RETURN TO NOOTKA (FRIENDLY COVE)--DEATH OF MAQUINA'S NEPHEW--INSANITY OF
TOOTOOSCH--AN INDIAN MOUNTEBANK
About the beginning of February, Maquina gave a great feast, at which
were present not only all the inhabitants, but one hundred persons from
Ai-tiz-zart, and a number from Wickinninish who had been invited to
attend it. It is customary with them to give an annual entertainment of
this kind, and it is astonishing to see what a quantity of provision is
expended, or rather wasted, on such an occasion, when they always eat to
the greatest excess. It was at this feast that I saw upwards of an
hundred salmon cooked in one tub. The whole residence at Cooptee
presents an almost uninterrupted succession of feasting and
gormandising, and it would seem as if the principal object of these
people was to consume their whole stock of provision before leaving it,
trusting entirely to their success in fishing and whaling, for a supply
at Nootka.
On the 25th of February we quitted Cooptee, and returned to Nootka. With
much joy did Thompson and myself again find ourselves in a place where,
notwithstanding the melancholy recollections which it excited, we hoped
before long to see some vessel arrive to our relief, and for this we
became the more solicitous, as of late we had become much more
apprehensive of our safety, in consequence of information brought
Maquina a few days before we left Cooptee, by some of the Cayuquets,
that there were twenty ships at the northward, preparing to come against
him, with an intent of destroying him and his whole tribe, for cutting
off the _Boston_.
This story, which was wholly without foundation, and discovered
afterwards to have been invented by these people, for the purpose of
disquieting him, threw him into great alarm, and, notwithstanding all I
could say to convince him that it was an unfounded report, so great was
his jealousy of us, especially after it had been confirmed to him by
some others of the same nation, that he treated us with much harshness,
and kept a very suspicious eye upon us.
Nothing, indeed, could be more unpleasant than our present situation,
when I reflected that our lives were altogether dependent on the will of
a savage, on whose caprice and suspicions no rational calculation could
be made.
* * * * *
Not long after our return, a son of Maquina's sister, a boy of eleven
years old, who had been for some time declining, died. Immediately on
his death, which was about midnight, all the men and women in the house
set up loud cries and shrieks, which, awakening Thompson and myself, so
disturbed us that we left the house. This lamentation was kept up during
the remainder of the night. In the morning, a great fire was kindled,
in which Maquina burned, in honour of the deceased, ten fathoms of
cloth, and buried with him ten fathoms more, eight of Ife-whaw, four
prime sea-otter skins, and two small trunks, containing our unfortunate
captain's clothes and watch.
This boy was considered as a Tyee, or chief, being the only son of
Tootoosch, one of their principal chiefs, who had married Maquina's
sister, whence arose this ceremony on his interment: it being an
established custom with these people, that whenever a chief dies, his
most valuable property is burned or buried with him; it is, however,
wholly confined to the chiefs, and appears to be a mark of honour
appropriate to them.[113] In this instance, Maquina furnished the
articles, in order that his nephew might have the proper honours
rendered him.
Tootoosch, his father, was esteemed the first warrior of the tribe, and
was one who had been particularly active in the destruction of our ship,
having killed two of our poor comrades, who were ashore, whose names
were Hall and Wood. About the time of our removal to Tashees, while in
the enjoyment of the highest health, he was suddenly seized with a fit
of delirium, in which he fancied that he saw the ghosts of those two men
constantly standing by him, and threatening him, so that he would take
no food, except what was forced into his mouth.
A short time before this he had lost a daughter of about fifteen years
of age, which afflicted him greatly, and whether his insanity, a
disorder very uncommon amongst these savages, no instance of the kind
having occurred within the memory of the oldest man amongst them,
proceeded from this cause, or that it was the special interposition of
an all-merciful God in our favour, who by this means thought proper to
induce these barbarians still further to respect our lives, or that, for
hidden purposes, the Supreme Disposer of events sometimes permits the
spirits of the dead to revisit the world, and haunt the murderer, I know
not, but his mind, from this period until his death, which took place
but a few weeks after that of his son, was incessantly occupied with the
images of the men whom he had killed.
