughly a master, that, as the writer of this Memoir has been recently informed by one, who, engaged in the like enterprises, saw him upon the Coast, he could not only carry on the trade with the natives, and converse with them easily about matters of ordinary intercourse in their own tongues, but could freely discuss with them any other topics in which they were inter- ested, including themes of religion, philosophy, and morals, as well as of trade ; and could banter and exchange repartees with them as familiarly as any one of their number. The 8 18 MEMOIR OF WILLIAM STUROIS. same gentleman states further, that his popularity with the Indian chiefs was unbounded ; that ho was universally known, welcomed, and trusted ; and that he exercised an influence among them, to which no white man ever before attained, and in which no chief excelled him. He not only kept this minute and accurate record of all the transactions relating to his own vessel and his trade, but one also of all the vessels which they met on the Coast, or of which they could obtain any account ; — of their voyages, the places they visited, the number of skins they obtained, and all the other incidents tending to a perfect knowledge of the business. His " Journal " is replete with criticisms and comments upon the manner of conducting the trade, and the vices, faults, follies, and mistakes of those engaged in it; evincing a clearness of vision, maturity of judgment, and decision of character, truly wonderful in a lad of seventeen years of age ; and winding up with a detailed statement of the course to be pursued in order to make a successful voyage. By the extensive knowledge of details which he was ever careful to obtain, and by a constant study of the various ele- ments and phases of the business in which he was engaged, he afterwards became enabled to foresee the fluctuations and changes which would necessarily follow the precipitate em- barkation in it of numerous adventurers whom its profitable- ness would soon allure, and thus to avoid their miscalculations and the mischances which befell most of them, and to accumu- late wealth for himself and his employers, while many others at the same time encountered only ruinous losses. There are upon record instances of marvellous precocity in poetical invention, and in limited departments of science, which have excited the astonishment and admiration of the wuild ; but it may well be doubted whether any such instance can be accounted more surprising, in its kind,*than this, of practical ability in a youth, leaping as it were in an instant from the forecastle to the quarter-deck an accomplished navi- MEMOIR OF WILLIAM STURGIS. 19 gator, endowed with the irresistible power of command, which a strange and mutinous crew could not but obey ; — speedily attaining, as if by intuition, a knowledge of the principles, details, complications, and whole scope of a newly discovered trade on a far-distant, savage coast ; with a knowledge, also, of human nature, and a tact in controlling men, both civilized and savage, which very few in long lives of service among them acquire; — governing and governed by the principles of an inflexible justice and by a high sense of honor; — and mingling with the severest of human labors and responsi- bilities the habitual cultivation of literary taste. The following are extracts from the " Diary," on his first arrival on the Coast, a few days before entering upon his eighteenth year, with no other opportunities for mental cul- ture than those above stated, and none for this sort of com- position but such as could be snatched at intervals from tlie laborious drudgery and miscellaneous interruptions of life in the forecastle. Here are two descriptions of scenery in Norfolk Sound : — "The appearance of the country here is really romantic. On one side of us, within pistol-shot, and Avhich seems in the evening almost as if you could touch it, is a thick spruce wood, extending close to the water's edge, frowning in native horror, and looks to be only fit for wild beasts to prowl in : on the other side appears a mixture of land and water. At short distances are passages which either run inland, or, by joining, cut the country up into small islands. Some of them are not much larger than the ship, and numbers much smaller. They are composed of rocks rising just clear of the surface of the water, on which is sprinkled a little soil ; and from this rises a thick cluster of tall spruce-trees, which, in the tout ensemble, look very handsome, and often bring to my mind the romantic little Island of Poplars, in which is Rousseau's tomb. Add to this the melancholy sighing of the wind among the pines. But a truce to descriptions ; and let me pro- ceed to business " The place where we walked was all rocks ; and, on the shore- side of us, they rose like a barrier, in some places full an hundred li so MEMOIR OF WILLIAM STUROIS. feet perpendicultir. On the tops of those (which overhung all the beach beyond the Point) again are tall spruce-trees, which seem to grow on the edge of the precipices as plenty and as thick as on the lowland. Some of them, which had advanced their heads too high for the feeble support their