FOOTNOTES:

INDIAN CANOES, VICTORIA, V. I. (TEMP. 1863).INDIAN CANOES, VICTORIA, V. I. (TEMP. 1863).

Afterhollowing out their canoes, which they do very neatly, they fashion the outside, and slightly burn it, for the purpose of removing any splinters or small points that might obstruct its passage through the water, after which they rub it over thoroughly with rushes or coarse mats, in order to smooth it, which not only renders it almost as smooth as glass, but forms a better security for it from the weather; this operation of burning and rubbing down the bottoms of their canoes is practised as often as they acquire any considerable degree of roughness from use. The outside by this means becomes quite black, and to complete their work they paint the inside of a bright red, with ochre or some other similar substance; the prows and sterns are almost always ornamented with figures of ducks or some other kind of bird, the former being so fashioned as to represent the head, and the latter the tail; these are separate pieces from the canoe, and are fastened to it with small flexible twigs or bark cord.

Some of these canoes, particularly those employed in whaling, which will hold about ten men, are ornamented within about two inches below the gunwale with two parallel lines on each side of very small white shells, running fore and aft, which has a very pretty effect. Their war canoes have no ornament of this kind, but are painted on the outside with figures in white chalk, representing eagles, whales, human heads, etc. They are very dexterous in the use of their paddles, which are very neatly wrought, and are five feet long, with a shorthandle and a blade seven inches broad in the middle, tapering to a sharp point. With these they will make a canoe skim very swiftly on the water, with scarcely any noise, while they keep time to the stroke of the paddle with their songs.

FOOTNOTES:[74]Yet they are by no means weak in the legs, a coast Indian being capable of long travel in the bush without tiring. The Hydahs of Queen Charlotte Island, and the Tlinkets and Kaloshes of the neighbouring mainland, are splendid specimens of men, tall, comparatively fair, large-headed, regularly-featured, and endowed with courage and intelligence, though their morals leave much to be desired. All the canoe Indians are very strong-handed, owing to the constant use of the paddle. In a scuffle with one of them, it does not do to let him get a grip; better prevent him from coming to close quarters, for in this case the white man has little chance. The Klahoquahts are the finest-looking of the Vancouver west coast tribes.[75]I have rarely seen a corpulent Indian, and not one idiot, or a cripple so deformed that he was incapable of earning his livelihood. It is seldom that they are deformed from birth, and when they are, they generally disappear, so as not to be a burden on the tribe. As a facetious old savage remarked to me, when discussing that curious immunity from helplessness in his tribe, "The climate doesn't agree with them." The brother of Quisto, chief of the Pachenahts in 1865 (San Juan Harbour), was much deformed in the legs, but he was an excellent canoeman.[76]Commonly the flattish nacreous portion of the Abelone, or Ear-shell (Haliotis Kamschatkiana), known asApats-em, which is pawned or sold in times of scarcity. By constant removal and insertion, the septum of the nose, through which it is fastened, becomes in time so large that it will admit almost any kind of moderately-sized ornament. Feathers are frequently inserted, and more than once I have seen an Indian, clad in a blanket alone, denude himself of his single garment to hold biscuits or other goods, and dispose of his pipe by sticking it in the hole through his nasal septum, which, had times been better, would have been occupied with a piece of shell, either square, oblong, or of a horseshoe shape.[77]This is the well-knownDentalium pretiosum, or Tooth-shell, generally known as theHioqua. It is procured chiefly from Cape Flattery, on the southern side of Juan de Fuca Strait, and from Koskeemo Sound on the north. The "Aitizzarts" (Ayhuttisahts) probably obtained it by barter with the tribes on that part of the coast. It is not much used nowadays.—The Peoples of the World, vol. i. p. 60.[78]This is powdered mica of the black variety. It is obtained in various places, from veins exposed, for the most part in the beds of streams.[79]These seem to be the Nimpkish, from the Nimpkish River, south of Fort Rupert, on the eastern shore of Vancouver Island, who still frequently cross the island by a chain of rivers and lakes to Nootka Sound. This is confirmed by Jewitt writing in another place that they lived somewhat in the interior. It is doubtful whether he knew that the country in which he lived was an island. At all events, he never mentions it by that name. This route I have described in "Das Innere der Vancouver Insel" (Petermann,Geographische Mittheilungen, 1869).[80]Enhydra lutris, or "Quiaotluck," now so rapidly decreasing in numbers that it can scarcely escape the fate of Steller's Rhytina.[81]For an account of the habits and history of these valued animals, the reader is referred toThe Countries of the World, vol. i. p. 304.[82]The harpoon is at present a little different in construction. Pine resin, not "turpentine," is used for the purpose described, and the tips of deers' horns are utilised for the barbs. The most remarkable fact about the west coast of Vancouver Island whaling is its use of inflated sealskins to impede the motion of the animal through the water. This is an Eskimo contrivance in use by the Alaskans and other extreme northern tribes, from whom the West Vancouverians seem to have borrowed it. In Sproat'sScenes and Studies of Savage Life, p. 226, there is an excellent description of whaling as practised in that part of Vancouver Island. The species pursued is usually finbacks, though a "black fish" with good whalebone is occasionally captured.[83]The honour of using the harpoon is a hereditary privilege, enjoyed by only a few men in a tribe, and previous to the whaling season the crews have to practise all manner of ascetic practices in order to ensure good luck in the venture.[84]This porpoise Dr. Gray considered, after examining a skull which I brought to the British Museum in 1866, to differ little, if at all, from thePhocæna communisof the Atlantic; but Dr. (afterwards Sir) W. H. Flower (List of the Specimens of Cetacea, etc., 1885, p. 16) seems to be of a different opinion.[85]This "sea-cow," of which Meares also speaks as an animal hunted by the Nootka people, though rarely seen so far south, must, one might think, be another name for the seal or "sea-calf," were not the latter expressly referred to by name. The sea-cow, dugong, or manatee is not found in these seas, and theRhytina Stelleri, once so abundant on Behring Island in Behring Strait, is generally considered to have been exterminated in the interval between 1741-1768. This, however, is hardly in accordance with fact, for, as evidence collected by Nordenskjöld proves, they were occasionally killed in 1780, while one was seen as late as 1854. It is therefore by no means improbable that in 1803 a few stragglers were still waiting their end on the shores of Vancouver Island. The sea-lion (Eumetopias Stelleri) is a seal also verging on extinction, theOtaria ursinusbeing now the fur seal of commerce (and politics) in that part of the North Pacific.[86]A species of cedar (Thuja) is the wood used.