This circumstance made much impression upon the tribe, particularly the
chiefs, whose uniform opposition to putting us to death, at the various
councils that were held on our account, I could not but in part
attribute to this cause; and Maquina used frequently, in speaking of
Tootoosch's sickness, to express much satisfaction that his hands had
not been stained with the blood of any of our men.
When Maquina was first informed by his sister of the strange conduct of
her husband, he immediately went to his house, taking us with him;
suspecting that his disease had been caused by us, and that the ghosts
of our countrymen had been called thither by us, to torment him. We
found him raving about Hall and Wood, saying that they were _peshak_,
that is, bad.
Maquina then placed some provision before him, to see if he would eat.
On perceiving it, he put forth his hand to take some, but instantly
withdrew it with signs of horror, saying that Hall and Wood were there,
and would not let him eat. Maquina then, pointing to us, asked if it was
not John and Thompson who troubled him.
"_Wik_,"[114] he replied,--that is, no; "_John klushish--Thompson
klushish_"--John and Thompson are both good; then, turning to me, and
patting me on the shoulder, he made signs to me to eat. I tried to
persuade him that Hall and Wood were not there, and that none were near
him but ourselves; he said, "I know very well you do not see them, but I
do."
At first Maquina endeavoured to convince him that he saw nothing, and to
laugh him out of his belief, but, finding that all was to no purpose, he
at length became serious, and asked me if I had ever seen anyone
affected in this manner, and what was the matter with him. I gave him to
understand, pointing to his head, that his brain was injured, and that
he did not see things as formerly.
Being convinced by Tootoosch's conduct that we had no agency in his
indisposition, on our return home Maquina asked me what was done in my
country in similar cases.
I told him that such persons were closely confined, and sometimes tied
up and whipped, in order to make them better.[115]
After pondering for some time, he said that he should be glad to do
anything to relieve him, and that he should be whipped, and immediately
gave orders to some of his men to go to Tootoosch's house, bind him, and
bring him to his, in order to undergo the operation.
Thompson was the person selected to administer this remedy, which he
undertook very readily, and for that purpose provided himself with a
good number of spruce branches, with which he whipped him most severely,
laying it on with the best will imaginable, while Tootoosch displayed
the greatest rage, kicking, spitting, and attempting to bite all who
came near him. This was too much for Maquina, who at length, unable to
endure it longer, ordered Thompson to desist and Tootoosch to be carried
back, saying that if there was no other way of curing him but by
whipping, he must remain mad.
The application of the whip produced no beneficial effect on Tootoosch,
for he afterwards became still more deranged; in his fits of fury
sometimes seizing a club and beating his slaves in a most dreadful
manner, and striking and spitting at all who came near him, till at
length his wife, no longer daring to remain in the house with him, came
with her son to Maquina's.
* * * * *
The whaling season now commenced, and Maquina was out almost every day
in his canoe in pursuit of them, but for a considerable time with no
success, one day breaking the staff of his harpoon, another after having
been a long time fast to a whale, the weapon drawing, owing to the
breaking of the shell which formed its point, with several such like
accidents, arising from the imperfection of the instrument.
At these times he always returned very morose and out of temper,
upbraiding his men with having violated their obligation to continence
preparatory to whaling. In this state of ill-humour he would give us
very little to eat, which, added to the women not cooking when the men
are away, reduced us to a very low fare.
In consequence of the repeated occurrence of similar accidents, I
proposed to Maquina to make him a harpoon or foreganger of steel, which
would be less liable to fail him. The idea pleased him, and in a short
time I completed one for him, with which he was much delighted, and the
very next day went out to make a trial of it.
He succeeded with it in taking a whale. Great was the joy throughout the
village as soon as it was known that the king had secured the whale, by
notice from a person stationed at the headland in the offing. All the
canoes were immediately launched, and, furnished with harpoons and
sealskin floats, hastened to assist in buoying it up and towing it in.
