"CONTENTdm"@en . "http://resolve.library.ubc.ca/cgi-bin/catsearch?bid=148578"@en . "Wallace B. Chung and Madeline H. Chung Collection"@en . "Cox, Ross, 1793-1853"@en . "2016-01-05"@en . "1831"@en . "https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/chungpub/items/1.0114661/source.json"@en . "2 volumes ; 22 cm"@en . "application/pdf"@en . " f^W./\nH*Z.i\nS? (^/TttSpVt\" *f\n^^ N^t,\nAi-y.\ni*>z\nPag 1\nTHE\nCOLUMBIA RIVER,\n&c.\nVOL. I. ADVENTURES\nCOLUMBIA RIVER,\nINCLUDING\nTHE NARRATIVE OF A RESIDENCE\nOF SIX YEARS ON THE WESTERN SIDE OF\nTHE ROCKY MOUNTAINS,\nAMONG\nVARIOUS TRIBES OF INDIANS\nHITHERTO UNKNOWN:\nTOGETHER WITH\nA JOURNEY ACROSS THE AMERICAN CONTINENT.\nBY ROSS COX.\nIN TWO VOLUMES.\nVOL. I.\nLONDON:\nHENRY COLBURN AND RICHARD BENTLEY,\nNEW BURLINGTON STREET.\n1831. PRINTED BY A. J. VALPT., RED LION COURT, FLEET STREET. TO\nTHE RIGHT HONORABLE\nLORD FRANCIS LEVESON GOWER,\n&c, &c\nTHESE VOLUMES\nARE RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED,\nAS A SLIGHT TRIBUTE OF RESPECT FOR HIS LORDSHIP'S\nCHARACTER AS A MAN, HIS TALENTS AS A POET,\nAND *\nHIS CONSISTENCY AS A STATESMAN;\nBY\nHIS LORDSHIP'S OBEDIENT HUMBLE SERVANT,\nTHE AUTHOR. PREFACE.\nThe following Narrative embraces a period\nof six years, five of which were spent among\nvarious tribes on the banks of the Cd^_Df\u00C2\u00A7ft&\nRiver and its tributary streams; and the\nremaining portion was occupied in the voyage outwards, and the journey across the\ncontinent.\nDuring this period the Author ascended\nthe Columbia nine times, and descended it\neight; wintered among various tribes ; was\nengaged in several encounters with the' Indians; was lost fourteen days in a wilderness,\nand had many other extraordinary escapes.\nl vm\nPREFACE*'\nHe kept journals of the principal events\nwhich occurred during the greater part of\nthis period, the substance of which will be\nfound embodied in the following pages.\nThose who love to read of \" battle, murder,\nand sudden death,\" will, in his description\nof the dangers and privations to which the\nlife of an Indian trader is subject, find much\nto gratify their taste; while to such as are\nffm&of nature, in its rudest d,nd most savage\nforms, he trusts his sketches of the wild and\nwandering tribes of Western America may\nnot be found uninteresting.\n. They cannot lay claim to the beautiful\ncolouring which the roiftantic pen of a Cha\u00C2\u00AB',\nteaubriand has imparted to his picture of\nIndian manners; for the Author, unfortunately* did not meet with any tHbe which\napproached that celebrated #ritefr's splendid\ndescription of savage life. He has seen many\np\u00C2\u00A3v^hem before the contamination of while\nme^c.rcowld have cheferiorated their native PREFACE. IX\ncharacter; and, while he records with pleasure the virtues and bravery of some, truth\ncompels him to give a different character\nto the great majority.\nThe press has of late years teemed with\nvarious\" Recollections,\" \" Reminiscences,**\n&c. of travels, scenes, and adventures in\nwell known countries, but no account has\nbeen yet published of a great portion of the\nremote regions alluded to in this Work.\nThey are therefore new to the world ; and,\nif the Author's unpretending narrative possesses no other claim to the public favor,\nit cannot at least be denied that of novelty. INTRODUCTION.\nIn the year 1670 a charter was granted by\nCharles the Second to the Hudson's Bay Company* whose first governor was Prince Rupert, by\nwhich the Company was allowed the exclusive\nprivilege of establishing trading fsiprtories on the\nshores of that noble bay and its tributary rivers.\nOwing to this charter the fur-trade, which forms\nan important and extensive branch of American\ncommerce, was for a long period monopolised by\nthe Company; but, from the peculiar nature of its\nconstitution, little progress was made by its officers\nin extending its trading posts, or exploring the in*\nterior, until the year 1770, when Mr. Hearne was\nsent on an expedition to the Arctic Sea, for an\naccount of which I beg to refer the reader to that\ngentleman's simple and interesting narrative. Xll INTRODUCTION.\nWhile Canada belonged to France the Canadian\ntraders had advanced many hundred miles beyond\nLake Superior, and established several trading-\nposts in the heart of the country, some of which\nthe voyageurs still call by their original names;\n. such as Fort Dauphin, Fort Bourbon, and others.\nThe conquest of that province opened a new\nsource of trade to British enterprise ; and while\nthe officers of the Hudson's Bay Company fancied\ntheir charter had secured them in the undisturbed\npossession of their monopoly, an active and enterprising rival was gradually encroaching on their.\nterritories, and imperceptibly undermining their\ninfluence with the Indians ; I allude to the North-\nWest Fur Company of Canada, which originally\nconsisted of a few private traders, but subsequently became the first commercial establishment in British America.\nIt is not here necessary to enter into a detail of the\nformation and increase of thisCompany. Its first\nmembers were British and Canadian merchants;\namong cwhom Messrs. Rocheblave, Frobisher,\nFraser, M'Tavish, Mackenzie, and M'Gillivray\nwere tke most prominent. Their clerks were INTRODUCTION. Xll!\nchiefly younger branches of respectable Scottish^\nfamilies, who entered the service as appren^itses.\nfor seven years; for which period they were allowed one hundred pounds, and suitable clothing.\nAt the expiration of theirs apprenticeship they\nwere placed on yearly salaries, varying from eighty\nto one irandred and sixty pounds, and according\nto their talents were ultimately provided for as\npartners; some, perhaps, in a year or two after\nthe termination of their engagements; while\nothers remained ten, twelve, or sixteen years in a\nstate of probation.\nThis system, by creating an identity of interest,\nproduced a spirit of emulation among the clerks\nadmirably calculated to promote the general\ngood; for, as each individual was led to expect\nthat the period for his eled&on to the proprietary\ndepended on his own exertions, every nerve was\nstrained to attain the long-desired object of his\nwishes. %$$ H * ;- |M|:\nCourage was an indispensable qualification,\nnot merely for the casual encounters with the Indians, but to intimidate any competitor 4n trader\nwith whom he might happen to come in collision^ XIV INTRODUCTION.\nSuccess was looked upon as the great criterion of\na trader's cleverness; and provided he obtained\nfor his outfit of merchandise what was considered\na good return of furs, the partners never stopped\nto inquire about the means by which they were\nacquired.\nThe Hudson's Bay Company, on the contrary,\npresented no such inducements to extra exertion\non the part of its officers. Each individual had a\nfixed salary, without any prospect of becoming a\nproprietor; and some of them, whose courage\nwas undoubted, when challenged to single combat\nby a Nor-Wester, refused; alleging as a reason,\nthat they were engaged to trade for furs, and not\nto fight with fellow-subjects!\nIndependently of the foregoing circumstances,\nthe North-West Company in the selection of its\ncanoe-men, or, as they are called, engage's, had\nanother.great advantage over its chartered rival.\nThese men were French Canadians, remarkable\nfor obedience to their superiors ; and whose skill\nin managing canoes, capability of enduring hardship, and facility of adapting themselves to the\nhabits and peculiarities of the various tribes, ren- INTRODUCTION. XV\ndered them infinitely more popular in the eyes of\nthe Indians than the stubborn, unbending, matter-\nof-fact Orkney men, into whose ideas a work of\nsupererogation never entered.*\nThe diminished amount of their imports, joined\nto the increased demand of goods from their factories, at length openedtfhe eyes of the Hudson's\nBay directors to the success of their formidable\nopponents, and induced them to attempt, when\ntoo late, to arrest their career. By their charter\nthey now laid claim to the exclusive privilege of\ntrading, not merely on the English River and\nits various branches, but also on the Saskacha-\nwan* Red River, and all the other streams which\nempty themselves into the great Lake Winepic,\nthe waters of which are carried to Hudson's Bay\nby the rivers Nelson and Severn.\nThis territorial claim, unsupported by any physical power, had but little weight with their persevering rivals. They were far beyond the reach\nof magisterial authority; and an injunction could\n* The chief part of the boatmen and several of the officers of\nthe Hudson's Bay Company were, formerly, natives of the\nOrkney Islands.\nm INTRODUCTION.\nnot be easily served, nor obedience to it ^forced\nin a country fifteen hundred or two thousand nfites^\nbeyond the limits of any recognised j urisiiction.\nAfter establishing opposition. trading posts adjoining the different factories of the Hudson's\nBay Company in the interior, the indefatigable\nNor-Westers continued their progress to the north-;\nward and westward, and formed Numerous trading\n\u00C2\u00A7^$ishmea$s afcsAtfcabasca, Peace River, Great\n$gM&3,]<\u00C2\u00A3s_}\u00C2\u00A3r , Slave Lakes, New Caledonia, the\nColombia, &c.; to none of which places did the\n(piigers of the Hudson's Bay attempt to follow\nthem. By these means the INorfii-West Company\nbecame undisputed;masters of the interior. Their\ninfluence with i the natives was all-powerful; and\nno single trader, without incurring imminent danger from the Indians, or encountering the risk of\nstarvation, could attempt to penetrate into their\nterritories.\nA few independent individuals, unconnected with\neither company, the chief of whom was Mr. John\nJacob Astor, a wealthy merchant of New York, still\ncarried on a fluctuating trade with the Indians,\nwhose lands border Canada and the United States f INTRODUCTION. XV11\nbut their competition proved injurious to themselves, as prices far above their value were frequently given to the natives for their furs.\nWith the interior thus inaccessible, and the\nconfines not worth disputing, Mr. Astor turned his\nthoughts to the opposite side of the American\ncontinent; and accordingly made proposals to the\nNorth-West Company to join with him in forming\nan establishment on the Columbia River. This\nproposition was submitted to the consideration of\na general meeting of the wintering proprietors;\nand, .after some negotiations as to the details,\nrejected.\nMr. Astor therefore determined to make the\nattempt Without their co-operation; and in the\nwinter of 1809 he succeeded in forming an association called the \u00C2\u00A7f Pacific Fur Company,\" of\nwhich he himself was the chief proprietor. As\nable and experienced traders were necessary to\nensure success, he induced several of the gentlemen connected with the North-West Company to\nquit that establishment and join in his speculation. Among these was Mr. Alexander M'Kay,\nan old partner, who had accompanied Sir Alex-\nVOL. i. b %ym INTRODUCTION.\nander Mackej&ie in his perilous journey across the\ncontinent to the Pacific Ocean.\nIt Was intended in the first instance to form a\ntrading establishment at the entrance of the Columbia, and as many more subsequently on its\ntributary streams as the nature and productions of\nthe country would admit. It was also arranged\nthat a vessel laden with goods for the Indian\ntrade should sail every year from !\u00C2\u00A7\u00C2\u00A7w York to\nthe Columbia, and after discharging her cargo\n$| the establishment, take on board the produce\npf the year's trade, and thence proceed to .Canton, which is a ready market for furs of every description. On disposing of her stock of peltries\nat the latter place, she was to return to New York\nfreighted with the productions of China.\nThe first vessel fitted out by the Pacific Fur\nQompany was the Tonkin, commanded by Captain Jonathan Thorne, formerly a lieutenant in the\nservice of the United States. She sailed from\nNew York in the autumn of 1810, and had on\nboard four partners, nine clerks, with a number of\nmechanics and voyageurs, with a large and well\nassorted cargo for the Indian and Chinese; trades. INTRODUCTION. X*_fc\nMuch about the same period a party under^tfii\ncommand of Messrs. W. P.- Hunt, and Donald\nMackenzie, left Saint Louis on the Missouri,\nw&fe the intention of proceeding as nearly as possible by Lewis and Clarke's route across the continent to the mouth of the Columbia. This party\nconsisted, besides the above gentlemen, who were\npartners, of three clerks, and upwards of seventy\nmen.\nThe following year, 1811, another vessel, the\nBeaver, of four hundred and eighty tons, commanded by Captain Cornelius Sowles, sailed for\nthe Columbia. She had on board one partner,\nsix clerks, and a number of artisans and voyageurs,\nwith a plentiful supply of every thing that could\ncontribute to the comfort of the crew and passengers.\nThe exaggerated reports then in circulation relative to the wealth to be obtained in the Columbia\ninduced merchants of the first respectability to\nsolicit for their sons appointments in the new\nCompany; and many of their applications were\nunsuccessful. The Author, who was at this period\nin New York, captivated with the love of novelty, XX INTRODUCTION.\nand the hope of speedily realising an independence\nin the supposed El Dorada, exerted all his influence to obtain a clerkship in the Company. He\nsucceeded, and was one of those who embarked\non board the Beaver.\nWith what success his golden anticipations\nwere crowned, together with all his \"travels'\nhistory,\" will be amply detailed in the following\nNarrative. CONTENTS\nTHE FIRST VOLUME.\nCHAPTER I.\nSingularly luminous appearance of the ocean\u00E2\u0080\u0094The Equator\n\u00E2\u0080\u00A2\u00E2\u0080\u0094Magellanic clouds\u00E2\u0080\u0094Falkland islands\u00E2\u0080\u0094Storm, and loss of\ntwo men\u00E2\u0080\u0094Cape Horn \u00E2\u0080\u0094 Dreadful storm \u00E2\u0080\u0094 Islands of Juan\nFernandez and Massafuero \u00E2\u0080\u0094 Trade-winds in the Pacific\u00E2\u0080\u0094\nA shark\u00E2\u0080\u0094Arrival at Sandwich Islands ... 1\nCHAPTER II.\nWhoahoo\u00E2\u0080\u0094Visit from a chief\u00E2\u0080\u0094Nocturnal excursion-\u00E2\u0080\u0094King\nand queens\u00E2\u0080\u0094Invasion of the ship\u00E2\u0080\u0094White men\u00E2\u0080\u0094Gardens\u00E2\u0080\u0094\nFoot race, and summary justice\u00E2\u0080\u0094Throwing the spear\u00E2\u0080\u0094Royal\nresidence, and body guard\u00E2\u0080\u0094Mourning for a chiefs wife\u00E2\u0080\u0094\nBilly Pitt, George Washington, &c. . . . .23\nCHAPTER III.\nTamaahmaah\u00E2\u0080\u0094The Eooranee\u00E2\u0080\u0094Curious custom\u00E2\u0080\u0094Fickleness\nin dress\u00E2\u0080\u0094Character of natives\u00E2\u0080\u0094Important position of the\nislands\u00E2\u0080\u0094Cow hunting\u00E2\u0080\u0094Complete our supplies\u00E2\u0080\u0094Take a number of natives\u00E2\u0080\u0094Departure\u00E2\u0080\u0094New discovery\u00E2\u0080\u0094Arrival at the\nColumbia . . JR.' 50 XXU CONTENTS.\nCHAPTER IV.\nAccount of the Tonquin\u00E2\u0080\u0094Loss of her chief mate, seven men,\nand two boats\u00E2\u0080\u0094Extraordinary escape of Weekes\u00E2\u0080\u0094Erection\nof Astoria\u00E2\u0080\u0094Mr. Thompson of the N. W. Company\u00E2\u0080\u0094Arrival\nof Messrs. Hunt and Mackenzie, and sketch of their journey\nover-land ......... 74\nCHAPTER V.\nParticulars of the destruction of the Tonquin and crew-\nIndians attack a party ascending the river\u00E2\u0080\u0094Description of\nfort, natives, and the country . . ... .96\nCHAPTER VI.\nDeparture from Astoria\u00E2\u0080\u0094Description of our party, lading,\n&c.\u00E2\u0080\u0094Appearance of river and islands\u00E2\u0080\u0094Fleas and musquitoes\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094First rapids, dangerous accident\u00E2\u0080\u0094Indian cemetery\u00E2\u0080\u0094Ugly\nIndians\u00E2\u0080\u0094Gibraltar \u00E2\u0080\u0094 Cape Horn\u00E2\u0080\u0094The narrows and falls\u00E2\u0080\u0094\nChange iii the appearance of the country\u00E2\u0080\u0094Attempt at robbery\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094Mounted Indians ....... 117\nCHAPTER VII.\nParty commence eating horses\u00E2\u0080\u0094Remarkable escape from a\nrattlesnake\u00E2\u0080\u0094Kill numbers of them\u00E2\u0080\u0094Arrive among the Wallah\nWallah tribe\u00E2\u0080\u0094Description of the country\u00E2\u0080\u0094The Pierced-nose\nIndians\u00E2\u0080\u0094Author's party proceeds up Lewis River\u00E2\u0080\u0094Purchase\nhorses for land-travelling\u00E2\u0080\u0094Prickly pears\u00E2\u0080\u0094Awkward accident\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094Leave, the canoes, and journey inland . . . . 139\nCHAPTER VIII.\nAuthor loses the party\u00E2\u0080\u0094Curious adventures, and surprising\nescapes from serpents and wild beasts during fourteen days CONTENTS. XX111\nin a wilderness\u00E2\u0080\u0094Meets with Indians, by whom he is hospitably\nreceived, and conducted to his friends .... 158\nCHAPTER IX.\nRemarkable case of Mr. Pritchard, who was thirty-five days\nlost\u00E2\u0080\u0094Situation of Spokan House\u00E2\u0080\u0094Journey to the Flat-head\nlands, and description of that tribe\u00E2\u0080\u0094Return to Spokan House\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094Christmas day\u00E2\u0080\u0094Horse-eating\u00E2\u0080\u0094Spokan peculiarities\u00E2\u0080\u0094Articles of trade\u00E2\u0080\u0094A duel . . ^\u00C2\u00AB . -1-, . i 184\nCHAPTER X.\nExecution of an Indian for robbery\u00E2\u0080\u0094War between Great\nBritain and the United States\u00E2\u0080\u0094Dissolution of the Pacific\nFur Company\u00E2\u0080\u0094Author joins the North-West Company, and\nproceeds to the Rocky Mountains\u00E2\u0080\u0094Meets a party, and returns\nto the sea\u00E2\u0080\u0094Robbery of goods, and successful stratagem to\nrecover the property\u00E2\u0080\u0094Attack at night\u00E2\u0080\u0094Dog-eating\u00E2\u0080\u0094Author\nand three men pursued by Indians\u00E2\u0080\u0094Narrow escape . 202\nCHAPTER XI.\nAuthor proceeds to Oakinagan, and thence to the Flat-\nheads, where he passes the winter\u00E2\u0080\u0094Cruel treatment of the\nBlack-feet prisoners by the Flat-heads\u00E2\u0080\u0094Horrible spectacle\u00E2\u0080\u0094\nBuffalo the cause of war between the two tribes\u00E2\u0080\u0094Women\u00E2\u0080\u0094\nGovernment\u00E2\u0080\u0094.Peace and war chiefs\u00E2\u0080\u0094Wolves\u00E2\u0080\u0094Anecdote of a\ndog\u00E2\u0080\u0094Syrup of birch\u00E2\u0080\u0094Surgical and medical knowledge of the\nFlat-heads\u00E2\u0080\u0094Remarkable cure of rheumatism\u00E2\u0080\u0094Their ideas of a\nfuture state ; and curious tradition respecting the beavers\u00E2\u0080\u0094\nName of Flat-head a misnomer\u00E2\u0080\u0094A marriage . . 228\nCHAPTER XII.\nEffect of snow on the eyes\u00E2\u0080\u0094Description of a winter at\nOakinagan\u00E2\u0080\u0094News from the sea\u00E2\u0080\u0094Capture of Astoria by the XXIV CONTENTS.\nRacoon sloop of war\u00E2\u0080\u0094Offer of Chinooks to cut off the British\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094A party attacked; Mr. Stewart wounded; two Indians\nkilled \u00E2\u0080\u0094Arrival of Mr. Hunt\u00E2\u0080\u0094Shipwreck of the Lark \u00E2\u0080\u0094\nMassacre of Mr. Read and eight of his men\u00E2\u0080\u0094Extraordinary\nescape of Dorrien's widow and children . \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 260\nCHAPTER XIII.\nArrival of the Isaac Tod\u00E2\u0080\u0094Miss Jane Barnes, a white\nwoman\u00E2\u0080\u0094Murder of one of our men by' Indians\u00E2\u0080\u0094Trial and\nexecution of the murderers\u00E2\u0080\u0094Death of Mr. Donald M'Tavish\nand five men . 284\nCHAPTER XIV.\nSketch of the Indians about the mouth of the Columbia\u00E2\u0080\u0094\nProcess of flattening the head\u00E2\u0080\u0094Thievish disposition\u00E2\u0080\u0094Treatment of their slaves\u00E2\u0080\u0094Suggestions to the missionary societies\u00E2\u0080\u0094\nDreadful ravages of the smallpox \u00E2\u0080\u0094 Jack Ramsay\u00E2\u0080\u0094Their\nideas of religion\u00E2\u0080\u0094Curious superstition\u00E2\u0080\u0094Marriage ceremonies\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094Anecdote\u00E2\u0080\u0094Aversion to ardent spirits\u00E2\u0080\u0094Government\u00E2\u0080\u0094War\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094Arms and Armour\u00E2\u0080\u0094Canoes and houses\u00E2\u0080\u0094System of cooking\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094 Utensils\u00E2\u0080\u0094Gambling\u00E2\u0080\u0094Haiqua\u00E2\u0080\u0094Quack doctors\u00E2\u0080\u0094Mode of\nburial 301\nCHAPTER XV.\nVoyage to the interior\u00E2\u0080\u0094Party attacked, and one man killed\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094Arrive at Spokan House\u00E2\u0080\u0094Joy of the Indians at our return\u00E2\u0080\u0094\nThe chiefs speech\u00E2\u0080\u0094Sketch of Mr. M'Donald\u00E2\u0080\u0094Duel prevented\nbetween him and a chief\u00E2\u0080\u0094Kettle Indians ; their surprise at\nseeing white men\u00E2\u0080\u0094Curious account of an hermaphrodite chief\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094Death of Jacques Hoole . . .- . 337 A\nSIX YEARS' RESIDENCE\nON\nTHE BANKS OF\nTHE COLUMBIA RIVER,\n&c.\nCHAPTER I.\nSingularly luminous appearance of the ocean\u00E2\u0080\u0094The Equator\u00E2\u0080\u0094\nMagellanic clouds\u00E2\u0080\u0094Falkland islands\u00E2\u0080\u0094Storm, and loss of\ntwo men\u00E2\u0080\u0094Cape Horn\u00E2\u0080\u0094Dreadful storm\u00E2\u0080\u0094Islands of Juan\nFernandez and Massafuero\u00E2\u0080\u0094Trade winds in the Pacific\u00E2\u0080\u0094\nA shark\u00E2\u0080\u0094Arrival at Sandwich Islands.\nOn Thursday the 17th of October, 1811, we sailed\nfrom New York, with a gentle breeze from the\nnorthward, and in a few hours lost sight of the\nhigh lands of \"Never Sink.\" Our cabin passengers\nwere, Messrs. Clarke, Clapp, Halsey, Nicolls, Seton, Ehninger, and self; with Captain Sowles,\nVOL. i. a 2 APPEARANCE OF THE OCEAN.\nand Messrs. Rhodes, Champenois and Dean, officers of the ship.\nNothing particular occurred until the night of\nthe 7th of November, when we were gratified with\nobserving the ocean assume that fiery appearance\nmentioned by several of our circumnavigators; to\naccount for which has not a little perplexed the\nmost erudite inquirers into marine phenomena.\nDuring our passage through these liquid flames\nwe had what sailors term a \" smacking breeze \"\nof eight knots. The captain declared that he had\nnever witnessed so luminous an appearance of the\nsea; and so great was the light afforded by the\nwaves, that we were thereby enabled to peruse\nbooks of a moderate sized print!\nOn the following day, the 8th, we made the\nCape de Verds, at which place it was the captain's intention to stop for a day or two ; but the\nwind being favourable he relinquished the idea,\nand kept under way. We had fine gales and\npleasant weather until the 174;h, on which day we \u00C2\u00AB\ncrossed the Equator, in longitude 309 west, with a\nlight northerly breeze, which on the following\nday subsided into a dead calm: this calm qon- THE EQUATOR MAGELLANIC CLOUDS. 6\ntinued eight days, during which period we did not\nadvance ten miles.\nOn the 26th a smart breeze sprang up, which\ndrove us on nobly at the rate of from seven to ten\nknots an hour. The 28th we spoke a Portuguese\nbrig bound from Rio Grande to Pernambuco.\nThe captain and crew of this vessel were all\nnegroes, the lowest of whom was six feet high,\nWe inquired from the sable commander what was\nhis longitude; but he could not give us any information on the subject! After setting this unfortunate navigator right we pursued our course ;\nand the wind still continuing fresh, we were\nquickly emancipated from the scorching influence\nof a vertical sun.\nOn the 10th of December, in latitude 39\u00C2\u00B0, we\nspoke the American ship Manilla, Captain M'Lean,\non her return from a whaling voyage, and bound\nto Nantucket, Rhode Island. The captain came\non board, and politely waited till we had written\na few letters, of which he took charge. A few\ndays after this we lost sight of the celebrated\nMagellanic clouds, which had been visible almost\nfrom the time we crossed the Equator. That FALKLAND ISLANDS.\nthese nebulas should be so immutable in their form\nand station, has been a source of no trifling perplexity to our natural philosophers. I As so much\nink has already been consumed in speculations\nrespecting these phenomena, and such various and\nconflicting opinions elicited from the most learned\nastronomers of the last and present age, I conceive it would be presumptuous in me to offer a\nsingle word on the subject. These clouds are\nwhite, and in shape nearly resemble an equilateral\ntriangle, rounded at each angular point.\nOn the 21st of December, at five a.m., land\nwas discovered on our weather bow. The captain\npronounced it to be the coast of Patagonia; and\nacting on this opinion, we kept along-shore, in\norder to pass between the Falkland Islands and\nthe mainland; but, strange to tell! at noon, when\nhe obtained a meridian observation, he discovered\nthat whalrhe previously conceived to be the Pata-\ngonian coast was in reality a part of the Falkland\nIslands. To account for this mistake, it is proper\nto mention, that during the preceding ten days\nthe haziness of the weather precluded the possibility of our obtaining either a solar or lunar FALKLAND ISLANDS.\nobservation; we therefore were compelled to sail\nentirely by dead reckoning. To this may be\nadded, the effect of a strong westerly current :\nand had the obscure weather continued but a day\nlonger, the consequences might have proved fatal.\nAs the wind was fair, and we had proceeded so\nfar, the captain abandoned his original intention,\nand determined to sail round the eastern extremity\nof the islands, and from thence to shape his course\nfor Cape Horn. We coasted along the shore until\nthe 24th, with light westerly and south-westerly\nbreezes. Albatrosses, penguins, and pintado\nbirds were very numerous around the ship. We\nshot several, and took others with a hook and\nbait. One albatross which we caught in this\nmanner received but little injury. It had an\nenormously large bill, measured eleven feet from\nwing to wing when extended, and kept a fierce\nEnglish bull-dog at bay for half an hour.