RECEPTION OF JEWITT BY THE SAVAGES--ESCAPE OF THOMPSON--ARRIVAL OF
NEIGHBOURING TRIBES--AN INDIAN FEAST
We were received by the inhabitants of the village, men, women, and
children, with loud shouts of joy, and a most horrible drumming with
sticks upon the roofs and sides of their houses,[42] in which they had
also stuck a great number of lighted pine torches, to welcome their
king's return, and congratulate him on the success of his enterprise.
Maquina then took me on shore to his house, which was very large, and
filled with people--where I was received with much kindness by the
women, particularly those belonging to the king, who had no less than
nine wives, all of whom came around me, expressing much sympathy for my
misfortune, gently stroking and patting my head in an encouraging and
soothing manner, with words expressive of condolence. How sweet is
compassion even from savages! Those who have been in a similar
situation, can alone truly appreciate its value.
In the meantime all the warriors of the tribe, to the number of five
hundred,[43] had assembled at the king's house, to rejoice for their
success. They exulted greatly in having taken our ship, and each one
boasted of his own particular exploits in killing our men, but they were
in general much dissatisfied with my having been suffered to live, and
were very urgent with Maquina to deliver me to them, to be put to death,
which he obstinately refused to do, telling them that he had promised me
my life, and would not break his word; and that, besides, I knew how to
repair and to make arms, and should be of great use to them.
The king then seated me by him, and ordered his women to bring him
something to eat, when they set before him some dried clams and
train-oil, of which he ate very heartily, and encouraged me to follow
his example, telling me to eat much, and take a great deal of oil, which
would make me strong and fat. Notwithstanding his praise of this new
kind of food, I felt no disposition to indulge in it, both the smell and
taste being loathsome to me; and had it been otherwise, such was the
pain I endured, the agitation of my mind, and the gloominess of my
reflections, that I should have felt very little inclination for eating.
Not satisfied with his first refusal to deliver me up to them, the
people again became clamorous that Maquina should consent to my being
killed, saying that not one of us ought to be left alive to give
information to others of our countrymen, and prevent them from coming to
trade, or induce them to revenge the destruction of our ship, and they
at length became so boisterous, that he caught up a large club in a
passion, and drove them all out of the house. During this scene, a son
of the king, about eleven years old, attracted no doubt by the
singularity of my appearance, came up to me: I caressed him; he returned
my attentions with much apparent pleasure, and considering this as a
fortunate opportunity to gain the good will of the father, I took the
child on my knee, and, cutting the metal buttons from off the coat I had
on, I tied them around his neck. At this he was highly delighted, and
became so much attached to me, that he would not quit me.
The king appeared much pleased with my attention to his son, and,
telling me that it was time to go to sleep, directed me to lie with his
son next to him, as he was afraid lest some of his people would come
while he was asleep and kill me with their daggers. I lay down as he
ordered me, but neither the state of my mind nor the pain I felt would
allow me to sleep.
About midnight I was greatly alarmed by the approach of one of the
natives, who came to give information to the king that there was one of
the white men alive, who had knocked him down as he went on board the
ship at night. This Maquina communicated to me, giving me to understand
that as soon as the sun rose he should kill him. I endeavoured to
persuade him to spare his life, but he bade me be silent and go to
sleep. I said nothing more, but lay revolving in my mind what method I
could devise to save the life of this man. What a consolation, thought
I, what a happiness would it prove to me in my forlorn state among
these heathens, to have a Christian and one of my own countrymen for a
companion, and how greatly would it alleviate and lighten the burden of
my slavery.
As I was thinking of some plan for his preservation, it all at once came
into my mind that this man was probably the sail-maker of the ship,
named Thompson, as I had not seen his head among those on deck, and knew
that he was below at work upon sails not long before the attack. The
more I thought of it, the more probable it appeared to me, and as
Thompson was a man nearly forty years of age, and had an old look, I
conceived it would be easy to make him pass for my father, and by this
means prevail on Maquina to spare his life. Towards morning I fell into
a dose, but was awakened with the first beams of the sun by the king,
who told me he was going to kill the man who was on board the ship, and
ordered me to accompany him. I rose and followed him, leading with me
the young prince, his son.
On coming to the beach, I found all the men of the tribe assembled. The
king addressed them, saying that one of the white men had been found
alive on board the ship, and requested their opinion as to saving his
life or putting him to death. They were unanimously for the latter. This
determination he made known to me. Having arranged my plan, I asked him,
pointing to the boy, whom I still held by the hand, if he loved his son.