[74]Yet they are by no means weak in the legs, a coast Indian being capable of long travel in the bush without tiring. The Hydahs of Queen Charlotte Island, and the Tlinkets and Kaloshes of the neighbouring mainland, are splendid specimens of men, tall, comparatively fair, large-headed, regularly-featured, and endowed with courage and intelligence, though their morals leave much to be desired. All the canoe Indians are very strong-handed, owing to the constant use of the paddle. In a scuffle with one of them, it does not do to let him get a grip; better prevent him from coming to close quarters, for in this case the white man has little chance. The Klahoquahts are the finest-looking of the Vancouver west coast tribes.

[75]I have rarely seen a corpulent Indian, and not one idiot, or a cripple so deformed that he was incapable of earning his livelihood. It is seldom that they are deformed from birth, and when they are, they generally disappear, so as not to be a burden on the tribe. As a facetious old savage remarked to me, when discussing that curious immunity from helplessness in his tribe, "The climate doesn't agree with them." The brother of Quisto, chief of the Pachenahts in 1865 (San Juan Harbour), was much deformed in the legs, but he was an excellent canoeman.

[76]Commonly the flattish nacreous portion of the Abelone, or Ear-shell (Haliotis Kamschatkiana), known asApats-em, which is pawned or sold in times of scarcity. By constant removal and insertion, the septum of the nose, through which it is fastened, becomes in time so large that it will admit almost any kind of moderately-sized ornament. Feathers are frequently inserted, and more than once I have seen an Indian, clad in a blanket alone, denude himself of his single garment to hold biscuits or other goods, and dispose of his pipe by sticking it in the hole through his nasal septum, which, had times been better, would have been occupied with a piece of shell, either square, oblong, or of a horseshoe shape.

[77]This is the well-knownDentalium pretiosum, or Tooth-shell, generally known as theHioqua. It is procured chiefly from Cape Flattery, on the southern side of Juan de Fuca Strait, and from Koskeemo Sound on the north. The "Aitizzarts" (Ayhuttisahts) probably obtained it by barter with the tribes on that part of the coast. It is not much used nowadays.—The Peoples of the World, vol. i. p. 60.

[78]This is powdered mica of the black variety. It is obtained in various places, from veins exposed, for the most part in the beds of streams.

[79]These seem to be the Nimpkish, from the Nimpkish River, south of Fort Rupert, on the eastern shore of Vancouver Island, who still frequently cross the island by a chain of rivers and lakes to Nootka Sound. This is confirmed by Jewitt writing in another place that they lived somewhat in the interior. It is doubtful whether he knew that the country in which he lived was an island. At all events, he never mentions it by that name. This route I have described in "Das Innere der Vancouver Insel" (Petermann,Geographische Mittheilungen, 1869).

[80]Enhydra lutris, or "Quiaotluck," now so rapidly decreasing in numbers that it can scarcely escape the fate of Steller's Rhytina.

[81]For an account of the habits and history of these valued animals, the reader is referred toThe Countries of the World, vol. i. p. 304.