roots afforded, had shared the fate of all such foolish pretenders, by being dashed from the pinnacle to the bottom of the precipice ; and, with their roots still clinging to the rocks above, and their heads on the beach below, offered an instruc- tive example to thousands, who, by presuming on as slight founda- tions, have no right to expect aught but the same fate. ... In the afternoon, two large canoes came round the East Point; and, as they turned it, all joined in a war-song, which they rattled off with spirit quite handsomely. Upon their approach, we found that they each contained a petty chief, and about nine young men. The chiefs, who were both good-looking men, and carried themselves with great dignity, sat upon a high box in the middle of the canoes. They had beards about two inches long, with a considerable pair of whiskers ; and wore very long hair^-which, by what we could understand, was taken from the heads of their enemies killed in battle. The tops of their heads were powdered with small geese-down ; and a long red and yellow feather, painted, which rose over all, completed the head- dress. In their ears they wore a kind of shell of pearl, which is of some value here, and, when the coast was first visited, was esteemed of very great. Over their shoulders they wore a cloth of their own manufacture, about a fathom square, made out of the wool of their mountain sheep : round the edges they work in sea-otter's fur ; and, on the Avhole, it makes a very handsome appearance. What they wore on their legs I could not say, as they did not condescend to rise from their seats, but, after purchasing three or four muskets, lefl us, and went on shore. All the young men in the canoes had their faces daubed with red and black, and their heads powdered with red ochre and geese-down. This, though no doubt only what is conformable to their ideas of beauty, yet made them look not far unlike Milton's de- cription of Death, — ' Fierce as ten furies, terrible as hell.* " The following is an account of a visit to an Indian habi- tation : — " Alsatree now took me by the hand, and led me towards the house. In entering it, you may well imagine my astonishment, when, instead of six or eight people, as I expected, I beheld about forty II MEMOIR OF WILLIAM STUROIS. 21 people — men, women, nml children — seated around an enormous fire, which was made in the middle of tlic house. Some were employed in making flsh-hooktrfor halilxit • some, wood.n bowls. The women wore busy broiling and boiling halibut ; the childrvu, waiting upon the old folks ; and several 'f the females, who were not slaves, making wooden lips. At my entrance, labor stood suspended ; and they looked at me with about as much astonishment as Hamlet, when he first saw his father's ghost." It appears that affection and sentiment are not exclusively confined, as seems sometimes to be supposed, to what we call the civilized heart. Speaking of the death of Captain New- bury, who had acquired the confidence and friendship of the Indians by his kindness and justice, a chief said: — *' Newbury — a good man 1 He is now gone to a good country, and I shall not see him again : but I have his chest at my house in which he kept his clrthes ; and, when I look at it, I think of him. • • • • • " Mr. Bumstead and myself went on shore on the beach, and took a walk through their huts. There were about fourteen, with eleven or twelve persons around each ; and they did not look unlike what our imagination pictures to us of bands of robbers seated around their fires in some dark forest, Avhere they waylay the unwary traveller. They, however, so far from molesting, treated us with the greatest civility ; and, as we passed each tent, would insist upon our sitting down with them. But, after having seen those we knew, and shaken hands with all, we returned immediately on board. We saw Shanakate, the Great Eater ; and though supperless, yet he appeared happy, surrounded by his children, whose faces, newly varnished Avith train oil and red ochre, shone by the light of the fire like the body of a chaise newly painted, and verified Goldsmith's description of a port of rural felicity, where the fond father * Smiles at his cheerful fire, and round surveys His children's looks, that brighten with the bluze.' " There are several notices of cases where chiefs had been entrapped on board of vessels, and confined in irons until 22 MEMOIR OF WILLIAM 8TURGIS. compelled to regain their freedom by heavy ransoms, following is one of them : — The " He [one of the chiefs], however, would not venture himself on board of us ; having been several times made prisoner by different vessels, and obliged to ransom himself by giving up the greatest part of his skins. This was the Avay some people, not worthy of the name of men (and who, I thank Heaven, cannot call themselves Americans), took to make their fortunes. C , C , and Alsatree, the prin- cipal chiefs on the coast, they trepanned on board their ships ; and, having seized and laid some of ♦':om in irons, forced them, contrary to every principle of honor or humanity, to deliver up their skins before they would give them their liberty." From the earlier entries in the "Journal," it appears, that, when he arrived upon the Coast, the author was imbued with all the prejudices against the Indians, which, at that period, prevailed so universally among his countrymen, and the sources of which he attempts in the third Lecture to explain. This circumstance invests his subsequent opinions, formed after long and familiar personal acquaintance with them, and very peculiar opportunities for careful and extensive observa- tion, with a peculiar interest and truthfulness. And so keenly did he always feel and express himself upon the subject, that probably no thought would have cheered his dying hour more gratefully, than that he should be instrumental in leaving on record a testimonial in their behalf. The three "Lectures" are particularly valuable for their developmentof the habits of life and the moral and intellectual characters of those Indian tribes by one who lived with them on terms of familiar and confiding friendship, and as constitut- ing the most important and trustworthy record, if not the only one, of their later, soon to become their final, history. Nor are they less strikingly illustrative of the noble traits of character of their author in the details of his intercourse with the Indians, and of the efforts which he ever loved to make, in MEMOIR OF WILLIAM STURGIS. 23 public and in private, to vindicate them from the obloquy and hatred of which they have been too generally and thought- lessly the objects. His opportunities were such as particularly qualified him for this undertaking, since his first visit to the Coast was made in 1799, about twenty years after Cook's discovery of Nootka Sound, and while the generation was still living that " wit- nessed the arrival of the first white man among them ; and many of the very individuals who were prominent at the time of Cook's visit were still in the prime of life, and became personally known to him." He passed a number of years among them at the time when they were first becoming known to the civilized world, and were in a state approximating to that in which the discoverers of the northern portion of our conti- nent found the aboriginal inhabitants ; and he continued to carry on the trade with them, personally or by agents, until it ceased to be valuable, — witnessing its growth, maximum, decrease, and final abandonment by the citizens of the United States. The " Lectures " are written in a clear, simple, and ex- pressive style, indicating familiarity with English literature, and at times exhibiting the truest eloquence in sentiment and description. Although requested for the press by the appreciative audience to which they were originally addressed, and after- wards by others, the author uniformly declined to publish them, from distrust, as is understood, of their value. They are, however, well worthy of being perpetuated, as interesting and authentic memorials of a very important though temporary department of commercial enterprise, and of the manners and characters of a people now rapidly becoming extinct; and also as a vindication of the natives from the unmerited re- proaches heaped upon them by the corrupters, oppressors, and murderers of their race. His feelings upon this subject are thus emphatically ex- pressed at the commencement of the first Lecture: — I '■U: '' Vk mil! I 24 MEMOIR OP WILLIAM STURGIS. " These early visits gave me the opportunity, too, of observing changes in the habits and manners of the Indians, effected by inter- course with a more civilized race ; and, I regret to add, brought to my knowledge the injustice, violence, and bloodshed which have marked the progress of this intercourse from first to last. I cannot expect that others will feel the adme degree of interest in these reminiscences that I feel ; but I have thought that they might en- gage your attention for a while, and perhaps awaken sympathy for the remnant of a race fast disappearing from the earth, — victims of injustice, cruelty, and oppression, and of a policy that seems to recog- nize power as the sole standard of right." Again, near the close : — " The numerous tragical occurrences on the Coast show the per- sonal hazards incurred by those engaged in the trade, and perhaps warrant the remark of Mr. Greenhow, in his valuable memoir upon Oregon, prepared by order of Congress. Speaking of the American trade upon the Coast, he says : ' The persons engaged in this trade were constantly exposed to the most dreadful hardships and dangers, against which nothing but extraordinary courage and skill on their part could have enabled them to struggle successfully. More than one American ship has been seized, and all on board massacred, by the natives of the Pacific coasts ; and seldom, indeed, did a vessel from the United States complete her voyage in that ocean, without losing some part of her crew by the treachery of those with whom they were dealing.' Mr. Greenhow and myself agree, in the main, as to the facts, but are at issue as to the cause. He ascribes it to the treachery and ferocity of the Indians ; I, with better opportunities for investigating and ascertaining the truth, find the cause in the lawless and brutal violence of white men : and it would be easy to show that these fatal disasters might have been averted by a different treatment of the natives, and by prudence and proper precaution on the part of their civilized visitors." The second Lecture is more particularly devoted to the ciiaracter, manners, and domestic habits of the Indians. The following description will probably surprise many who have been accustomed to look upon them as little better than beasts of the field ; and, rightly considered, might do some- i MEMOIR OF WILLIAM STURGIS. 