iHi ,%- IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) k A {./ ^.0^ % ■6r 4 ^ ^. IX) I I.I 1.25 |43 122 12.0 U 11.6 i. ^ ^ \ V % '^^ A^ Photographic Sciences Corporation 33 WfST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. USSO (716) 872-4503 rV 4 •ss \ :\ ^\ '^\ <^. <^ V CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHM/ICMH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions / Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques Technical and Bibliographic Notes/Notes techniques et bibliographiques The Institute has attempted to obtain the best original copy available for filming. Features of this copy which may be bibliographically unique, which may alter any of the images in the reproduction, or which may significantly change the usual method of filming, are checked below. D D D D D D D Coloured covers/ Couverture de cruleur I I Covers damaged/ Couverture endommag^e Covers restored and/or laminated/ Couverture restaurde et/ou pellicul6e [" I Cover title missing/ Le titre de couverture manque I I Coloured maps/ Cartes gdographiques en couleur Coloured ink (i.e. other than blue or black)/ Encre de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire) I I Coloured plates and/or illustrations/ Planches et/ou illustrations en couleur Bound with other material/ Reli6 avec d'autres documents Tight binding may cause shadows or distortion along interior margin/ La re liure serr6e oeut causer de I'ombre ou de la distortion le lor de la marge int^rieure 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 ajout^es lors d'une restauration apparaissent dans le texte, mais, lorsque cela dtait possible, ces pages n'ont pas 6t6 filmdes. Additional comments:/ Commentaires suppl^mentaires: L'Institut a microfilm^ le meilleur exemplaire qu'il lui a 6t6 possible de se procurer. Les details de cet exemplaire qui sont peut-dtre uniques du point de vue bibliographique, qui peuvent modifier une image reproduite, ou qui peuvent exiger une modification dans la m^thode normale de filmage sont indiqu^s ci-dessous. n n n n Coloured pages/ Pages de couleur Pages damaged/ Pages endommagdes Pages restored and/or laminated/ Pages restaurdes et/ou pellicultes Pages discoloured, stained or foxdd/ Pages dicolor^es, tachet6es ou piqudes Pages detached/ Pages ddtach^es Showthrough/ Transparence Quality of print varies/ Qualitd indgale de I'impression Includes supplementary material/ Comprend du materiel suppl^mentaira Only edition available/ Seule Edition 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 6t6 filmies d nouveau de fapon d obtenir la meilleure image possible. This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ Ce document est filmd au tuux de reduction indiqu^ ci-dessous 10X 14X 18X 22X 26X »X 7 12X 16X 20X 24X 28X 32X ails du idifier une nage Tha copy filmad hara has baan raproducad thanks to tha ganaroaity of: Library Division Provincial Archives of British Columbia Tha imagas appaaring hara ara tha bast quality posslbia conaldaring tha condition and lagiblllty of tha original copy and in Icaaping with tha filming contract spacifications. L'axamplaira film* fut raproduit grica i la gAnirosit* da: Library Division Provincial Archives of British Columbia Las imagas suivantas ont At* raproduitas avac la plus grand soin, compta tanu da la condition at da la nattat* da raxampiaira film*, at an conformity avac las conditions du ^ontrat da filmaga. Original copias in printad papar covars ara filmad baginring with tha front covar and anding on tha last paga with a printad or illustratad impras- sion, or tha back covar whan appropriata. All othar original copias ara filmad baginning on tha first paga with a printad or illustratad impras- sion, and anding on tha last paga with a printad or illustratad imprassion. Tha last racordad frama on aach microfiche shall contain tha symbol -^ (meaning "CON- TINUED"), or tha symbol ▼ (maaning "END"). whichavar applies. Las axamplairas originaux dont la couverture en papier est ImprimAa sont filmis an commandant par la premier plat at an terminant soit par la 4arniAra page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration. soit par la second plat, salon la cas. Tous las autras exemplaires originaux sont filmAs an commandant par la premiere page qui comporte une err.preinte d'impression ou d'illustration et en terminant par la dernidre page qui comporte une telle empreinte. Un des symboles suivants apparaltra sur la derniAre image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbols -^ signifie "A SUIVRE ", le symbols V signifie "FIN". Maps, plates, cherts, 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 Atre filmAs A des taux de reduction diffArents Lorsque le document est trop grand pour Atra raproduit en un seul clichA. il est filmA A partir de Tangle supArieur gauche, de gauche A droite. at de haut an bas. en prenant le nombre d'images nAcessaira. Las diagrammas suivants iilustrant la mAthoda. rrata o leiure, id □ 32X 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 6 6 Uot\d. r • * SOME AC COUNT O F TH E • North- Weftern Coafts of America. ^Ti .*:at. From Captain Cook, who vifited thofe places in the Summer of 1778. ■|^* / ' ''"i-j.. THE continent of America> being now traced to the north-weft, from California, quite up to latitude 70 north; it appears to be feparated only from he eaftem-moft coaft of Afia, by a ftreight of 13 leagues in breaddi, called Bherings ftraits. Captain Cook coafted this continent from Nootka-Sound, in latitude 50. to Norton-Sound, in latitude 645 an extent of 700 miles. He was not fo long on Ihore, at any one time, as to be able to give a perfed defcription of die country, and Vol. VI. a its ^ ^58 North AMERICA. Its inhabitanis; but, as his is the bed account, wc can procure, tlie public mull reft nitisficd, until they are furnilhed with a better. It is reported that a gentleman having travelled through Afia, to the country of the 'rfchouktfches, lias crofled Bherings-ftreights, landed on the American continent; and means to purfue his way by land, through ill that continent to Hudfon's-bay. Should he live to return, before the completion of this work, our readers may pro- bably have a fuller account of the favage inhabitants of that part of the globe : but, circumftanced as we «ire, we can only give them the following. Face of the country. The country in general feems to be mountainous, and in the higher ladtudes their mountains are covered with fnow. Captain Cook difcovcred two volcanos near die coaft, one a com- plete cone, with its crater at the very fummit in latitude 54*^. 48'. N. and longitude 195". 45'. E. This vulcano, when he was there, corilinually threw up vaft columns of black fip.oke. It was leldoni wholly clear of clouds ; at times, both b:ife and luinir.it would be dear, when a narrow cloud, fometimcs two or tliree, one above another, v/ouki embrace the middle, like a gh-dle, which, v.ith the column of fmoke, rifmg per- pendicularly to \\ threat hcighr, out of its top, and fprcading before the wind into a tail oi vaft length made a very V'idurcfque appearance ; and in the back j^roiind of the fccne, lomc ekvaied mountains whofc tops. North AMERICA. 259 tops towered above the clouds, to a nioll flup^ndons height, added not a little to its awful grandeur. Ic may be worth remarking, that the wind, at t\e height, to which the fmoke of this vulcano reached^ went fometimes in a di region contrary to what it did at fea; even when it blew a frefli gale. The; otiv:" volcano is in latitude 60^. 23'. but emitting only a white fmoke and no fire, made no very (Iriking appearance. At Nootka-found, the land rifes every where into fteep hills, agreeing in their general form, ending in round or blunted tops, with fome Iharp, though not very prominent ridges on their fides, and all of them cluath- ed round to their fummits with the thickcfb woods, as well as all the flats bordering on the fea. The furface of thefe hills have but little foil on them, their interior parts being folid rocks, extending to the fea-fhore. The vallies in the neighbourhood of Piince Williams-Sound, which lies in latitude 6 1 ^, are filled with pine-trees, about 50 feet high, and 4 feet in girth j and from the drift-wood, which confided only of firs, a;id which lay in quantities on the beach, it is fuppofcd that th e pines, higher up the country, are mucli of the {dniQ fize, and all of the fame kind : not a Canadian pine or cyprefs is to be fecn. Prince William's Sound is calcu- lated to be 520 leagues Wefl: of any pait of Baffin's or Hudfon's-Bay i and Captain Cook was of opinion that R 2 if ?«•; i::^ ( 260 North AMERICA. if there is any paflage from one to the other, it muft be, at lead part of it, to the North of latitude 72®. Three degrees and a half Weft of Prince Wiiliam's Sound, is the mouth of a very large river, that appears to be navigable, and extends a great way up into the country. This river is now called Cook's River, and the point of land being the moft caftern extremity of all America hitherto known, and lying buc 13 leagues from Eaft Cape on the continent of Afia, is called, in the charts. Cape Prince of Wales, and fituated in latitude 65°. 