\nAlthough the Falkland Islands occupy in the\nsouthern hemisphere a similar degree oPlatitude\nto that of Ireland in the northern, still they possess none of the characteristic fertility of the\n\" Emerald Isle.\" Of grass, properly so called, 6 A STORM, AND\nthere is none in those islands. In vegetable and\nanimal productions they are also deficient; and\nthe climate, generally speaking, is cold, variable,\nand stormy: yet for such- a place the British\nempire was on the point of being involved in a\nwar, the preparations for which cost the nation\nsome millions !*\nOn the 24th we took leave of the islands witt^\na gentle breeze right aft, but this changed ere we\nhad cleared the Sea-lion rocks to a violent head-\ngale. All the lighter sails were instantly furled ;\nin the hurry of doing which, the gaskets or small\nropes which bound the flying jib gave way, and\ntwo sailors were sent out to adjust it. While\nthey were in the act of performing this hazardous\nduty a tremendous wave struck the forepart of\nthe ship, carried away the jib-boom, and with it\nthe two unfortunate men who were securing the\nsail. The ship was immediately hove to, and\nevery piece of timber, empty barrel, or hen-coop\non dedP was thrown over to afford the unfor-\n* It may be remembered that our ejection from these islands\nby Buccarelli, a Spanish officer, brought the celebrated Samuel\nJohnson in collision with Junius, LOSS OF TWO MEN. 7\ntunate men a chance of escape. Unhappily all\nour efforts were unavailing ; the poor fellows remained in sight about ten minutes, when they\ndisappeared amidst the raging billows. When\nthe accident occurred, two of the ship's company jumped into the jolly-boat, and with all\nthe thoughtless good-nature of sailors, were about\ncutting away the lashings to go to the assistance\nof their ill-fated messmates, when the captain\nobserving them, ordered them out of* the boat,\nexclaiming, m D\u00E2\u0080\u0094n you, have you a mind to go\nto hell also ?\"\nThis was the most gloomy Christmas eve I ever\nspent. The above melancholy accident had\nthrown a cloud over every countenance; and\nwhen to this was added the darkness of the cabin\n(the dead-lights being all in), with the loud roar-,\ning of the storm, and the Alpine waves threatening every instant to ingulf us, our situation\nmay be more easily imagined than described.\nHome, with allots mild and social endearments\nat this season of general festivity involuJmrily\nobtruded itself on our recollections. The half-\nexpressed wish of being once more on terra Jirma O CAPE HORN.\nwas unconsciously communicated from one to another. But when we looked upon the weather-\nbeaten face of our veteran captain, and observed\nthe careless, if not contented air of his officers\nand crew, when we felt that they were enduring\nthe \" peltings of the pitiless storm\" unmoved\nand without a murmur; and when we reflected\non the immense expanse of ocean through which\nwe had to plough our way, and how fruitless\nwould be the indulgence of unmanly apprehension,\u00E2\u0080\u0094\" to the wind we gave our sighs,\" ascended\nto the deck, and tendered our feeble assistance\nto the captain.\nThe gale continued with much violence until\nthe 29th; when, at two p.m., we made Staten\nLand. At four p. m. we perceived the \" snow-\ntopt\" mountains of Terra del Fuego, rearing their\nmajestic heads above the clouds, and surveying\nwith cold indifference the conflict of the contending oceans that on all sides surround them. As\nwe approached Cape Horn the weather moderated, and the captain ordered all the lighter masts\nand yards again to be rigged.\nJanuary 1st, 1812, at two p. m., on this day, we CAPE HORN. y\nbade adieu to the Atlantic, and sailed round the\nlong-dreaded southern extremity of America, with\na gentle breeze from the N.N.W., at the rate of\none mile per hour, and under top-gallant studding-\nsails ; a circumstance I believe unparalleled in the\nhistory of circumnavigation.\nTowards evening the wind died away, and\nNot a breeze disturbed the wide serene.\nOur entrance into the great Pacific was marked by\nnone of those terrible concussions of the \" vasty\ndeep,\" the frequency of which have given such a\nfearful celebrity to Cape Horn. It seemed as if the\ntwo mighty oceans had ceased for a period their\ndreadful warfare, and mingled their waters in the\nblessed calm of peace. On our right rose the wild\ninhospitable shores of Terra del Fuego; on the left\nlay the low desert islands of Diego Ramarez ;\nwhile all around myriads of whales, porpoises,\nand other marine monsters, emerging at intervals\nfrom the deep, and rolling their huge bodies over\nthe placid surface- of the surrounding element,\nagreeably diversified the scene.\nThis calm was of short duration. On the fol- 10 CAPE HORN.\nlowing day the wind shifted once more ahead,\nand drove us as far as 63\u00C2\u00B0 S.^Hfore we cleared\nCape Noire, the south-western point of Terra del\nFuego. During this period we had a succession\nof cold boisterous weather, and occasionally came\nin collision with large masses of floating ice, from\nwhich we however escaped without injury.\nIt is unnecessary to mention to my geographical\nreaders that the period at which we doubled the\ncape is the summer season in the high southern\nlatitudes; and if such be its attractions in the\nbalmy season of the year, what a region must it\nbe on the arrival of\nBarren Winter, with his nipping colds !\nWe are informed by the early geographers that\nTerra del Fuego was so called from several volcanoes which contrasted their vivid flames with the\nsurrounding icy wastes: and from the same authority we learn that Patagonia, which is on the\nopposite side of the Straits of Magellan, was in^\nhabited by a race of people of immense stature.\nModern travellers, however, have obtained a more\ncorrect knowledge of that country, and have re- DREADFUL STORM. ll\nduced the wonderful altitude of the supposed\ngiants to thefRmmon standard of fcitimanity.\nYoung travellers should not make rash assertions,\nparticularly if opposed to the received opinions\nof the world. I cannot however avoid saying,\nthat it is my belief there is no better foundation\nfor the volcanoes than there was for the accounts\nof the giants. For several days that we were\nin sight of this supposed land of fire we did not\nobserve the smallest appearance of smoke; and\nour captain, who had made many voyages round\nCape Horn, declared he had never perceived the\nslightest volcanic appearance in its neighbourhood.\nOn the 12th of January the wind veered in our\nfavour, and enabled us to proceed with brisk\nsoutherly breezes till the 19th, on which day, in\nlat. 52\u00C2\u00B0, long. 79\u00C2\u00B0 W., nearly abreast'of the Straits\nof Magellan, we encountered a most dreadful\ngale from the eastward, which lasted eighteen\nhours. Our ship was a stout strong-built vessel,\nnotwithstanding which she sustained considerable\ndamage. The bulwarks were completely washed\naway; the head carried off; the mainmast and 12 DREADFUL STORM.\nbowsprit sprung; and the foresail, which was the\nonly one set, was blown to a thousand shivers.\nWe shipped several heavy seas in the cabin, and\nfor some time all our trunks were floating. The\nviolence of the storm however moderated on the\n20th, and enabled us once more to bring the\nvessel under control: had it continued twelve\nhours longer, we should inevitably have been\ndashed to pieces on the iron-bound shores of\nTerra del Fuego; for, at the period the hurricane\nbroke, we were not twenty-five leagues from\nshore; and owing to the unmanageable state of\nthe vessel, the wind was driving us with unopposed force in that direction. The billows made\nsad havock among the remainder of our live-stock.\nThe sheep, poultry, and most of our hogs, were\ncarried away; and a few only of the last, fortunately for us, escaped drowning, to die by the\nhands of the butcher.\nOn the 27th a young man named Henry Wil-\nlets, who had been engaged as a hunter in the\nCompany's service, died of the black scurvy, a\ndisease which it is supposed he had contracted\nprevious to his embarkation, as no other person JUAN FERNANDEZ. T3\non board had any scorbutic affection. As many\nof my readers may not be acquainted $rith the\nmelancholy ceremony of consigning the body of a\nfellow being to the deep, I shall mention it. The\ndeceased was enveloped in his blankets, in which\ntwo large pieces of lead were sewed, and placed\nimmediately under his feet. The body was then\nlaid on a plank, one end of which rested on the\nrailing, and the other was -supported by his comrades, the crew and passengers forming a circle\nabout it. The beautiful and sublime burial service\nof the Church of England was then read in an\naudible and impressive manner by Mr. Nicolls,\nwho officiated as chaplain, after which the plank\nwas raised, the body with the feet downwards\nslided gently into the ocean, and in a moment we\nlost sight of it for ever.\nOn the 4th of February, at two p. m., we made\nthe island of Juan Fernandez; and at six, that of\nMassafuero, at the latter of which the captain\ndetermined to touch for a supply of wood and\nwater. It was on the former island in the beginning of the eighteenth century that Alexander\nSelkirk, a Scotchman, resided for several years, 14 MASSAFUERO.\nand from whose rude indigested story the ingenious De Foe, by adding the fictitious Friday,\n&c. has given to the world the delightful romance\nof Robinson Crusoe.\nOn the morning of the 5th we stood in to about\nfive miles off shore, when the ship was hove to;\nand at six o'clock we proceeded for the island in\nthe pinnace and jolly-boat, with twenty-four\nempty water-casks. Our party, including mates,\npassengers, and sailors, amounted to twenty-three.\nA heavy surf broke along the beach, and after\nsearching in vain for a fair opening to disembark,\nwe were reduced to the disagreeable necessity of\nthrowing ourselves through the surf, and suc-\n@e$fled in accomplishing a landing at the imminent risk of our lives. After making a cheering\nfire to dry our clothes, we divided into two parties\nfor the purpose of exploring the island. Messrs.\nClarke, Clapp, and Seton, formed one; and\nMessrs. Nicolls, Halsey, and myself, the other;\nMessrs. Rhodes, Dean, and Ehninger, remained\nin the boats, and at the landing-place, to superintend the watering and fishing business.\neTThe island appeals to be one vast rock split by MASSAFUERO. 15\nsome convulsion of nature into five or six parts.\nIt was through one of these chasms that cftir party\ndetermined to proceed; and accoutred each with a\nfowling-piece, horn and pouch, we set forward in\nquest of adventures. The breadth of the aperture\nat its entrance did not exceed fifty feet, and it\nbecame narrower as we advanced: through the\nbottom meandered a clear stream of fine water,\nfeom which, the boats were supplied, and which\nproved of great service to us in the course of our\nexcursion. We had not proceeded-.more than ha_fef\na mile when we encountered so many difficulties\nin climbing:over steep rocks, passing ponds, water-\nfells, &c, that we were compelled to leave our\nguns behind us. Thus disembarrassed, we continued our course for upwards of two miles up a\nsteep ascent, following the different windbags of\nthe stxeam, which, at intervals, tumbling over\nlarge rocks, formed cascades which greatly impeded our progress.\nIn proportion as we advanced the daylight\nseemed to recede, and for some time we were\ninvolved in an almost gloomy darkness, on account of the mountain tops on each side nearly\nI 16 VMASSAFUERO.\nforming a junction. We now regretted the want\nof our guns, as we observed a great number of\ngoats on the surrounding precipices; and the dead\nbodies of several, in a more or less decayed state,\nwhich we supposed must have fallen in bounding\nfrom cliff to cliff, and ascending the slippery and\nalmost perpendicular hills among which they ve- .\ngetate. A little farther on, on turning the point\nof a projecting rock, we were agreeably relieved\nby the bright rays of the sun, which shone with\ngreat splendour, on the chaotic mass of rocks by\nwhich we were encompassed. Reanimated by\nthe presence of this cheering object, we redoubled\nour pace, and were already congratulating ourselves with being near the summit of the mountain, (which from the height we had ascended\nmust have been the case,) when our progress was\narrested by a large pond, upwards of twenty feet\ndeep; and from the steepness of the rocks on\neach side, it was impossible to pass it except by\nswimming. We therefore determined to return\nbefore night overtook us in such a dreary place;\nand after encountering fifty hair-breadth escapes,\nreached the watering place about seven o'clock, MASSAFUERO. 17\nhungry as wolves, and almost fatigued to death.\nHere we found the other party, who had arrived\na short time before us. Messrs. Clarke and Clapp\nshot two fat goats; and Mr. Dean, who with three\nmen remained in the boats, caught between three\nand four hundred' excellent fish, out of which we\nsucceeded in making an excellent supper.\nSixteen of the casks being now filled, Mr.\nRhodes judged it expedient to proceed with them\nto the ship, and to return the following day for the\nremainder. Ten were made fast to the pinnace,\nand six to the jolly boat, and at one o'clock, a. m.,\non the morning of the 6th, after some hours' hard\nrowing, we reached the ship amidst a storm of\nthunder, lightning, and rain. During that day it\nblew too fresh to permit the boats to return, and\nwe kept standing off and on till the 7th, when the\nbreeze moderated, and enabled us to bring off the\nremaining casks.\nMassafuero rises abruptly from the sea, and has\nbut a narrow stripe of beach. It was formerly\nwell stocked with seals, but these animals have\nbeen nearly destroyed by American whalers. The\ngoats are numerous, but too rancid to be used for\nVOL. i. b 18 MASSAFUERO.\nfood, except in cases of necessity. The island\nalso appears to be devoid of wood. The carpenter\nwho went on shore for the purpose of procuring\nsome that could be used in building a boat, found\nonly a few pieces with a close grain, very hard,\nand in colour resembling box: it was fit only for\nknees. Mr. Clapp's party in their tour, which\nwas along the beach, round the western extremity\nof the island, saw none of this necessary article ;\nand in the cleft of the mountain through which\nour party proceeded we observed only a few trees\nof the kind found by the carpenter, growing among\ninaccessible rocks. The most valuable production\nof Massafuero is undoubtedly its fish, of which\nthere is a great variety. No one on board was\nable to appropriate names to all we took. The\nsmallest is a species of whiting, and very delicate\nwhen fried. The largest bears a strong resemblance to cod, and by some of our people was\ndeemed superior. There are also several kinds\nof bass, herrings, crabs, &c. We caught a few\nconger eels; the most disgusting I ever saw:\nbut, as a counterbalance, the Massafuero lobster\nfor largeness of size, beautiful variety of colours, TRADE WINDS.\n19\nand deliciousness of taste, is, I believe, unrivalled.\nWith the exception of the fish, there is nothing\nto induce a vessel to touch at this place, while the\nfruitful island of Juan Fernandez is so near, but a\ndesire, as was our case, of concealing the object\nof its voyage from the inquisitive and jealous eyes\nof the Spanish authorities, who were stationed at\nthe latter island.*\nA few days after leaving Massafuero we got\ninta the trade winds, which wafted us on at an\neven steady rate, varying from four to seven knots\nan hour. A curious incident occurred on Sunday\nthe 23rd of February, early on the morning of\nwhich day a hog had been killed ; a practice\nwhich had been generally observed every sabbath\nmorning during the voyage.\nAfter breakfast, the weather being calm, a num-\n* While Spain held possession of South America every vessel touching at Juan Fernandez was subjected to a rigorous\nsearch; and from the number of our guns, joined to the great\nquantities of warlike stores on board, the captain did not deem\nit prudent to run the risk of an inquisitorial inspection. I\nshould hope the officers of the Chilian republic stationed here\nhave adopted a more liberal policy. 20 A SHARK.\nber of the crew and passengers amused themselves by bathing around the vessel. Some of\nthem had returned on board, when a sailor on the\nforecastle discovered a large shark gliding slowly\nand cautiously under the* starboard bow. With\ngreat presence of mind, he instantly seized a small\nrope called a clew-line, and with characteristic\ndispatch made a running knot, which he silently\nlowered into the water : the monster unwarily\npassed the head and upper fin through the noose;\non observing which, the sailor jerked the rope\nround the cat-head, and, with the assistance of\nsome of his messmates, succeeded in hauling it on\ndeck. In the mean time, those who were stfll\nsporting in the water were almost paralysed on\nhearing the cry of \" a shark! a shark!\" and not\nknowing on which side of them lay the dreaded\ndanger, some made for the ship, and others swam\nfrom it; each momentarily expecting to come in\ncontact with\nHis jaws horrific, arm'd with threefold fate,\nwhen their fears were dissipated by announcing to\nthem the welcome intelligence of his caption. On SANDWICH ISLANDS. 21\ndissecting him, the entire entrails of the hog\nwhich had been killed in the morning were found\nin his belly ! so that he must have been alongside\nduring the whole of the forenoon, and was doubtless intimidated by the number of the swimmers\nfrom attacking any of them individually.\nOn the 4th of March we crossed the Equator,\nfor the second time this voyage, with a brisk\nsouth-easterly breeze; and on the 25th, at daybreak, we made the island of Owhyee, the largest\nin the group of the Sandwich Islands. It was the\ncaptain's original intention to stop at this place\nfor his supplies; but on approaching Karakakooa\nbay we were informed by some natives, who came\noff in canoes, that Tamaahmaah, the king, then\nresided in Whoahoo. As we were anxious, for\nseveral reasons, to have an interview with his\nmajesty, the captain relinquished the idea of stopping here, and stood about for the latter island.\nAs we sailed along Owhyee, with a fine easterly\nbreeze, nature and art displayed to our view one\nof the finest prospects I ever beheld. f^The snow-\nclad summit of the gigantic Monna Ifeah, towering into the clouds, with its rockj^pd dreary\n^30 ' 1. 22 SANDWICH ISLANDS.\nsides, presented a sublime coup d'oeil, and formed\n\"a powerful contrast to its cultivated base, and the\nbeautiful plantations interspersed along the shore.\nEternal winter reigned above, while all beneath\nflourished in the luxuriance of perpetual summer.\nThe death, too, of the ill-fated and memorable\nCook will attach a melancholy celebrity to this\nisland; as it was here that that great navigator\nwas sacrificed in a temporary ebullition of savage\nfury, and closed a brilliant career of services,\nwhich reflect honour on his country, and will perpetuate his name to the latest posterity. -\nAs the wind continued fresh, we soon cleared\nOwhyee, and passed in succession the islands of\nMowee, Ranai, Morotoi, and in the evening came\nin sight of Whoahoo. While we sailed along this\ninteresting group of islands several Indians boarded\nus, from whom we purchased a few hogs, some\nmelons, plantains, &c. It being too late to attempt anchoring this evening, we stood off and on\nduring the night. WHOAHOO. 23\nCHAPTER II.\nWhoahoo\u00E2\u0080\u0094Visit from a chief\u00E2\u0080\u0094Nocturnal excursion\u00E2\u0080\u0094King\nand queens\u00E2\u0080\u0094Invasion of the ship\u00E2\u0080\u0094White men\u00E2\u0080\u0094Gardens\u00E2\u0080\u0094\nFoot race, and summary justice\u00E2\u0080\u0094Throwing the spear\u00E2\u0080\u0094\nRoyal residence, and body guard\u00E2\u0080\u0094Mourning for a chief's\nwife\u00E2\u0080\u0094Billy Pitt, George Washington, &c.\nOn Thursday the 26th of March, at noon, we\ncame to anchor outside of the bar in Whytetee\nbay, about two miles from shore, and nearly\nabreast of a village from which the bay is named.\nA short time after anchoring we were visited\nby an eree or chief, named Tiama, in a double\ncanoe, who was sent by the king to learn from\nwhence the ship came, whither bound, &c. After\nobtaining the necessary information, and taking\na glass of wine, he returned, and was accompanied by the captain, who went on shore in\norder to acquaint his majesty with the particular\nobject he had in touching here. Tiama informed\nus that a taboo * was then in force, which accounted\n* See ,Cook, Vancouver, &c.\nL 24 VISIT FROM A CHIEF. ipljj\nfor bur not being visited by any of the natives.\nAt ten o'clock the captain came back with Tiama.\nHe had met with a favourable reception from Ta-\nmaahmaah, who promised to expedite his departure as soon as possible.\nMr. Nicolls observing the chief preparing to\nreturn, and being impatient to go on shore, proposed that the passengers should accompany\nhim: this was opposed by others ; upon which it\nwas put to the vote, when four appearing in its\nfavour, the motion was of course carried. The\nayes were Messrs. Nicolls, Clapp, Halsey, and\nmyself: the minority chose to remain on board.\nThe weather was calm, and we took with us a\ncouple of flutes. Our canoe went on briskly\nuntil we passed the channel of the bar, when a\nmost delightful nocturnal prospect opened on us.\nThe serenity of the sky and the brightness of the\nmoon enabled us to discern objects distinctly on\nshore. The village of Whytetee, situated in an\nopen grove of cocoa-nut trees, with the hills rising\ngently in the rear, presented a charming perspective by moonlight, while the solemn stillness of\nthe night, interrupted at intervals by the hoarse NOCTURNAL EXCURSION. 25\nmurmurs of the surges, as they broke over the\nbar, rendered the scene in the highest degree\nromantic. On landing we found the beach covered with a concourse of natives, whom the\nsound of our flutes had attracted thither: they\ncame pressing on us in such crowds, that were it\nnot for the chief's authority, we should have had\nconsiderable difficulty in forcing a passage through\nthem. About midnight we reached the village,\nand Tiama conducted us to his house, where we\nexperienced a hospitable reception from his family, which consisted of three strapping wives,\ntwo handsome daughters, and a brother, about\ntwenty years of age. A young pig lost its life\nby our arrival, on which, with some cocoa-nuts\nand bananas, we made an excellent supper.\nTiama's brother was our major domo: he attached\nhimself particularly to Nicolls, who called him\nTom; and as a compensation for his trouble and\nobliging attention to us, made him a present\nof his stockings, which, unfortunately for poor\nTom, were silk ones. He was so proud of the gift,\nthat he immediately put them over his olive-coloured calves, and without any shoes, he continued\nw&- 26 NOCTURNAL EXCURSION. ,\nwalking and working about the house: this was\nusage to which silk stockings were not accustomed,\nand the consequence was that before morning their\nsoles had vanished. Our repast being finished,\nthe chief ordered a bevy of young females, who\nsince our arrival had been hovering about the\nhouse, to entertain us with one of their native\nairs: they at once complied, and having formed\nthemselves into a semicircle, sang in rather an\nharmonious manner: their languishing eyes, and\nsignificant pauses, evidently showed without the\naid of an interpreter that the subject was amatory. This over, Tom conducted us to a neat\nlodge which Tiama had allotted for our use,\nand in which we enjoyed the remainder of the\nnight in undisturbed repose on soft beds of island\ncloth.\nOn the following morning we arose early, and\ntook a refreshing walk on the sea-shore, after\nwhich we returned to the ship in Tiama's canoe.\nOur appearance was a subject of merriment to\nthose on board. One bare-legged, another without his cravat, the coat of a third closely buttoned up to conceal the absence of his vest; all* KING AND QUEENS. 27\nin fact lighter than when we set out; but nothing\nwas purloined. We had been hospitably entertained by the chieftain and his family ; gratitude\ndemanded a return, and as we had omitted to\nfurnish ourselves with trinkets, we could only\nsupply the deficiency by parting with a portion\nof our least useful clothing.\nAs the taboo had ceased to operate this day, we\nfound the vessel crowded with natives bartering\ntheir produce with our people. At noon we were\nhonoured by a visit from their majesties, the king,\nand four queens, attended by Krimacoo, the prime\nminister, and several of the principal chiefs, together with Messrs. Maninna and Hairbottle, two\nwhite men; the former a Spaniard, who held the\noffice of chief interpreter to the king, and the\nlatter an Englishman, and head pilot of his majesty's fleet.\nThe king and queens came in a large double\ncanoe, which was formed by lashing two canoes\ntogether, separated by bars of two and a half feet\nin length from each other. Each canoe had fourteen chosen men. On the bars was raised a kind\nof seat on which the queens reposed, and above 28 KING AND QUEENS.\nall was placed an arm-chest well stored with\nmuskets, on which the king\nAbove the rest,\nIn shape and gesture proudly eminent\nSat like\u00E2\u0080\u0094a tailor.\nImmediately before his majesty was a native who\ncarried a handsome silver-hilted hanger, which\nwas presented to him by the late emperor of Russia, and which on state occasions he had always\ncarried before him, in imitation as we supposed of\nEuropean sword-bearers. Behind the royal personage sat another native who carried a large and\nhighly polished bowl of dark-brown wood, into\nwhich his majesty ever and anon ejected all his\nSuperabundant saliva.\nAfter he had arrived on the deck, Tamaah-\nmaah shook hands in the most condescending\nmanner with every one he met between the cabin\nand the gang-way, exclatoing to each person,\n\" Aroah, Aroah nuee\" (I love you, I love you\nmuch). There was a degree of negligent simplicity about his dress, which strongly characterised the royal philosopher. His head was crowned\nwith an old woollen hat; the coat was formed of KING AND QUEENS. 