[82]The harpoon is at present a little different in construction. Pine resin, not "turpentine," is used for the purpose described, and the tips of deers' horns are utilised for the barbs. The most remarkable fact about the west coast of Vancouver Island whaling is its use of inflated sealskins to impede the motion of the animal through the water. This is an Eskimo contrivance in use by the Alaskans and other extreme northern tribes, from whom the West Vancouverians seem to have borrowed it. In Sproat'sScenes and Studies of Savage Life, p. 226, there is an excellent description of whaling as practised in that part of Vancouver Island. The species pursued is usually finbacks, though a "black fish" with good whalebone is occasionally captured.

[83]The honour of using the harpoon is a hereditary privilege, enjoyed by only a few men in a tribe, and previous to the whaling season the crews have to practise all manner of ascetic practices in order to ensure good luck in the venture.

[84]This porpoise Dr. Gray considered, after examining a skull which I brought to the British Museum in 1866, to differ little, if at all, from thePhocæna communisof the Atlantic; but Dr. (afterwards Sir) W. H. Flower (List of the Specimens of Cetacea, etc., 1885, p. 16) seems to be of a different opinion.

[85]This "sea-cow," of which Meares also speaks as an animal hunted by the Nootka people, though rarely seen so far south, must, one might think, be another name for the seal or "sea-calf," were not the latter expressly referred to by name. The sea-cow, dugong, or manatee is not found in these seas, and theRhytina Stelleri, once so abundant on Behring Island in Behring Strait, is generally considered to have been exterminated in the interval between 1741-1768. This, however, is hardly in accordance with fact, for, as evidence collected by Nordenskjöld proves, they were occasionally killed in 1780, while one was seen as late as 1854. It is therefore by no means improbable that in 1803 a few stragglers were still waiting their end on the shores of Vancouver Island. The sea-lion (Eumetopias Stelleri) is a seal also verging on extinction, theOtaria ursinusbeing now the fur seal of commerce (and politics) in that part of the North Pacific.

[86]A species of cedar (Thuja) is the wood used.

MUSIC—MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS—SLAVES—NEIGHBOURING TRIBES—TRADE WITH THESE—ARMY

They have a number which they sing on various occasions—at war,[87]whaling and fishing, at their marriages and feasts, and at public festivals or solemnities. The language of the most of these appears to be very different in many respects from that used in their common conversation, which leads me to believe either that they have a different mode of expressing themselves in poetry, or that they borrow their songs from their neighbours; and what the more particularly induces me to the latter opinion is, that whenever any of the Newchemass, a people from the northward, and who speak a very different language, arrived, they used to tell me that they expected a new song, and were almost always sure to have one.

Their tunes are generally soft and plaintive, and though not possessing great variety, are not deficient in harmony. Their singing is generally accompanied with several rude kinds of instrumental music, among the most prominent of which is a kind of a drum. This isnothing more than a long plank hollowed out on the under side and made quite thin, which is beat upon by a stick of about a foot long, and renders a sound not unlike beating on the head of an empty cask, but much louder.

But the two most favourite instruments are the rattle and the pipe or whistle; these are, however, only used by the king, the chiefs, or some particular persons. The former is made of dried sealskin, so as to represent a fish, and is filled with a number of small smooth pebbles; it has a short handle, and is painted red. The whistle is made of bone, generally the leg of a deer; it is short, but emits a very shrill sound. They have likewise another kind of music, which they make use of in dancing, in the manner of castanets. This is produced by a number of mussel or cockle shells tied together and shaken to a kind of tune, which is accompanied with the voice.

Their slaves, as I have observed, form their most valuable species of property. These are of both sexes, being either captives taken by themselves in war, or purchased from the neighbouring tribes, and who reside in the same house, forming as it were a part of the family, are usually kindly treated, eat of the same food, and live as well as their masters. They are compelled, however, at times to labour severely, as not only all the menial offices are performed by them, such as bringing water, cutting wood, and a variety of others, but they are obliged to make the canoes, to assist in building and repairing the houses, to supply their masters with fish, and to attend them in war and to fight for them.

None but the king and chiefs have slaves, the common people being prevented from holding them, either from their inability to purchase them, or, as I am rather inclined to think, from its being considered as the privilege of the former alone to have them,[88]especially as all those made prisoners in war belong either to the king or the chiefs who have captured them, each one holding such as have been taken by himself or his slaves. There is probably, however, some little distinction in favour of the king, who is always the commander of the expedition, as Maquina had nearly fifty, male and female, in his house, a number constituting about one half of its inhabitants, comprehending those obtained by war and purchase; whereas none of the other chiefs had more than twelve. The females are employed principally in manufacturing cloth, in cooking, collecting berries, etc., and with regard to food and living in general have not a much harder lot than their mistresses, the principal difference consisting in these poor unfortunate creatures being considered as free to any one, their masters prostituting them whenever they think proper for the purpose of gain. In this way many of them are brought on board the ships and offered to the crews, from whence an opinion appears to have been formed by some of our navigators injurious to the chastity of their females, than which nothing can be more generally untrue, as perhaps in no part of the world is that virtue more prized.[89]

