prior to this, in interesting himself to get me this employ, and readiness to serve me at all times has laid me under numberless obligations to him: Capt. Marshall's son, a lieutenant in the navy, was to accompany me part of the way, but not with his father's consent, to be landed with fifteen men, stores, &c. at New Year's Harbour, Staten Land, to carry on a sea-lion fishery. The articles for this so lumbered us, that the cabin state-room and steerage were so full of provisions and stores that we had scarce room to get into our beds, nor was there room left in any part of the ship for the smallest article to be taken on board. The smack arrived at Spithead a few hours before the ship, she had met with no material accident during the gale we suffered so much in: she lay at anchor in Dover Roads. On the 2nd of October, we saw her off Brightelmstone. October the 16th weighed, with a light air of wind at W.S.W. and variable, to turn down to Yarmouth; the smack dropt down the day before. Soon after underweigh the wind got round to the northward and eastward, made a signal to the smack to join company; made sail, and ran through the Needles. [As we shall most likely have occasion to refer to this voyage we have preserved the above record of the vessels, and circumstances under which it was performed. We now turn to the following notices of Nootka Sound in Vancouvers Island.] Minerals.-Saw none that we have any reason to think are found in this neighbourhood. Copper. They were in possession of some small quantity, but their eagerness to possess it is a convincing proof they get it in the way of barter, through the same channel as the iron. They use a red kind of ore to paint their faces and utensils with, and set little value on it, nor for our vermilion, although they preferred it, would they give the smallest article in exchange: they have also black and white, which they mark their faces with: the latter gives them a horrid aspect. The inhabitants are of a middling size, neither corpulent nor lean, the visage mostly round and full, and sometimes broad and high prominent cheeks; their nose flat, and wide nostrils; the eye small and black, rather dull than sparkling; the mouth round, and lips mostly thick; their teeth good and regular. Very few young men wear their beards, and scarce an old man without one: the hair of their heads is dark, inclining to black and thick, and on many of them a good length hanging down over the shoulders and forehead in a wild manner, but when going on a visit, it is dressed in different manners, ornamented with the white down of birds. Their complexion when washed clear of paint is a shade whiter than the people of the Society Isles, and the women had the appearance of colour in their cheeks. The children whose skin had not been dyed with paint, were nearly as white as Europeans, but their mothers have a most unnatural way of treating the males, binding their heads round with a bandage under the poll, and over the crown, forcing the back of the ead out to a considerable length. This I believe to be a very new cus tom, as I only saw one person arrived at the years of maturity with an uncommonly long head. The only difference between the men and women in dress, is in the outside covering of the men being an animal's skin with the fur out, but the women have more of other kinds; a mat is used by both, fixed on the shoulders by way of a great coat when it rains. Very few of the women can be called handsome, or anything agreeable in their countenance, and the small number is of those the chiefs had selected for themselves. The employment of every rank of them is making mats, baskets, hats, and other coverings, but none of us saw them making the woollen garment they wear. Their husbands keep them in great subjection, treating them with little affection or tenderness, for besides making their clothing and many other useful articles about the house, they gut fish, prepare the roe and other victuals; at other times on the shores to pick or dig shell-fish, and in the woods for berries and roots. The women have a great share of modesty, nor had we but two instances of their deviating from it; always decently covered and not without taste: was it not for the dirt they contract from the oil and paint they daub themselves with, which breed a great quantity of vermin, and they take no pains to destroy them, except one is troublesome, and when they get hold of it by chance it is cracked between their teeth and swallowed. This is practised also by the men, who are dirtier, if possible, and void of all modesty; on a fine day lying naked basking in the sun, which was often practiced in their canoes alongside: they appear to be very idle, their chief employment is building houses, making canoes, war weapons, and fishing; the latter they go in great bodies to do. I believe to protect one another and their fish; having no doubt but they both thieve and murder when opportunity offers. The supercargo was at a house in his expedition, where a man had just received a stab, and had every reason to think his appearance saved both the man's life and property, for the two men that were on this business paddled off in great haste. They eat of berries and roots as they come in season, but their chief food is fish, having great numbers smoked and dryed for winter, mostly sardine and salmon, packed in mats, making a bale three or four feet square. Deer, I don't think they frequently eat, but kill them for their fat and skin: birds are often shot with arrows, but are of no estimation, as several pigeons were brought alongside to sell. The dishes for their food are as nasty as themselves, and don't appear to have been cleaned since first made; knives they have plenty, but never use them, when their fingers and teeth will do. There is no cultivation among them, which may proceed from too frequent wars, and from the same cause may arise their having such miserable dwellings, being so contrived as the covering of them can be carried away expeditiously. The largest building is generally in the middle of the village, and occupied by the chief: on the two beams which form the length of the house are paintings resembling human figures, and the supporters of these beains are large posts of wood. Those at each end have a human face carved on, and in the mouth teeth fixed. The remainder of their house is made with small rafters and boards. To account for the number of deserted villages and houses in different parts of the Sound I cannot, unless the greatest number of the inhabitants have been exterminated by war, the remainder joining the conquering party, or obliged to shift their abode on account of their dirt and nastiness, which is scarce credible, the quantity of fish scales, guts, bones, &c. surrounding all their