46 ^ and longitude from Greenwich, 191^, 45'. E. Climate, The climate at Nootka-Sound is infinitely milder than on the Eaft coaft of America, under the fame parallel of latitude. The mercury in the thermometer in the month of April, never fell in the night lower than 42°. and very often in the day, it rofe to 60°. No fuch tiling as froft was perceived in any of the low grounds ; on the contrary, vegetation had made a con- fiderable progrcfs, and grafs was already above a foot long. ^ Produce. I'hough both tin and copper were met with in this cc.untry, there is little reafon to believe that either Cii thcni belong to the place. Neither were any ores of metal fecn, except a coarfe, red, earthy or ochry fub- ftance, ufed by the natives in painting thenifelves, which may probably contain a little iron, with a white and a black pir^ment ufedfoi the fame purpofe. Befides v^. N n T H AMERICA. 261 Befides the rock and ftone that conftitutes the moun- tains and fhores, which fonnetinnes contain pieces of very coarfe quartz -, things were feen among the natives, made of a hard, black granite, though not remarkably com- paft or f^ne grained ; a greyifh whet-ftone, the common oil-ftone of our carpenters, in coarfcr or finer pieces, and fomc black bits, little inferior to the hone-ftone. The natives ufe alfo the tranfparent, leafy glimmer, or Muf- covy glafs, a brown, leafy or martial fort; and they were fometimes feen with pieces of rock chryftal, toler- ably tranfparent. The firft two were met with in con- fiderable quantities, and probably are found on the fpot ; but the latter feemed to be brought from a greater dif- tance, and were held as valuable. In Nootka-Sound, the trees confift of the Canadian pine, the white cyprefs, Cyfrejfus ihycides^ or wild pine, with two or three other, lefs common pines. The firft two make up two thirds of the whole j they in general grew with great vigor, and were all of a large fize. Of other vegetable produdlions there is but little va- riety, though many might have fprung up. About the rocks were found ftrawberry, rafberry, currant and goofeberry-bulhes, and all in a thriving Hate, and fome few,lmall, black aldersj alfo a fpecies of fow-thiftle i goofe- grafs, fome crow's-foot, with a fine crimfon flower j and two (oits o{ aNthericum, one with a larg, orange flower and the other with a blue one. Some few, wild rofes ; R- 3 were ^6^ N o R T M A M E R I C A. were likcwlll' met with, jiift ! iidtliiig; a great quantity of young Iccks, with triangular leaves; a fmall fortofgrafs, and r(jme vvatcr-cielles, which grew abundantly on the In Ir.iituuc (.0^ wore found Ibme currant and (Irawberry- ln;lr(Ti; a faiall, yellow- flowered violet, and the leaves of a p]a:it fuj^pofeil to be the hcifclium of Linnaius, and A'/)ii;h the Ame'.icini. here drefs for food, in the fame n^-^nnei :•., the v.:. i.ti of Kamtfehtka. In latitude G^^. in tliC ir.cr.!^ « f Scpr^^mixr, v.hen Captain Coo^ went rfnorCj h.e four.d rlic couniiy, wlieie diere v/as no wood, rovcved \.i h !-i'-;tt!:, aiid other pl.int.:, wliich produced hurtle-berrie:, cun ant-ben ies, heath-berries, &:c. The berries Wire ripe; tie Juirtle-berries too much fo; and fcaice a fii!<:^le plant in Hov/er. The under-wood coii- fiiled of birrli, willow and alder, which grew thick among the tjccs. ihe lafc c(>nfifl:ed wholly of the fpruce-fir, none of them above fix or eight inches in diameter. Jnhials. The animals of this country, could be col- lected only from the fkins in poficfiion of the natives. There are bears, wolves, foxes, deer, racoons, polecats, inarcins, and the fea- otters, which arc found at thciflands eaP: of Kamtfehtka. The bears are fniall, but of a fhining, I 'lack colour j the deer feem to be the fallow-deer (.\ Cz\o'\m, Foxes are in great plenty, and in as great \:rictv ; feme being qinte yellow, with a black tip to the tail , others of ade.p or reddifh yellow, intermixed with black; North AMERICA. 263 lantity of ofgrafs, ' on tlie # iwbcrry- Icavcs of -US, and le fume :1e 640. ok went • wood, educed Tiie > i and 1 con- among ice-fir. ic col- uives. lecats. Hands of a -deer great o the with lack: black; and a third fort of a whitifh grey, or a{li-cok)ur, intermixed alfo with black. Tiie ermine k iikewile found here, but fmall and fcarce, nor is the hair remarkably fine, tho* quite white, except at the tip of the tail ; die racoons and fquirrels arc of the common fort, but the latter is lefs than ours, and has a deeper rufty colour running along the back. Captain Cock fays, he was clear as to the exiftence of all the above animals, but that there were two, which he could not dillingulfli witii that certainty ; one feemed to be LliaL of the elk, or moofe-deer, or buffalo; the other a f^v-cics of the wild cat, or lynx. Hogs, dogs and goats hwc net .4J ycc found tiieir way to this place j nor do the nativej f^cm to have any knowledge of our houfe-rats. Such as they fuw on board the Englifli fhips, they called fquirreh ; and die goats they called ehieetla, which is the name they give to fawns. At Prince William's Sound, they Iiave the white bear, the wolverene, Oi qiiickhatch, with very bnght colours; and a large fort of ermine ; buc one of the moll beaud- ful (kins met with, and which feems peculiar to this place, is that of a fmall animal, about ten inchps long, of a brown, or ruily colour on the back, with a great number of obfcurc whitidi fpecks ; and the fides, of a blueifh alh- colour alfo, with a few of thefe fpecks, fomething of the moufe or fquirrel kind. R The » I I > 264 North AMERICA. The fca-animals feen off this coaft arc whales, por- poifes and feak. The porpoife is the pbocena. The fea- ottcr is of this clafs, it living moftly in the water. Captain Coik having procuicd a young one, weighing only 251b, made a drawing of it. It was of a fliining, or glofly black colour J but many of the hairs being tipt with white, gave it, at firft fight, a greyifli call. The face, throat and breaft were of a yellowifh white, or very light brown colour, which in many of the (kins, extend the whole length of the belly. ' It ha J fix cutting teeth, in each jaw ; two of thofe of the lower jaw being very minute, and placed without, at the bafe of the two mid- dle ones. The fur of thefc animals, (as I have had oc- cafion to mention before, when fpeaking of the trade at Kiachta) is certoinly fofter and finer than tliat of any other we know of; and therefore the difcovery of this part of the continent of North America, where fo valu- able an article of commerce may be met with, cannot be a matter of indifference. I have had one in my hand, and think it is as foft as the (kin of a mole. It was of the fame colour as a mole, but the fur rather longer. They are fold by the RulTians at Kiachta to the Chinefe, from 1 61. Englifii, to 20I. the (kin. Birds here, in general, are not only rare, as to the dif- erent fpecies, but very fcarce as to numbers, and the icw there are, are very (hy, being conftantly purfued by the natives for their feathers. Tho(e which frequent the ^voods, arc crows and ravens fimilar to oursj a bluei(h jay ^■-^ 1 North AMERICA. z6^ '!«, por- The fea- Captain ily 251b. 3r glofly ipt with he face, or very » extend Jg teeth, ing very vo mid- had oc- trade at of any of this valu- cannot in my •le. It longer, "hinefe. le dif- nd the Jed by nt the >Iueifh jay )Ry cr magpye ; common wrens, which are the only fing- ing birds they H' ve -, the Canadian, tr migrating thriifli, and a confiderable number of brown eagles, witli white heads and tails. They Iiavc alfo a fmall fpecies of hawk ; tTie heron and the alcyoj or large-crefted American king- fiflier. They have like wife two fpecies of woodj^eckers, one lefs than a thrufh, bhck above, with white fpots on the wings, a crimfon head, neck and bread, and a yellowifli, olive-coloured belly. The odier is a laiger and more ele- gant bird, of a dufky brown ''obur on the back, richly waved with black, except about liic head; the belly of a reddifh caft, with round, black fpots -, a black fpot on the breaft, and the under-fide of the wings and tail, a plain fcarlet, tho' blackifh above, with a crimfon ftreak, run- ning from the angle of the mouth, a little down the neck on each (ide They have alfo a fmall bird of the finch- kind, about the fize of a linnet, of a dark, dufky colour, whitiih below, with a black head and neck, and a white bill ; and a fand-piper, the fize of a fmall pigeon, of a dufky brown colour ; white below, except the throat and breafl, with a broad, wliite band acrofs the wings. Add to thefe, humming-birds, which frequently flew about the fhips, whilfl at anchor j and a very beautiful bird of the hawk kind, met with in 56°. N. latitude. It is fome- thing lefs than a duck, and of a black colour, except the fore-part of the head, which is Vv'hite ; and from above and below each eye, rifes an elegant, yellowifh-white crefl, revolved backwards, like a ram's horn : the bill and feet red. Thefe are frcquendy feen in large flocks, and is ♦ f; i' 266 North AMERICA. is a fea-bird -, perhaps the alca moncchroa of Kamtrchatka, mentioned by Steller. The birds that frequent the waters and the fhorcs, arc not more numerous than the others : the quebrantahucf- fos, gulls and fliags are fecn off the coaft. The fhag is our cormorant or water-crow. There arc here two or three forts of wild ducks, one black, with a white head, which fiys in flocks i and the other white, with a red bill j alfo a brov/rlfh duc^, witli a black or deep-blue head and neck. They have alfo groufe, fnipes and plover : add to thefe, die great lummey or diver, found in our northern countries. i| Filli are more plentiful than birds, tho' not fo various. The principal Ibrts, found in numbers, are herrings about fevcn inches longj the anchovy, or fardine; a white, or filver-coloured bream j andanother of a gold, brown colour,with many narrow, longitudinal, blue ftripes. Other fifli are fcarce, as a fmall, brov/n kind of fculpin, fuch as is found on the coail of Norway : frofl-fifh j a large one, fomiCthing like the bull head, with a rough ikin, without fcales -, and a fmalJ, brownifli cod, fpotted with white. There are alfo confiderable quantities of the cbir}2.ir,-r, or little fea-v/olf, which is alfo a-kin to the clephant-fifh -, fome few fharks, ftar-fifh, crabs, and a large cuttle- fifh. %. About t # North AMERICA. 