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 the pleasure 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, begging
_Quahootze_, 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, which are 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.
[Illustration: SALMON WEAR NEAR THE INDIAN VILLAGE OF QUAMICHAN, V. I.]
At such 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 eat _Quakamiss_, 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's house 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 it was 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 a _kotsuk_ or
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 kum_ _atack 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 ship
_Manchester_, 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.
FOOTNOTES:
[101] These trees are not found in Vancouver Island. Possibly, though
they are not very like, Jewitt mistook them for the Oregon alder and the
American ash, both trees of that locality.
[102] This is the migratory red-backed species (_Selasphorus rufus_, p.
19).
[103] "Tashis Canal" of seamen--the Tashis River flows in at its head,
Coptee is at the mouth, Tashis farther up the stream.
[104] Salmon used to be bought at Alberni at the rate of a cent apiece.
There have been times when the garden at Fort Rupert was manured with
fresh salmon.
[105] This is a fair specimen of the kind of _lingua franca_ which even
then had begun to spring up in the intercourse of the early traders with
the Indians, and which by now takes the shape of the Chinook Jargon.
For, apart from the imperfectly pronounced Indian words, there is no
such term as Nootka in any language. It was a misconception of the first
visitors there. They probably mistook _Nootchee_, a mountain, for the
name of the country generally (p. 29).