25 thing towards improving and elevating the domestic rehitions of parent and cliild, as generally acted upon even in highly civilized Christian communities : — " The Indians of whom I speak are piscatory in their pursuits ; reside upon the borders of the sea, from which they draw their prin- cipal subsistence ; and use altogether the canop, both for this purpose and for transporting themselves and families from place to place. Their migrations are limited to a change of residence from one per- manent village to another at different seasons of the year, following the periodical movements of the several species of fish upon which they mainly depend for food ; and to trading excursions, which are often made, sometimes to distant points, visiting tribes residing several h mdred miles, from their own village. Upon these occasions they are usually accompanied by their women and children, who are adroit and skilful in the management of canoes, and, in taking and curing fish, are as efficient as the men themselves. These circum- stances, exercising a material influence upon their domestic and social character, have, in a degree, softened the naturally stern nature of these Indians, and rendered them less sanguinary than the tribes in tlie interior. War, however, is not unfrequent ; and bravery and skill in conducting it ai'e qualities commanding as high admiration and respect as among the most warlike people : and the Indian upon the borders of the Pacific accords to an accomplished and successful destroyer of his fellow-men the same pre-eminence that is conceded to him by the most civilized nations. In their domestic relations, they manifest as much tenderness and nffcciion as can he found in any state of society. The constant presence of their women gives to them a proper influence ; and their position, though subordinate in some respects, is, upon the whole, as favorable as that occupied by their sex in civilized life, — nominal submission, actual control. Children are uniformly treated loith tenderness and indulgence, seldom punished, and never sfrnch. " Tiie Indian doctrine is, that it may be necessary to beat dogs, but not to strike a child. The children, on their part, seem intui- tively respectful and submissive to their seniors. I do not recollect io have seen punishment inflicted upon a child but in a single instance, and then not very severely. A woman, with a family of children, was alongside of the ship in her canoe, making some purchases ; and, among other articles, she obtained a quantity of molasses, which was 11 26 MEMOIR OF WILLIAM STURGIS. put into a large tub in her canoe. A little naked urchin, two or three years old, half covered Avith oil and dirt, made repeated attempts to get at the molasses, much to the mother's annoyance. At length, in a great pet, she caught the child by the arms, and plunged it into the tub, leaving it seated in the viscid substance up to its chin. The child bore the punishment with as much stoicism, and employed him- self in the same manner, as a young Yankee would have done. " The only occasion upon which blows are inflicted is in the prac- tice of a singular custom among them. At times during the Avinter, in a cold, frosty morning, all the boys of a village, from five to ten years old, assemble upon a sandy beach in a state of nudity ; and, each having furnished himself with a bunch of rods, they wade into the Avater up to their armpits : and then commences an uproarious scene ; each one using his rods Avith his whole strength in thrashing every one Avho comes Avithin his reach, ahvays giA'ing a preference to those of his own size. This continues for some time ; when, at a given signal, a general plunge and a short SAvim finishes the frolic, and they resume their garments and their gi'avity. The Indians say that this practice hardens the bodies of the little felloAvs, and the flagellation they get loosens their skins,' and thus promotes their growth." These untaught savages do not appear to have attained to the scientific discovery in favor of the flagellation of children, — that it is salutary as a counter-irritant, in order to relieve irritation within ; but they seem to have found out what may be more valuable, namely, the means of preventing it. It proba- bly had never occurred to them as a convenient safety-valve for letting oif the impatience, spleen, or ill-temper of the parent. A conversation with a chief concerning the ornaments with Avhich the Indians are accustomed to adorn themselves is alike amusing and suggestive : — "• Their fancy for many articles could be traced to a desire to imi- tate their somewhat more polished visitors ; and the absurdity, if any there Avas, lay in the manner in Avhich they used tliem. When attacked upon this point, they AA'ould dryly refer to some of our usages as equally absurd with their own. Talking one day upon such MEMOIR OP WILLIAM STURGI8. 