29\ncoarse blue cloth in the antique shape, with large\nmetal buttons; the waistcoat, of brown velvet,\nwhich in its youthful days had been black : a pair\nof short, tight, and well-worn velveteen pantaloons displayed to great advantage coarse worsted\nstockings and thick-soled shoes, all admirably\nadapted for the tropics; while his shirt and cravat, which had formerly been white, seemed to\nhave had a serious misunderstanding with their\nwasherwoman. Such, gentle reader, was the costume of Tamaahmaah the First, king of the Sandwich Islands, hereditary prince of Owhyee, and\nprotector of a confederation of escaped convicts\nfrom New South Wales !#\nThe royal party remained on board to dine.\nThe king only sat at table, and was placed at the\nright hand of the captain, with the attendant\nwho carried his saliva reservoir behind him. He\nate voraciously, and in a very commendable manner washed down the solids with a fair quantum\n* Tamaahmaah was hereditary king of Owhyee only; he\nsubsequently conquered all the other islands. A number of\nconvicts are at Whoahoo, who escaped from Botany Bay by\nmeans of American vessels, and who reside here in security. 30 KING AND QUEENS.\nof Madeira, to the virtues of which he appeared\nby no means to be a stranger. On filling the\nfirst glass he drank our healths individually;\nafter which he plied away nobly, and apparently\nunconscious of the presence of any of the company. He did not touch the port, but finished\nbetween two and three decanters of the Madeira.\nAs the ladies are prohibited from eating with the\nmen, we were of course deprived of the pleasure\nof their society at our repast; but after we had\nquitted the table they were graciously permitted\nto occupy our seats. Their dinner had been\ndressed on shore by their own cooks, and was\nbrought by them on board ; it consisted of small\nraw fish, roasted dogs, and a white mixture called\npooah, of the consistence of flummery : this last\nthey take by dipping the two forefingers of the\nright hand into the dish which contains the pooah,\nand after turning them round in the mixture\nuntil they are covered with three or four coats,\nthey raise the hand, and giving the fingers a dexterous twist, to shake off the fag-ends, bring\nthem forward rapidly to the mouth, which is\nready open for their reception, and by a strong KING-AND QUEENS. 31\nIP\nlabial compression, they are quickly cleared of\ntheir precious burden! But in plain, unadorned\nsimplicity of dress, they far exceeded their royal\nconsort. It merely consisted of a long piece of\ntheir country cloth wrapped in several folds\nround the waist, and reaching only to the knees,\nleaving the breasts and legs exposed to the criticisms . of amateurs in female beauty; to this\nthey occasionally add a scarf of the same material, which is negligently thrown over the shoulders, and falls behind. They are very corpulent : the favourite measured nearly nine feet\nin circumference round the waist; and the others\nwere not much inferior in size. We may say of\nthe royal taste, that ^^A\nThey were chosen as we choose old plate,\nNot for their beauty, but their weight.\nStill they possess mild engaging countenances,\nwith that li soft sleepiness of the eye\" by which\nGoldsmith distinguishes the beauties of Cashmere. Their conduct is under strict surveillance. Mr. Hairbottle informed us, that a few\ndays previous to our arrival an intrigue had been 32 KING AND QUEENS.\ndiscovered between the favourite queen and one\nof the king's body guard. As their guilt admitted of no doubt, the unfortunate paramour\nwas strangled on the same night; but as Tamaahmaah still cherished a lingering affection\nfor his frail favourite, he pardoned her, with\nthe short, but pithy expression, i\u00C2\u00A3 If you do it\nagain -.\"\nDuring the afternoon the king employed himself in taking the dimensions of the ship, examining the cabin, state-rooms, &c. Scarcely an\nobject escaped the royal scrutiny : observing Mr.\nSeton writing, he approached him, and began\nto examine the various little nic-nacs with\nwhich the desk was furnished. Seton showed\nhim a handsome penknife of curious workmanship, containing a number of blades, not with an\nintention of bestowing it: with this he appeared\nparticularly pleased, and putting it into one of\nthe pockets of his capacious vest, said, \" Mytye,\nnue nue mytye,\" (good, very good,) and walked\naway. It was in vain for Seton to expostulate;\nhis majesty did not understand English, and all\nentreaties to induce him to return the penknife INVASION OF THE SHIP. 33\nwere ineffectual. On the following day, however, a chief brought Seton a handsome present from the king, of mats, cloth, and other\nnative productions, with two hundred fine\ncocoa-nuts.\nIn the course of the evening the queens played\ndraughts with some of our most scientific amateurs, whom they beat hollow; and such was\nthe skill evinced by them in the game, that not\none of our best players succeeded in making a\nking.\nLate in the evening our illustrious guests took\ntheir departure, accompanied by all their attendants ; but they had scarcely embarked in\ntheir canoes when the ship was boarded on all\nsides by numbers of women, who had come off\nin small canoes paddled by men or elderly females, and who, after leaving their precious cargo\non deck, returned quickly to the island, lest the\ncaptain should refuse his sanction to their remaining in the vessel. They crowded in such\n\u00C2\u00A9umbers about the crew as to obstruct the performance of their dufc^, and the captain threatened to send them all on, shore in the ship's\nvol. i. c 34 WHITE MEN.\nboats if they did not behave .themselves with\nmore propriety. This had the desired effect,\nand while they remained on board they gave no\nfarther cause for complaint.\nOn the following morning, the 28th, we weighed\nanchor, and worked the ship a few miles higher\nup, exactly opposite . the village of Honaroora,\nwhere the king resided. We spent the day on\nshore, at the house of a Mr. Holmes, a white man,\nand a native of the United States, by whom we\nwere sumptuously entertained. He had been\nsettled here since the year 1793, and at the\nperiod I speak of was, next to the king, the\ngreatest chief on the island. He had one hundred\nand eighty servants, or under-tenants, whom he\ncalled slaves, and who occupied small huts in the\nimmediate vicinity of his house. He had also extensive plantations on Whoahoo, and on the island\nof Morotoi, from whence he derived a considerable\nincome. He was married to a native wife, by\nwhom he had several children. The eldest was\na most interesting girl, aged about fifteen years,\nwith a peculiarly soft and expressive countenance.\nNature, in her freaks, had bestowed upon this WHITE MEN. 35\nisland beauty an extraordinary profusion of hair,\nin which the raven tresses of the mother were\nstrangely intermingled with the flaxen locks of\nthe father. She spoke tolerably good English,\nand always sat near' him. He appeared to watch\nher conduct with all the parental solicitude of a\nman who, from long experience, well knew the\ndanger to which she was exposed from the general\ndemoralisation of manners that prevailed about\nher. Mr. Holmes is greatly respected by the\nnatives, by whom he is entitled Eree Homo, or the\nChief Holmes.\nAs we met here several other respectable white\nmen, I shall mention their names; and, first, Mr.\nManinna. This gentleman had been a Spanish\nofficer, and in consequence of having while stationed at Mexico killed a superior officer in a\nquarrel, he fled to Californio, from whence he\nescaped to the Sandwich islands, where, having\nacquired the language with wonderful facility, he\nwas appointed to the office of chief interpreter.\nHe was a man of general information, spoke\nFrench and English fluently, and from his easy\nmanners, and insinuating address, shortly became 36 WHITE MEN.\na general favourite. He had built a handsome\nstone house, the only one on the island, in which\nhe resided with his wife, w&o was the daughter of\na chief: her sister lived also in the same house ;\nand the busy tongue of scandal, which even here\nhas found an entrance, did not hesitate to say that\nthe two sisters equally participated in his affections. His drawing-room was decorated with a\nnumber of Chinese paintings, wiiich he obtained\nfrom Canton, of the crucifixion, the Madonna,\ndifferent saints, &c. ; but on removing a sliding\npannel from the opposite side, subjects of a far\ndifferent nature were represented!\nMr. Davis, the king's gardener, was a Welshman, and at this period had been settled on the\nisland twelve years. He had also considerable\nplantations, and had a native wife, who was a\nmost incontinent jade. He had just returned\nfrom a distant part of the island, whither he had\nbeen in pursuit of his faithless cara sposa, who\nhad eloped a few days before with one of her\nnative beaux. Poor Davis felt rather sore on\nbeing bantered by old Holmes on this affair.\n& Tarn the strap,\" said he, _M_ cot her snug enough WHITE MEN. 37\nto be sure with her sweetheart; but I think she'll\nrememper the pasting I gave her all the tays of\nher life.\" We were informed he might have\neasily parted from her, and procured a more suitable match, but he was unfortunately too much\nattached to her to think of taking another.\nMr. Hairbottle, the chief pilot, is a native of\nBerwick, and was formerly boatswain of an English merchant ship. He had resided upwards of\nfourteen years on the different islands, and had\nbeen married to a native wife, who was dead for\nsome years. He was a quiet, unassuming old\nman, whose principal enjoyments consisted in a\nglass of rum grog and a pipe of tobacco.\nMr. Wadsworth, an American. This gentleman\nhad been chief mate of a ship which had touched\nhere about six years before. Having quarrelled\nwith his captain, they separated, and he took up\nhis residence in the island. The king, who gave\nparticular encouragement to white men of education to settle here, immedi^ily presented\nWadsworth with a belle brunette for a wife, together with a house and some hogs.\nHere we also found a gentleRian from New 38 WHITE MEN.\nYork, under the assumed name of Cook; but\nwho was recognised by Mr. Nicolls as a member\nof a highly respectable family in that city, named\nS s. He had, like Wadsworth, been also chief\nofficer of an American East Indiaman, which\nhad touched here about three months previous to\nour arrival; and in consequence of a misunderstanding with the captain, he left the ship, and\ntook up his abode with Mr. Holmes. On hearing\nof this circumstance, Tamaahmaah, as an encouragement to his settling permanently on the\nisland, gave him the daughter of a principal chief\nfor a wife, some land, and a number of hogs.\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094S s, however, did not appear to relish his\nsituation: he had been too long accustomed to\nthe refinements of civilisation, at once to adapt\nhimself to Indian habits, and received with apathy\nthe fond caresses of his olive-coloured spouse.\nHe expressed a desire to return in our ship, but\nthe captain's arrangements could not permit it.\nWhile on this subject I may as well mention\nthat the example of Wadsworth and S s\nseemed to be contagious; for a few days after\nour arrival Mr. Dean, our third officer, had a WHITE MEN/ 39\nserious altercation with the captain, which ended\nin his quitting the ship ; and on its coming to the\nking's knowledge, he sent for him, and told him\nif he would remain, and take charge of his fleet,\nhe would give him a house and lands, plenty of\nhogs, and a beautiful daughter of a chief for a\nwife. Dean told him he had not yet made up\nhis mind on the subject, and requested time to\nconsider the offer. The king did not object, and\nthe interview ended. I believe however that\nDean subsequently quitted the island, and returned to New York.\nMr. Holmes gave us a plentiful dinner of roast\npork, roast dog, fowl, ham, fish, wine, and rum, with\na profusion of excellent tropical fruit. A number\nof native servants attended at table, each holding\na napkin : they performed their duty in a very expert manner, and appeared to be well acquainted\nwith all the domestic economy of the table. Their\nlivery was quite uniform, and consisted merely of\na cincture of country cloth round the waist, from\nwhich a narrow piece of the same stuff passed\nbetween the legs, and was fastened to the belt,\nleaving the remainder of the body totally un- 40 WHITE MEN.\ncovered ! Our noble commander was vice-president, and undertook to carve the dog; which duty\nhe performed in a manner quite unique. He was\nthe only one of our party who partook of it. The\nidea of eating so faithful an animal without even\nthe plea of necessity effectually prevented any of\nus joining in this part of the feast; although, to\ndo the meat justice, it really looked very well when\nroasted. The islanders esteem it the greatest\nluxury they possess; and no one under the dignity of an eree of the first class is permitted to\npartake of this delicious food. However singular\ntheir taste \"may be regarded in this respect by\nmodern civilisation, my classical readers may recollect that the ancients reckoned dogs excellent\neating, particularly when young and fat; and we\nhave the authority of Hippocrates for saying that\ntheir flesh is equal to pork or mutton: he also\nadds, that the flesh of a grown dog is both wholesome and strengthening, and that of puppies relaxing. The Romans, too, highly admired these\nanimals as an article of food, and thought them a\nsupper in which the gods themselves would have\ndelighted! WHITE MEN. 41\nIndependently of the white men whose names\nI have mentioned, there were about fourteen others,\nbelonging to all nations, the majority of whom\nwere convicts who had effected their escape from\nBotany Bay, and were held in no estimation by\nthe natives. They are supremely indolent, and\nrum and women seemed to constitute their only\nenjoyment.\nOn the 29th we made an excursion into the\ninterior with Davis. His gardens were extensive,\nand pleasantly situated at the foot of the hills,\nbetween four and five miles from Honaroora.\nThey were laid out with taste, and kept in excellent order. Exclusive of the indigenous productions of the country, with which they were plentifully stocked, he planted a few years before some\nIrish potatoes, and the crop more than equalled\nhis expectations. We also observed some prime\nplantations of sugar cane. A few of those we\nmeasured had fourteen feet eatable, and were one\nfoot in circumference, which, I am informed, far\nexceeds the best Jamaica canes. The climate of\nthe Sandwich islands is, however, more propitious\nto the growth of the cane than that of the West\nL 42 king's gardens.\nIndies, at which latter place it has, besides, many\nenemies to encounter which are strangers to the\nislands in the Pacific ; such as monkies, ants,\nbugs, the blast, &c, one or other of which often\ndestroys the fairest hopes of the planter. The\nislanders distil an inferior spirit from it, which the\nresident white people have dignified by the title of\n\"country rum.\" It is weak, and has a smoky,\ninsipid taste, and does not produce intoxication\nexcept taken in large quantities.\nOn our way back we visited the king's gardens,\nwhich were contiguous to Davis's. They were\nmuch more extensive than his, although far inferior in neatness, and contained nothing particularly deserving notice. Davis was the only\nwhite man who superintended his own plantations : the others were left to the management of\ntheir servants, and were seldom visited by the\nproprietors; and as he was a good practical\nagriculturist, his gardens were superior to any\nwe saw on the island. In the course of this tour\nwe did not observe a spot that could be turned\nto advantage left unimproved. The country all\naround the bay exhibits the highest state of cul- king's gardens. 43\ntivation, and presents at one view a continued\nrange of picturesque plantations, intersected by\nsmall canals, and varied by groves of cocoa-nut\ntrees ; the whole bounded on the back ground by\ngently sloping hills, and in the front by the ocean.\nWe returned late in the evening, highly delighted\nwith our day's excursion, and sat down to an excellent dinner prepared for us by the worthy\nCambrian, in whose hospitable mansion we spent\nthe night.\nOn the 30th we were present at a grand pedestrian racing match, between Krikapooree, the\nking's nephew, and an American black named\nAnderson, who was his armourer: the latter won,\nafter a well contested struggle. The race-course\npresented a novel and striking appearance. At\nthe upper end was erected a covered platform\nabout twenty feet from the ground, on which the\nking sat cross-legged, and without any covering\nwhatever, save the waistband commonly worn by\nthe natives : his guards armed with muskets paraded around the platform; while on each side,\nand close to the guards, were assembled an immense concourse of natives of all classes, mingled 44 FOOT RACES.\ntogether without any regard to rank, age, or sex.\nThe two fevc^it\u00C2\u00A9 tiu&^&s were richly dressed : one\nwore a light-btoe satin gown, trimmed with broad\ngold lace; the other had on a cream-coloured\nriding-habit of cassimere, ornamented with silver\nlace, and a profusion of sugar-loaf buttons, &c.\nThese dresses were made for them in England,\nfitted them admirably, and set off their persons\nto great advantage. They walked through the\ncrowd along with several chiefs' wives, and\nseemed in a high degree to enjoy the bustling\nscene before them. Betting was very spirited on\nthe issue of the race. Money of course was out\nof the question; but among the lower classes\nits place was supplied by axes, beads, knives,\nscissors, handkerchiefs, snd various kinds of trinkets ; and among the erees of the first and second\ngrades we could distiQgikh \u00C2\u00A7\u00E2\u0082\u00AC%rlet and big\u00C2\u00A9\ncloths, silk$, Chinese shawls, calicoes, ribbons,\n&c. Several quarrels Occurred among the men,\nwhich were settled a V Anglaise by the fist. One\nof the natives had a dispute about a bet with an\n, English sailor who had been left here a short time\nbefore by his captain for mufoiy. The Indian SUMMARY JUSTICE. 45\nfelt he was right, and refused to yield to the\nchicanery of the sailor, who, in order to intimidfute\nhim, drew from his pocket a small pistol, which\nhe cocked, and presented in a menacing manner at\nthe islander's breast, swearing if he did not submit\nhe would shoot him : this however was disregarded by the other, who seemed determined not to\nflinch ; but the king, who had observed the whole\ntransaction from his elevated position,, ordered\nthe sailor to be brought up to him, which was\ninstantly complied with. He then took rthe pistol, and delivered it to one of his attendants to be\nplaced in the royal armoury; and addressing the\nsailor, told him the only punishment he should\nthen inflict on him would be the forfeiture of the\npistol; but in case he ever offended in the same\nmanner again, he would have him put to death.\nWe were quite delighted with this .summaryracU\nministration of justice, for the sailor appeared to\nbe a quarrelsome rascal, and bore an infamous\ncharacter among his associates.\nAfter the race was over sevetal wrestling and\nboxing matches took place, on which there was\nalso considerable betting. Some of our past^ 46 THROWING THE SPEAR.\nwho were amateur pugilists declared their style of\nhitting to be admirable; but as I unfortunately\nnever studied the noble science of self-defence, I\nam quite incompetent to hazard an opinion on the\nsubject. I will however say, that no unfair play\nwas used, and that no blow was struck while a\nman was down. At the termination of these encounters a large space was formed, for two natives to display their skill in throwing the spear.\nA full account of this wonderful performance is\ngiven in Cook's voyages; and I can only add,\nthat the amazing activity evinced in avoiding each\nother's weapons, by leaping to the right or left, or\nallowing them to pass under their arms,, between\ntheir legs, &c.; and their surprising dexterity and\nself-possession in a situation in which an European would be transfixed ere he had time to look\nabout him, must be seen to be credited. This\nexercise forms the amusement of their earliest\nyears, and is the ne plus ultra of their education.\nNo islander can take a wife until he is able to\nwithstand the attacks of any old warrior whom\nthe chief of his tribe may appoint to try him; so\nthat this condemnation to celibacy, among a peo- KING'S BODY GUARD. 47\npie so notoriously amorous, contributes, I should\nimagine, more than any other cause, to' the wonderful perfection at which they have arrived in\nthis exercise.\nIn front of the royal residence there are planted\nthirty pieces of cannon ; fifteen on each side ;\nchiefly six and nine pounders. A body guard of\nhandsome athletic young men are stationed close\nto the house ; two of whom are placed as sentinels at the door, and are relieved with as much\nregularity as at any garrison in England. In the\nday-time their muskets generally remain piled\nbefore the door, but are taken in at night. These\ngardes-du-corps have no particular dress to distinguish them from civilians; and after the amusements just mentioned had ended the king ordered\nthem to go through the manual and platoon exercises ; which, considering the limited means they\nhave had for learning, they performed with tolerable precision.\nShortly after quitting this noisy and bustling\nscene of mirth and festivity we were attracted by\nibe sounds of mourning voices to a large house in\na retired corner of the village ; in front of which 48 MOURNING FOR A CHIEF'S WIFE.\nsat eight women, in a circle, all in a state of\nintoxication. At times their voices died away to\na low mournful tone; when, suddenly changing,\nthey vented the wildest and most frantic cries,\ntearing their hair, beating their breasts, and gnawing the ends of their fingers : in Hie intervals they\nmoistened their parched throats from a bottle\nwhich was passed round from one to the other;\nand after all had partaken of the libation they\nrenewed their cries with redoubled vigour. Their\nhanging breasts, dishevelled hair, and fiery eyes,\npresented more the appearance of furies than of\nhuman beings; and we were at first afraid to approach them, apprehensive of an attack in the\nheight of one of their paroxysms. We were told\nhowever there was no danger, and they would.\ninjure no one save themselves. On inquiry, we\nascertained that the dead body of a chief's wife of\nthe second class lay in an adjoining house, and\nthat these women were her friends and relatives\nmourning her death. This ceremony, akhoagh\npossessing a degree of rude lachrymose comicality, had nothing peculiarly interesting, and we\n.lepiickly left the scene. BILLY*PITT, &C. 49\nSeveral of the chiefs have punctured on their\narms the names of celebrated English and American statesmen, captains of ships, &c. At the\nrace-course I observed Billy Pitt, George Washington, and Billy Cobbett, walking together in\nthe most familiar manner, and apparently engaged\nin confidential conversation; while, in the centre\nof another group, Charley Fox, Thomas Jefferson, James Maddison, Bonaparte, and Tom Paine,\nwere to be seen on equally friendly terms with\neach other. They seem to be proud of these\nnames, and generally prefer them to their own.\nKrimacoo, the prime minister, is called Billy\nPitt, from the great influence he possesses. He\nis consulted by the king on all subjects of importance ; and in cases of particular emergency Mr.\nHolmes is sent for to give his advice. 50\nVISITS FROM THE ROYAL FAMILY.\nCHAPTER III.\nTamaahmaah\u00E2\u0080\u0094The Eooranee\u00E2\u0080\u0094Curious custom\u00E2\u0080\u0094Fickleness\nin dress\u00E2\u0080\u0094Character of natives\u00E2\u0080\u0094Important position of the\nislands\u00E2\u0080\u0094Cow hunting\u00E2\u0080\u0094Complete our supplies\u00E2\u0080\u0094Take a\nnumber of natives\u00E2\u0080\u0094Departure-r-New discovery\u00E2\u0080\u0094Arrival\nat the Columbia.\nFrom this period until our departure we were\nhonoured with several visits from the royal family,\nprincipally connected with the business of procuring our supplies. The king was a hard bargain maker, and although he had several pipes\nof Madeira in his stores, he would not barter a\nsingle article until he obtained a quarter-cask of\nthat wine, of which he was passionately fond.\nHe was by no means as generous as many of his\nsubjects, and he seldom committed an act of\nliberality without having a particular object in TAMAAHMAAH. 51\nview. He had upwards of forty small schooners\nbuilt by the natives, which were quite useless to\nhim from their ignorance of navigation ; and whe\u00C2\u00AE\nhe made the presents which I have already\nmentioned to the officers who had quarrelled\nwith their captains, he had in view their settling\non the island, and availing himself of their services in teaching the natives to navigate these\nvessels. The taboos of Tamaahmaah were often\ninfluenced by his dreams; one of which gave\nrise, while we remained here, to an extraordinary\nproclamation, which ordered, that during the\nspace of one day \" no native should leave the\nisland; and that no dogs should bark, hogs\ngrunt, or cocks crow!\" This whimsical prohibition was strictly complied with by the islanders; but I need scarcely state, that the three\n\u00E2\u0080\u00A2last-mentioned classes of his majesty's subjects\ndid not yield it the same ready obedience. This\nwas called a dreaming taboo, to distinguish it from\nthe established ones, which occur at stated periods, and are regulated by the high priest.\nAt this time Tamaahmaah had only three children living, two sons and one daughter. They 52 THE EOORANEE.