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 is nothing 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 about twenty, 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's _Arcomah_ or
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 viewed with 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.
[Illustration: UK-LULAC-AHT INDIAN.]
To the north the nearest tribe of any importance is the Aitizzarts;[95]
these, however, do not exceed three hundred 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 a _kotsuk_ made
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 the _cheetolth_, 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 called _pelpelth_, 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 the _yama_,[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 the
_yama_, 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-zarts _Quawnoose_.[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 his
mission 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 spear headed 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) live _north_ of 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.