The bringing in of this fish exhibited a scene of universal festivity.
As soon as the canoes appeared at the mouth of the Cove, those on board
of them singing a triumph to a slow air, to which they kept time with
their paddles, all who were on shore, men, women, and children, mounted
the roofs of their houses to congratulate the king on his success,
drumming most furiously on the planks, and exclaiming _Wocash--wocash,
Tyee!_
The whale, on being drawn on shore, was immediately cut up, and a great
feast of the blubber given at Maquina's house, to which all the village
were invited, who indemnified themselves for their Lent by eating as
usual to excess. I was highly praised for the goodness of my harpoon,
and a quantity of blubber given me, which I was permitted to cook as I
pleased; this I boiled in salt water with some young nettles and other
greens for Thompson and myself, and in this way we found it tolerable
food.
Their method of procuring the oil, is to skim it from the water in which
the blubber is boiled, and when cool, put it up into whale bladders for
use; and of these I have seen them so large as, when filled, would
require no less than five or six men to carry. Several of the chiefs,
among whom were Maquina's brothers, who, after the king has caught the
first whale, are privileged to take them also, were very desirous, on
discovering the superiority of my harpoon, that I should make some for
them, but this Maquina would not permit, reserving for himself this
improved weapon. He, however, gave me directions to make a number more
for himself, which I executed, and also made him several lances, with
which he was greatly pleased.
* * * * *
As these people have some very singular observances preparatory to
whaling, an account of them will, I presume, not prove uninteresting,
especially as it may serve to give a better idea of their manners. A
short time before leaving Tashees, the king makes a point of passing a
day alone on the mountain, whither he goes very privately early in the
morning, and does not return till late in the evening.[116] This is
done, as I afterwards learned, for the purpose of singing and praying to
his God for success in whaling the ensuing season. At Cooptee the same
ceremony is performed, and at Nootka after the return thither, with
still greater solemnity, as for the next two days he appears very
thoughtful and gloomy, scarcely speaking to any one, and observes a most
rigid fast. On these occasions he has always a broad red fillet made of
bark bound around his head, in token of humiliation, with a large branch
of green spruce on the top, and his great rattle in his hand.
In addition to this, for a week before commencing their whaling, both
himself and the crew of his canoe observe a fast, eating but very
little, and going into the water several times in the course of each day
to bathe, singing and rubbing their bodies, limbs, and faces with shells
and bushes, so that on their return I have seen them look as though they
had been severely torn with briers. They are likewise obliged to
abstain from any commerce with their women for the like period, the
latter restriction being considered as indispensable to their success.
* * * * *
Early in June, Tootoosch,[117] the crazy chief, died. On being
acquainted with his death, the whole village, men, women, and children,
set up a loud cry, with every testimony of the greatest grief, which
they continued for more than three hours. As soon as he was dead, the
body, according to their custom, was laid out on a plank, having the
head bound round with a red bark fillet, which is with them an emblem of
mourning and sorrow. After lying some time in this manner, he was
wrapped in an otter-skin robe, and, three fathoms of Ife-whaw being put
about his neck, he was placed in a large coffin or box of about three
feet deep, which was ornamented on the outside with two rows of the
small white shells. In this, the most valuable articles of his property
were placed with him, among which were no less than twenty-four prime
sea-otter skins.
At night, which is their time for interring the dead, the coffin was
borne by eight men with two poles thrust through ropes passed around it,
to the place of burial, accompanied by his wife and family, with their
hair cut short in token of grief, all the inhabitants joining the
procession.
The place of burial was a large cavern on the side of a hill at a little
distance from the village, in which, after depositing the coffin
carefully, all the attendants repaired to Maquina's house, where a
number of articles belonging to the deceased, consisting of blankets,
pieces of cloth, etc., were burned by a person appointed by Maquina for
that purpose, dressed and painted in the highest style, with his head
covered with white down, who, as he put in the several pieces one by
one, poured upon them a quantity of oil to increase the flame, in the
intervals between making a speech and playing off a variety of buffoon
tricks, and the whole closed with a feast, and a dance from
Sat-sat-sok-sis, the king's son.