habitations, and when increasing faster than the crows, ravens, and herons can destroy, rising above the platform of their houses, which are several feet above the ground, must become too great a nuisance for themselves to bear. The canoes are well constructed, the largest carrying twenty or thirty people, the smallest two or three; they are formed out of one tree growing narrower at each end, the stern the lowest, the bow having a good rake forward, and carried up much higher than the other end; some of them have carving and painting on their stem and gunnel, and the inside cut in grooves, which at a distance look like timbers; they swim without outriggers, and the seats are round sticks. Their implements are well contrived of every kind, except their nets, which are very indifferent; their most curious one, and which they are very expert in using, is a long piece of wood, sharp-edged, set with large teeth, which they pass under a shoal of fish and catch them on, or between the teeth. They informed us land animals were caught in snares, placed in their haunts, and killed afterwards with spears and dogs, they have a number of these animals, which resemble the English fox dog. One was taken on board the smack young, and with every attention paid it still retained its savage state, biting at times its best friends. He was given away at the Sandwich Isles, the receiver by the next day finding it of so different a temper to their docile animal brought it back, beseeching they would take it again, as he had driven every one out of house and canoe till his mouth was tied. This animal seldom barks, and then very low; but makes a most hideous noise at times by howling. I believe the animals of the woods are often trepanned by the natives dressing themselves in their skins and masks, running on all-fours, and making the noise of the beast they are in pursuit of;-by the example shown us on board it is a most excellent deception. Their most common fishing lines are of a sea-weed which grows to a great length, about the size of whip cord; and while kept moist is very strong; they have other lines made from the cypress hark, and also from the skins and sinews of animals, most likely the whale; and many of their implements perhaps from the bone of the same fish. I saw nothing of their religion. The method of disposing of their dead is cutting them up in pieces, putting them in a box, burying it a little below the earth's surface, or leaving them above ground in the woods, near where some corpse had been interred. A junk of a tree was set with a human face carved on, and called by the natives “klumma.” There was an old man whom I took for a priest came off several up times, and made long orations to numbers that were collected around the ship. This is the same man that brought the invitation to traffic on shore with the strangers; but what was the purport of his harangue the imperfect knowledge we had of their language made it impossible to tell. I was inclined to think it was against us. Several days prior to our reception at the village, I observed this person in a small canoe passing and repassing the ship, frequently in great haste, as if employed express, which latterly never happened. Our confidence was greatly destroyed in each other, from the circumstance that happened on board the Princess Royal, on our first arrival. The chief of the district we lay in, was named Vau-maise; he was on board the smack at the time the man drew a knife on Capt. Duncan; he did not speak, but we had frequent opportuities of observing this daring fellow was his right-hand man. No doubt but he brought him there to execute what he threatened. Not till we were offended with our reception on shore did we know his consequence; on our mentioning what had passed, his answer was "We had not treated him, nor his brother well, who resided abreast the ship; that the people of his village had supplied us with fish and berries, and his brother with water, wood, and a mast; the latter articles we had paid nothing for; had made presents to strangers, and given them nothing." I thought some part of his complaint very just, and a grenadier's cap, and several other articles were given him, and Capt. Duncan gave his brother a similar present. On the receipt they set up a loud howl, a signification of approbation. They have few methods of expressing the passions, hardly a circumstance excites pleasure in their countenance, and then only a faint smile, seldom or never laughing. I have seen a man cut several parts of his arm with a knife without shewing the least symptom of pain. The strongest passion is fear of death, which on the sight of fire-arms is expressly shewn. They frequently scold and abuse each other, but their anger apparently is very superficial, have a little curiosity, and a high opinion of their carving, implements, and ornaments which were preferred to our beads: copper or brass buttons, were in great estimation with them, they stole every thing that could be of use; and from the frequent visits of Europeans, they have found many articles of use that were unknown to them before. Vau-maise appeared to be a freebooter and great warrior, his neighbours standing in great dread of him, nor do I think he ever bore us any friendship; a convincing proof was his taking the pains to prevent our supplying ourselves with salmon on the day of leaving his village, cruizing about in a large canoe well manned and armed, taking all, or most, of the fish from any one he saw coming near us. This they tamely submitted to, and called it "capsheetle." I have seen this practiced by individuals after a long scold, which ended in the loss of the fish; we accounted for it, supposing the person to be a stranger, and a forfeit to his encroaching on their liberty. The chief of the village we lay at last was named Maccula, he and his people much more civilized, and treated us well, frequently entertaining us with a song. On our repeating those we learnt up the Sound, they seemed much displeased; said they were peshak and belonged to suma, or fishing merchants. They had a great desire for fire arms, and powder, and got a brace of pistols and a few charges in exchange for some dresses of furs. A native was seen on shore with his head cut off by some of their neighbours; they set out while we lay here with the fire arms collected from us and the other traders, to punish the murderer. It could not be far off as they were soon back,-the result of this expedition we could not learn. ISLANDS IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN. (Concluded from page 30,) Vocabulary of the Eddystone Island Language, New Georgia. Pora. There. Kaveea. More. Py. Plenty. Bargu. A pigeon. Gawaso. The sun. Popu. The moon. Tang'galu. Daylight. Manggotanna. Sister. A tomahawk. |