He answered that he did. I then asked the child if he loved his father,
and on his replying in the affirmative, I said, "And I also love mine."
I then threw myself on my knees at Maquina's feet, and implored him,
with tears in my eyes, to spare my father's life, if the man on board
should prove to be him, telling him that if he killed my father, it was
my wish that he should kill me too, and that if he did not, I would kill
myself--and that he would thus lose my services; whereas, by sparing my
father's life, he would preserve mine, which would be of great advantage
to him, by my repairing and making arms for him.
Maquina appeared moved by my entreaties, and promised not to put the man
to death if he should be my father. He then explained to his people what
I had said, and ordered me to go on board and tell the man to come on
shore. To my unspeakable joy, on going into the hold, I found that my
conjecture was true. Thompson was there. He had escaped without any
injury, excepting a slight wound in the nose, given him by one of the
savages with a knife, as he attempted to come on deck, during the
scuffle. Finding the savages in possession of the ship, as he afterwards
informed me, he secreted himself in the hold, hoping for some chance to
make his escape; but that, the Indian who came on board in the night
approaching the place where he was, he supposed himself discovered, and,
being determined to sell his life as dearly as possible, as soon as he
came within his reach, he knocked him down, but the Indian, immediately
springing up, ran off at full speed.
I informed him, in a few words, that all our men had been killed; that
the king had preserved my life, and had consented to spare his on the
supposition that he was my father, an opinion which he must be careful
not to undeceive them in, as it was his only safety. After giving him
his cue, I went on shore with him, and presented him to Maquina, who
immediately knew him to be the sail-maker, and was much pleased,
observing that he could make sails for his canoe. He then took us to his
house, and ordered something for us to eat.
On the 24th and 25th, the natives were busily employed in taking the
cargo out of the ship, stripping her of her sails and rigging, cutting
away the spars and masts, and, in short, rendering her as complete a
wreck as possible, the muskets, ammunition, cloth, and all the principal
articles taken from her, being deposited in the king's house.
While they were thus occupied, each one taking what he liked, my
companion and myself being obliged to aid them, I thought it best to
secure the accounts and papers of the ship, in hopes that on some future
day I might have it in my power to restore them to the owners. With this
view I took possession of the captain's writing-desk, which contained
the most of them, together with some paper and implements for writing. I
had also the good fortune to find a blank account-book, in which I
resolved, should it be permitted me, to write an account of our capture,
and the most remarkable occurrences that I should meet with during my
stay among these people, fondly indulging the hope that it would not be
long before some vessel would arrive to release us. I likewise found in
the cabin a small volume of sermons, a Bible, and a Common Prayer-book
of the Church of England, which furnished me and my comrade great
consolation in the midst of our mournful servitude, and enabled me,
under the favour of Divine Providence, to support with firmness the
miseries of a life which I might otherwise have found beyond my
strength to endure.
As these people set no value upon things of this kind, I found no
difficulty in appropriating them to myself, by putting them in my chest,
which, though it had been broken open and rifled by the savages, as I
still had the key, I without much difficulty secured. In this I also put
some small tools belonging to the ship, with several other articles,
particularly a journal kept by the second mate, Mr. Ingraham, and a
collection of drawings and views of places taken by him, which I had the
good fortune to preserve, and on my arrival at Boston, I gave them to a
connection of his, the Honourable Judge Dawes, who sent them to his
family in New York.
On the 26th, two ships were seen standing in for Friendly Cove. At their
first appearance the inhabitants were thrown into great confusion, but,
soon collecting a number of muskets and blunderbusses, ran to the shore,
from whence they kept up so brisk a fire at them, that they were
evidently afraid to approach nearer, and, after firing a few rounds of
grape-shot, which did no harm to any one, they wore ship and stood out
to sea. These ships, as I afterwards learned, were the _Mary_ and _Juno_
of Boston.
They were scarcely out of sight when Maquina expressed much regret that
he had permitted his people to fire at them, being apprehensive that
they would give information to others in what manner they had been
received, and prevent them from coming to trade with him.