267 About the rocks, there is abundance of large mufcles, fome a fpan long, containing now and then, large pearls, but badly fliaped and coloured, and a variety of other fmaliniell-fifli; and a- the natives of Nootka-Sound, had fen jc thick branches of red coral ; we may conclude it is found upon the coaft. The only animals of the reptile-kind, found here, are harmlefs, brown fn?.kes, ftriped with white, about two feet long, and a brownifh water-lizzard, with a tail exadly like an eel. The infe<5b-tribe leems to be more numerous j for tho* when Captain Cook was at Nootka, the fealbn of their appearing was only beginning, he faw four or five, dif- ferent forts of common butterflies j many humble-bees }.' fome of our common, goofberry-moths j two or three forts of flics, a few beetles, and fome mufquitoes. m People. The people of Nootka-Sound, are, in gene- ral, of the common ftature, but not flender in propor- tion, being commonly pretty full and plump, tho* not mufcular. Their vifages are round and full, and fome- times broad, with high, prominent cheek-bones j the face much depreffed above, feemingly fallen in, acrofs, between the temples j the nofe flattening at the bafe, with wide noilrils, and a rounded point j the forehead rather low ; the eyes fmall, black, rather languilhing than fparkling ; the mouth round, with large, round, thick lips, and die teeth « 268 North AMERICA. teeth tolerably equal, and well (et, but not very white. Few of them have any beards, except old men j thofe who have, wear it only on the chin, all the reft they pluck out by the root. Their eyebrows are fcanty and narrow, but the hair of their heads is very coarfe and ftrong, and, without a fingle exception, black, ftreight and lank, hang- ing down over the (houlders. Their necks are fhort ; their arms and body have no particular elegance in their # form, but are rather clumfy, and the limbs in all, are very fmall, in proportion to the other parts, and crooked or ill made, with large feet, badly Ihaped, and proje6ting ancles j which laft feems to arife from their fquatting fo much on their hams and knees, both in their canoes and houfes. Their complexion is naturally as white as ours, but they fo incruft their bodies with paint and dirt, that there is no diftinguifhing the colour of their (kin. During their youth, fome of them have no difagreeable look, if com- pared with the generality of the people j but after attain- ing a certain age, they are all ugly alike. On the whole, a very remarkable famenefs feems to chara(5terize the countenances of the whole nation : a dull, phleghmatic want of expreiTion, with very litde variation, being ftrongly marked in all of them. The women fo much rcfemble the men, that it is not eafy to diilinguifh them, efpecially as they poflcfs not fufTicient, natural delicacy, to render their perfons agree- able : « I I fi- North AMERICA. 26^ try white, lenj thole they pluck id narrow, ong, and, nk, hang- ire fhorti c in their n alJ, are I crooked 5roje6ling jatting fo moes and mrs, but hat there •ing their if com- 'r attain- e whole, rize the ghmatic » being t IS not fefs not agree- abk' ; able : and not one did Captain Cook fee, even among thofe who were in the prime of life, who had the lead pretenfions to be called handfome. In Prince William's Sound, the men are Iquare-made, and ftrong chefted, with very large heads, difproportioned to their bodies; (liort, thick necks, and large, broad, fpread- ing faces. Their eyes, tho* not fmall, are not propor- tioned to their faces, and their nofes are broad, and turned up at the tip j their teeth are broad, even and white; and their hair, like thofe at Nootka, black, thick, ftraight and ftrong. Their beards, in general, thin or wanting, and about the lips of thofe who had them, ftifF, briftly, and brown. With thefe people, indeed, the features vary, and tho' not handfome, their counte- nances commonly indicate a confiderablefhare of vivacity, good-nature and franknefs ; yet fome have an air of ful- lennefs and referve. Some of their women have agree- able faces, and miiny are here diftinguilhable from the men, by a delicacy of features. The complexion of the women is fair, but that of the men, brownilh or fwarthy. ^^ The natives of Norton-Sound, refemble thofe of Prince William's Sound, differing much, as we have fhewn, from the natives of Nootka, who, according to the beft calculation. Captain Cook could make, by the number of houfes in the two towns of Nootka, and thofe people ■■M -270 North AMERICA. pccple whom lie law in this lad Sound, amount to about 2CC0 in the whole. The common drefs of the inhabitants of Nootka, is a flaxen mande, trimmed on the upper edge, with a nar- row drip of fur, aiid at the lower ed^e, wiLJi fringe and taiTcls. It padcb under the left arm, and iii tied over the right llioulder, by a firing before and one behind,near its middle ; thus bodi arms are left free, and it hangs, evenly covering the left fide, but leaving the right open, except from the loofe edges falling on it, and except when it is tied round the waifl, with a girdle of coarfe matting or woollen, which is often done. Over this mande, wiiich reaches below the kneer,, is worn a fmall cloak of the fame materials, fiingcd at bottom, and reaching to the waiiu This cloak rtfembles a round difh-cover, being quite cloie, except in tlie middle, where there is a hole, jufv large enough to admit the head, and then refting on the flioulders, it covers the arms to the elbows, and the body, as far as die waill. The head is covered with a cap of a truncated cone, or like a flower-pot, made of fine matting, having the top fi-equcntly ornamented widi a round or pointed knob, or bunch of leather taflels, and tied under the cliln, to prevent its being blown off. -ri^ Befides tiie above drefi, common to bodi fexes, the men frequend) throv/ over this cloak, a bear, wolf, or fea- otter's fKin, with the hair outwards, and tic it above, as an outer cloak, w^earing it fomctimes behind, and fomeumes on ♦ to about r»tka, is a ith a nar- inge and over the itl,near its ;s, evenly n, except ►vhen it is latting or le, wiiich k of the g to the er, being !3 a hole, efting on and the ith a cap of fine with a rds, and xes, the or fea- ^e, as an iietimes on p ,:i: •If •■.« I « *# ^ North AMERICA. 271 on the breaft before. In rainy weather, they throw a coarfe mat over their flioulders. The hair is commonlv worn, hanging down loofe, but fome, when they have no cap, tie it in a bunch, on the crown of the head. T'^.is drefs, were it kept clean, would by no meaiu be inele- gant i but as they i-ub their bodies over with a red paint, of a clayey or coarfe, ochry fubftance, mixed with cl!, their garments contraft a rancid, offenfive fmell, and a greafy naftinefs, fo that they make a very wretched and dirty ap- pearance ; and what is ftill worfe, their heads and clothes fwarm with vermin, which they pick off with great com- pofure, and eat. Whilft their bodies are thus always daubed with red paint, their faces are often llalned with a black, or a bright red, or a white colour, by way of ornament : this laft gives them a ghaftly and difgufling look. They alio drew the brown, martial mica on the paint, Vv-'iich makes it glitter. The ears of many of them artr bcrcd in the lobe, where they make a pretty l-irge hole, and two others higher up on the outer edge. In thcfe lioks tliey hang tits of bone, or quills, fixed on a leather thcng ; fmall fnells i bunches of woollen taflels, or pieces of thin cop- per. The Jepum of the nofe, in many, is alio perfo- rated, through v/hich they draw a piece of fmall cord ; and' others wear in the fame place, fmall, thin pieces of iron, brafs or copper, fhaped almoft like a horfiioe, the narrow opening of which receives the feptiim, fo that the two points may gently pinch it, and the ornament thus hangs • fl"]! North AMERICA. hangs over the upper lip. About their wrifts, they wear bracelets, or