\nwere rather homely in their appearance, and\nafforded a bad specimen of royal beauty. The\neldest son was about twenty years of age, and\nwas called the Eooranee. He possessed considerable authority, and was more feared than his\nfather, though not so much beloved. The following anecdote will show the dread in which he was\nheld by the natives. Some of the men engaged\nin the Company's employment had received permission to spend a day on shore : as they did\nnot return that night, I accompanied Mr. Clarke\nthe following morning in search of them; and\nafter wandering about for some time, we discovered the party descending a hill near the village, each with a lass under his arm, their hats\ndecorated with flowers, ribbons, and handkerchiefs, and a fifer and fiddler at their head, playing away merrily. They were all nearly \" half-seas\nover,\" and were on their way- to the ship when\nthey perceived us. They insisted in an humble\ngood-natured manner on our taking the lead;\nand as we were anxious to get them on board,\nwe accordingly joined them, and marched on at\ntheir head. We had not proceeded far when CURIOUS CUSTOM. 53\nthe Eooranee met us, and he appeared so much\npleased with the procession, that he fell into the\nranks. As we approached the wharf several of\nthe natives, who had been drawn by the sound\nof the music to the party, retired on seeing the\nyoung prince ; but one unfortunate rascal, who\nwas quite drunk, annoyed us as we passed him,\nby pushing us and pulling our clothes; and as\nthe king's son was dressed like an European, he\ntreated him in the same manner ; but I never saw\nconsternation so strongly depicted as when the\npoor wretch looked up, and beheld the frowning\ncountenance of the dreaded Eooranee: the effect\nwas instantaneous; he fell prostrate, as if thunderstruck, and remained perfectly motionless\nuntil we lost sight of him. We however did not\npart with the prince until he had promised that\nno punishment should be inflicted on the offending islander.\nThe male branches of the royal family are held\nin peculiar veneration, more particularly their\nheads. No individual, with the exception of the\ndomestics specially appointed for that purpose, is\npermitted to touch that part of their sacred per- 54 CURIOUS CUSTOM.\nson, or any covering that has ever been on it, upon\npain of death. My ignorance of this law was\nnear embroiling me in a serious scrape. A few\ndays after our arrival, while strolling on the outskirts of the village, I observed an individual walking before me dressed in a handsome green frock-\ncoat, well-made pantaloons, and Hessian boots,\nfollowed by a native carrying the tail of a white\ncow, which he used in driving away the flies that\nannoyed his master. As I was given to underr\nstand that I had been introduced to all the white\nmen of respectability on the island, I felt anxious\nto ascertain who this important personage was,\nand therefore took a circuitous turn in order to\nhave a front view of him. It was the Eooranee.\nHe called me to him, and we sat down under the\nshade of some plantain trees. He then began to\nexamine my clothes very minutely, and took off\nmy hat, which was a handsome one of Portuguese\nwillow. While this examination was going on, I\nfelt a desire to look at his, which was of a peculiarly fine texture, and therefore uncovered the\nhead of his highness with as little ceremony as\nhe had observed towards me; but I had scarcely\nrUTliii CURIOUS CUSTOM. 55\ntouched the forbidden covering when I received a\nwarm soufflet on the right cheek from the attendant. Not knowing the cause of this aggression, I\ndetermined on instant retaliation, and seizing a\nstone, was in the act of hurling it at the fellow's\nhead, when my arm was arrested by the Eooranee,\nwho begged of me, in broken English, to desist,\nand at the same time turned to his domestic,\nwhom he reprimanded with marks of evident\ndispleasure, after which he ordered him to retire.\nWhile this was going on I observed Anderson\nthe armourer pass, to whom I related the circumstance. The king's son then spoke to him for\nsome time, after which Anderson told me that if\nany islander had committed such an offence, instant death would have followed ; and added, that\nthe prince begged him to assure me that he\ndeeply regretted the conduct of his domestic, who\nshould have distinguished between a stranger and\na native, and that he had dismissed Mm with disgrace. When Anderson had finished, the Eooranee grasped my hand in the most friendly manner . and as I felt satisfied with the e^plafiation 56 FICKLENESS IN DRESS.\nhe had given, I returned its pressure with equal\nwarmth. At this period the resident white people\nlooked to his succession with considerable apprehension, as he was supposed to entertain views\nhostile to their interests. They might have, been\nled to form this conclusion from his distant habits,\nand capricious tyranny towards his immediate\nfollowers; but I am happy to state their fears\nwere groundless; for on his accession to the\nsupreme power at his father's death, he treirti^\nthem with marked indulgence, and held out the\ngreatest encouragement to white people to settle\non the island. The day after the circumstance\nabove detailed I met him near the king's house\nin a state of nudity, conversing with some of the\nguards, and the same evening I again saw him in\nthe loose light dress of a West India planter.\nHis father and himself were very fickle in their\nclothing. I saw the old man one day in the full\ndress of an English general, which had been sent\nto him by his late majesty George III.; but he\nfelt so awkward in the cocked-hat, boots, &q. >j_tajL,;\nhe quickly got rid of them, and a few hours afterwards we saw him lounging about the village, DEATH OF THE KING. 57\nsans hat, sans coat, sans shirt, sans culottes, sans\nevery thing! On the death of the old king the\nEooranee succeeded by the title of Tamaahmaah\nthe Second.* At the period of our visit they\ni*^pew nothing of the Christian religion ; and the\nwhite professors of it who were resident among\nthem were badly calculated to inculcate its divine\nprecepts. Since then, however, thanks to the\nindefatigable and praiseworthy exertions of the\nmissionaries, this rude, but noble-hearted race of\npeople, have been rescued from their diabolical\nsuperstitions, and the greater part of them now\nenjoy the blessings of Christianity.\nCook, Vancouver, Perouse, and others, have\n; already written so ably on the manners, customs,\namusements, laws, religion, and natural- productions of these islands, that I might very probably\nsubject myself to the charge of plagiarism, or book-\nmaking, if I touched on them. To those therefore who feel anxious for farther information on\nthese subjects I would recommend the above au-\n* This unfortunate prince is the same who, with his young\nqueen, lately fell victims to misjudged British hospitality, joined\nJo a climate to which they were unaccustomed. 58 CHARACTER OF NATIVES.\nthorities, in which they will have their curiosity\namply gratified.\nThe vice of thieving attributed to the male\ninhabitants is rather exaggerated. It is certainly\ntrue that numbers of those who visit trading ships\nare not scrupulous in appropriating to their own\nuse every trifling article on which they can conveniently lay their hands; but it should be observed they do not consider such abstractions in\nthe same light as if tney robbed each other. This\ncircumstance I think it necessary to mention without attempting to justify it; for were we to consider all their petty thefts in the same point of\nview that we are accustomed to regard such\noffences in civilised countries, we should form a *\nvery poor opinion of their honesty.\nThe women, too, have been generally accused of\nlaseiviousness ; but from what I saw, joined to the\ninformation I obtained, I am induced to think the\ncharge too general. It must, indeed, be admitted\nthat the deportment of those who are in the habit\nof frequenting trading ships is not calculated to\nimpress a stranger with a high idea of their virtue:\nbut why make the censure general ?. If a native CHARACTER OF NATIVES. 59\nof Owhyee were to form his opinion of the morality of our countrywomen from the disgusting conduct of the unfortunate females who crowd\nour sea-ports and ships, I should imagine he\nwould entertain a very poor estimate of English chastity. In the interior of the islands, and\nat a distance from sea-ports, I am informed that\nin the relative situations of wife and mother, their\nconduct is irreproachable. It is true that in the\nplaces at which ships are accustomed to touch a\nuniversal depravity seems to pervade all classes;\nfor it is no uncommon sight to see pareiits bring\ntheir daughters ; brothers their sisters ; and husbands their wives, to earn the wages of prostitution. These vices cannot, I fear, be totally eradicated ; but it is pleasing to learn, that through\nthe active agency of the missionaries, their frightful predominancy has been greatly diminished.\nIn other respects, the natives are brave, active,\nhospitable, true to their word, confiding, cleanly\nin their domestic economy, easily satisfied at their\nmeals, obedient to proper authority, excellent\nagriculturists, quick in learning, with an aptitude\nfor improvement that is really astonishing; and 60 POSITION OF THE ISLANDS.\non the whole I would say, that their character\npresents a fairer field for success to the exertions\nof the moral cultivator than that of any untutored\npeople whom I ever met.\nRecent events seem destined to place the Sand-r\nwich Islands in a much more important situation\non the political map of the world than they occupied fifteen or twenty years ago. While Spain\nhad possession of Mexico, California, and the\nsouthern continent, they were seldom visited but\nby fur traders, for the purpose of refitting, or obtaining fresh provisions; and were regarded by\nthe world more as objects of curiosity than as\nplaces from which any political advantages were\nlikely to be derived. But now that the Mexicans and southern Americans have succeeded^\nemancipating themselves from the slothful despotism of their ancient rulers, the native energies\nof their character will shortly begin to develope\nthemselves; and uncontrolled by the trammels\nwhich so long fettered their commercial prosperity, a few years may see their fleets, in imitation of their bold and enterprising brethren of the\nnorthern continent, ploughing their way through POSITION OF THE ISLANDS. 61\nthe Pacific, and, in exchange for their precious\nmetals, bringing back to their country the luxurious productions of China and the Indies. The\nSandwich Islands are nearly equidistant from\nthe western coast of Mexico and the eastern\nboundaries of China, and consequently lie nearly\nin the track of vessels passing between the two\ncontinents. But the circumstance of all others\ncalculated to raise them to the highest degree of\nimportance, is the stupendous enterprise lately set\non foot of forming a junction between the Pacific\nand Atlantic by cutting a canal through the Isthmus of Darien. If this magnificent undertaking\nsucceed, the long and dangerous voyages round\nCape Horn and the Cape of Good Hope will be\navoided, and comparatively short and safe passages made to the western coast of America,\nJapan, China, our East Indian possessions, &c.\nIn the course of these voyages, particularly to\nthe East, the Sandwich Islands must be touched\nat for fresh supplies, or, at least, closely passed.\nIn either case, they will become an important\nacquisition to a maritime power. With the assistance of science they can be rendered impreg- 62 COW HU_\u00C2\u00A3gp_NG.\nnable; and when we take into consideration their\ngreat natural capabilities of defence, their noble\nharbours, productive soil, and temperate climate,\njoinedV^ihe inoffensive deportment of the inhabitants, we may safely conclude that their present\nstate of independence will not be of long duration. It is probable they will ultimately become\ntributary to Great Britain, Russia, or America;\nand in the event of war between any of these\nnations the power in possession of the islands, from\ntheir commanding position, will be able during\nthe continuation of hostilities not only to controul\nthe commerce of the Pacific, but also neutralise\nin a great degree the advantages likely to be derived from the Grand Junction Canal.\nSeveral of our domestic quadrupeds are now\nreared on the islands; such as cows, sheep, goats,\nand horses. The last are brought from California,\nand are a small hardy race. The cows at WoaJhoo\nare the descendants of those left there by our\nnavigators, and are perfectly wild. We purchased two of them from the king; and he ordered upwards of one hundred men of his body\nguard, with several chiefs, to proceed to the pkee COW HUNTING. 63\nwhere the animals were grazing to assist us in\ncatching those we had bought. It was situated\na few miles from the village, in a handsome\nvalley, studded with cocoa-nut trees : a couple of\nhundred additional natives volunteered to join us.\nThey proceeded cautiously in the first instance,\njjlgptil they surrounded the herd, which they succeeded in driving to an inclosure. One more expert than the rest then advanced under the cover\nof some trees with a long rope, at the end of\nwhich was a running noose. Having quietly\nwaited for some time until a proper opportunity\noffered, he at length threw the rope, and succeeded in catching a young cow. On feeling the\nnoose round her neck, she became quite furious,\nand made a desperate plunge at him, which he\nskilfully avoided by running up a cocoa-nut tree ;\nhaving previously fastened one end of the rope\nround the trunk. We had intrenched ourselves\nwith the chiefs behind a stone wall, close to the\nberd; and being apprehensive that the captive\nmight break loose, we fired, and shot her. Upon\nhearing the report, the herd rushed furiously out\nof the inclosure, and ran at the natives; but as 64 COW HUNTING.\nthey had anticipated such a result, each man\nsecured a retreat behind a tree ; and in a moment\nafter the furious animals had gained their freedom\nthree hundred cocoa-nut trees might have been\nseen, each manned with a native, who lookrf,\ndown with the full confidence of security oii^R^\nenraged herd below. Finding it impo_Jlible to\ncatch another, we were obliged to fire among\n\u00E2\u0080\u009E them, and killed a second. A few shots without\nball were then discharged, which drove them to\ntheir old pasture, and enabled the natives to descend. The king preserved these cattle' for the\npurpose of bartering with ships touching there for\nprovisions; and although he killed none for the\nroyal table, he very condescendingly accepted\nfrom us a present of a sirloin.\nAs we intended to engage some of the natives\nfor the Company's service at the Columbia, and\nas the captain also required sQme to assist in\nworking the ship (several of the crew being indifferent sailors), he demanded permission from Tamaahmaah to engage the number that should be\ndeemed necessary: this was at once granted; and\nMessrs. Holmes and Maninna were requested to ENLISTMENTS.\nact as recruiting sergeants on the occasion, which\nduty they kindly undertook to perform. On the\nintelligence being announced, the vessel was\ncrowded with numbers, all offering to \" take on.\"\nWith the assistance of the above gentlemen we\nselected twenty-six of the most able-bodied Of\nthese volunteers: sixteen* for the Company's service, and ten for the ship's. We agreed to pay\neach man ten dollars a month, and a suit .of\nclothes annually. An old experienced islander,\nwho was called Boatswain Tom, and who had\nmade several voyages both to Europe and America, was engaged to command them : he got fifteen dollars a month, and was to have the sole\ncontrol of his countrymen. Several of the females\nalso volunteered to accompany us, but we were\nobliged to decline their kind offers. Mr. Wadsworth, of whom I have already spoken, was also\nengaged for the Company's service, to act as an\nofficer on sea or land, as occasion should require.\nHe brought his lady with him, not being accustomed, as he declared, to live in a state of single\nblessedness.\nOn the 5th of April we got all our supplies on\nVOL. I. e 66 COMPLETION OF STORES.\nboard. They consisted of sixty hogs, two boats\nfull of sugar-cane to feed them, some thousand\ncocoa-nuts, with as much bananas, plantains, taro,\nmelons, &c, as could be conveniently stowed in\nthe ship. The same evening we took leave of the\nking and royal family, and bade adieu to our kind\nwhite friends; after which we embarked ; and on\nthe following morning, Tuesday, April the 6th,\nwe weighed anchor, and set sail for the Columbia.\nKrikapooree, the king's nephew, and several young\nchiefs, accompanied us three or four leagues from\nland, and took leave of us with tears in their eyes.\nThe addition we received to our numbers in live\nstock, joined to the cargo of fruit, &c, lumbered\nour deck greatly, and annoyed the crew in working the ship. When any number of the natives\nwere wanted to perform a particular duty, word\nwas passed to Bos'n Tom; who, to do him justice,\nbetrayed none of the softer feelings of national\npartiality to his countrymen. The moment he\ngave \" the dreadful word\" it was followed by a\nhorrid yell; and with a rope's end he laid on the\nback and shoulders of every poor devil who did\nnot happen to be as alert as he wished, accom- DISCOVERY. 67\npanied by a laughable melange of curses in broken\nEnglish, and imprecations in his own language.\nWe had tolerably good easterly breezes, and\nnothing particular occurred until the 18th, at four\np. m., when a man ahead cried out \" Land on the\nweather-bow !\" As we were then not more than\nhalf way between the islands and the American\ncontinent, we eagerly rushed on deck to feast our\neyes with a view of our new discovery.\nAfter looking at it for some time very attentively through his glass, the captain pronounced\nit to be an island, with a dark-brown soil, and\napparently destitute of vegetation; and added,\nwith marks of evident exultation, that he always\nfelt certain we should fall in with unknown islands\nin these latitudes (about 35\u00C2\u00B0 north); and in that\nexpectation had diverged materially from the usual\ncourse of vessels proceeding to the north-west coast.\nWe now sounded, but got no bottom with one\nhundred fathoms: and while this was going on\nwe were all busy in forming conjectures respecting this terra incognita. The first thing to be decided on was the name. One thought that Mr.\nAstor, being the owner of the ship, and the founder 68 DISCOVERY.\nof the company, had the best claim, and therefore\nmoved that it be called \" Astor s Island :\" this\nhaving been seconded, an amendment was moved\nby another person, who argued that the ship had\na prior right to the honour, and stated he would\nhave it called \" Beaver Island :\" the amendment\nhaving been seconded, was about to be put, when\nthe captain declared that, fond as he was of his\nship, and highly as he respected his owner, he\nthought the claims of their immortal president\nsuperior to either, and that he would therefore,\nwithout consulting the wishes of any one, call it\n\" Maddisoiis Island.\" Although there were few.\nadmirers of the \" immortal \" president on board,\nthe captain's decision settled the controversy; for\non such occasions he is always the high priest.\nMr. Clarke said, if it proved any way fruitful, he\nwould colonise it, and appoint Wadsworth, with\nhis island beauty, king and queen. Some hoped\nthe inhabitants would not be afraid of white men;\nwhile others cursed the inhabitants, particularly\nthe females, and expressed a wish that the new\ndiscovery would contain some cooling simples. In\nthe mean time, we kept standing under easy sail DISAPPOINTMENT. 69\nfor this unknown paradise; but in proportion as\nwe advanced the hills seemed to ascend, and\nblend their craggy summits with the passing\nclouds: a pale bright opening appeared to divide\nthe land; and the sad conviction was at length\nforced on us, that Maddison's Island was, like his\nimmortality, based on a nebulous foundation : in\nfact, it turned out what sailors call \" a cape flyaway island ;\" and all our glorious speculations\ndissolved literally in nubibus.\nThis disappointment chagrined us much; but\nnone felt it more sensibly than the captain, who\nwas quite chapfallen on the occasion. However,\non the 1st of May, we made the real terra Jirma,\nin lat. 41\u00C2\u00B0 N., Cape Orford in sight. We\ncoasted along-shore until the 5th, when we had\nthe happiness of beholding the entrance of the\nlong-wished-for Columbia, which empties itself\ninto the Pacific in lat. 46\u00C2\u00B0 19' N., and long. 124\u00C2\u00B0\nW. Light baffling winds, joined to the captain's\ntimidity, obliged us to stand off and on until\nthe 8th, on which day we descried a white flag\nhoisted on Cape Disappointment, the northern\nextremity of the land at the entrance of the river,\ni 70 ARRIVAL AT THE\nA large fire was also kept burning on the cape\nall night, which served as a beacon. A dangerous bar runs across the mouth of the Columbia;\nthe channel for crossing it is on the northern side\nclose to the cape, and is very narrow, and from\nthence to the opposite point on the southern side,\nwhich is called Point Adams, extends a chain\nor reef of rocks and sand-banks, over which the\ndreadful roaring of the mighty waters of the\nColumbia, in forcing their passage to the ocean,\nis heard for miles distant.\nEarly on the morning of the 9th Mr. Rhodes\nwas ordered out in the cutter, on the perilous\nduty of sounding the channel of the bar, and\nplacing the buoys necessary for the safe guidance\nof the ship. While he was performing this duty\nwe fired several guns; and, about ten o'clock\nin the morning, we were delighted with hearing\nthe report of three cannon from the shore in\nanswer to ours. Towards noon an Indian canoe\nwas discovered making for us, and a few moments\nafter a barge was perceived following it. Various\nwere the hopes and fears by which we were\nagitated, as we waited in anxious expectation COLUMBIA RIVER. 71\nthe arrival of the strangers from whom we were\nto learn the fate of our predecessors, and of the\nparty who had crossed the continent. Vague\nrumours had reached the Sandwich Islands from\na coasting vessel, that the Tonquin had been cut\noff by the Indians, and every soul on board\ndestroyed; and, since we came in sight of the\nriver, the captain's ominous forebodings had almost prepared the weaker part of our people to\nhear that some dreadful fatality had befallen\nour infant establishment. Not even the sound\nof the cannon, and the sight of the flag and fire\non the cape were proofs strong enough to shake\nhis doubts. \" An old bird was not to be caught\nwith chaff:\" he was too well acquainted with\nIndian cunning and treachery to be deceived by\nsuch appearances. It was possible enough that\nthe savages might have surprised the fort, murdered its inmates, seized the property, fired the\ncannon,_ to induce us to cross the bar, which,\nwhen once effected, they could easily cut us off\nbefore we could get out again. He even carried his caution so far, as to order a party of\narmed men to be in readiness to receive our vi- 72 VISITS FROM SHORE.\nsitors. The canoe arrived first alongside: in it\nwas an old Indian, blind of an eye, who appeared\nto be a chief, with six others, nearly naked, and\nthe most repulsive looking beings that ever disgraced the fair form of humanity. The only intelligence we could obtain from them was, that the\npeople in the barge were white like ourselves,\nand had a house on shore. A few minutes afterwards it came alongside, and dissipated all our\nfearful dreams of murder, &c, and we had the\ndelightful, the inexpressible pleasure of shaking\nhands with Messrs. Duncan M'Dougall and Donald M'Lennan; the former a partner, and the\nlatter a clerk of the Company, with eight Canadian boatmen. After our congratulations were\nover, they informed us, that on receiving intelligence the day before from the Indians that a\nship was off the river, they came down from the\nfort, a distance of twelve miles, to Cape Disappointment, on which they hoisted the flag we\nhad seen, and set fire to several trees to serve in\nlieu of a lighthouse.\nThe tide was now making in, and as Mr.\nRhodes had returned from placing the buoys, VISITS FROM SHORE. id\nMr. M'Lennan, who was well acquainted with\nthe channel, took charge of the ship as pilot;\nand at half-past two p. m. we crossed the bar,\non which we struck twice without sustaining any\ninjury; shortly after which we dropped anchor\nin Baker's Bay, after a tedious voyage of six\nmonths and twenty-two days. Mr. M'Dougall\ninformed us that the one-eyed Indian who had\npreceded him in the canoe was the principal\nchief of the Chinook nation, who reside on the\nnorthern side of the river near its mouth; that\nhis name was Comcomly, and that he was much\nattached to the whites : we therefore made him\na present, and gave some trifling articles to. his\nattendants, after which they departed. 74 LANDING.\nCHAPTER IV.\nAccount of the Tonquin\u00E2\u0080\u0094Loss of her chief mate, seven men'\nand two boats\u00E2\u0080\u0094Extraordinary escape of Weekes\u00E2\u0080\u0094Erection\nof Astoria\u00E2\u0080\u0094Mr. Thompson of theN. W. Company\u00E2\u0080\u0094Arrival\nof Messrs. Hunt and Mackenzie, and sketch of their journey\nover-land.\nAfter the vessel was securely moored Captain\nSowles joined our party, and we took our leave\nof the good ship Beaver; in which, after a voyage\nof six months and three weeks, we had travelled\nupwards of twenty thousand miles.\nIn the evening we arrived at the Company's\nestablishment, which was called Fort Astoria in\nhonour of Mr. Astor. Here we found five proprietors, nine clerks, and ninety artisans and canoe-\nmen, or, as they are commonly called in the Indian country, voyageurs. We brought an addition ACCOUNT OF THE TONQUIN.\n75\nof thirty-six, including the islanders; so that our\nmuster-roll, including officers, &c. amounted to\none hundred and forty men.\nThe accounts which we received from our friends\nat Astoria were highly discouraging as to our future prospects, and deeply melancholy as to the\npast. But, that my readers may understand the\nsituation of affairs at the time of our arrival, it\nwill be necessary to take a short retrospect of\nthe transactions that occurred antecedent to that\nperiod.