The houses at Nootka, as already stated, are abouttwenty, without comprising those inhabited by the Klahars, a small tribe that has been conquered and incorporated into that of Nootka, though they must be considered as in a state of vassalage, as they are not permitted to have any chiefs among them, and live by themselves in a cluster of small houses at a little distance from the village. The Nootka tribe, which consists of about five hundred warriors,[90]is not only more numerous than almost any of the neighbouring tribes, but far exceeds them in the strength and martial spirit of its people; and in fact there are but few nations within a hundred miles either to the north or south but are considered as tributary to them.

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

The Kla-iz-zarts are a numerous and powerful tribe, living nearly three hundred miles to the south, and are said to consist of more than a thousand warriors.[91]They appear to be more civilised than any of the others, being better and more neatly dressed, more mild and affable in their manners, remarkable for their sprightliness and vivacity, and celebrated for their singing and dancing.

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

They have a custom which appears to be peculiar to them, as I never observed it in any of the other tribes, which is to pluck out not only their beards and the hair from their bodies, but also their eyebrows, so as not to leave a vestige remaining. They were also in general more skilful in painting and decorating themselves, and I have seen some of them with no less than a dozen holes in each of their ears, to which were suspended strings of small beads about two inches in length. Their language is the same as spoken at Nootka, but their pronunciation is much more hoarse and guttural. These people are not only very expert in whaling, but are great hunters of the sea-otter and other animals, with which their country is said to abound, and the metamelth, a large animal of the deer kind, the skin of which I have already spoken of, another of a light grey colour, with very fine hair, from which they manufacture a handsome cloth, the beaver, and a species of large wild cat or tiger cat.

The Wickinninish,[92]their neighbours on the north, are about two hundred miles from Nootka. They are a robust, strong, and warlike people, but considered by the Nootkians as their inferiors in courage. This tribe is more numerous than that of Nootka, amounting to between six and seven hundred warriors. Though not so civilised as the Kla-iz-zarts, and less skilful in their manufactures, like them they employ themselves in hunting, as well as in whaling and fishing. Their faces are broad, but less so than the Kla-iz-zarts, with a darker complexion and a much less open and pleasing expression of countenance, while their heads present a very different form, being pressed in at the sides and lengthened towards the top somewhat in the shape of a sugar loaf. These people are very frequent visitors at Nootka, a close friendship subsisting between the two nations, Maquina'sArcomahor queen,Y-ya-tintla-no, being the daughter of the Wickinninish king.

The Kla-oo-quates[93]adjoining them on the north are much less numerous, their force not exceeding four hundred fighting men; they are also behind them in the arts of life. These are a fierce, bold, and enterprising people, and there were none that visited Nootka, whom Maquina used to be more on his guard against, or viewedwith so much suspicion. The Eshquates[94]are about the same number; these are considered as tributary to Maquina. Their coast abounds with rivers, creeks, and marshes.

UK-LULAC-AHT INDIAN.UK-LULAC-AHT INDIAN.

To the north the nearest tribe of any importance is the Aitizzarts;[95]these, however, do not exceed threehundred warriors. In appearance they greatly resemble the people of Nootka, to whom they are considered as tributary, their manners, dress, and style of living also being very similar. They reside at about forty miles' distance up the Sound. A considerable way farther to the northward are the Cayuquets;[96]these are a much more numerous tribe than that of Nootka, but thought by the latter to be deficient in courage and martial spirit, Maquina having frequently told me that their hearts were a little like those of birds.

There are also both at the north and south many other intervening tribes, but in general small in number and insignificant, all of whom, as well as the above-mentioned, speak the same language. But the Newchemass, who come from a great way to the northward, and from some distance inland, as I was told by Maquina, speak quite a different language,[97]although it is well understood by those of Nootka. These were the most savage-looking and ugly men that I ever saw, their complexion being much darker, their stature shorter, and their hair coarser, than that of the other nations, and their dress and appearance dirty in an extreme. They wear their beards long like Jews, and have a very morose and surly countenance. Their usual dress is akotsukmade of wolf-skin, with a number of the tails attached to it, of which I have seen no less than ten on one garment, hanging from the top to the bottom;though they sometimes wear a similar mantle of bark cloth, of a much coarser texture than that of Nootka, the original of which appears to be the same, though from their very great filthiness it was almost impossible to discover what it had been.