bunches of white, bugle-beads, made of a conic, (hclly fubltancc i bunches of firings with taflels, or a broad, black, Ihining, heavy fubO-ance, of one piece : and about tiuir ancles, they alfo wear frequently many folds of leather-thongs, or the finews of animals twifted to a confiderable thickncfs. til I '9 ^■1 \ liiii l/iil Thus fir, their common drcfs j but they have othcn which th(7 ufe en extraordinary occafions, on vifirs of ceremony, or when they go to war. For the firft, they make of the fkins of animals, trimmed at the edges, with broad borders of fur, or thdt woolen ftufF they make, embroidered with various figuret;, and tied on as the other garments, but over them. At luch times, the ge- neral head-drcfs, is a quantity of withy, or half-beaten bark, wrapped about the head, ftuck with various, large eagle-feathers, or powdered, as it were, with fmall, white feathers. The face is then painted, with it) upper and lower parts of different colours, in ftripes, fo that the ftripes Hiall appear as bleeding galhesj or itfhall be fmeared with a kind of tallow, mixed with paint, artd formed into a variety of figures, refembling cacved-work. Some- times, again, they will divide their hair into fmall parcels, and tie it in intervals of two inches, to the. end, with thread ; and odurs will tie it behind, as we do, and flick bunches of cypiefs in it. Thus drefTed, they will have a truly flivage and ridiculous appearance ; but this is much heigh- tenedjV.hcn they put on, what may be called their mon- ftrous • I •v; ^i%i. ■^ North AMERICA. 273 they wear nade of a th taflels, )nc piece : tly many Is twifted 'c othen vifirs of irft, they ?es,with y make, as the the ge- ^-heaten s, large l> white 3er and hat the meared ed into Some- ^ls,and iread j inches truly leigh- mon- ilrous ous decorations. Thefe confifl: of an cndlefs variety of carved, wooden mafks, or vizors, applied on the face, or upper-part of the head, or forehead. Some of thefe refemble human faces, furnifhed with hair, beards, and eyebrows ; others, the heads of eagles, and other birds ; and many, the heads of wolves, deer, porpoifes, and the like. In general, thefe reprefentations, much ex- ceed the natural fize; and they are painted, and often ftrewed with pieces of the foliaceous micay which makes them glitter i and feems to augment their enormous deformity. They even exceed this, fometimes, and fix on the fame part of the head, large pieces of carved-work, refembling the prow of a canoe, pointed in the fame manner -, and projecting to a confiderable length. The only drefs, among the people of Nootka, feem- ingly adapted to war, is a thick, leather mantle, doubled; which, from its fize, appears to be the fkin of an elk or buffalo, tanned. This they fallen on, in the common way; but fo as to reach up, over the breaft quite to the throat i falling, at the fame time, almoft to the legs. It is fome- tim.es ingeniouQy painted, in different compartments, like our herald's coats ; and is fufficiently ftrong to re- fill arrows, and the points of fpears. On the fame oc- rafion, they fometimes wear a kind of leather-cloak, covered wich rows of dried hoofs of deer, difpofed ho- rizontally, appended by leather-thongs, covered with quills 3 which, when they move, make a rattling noife. VuL, VI. Though i74 North AMERICA. Though thcfc people cannot be viewed, without a kind of horror, when equipped in fuch extravagant dreflfes ; yet, when divefted of them, and Teen in their common habits, they have not the leaft appearance of ferocity, but appear, on the contrary, as I have already obfervedi to be of a quiet, phleghmatic and inadlive difpofition -, deftitute, in fome meafure, of that degree of animation and vivacity, neceflary to render them agreeable. Though not referved, they are far from being talkative : but their gravity is rather a confequence of their natural difpofition, than any fenfe of propriety, or mode of education j for, when in the greateft paflion, they know not how to exprefs their anger, by any warmth of language or fignificancy of gefture. Their orations, which are made either when engaged in difpute, or to explain their fentiments, on any public cccafion, feem little more than (hort fentences ; or ratlicr fingle words, forcibly repeated, and conftanriy in one tone, and degree of ftrength, accompanied only with a fingle geflure, at every fentence, that of jerking their whole body a little forward, by bending the knee i their arms hanging liftkfs by their fides. Though there is too much reafon to infer, from their bringing human flculls and bones to fale, that they cat their enemies with a degree of brutal cruelty ; this cir- cumflance rather marks a general agreement of charac- ter. I m North AMERICA, 275 Jt a kind drefles ; pommon ferocity, bfcrved, )ofition ; limaiion Ikative : natural lode of yknow nth of ngaged public ratlier n one with a ; their ; their I ter, with that of almoft every tribe of uncivilized men, in every age, and every part of the globe, than that they are to be reproached with peculiar inhumanit)\ They feem to be a docile, courteous, good-natured people ; yet quick in refenting what they confider as an injury, but, like mod other palTionate people, foon forgeting it. The chief employment of the men, feems to be that of Hfhing, and killing land and fea- animals, for die maintenance of their families ; whereas the wo- men are generally employed in manufadluring their flaxen or under-garments j in preparing fardines for drying, which they carry up from the beach, in large bafl North AMERICA. i iii.i with the iitmoll propriety, jurtly difcrving all com- mendation, for a baflifulnefs and modelty becoming their fex, and the more meritorious, as the men fecmed to have no fenfe of fhame. Their houfes are difpofed in three ranges, or rows, rifing gradually behind each other, the iargeft in front, the others iefs; befides a few, ftraggling ones at each end. Thefe ranges are interrupted or dif- joined at irregular diftances, by narrow paths, or lanes that pafs upward, but t-hofe which run in a line with the houfes, between i rows, are much broader. Though there is fome appearance of regularity in their difpofition, there is none in the houfes themfelves; for each building, divided by a path, let it be ever fo long, may be confidered as one houfe, or many; though there are no complete reparations, either with- out, or within, to diftinguifli them. They .ire built of very long and broad planks, refting upon the edges of each other, faftened or tied here and there, by withs of pine-bark, and having only flcnder pofts or rather poles at confiderable diftances on the outfide, to whicli they are alfo tied.; but within, are fome, larger poles, placed aflant. The height of the fides, and ends, of thefe habitations, is fevcn or eight feet, but the back- part, is a little higher, by which means the planks, that compon,- the roof, flant forwards, and are laid on loofe, fo as to be moved about; either to put clofe, in order to exclude the rain, or in fair weather to North AMERICA. 277 to be feparatcd to let in the light, or pafs out the fmoke. They are, however, upon the whole, miferable dwellings, and conftruded with little care or ingenuity : for tliough the fide-planks are made to fit pretty clofely together, in fome places, in others, they are quite open; and they have no regular doors, the en- trance being either by a hole, where the unequal length of the planks has accidentally left an opening; or where, in fome cafes, the planks are made to lap over each other, and, thus being fhortened, leave a kind of door-way. Some holes are alfo left in the fides, by way of windows, but without any regularity; and, thefe have bits of mat hung before them, to keep the rain out. The habitations further north, on this coaft, where Bhering landed, in 1741, are very like thofe of Noodca. Within We may frequently fee, from one end to the other of thefe ranges of buildings, without inter* miflion; for though, in general, there arc apartments on each fide, for the accomodation of families, they are fuch as do not intercept the fight, and often con- fift of no more than pieces of plank, running from the fides, towards the middle of the houfe; fo that if they were complete, the whole miglit be compared to a long ftable, with a double range of flails, and a broad paflTage in the middle. Clofe to the fides, in each of thefe parts, is a litde bench of boards, railed five or fix inches higher than the reft of the floor, S 3 covered 378 North AMERICA. covered with matts, and on which the family fit and fleep. Thefe benches are commonly feven or eight feet long, and four or five broad. In the middle of the floor, between tliem, is the fire-place, which has neither hearth nor chimney. In one hoiife which Captain Cook faw, and which was at die end of a middle range, almoft feparated from the reft, by a high, clofe partidon, their were four of thefe benches, each of which held a fingle family at a corner* and the middle of the room appeared common to them all. ''I Their flirniturc confifls chiefly of a great number of chcfts and boxes of all fizes, which are generally piled upon each other, clofe to the door, or ends of the room or houfe, and contain their fpare garments, flcins, maflis and other things, which they fet a value en J fome of thefe are double, or one covers the other as a lid; others have a lid fattened with thongs, and fome of the larger ones have a fquare hole in the upper part, by which the things are put in and taken out. They are often painted black, ftudded with the teeth of different animals, or carved with a kind of frieze-work, and figures of birds, or an- imals, by way of ornament. Their other, domeftic utenfils are moftly fquare and oblong pails or buckets to hold water, and other tilings, with wooden cups and bowlsj and fmallj lliallow, wooden troughs, about two North AMERICA. 