The man who performed the ceremony of burning on this occasion was a
very singular character named Kinneclimmets. He was held in high
estimation by the king, though only of the common class, probably from
his talent for mimicry and buffoonery, and might be considered as a kind
of king's jester, or rather, as combining in his person the character of
a buffoon with that of master of ceremonies and public orator to his
majesty, as he was the one who at feasts always regulated the places of
the guests, delivered speeches on receiving or returning visits, besides
amusing the company at all their entertainments, with a variety of
monkey pranks and antic gestures, which appeared to these savages the
height of wit and humour, but would be considered as extremely low by
the least polished people.
Almost all the kings or head chiefs of the principal tribes were
accompanied by a similar character, who appeared to be attached to their
dignity, and are called in their language _Climmer-habbee_.
This man Kinneclimmets was particularly odious to Thompson, who would
never join in the laugh at his tricks, but when he began, would almost
always quit the house with a very surly look, and an exclamation of
"Cursed fool!" which Maquina, who thought nothing could equal the
cleverness of his _Climmer-habbee_, used to remark with much
dissatisfaction, asking me why Thompson never laughed, observing that I
must have had a very good-tempered woman indeed for my mother, as my
father was so very ill-natured a man.
Among those performances that gained him the greatest applause was his
talent of eating to excess, for I have known him devour at one meal no
less than seventy-five large herrings; and at another time, when a great
feast was given by Maquina, he undertook, after drinking three pints of
oil by way of a whet, to eat four dried salmon, and five quarts of
spawn, mixed up with a gallon of train-oil, and actually succeeded in
swallowing the greater part of this mess, until his stomach became so
overloaded as to discharge its contents in the dish. One of his
exhibitions, however, had nearly cost him his life; this was on the
occasion of Kla-quak-ee-na, one of the chiefs, having bought him a new
wife, in celebration of which he ran three times through a large fire,
and burned himself in such a manner that he was not able to stir for
more than four weeks. These feats of savage skill were much praised by
Maquina, who never failed to make him presents of cloth, muskets, etc.,
on such occasions.
The death of Tootoosch increased still more the disquietude which his
delirium had excited among the savages, and all those chiefs who had
killed our men became much alarmed lest they should be seized with the
same disorder and die like him; more particularly, as I had told Maquina
that I believed his insanity was a punishment inflicted on him by
Quahootze, for his cruelty in murdering two innocent men who had never
injured him.
FOOTNOTES:
[113] When an Indian dies, all of his property which has not been given
away, is either buried with him, or, in extreme cases, burned, not for
the purpose of accompanying him to the Spirit Land, but, so the people
have told me, to prevent any temptation to indulge in the bad luck of
mentioning his name. The only things that are exempted from this
practice are the dead man's best canoes, his house-planks, and fishing
and hunting implements, which, with any slaves he may possess, go to his
eldest son. I have known the deceased's house and all its contents to be
burned; but when this is not the case, then the materials are removed
elsewhere, and another building is erected. Around his grave--a box
raised from the ground on pillars, often quaintly carved, or a canoe, or
a box fixed up a tree--are placed various articles belonging to him (or
her). At one time they buried his money with him. But for obvious
reasons this custom has fallen into abeyance.
[114] _Wik_ actually means "Not I." Good is _Klooceahatli_ or
_Klootakloosch_.
[115] This, it must be remembered, was in the days before Connolly.
Maquina's remark that if an insane man could not be cured but by
whipping him, he must remain mad, proves that the savage chief was in
advance of his time. Insanity is, however, extremely rare among the
Indians.
[116] He was, as the Indians say, "making his medicine," a term of very
elastic meaning.
[117] "Tootoosch" is the Thunder Bird of "Aht" mythology.