A few days after hearing of the capture of the ship, there arrived at
Nootka a great number of canoes filled with savages from no less than
twenty tribes to the north and south. Among those from the north were
the Ai-tiz-zarts,[44] Schoo-mad-its,[45] Neu-wit-ties,[46]
Savin-nars,[47] Ah-owz-arts,[48] Mo-watch-its,[49] Suth-setts,[50]
Neu-chad-lits,[51] Mich-la-its,[52] and Cay-u-quets,[53] the most of
whom were considered as tributary to Nootka. From the south, the
Aytch-arts[54] and Esqui-ates,[55] also tributary, with the
Kla-oo-quates,[56] and the Wickannish, a large and powerful tribe about
two hundred miles distant.
These last were better clad than most of the others, and their canoes
wrought with much greater skill; they are furnished with sails as well
as paddles, and, with the advantage of a fair breeze, are usually but
twenty-four hours on their passage.
Maquina, who was very proud of his new acquisition, was desirous of
welcoming these visitors in the European manner. He accordingly ordered
his men, as the canoes approached, to assemble on the beach with loaded
muskets and blunderbusses, placing Thompson at the cannon, which had
been brought from the ship and laid upon two long sticks of timber in
front of the village; then, taking a speaking trumpet in his hand, he
ascended with me the roof of his house, and began drumming or beating
upon the boards with a stick most violently.
Nothing could be more ludicrous than the appearance of this motley group
of savages collected on the shore, dressed as they were with their
ill-gotten finery in the most fantastic manner, some in women's smocks,
taken from our cargo, others in _Kotsacks_[57] (or cloaks) of blue, red,
or yellow broadcloth, with stockings drawn over their heads, and their
necks hung round with numbers of powder-horns, shot-bags, and
cartouch-boxes, some of them having no less than ten muskets apiece on
their shoulders, and five or six daggers in their girdles. Diverting
indeed was it to see them all squatted upon the beach, holding their
muskets perpendicularly with the butt pressed upon the sand, instead of
against their shoulders, and in this position awaiting the order to
fire.
Maquina, at last, called to them with his trumpet to fire, which they
did in the most awkward and timid manner, with their muskets hard
pressed upon the ground as above-mentioned. At the same moment the
cannon was fired by Thompson, immediately on which they threw themselves
back and began to roll and tumble over the sand as if they had been
shot, when, suddenly springing up, they began a song of triumph, and,
running backward and forward upon the shore, with the wildest
gesticulations, boasted of their exploits, and exhibited as trophies
what they had taken from us. Notwithstanding the unpleasantness of my
situation, and the feelings that this display of our spoils excited, I
could not avoid laughing at the strange appearance of these savages,
their awkward movements, and the singular contrast of their dress and
arms.
When the ceremony was concluded, Maquina invited the strangers to a
feast at his house, consisting of whale-blubber, smoked herring spawn,
and dried fish and train-oil, of which they ate most plentifully. The
feast being over, the trays out of which they ate, and other things,
were immediately removed to make room for the dance, which was to close
the entertainment. This was performed by Maquina's son, the young prince
Sat-sat-sok-sis, whom I have already spoken of, in the following
manner:--
Three of the principal chiefs, drest in their otter-skin mantles, which
they wear only on extraordinary occasions and at festivals, having their
heads covered over with white down and their faces highly painted, came
forward into the middle of the room, each furnished with a bag filled
with white down, which they scattered around in such a manner as to
represent a fall of snow. These were followed by the young prince, who
was dressed in a long piece of yellow cloth, wrapped loosely around him,
and decorated with small bells, with a cap on his head to which was
fastened a curious mask in imitation of a wolf's head, while the rear
was brought up by the king himself in his robe of sea-otter skin, with a
small whistle in his mouth and a rattle in his hand, with which he kept
time to a sort of tune on his whistle. After passing very rapidly in
this order around the house, each of them seated himself, except the
prince, who immediately began his dance, which principally consisted in
springing up into the air in a squat posture, and constantly turning
around on his heels with great swiftness in a very narrow circle.
This dance, with a few intervals of rest, was continued for about two
hours, during which the chiefs kept up a constant drumming with sticks
of about a foot in length on a long hollow plank, which was, though a
very noisy, a most doleful kind of music. This they accompanied with
songs, the king himself acting as chorister, while the women applauded
each feat of activity in the dancer, by repeating the words, _Wocash!
Wocash Tyee!_[58] that is, Good! very good, Prince!