279 two feet long, out of which they eat their food; and twig-bafkets, bags of matting, &c. Their filhing-imple- mcnts, and other things lie or hang up in different parts of the houfe, but without the leaft order j fo that the whole is a complete fcene of confufion. The naftinefs and ftench of their houfes, is equal to their complexion j for they dry their fifti within doors; they alfo gut them there, which, with their bones and fragments thrown down at meals, and the addiiion of of other filth, lie about m hetps, and and are not cleared away, till fuch heaps become al- moft infupportable. In a word, their houfes are as filthy as hog-ftyes, every thing in and about them ftinking of filh, train-oil and fmoke. Fildiy however as they are, many of them are de- corated v.'if-h images. Thefe are nothing more than the trunks of very large trees, four or five feet high, fet up (ingly, or by pairs, at the upper end of the apartment, with the front carved into a human face; the arms and hands cut out on the fides, and vari- oufly painted: fo that the whole is truly a monftrous figure. A net, by way of curtain, for the mofl part, hangs before them, and it feems at times, that they make offerings to them. Though "heir food, may be faid to confift, n( every thing they can procure, either animal, or vege- S 4 table . J 'I iSo North AMERICA table, the quantity of the latter, bears a very fmall proportion to the former. Iheir greateft dependance is on what the Tea produces them. Their chief food is herrings, and fardinesj which, being dried and fmoked, are fewed up in matts, fo as to form bales^ three or four feet fquare. They make alfo a kind of caviare of herring's roe, which is their winter- bread. Large mufcles they roaft in the fhells; they are then (luck on long (kewers, taken off occafionly, and eaten, dipping them in oil, as a fauce. Of fea-animals, their moll common food is the porpoife, the flelh of which they dry in pieces, as they do the herrings. They alfo make a kind of broth of it, by putting it frefh, with water, inco a boiler, and throwing heated ftcnes into it, till fufficiently feethed. They put in the' flelh, and take out the ftones with a cleft flick, which ferves them for tongs. The oil thefe animals produce is florcd away, and often eat with a fpoon. Of vegetables, they eat the leaves of the goofeberry and currant, and alfo of the lily, without any pre- paration, and fome few bulbous roots. Their manner of eating is exaftly confonauc to the naflinels of their houfes, and perfons, for the troughs and platters, in which they put their food, appear nevf / to have been waihed, from the time they are firft made, and the dirty remains of a former meal are only North AMERICA. 281 only fwept away by the fucceeding one. They tear every thing folid, or tough, to pieces, with their teeth ; for, though they make ufe of knives, to cut up their animals, they never ufe them at their meals j and the roots which they dig, they will eat, without even Ihaking off the earth that adheres to them. Weapons, Their weapons are bows and arrows, flings, fpears, fhort truncheons of ftone, and a fmall pick-axe, not unlike the common, American tomahawk. Their fpears have a long point of bone, but fome of their arrows are pointed with iron. The tomahawk is a ftone, fix or eight inches long, pointed at one end, and the other fixed into a wooden handle j which refembles the human head and neck, the ftone fixed in the mouth, and reprefenting a large tongue, and to make the refemblance ftronger, human hair is fixed to the head. This weapon they call taaweejh or tfujkeeah. Their number of ftone-weapons, and the great quantity of human (kulls. Captain Cook faw, lead him to fuppofe, that they have frequent wars among them, and that thofe wars are bloody. MuficL With refpeft to their manners and cuf- toms, we are able to fay litde of: they fcem to be fond of finging, and to make it a part of their ce- remonies. When they approached our ftiip, fays Captain 482 North AMERICA. w Captain Cooky they all ftood up in their canoes and began to fingj fume of their fongs, in which the whole body joined, were in a flow, and others in quicker time, and diey accompanied their notes with tlic moll regular motions of their hands, or beating in concert, with their paddles, on the fides of their canoes, and .naking odier very expreflive gefturcs. At the end of each fong, they remained filent a few feccnds, and then began again, fometimes pronouncing the word hooee! forcibly as a chorus. They keep the exafteft concert in their fongs, which are often fung by great numbers together, as thcfe already menrioned. Thcfe are folcmn and flow, but their mufi, is not of that confined fort found amongfl: many rude nations ; for tlie variations are very numerous and expreflive, and the cadence or melody powerfully foothing. Befides^ their fuil c;;ncerts, fonnets of the fame, grave cafl:, were frequently fung by Angle perform.ers, who kept time, by ftriking the hand againft the thigh. The mufic, however, was fome- times varied, from its predominant fblemnity of air, and there were infl:ances of fl:anzas being fung in a more gay and lively fl:rain, and even with a degree of humour. The only infl:rumenta of mufic fjben, (if fuch they may be called) were a rattle, and a fmaU whittle, about ;m inch long, incapable of any variation, from having but North AMERICA. 283 but one hole. They ufe the rattle when they fing, and the whiftle, when they drefs themfelves like par- ticular animals, and endeavour to imitate their howl or cry. The whittles are made in the fhape of a bird, with a few pebbles in the belly, and the tail is the handle. They look more like a child's rattle. r^fl Canoes, Their canoes are of fimple ftruflure, but apparendy well calculated for every ufcflil purpofc; from the largeft, which carry 20 perfons or more, are framed of one tree. Many of them are forty feet long, feven broad, and about three deep. From the middle, towards each end, they become gradually nar- rower, the after-part and ftern ending abruptly, or perpendicularly, with a fmall knob on the top; but the fore-part is lengthened out, ftretching forward and upward, ending in a notched point or prow, confider- ably higher than the fides of the canoe, which run nearly in a ftraight line. They are chiefly without ornaments, though fome have litde carved v/ork, and are itudded on the fides with feal's teeth, as are their maflcs and weapons. A few have alfo a kind of ad- ditional prow, like a large cut-water, which is painted with the figure of fome animal. They have no feats, or other fupporters in the infide, than feveral, round flicks, little thicker than a cane, placed acrofs, at mid-depth. They are very light, and their breadth and liatnefs, enables them to float firmly, widiout any out-rigger, fl CS4 North AMERICA. ont-rigger, which none of them have; and which is a reiuarkabie diftln^lion, between the navigation, of all tlie American nations, and that of the fouth- crn parts of the Eafb Indies, and the iflands of the Pacific ocean. Their paddles are light, and fmall, .(haped, in fome meafure, like a large leaf^ pointed at the bottom, broadeft in the middle, and gradually lofmg itfelf in the (haft, the whole being about five feet long. They have acquired great dexterity, by conftant ufe, in managing thefe paddles i for fails are no part of their art, in navigation. ; \k The canoes of the nations, in latitude 61^ N. lon- gitude 213^, are not made with wood, as at Nootka, except the frame, which confifts of flender laths. This is covered with the flvins of feals, or fuch like animals. !:;ll The canoes of Prince William's found, are exadlly the fame with thofe of Greenland, and the Efquimaux Indians, and their weapons and inftiiiments of fifhing and hunting, are alfo the famcj of courfe, they need no defcriprion. hipkments. I'heir implements for fifhing and hunt- ing, at Noodca, wliich are both ingenioufly contrived, nnd well made, are nets, hooks and lines, harpoons^ gigs, and an inftrumcnt like an oar. This lalt is tv,Tnty feet long, four or five inches broad, and about an rnl^m^ North AMERICA. 