\nThe ship Tonquin, to which I have alluded in\nthe introduction, sailed from New York on the\n6th September, 1810. She was commanded by\nCaptain Jonathan Thorn, a gentleman who had\nbeen formerly a first lieutenant in the navy of the\nUnited States; and while in that service, during\ntheir short war with Algiers, had distinguished\nhimself as a bold and daring officer. His manners\nwere harsh and arbitrary, with a strong tincture\nof that peculiar species of American amor patrice,\nthe principal ingredient of which is a marked antipathy to Great Britain and its subjects.\nFour partners, namely, Messrs. Alexander 76 ACCOUNT OF THE TONQUIN.\nM'Kay, Duncan M'Dougall, David and Robert\nStuart, embarked in her, with eight clerks, and a\nnumber of artisans and voyageurs, all destined for\nthe Company's establishment at the Columbia.\nThose gentlemen were all British subjects; and,\nalthough engaged with Americans in a commercial\nspeculation, and sailing under the flag of the\nUnited States, were sincerely attached to their\nking and the country of their birth. Their patriotism was no recommendation to Captain Thorn,\n\u00E2\u0096\u00A0 who adopted every means in his power to annoy\nand thwart them. To any person who has been\nat sea it is unnecessary to mention how easy it is\nfor one of those nautical despots to play the tyrant,\nand the facilities which their situation affords, and\nof which they too often avail themselves, of harassing every one who is not slavishly subservient\nto their wishes.\nMessrs. M'Kay, M'Dougall, and the Stuarts,\nhad too much Highland blood in their veins to\nsubmit patiently to the haughty and uncivil treatment of the captain ; and the consequence was, a\nseries of quarrels and disagreeable recriminations,\nnot merely in the cabin but on the quarterdeck. CONDUCT OF THE CAPTAIN. 77\nThey touched at the Falkland Islands for a\nsupply of water; and while Mr. David Stuart and\nMr. Franchere, with a party, were on shore, the\ncaptain, without any previous intimation, suddenly\ngave orders to weigh anchor, and stood out to sea,\nleaving the party on one of the most desert and\nuninhabitable islands in the world. The gentlemen on board expostulated in vain against this\nact of tyrannic cruelty, when Mr. Robert Stuart,\nnephew to the old gentleman who had been left\non shore, seized a brace of pistols, and presenting\none at the captain's head, threatened to blow out\nhis brains if he did not instantly order the ship to\nlay to and wait for his uncle's party. Most part\nof the crew and officers witnessed this scene ; and\nas they appeared to sympathise deeply with young\nStuart, the captain thought it more prudent to\nsubmit, and gave orders accordingly to shorten\nsail, and wait the arrival of Mr. Stuart's party.\nThe determined resolution evinced by young\nMr. Stuart on this occasion, and the apparent\napathy of his officers, who stood quietly by while\na pistol was presented to his head, were never\nforgiven by Captain Thorn. 78 ARRIVAL OF THE TONQUIN.\nThe Tonquin doubled Cape Horn in safety, and\narrived in the.middle of February at the Sandwich Islands, from which place they took ten natives for the establishment, and sailed for the\ncoast on the 1st of March.\nOn the 23rd of March they arrived at the mouth\nof the Columbia; and although it blew a stiff\nbreeze, the captain ordered Mr. Fox, the chief\nmate, with two American sailors and two Canadian voyageurs, to proceed in the long-boat towards\nthe bar, for the purpose of sounding the channel.\nFrom the threatening appearance of the sky\nand the violence of the gale, Mr. M'Kay thought\nthis a most hazardous undertaking, and implored\nCaptain Thorn to postpone it until the weather\nbecame more moderate. His orders however were\nperemptory; and finding all remonstrance useless,\nMr. Fox with his little crew embarked, and proceeded to fulfil his instructions. That unfortunate officer seemed to have a presentiment of his\napproaching fate, for on quitting the vessel he\ntook an affectionate farewell of all his friends; to\nsome of whom he mentioned he was certain they\nwould never see him again. His prediction was MELANCHOLY ACCIDENT. 79\nverified; but we could never ascertain correctly\nthe particulars of their fate. It is supposed however that the tide setting in, joined to the violence\nof the wind, drove the boat among the breakers,\nwhere it and its unfortunate crew must have been\ndashed to pieces.\nThe ship stood off and on during the 24th, and\non the 25th, the wind having moderated, she stood\nin for Cape Disappointment. Mr. Aikin, one of\ntne officers, accompanied by Weekes, the smith,\nColes, the sailmaker, and two Sandwich islanders,\nwere sent ahead in the jolly-boat to ascertain the\nlowest depth of water in the channel; the ship-in\nthe mean time following after, under easy sail.\nAikin reported by signal that there was water sufficient ; upon which the captain ordered all sail to\nbe crowded, and stood in for the bar. The jolly-\nboat was now ordered to fall back and join the\nship; but having unfortunately got too far to the\nsouthward, it was drawn within the influence of\nthe current, and carried with fearful rapidity\ntowards the breakers. It passed within pistol-\nshot of the vessel, its devoted crew crying out in\nthe wildest accents of despair for assistance. This Pf\nvk\nW*i\nippip \u00E2\u0080\u00A2\nm \u00E2\u0080\u00A2\nfft\n80 PERILS OF THE TONQUIN.\nhowever was impossible, for at that moment the\nTonquin struck on the bar; and the apprehension\nof instant destruction precluded the possibility of\nmaking any attempt to save the jolly-boat, which\nby this time was carried out of sight. The wind\nnow moderated to a gentle breeze ; but owing to\nthe tide setting out strongly, the water became so\nlow that the ship struck several times; and to\nadd to the horror of their situation, they were\nquickly surrounded by the darkness of night.\nDuring an awful interval of three hours the sea\nbeat over the vessel; and at times some of the\ncrew imagined they heard the screams of their\nlost companions borne by the night winds over\nthe foaming billows of the bar. A little after\ntwelve o'clock however the tide set in strongly,\nwith a fresh breeze from the westward; and all\nhands having set to work, they providentially succeeded in extricating themselves from their perilous situation, and worked the ship into Baker's\nBay, inside Cape Disappointment, where they\nfound a safe asylum. It blew a perfect gale the\nremainder of the night.\nOn the morning of the 26th some of the natives ft tTEEKES' ADVENTURE. 81\ncame on board. They appeared to be very\nfriendly, and betrayed no symptoms of fear or\ndistrust. Parties were immediately despatched\ntowards the northern shore, and round the cape,\nin order to ascertain, if possible, the fate of the\ntwo boats.\nShortly after one of them returned accompanied by Weekes, who gave the following account\nof his miraculous escape from a watery grave?\nV When we passed the vessel, the boat, owing\nto the want of a rudder, became quite unmanageable, and notwithstanding all our exertions\nwe were carried into the northern edge of the\ngreat chain of breakers. The tide and current\nhowever were setting out so strongly, that we\nwere absolutely carried through the reef without\nsustaining any injury, but immediately on the\nouter edge a heavy sea struck us, and the boat\nwas upset. Messrs. Aikin and Coles disappeared\nat once, and I never saw them afterwards. On.\nrecovering my first shock, I found myself close\nto the Sandwich islanders, who had stripped off\ntheir, clothes with extraordinary dispatch. We\nall seized the boat, and after much difficulty sue- 82 WEEKES' EXTRAORDINARY ESCAPE.\nceeded in righting;it. We then.got out a littte: of\nthe water, which enabled one of the islanders to\nenter the boat, and he quickly baled out the remainder. His companion also recovered the oars,\nand we then embarked. I endeavoured to persuade the two poor islanders to row, well knowing\nthe exertion would keep them alive; but it was\nquite useless, they were so spent from fatigue,\nand benumbed by th$ cold, that they refused to\ndo any thing, and threw themselves down in the\nboat, apparently resigned to meet their fate. I\nhad no notion however of giving up my life in\nthat manner, and therefore pulled away at the\noars with all my strength. About midnight ume\nof my unfortunate companions died, and his surviving countryman flung himself on the body,\n%gm which I found it impossible tor dislodge im.\nJ continued hard at work during the night, taking\ncare to keep -to the northward of the bar, and at\ndayligjht found myself close to a sandy beacH^H\non whjcJb the surf beat heavily. I was nearly\nSgji&nsted, and therefore; determined to run all\nrisks to get ashore. I fortunately succeeded,:.and\nran the boat on the beach. I then assisted the\nislander, who had somer signs of life still in him, FORT ASTORIA. 83\nto land; but the poor fellow was too weak to\nfollow me. I was therefore obliged to leave him,\nand shortly after fell on a well-beaten path,\nwhich in a few hours brought me in sight of the\nship, when I met the party who conducted me on\nboard. Thanks to the Almighty for my wonderful escape!\"\n. The people who went in search of the surviving\nislander did not find him until the following\nfiMfirning, when they discovered him in a deplorable state, close to some rocks. They carried\nhim to the ship; and in a few days, by the proper and humane treatment of Mr. Franchere, he\nwas perfectly restored to his health.\nft/iSbme time was occupied after their arrival in\nlooking out for a proper place to build their fort;\nand at length, on the 12th of April, they selected\na handsome and commaMing situation, called\nPoint George, twelve miles from the cape, and\non the south side of the river. The keel of a\nschooner of thirty tons' burden was also laid at\n; tho same time, &\u00C2\u00A3 skeleton of which had been\nbrought, out from New York.\nDuring the month of May Messrs. M'Kay,\n_ 84 EXCURSION.\nStuart, Franchere, and Matthews, made several\nexcursions up the river as far as the first rapids,\nin which they were well received by the natives,\nfrom whom they collected a quantity of furs.\nIt having been arranged that the Tonquin was\nto make a coasting excursion as far as Cooks\nRiver, \"and touch at the various harbours between\nthat place and the Columbia, she weighed anchor\non the 1st of June, and dropped down to Baker's\nBay. Mr. M'Kay, and Mr. Lewis, one of the\nclerks, embarked in her for the purpose of obtaining a correct knowledge of the various tribes\non the coast, it being intended that after her\ncruise to the northward the ship was to return\nto the Columbia, take what furs they might have\npurchased during her absence, which the captain\nwas to dispose of in Canton, from whence he was\nto return to New York with a cargo of Chinese\ngoods.\nMr. Mumford, the chief mate, in consequence\nof a dispute with Captain Thorn, refused to proceed farther with him, and was engaged by the\nCompany to take the command of the little schooner when finished. ARRIVALS. 85\nThe Tonquin took her final departure from the\nColumbia on the 5th of June, with a fair wind,\nand passed the bar in safety.\nIn the month of July Mr. David Thompson,\nastronomer to the North-west Company, of which\nhe was also a proprietor, arrived with nine men\nin a canoe at Astoria, from the interior. This\ngentleman came on a voyage of discovery to the\nColumbia preparatory to the North-west Company\nforming a settlement at the entrance of the river.\nHe remained at Astoria until the latter end of\nJuly, when he took his departure for the interior;\nMr. David Stuart, with three clerks and a party\nof Canadians accompanying him, for the purpose\nof selecting a proper place on the upper parts of\nthe river for a trading establishment.\nEarly in the month of August a party of Indians from Gray's Harbour arrived at the mouth\nof the Columbia for the purpose of fishing. They\ntold the Chinooks that the Tonquin had been cut\noff by one of the northern tribes, and that every\nsoul on board had been massacred. This intelligence was not at first believed; but several other\nrumours of a similar nature having reached As- 86 NEWS FROM THE INTERIOR.\ntoria, caused considerable uneasiness, particularly\nas the month passed away without any news of a\nsatisfactory nature having been received.\nDuring the month of September the people at\nthe fort were kept in a state of feverish alarm by\nvarious reports of an intention on the part of the\nnatives to surprise and destroy them. October\ncommenced, and the period fixed for the return\nof the Tonquin had long since elapsed, still no\nintelligence of her arrived, with the exception of\nfarther reports of her destruction, accompanied by\nadditional evidence, of a nature so circumstantial\nas to leave little doubt but that some dreadful\nfatality had occurred.\nOn the 5th of October, Messrs. Pillet and\nM'Lennan, two of the clerks who had gone to the\ninterior with Mr. D. Stuart, returned to Astoria,\naccompanied by a free hunter named Bruguier,\nand two Iroquois hunters. They stated that Mr.\nStuart had chosen a place for a trading post about\nseven hundred miles up the Columbia, at the\nmouth of a river called OaMnagan, and among a\nfriendly tribe, who appeared to be well furnished\nwith beaver. About this periofiifche schooner was ARRIVALS. ~\"|tei S7\ncompleted and launched. She was called the\nDolly 9 in honour of Mrs. Astor; and as provisions\nat the fort became scarce, she was despatched up\nthe river for a supply, under the command of Mr;\nR. Stuart and Mr. Mumford.\nThe dark and dismal months of November and\nDecember rolled over their heads without bringing\nthem any certain intelligence of the Tonquin.\nDuring this period it rained incessantly; and the\nIndians had withdrawn themselves from the banks\nof the Columbia to their winter-quarters in the\nsheltered recesses of the forests, and in the vicinity of springs or small rivulets.\nThey continued in this state of disagreeable\nanxiety until the 18th of January, 1812, when\ntheir drooping spirits were somewhat raised by\nthe arrival of Mr. Donald M'Kenzie with two\ncanoes from the interior. This gentleman was\naccompanied by Mr. M'Lellan, a proprietor, Mr.\nRead, a clerk, and ten men. He had left St.\nLouis in the month of August, 1810, in company\nwith Mr. Hunt. They passed the winter of that\nyear at a place called Nadwau, on the banks of\nthe Missouri, where they were joined by Messrs. OO OVERLAND JOURNEY.\nM'Lellan, Crooks, and Miller, three American\ntraders, connected with Mr. Astor.\nIn the spring of 1811 they ascended the Missouri, in two large barges, until they arrived on\nthe lands of a powerful tribe named the Arikaraws.\nHere they met a Spanish trader, Mr. Manuel\nLisa, to whom they sold their barges and a quantity of their merchandise.\nHaving purchased one hundred and thirty horses\nfrom the Indians, they set off in the beginning of\nAugust on their land journey, to cross the Rocky\nMountains. Apprehensive of coming in contact\nwith the Black Feet, a warlike and savage tribe,\nwho have a strong antipathy to the white men,\nthey were obliged to proceed as far south as the\nlatitude of 40\u00C2\u00B0, from whence they turned into a\nnorth-west course. This brought them to an old\ntrading post, situated on the banks of a small\nriver; and as they had no doubt it would bring\nthem to the Columbia, they immediately set about\nmaking canoes, for the purpose of descending that\nriver.\nMr. Miller, not liking the aspect of affairs at\nthis place, requested permission to return to the OVERLAND JOURNEY. 89\nUnited States, which was granted; and a few\nmen were allowed to accompany him on his way\nback. ^8\u00C2\u00A9\nThe party, which now consisted of about sixty\npeople, commenced their voyage downwards; but\nfrom the rapidity of the current, and the number\nof dangerous rapids, they determined, after having\nlost one man and a portion of their baggage, to\nabandon such a perilous navigation, and undertake\nthe remainder of their journey on foot.\nIn pursuance of this resolution they divided\ninto four parties, under the commands of Messrs.\nM'Kenzie, Hunt, M'Lellan, and Crooks; still\nkeeping in view their original intention of following the course of the river. Messrs. M'Kenzie\nand M'Lellan took the right bank, and Messrs.\nHunt and Crooks the left. They were under a\nstrong impression that a few days would bring\nthem to the Columbia, but they were miserably\ndisappointed. For three weeks they followed the\ncourse of the river, which was one continued tor^\nrent; and the banks of which, particularly the\nnorthern, consisted of high precipitous rocks, rising\nabruptly from the water's edge. The greater part 90 OVERLAND JOURNEY.\nof this period was one of extreme suffering. Their\nprovisions became shortly exhausted, and they\nwere reduced to the necessity of broiling even the\nleather of their shoes to sustain nature; while, to\ncomplete their misfortunes, they were often unable\nto descend the steep declivities of the rocks for\na drink of the water which they saw flowing\nbeneath their feet.\nFrom the tormenting privations which they experienced in following the course of this stream^\nthey called it Mad River; and in speaking of it\nafterwards, the Canadians, from the bitterness of\ntheir recollections; denominated it la maudite riviere mragke* Mr. Hunt's party did not suffer so\nmuch as those on the right bank, in consequence\nof occasionally meeting some of the natives ; who*\nalthough they always fled on perceiving them,\nleft their horses behind. The party were obliged to kill a few of these animals, and in\npayment for them left some goods near their\nowners! huts.\nAfter a separation of some days the two parties\ncame in sight of each other; and Mr. Hunt had a\ncanoe made out of .the skin of a horsi^iti which he OVERLAND JOURNEY. 91\nsent some meat over to hitf famishing friends. He\nalso suggested the idea of their crossing over in\nthe canoe one by one to the south side, where\nthey would at all events have a better chance of\ncscapifag death by starvation. This was readily\nagreed to; but the attempt was unfortunately unsuccessful. One of the best swimmers embarked\nin the canoe; but it had scarcely reached the\ncentre of the mer when, owing to the impetuosity\nof the current, it upset, and the poor voyageur\nsunk to rise no more.\n\u00E2\u0096\u00A0 Finding the impracticability of their reunion by\nthis means, they continued to pursue their respective courses, and in a few days after Mr. M'Ken-\nzie's party fell on a considerable river, which they\nsubsequently ascertained to be Lewis' River.\nHere they met a tribe of friendly Indians, froai\nwhom they purchased several horses, and with\nrenovated spirits they pursued their journey along\nthe banks of the principal river. Among this\ntribe they found a young white man in a state of\nmental derangement. He had however lucid intervals, and informed them that his name was\nArchibald Petton, and that he was a native of\nL 92 OVERLAND JOURNEY.\nConnecticut; that he had ascended the Missouri\nwith Mr. Henry, an American trader, who built\nthe house our people saw at the upper part of\nMad River; that about three years ago the place\nwas attacked by the savages, who massacred every\nman belonging to the establishment with the exception of himself; and that having escaped un-\nperceived, he wandered about for several weeks\nuntil he met the friendly tribe with whom we\nfound him. The dreadful scenes he had'wit^\nnessed, joined to the sufferings he had gone\nthrough, produced a partial derangement of his\nintellect. His disorder was of an harmless nature ; and as it appeared probable that civilised\ncompanionship would in the course of time restore\nhim to his reason, Mr. M'Kenzie very humanely\nbrought him along with the party.\nOn arriving at the entrance of Lewis' River,\nthey obtained canoes from the natives in exchange\nfor their horses ; and meeting with no obstruction\nfrom thence downwards, arrived at Astoria on the i\n18th of January, 1812. Their concave cheeks,\nprotuberant bones, and tattered garments, strongly\nindicated the dreadful extent of their privations; OVERLAND JOURNEY. 93\nbut their health appeared uninjured, and their\ngastronomic powers unimpaired.\nFrom the day that the unlucky attempt was\nmade to cross in the canoe Mr. M'Kenzie had\nseen nothing of Mr. Hunt's party, and he was of\nopinion they would not be able to reach the fort\nuntil the spring was far advanced. He was however mistaken; for on the 15th of February Mr.\nHunt, with thirty men, one woman, and two children, arrived at Astoria.\nThis gentleman stated that shortly after his last\nseparation from the northern party he arrived\namong a friendly tribe, whose village was situated\nin the plains. They treated him and his party\nwith great hospitality; in consequence of which\nhe remained ten days with them, for the double\npurpose of recruiting his men and of looking for\none of his hunters, who had been lost for some\ndays. Having received no intelligence of the\nman, Mr. Hunt resumed his journey, leaving\nMr. Crooks, with five men who were much exr\nhausted, among the Indians, who promised to pay\nevery attention to them, and conduct them part\nof the way downwards on their recovery.\nMr. Hunt in the mean time fell on the Colum- 94 DEPARTURES.\nbia, some distance below its junction with Lewi-f|\nRiver; and having also obtained canoes, arrived\nsafely on the day above mentioned. The corporeal appearance of his party was somewhat supe%|\nrior to that of Mr. Mackenzie's, but their outward\nhabiliments were equally ragged.\nThe accession of so many hungry stomachs to\nthe half-starved garrison at Astoria would have\nproduced serious inconvenience had not the fishing season fortunately commenced earlier fltliB\nwas anticipated, and supplied them with abundance of a small delicious fish resembling pilchard;\nand wMeli is the same mentioned by Lewis and\nClarke as anchovy.\nOn the 30th of March the following departure^\ntook place: Mr. Read for New York, charged\nwith dispatches to Mr. Astor, accompanied by\nMr. M'Lellan, who quitted the country in disgust. This gentleman had fancied that a fortune\nwas to be made with extraordinary celerity iii\nthe Columbia; but finding his calculations had\nexceeded the bounds of probability, he preferred\nrenewing his addresses to the fickle jade in a\ncountry less subject to starvation and fighting.\nMessrs. Farnham and M'Gillis, with a party, D^PARTURESi 95\nalso embarked for the purpose of proceeding to\nthe head of Mad River, for the trading goods\nwhich Mr. Hunt had deposited there en cache;\nand Mr. Robert Stuart set off at the same time\nwith a fresh supply for his uncle's establishment\nat Oakinagan. \u00C2\u00A7& ACCOUNT OF\nCHAPTER V.\nParticulars of the destruction of the Tonquin and crew\u00E2\u0080\u0094Indians attack a party ascending the river\u00E2\u0080\u0094Description of\nfort, natives, and the country.\n^*,\nIt is now time to return to the ifenquin, of\nwhich no news had been heard during the winter,\nwith the exception of the flying rumours already\nalluded to. That vessel, as mentioned in the preceding chapter, sailed from the Columbia on the\n5th of June 1811, on a trading speculation to the\nnorthward; and Mr. M'Kay took on board, as an\ninterpreter, a native of Gray's Harbour, who was\nwell acquainted with the various dialects of the\ntribes on the coast. From this Indian the following melancholy particulars were learned.\nA few days after their departure from the Co- THE TONQUIN. 27\nlumbia they anchored opposite a large village,\nnamed New Whitty, in the vicinity of Nootka,\nwhere Mr. M'Kay immediately opened a smart\ntrade with the natives. He went on shore with a\nfew men; was received in the most friendly man?\nner, and slept a couple of nights at the village.\nDuring this period several of the natives visited\nthe vessel with furs. The harsh and unbending\nmanners of the captain were not calculated to win\ntheir esteem; and having struck one of their principal men whom he had caught in a petty theft,\na conspiracy was formed by the friends of the\nchief to surprise and cut off the vessel. The faithful interpreter, having discovered their designs,\nlost no time in acquainting Mr. M'Kay, who in^\nstantly hurried on board for the purpose of warn*\ning the captain of the intended attack.. That\nevening Mr. M'Kay told the interpreter that the\ncaptain only laughed at the information, and said\nhe could never believe that a parcel of lazy thieving Indians would have the courage to attack such\na ship as his. The natives, in the mean time, apprehensive from Mr. M'Kay s sudden return that\ntheir plans were suspected, visited the ship in\nvol. r. o 98 ACCOUNT OF\nsmall numbers, totally unarmed, in order to throw\nour people off their guard. Even the chief who\nhad been struck by Captain Thorn, and who was\nthe head of the conspiracy, came on board in a\nmanner seemingly friendly, and apparently forgetful of the insult he had received.\nEarly in the morning of the day previous to that\non which the ship was to leave New Whitty a\ncouple of large canoes, each containing about\ntwenty men, appeared along-side. They brought\nseveral small bundles of furs ; and, as the sailors\nimagined they eame for the purpose of trading,\nwere allowed to come on deck. Shortly after\nanother canoe, with an equal number, arrived\nalso with, ftu_s; and it was quickly followed by\ntwo others, fujiof men carrying beaver, otter, and\nother valuable skins. No opposition was made to\ntheir coming on board; but the officer of the\nwatch perceiving a number of other canoes pushing off, became suspicious of their intentions, and\nwarned Captain Thorn of the circumstance. He\nimmediately came on the quarter-deck, accompanied by Mr. M'Kay and the interpreter. The\nlatter, on observing that they all wore short cloaks THE TONQUIN. 99\nor mantles of skins, which was by no means a\ngeneral custom, at once knew their designs were\nhostile, and told Mr. M'Kay of his suspicions.\nThat gentleman immediately apprised Captain\nThorn of the circumstances/ and begged of him to\nlose no tim& in clearing the ship of the intruders.