Their mode of dressing the hair also varies essentially from that of the other tribes, for they suffer that on the back of the head to hang loose, and bind the other over their foreheads in the manner of a fillet, with a strip of their country cloth, ornamented with small white shells. Their weapons are thecheetolth, or war-club, which is made from whalebone, daggers, bow and arrows, and a kind of spear pointed with bone or copper.[98]They brought with them no furs for sale, excepting a few wolf-skins, their merchandise consisting principally of the black shining mineral calledpelpelth, and the fine red paint, which they carefully kept in close mat bags, some small dried salmon, clams, and roes of fish, with occasionally a little coarse matting cloth. They were accustomed to remain a much longer time at Nootka than the other tribes, in order to recover from the fatigue of a long journey, part of which was overland, and on these occasions taught their songs to our savages.

The trade of most of the other tribes with Nootka was principally train-oil, seal or whale's blubber, fish fresh or dried, herring or salmon spawn, clams and mussels, and theyama,[99]a species of fruit which is pressed and dried, cloth, sea-otter skins, and slaves.From the Aitizzarts and the Cayuquets, particularly the former, the best Ife-whaw and in the greatest quantities was obtained. The Eshquates furnished us with wild ducks and geese, particularly the latter. The Wickinninish and Kla-iz-zarts brought to market many slaves, the best sea-otter skins, great quantities of oil, whale sinew, and cakes of theyama, highly ornamented canoes, some Ife-whaw, red ochre and pelpelth of an inferior quality to that obtained from the Newchemass, but particularly the so much valued metamelth, and an excellent root called by the Kla-iz-zartsQuawnoose.[100]This is the size of a small onion, but rather longer, being of a tapering form like a pear, and of a brownish colour. It is cooked by steam, is always brought in baskets ready prepared for eating, and is in truth a very fine vegetable, being sweet, mealy, and of a most agreeable flavour. It was highly esteemed by the natives, who used to eat it, as they did everything else, with train-oil. From the Kla-iz-zarts was also received, though in no great quantity, a cloth manufactured by them from the fur already spoken of, which feels like wool and is of a grey colour.

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

Whenever they came to visit or trade, it was their general custom to stop a few miles distant, under the lee of some bluff or rock, and rig themselves out in their best manner, by painting and dressing their heads. On their first coming on shore, they were invited to eat by the king, when they brought to him such articles as he wanted, after which the rest of the inhabitants were permitted to purchase, the strangers being careful to keep them in their canoes until sold, under strict guard to prevent their being stolen, the disposition of these people for thieving being so great, that it is necessary to keep a watchful eye upon them.

This was their usual mode of traffic, but whenever they wished to purchase any particular object, as, for instance, a certain slave, or some other thing of which they were very desirous, the canoe that came for this purpose would lie off a little distance from the shore, and a kind of ambassador or representative of the king or chief by whom it was sent, dressed in their best manner, and with his head covered with the white down, would rise, and, after making known the object of hismission in a pompous speech, hold up specimens of such articles as he was instructed to offer in payment, mentioning the number or quantity of each, when, if the bargain was concluded, the exchange was immediately made.

On their visits of friendship or traffic, the chiefs alone used to sleep on shore; this was generally at the house of the king or the head chief, the others passing the night on board of their canoes, which was done not only for the preservation of their property, but because they were not permitted to remain on shore, lest they might excite some disturbance or commit depredations.

All these people generally go armed, the common class wearing only a dagger suspended from their neck behind, with a string of metamelth, and sometimes thrust in their girdles. The chiefs, in addition to the dagger, carry the cheetolth, or war-club, suspended in the same manner beneath their mantles; this, in the hands of a strong man, is a powerful weapon, in the management of which some of the older chiefs are very dexterous. It is made from the bone of a whale, and is very heavy. The blade is about eighteen inches long and three broad, till it approaches near the point, where it expands to the breadth of four inches. In the middle, from whence it slopes off gradually to an edge on each side, it is from one to two inches in thickness. This blade is usually covered with figures of the sun and moon, a man's head, etc.; and the hilt, which is made to represent the head of a man or some animal, is curiously set with small white shells, and has a band of metamelth fastened to it, in order to sling it over the shoulder. Some of the tribes have also a kind of spearheaded with copper or the bone of the sting ray, which is a dangerous weapon; this is, however, not usual, and only carried by the chiefs. The bow and arrow are still used by a few, but since the introduction of firearms among them, this weapon has been mostly laid aside.