285 an inch thick. Each edge, for about two thirds of its length (the other third being its handle,) is fct with iharp bone-teeth, about two inches long. Herrings and fardines, and fuch other, fmall filh, as come in fhoals, are attacked with this inftrument, v/hich is pulhed into the fhoal, and the filh are caught either upon or between the teeth. Their hooks are mL.de of bone and wood, and rather clumfilyj but the harpoon with which they ftrike the whale, and Icfler fea-animals, lliews a great deal of contrivance. It is compofed of a piece of bone, on which is fixed the oval blade of a large mufcle-fliell, in which is the point of the inftrument; to this is mftcned about tv/o or three fathoms of rope; and to throw this harpoon, they ufe a fhaft of about 12 or 15 feet long to which the line or rope is made faft, and to the end of which the harpoon is fixed, fo as to feparate from the fliaft, and leave it floating on the water, as a buoy, when the animal darts away with the harpoon. Their fifhing wears, are compofed of pieces of wicker-work, made of fmall rods, fome clofer than others, according to the fize of the filh intended to be caught in them. Thefe pieces of wicker-v/ork, (fome of whofe fuperficies are at leaft 20 feet by 12) are fixed up edgeways in Ihallow water, by llrong poles or pickets, that ftand firm in the ground. How they were ufed. Captain Cook, cannot fay, as he faw no one attending them; but it is apprehended they may 286 North AMERICA may be ercded for the purpofe of enclofing fifti in the manner I have reprefented that the Coflkcks ufe them, in Siberia. Fvery thing of the rope- kind, is made from thongs of fklns, and finews of animals, or from the fame flaxen fubflance of which their mantles are manu- factured. Their great dexterity in wood-work, may, in fomc meafure, be attributed to the alliftance they receive from iron tcols, fuch as chiffels and knives i a ftone fcrves thvm for a mallet, and a piece of filh-fkin for a poliflier. Their knives arc of various fizc , fome very large and their blades are crooked, refembling our pruning knife, but the cutting edge in the back or convex part. They fharpen their tools, on a coarfe flate, v/het- ftone, and keep them conftandy bright. Manuf azures. Sec. Their manufactures and mechanic arts, are far more extenfive, and ingenious, whether wc regard the defign, or the execution, then could have been expeCled from the natural difpofition of the peo- ple, and the lltde progrcfs that cultivation has made among them. The flaxen and woollen garments, with which they cover themfelves, are their firft care, and the chief objeffl: of their attention; the former of thefr are made of pine-tree bark, beaten into hemp. It is not fpun ; but, after being properly prepared, is fpread North AMERICA. 287 in lufe fpread upon a (tick which is faflened acrofs, to two others that (land upright. It is difpofcd in llich a manner, that the manufaflurer, who fits on her hams> at this fimple machine, knits it acrofs, with fmall plaited threads, at the diftance of half an inch from each other J though by this method, it is not fo clofe or firm, as cloth that is woven, the bunches, be- tween the knots, fill up the interftices and form it into a compleat cloths and it has the advantage of being fofcer and more pliable. Their woollen gar- ments, are very like woven cloth, and the various figures, which are artificially inferted in them, deflroy the fuppofition of their being wrought in a loom. Probably they are made, as we have Ihewn that the Tartars make their felts. They are of different de- grees of finenefs, fome refembling our coarfe rugs or blankets, and others almoft equal to our fined forts, even fofter, and certainly warmer. The wool or fur feems to be that of the fox, and brown lynx, and the orna- mental parts or figures in thefe garments, which are difpofed with great tafte, are commonly cf different . colours, being dyed chiefly of a deep brown, or of a yellow; the laft of which when new, equals in . brightnefs that in the belt of our carpets. To their tafte or defign, in working figures on their garments, correfponds their fondnefs for carving on every thing they make of wood. Nodiing Is without a kind of frieze-work, or the figure of fome I ■!1! 288 North AMERICA. but the mod general reprcfe fome animal upon tation, is that of the human face, which, is often cut out upon birds, and on their (lone and bone-wea- pons. The general defign of all thefe things is fullicient to convey a knowledge of the object they are intended to reprefent; but the carving is not ex- ecuted widi that nicety, that an ingenious artifl: would beftow even on an indifferent defign. Indeed, in many of their mall^s, and vizors, they fhew themfelves able fculptors, not only preferving, with great exaftnefs, the general character of their own faces, but finifhing the more minute parts with a degree of accuracy in pro- pordon, and neatnefs in execution. The ftrong pro- penfity of thefe people to works of this fort is re- markable in a great variety of particulars. Small, whole human figures, reprefentaiions of birds, fifh, land and fea, animals, models of their houfhold- utenfils, and of their canoes, are found amongft them* in great abundance. The imitative arts being nearly allied, it is no v/onder they fhouiJ be as good defigners, as carvers. The whole procefs of their whale-fifliery, is often feen painted, on the caps they wearj this, though rudely executed, ferves at leatt to fhew, that though there is no appearance amongft them of a knowledge cf letters, they have fome notions of commemorating and reprefenting anions, independant of their fongs and traditions. Their North AMERICA. 289 Their manner of fmoke-drying fifli, is as follows : they firft hang them within their huts, on fmall rods, about a foot from the fire; afterwards, they remove them higher and higher, to make room for others, till the rods, on which the firft hang, reach the top of the houfe j when completely dried, they are taken down, packed clofe in bales, and covered with matts till they are wanted. Cod and other large fi(h are alfo cured in the fame manner, though they fometimes dry them in the open air, without fire. In trafficking, they betray a knavifli difpofition, and would carry off the goods they wanted, without making any return; and yet were unwilling to let any grafs be cut, without it was firft paid for. The inha- bitants of Nootka, are thieves in the ftri(5left fenfe o£ the word, for they would pilfer nothing but what they thought would be ufeful to themfelves; and Captain Cook had reafon to apprehend that ftealiag is much pradifed among th«m, and chiefly gave rife to their v^ quarrels. < _ • . , The beads, iron, and copper found amongft thcfe people, leave it beyond a doubt, that they muft have procured them, through an interview with the more inland tribes, from Hudfons bay, or the fettlement^ on the Canadian lakes; unlefs it can be fuppofed that the Ruffian Indians from Kamtfchatka (which is lels likely) have extended their habitations further than Vol.. VII. T die ••it i ! .Si' • 290 North AMERICA. the nations of the Eaftern idands, communicating along the coaft, with thofc of Prince William's Sound. Of the political and religious inftitutions, we can fay but little; Captain Cook could only obfcrve, that there are fuch men as chiefs amongft them, called Jcweek, and to wliom the others, are in fome meafurc fubordinatej but it appeared that the authority of thefe chiefs, extended no farther than to the family to which each chief belongs ; and who own him for their head. As thefe Acu^eeks^ are not all elderly men, it is concluded, that the tide comes to them by inhe- ritance. Of their religion, nothing of any moment could be collecfted. Language, Their language is by no means Harfli or difagreeable, further than what proceeds from their ufing die k and h with more force, or pronouncing them with lefs foftnefs than we do j and on the whole it abounds, rather with what we may call labral and dental, than with guttural founds ; fo that it may be compared to a very coarle or harfli method of lifping. It is difficult to repreknt this found, by any com- bination of our own letters, unlefs, by LfzthL This is one of their ufual terminations, though it fometimes begins North AMERICA. 291 begins a word. The next mofl general termination is //, and many words end with z and/;, as for example, Opulfzthly the Sun. ^eejhcheetly to throw a ftonc. Onulfzthly the Moon, KoomUz, a human fkuU. Rahjheetly dead. ^akmifs^ filh-roe. They feem to take fo great a latitude in their mode of fpeaking, that they have fometimes four or five different terminations of the fame word. Their lan- guage in general, feems to fhew the neareft affinity to the American. Opulfzthly the Nootka name of the fun, not being very unlike Vitziputzli, the name of the Mexican divinity. The following comparifon with other neighbouring countries, will ferve to fhew their affinity with thofc countries. / OoNALAtHKA. NoATON SoUNO. GrEXMLAND. ERq.VIMAUX. One. Taradak : Adoiujak : Attoufek: Attou/et. Two. Alac: Aiba : Arlak : Mardluk, Three. - Canoogn : Pingajhook : Pingajuah : Pingafat. Four. Sechn : Shetamik : Sijfamat : Sifamat. Five. - Chang : Dallamik : TelUmat : Tellimat, A Canoe. Eakeac : Caiac : Kajak : Kiroik^ A Paddle. Cha/ec : Pangehon : Pautik : Pow. Darts. Ognvatcek : - - - - Aglikak, - - - The Leg. Ketac : Kanaiak : - - - - Kiti'ttiif-auk^ TheEyc-brow.iuJw//^ .