\nThis caution was however treated with contempt\nby thie captain, who remarked, that with the arms\nthev hard on board; they would be more than a\nmatch for three times the number. The sailors\nin the mean time had all come on the deck, which\nwas crowded with the Indians, who conbipletely\nblocked up the passages, and obstructed the men\nin the performance of their various duties. The\ncaptain requested them to retire, to which they\npaid no attention. He then told them he was\nabout going t& sea, and had given orders to the\nmen to raise the anchor ; that he hoped they\n. wouM go away quietly; but if they refused, he\nshould be compelled to force their departure. He\nhad scarcely finished, when^ at a' signal given by\none of the chiefs, a loud and frightful yell was\nheard from the assembled savages, who commenced a sudden and simultaneous attack on the 100 DESTRUCTION OF\nofficers and crew with knives, bludgeons, and\nshort sabres, which they had concealed under\ntheir robes.\nMr. M'Kay was one of the first attacked. One\nIndian gave him a severe blow with a bludgeon,\nwhich partially stunned him; upon which he was\nseized by five or six others, who threw him overboard into a canoe alongside, where he quickly\nrecovered, and was allowed to remain for some\ntime uninjured.\nCaptain Thorn made an ineffectual attempt to\nreach the cabin for his fire-arms, but was overpowered by numbers. His only weapon was a\njack-knife, with which he killed four of his sa-t\nvage assailants by ripping up their bellies, and\nmutilated several others. Covered with wounds^\nand exhausted from the loss of blood, he rested\nhimself for a moment by leaning on the tiller\nwheel, when he received a dreadful blow from a\nweapon called a pautumaugan,* on the back part\nof the head, which felled him to the deck. The\ndeath-dealing knife fell from his hand; and his\n* A species of half sabre, half club, from two to three feet\nin length, six inches in breadth, and double edged. THE TONQUIN. 101\nsavage butchers, after extinguishing the few sparks\nof life that still remained, threw his mangled body\noverboard. tit,\nOn seeing the captain's fate, our informant, who\nwas close to him, and who had hitherto escaped\nuninjured, jumped into the water, and was taken\ninto a canoe by some women, who partially covered his body with mats. He states that the\noriginal intention of the enemy was to detain Mr.\nM'Kay a prisoner ; and, after Securing the vessel,\nto give him his liberty, on obtaining a ransom\nfrom Astoria: but on finding the resistance made\nby the captain and crew, the former of whom had\nkilled one of the principal chiefs, their love of gain\ngave way to revenge, and they resolved to destroy\nhim. The last time the ill-fated gentleman was\ni\nseen, his head was hanging over the side of a\ncanoe, and three savages, armed with pautumau-\ngahsA, were battering out his brains.\nIn the mean time the devoted crew, who had\nmaintained the unequal conflict with unparalleled\nbravery, became gradually overpowered. Three\nof them, John Anderson the boatswain, John\nWeekes, the carpenter, and Stephen Weekes, who 102 DESTRUCTION OF\nhad so narrowly escaped at the Columbia, succeeded, after a desperate struggle, in gaining possession of the cabin, the entrance to which they\nsecurely fastened inside. The Indians now became more cautious, for they well knew there\nwere plenty of fire-arms below; and they had\nalready experienced enough of the prowess of the\nthree men while on deck, and armed only with\nhand-spikes, to dread approaching them while\nthey had more mortal weapons at their command.\nAnderson and his two companions seeing their\ncommander and the crew dead and dying about\nthem, and that no hope of escape remained, and\nfeeling moreover the uselessness of any farther\nopposition, determined on taking a terrible revenge. Two of them therefore set about laying\na train to the powder magazine, while the third\naddressed some Indians from the cabin windows,\nwho were in canoes, and gave them to understand that if they were permitted to depart unmolested in one of the ship's boats, they would\ngive them quiet possession of the vessel without\nfiriiig a shot; stipulating however that no carioe\nshould remain near them while getting into *he THE TONQUIN. 103\nboat. The anxiety of the barbarians to obllun\npossession of the plunder, and their disinclination\nto risk any more lives, induced them to embrace\nthis proposition with eagerness, and the pinnace\nwas immediately brought astern. The three\nheroes having by this time perfected their dreadful arrangements, and ascertained that no Indian\nwas watching them, gradually lowered themselves\nfrom the cabin windows into the boat; and having\nfired the train, quickly pushed off towards the\nmouth of the harbour, no obstacle being interposed to prevent their departure.\nHundreds of the enemy now rushed on deck to\nseize the long-expected prize, shouting yells of\nimkoty; but their triumph was of short duration.\nJust as they had burst open the cabin door, an\nexplosion took place, which in an instant hurled\nupwards -of two hundred savages into eternity,\nand dreadfully injured as many more. The interpreter, who .had by this time reached land,\nstates he saw many mutilated bodies floating near\nthe beach, while heads, arms, and legs, together\nwith fragments of the ship, were thrown to a considerable distance on the shore.\nL 104 FATE OF THE SURVIVORS.\nThe first impression of the survivors was, that\nthe Master of Life had sent forth the Evil Spirit\nfrom the waters to punish them for their cruelty\nto the white people. This belief, joined to the\nconsternation occasioned by the shock, and the\nreproaches and lamentations of the wives and\nother relatives of the sufferers, paralysed for a\ntime the exertions of the savages, and favoured\nthe attempt of Anderson and his brave comrades\nto escape. They rowed hard for the mouth of the\nharbour, with the intention, as is supposed, of\ncoasting along the shore to the Columbia ; but\nafter passing the bar, a head wind and flowing\ntide drove them back, and compelled them to land\nlate at night in a small cove, where they fancied\nthemselves free from danger; and where, weak\nfrom the loss of blood, and the harassing exertions\nof the day, they fell into a profound sleep.\nIn the mean time, the terror of the Indians had\nin some degree subsided, and they quickly discovered that it was by human agency so many of\ntheir warriors had been destroyed. They there^\nfore determined on having the lives of those who\ncaused the explosion; and being aware, from the FATE OF THE SURVIVORS. 105:\nstate of the wind and tide, that the boat could\nnot put to sea, a party proceeded after dark cautiously along the shore of the bay, until they\narrived at the spot where their helpless victims lay\nslumbering. Bleeding and exhausted, they opposed but a feeble resistance to their savage conquerors ; and about midnight their heroic spirits\nmingled with those of their departed comrades.\nThus perished the last of the gallant crew of\nthe Tonquin: and in reflecting on their melancholy fate, it is deeply to be regretted that there\nwas no person of sufficient influence at Astoria to\nbring about a reconciliation between Captain\nThorn and Mr. M'Kay; for were it not for the\ndeplorable hostility and consequent want of union-\nthat existed between these two brave men,, it is\nmore than probable this dreadful catastrophe\nwould never have occurred.*\n. On the morning of the 11th of May, the day\nafter our arrival, while walking with some of my\ncompanions in front of the fort, indulging in gloomy\n* From the particular description given by our informant of\nthe dress and personal appearance of Anderson and the two\n>Veekes's; we had no doubt of their identity.\nL 106 INDIAN ATTACK.\nreflections on the fate of the Tonquin, and the um-\npromising appearance of our general affairs, wee\nwere surprised by the arrival of two canoes with\nMessrs. Robert Stuart, M'Lellan, Reed, and Farn-\nham, together with Messrs. David Stuart, and R.\nCrooks. The unexpected return of the four first\nindividuals, who had only left the fort on the 30th\nMarch, was caused by a serious rencontre which\nthey had with the natives in ascending. On arriving\nat the portage of the falls, which is very long anil\nfatiguing, several of the Indians in a friendly manner tendered their horses to transport the goods.\nMr. Stuart, having no suspicion of their dishonesty,\ngladly accepted the offer, and entrusted a few of\nthem with several small packets of merchandise to\ncarry. On arriving, however, in a rocky and solitary part of the portage, the rascals turned their\nhorses' heads into a narrow pathway and galloped\noff with the goods, with which they escaped.\nTheir comrades on foot in the mean time crowded\nabout the voyageurs who were carrying the packages, and as Mr. Stuart observed the necessity of\ngreater precaution, he took his post at the upper\nend of the portage, leaving Messrs. Reed and INDIAN ATTACK. 107\nM'Lellan in charge of the rear-guard. Mr. Reed\nwas the bearer of the dispatches, and had a tin\ncase, in which they were contained, flung over his\nshoulders. Its brightness attracted the attention\nof the natives, and they resolved to obtain possession of the prize. A group therefore patiently\nwatched his motions for some time, until they observed he had separated himself from M'Lellan,\nand gone ahead a short distance. The moment\nthey supposed he was alone they sprung on him,\nseized his arms, and succeeded in capturing the\ntin case after a brave resistance, in the course of\nwhich he was knocked down twice, and nearly\nkilled. Mr. M'Lellan, who had been an attentive\nobserver of the whole transaction, instantly fired,\nand one of the robbers fell; upon which his companions fled, not however without securing the\nplunder. Mr. M'Lellan, imagining that Mr. Reed\nhad been killed, immediately joined Mr. Stuart,\nand urged that gentleman to fly from a place so\npregnant with danger. This, however, he refused\nuntil he was satisfied respecting Mr. Reed's fate;\nand taking a few men with him, he repaired\ntowards the spot where Reed had been attacked. 108 INDIAN ATTACK.\nThe latter had in the mean time somewhat recovered from the effects of his wounds, and was\nslowly dragging himself along when Mr. Stuart s\nparty came to his assistance, and conducted him\nto the upper end of the portage in safety. The\nloss of the dispatches determined Mr. Stuart to\npostpone Mr. Reed's journey to New York, and\nthe whole party proceeded to Oakinagan, the post\nestablished by Mr. David Stuart. They remained\nhere only a few days, and early in May left it on\ntheir return to Fort Astoria. On their way down,\nnear the entrance of the Shoshone river, they fell\nin with Mr. R. Crooks and a Kentucky hunter,\nnamed John Day, in a state of miserable destitution.\nI have already mentioned that this gentleman;\nwith five of his men, owing to their inability to\ncontinue the journey from excessive fatigue, had\nbeen left by Mr. Hunt among a tribe of friendly\nIndians, supposed to be a branch of the extensive\nSnake nation. Finding, however, that they had\nnothing to expect from the strangers, these savages, shortly after the departure of Mr. Hunt,\nrobbed them of every article in their possession* INDIAN ATTACK. 109\neven to their shirts, in exchange for which they\ngave them a few old skins to cover their nakedness.\nThe miserable party, thus attired, and without\nany provisions, recommenced their journey to the\nColumbia, on the banks of which they arrived a\nfew days previous to the descent of Mr. Stuart's\nparty.\nHere was a frightful addition to our stock of disasters. Fighting, robbery, and starvation, in the\ninterior, with drownings, massacres, and apprehensions of farther attacks from the Indians on the\ncoast, formed a combination sufficient to damp the\nardor of the youngest, or the courage of the most\nenterprising. The retrospect was gloomy, and the\nfuture full of \" shadows, clouds, and darkness.\"\nThe scene before us, however, was novel, and for\na time our ideas were diverted from the thoughts\nof \"battle, murder, and sudden death,\" to the\n-striking peculiarities connected with our present\nsituation. $*\"&*\nThe spot selected for the fort was on a handsome eminence called Point George, which commanded an extensive view of the majestic Co^\nhimbia in front, bounded by the bold and thickly 110 THE FORT.\nwooded northern shore. On the right, about threa|\nmiles distant, a long, high and rocky peninsula-\ncovered With timber, called Tongue Point, extended\na eocBtsiderable distance ink\u00C2\u00A9 the river from the\nsouthern side with which it was connected by a\nnairow neck of land; while on the extreme left,\nCape Disappointment, with the bar and its terrifiejl\nchain of breakers, were distinctly visible?.\nThe buildings consisted of apartments for the|\nproprietors and clerks, with a capacious dining-\nhafl for both,, expensive warehouses for the trading,\ngoods and furs, a provision storey a trading shop,\nsmith's forge, carpenter's workshop, &c. The I\nwhole surrounded by stockades forming a square,\nand reaching about fifteen feet over the ground.\nA gallery raniound the stockades, in which loopholes were pierced sufficiently large for musketry.\nTwo strong bastions built of logs commanded the I\nfour sides of the square : each bastion had two\nstories, in which a number of chosen men slept\nevery night. A six-pounder was placed in the\nlower story, and they were both well provided\nwith small arms.\nImmediately in ftont of the fort was a gentle THE NATIVES, 111\ndeclmty sloping down to the river's side, which\nhad been turned into an excellent kitchen garden ;\nand a few hundred yards to the left, a tolerable\nwharf had been run out, by which bateaux and\nboats were enabled at low water to land their\ncargoes without sustaining any damage. An impenetrable forest of gigantic pine rose in the rear g\nand the ground was covered with a thick underwood of brier and huckleberry, intermingled with\nfern and honeysuckle.\n| Numbers of the natives crowded in and about\ntitie fort.. They were most uncouth-looking objects ; and not strongly calculated to impress us\nwith a favourable opinion of aboriginal beauty, or\nthe purity of Indian manners. A few of the men\nwere partially covered, but the greater number\nwere unannoyed by vestments of any description.\nTheir eyes were black, piercing, and treacherous;\ntheir ears slit up, and ornamented with strings of\nbeads; the cartilage of their nostrils perforated,\nand adorned with pieces of hyaquau placed horizontally ; while tb$ir heads presented an inclined\nplane from the crown to the upper part of the\nnose, totffcttiy unlike our European rotundity of 112 THE NATIVES.\ncranium; and their bodies besmeared with whale\noil, gave them an appearance horribly disgusting.\nThen the women,\u00E2\u0080\u0094Oh ye gods! With the same\nauricular, olfactory, and craniological peculiarities,\nthey exhibited loose hanging breasts, short dirty\nteeth, skin saturated with blubber, bandy legs,\nand a waddling gait; while their only dress consisted of a kind of petticoat, or rather kilt, formed\nof small strands of cedar bark twisted into cords,\nand reaching from the waist to the knee. This\ncovering in calm weather, or in an erect position,\nserved all the purposes of concealment; but in a\nbreeze, or when indulging their favourite position\nof squatting, formed a miserable shield in defence\nof decency : and worse than all, their repulsive\nfamiliarities rendered them objects insupportably\nodious; particularly when contrasted with the\nlively eyes, handsome features, fine teeth, open\ncountenance, and graceful carriage of the interesting islanders whom we had lately left.\nFrom these ugly specimens of mortality we\nturned with pleasure to contemplate the productions of their country, amongst the most wonderful of which are the fir-trees. The largest THE PINE TREE. * 113\nspecies grow to an immense si\u00C2\u00A3e> and one immediately behind the fort at the height of ten feet\nfrom the surface of the earth measured forty?^'\nfeet in circumference ! The trunk of this tree had\nabout one hundred and fifty feet free from branches.\nIts top had been some time before blasted by\nlightning; and to judge by comparison, its height\nwhen perfect must have exceeded three hundred\nfeet! This was however an extraordinary tree in\nthat country, and was denominated by the Cana^\ndians Le Roi de Pins.0\nThe general size however of the different species\nof fir far exceeds any thing on the east side of the\nRocky Mountains; and prime sound pine from\ntwo hundred to two hundred and eighty feet in\nheight, and from twenty to forty feet in circum-\n. ference, are by no means uncommon.\nBuffon asserts that \" living nature is less active,\nless energetic in the new world than the old,'?\nwhich he attributes to the prevalence of moisture\n* A pine tree has been subsequently. discovered in the\nUmpqua country, to the southward of the Columbia, the circumference of which is 57 feet; its height 216 feet without\nbranches! 114 PRODUCTIONS OF\nand deficiency of heat in America. This assert\ntion was ably combated by the late Mr. Jefferson j\nbut, without entering into the arguments of these\ncelebrated philosophers, we may safely state, that\nif America be inferior to the old continent in the\nanimal world, she can at least assert her supejril\n\u00C2\u00A9rity in the vegetable.\nEn passant, I may here remark, that although\nconstant rains prevail eight months out of the\ntwelve, and during the remaining four, which are\nthe summer months, the heat is far from excessive, the large and stately elk, which are numerous about the lower shores of the Columbia, are\nequal, if not superior, in size to those found in the\nhottest and driest parts of the world.\nThere are five or six different species of fir, with\nthe peculiar qualities of which I am unacquainted.\nThey split even, make good canoes, yield little\nashes, scarcely produce any gum, and are excellent for building and other domestic purposes.\nOur table was daily supplied with elk, wild\nfowl, and fish. Of the last, we feasted on the\nroyal sturgeon, which is here large, white, and\nfirm ; unrivalled salmon ; and abundance of the THE COUNTRY. 115\nsweet little anchovy, which is taken in such\nquantities by the Indians, that we have seen their\nhouses garnished with several hundred strings of\nthem, dry and drying. We had them generally\ntwice a day, at breakfast and dinner, and in a few\nweeks got such a surfeit, that few of us for years\nafterwards tasted an as*chovy.\nWe remained upwards of six weeks at the fort,\npreparing for our grand expedition into thejifrte-\nrior. During this period I went on several short\nexcursions to the villages of various tribes up the\nriver and about the bay. The natives generally\ntseceived us with frieodship and hospitality. They\nvary little in their habits or language; and the\nperfect uniformity in the shape of their heads\nwould, I fancy, puzzle the phrenological skill of\nthe most learned disciples of Gall or Spurzheim.\nI made a few midnight visits to their cemeteries,\nfrom which I abstracted a couple of skulls, which\nappeared totally devoid of any peculiar organic\ndevelopment. I regret that our travelling arrangements prevented me from bringing them\nacross the mountains; for, without ocular proof,\nI fear the faculty could not be brought to believe\nLl 11$ EXCURSION.\nthat the human head was capable of being moulded\nto a shape so unlike the great mass of mankind.\nThis however is dangerous ground; and I shall\nnot pursue the subject farther, lest I might provoke the gall of the believers in the theory of\ncraniology, among whom, I am aware, may be\nreckoned some of the most eminent men in the\nliterary world.\nWe also visited Fort Clatsop, the place where\nCaptains Lewis and Clarke spent the winter of\n1805-6; an accurate description of which is given\nin the journal of those enterprising travellers.\nThe logs of the house were still standing, and\nmarked with the names of several of their party.\nThe most striking peculiarity of the immense\nforests which we observed in the course of these\nexcursions was the total absence of the \"wood\nnotes wild\" of the feathered tribe; and, except\nin the vicinity of a village, their deep and impervious gloom resembles the silence and solitude of\ndeath. DEPARTURE FROM ASTORIA.\n117\nCHAPTER VI.\nDeparture from Astoria\u00E2\u0080\u0094Description of our party, lading,\n&c\u00E2\u0080\u0094 Appearance of river and islands\u00E2\u0080\u0094Fleas and musqui-\n\u00C2\u00A3>es\u00E2\u0080\u0094First rapids, dangerous accident\u00E2\u0080\u0094Indian cemetery\u00E2\u0080\u0094\nUgly Indians\u00E2\u0080\u0094Gibraltar\u00E2\u0080\u0094Cape Horn\u00E2\u0080\u0094The narrows and\nfalls\u00E2\u0080\u0094Change in the appearance of the country\u00E2\u0080\u0094Attempt\nat robbery\u00E2\u0080\u0094Mounted Indians. Ei*,-\nIn travelling through the Indian country several\ndays must necessarily elapse devoid of interesting\nmatter; and to the general reader a succinct detail of the diurnal proceedings of Indian traders\nwould be rather dry. I do not profess to write a\njournal, and shall therefore make no apology for\nsparing my readers the trouble of perusing in\nevery page the verbose accuracy which details,\nthat in summer journies we rise each morning\nbetween three and four o'clock, breakfast between\nnine and ten, and encamp between six and seven\nin the evening ; and that, while on the water, few 118 THE PARTY.\ndays elapse in which we are not obliged to put\nashore several times to repair the damage sustained by our canoes in passing rapids, portages,\nor sunken trees.\nOn the 29th of June, 1812, all the necessary\narrangements having been perfected, we took our\ndeparture from Astoria for the interior. Our party\nconsisted of three proprietors, nine clerks, fifty-\n-five Canadians, twenty Sandwich islanders,* and\nMessrs. Crooks, M'Lelland, and R. Stuart, who,\nwith eight men, were to proceed with dispatches\nto St. Louis. Messrs. Hunt, M'Dougall, Clapp,\nHalsey, and Franchere, remained at the fort. The\nBeaver had previously sailed for Canton, whence\nit was intended she should return to New York.\nWe travelled in bateaux and light-built wooden\ncanoes: the former had eight, and the latter six\nmen. Our lading consisted of guns and ammunition, spears, hatchets, knives, beaver traps, copper and brass kettles, white and green blankets/\nblue, green, and red cloths^ calicoes, beads., rings*\n* The Tonquin had brought fifteen of the Sandwich islanders\nfrom Whoahoo, which, joined with those we brought, amounted\nto thirty-one. Eleven remained at the fort. THE LADESflB, &C. 119\nthimbles1, hawk-be^ls, &c.; and our provfeions of\nbeef, pork, flour, rice, biscuits, tea, sugar, with a\nmoderate quantity of rum, wine, &c.: the soft and\nhard goods were secured in bales and boxes, and\nthe liquids in kegs, holding on an average nine\ngallons : the guns were stowed in long cases.\nFrom thirty to forty of these packages and kegs\nwere placed in each vessel, and the whole was\ncovered by an oil-cloth or tarpaulin, to preserve\ntfiem from wet. Each canoe and barge had from\nsix to eight men rowing or paddling, independent\nof the passengers.\nThe Columbia is a noble river, uniniei*-\nrupted by rapids for one hundred and seventy\nmiles; one hundred of which are navigable for\nvessels of three hundred tons. It is seldom\nless than a mftev wide; but in some places\nits breadth varies from two to five miles. The\nshores are generally bold and thickly wooded.\nPine in all its varieties predominates, and is mixed\nwith white oak, ash, beech, poplar, alder, crab,\nand cotton wood, with an undergrowth of briers,\nSec, through which our hunters made many ineffectual attempts to pass. The navigation is often 120 THE COLUMBIA.\nobstructed by sand-banks, which are scatt\u00C2\u00A3f?@8H\nover different parts of the river below the rapids;\nand are dry at low water. In the neighbourhood\nof these sand-banks the shores are generally low,\nand present some fine flat bottoms of rich meadow\nground, bordered by a profusion of blackberry and\nother wild fruit shrubs: in the deep and narrow\nparts of the channel the shores are bolder. The\nriver, up to the rapids, is covered with several\nislands, from one to three miles in length; some\nof which are fine meadows, and others well\nwooded. Great caution is required to avoid\nsunken trees, called snags or planters, and by the\nCanadians chicots, which are generally concealed\nunder the surface of the water ; and which, if they\ncome in contact with canoes sailing rapidly, may\ncause them to sink if assistance be not at hand.\nAbout three miles above the fort a long and\nnarrow point of land, rather high, runs near half a\nmile into the river from the soutjlrside: it is called'\nTongue Point, and in boisterous weather is very\ndifficult to double. On quitting Astoria it blew\npretty fresh, and we took in a good deal of water\nin doubling this point. We stopped for the night MIDNIGHT ADVENTURE. 121\nabout six miles above Tongue Point, oj^the south\nside, close to an old uninhabited village, but having no lack of animated beings of another description ; I mean fleas, with which the place was\ncompletely alive; and we had not been on shore\nfive minutes when we were obliged to strip, get a\nchange of clothes, and drown the invaders of our\nlate suit by dipping them in the river.* We had\nto pitch our tents on the sandy beach to avoid\ntheir attacks; but this was only \"out of the frying-\npan,\" &c.; for about midnight the tide came on us\nunawares ; and the first intimation we received-^\nour danger was the noise of the water beating\nagainst the canoes and baggage; and when the\nalarm was given, it was nearly up to our knees on\nthe beach. It wras a spring tide, on which the\nmen did not calculate, and therefore kept no\nwatch; added to which, every man was nearly\ndrunk on quitting the fort.\nWe had immediately to set about getting the\ngoods on the grass^me birch bark, slept by its\nside. The bears and wolves occasionally serenaded\ntee during the night, but IdsdlsosA see any of\nttiem. I rose^aarly on the morning of the 29th,\n%nd2$$t\u00C2\u00AE$vG_d the fresh traces all day through the\n4^od, nearly north-east by north. I observed\nSeveral deer, some of which came quite close to\nme ; and in the evening i threw a stone at a small\nanimal resembling a hare, the leg of which I\nbroke. It ran away limping, but my feet were\ntoo sore to perfiG.it me to follow it. I passed the\nnight by the side of a small stream, where I got a\nstf&cient supply of hips and cherries. A few distant growls awoke me at intervals, but no animal SUFFERINGS ALLEVIATED. 