FOOTNOTES:[87]A specimen of one of their war-songs will be found at the end of this work.[88]This was not the case. Any free-born native, provided he had the means, could own a slave.[89]This is largely a tale of the past.[90]It is questionable if there are now as many people in the whole tribe. Cook estimated the population of Friendly Cove at two thousand.[91]This is wrong. The Kla-iz-zarts (Klahosahts) livenorthof Nootka Sound.[92]In Meares's time (1788) Wickinninish was regarded as the most powerful chief, next to Maquina or Maquilla, as he calls him. His residence was usually at "Port Cox" (Clayoquat Sound), but his territory extended as far south as Nettinaht, his subjects comprising thirteen thousand people. Meares does not fall into Jewitt's blunder of confounding the name of the chief with that of his tribe. But Meares derived his information first hand, while Jewitt obtained it merely from hearsay, never having visited any other part except the immediate vicinity of Nootka Sound.[93]Klayoquahts. They have now barely two hundred warriors.[94]Hishquahts. If they have twenty men, that is all. Thirty years ago they had only thirty adult males.[95]Ayhuttisahts. Thirty years ago they had thirty-six men fit to fight.[96]Ky-yoh-quahts. In 1860 they numbered two hundred and thirty adult men.[97]Namely, the Kwakiool spoken on the east and north coasts of Vancouver Island from Comox northwards.[98]These implements have fallen out of use.[99]The salal (Gaultheria Shallon), which forms a carpet to the ground, especially where the soil is poor.[100]The bulb of a pretty blue lily (Gamassia esculenta), well known all over North-West America as the "gamass" or "kamass." The digging and storing of it in summer form one of the most picturesque of Indian occupations. The gamass camps are always lively, and the skill and industry which a girl displays in this important part of her future duties are carefully noted by the young men in search of wives.

[87]A specimen of one of their war-songs will be found at the end of this work.

[88]This was not the case. Any free-born native, provided he had the means, could own a slave.

[89]This is largely a tale of the past.

[90]It is questionable if there are now as many people in the whole tribe. Cook estimated the population of Friendly Cove at two thousand.

[91]This is wrong. The Kla-iz-zarts (Klahosahts) livenorthof Nootka Sound.

[92]In Meares's time (1788) Wickinninish was regarded as the most powerful chief, next to Maquina or Maquilla, as he calls him. His residence was usually at "Port Cox" (Clayoquat Sound), but his territory extended as far south as Nettinaht, his subjects comprising thirteen thousand people. Meares does not fall into Jewitt's blunder of confounding the name of the chief with that of his tribe. But Meares derived his information first hand, while Jewitt obtained it merely from hearsay, never having visited any other part except the immediate vicinity of Nootka Sound.

[93]Klayoquahts. They have now barely two hundred warriors.

[94]Hishquahts. If they have twenty men, that is all. Thirty years ago they had only thirty adult males.

[95]Ayhuttisahts. Thirty years ago they had thirty-six men fit to fight.

[96]Ky-yoh-quahts. In 1860 they numbered two hundred and thirty adult men.

[97]Namely, the Kwakiool spoken on the east and north coasts of Vancouver Island from Comox northwards.

[98]These implements have fallen out of use.

[99]The salal (Gaultheria Shallon), which forms a carpet to the ground, especially where the soil is poor.

[100]The bulb of a pretty blue lily (Gamassia esculenta), well known all over North-West America as the "gamass" or "kamass." The digging and storing of it in summer form one of the most picturesque of Indian occupations. The gamass camps are always lively, and the skill and industry which a girl displays in this important part of her future duties are carefully noted by the young men in search of wives.

SITUATION OF THE AUTHOR—REMOVAL TO TASHEES—FISHING PARTIES

But to return to our unhappy situation. Though my comrade and myself fared as well, and even better than we could have expected among these people, considering their customs and mode of living, yet our fears lest no ship would come to our release, and that we should never more behold a Christian country, were to us a source of constant pain. Our principal consolation, in this gloomy state, was to go on Sundays, whenever the weather would permit, to the borders of a freshwater pond about a mile from the village, where, after bathing and putting on clean clothes, we would seat ourselves under the shade of a beautiful pine, while I read some chapters in the Bible, and the prayers appointed by our Church for the day, ending our devotions with a fervent prayer to the Almighty, that He would deign still to watch over and preserve our lives, rescue us from the hands of the savages, and permit us once more to behold a Christian land.

In this manner were the greater part of our Sundays passed at Nootka; and I felt gratified to Heaven that, amidst our other sufferings, we were at least allowed thepleasure of offering up our devotions unmolested, for Maquina, on my explaining to him as well as was in my power the reason of our thus retiring at this time, far from objecting, readily consented to it.

The pond above mentioned was small, not more than a quarter of a mile in breadth, and of no great length, the water being very clear, though not of great depth, and bordered by a beautiful forest of pine, fir, elm,[101] and beech,[101]free from bushes and underwood—a most delightful retreat, which was rendered still more attractive by a great number of birds that frequented it, particularly the humming-bird.[102]Thither we used to go to wash our clothes, and felt secure from any intrusion from the natives, as they rarely visited it, except for the purpose of cleansing themselves of their paint.