- Kameluk ; « * » * Couf-Uot, T 0. Were t i 'll ;i 292 North AMERICA. Where I to affix a name, fays Captain Cook, to the people of Nv';ctka, as a diftindt nation, I wo'jld caM them PFakaJI'ianSi from the word Wakajhy which is fre- quently in their mouths. It feems to exprefs applaule, approbation, or friendfhip j for when they appeared to be fatisfied or well pleafed with any thing they faw, or any accident that happened, they would, with one voice, call out wakajh ! tvakajh ! In Ihcrt, fo efleniially do they differ in their perfons, their cuftoms and lan- guage, from the inhabitants of the Iflands in the Pacific ocean, that we cannot fuppofe their refpedivc progenitors to nave been united in the fame tribe, or to have had any intimate connection, when they emigrated from their original fetdements, into die place •^here we now find their defcendants. The cornm.oji drefs of the natives of Prince William's Sound (for men, women, and children), is a kind of clofe frock, reaching generally to the ancles, though fometimes only to the knees. At the upper part is a hole, jiift fufficient to admit the head j with fleeves to the wrift. Their frocks are made of the fkins of different animals, the hairy fide outwards: fome have their frocks made of the fkins of fowls, with the down only remaining on them. The feams of thefe garments are ornamented with talTds, or a fringe of narrow thongs ; and a few, have a kind of cape or collar, and fome a hood. When it rains, they put over this, another frock, ingenioufly ' i»^ North AMERICA. 293 ingenioufly made from the inteftines of whales, fo thin, and well prepared, as to refemble our gold-beater's Ikin : this is made to draw tight round the neck, and at thf: ^vrifts J and its fkirts, when they are in their canoes, arc fo drawn over the brim of the hole in which ti?.ey fit, that no water can enter. They generally go naked-legged ; but fome few have a kind of fldn (lockings, reaching half way up the thigh ; and fcarcc any appear without mittens for the hands, made of the fkins of bears^paws, Thofe who wear any thing on the head, refemble thofe at Nootkaj having high, truncated, conic caps of ftraw, and fometimes of wood, refembling a feal's head, well painted. The men commonly wear the hair cropt round the Dcck and forehead ; but the women allow it to grow long, and moft of them tie a frpall lock of it on the crown i and a ftw Club it behind, after our manner. Both lexes have their ears perforated with feveral holes, about the cuter and lower part of the edge, in which they hang little bunches of beads. The jepium of their nofes they alfo bore, and thruft thro* ir, the quill -feathers of fmall birds j or litde, bending ornaments, made of a fhelly fubftance, ftrung on a ftiff ftring, or cord, three or four inches long, which gives them a truly pifturefque appearance. But the mpft uncommon and unllghdy faihion, adopted by T 3 both I 294 North AMERICA. iia A ill I both fexes, is that of flitting, or cutting the under-lip, quite through, in the dired:ion of the iTKJUth, a little below the fvvelling part : this in.iuon, which iis made even in fucking children, is often above two inches long ; and cither by its natural retraction, when the wound is frelh, or by the repetition of fome contrivance, aflumes the true fhape of lips, and feenns fo large, as to admit the tongue through i fo diat they feem to have two mouths. In this artificial mouth, they ftick a fiat, narrow ornament, of folid Ihell, or bone, cut into litde narrow pieces, like fmall teeth, almoft down to the bafe, or thickeft part, which has a fmall, projecting bit at each end, to fupport it, when put into the divided lipj the cut part then ap- pearing outwards. Others have the lower lip only per- forated into feparate holes j and then the ornament con- fifts of as many diflinCl ftuds j when the points are pufh- cd through thefe holes, and their heads appear within the lip, as another row of teeth, immediately under their own. Thefe are their native ornaments : but Captain Cook^ found many beads among them, of European manufac- ure, chiefly of a pale, blue colour, which they hang in their t^ars, about their caps, or join to their lip-orna- ments, wliich have a fniall hole drilled in each point, to which they are faftcncd, and others to them, till they hang unictimes as low as the point of the chin. But in this iafl: cafe, they cannot remove them fo cafily j but as tp i i North AMERICA. 29s to their own ilp-omaments, they can take them out with their tongue, or luck them into the mouth at plcafure. They alfo wear bracelets, of fhelly beads, or of a fub- ftance like amber. The men frequently paint their faces of a bright red, and of a black colour j and fometimes of a blue, or lead- colour, but not in any regular figure; and the women, inforne meafure, endeavour to imitate them, by punc- turing or ftaining the chin with black, that comes to a point on each cheek ; a praftice, fays CrantZy very fimi- lar to one in fafhion among the females in Greenland. They do not paint their bodies, fays Cook, but I nowhere ever faw favages, who took more pains to ornament, or rather to disfigure their perfons. For defenfive armour, they have a kind of jacket, or coat of mail, made of thin laths, bound together with fmews; which makes it quite flexible, tho' fo clofe, as not to admit an arrow or dart : it only covers the trunk of the body, and may not be improperly compared to a woman's ftays. Of their domeftic utenfils, tliey have round, IhalloW, wooden difhes ; and others of a cylindrical Ihape, much deeper; die fides being made of one piece, bent round, like our chip-boxes, though thick, neatly faftcned with jhongs, and tb.^ bottoms fixed in, with fmall wooden pegs. T 4 Other? 1^6 North AMERICA. Others they have fmaller, and of a more elegant fliapc, fomewhat refembling a large butter-boat, without a handle, but more Ihallowj made from a piece of wood^ or heavy ftubftance, neatly carved j and they have many little fquare bag«, much of the fame fort with their outer-frocks, neady ornamented with very minute red feathers, interwoven with it j alfo, many chequered baf- kets, wrougiit fo clofe, as to hold water j fome wooden- models of their canoes ; many little images, four or five inches long, c.*- in wood, or fluffed, cloathed in fur, and ornamented as tn ^ themfelves ; a kind of dolls. And, as a fubftitute for the rattling- bird of Nootka, they have two or three hoops, or concentric pieces of wood, with a crofs-bar fixed in the middle, to hold them by: to thefe are fixed a great number of dried barnacle- Ihells, with threads, which ferve as a ratde, and make a ioud noife, when they (hake them. Captain Cook could not fpeak, with any decifion, of their tools ; but he faw a kind of ftone adze, many iron knives, fome ftraight, others crooked ; and fome very fmall ones, fixed in pretty long handles, with the blades bent upwards, like fome of our Ihoemaker's inftruments. They have (till knives of another fort, near two foot long, Ihaped like a dagger, with a ridge in the middle. Thefe they wear in flieaths of fkins, hung by a thong round the neck, under their frock,and ufed only as weapons. Every thing they have> however, is as ingenioufly made, as North AMERICA. 297 as if they were fiirnifhed with a complete tool-cheft j and their fewing, plaiting of fmews, and fmall work, on their little bags, may be put in competition with the moft de- lica manufas5lures, found in any part of the known world. In fhort, confidering the otherwife uncivilized, or rude ftate, in which thefe people are, their northern fituation, amidft a country perpetually covered with fnow, and the wretched materials they have to work with, it ap- pears that their invention and dexterity, in all manual works, is at leaft, ecjual to that of any other nation. The food they were feen to eat, was dried-fifh, and the fiefh of fome animal, either broiled or roafted. They eat alfo the larger fort of fern-root, mentioned at Nootka. Their drink is water ; and they fwallow lumps of fnow^ by mouthfuls. They are decent and cleanly in their foodj and though they fometimes eat the raw fat of fome fea-animal, they cut it carefully into fmall pieces with their knives. They are alfo cleanly in their perfons, %nd pall thdr utenfils. Their language, from the various fignificatwn their words bear, is at firft difficuk to be underftoodj and ^ems to have no affinity widi that ipoken at Nootka, except the word Akajhou ? which implies, What is the name of that ? and is the fame, at both places. fi r* 1 ■■^■m Namuk . -I, spS North AMERICA. Namuk, An ornament for the ear* Lukluk. A brown fhaggy-lkin. Aa, Yes. Keeta, Give me fomething. Naema, Change with me. Ahleu, A fpear. Veena. Stranger ! — calling to one Tawuk, Keep it. Taut ? Shall I go ? Whaehai P Shall I keep it ? At Norton-Sound, in latitude 64^. 55'. and 197**. 