27 matters with Altadsce, a sarcastic old chief of the Hanslong tribe, I ridiculed the practice of covering their own and their children's garments with rows of brass and gilt buttons, and loading them with old keys, to be kept bright at a great expense of labor. ' Why,' said he, ' the white men wear buttons.' — ' True,' I replied ; • but they are useful to us : the fashion of our garments requires buttons to secure them.' — ' Ah ! * said he, ' perhaps it is so ; but I could never discover the usefulness of half a dozen buttons upon your coat-tails : and, as for the waste of labor in scouring old keys, you are right ; it is very fool- ish, and almost as ridiculous as the fashion, which I am told prevails in your country, of placing brass balls upon iron fences in front of your houses, to be polished every day, and tarnished every night. Truly,' he added, ' Eijets hardi and Hanslong hardi cootnanous coonnug ' ('White people and Hanslong people are equally foolish ')." Their dwellings, furniture, and household ornaments are thus described: — " Their dwellings are of a more permanent character than those of the Indians in the interior. In the winter villages, some of the houses are quite large, covered with boards, and probably as com- fortable as the houses in London and Paris are represented to have been five centuries ago. I have seen houses upon the southern part of the Coast more than one hundred feet in length, and forty in breadth ; and Jewett, who was two years a prisoner among them, describes Maquinna's house at Nootka as a hundred and fifty feet long. In articles of furniture, either for use or ornament, they are quite deficient ; and their mode of living is so simple, that little is required. The only ornamental articles I recollect to have seen in their houses were copper tea-kettles. These we imported from Hol- land, and carried to the Coast in large quantities. It would have been almost sacrilege among the Indians to have degraded this beautiful piece of furniture, as they esteemed it, to culinary uses. It was placed in an elevated and conspicious position in the house, kept per- fectly bright, and regarded with as much solicitude and care as I have elsewhere seen beotowed upon a tawdry French vase, filled with showy artificial flowers, and carefully covered with a glass case." Of their usual denaeanor, he says : — " The Indians are not a joyous race, and have few amusements. The only public ones are singing and dancing, and these not in a style ill' 28 MEMOIR OP WILLIAM 8TURGIS. -Is: f i; !j I! !i calculated to inspire or indulge mirth. The women take no active part in the dance ; but their pleasant voices are often heard in song, sometimes with great sweetness and pathos. Tiieir musical instru- ments are a hollow cylinder, used as a drum, and rattles of various sorts ; but they are only used to mark time, and stimulate the dancers, who take great pains to prepare themselves for the occasion, and only appear in full dress. When engaged in the war-dance, they cover the head with scalps taken from their enemies, the hair filled with the down of sea-fowl or the eagle. Their mode of scalping adapts it to this purpose; for they take off the whole skin of the head, preserving ji. entire, with the hair attached. I cannoi commend their grace in the dance ; but their spirit is worthy of imitation. They engage in it with some life and animation : at least it was easy to discover whether the dancers were awake or asleep, — a fact not readily ascer- tained in modern days in more polished communities." After commenting upon the imperfect, prejudiced, and par- tial descriptions of Indian character generally to be found in books and in the stories of iravellers, Mr. Sturgis thus an- nounces the result of his own observation and otudy of it: — " My own opportunities were favorable for observing and estimat- ing Indian character ; but, even with a close and long-continued intimacy under circumstances that tended to dispel the reserve that an Indian maintains in his intercourse with strangers, I found it scarcely possible to comprehend, much less to describe him, or to understand his motive for much that he does. Ilis character is made up of incongruous and seemingly conflictiug elements. The ncjjlest impulses and best feelings of man's nature are in him closely allied to brutal propensities ; and the bright and dark hues are so mixed and blended, that at times they are scarcely distinguishable, and seem lost in one another. He is, even to those who have most carefully studied him, a mystti'ious being, and must remain so ; for we cannot fully comprehend his impulses and motives : and doubtless Mr. Schqplcraft is correct in reuuirking, as he does, that ' the civilized man is no less a mysterious and unaccountable being to an Indian, because his springs of action are alike unintelligible to him.' But, while it may not be possible to comprehend all the anomalies of In- dian character, enough may be discovered and understood to i>tit'.