In July we at length thought that the hope of delivery we had so long anxiously indulged was on the point of being gratified. A ship appeared in the offing; but, alas! our fond hopes vanished almost as soon as formed; for, instead of standing in for the shore, she passed to the northward, and soon disappeared. I shall not attempt to describe our disappointment—my heart sank within me, and I felt as though it was my destiny never more to behold a Christian face. Four days after, there occurred a tremendous storm of thunder and lightning, during which the natives manifested great alarm and terror, the whole tribe hurrying to Maquina's house,where, instead of keeping within, they seated themselves on the roof, amid the severest of the tempest, drumming upon the boards, and looking up to heaven, while the king beat the long hollow plank, singing, and, as he afterwards told me, beggingQuahootze, the name they give to God, not to kill them, in which he was accompanied by the whole tribe; this singing and drumming was continued until the storm abated.

As the summer drew near its close, we began to suffer from the frequent want of food, which was principally owing to Maquina and the chiefs being out whaling, in which he would not permit Thompson and myself to join, lest we should make our escape to some of the neighbouring tribes. At these times the women seldom or ever cook any provision, and we were often hungry, but were sometimes fortunate enough to procure secretly a piece of salmon, some other fish, spawn, or even blubber, which, by boiling in salt water, with a few onions and turnips, the remains of the Spanish garden, or young nettles or other herbs, furnished us a delicious repast in private.

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

But I was still more strongly solicited to leave Nootka by a woman. This was a Wickinninish princess, a younger sister of Maquina's wife, who was there on a visit. I had the good fortune, if it may be so called, to become quite a favourite with her. She appeared much interested for me, asked me many questions respecting my country, if I had a mother and sister at home, and if they would not grieve for my absence. Her complexion was fairer than that of the women in general, and her features more regular, and she would have been quite handsome had it not been for a defect in one of her eyes, the sight of which had been injured by some accident; the reason, as Maquina told me, why she had not been married, a defect of this kind being by these savages considered as almost an insuperable objection. She urged me repeatedly to return with her, telling me that the Wickinninish were much better than the Nootkians; that her father would treat me more kindly than Maquina, give me better food and clothes, and finally put me on board one of my own country vessels. I felt, however, little disposed to accompany her, considering my situation with Maquina full as eligible as it would be with Wickinninish, if not better, notwithstanding all she said to the contrary.

On the 3rd of September the whole tribe quitted Nootka, according to their constant practice, in order to pass the autumn and winter at Tashees[103]and Cooptee, the latter lying about thirty miles up the Sound, in a deep bay, the navigation of which is very dangerous,from the great number of reefs and rocks with which it abounds.

On these occasions everything is taken with them, even the planks of their houses, in order to cover their new dwellings. To an European such a removal exhibits a scene quite novel and strange; canoes piled up with boards and boxes, and filled with men, women, and children, of all ranks and sizes, making the air resound with their cries and songs.

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

The longboat of our ship having been repaired and furnished with a sail by Thompson, Maquina gave us the direction of it, we being better acquainted with managing it than his people, and, after loading her as deep as she could swim, we proceeded in company with them to the north, quitting Nootka with heavy hearts, as we could entertain no hopes of release until our return, no ships ever coming to that part of the coast. Passing Cooptee, which is situated on the southern bank, just within the mouth of a small river flowing from the east in a narrow valley at the foot of a mountain, we proceeded about fifteen miles up this stream to Tashees,between a range of lofty hills on each side, which extend a great distance inland, and are covered with the finest forest trees of the country. Immediately on our arrival, we all went to work very diligently in covering the houses with the planks we had brought, the frames being ready erected, these people never pretending to remove the timber. In a very short time the work was completed, and we were established in our new residence.

Tashees is pleasantly situated, and in a most secure position from the winter storms, in a small vale or hollow on the south shore, at the foot of a mountain. The spot on which it stands is level, and the soil very fine, the country in its vicinity abounding with the most romantic views, charmingly diversified, and fine streams of water falling in beautiful cascades from the mountains. The river at this place is about twenty rods in width, and, in its deepest part, from nine to twelve feet. This village is the extreme point of navigation, as, immediately beyond, the river becomes much more shallow, and is broken into falls and rapids. The houses here are placed in a line like those at Nootka, but closer together, the situation being more confined; they are also smaller, in consequence of which we were much crowded, and incommoded for room.

The principal object in coming to this place is the facility it affords these people of providing their winter stock of provisions, which consists principally of salmon, and the spawn of that fish; to which may be added herrings and sprats, and herring spawn. The latter, however, is always procured by them at Nootka, previous to their quitting it. At the seasons of spawning, whichare early in spring and the last of August, they collect a great quantity of pine branches, which they place in different parts of the Cove at the depth of about ten feet, and secure them by means of heavy stones. On these the herring deposit their spawn in immense quantities; the bushes are then taken up, the spawn stripped from the branches, and, after being washed and freed from the pine leaves by the women, is dried and put up in baskets for use. It is considered as their greatest delicacy, and eaten both cooked and raw; in the former case, being boiled and eaten with train-oil, and in the latter, mixed up with cold water alone.