179\nappeared. On the 30th the path took a more\neasterly turii, and the woods became thicker and\nmore gloomy. Jihad now nefifly consumed the\nremnant of my trowsers in bandages for my\nwretched feet;.' and, with the exception of my\nshirt, wras almost Snaked. The horse-tracks every\nmoment appeared more fresh, and fed my hopes.\niLate in the evening I arrived at a spot where the\npath branched off in different directions: one led\nup rather a steep hill* $he other descended into a\nvalley, and the tracks on both were equally^?-\ncent. I took the higher; but after proceedings\nfew hundred paces through a deep wood, which\nappeared more dark from the thick foliage which\nshut out the rays of the sun, I returned, apprehensive of not procuring water for my supper, and\ndescended .the lower path. I had not advanced\nfar when I imagined I heard the neighing of a\nhorse. I listened wi\u00C2\u00A7h breathless attention, and\nj^qame con>pnced it was no illusion. A few\npaces farther brought me in sight of several of\nthose n\u00C2\u00A9ble animals sporting in a hand\u00C2\u00A7oi\u00C2\u00A3ie meadow, grain which I was separated by a rapid\nstream, Wi& some difficulty I crossed over^i^d 180 INDIAN RECEPTION.\nascended the opposite bank. One of the horses\napproached me: I thought him \"the prince of\npalfreys; his neigh was like the bidding of a monarch, and his countenance enforced homage.\"\nOn advancing a short distance into the meadow\nthe cheering sight of a small column of gracefully\ncurling smoke announced my vicinity to human\nbeings, and in a moment after two Indian women\nperceived me : they instantly fled to a hut which\nappeared at the farther end of the meadow. This\nmovement made me doubt whether I had arrived\namong friends or enemies; but my apprehensions\nwere quickly dissipated by the approach of two\nmen, who came running to me in the most friendly\nmanner. On seeing the lacerated state of my\nfeet, they carried me in their arms to a comfortable dwelling covered with deer-skins. To wash\nand dress my torn limbs, roast some roots, and\nboil a small salmon, seemed but the business of a\nmoment. After returning thanks to that great\nand good Being in whose hands are the issues of\nlife and death, and who had watched over my\nwandering steps, and rescued me from the many\nperilous dangers I encountered, I sat down to my PLEASURES OF SOCIETY. 181\nsalmon, of which it is needless to say I made a\nhearty supper.\nThe family consisted of an elderly man, and\nhis son, with their wives and children. I collected from their signs that they were aware of\nmy being lost, and that the^, with other Indians,\nand white men, had been out several days scouring\nthe woods and plains in search of me. I also understood from them that our party had arrived:\nat their destination, which was only a few hours'\nmarch from their habitation. They behaved tome\nwith affectionate solicitude ; and while the old woman was carefully dressing my feet, the men were\nendeavouring to make me comprehend their meaning. I had been fourteen days in a wilderness\nwithout holding \" communion kind\" with any\nhuman being; and I need not say I listened with\na thousand times more real delight to the harsh\nand guttural voices of those poor Indians, than\nwas ever experienced by the most enthusiastic\nadmirer of melody from the thrilling tones of a\nCatalani, or the melting sweetness of a Stephens.\nAs it was too late, after finishing my supper, to\nproceed farther that night, I retired to rest on a lSf INDIGESTION.\ncomfortable couch of buffalo and deer skias. I\nslept soundly; and the morning of the 31st was\nfar advanced before I awoke. After breakfasting\non the remainder of the salmon I prepared to\njoin my white friends. A considerable stream\nabout ninety yards broad, called Cceur d'Alem.\nRiver, flowed close to the hut. The old man and\nhis son accompanied me. We crossed thm river\nin a canoe ; afer which they brought over three\nhorses, and having enveloped my body in arr\nIndian mantle of deer-skin, we mounted, and set\noff at a smart trot in an easterly direction. We\nhad not proceeded more than seven miles when I\nfelt the bad effects of having eaten so much\nsalmon after so long a fast. I had a severe attack\nof indigestion, and for two hours suffered extreme agony; and, but for the great attention of\nthe kind Indians, I think it would have proved\nfatal. About an hour after recommencing 6w\njourney we arrived in a clear wood, in which,\nwith joy unutterable, I observed our Canadians at\nwork hewing timber. I rode between the twfd\nnatives. One of our men ilamed Frdncois Gar-\ndepie, who had been on a trading excursion, joined 30__rSU\u00C2\u00A3 MEETING. 183\nus on horseback. My deer-skin robe and sunburnt features completely set his powers of recognition at defiance, and he addressed me as an\nIndian. I replied in French, by asking him how\nall our people were. Poor Francois appeared\nelectrified, exclaimed \" Sainte Vierge /\" and galloped into the wood, vociferating \" O mes amis!\nmes amis! il est trouvi!\u00E2\u0080\u0094Oui, oui, il est trouvil\"\u00E2\u0080\u0094\nI Qui ? qui ?\" asked his comrades. \" Monsieur Cox I\nMonsieur Cox /\" replied. Francois. <(Le-voildl le\nvoila!v pointing towards me. Away went saws,\nhatchets, and axes, and each man rushed forward\nto the tents, where we had by this time arrived.\nIt is needless to say that our astonishment anjd\ndelight at my miraculous escape were mutuj_B.\nThe friendly Indians were liberally rewarded; the\nmen were allowed a holiday, and every mwt\nthm&tic\u00C2\u00AE bore the smile of joy and happafcess. 184\nEXPLANATION*\nCHAPTER IX.\nRemarkable ease of Mr. Pritchard, who was thirty-five days\nlost\u00E2\u0080\u0094Situation of Spokan House\u00E2\u0080\u0094Journey to the Flat-head\nlands, and description of that tribe\u00E2\u0080\u0094Return to Spok%n\nHouse\u00E2\u0080\u0094Christmas day\u00E2\u0080\u0094Horse-eating\u00E2\u0080\u0094Spokan peculiarities\u00E2\u0080\u0094Articles of trade\u00E2\u0080\u0094A duel.\nAfter partaking of some refreshment we naturally reverted to the cause of my igaremens.\nIt was easily explained. M'Lennan and I, as\nalready mentioned, could only get one horse between us. On the morning of the 17th I had\nridden from ten o'clock until twelve, at which\nhour we breakfasted. It was then M'Lennan's\nturn to mount. The party were divided into three\ndivisions, and kept up rather a straggling march\nwhile in the plains. Every one had his own business to mind. Those who set off first, thought I\nwas with the second or third division; while they EXPLANATION. 185\nimagined I was with the first. In this manner\n.they continued on for upwards of two hours, until\nit became my turn to ride, when M'Lennan, after\ngalloping up and down the line of march, missed\nme. On communicating the intelligence to Mr.\nClarke, he at once ordered the whole to stop, and\nsent the Indian with several men back in search\nof me. In the mean time I had recovered from\nmy summer-house dream, and had, crossed the\ntrack by which they returned, and by that means\nmissed them. On comparing the places where we\nslept the first night, we could not have been more\nthan three miles asunder; and although they\nfired shots repeatedly, I was not fortunate enough\nto hear any of them. The direction I took the\nsecond morning separated us farther; for they\nwent north, and I nearly due east; and the two\nhorsemen I saw on that evening were part of those\nwho were scouring the country in quest of me.\nThe arrangements made for my recovery were\nhastily adopted, badly car^d into execution, and\ntoo soon abandoned; for after the third night, they\nimagined I had fallen a prey to the wolves, and\ncontinued on their course. On arriving at Spokan 186 EXPLANATION.\nseveral other parties were sent out, but with what\nsuccess it is needless to tell. From my youth,\nand consequent inexperience in the Indian eoua*-\ntry, the oldest voyageurs had given me up after\nthe six&i day. A better knowledge of i^he pro>\nductions of the soil would have enabled me to\nobtain other wild fruit and roots which, by contri^\nbuting to my sustenance, would have greatly alle>\nviated my sufferings; but my ignorance of such as\nwere wholesome and nutritious prevented me from\ntasting any thing with which 1 had not beeasM\npreviously acquainted. On the day before my\narrival, my clothes &c. had been sold by auction^\nall'of which were however returned by the pup- \"\nchasers. After a few days' rest and proper attention I became nearly renovated in health, and be_-\nfore the end of a fortnight every trace of rap\npainful privations had disappeared.\nTo such as may feel disposed to doubt the aeeii~\nracy of the foregoing statement, I beg leave to\nsay that Mr. Clarke, who then commanded the\nparty, and who is now a member of the Hudson's-\nBay Company, and the other gentlemen who\n*were\u00E2\u0080\u009E with him, are still alive; and although they SIMILAR ADVENTURE. W%\ncannot vouclb for the truth of each day's detjai^\nthey can for my absence and the extent of my\nOfferings, as evinced by my emaciated appearance\non rejoi&ing them. I can vfrith truth assert that\nI have rather softened down than overcharged the\nstateraent, and therefore trust n^r candid readers\nwill acquit me of any intention to pra$&sfe?; \u00C2\u00A9a\ntheir credulity. Mine, however, was not a solitary case; and the sceptical no doubt will be\nmore surprised to learn thai a few years prior to\nthis occurrence a gentlemah named Pritchard;\nwho belonged to the North-west Company, while\nstationed in the neighbourhood of English River;\n| on the east side of the mountains, lost hhris^lf,\nI and was ths&\u00C2\u00A3$f-fitie days wandering through the\nwoods before he was found ! In some respect^\nhe was better off than I; for he was well elofiifefe\nI and from hfe experience of the country had reJi\ncourse to expedients to procure food of which I\nI hever should have thought. He supported him?\nielf for some time by setting traps for ha^esj a few\nof which he took in the Indian manner. He likewise made snares, dhi of the hair of his head, with\nwhich he caught some small fish; and he also ocf 188 SETTLEMENTS.\ncasionally succeeded in killing a bird. These he\nwas obliged to eat raw; and when all other re-r\nsources failed, he was reduced to the necessity of\neating grass,' and a kind of moss, called by the\nCanadians tripe de rocher. He wras found by Indians close to a small stream, endeavouring to\ncrawl on his hands and feet, in a state of utter\nhelplessness and exhaustion; and for some days\nprevious to his being discovered he had eaten\nnothing whatever. On being brought to the fort\nhe quickly recovered his ordinary health, the possession of which, I am happy to say, he enjoys to\nthe present moment.\nThe spot selected for forming our establishment\nwas a handsome point of land, formed by the\njunction of the Pointed Heart and Spokan rivers,\nthinly covered with pine and other trees, and clo_\u00C2\u00BB|\nto a trading post of the North-west Company,\nunder the command of a Mr. M'Millan, one of\ntheir clerks, who had ten men with him. He had\ntwo other posts detached from this: one about\ntwo hundred and forty miles from it, in a norths\neasterly direction, among a tribe called the Flat-\nheads, whose lands lie at the feet of the Rocky TRADING POSTS. 189\nMountains, and are well stocked with buffaloes;\nthe other about two hundred miles, nearly due\nnorth, among a tribe called the Cootonais, in\nwhose country there are plenty of beavers, deer,\nmountain sheep, and, at times, buffaloes. Mr.\nFinan M'Donald of the North-west Company had\ncharge of the post among the Flat-heads ; and a\nMr. Montour was stationed among the Cootonais.\nMr. Pillet was despatched with six men to oppose\nthe latter; and Farnham and I were destined for\nthe Flat-heads. Owing to the length of time our\nmen were detained at Spokan to assist in cutting\ndown timber for the fort, we did not set out until\nthe 17th of October. We had twelve men and\nfourteen loaded horses. On leaving Spokan our\ncourse for four days was north-east, and lay\nthrough a handsome open country well watered,\nand bounded by hills rather thickly wooded. On\nthe evening of the 20th we encamped on the\nbanks of a fine river, which rises in the Rocky\nMountains, flows through the lands of the Flat-\nheads, Pointed Heart, Spokan, and Chaudiere\nIndians, and falls into the Columbia about nine\nhundred miles from the sea. Its general course }$$ PROVISIONS, g\nis westerly, and it is commonly cjijted the Flat-\nhead River. The part at which we had arrived\nSSas^about four hundred yards wide, with an easy\n$\u00C2\u00A3$fent. As this was the spot for crossing to proceed to the Flat-head country, we had to construct rafts for that purpose; which being prepared: on the 21st, we crossed over, and passed all\nour goods and horses in safety, with t_he exception\nof one $f the latter, whicjiywas drowned by the\nawkwardnessjof the man who held the resbas. The\nday after, the weather dset in very cold, accompanied by snow, which continued almost incessantly for fourteen days. During this period oifr-\ntoiie:lay nearly due east through thick woc*ds.,ri|\nlofty pine and cedar. The horses suffered dread-\nfelfy from the want of grass, the deep snow having completely covered the ground, and their only\nnourishment was obtained by plucking and chew*\ning the branches of the adjoining trees. A detail\nof each day's proceedings would be a cold and\nunnecessary repetition. W& rose each moa_ning at\niNfTtbreak, loaded the horses, travelled two or\nthree hours, when we stopped for breakfast;\nwaited an hour for this meal, and then continued MODE OF TRAVELLING. 191\nI on until flgur or five o'clock in the evening, when\nwe stopped for the night. The path was narrow*\nI and the trees covered with snow, which, from the\nI loaded horses constantly coping in collision witi|-\nI the branches on either side, fell down at every\nI pdoflent in immense masses, annoyed us consi-\nI derably, and greatly impeded our progress. Wh0r;\nthe high southern latitude^ after losing a couple\nof men\u00E2\u0080\u0094or a half, inundated island, without fire,\nat the foot of the Rocky Mountains,; covered with\nsheets of snow. In my slumbers I imagined I\nwas sittft-g at my father's table surrounded by the\nsmiling domestic group, all anxious to partake of\na smoking sirloin, and a richly dotted plum*\npudding, while the juvenile members recounted tetj\neach other witht triumphant joy the amount of\ntheir Christmas boxes; butr alas!\nL 196\" HUNTING, FISHING, &C.\nSorrow return'd with the dawning of morn,\nAnd the voice in my dreaming ear melted away.\nThe 26th opened on us with snow-clad mountain*\nand forests. With much difficulty we succeeded\nirt patching our battered canoe sufficiently tight to:\nbring us to terra jirma, where we struck up a fire\nof pine, spruce and cedar, that would have roasted\na solid square of oxen. We remained here all\nthe day, and repaired the canoe, so as to enable\nus to proceed on the 27th. The day after, we\nreached the place at which we crossed on our\nway upwards : here we left the canoe, set off by\nland on foot, and reached Spokan in time to partake of the new year's festivities. During my\nabsence Mr. Clarke had constructed a snug and\ncommodious dwelling-house, containing four rooms \u00E2\u0096\u00A0\nand a kitchen ; together with a comfortable house\nfor the men, and a capacious store for the furs\nand trading goods; the whole surrounded by\npaling, and flanked by two bastions with loopholes for musketry. I passed the remaindefc^|\nthe winter at this place ; and between hunting*\nfishing, reading, &c. we contrived to spend the\ntime agreeably enough. We lived principally on HORSE-FLESH. 197\ndeer, trout, and carp, and occasionally killed a fat\nhorse, as a substitute for beef. Custom had now\nso far reconciled us to, the flesh of this animal,\nthat we often preferred it to what in Europe\nmight be regarded as luxuries. Foals or colts\nare not good, although a few of our men preferred\nthem. A horse for the table should not be u$|t|er\nthree years, or above seven. The flesh of those\nwhich are tame, well-fed, and occasionally worked,\nis tender and firm, and the fat hard and white :\nit is far superior to the wild horse, the flesh of\nwhich is loose and stringy, and the fat yellow and\nrather oily. We generally killed the former for\nour own table ; and I can assure my readers that\nif they sat down to a fat rib, or a rump-steak off a\nwell-fed four-year-old, without knowing the animal, they would imagine themselves regaling on\na piece of prime ox beef. In February we took\nimmense quantities of carp in Spokan river above\nits junction with the Pointed-heart, and in a few\nweeks after the trout came in great abundance.\nThe Spokans we found to be a quiet, honest,\ninoffensive tribe; and although we had fortified\nour establishment in the manner above mentioned,\nL 198 INTOXICATION.\nwe seldom closed the gates at night. Their eouii-\ntry did not abound in furs, and they were rather\nindolent in hunting. Their chief, BUmspokanee,\nor the Son of the Sun, was a harmless old man,\nwho spent a great portion of his time between us\nand Mr, M'Millan. We entered into a compact\nwith that gentleman to abstain from giving the\nIndians any spirituous liquors, to which both\nparties strictly adhered. Mr. Clarke, who was\nan old trader himself, had often witoessed the\nbaneful effects of giving ardent spirits to Indians,\nwhile he vfcas in the service* of the North-west\nCompany, at all whose establishments on the\neast side of the Roefey Mountains it was an almost\ninvariable custom. When in a state of intoxication it is quite impossible to check their savage\npropensities, and murder frequently is the consequence; a remarkable .instance of which I subsequently witnessed in my journey -.across- the\ncontinent. By thi_\u00C2\u00A3J;arrangement both parties\nsaved themselves much trouble-, and expense, and\nkept the poor natives iniaustate of bKtgfiil ignorance. In other respects also we agreed very\nwell with our opponent, and neither party educed\nj SPOKAN INDIANS. 199\nany of the turbulent or lawless spirit, which gave\nso ferocious an aspect to the opposition of the\nrival companies on the east side of the mountains.\nThe great object of every Indian was to obtain\na gun. Now a good gun could not be had under\ntwenty beaver skins; a few short ones we gave\nfor fifteen: and some idea of the profit may be\nformed, when I state that the wholesale price of\nthe gun is about one pound seven shillings, while\nthe average value of twenty beaver skins is about\ntwenty-five pounds! Two yards of clotM which\noriginally cost twelve shillings, would generally\nbring six or eight beavers, value eight or ten\npounds! and so on in proportion for other articles;\u00E2\u0080\u0094but they were satisfied, and we had no\ncause to complain. The Spokans are far superior\nto the Indians of the coast in cleanliness; but by\nno means equal in this respect to the Fl^heads.\nThe women are good wives, and most affectionate\nmothers: the old, cheerful, and complete slaves\nto their famines; the young, lively, and confiding;\nand whether married or single, free from the vice\nof incontinence. Their village was situated at\nthe point formed by the junction ofjjlhe two\nJ 200 CEMETERIES.\nrivers. Some houses were oblong, others conical ; and were covered with mats or skins according to the wealth of the proprietor. Their\nchief riches are their horses, which they generally\nobtain in barter from the Nez Perces, in return for\nthe goods they obtain from us for their furs : each\nman is therefore the founder of his own fortune,\nand their riches or poverty are generally proportioned to their activity or indolence. The vice\n-of gambling, however, is prevalent among them,\nand some are such slaves to it, that they frequently lose all their horses. The spot where\nThe rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep\nis about midway between the village and the fort,\nand has rather a picturesque effect at a distance.\nWhen a man dies, several horses are killed, and\nthe skins are attached to the end of long poles,\nwhich are planted in the graves: the number of\nhorses sacrificed is proportioned to the wealth of\nthe individual. Besides the horse-skins, buffalo\nand deer robes, leather shirts, blankets, pieces\nof blue, green, and scarlet cloth, strips of calico,\nmoccasins, provisions, warlike weapons, &c. are DUEL. 201\nplaced in and about the cemetery; all of which\nthey imagine will be more or less necessary for\nthe deceased in the world of spirits. As their\nlands are much infested by wolves, which destroy\nthe foals, they cannot rear horses in such numbers as the Nez Perces, from whom they are\nobliged to purchase them annually. They never\nkill any for their own use, but felt no repugnance\nto eat the flesh at our place. As I may hereafter\nhave occasion to speak more of this tribe, I shall\nfor the present revert to the continuation of our\nproceedings. In the beginning of May, Messrs.\nFarnham and Pillet returned from their wintering\nposts. Their success exceeded our anticipations.\nBoth Flat-heads and Cootonais made excellent\nwinter hunts, and returned in the spring loaded\nwith beaver. Mr. Pillet fought a duel with Mr.\nMontour of the North-west, with pocket pistols,\nat six paces ; both hits; one, in the collar of the\ncoat, and the other in the leg of the trousers.\nTwo of their men acted as seconds, and the tailor\nspeedily healed their wounds. 202 RETURN TO ASTORIA.\nCHAPTER X.\nExecution of an Indian for robbery\u00E2\u0080\u0094War between Great Britain and the United States\u00E2\u0080\u0094Dissolution of the Pacific Fur\nCompany\u00E2\u0080\u0094Author joins the North-west Company, and proceeds to the Rocky Mountains\u00E2\u0080\u0094Meets a party, and returns\nto the sea\u00E2\u0080\u0094Robbery of goods, and successful stratagem to\nrecover the property\u00E2\u0080\u0094Attack at night\u00E2\u0080\u0094Dog-eating\u00E2\u0080\u0094Author\nand three men pursued by Indians\u00E2\u0080\u0094Narrow escape.\nThe different parties having now assembled at\nSpokan House, we took our departure from that\nestablishment on the 25th of May, on our return\nto Astoria with the produce of our winter's trade.\nMr. Pillet was left in charge of the fort with four\nmen. We had twenty-eight loaded horses ; and\non the 30th of May reached the entrance of the\ncreek off Lewis River, where we had left our\nbarge and canoes.\nIn the course of this journey we passed some\nof the places at which I had slept during my wanderings in the preceding August. I pointed out ROBBERY. 203\nto my fellow-travellers several heaps of stones\n\vhifch I had piled together, and on which I had\nscratched my name.\nWe were detained a couple of days at the entrance of the creek to repair the barge and canoes,\nin consequence of the Indians having taken a\nquantity of nails out of the former. Our tents\nwere rJitehed close to the village, and not suspecting any dishonesty on the part of the natives,\nwe kept no watch the first night. Our confidence, however, was misplaced, for in the morning we discovered that a daring robbery had been\ncommitted during the night. In the tent in which\nMr. Clarke slept he kept a large garde-vin,\nwhich he had locked on retiring to rest, but the\nkey of which he had omitted to take out: the\ntent was closely fastened, and while he was\n\u00E2\u0080\u00A2asleep, the strings were untied, the garde-vin\nopened, and a valuable silver goblet stolen there-\n.Oiit-- Several loose articles were also taken, and\nbundles belonging to many of the men were carried away. Mr. Clarke immediately assembled\nthe principal Indians; told them of the robbery;\ndeclared if the stolen property were returned he 204 OFFENDER DISCOVERED.\nwould pardon the offender; but added, if it were\nnot, and that he should find the thief, he would\nhang him. The chief, with several others, promised they would use their best exertions to discover the delinquent and bring back the property;\nbut the day passed over without tidings of either.\nOn the second night, (the 31st,) two sentinels\nwere placed at each end of the camp, with orders\nto conceal themselves and keep a sharp look out.\nShortly after midnight they observed the figure of\na man creeping slowly out of one of the tents, and\ncarrying with him a bundle of clothes, a powder-\nhorn, &c. They silently watched his progress,\nuntil they saw him in the act of jumping into a\nsmall canoe which he had in the creek, upon\nwhich they sprung forward, stopped the canoe,\nand seized him. We were instantly alarmed; and\na general search taking place, a quantity of articles belonging to the men were missed, together\nwith a pistol of Farnham's and a dagger of mine,\nall of which were stolen that night. Most of the\nproperty was found in the canoe; but he refused\nto give any account of the remainder. We had\nnot the slightest suspicion of this man, who had CONDEMNATION. 205\nbeen remarkably well treated by us; in consequence of which, and the aggravated nature of\nthe robbery, Mr. Clarke determined to put his\nthreat into execution. He accordingly ordered a\ntemporary gallows to be erected, and had the arms\nand legs of the culprit pinioned. About eight\no'clock in the morning of the 1st of June he assembled the chief and all the Indians of the village, and made a short speech, in which he told\nthem that the prisoner had abused his confidence, violated the rights of hospitality, and committed an offence for which he ought to suffer\ndeath ; that from an anxiety to keep on good\nterms with all their nation he had overlooked\nmany thefts committed while he had been there\nlast August, which lenity, he was sorry to say,\nhad only led to more daring acts of robbery; and\nthat as a terror to others, and in order to show that\nit was not fear that prevented him from taking\nan earlier notice of such aggressions, he had\nnow resolved that this robber should be hanged.