As soon as the dance was finished, Maquina began to give presents to the
strangers, in the name of his son Sat-sat-sok-sis. These were pieces of
European cloth, generally of a fathom in length, muskets, powder, shot,
etc. Whenever he gave them anything, they had a peculiar manner of
snatching it from him with a very stern and surly look, repeating each
time the words, _Wocash Tyee_. This I understood to be their custom, and
was considered as a compliment, which, if omitted, would be supposed as
a mark of disregard for the present. On this occasion Maquina gave away
no less than one hundred muskets, the same number of looking-glasses,
four hundred yards of cloth, and twenty casks of powder, besides other
things.
After receiving these presents, the strangers retired on board their
canoes, for so numerous were they that Maquina would not suffer any but
the chiefs to sleep in the houses; and, in order to prevent the property
from being pillaged by them, he ordered Thompson and myself to keep
guard during the night, armed with cutlasses and pistols.
In this manner tribes of savages from various parts of the coast
continued coming for several days, bringing with them blubber, oil,
herring spawn, dried fish, and clams, for which they received in return
presents of cloth, etc., after which they in general immediately
returned home. I observed that very few, if any, of them, except the
chiefs, had arms, which, I afterwards learned, is the custom with these
people, whenever they come upon a friendly visit or to trade, in order
to show, on their approach, that their intentions are pacific.[59]
FOOTNOTES:
[42] A common mode of expressing joy. During dancing and singing this
goes on continually.
[43] In 1863, when I made a special inquiry, the whole number of adult
males in the Mooachaht tribe (the so-called Nootkans) was one hundred
and fifty.
[44] Ayhuttisahts.
[45] This name is unknown to me.
[46] Nahwittis, or Flatlashekwill, an almost vanished tribe, join the
north end of Vancouver Island (Goletas Channel, Galliano Island, and
west-ward to Cape Scott).
[47] The name of some village, not a tribe.
[48] Ahousahts.
[49] Mooachahts. The "Nootkans" proper of Friendly Cove.
[50] Seshahts, but they are to the south (Alberni Canal) and Barclay
Sound.
[51] Noochahlahts (lat. 49° 47' 20" N.).
[52] Muchlahts, or Quaquina arm.
[53] Ky-yoh-quahts.
[54] This is probably another spelling of the E-cha-chahts.
[55] Hishquayahts (lat. 49° 27' 31" N., long. 126° 25' 27" W.).
[56] Klahoquahts. This and the other tribes mentioned in the text
are no longer tributary to the Mooachahts, and there is no "Wickannish"
tribe. As we have already seen (p. 38), it is the name of an
individual--probably the chief of the Klahoquahts. It is a common name.
The Nettinahts and the Klahoquahts are still renowned in canoe-making.
They chisel them out of the great cedar (_Thuja gigantea_) trees in this
district, for sale to other tribes. But Jewitt, who had no personal
knowledge of the homes of these tribes, makes sad havoc of their names
and the direction from which they came.
[57] _Kootsik_, the "cotsack" of Meares. _Kootsik-poom_ is the pin by
which the Indian blanket cloak is fastened. In Meares's time the people
dressed in kootsiks of sea-otter skin. But even then they were getting
so fond of blankets, that without "woollens" among the barter, trade was
difficult. In fifteen years they learned a better use for sea-otters
worth £20 apiece than to make cloaks of them.
[58] The words were really _Waw-kash_ (a word of salutation) and _Tyee_.
This is in most common use in Nootka Sound. The order of salutation to a
man is _Quaache-is_, to a woman _Chè-is_, and at parting _Klach-she_. A
married woman is _Klootsnah_; a young girl _Hah-quatl-is_; an unmarried
woman (whether old or young) _Hah-quatl_--distinctions which Jewitt does
not make in his brief vocabulary. The Indians have many words to express
varieties of the same action. Thus _pâtt[=e]s_ means to wash. But
_pâtt[=e][=e]_ is to wash all over; _tsont-soomik_, to wash the hands;
_tsocuks_, to wash a pan, etc. _Haouwith_, or _Hawilth_, is the original
word for chief, though _Tyee_ is commonly used.
[59] This is one of the earliest--if not the first--account of these
periodical givings away of property so characteristic of the
North-Western coast Indians, and known to the whites as "Potlatches." An
Indian accumulates blankets and other portable property simply to give
away at such feasts. Then if a poor, he becomes a great man, and even a
kind of minor chief--a Life Peer, as it were. But those who have
received much are expected to return the compliment by also giving a
"potlatch," to which guests come from far and near. I have described one
of these in _The Races of Mankind_ (the first edition of _The Peoples of
the World_), vol. i. pp. 75-90.