The salmon are taken at Tashees, principally in pots or wears. Their method of taking them in wears is thus:—A pot of twenty feet in length, and from four to five feet diameter at the mouth, is formed of a great number of pine splinters, which are strongly secured, an inch and a half from each other, by means of hoops made of flexible twigs, and placed about eight inches apart. At the end it tapers almost to a point, near which is a small wicker door for the purpose of taking out the fish. This pot or wear is placed at the foot of a fall or rapid, where the water is not very deep, and the fish, driven from above with long poles, are intercepted and caught in the wear, from whence they are taken into the canoes. In this manner I have seen more than seven hundred salmon caught in the space of fifteen minutes.[104]I have also sometimes known a few of the striped bass taken in this manner, but rarely.

SALMON WEAR NEAR THE INDIAN VILLAGE OF QUAMICHAN, V. I.SALMON WEAR NEAR THE INDIAN VILLAGE OF QUAMICHAN, V. I.

Atsuch times there is great feasting and merriment among them. The women and female slaves being busily employed in cooking, or in curing the fish for their winter stock, which is done by cutting off the heads and tails, splitting them, taking out the back bone, and hanging them up in their houses to dry. They also dry the halibut and cod, but these, instead of curing whole, they cut up into small pieces for that purpose, and expose to the sun.

The spawn of the salmon, which is a principal article of their provision, they take out, and, without any other preparation, throw it into their tubs, where they leave it to stand and ferment, for, though they frequently eat it fresh, they esteem it much more when it has acquired a strong taste, and one of the greatest favours they can confer on any person, is to invite him to eatQuakamiss, the name they give this food, though scarcely anything can be more repugnant to an European palate, than it is in this state; and whenever they took it out of these large receptacles, which they are always careful to fill, such was the stench which it exhaled, on being moved, that it was almost impossible for me to abide it, even after habit had in a great degree dulled the delicacy of my senses. When boiled it became less offensive, though it still retained much of the putrid smell, and something of the taste.

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

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

In many respects, however, our situation was less pleasant here than at Nootka. We were more incommoded for room, the houses not being so spacious, nor so well arranged, and as it was colder, we were compelled to be much more within doors. We, however, did not neglect on Sundays, when the weather would admit, to retire into the woods, and, by the side of some stream, after bathing, return our thanks to God for preserving us, and offer up to Him our customary devotions.

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

Not long after, I finished some daggers for him, which I polished highly; these pleased him much, and he gave me directions to make a cheetolth, in which I succeeded so far to his satisfaction, that he gave me a present of cloth sufficient to make me a complete suit of raiment, besides other things.

Thompson also, who had become rather more of a favourite than formerly, since he had made a fine sail for his canoe, and some garments for him out of European cloth, about this time completed another, which was thought by the savages a most superb dress. This was akotsukor mantle, a fathom square, made entirely of European vest patterns of the gayest colours. These were sewed together in a manner to make the best show, and bound with a deep trimming of the finest otter-skin, with which the arm-holes were also bordered; while the bottom was further embellished with five or six rows of gilt buttons, placed as near as possible to each other.

Nothing could exceed the pride of Maquina when he first put on this royal robe, decorated, like the coat of Joseph, with all the colours of the rainbow, and glittering with the buttons, which as he strutted about made a tinkling, while he repeatedly exclaimed, in a transport of exultation, "Klew shish Kotsuk—wick kumatack Nootka."[105]—"A fine garment—Nootka can't make them."

Maquina, who knew that the chiefs of the tribes who came to visit us had endeavoured to persuade me to escape, frequently cautioned me not to listen to them, saying that, should I make the attempt, and he were to take me, he should certainly put me to death. While here, he gave me a book, in which I found the names of seven persons belonging to the shipManchester, of Philadelphia, Captain Brian—viz. Daniel Smith, Lewis Gillon, James Tom, Clark, Johnson, Ben, and Jack. These men, as Maquina informed me, ran away from the ship and came to him, but that six of them soon after went off in the night, with an intention to go to the Wickinninish, but were stopped by the Eshquates, and sent back to him, and that he ordered them to be put to death; and a most cruel death it was, as I was told by one of the natives, four men holding one of them on the ground, and forcing open his mouth, while they choked him by ramming stones down his throat.

As to Jack, the boy, who made no attempt to go off, Maquina afterwards sold him to the Wickinninish. I was informed by the Princess Yuqua that he was quite a small boy, who cried a great deal, being put to hard labour beyond his strength by the natives, in cutting wood and bringing water, and that when he heard of the murder of our crew,it had such an effect on him, that he fell sick, and died shortly after. On learning the melancholy fate of this unfortunate lad, it again awakened in my bosom those feelings that I had experienced at the shocking death of my poor comrades.

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