13', longitude, the drefs of the natives is much the fame as at Prince William's-Sound J only that here, they wear wide boots, and deer-lkin frocks, with large hoods, in which the women carry their cKildren, as do the Elkimauxs and Greenlanders. The women which Captain Cook faw, are Ihort and fquat, with plump, round faces, punftured from the lip to the chin ; their complexion a light cop- per-colour, black and fhort hairj the men wi«-h litdc beards -, and both fexes have black teeth, feemingly filed down level with the gums. The dwellings of thefe people, were featcd clofe to the beach, and confifted fimply of a floping root with- out any fide-walls, compofed of logs, and covered with grafs and earth. The floor laid with logs -, the entrance North AMERICA. 299 at one end j the fire-place jufl within, and a fmall hole near the door, to let out the fnnoke. The view given, is Snug-Corner-Cove, in Nootka- Sound, where Captain Cook anchored. Francis Maurelle, a Spaniard, who traced the Ameri- can coaft northward, from the coaft of California, in 1775, tells us, that in latitude 41 «. 7', which is about nine degrees more to the fouthward, than Nootka-Sound, where Captain Cook anchored, the men wear no covering, except the cold is intenfe ; when they throw over their ihoulders the (kins of animals, binding their heads with garlands of fweet-fmelling herbs. They likewife wear their hair either diflievelled over their Ihoulders, or as the Spani- ards fay, en caftanna j that is, fo as to refeoib'e a chefnut- tree. In the iiaps of their ears, they have rings, like thofe the Spaniards have .it the end of their mulquets. They paint their faces, and the greater part of their bo- dies, with a black or blue colour j and punfture their arms in circles, as the common people in Spain, often paint fliips and anchors. They bind their loins and legs quite down to the ancles, very clofely, widi ftripsof hide or thread. The women cover the tops of their heads with an ornament, like the creft of a helmet, and wear their hair in two treffes, in which they ftick many fwcet-fmell- ing i- 300 North AMERICA. ing herbs. They alfo ufe the fame rings in their caps (which are of bone) as the men do in their ears, and cover their bodies with the fame fkins j befides which, they wear an apron of the fame kind, about a foot wide, with fome thread formed into a fringe. They likewifc bind their legs, in the fame manner as the men. The under4ip of the women is fwelled out into tliree fafcias^ or rifings j two of which iffue from the corners of the mouth, to the loweft part of what would be the beard in men, and the third, from the higheft point, and middle of that point to the lower, like the others j * leaving between each, a fpace of clear flefli, which is much larger in young women than in old, whofe faces are generally punftured or tattooed, fo as to be totally disfigured. A mafk of fuch a face may be feen in the Leverian Mufeurnj London. On their necks they wear various fruits or feeds, in- flead of beads. Some other ornaments alfo confift of the bones of animals, or fhells from the fea-coaft. Their houfcs are fquare, and built with large beams ; the roof being no higher than the furface of the ground \ for * This defcription is rather unintelligible, but we are not millakcn ni the tranfi-ition. North AMERICA. 30 i for doors to which, they make ufe of a circular hole, Juft large enough to pafs through*. The floors of thefc huts are perfeftly fmooth and clean, with a fquare hole, two feet deep, in the centre, in which they make their fire, and round which they are continually warming them- felves in cold weather. Such habitations alfo fecure them, when not employed out of doors, from the wind and noxious animals. This fimilarity of hut or houfe, to thofe of the natives in higher latitudes, and further weft, is another argument of the north-wcftern coaft of America being originally peopled from the eaftern coaft of Afia. This tribe of Indians is governed by a ruler, who direfts where they ftiall hunt and fifli for what the community ftands in need of; and it feems that the authority of this ruler, is confined to a particular village of thefe habitations; together with fuch a diftrift of country, as may be fuppofed to belong to the inhabitants of fuch a community; who fometimes are at war with the villages. They are very early taught the ufe of a bow; for, %s this author, we obferved an infant, who could fcarcely be a year old, ftiooting arrows from a bow, propor- tioned to fize, and ftrength; and, who hit the hand at two or three yards diftance, if held up for a mark. * Similar, we apprehend, to Kamtfchatka dwellings. Wc 302 North AMERICA. ;w We never obferved that thefe Indians had any idolsj or made facrificcs; but, as we found out, tKat they had a plurality of wives, or women at lead, we in- ferred, with good rcafon, that they were perfect athcills. On the death of one of thefe Indians,, they raifed a fort of funeral cry, and afterwards interred the body within the lioufe of their ruler i but from this we could not pronounce that they were idolaters, becaufe the cry of lamentation, might proceed from afflidion, and the body might have been burnt, that the corpfe might not be expofed to wild beafls, or to avoid the ftench arifing from putrefadion. Wc could not underftand their language, but the;, pronounced the Spanifn, with great eafe. Their arms are chiefly arrows pointed with flint, and fome of them with iron or copper, which we underflood were procured from the north, probably bartered at the Englifti forts in Hudfons bay, or with the travel- ing hords of Indians, who refort tliere at ftated timca. Such arms are to be feen at the Leverian mu- feum, London J brought from King George's Sound, on the N. W. coaft of America, latitude 50^ by Captain Cook. At this mufcum is alfo a bow, from fome place ii^ North AMERICA. 303 place rcfembling one from the Labrador coaft. Thefc arrows are carried in quivers of wood or bone, and hang from their wrift or neck. What they mod value is iron, and particularly knives, or hoops of old barrels. They are accuftomed to tobacco, which they fmoked in fmall, wooden pipes, in form of a trumpet, and procured from litde gardens, where they had planted it. They chiefly hunt deer, cibulos, fea-wolves, and otters. The only birds met with on this part of the coaft, were daws, hawks, very fmall paroquets, ducks', and gulls j there we alfo fome parrots, with red feet, bills and heads, like lories, both in their heads and flight. The fifh, on this coaft, are chiefly fardines and cod, and what this voyager calls pejerey, of which, they bring home only as much as will fatisfy the wants of the day. We could not learn, continues Maurelle, whether thefe people had ever been viflted by any other ^ips than ours. Indeed, we had every reafon to think they had not; but what we faw of the country, leaves no doubt of its fertility, and that it is capable of prodij*.ing all the plants of Europe. In moft of the gullies 11 I M:, 3H North AMERICA. gullies of the hills, were rills of clear and cool water, the banks of which were covered with herbs (as in the meadows of Europe) of both agreeable verdure and fragrancy. Among thefe are CaftlUian rofes, fmallage, lilies, plan- tain, thiftles, cam mo mile and many others. We alio found ftrawberries, rafberries, blackberries, fwect onions, and potatoes, all which grew in great abundance, and particularly neareft the rills. The hills were covered with very large, high, and firait pines fome of which we noticed were 1 20 feet liigh, and four in diameter towards the bottQm j pines proper for mafts and fhip-building. The tides here are as regular as in Europe. Mattrelle traced the coaft northward, as far as la- titude 57^, 18' found the appearance of the country fimilar to that of latitude 41® and the natives dreffed as their more fouthern neighbours, only that their garments were longer, and they wore a cap on their hair, which covered their whole head. The weather here, in July, was exceedingly cold, with much rain and froft; but in latitude 56*^ the air was much warmer, owing to fome large volcanos burning in that neighbourhood, and which Captain Cook alfo mentions, and which we have defcribed, in the p'ate of the natives of Nootka Sound. Thu$ North AMERICA 305 *rhus has the North- Wcftern Coaft of America, been traced from California, to Bherings-Streights, by Mau- relle and Cook, and no inlet difcovered, to raife hopes of a north-weft paflage, by Hudfon*s-Bay, unlefs it be above the latitude 72^. where the feas are obftruded by large bodies of floating ice, in fummer-time -, but if a nrivigator could get into this latitude before June, it is generally thought, that the ocean, between the latitudes 80 and 90, is quite open, and that in all likelihood, land and inhabitants miglit be found within 10 degrees of the pole. But though our government has long held out a reward of 5000/. to the firft perfon that fhall fail within a degree of the Pole; and j£. 20,000, to the firft difcoverer of a north- weft paflage by Hudfons- bay, or north of it j yet, as it is the Greenland fiftiing veflels only, that fail fo fer north, and thefe veflels lofe their inlurance, if they prefume to go further than a certain latitude, the intereft of their owners militates againft the encouragement held out by parliament; and till thefe two interefts can be reconciled, there is little liopes of fuch a difcovery. Vol. VL U A DIS