\nThe Indians acquiesced in this decision ; and the\nchief declared that the prisoner did not belong to\ntheir tribe, but was a kind of outlaw, of whom 206 EXECUTION.\nthey were all afraid. The gallows being now prepared, Mr. Clarke gave the signal, and after great\nresistance, during which he screamed in the\nmost frightful manner, the wretched criminal wa$|\nlaunched into eternity. His countrymen looked\non the whole proceeding with the greatest unconcern ; but the unfortunate being himself exhij^j^jS\nnone of that wonderfial self-command, or stoical\nindifference to death, which we observed in others,\nand for which Indians in general are so celebrated.\nBy the time it was supposed life was extinct,?tlw\nM'Lennan with three men set off with the horses\non his return to Spokan, and we embarked in the\ncanoes. The current was swift, and we arrived\nearly the following day at the mouth of Lewis\nRiver, a little below which we found the partie^^B\nMessrs. M'Kenzie and Stuart, where we had>a^M\npointed to meet them on our separation the preceding autumn. From this place we proceeded;\ntogether, and aresi|pi at Astoria on the 11th of\nJune, 1813, without incurring any material accident. We found all our friends in, good health;\nbut a total revolution had taken place in tl^affai|0\nof the Company. Messrs. John George M'Tavish BAD NEWS. 207\nand Joseph La Rocque, of the North-west Company, with two canoes and sixteen men, had arrived a few days before us. From these gentlemen we learned for the first time, that war had\nbeen declared the year before between Great\nBritain and the United States; and that in con-\ni^uence of the strict blockade of the American\nports by British cruisers, no vessel would venture\nto proceed to our remote establishment during the\ncontinuation of hostilities: added to which, a\ntrading vessel which had touched at the Columbia\nin the early part of the spring, had informed our\npeople that the ship Beaver was blocked up in\nCanton.\nThese unlucky and unexpected circumstances,\njoined to the impossibility of sustaining ourselves\n^another year in the couatry without fresh supplies, which, in the then posture of affairs, it\nwould be hopeless to expect, induced our proprietory to enter into negotiations with Mr.\nM'Tavish, who had been authorised by the Northwest Company to treat with them. In a few\nweeks an amicable arrangement was made, by\nwhich Mr. M'Tavish agreed to purchase all the 208 AUTHOR JOINS THE N. W. COMPANY.\nfurs, merchandise, provisions, &C. of our Com*\npany at a certain valuation, stipulating to provide\na safe passage back to the United States, either\nby sea, or across the continent, for such members\nof it as chose ttfiSfeturn; and at the same time\noffering to those who should wish to join the\nNorth-west Company and remain in the country\nthe same terms as if they had originally been\nmembers of that Company. Messrs. Ros%;\nM'Lennan, and I, took advantage of these liberal\nproposals, and some time after Mr. Duncan\nM'Dougall, one of the directors, also joined the\nNorth-west. The Americans of course preferred\nreturning to their own country, as did also Mr.\nGabriel Franchere,* and a few other Canadian\nclerks.\nThe pleasure I experienced in joining an establishment, every member of which was a fellow-\nsubject, was mingled with deep regret at partings\nfrom so many of my late associates, for some of\n* From this gentleman's knowledge of the Chinook Ian??.\nguage Mr. M'Tavish made him handsome offers to join th\u00C2\u00A9\nNorth-west Company, which he refused. He however remained until the following spring. DISPATCHES. . 209\nwhom I entertained a sincere regard,\u00E2\u0080\u0094a regard\nwhich I feel pleasure in saying was mutual, and\nwhich the difference of country could not diminish.\nMy friends Clapp, Halsey, and Matthews were\ngenuine Americans of the Washingtonian school,\nand consequently untinctured by any of the unnatural and acrimonious hatred to the land of their\nforefathers which, among a large portion of their\ncountrymen, was so prevalent at that angry period.\nAnd though the sanguine hopes they had entertained of realising in a few years an independence\nwere destroyed by the war, I feel pleasure in\nbeing able to add that they are now happily\nflourishing in their native country.\nAs Mr. M'Tavish expected dispatches overland from the directors at Montreal, and as it was\nnecessary to acquaint the gentlemen inland with\nthe change that affairs had taken at Astoria, Mr.\nLa Rocque and I proceeded with two canoes\nand sixteen men well armed to the interior, with\norders to leave letters at Oakinagan and Spokan,\nexplanatory of these circumstances, and thence\ncontinue on across the Rocky Mountains to Fort\nvol. i. o 210 MEETING.\nWilliam, (the great central dep6t at the head of\nLake Superior,) unless we met an express, in\nwhich case we were to return to the sea. We\nleft Astoria on the 5th of July, and having no\nlading in our canoes, except provisions, we\npassed in safety the hostile Indians at the great\nrapids and falls. They were very numerous at\nthe latter place ; but seeing our men well armed,\nand our canoes empty, they had no idea of risking\ntheir lives, when no plunder could be obtained.\nAs I shall have occasion hereafter to give a particular description of the country about the upper\nparts of the Columbia, I shall now merely mention\nthat we passed the navigable part of it, and\nreached the place where one of its sources\nissues out of the Rocky Mountains on the 2nd of\nSeptember, after a tedious and laborious voyage\nof two months, against a strong current. We\nlaid:up our canoe, and were preparing to set out\non foot, when we were agreeably surprised by the\narrival of Messrs. John Stuart, Alexander Stewanl^\nand Joseph IJI'Gillivray, partners of the North-west Company, who with twenty men were on\ntheir way to Astoria, armed with full powers to NEWS. 211\njoin Mr. M'Tavish, in purchasing the stock of the\nAmerican Company. They acquainted us that the\nNorth-west Company's ship called the \" Isaac Tod\"\nsailed from London, under the convoy of a sloop\nof war for the Columbia, and would arrive early in\nthe autuftm, with a large cargo for the Indian trade.\nThese gentlemen brought several newspapers;\nand having heard nothing from the civilised\nworld for two years, we devoured their contents.\nMr. M'Gillivray had served the preceding campaign in the American war as a lieutenant in the\nCanadian chasseurs, a corps commanded by his\nfather the Hon. William M'Gillivray, and com-\nj\u00C2\u00A9sed chiefly of the gentlemen and voyageurs of\nthe North-west Company. He had been engaged\nin several smart affairs with the enemy, and was\nat the taking of Michilimacinac, at which and\nother places he had considerably distinguished\nhimself. He was therefore our great chronicler of\nrecent events, and during our passage downwards\nour thousand and one interrogatories seldom allowed his tongue half an hour's restv None but\nthose who have been so long debarred from the\npassing scenes of the great world can form an idea 212 INLAND EXPEDITION.\nof the greedy voracity with which exiles so circumstanced'swallow the most trifling news. A\nremnant of a newspaper is invaluable; and even\nan auctioneer's advertisement, or a quack-doctor's\npuff is read with interest.\nsWe reached Astoria on the 11th of October,\nhaving travelled from the 5th of July upwards of\ntwo thousand three hundred miles. We remained\nhere till the latter end of the month in the expectation of seeing the \" Isaac Tod;\" but as that vessel\ndid not arrive, the proprietors determined to send\na' strong party to the interior with a supply of\nsuch goods as the fort could furnish for the winter's trade. The necessary arrangements being\ncompleted, we set off on the 29th of October.\nOur party consisted of Messrs. John Stuart, Donald Mackenzie, Joseph M'Gillivray, La Rocque,\nM'Donald, Read, and the author, with fifty-five\nmen. On arriving at the first rapids few Indians\nmade the*ir appearance ; and from their peaceable\ndemeanour, we did not think it necessary to observe our usual caution in guarding the portages:\nWe passed the first unmolested, and had carried\nabout one-third of the goods over the second, INDIAN ATTACK. 213\nwhen we were alarmed by a loud cry, and immediately after one of the men appeared, and stated\nthat he and another man had been attacked by a\nlarge party of the natives, who had knocked them\ndown, and robbed them of two bales of dry goods,\nwith which they made, off into the woods, and\nthat he feared others of the men would also be\nattacked. Orders were immediately despatched\nto Messrs. La Rocque and M'Gillivray, who were\nat the foot of the portage, to advance with a few\n\u00E2\u0080\u00A2of their men, while Mr. John Stuart and I, with\nten men, proceeded from the upper end. Mr.\nM'Donald remained in charge at one end, and\nMr. Donald Mackenzie at the other.\nOn arriving about the middle of the portage,\nwhere the village was situated, we found the\npathway guarded by fifty or sixty Indians, with\ntheir war-shirts on, and fully armed, apparently\ndetermined to dispute the passage. The moment\nthey perceived our approach they placed their\narrows in their bows, which they presented at us,\nat the same time jumping like kangaroos backwards and forwards, and from right to left, in\nsuch a manner as to render it almost impossible 214 PARLEY.\nto take a steady aim at any of them. In our hurry\nwe had not time to put on our leathern armour,\nand from the hostile appearance of the savages,\nsome of our men declared they would not advance\na step farther. Mr. Stuart shortly addressed\nthem, pointing out the dangerous situation in\nwhich we were placed, between two portages;\nthat if the enemy observed the least sympto^^H\nfear, they would become the assailants, in which\ncase we could neither advance nor retreat, and\nmust ultimately be cut off, adding at the same\ntime he would do every thing in his power to\navoid coming to extremities; but that, above all\nthings, it was absolutely necessary to show them\nthe most determined front. The men hereupon\nconsented to fight. He then informed the Indians\nthat he did not wish to fight\u00E2\u0080\u0094but that if the stolen\ngoods were not returned, the white men would\ndestroy their village and take all their property.\nWe were imperfectly acquainted with their language, and they either did not, or affected not to\nunderstand the meaning of his address; for they\nstill continued their kangaroo movements with their\narrows presented, preserving at the same time STRATAGEM. 215\nthe strictest silence. We were somewhat puzzled\nat this conduct; but as we were anxious to avoid\nbloodshed, and at the same time to recover the\nstolen property, Mr. Stuart judged it prudent to\nwait the arrival of the other party. In a few seconds Messrs. La Rocque and M'Gillivray with\ntheir men appeared at the rear of the Indians,\nwho were thus placed between two fires; but\nthey had the sagacity to perceive that we could\nhot act on the offensive without endangering our\ntown lives. About one half of them therefore\nquickly turned round, and by this movement\nftpresented a hostile front to each of our small parties. During this time none of their old men,\nwomen, or children, made their appearance; and\nas Mr. Stuart supposed they had been conveyed\nfrom the village, he requested Mr. La Rocque to\nadvance with a few of his men into the wood on\n|te? right, and at the same time sent me with five\nof our party to the left, ordering each of us to\nseize all men, women, and children, we could\nfind, for the purpose of detaining them as hostages until the property should be returned.\n^Messrs. Stuart and M'Gillivray, with the re- 216 CAPTIVES.\nmainder of the men, still kept possession of the\npathway in front and rear of the village, and the\nenemy for some time were ignorant of the ruse de\nguerre we had adopted. I proceeded about forty\nyards in an oblique direction to the left, with my\nparty, when we imagined we heard voices before\nus: we therefore advanced slowly and cautiously\na few paces farther, until we arrived at a large\nrock. 1 sent three men round one end of it, and\nproceeded myself with the remaining two round\nthe other ; and, as we turned the left corner, we\nperceived three old men, with several women and\nchildren, sitting round a fire ; some of whom were\nsharpening iron and flint heads for arrows, which,\nafter being heated in the fire, were dipped into a\nwooden bowl containing a thick blackish liquid.\nOn observing us they attempted to escape, when\nthe other three men appeared. We instantly.!\nseized their armoury, and took two of the old\nmen, three women, and some children prisoners.\nThey were much frightened, and thought we\nwould put them to death, but on our explaining\nthat they would sustain no injury if bur goods\nwere returned, they appeared more tranquil, and RESTITUTION. 217\ncame with us quietly until we reached Mr. Stuart,\nwho was still in the same situation. La Rocque\nwas equally fortunate, and had \"captured one old\nman, four women, and five children, on his side\nof the wood, with whom he had just appeared in\nsight as my party arrived.\nThe warriors were quite staggered at finding we\nhad made so many prisoners,'and fearing we might\nfollow their own mode, which was either to kill\nthem or make them slaves, they at once laid down\ntheir arms, and offered to go in search of the\nbales, provided we would liberate the prisoners.\nMr. Stuart replied that none of them would be\ninjured, but that they should remain in custody\nuntil the property was restored and our people\nsafely over the portage. A guard was then stationed over the prisoners, and word was sent to\nM'Donald to order his. men to recommence the\ncarriage of the goods; during the progress of\nwhich we kept up a chain of sentinels en route.\nBy the time we had nearly finished three of the\nIndians, whose wives were captives, brought a\ngreat part of the contents of the bales, which they\nalleged they took by force from the thieves, who 218 AMICABLE ARRANGEMENT.\nhad cut open the envelopes and concealed, the\nremainder; and they therefore hoped we would\nallow their relations to return home. Mr. Stuart\ntold them he was determined not to allow one of\nthem to stir until every article that had been stolen\nwas brought back. The eldest of the three declared that it was very unjust of the white men\nto punish him and his relations for the dishonesty\nof others, and that when he expected a reward\nfor his exertions in bringing back so much property, he found his wife and children were to be\ndetained as slaves. All this appeared very plausible ; but we recognised this very fellow as one\nof the most prominent and active of the armed\nband, and apparently their leader.\nHe made some farther remonstrances to the\nsame effect \ but finding we were inflexible, he\nwent away with his two companions; and in\nabout half an hour after returned, accompanied\nby several others, with the remainder of the stolen\nproperty. They alleged the thieves . had run\naway, and on asking them for their chief, they\nsaid he was absent. The canoes having been\nnow laden, Mr. Stuart told them that he should MIDNIGHT ATTACK. 219\nrelease their friends and relations for this time,\nbut that if another attempt was ever made, the\nwhite people would punish them severely; and\nas a mark of his anger at their late conduct, he\nwould not then give them the usual gratuity of tobacco. The prisoners were then released, and\nwe pushed off. As it was rather late, we could\nnot advance more than three miles, when we encamped in a small cove on the left side, behind\nwhich was a thick wood of hazel, beech, and pine.\nWe had a large fire at each end of the camp ; and\nthe party was divided into two watches. The\nforepart of the night passed off quietly; but\nabout two o'clock in the morning we wrere alarmed\nby one of the flank sentinels being brought to the\nR^ntre wounded. He stated that he and two of\nhis comrades had approached the fire for the purpose of lighting their pipes, when several arrows\nwere discharged at them from the wood, one of\nwhich wounded him in the left arm; upon hearr\ning which Messrs. La Rocque and M'Donald,\nwho commanded the watch, fired into the wood.\nThe tents were immediately struck, and the men\nordered to withdraw from the fires and con- m-\n220 ENEMY REPULSED.\ncentrate themselves behind the canoes. About\nten minutes afterwards a shower of arrows was\ndischarged from the same place, followed by loud\nyells; but some passed over our heads, while\nothers were intercepted by the canoes, in which\nthey remained fast. The two watches were now\nordered to fire a volley alternately, and load immediately. The first discharge caused much\nrustling among the leaves and branches; the\nsecond, as we supposed, completely dislodged\nthem, and from moans heard from the retreating\nsavages we had reason to think that some of our\nballs took effect. It was a cold damp morning,\nand what between the fatigues and dangers of the\npreceding day, fear, chilness, and the want of sleep,\nour men did not seem much disposed for fighting.\nMr. Stuart therefore ordered each man a double\nallowance of rum \" to make his courage cheerie,\"\nand the moment daylight began to dawn the\ncanoes were thrown into the water, and the lading\nimmediately commenced.\nThe canoe-men embarked first; and we followed. The last man on shore was a celebrated\nhalf-bred hunter, named Pierre Michel, and just AMBUSH. 221\nas he was about stepping into his canoe, one of\nthe men perceived a tall Indian emerge from the\nwood, and bend his bow: he had scarcely time\nto warn Michel of his danger ere the arrow\nwinged its flight, and completely pierced his hat,\nin which it remained fixed. Michel instantly\nturned round, and as the savage retreated into the\nwood, fired, and hit him somewhere about the knee.\nHe then sprung into the canoe : we discharged a\nfew more shots, pushed off, and paddled quickly\nto the opposite side. From the greyish twilight\nof the morning we had only an imperfect view of\nthe Indian ; but the men who had the best opportunity of seeing him were of opinion that he was\nthe same who had expostulated the day before\nabout the detention of his wife, after he had\nbrought back part of the goods. We landed\nabout ten miles farther up on the right-side, on an\nopen point; and as the canoes wanted repairing,\nand the men stood in need of repose, it was\ndeemed expedient to remain there during the\nday. I forgot to mention that one of our Iroquois\nhunters sucked the wound which, the man had 222 SCARCITY OF PROVISIONS.\nreceived from the arrow in the arm : this probably saved the poor fellow's life, as we had\nreason to think the arrow was poisoned. The\nday after the arm became quite black from the\nwrist to the shoulder; but, by the use of caustic\napplications, the dangerous symptoms were dispersed, and in a few weeks he recovered his or-;\ndinary health.\nFrom this place to the narrows and falls we\nsaw no Indians; but at the latter we found about\nttteen lodges of the Eneeshurs. As our provisions were nearly consumed wre were obliged to\npurchase twenty dogs from them. It was! tiffs\nfirst time I had eaten any of the flesh of this animal, and nothing but stern necessity could have\ninduced me to partake of it. The president of\nour mess called it mutton, which it somewhat resembles in taste. We generally had it roastedf\nbut the Canadians preferred it boiled, and the\nmajority of them seemed to think it superior to\nhorse-flesh. In this, however, I entirely differ\nfrom them, for the latter is a cleaner animal, and\nin taste bears a stronger resemblance to beef than EXPERIMENTAL EXCURSION. 228\nthe dog does to mutton. The natives behaved\nthemselves quietly, and did not show any disposition to pilfer.\nFrom hence to the Wallah Wallah river we obtained no horses, and our chief support consisted\nof one hundred and fifty dogs, which we purchased\nat the different villages. The Wallah Wallahs\nreceived us in their usual friendly manner, and we\n|_tuichased from them about twenty good horses.\nMr. Read, accompanied by eight men, (excellent hunters,) left us here on an experimental\njourney to the country of the Shoshone or Snake\nIndians, on whose lands he had seen great quantities of beaver in the course of his journey across\nthe continent with Mr. Hunt. His party took\nsixteen of the horses with them.\nAfter leaving this place the weather set in very\ncold, accompanied by occasional showers of snow,\nand we became apprehensive that we should encounter much difficulty in reaching our various\nwintering posts. We therefore stopped at a village a short distance above Lewis River, on the\nsouth side of the Columbia; where, with hard\nbargaining, and after giving an exorbitant price, ~1\n224 EXPERIMENTAL EXCURSION.\nwe obtained six horses. With these and three\nmen I was ordered to proceed across the country\nto Spokan House, for the purpose of bringing\ndown a sufficient number of the company's horses\nto Oakinagan, where the canoes were to stop, the\ntrading goods having to be conveyed from thence\nby land-carriage to their respective winter destinations.\nTwo of the horses carried our provisions and\nblankets; and as we learned from the Wallah Wallahs that the relations of the Indian who had been\nhanged by Mr. Clarke in the spring were in the\"\nplains, and had declared their determination to\nhave satisfaction for his death, we got particular\norders not to separate, or on any account to tire\nour. horses by deer-hunting. I made the men\nchange their muskets for short trading guns, about\nthe size of carbines; with which, a brace of pistols, and a dagger each, we set out on our overland journey. The two first days we passed in\nhard galloping, without meeting any thing worth\nnoticing ; but about ten o'clock on the morning of\nthe third day, as we were preparing to remount\nafter breakfast, we observed three Indians about a FORTUNATE ESCAPE.\n225\nmile distant, advancing from the direction of\nLewis River. They were mounted, and, on perceiving us, stopped a few minutes in order to\nascertain our numbers. We did not like this ;\nand made signs to them to approach, which they\naffected not to understand: but after reconnoitring\nus some time, and making themselves certain\nthat our number did not exceed four, they wheeled\nabout, and galloped back in the same direction.\nBeing now of opinion that their intentions were\nnot friendly, we increased our speed, and for upwards of three hours none of them made their\nappearance. Our horses being nearly exhausted,\nwe slackened the reins for about half an hour, after\nputting two of the most jaded under the saddlebags. This rest brought them to again, and probably saved us; for about two o'clock we observed large clouds of dust in a south-westerly\ndirection, which, on clearing away, displayed to\nour view between thirty and forty of the savages\non horseback in pursuit of us. Sauve quipeut was\nnow the cry; and as the two spare horses with the\nsaddle-bags retarded our escape, we left them\nbehind, and galloped away for our lives. The\nVOL. i. * 226 SKIRMISH.\nenemy gradually gjained on us; but we observed\nthat the greater number had fallen back, or given\nup the pursuit, and at the end of two hours only\nten were in sight. Still we did not think ourselves a match for them; but shortly after their\nnumbers were reduced to eight, apparently well\nmounted and armed. Our horses began to totter,\nand it became quite evident could not proceed\nmuch farther at such a rate. I knew the men\nwere made of good materials, and therefore proposed to them to dismount, take our station |>ehind\nthe horses, and when our pursuers came within\nthe range of our shot, each to cover his man, and.\nfire; after which, if we had not time to reload, we\ncould work with our pistols. They all agreed;\nI$|t the momerit the enemy perceived us dismount\nan$l take up our position, they at once guessed our\noj^ct, and turned about for the purpose of retreating. We i$sj;antly fired, and two of their\nhorses fell: their riders quickly mounted behind\ntheir companions, and in a short time disappeared.\nWe were now quite overjoyed at seeing the horse\nwith our provisions gallop up to us; but the other,\nwhich carried our blankets was, I suppose, cap- FORTUNATE RELIEF.\n227\ntured. The report of our fire-arms brought us\nmuch more important relief, by the appearance of\nten young hunters belonging to the Spokan nation,\nwith every one of whom we were well acquainted,\nand on whose hunting-grounds we then were.\nOn telling them of our escape, they were quite\nindignant, and declared that, although they were\nnot at war with the Nez Percys Indians, they\nwould willingly join us in pursuit of them, and\nchastise them for their presumption in following\ntheir -white friends to their hunting-grounds ; adding, that they knew their chiefs heart would be\n\u00E2\u0096\u00BA glad at any assistance they could render us. I\nthanked them for their friendly offer, which I declined ; assigning as a reason, thai we wished to\nlive on good terms with all the nations, and that\nI had no doubt we should be able* to convince the\npfedKsh people who had lately pursued us of the\nimpolicy of their conduct towards the whites.\nWe proceeded about ten miles farther that evening, and slept in company with the Spokans, who\nkept watch in turn during the night. The following day, the 21st of November, two of them accompanied us, and we arrived at the fort about four in\nthe evening without meeting any farther danger. 228 JOURNEY TO OAKINAGAN.\nCHAPTER XI.\nAuthor proceeds to Oakinagan, and thence to the Flat-heads,\nwhere he passes the winter\u00E2\u0080\u0094Cruel treatment of the Black-\nfeet prisoners by the Flat-heads\u00E2\u0080\u0094Horrible spectacle\u00E2\u0080\u0094Buffalo the cause of war between the two tribes\u00E2\u0080\u0094Women\u00E2\u0080\u0094Government\u00E2\u0080\u0094Peace and war chiefs\u00E2\u0080\u0094Wolves\u00E2\u0080\u0094-Anecdote of a\ndog\u00E2\u0080\u0094Syrup of birch\u00E2\u0080\u0094Surgical and medical knowledge of\nFlat-heads\u00E2\u0080\u0094Remarkable cure of rheumatism\u00E2\u0080\u0094Their ideas of\na future state ; and curious tradition respecting the beavers\u00E2\u0080\u0094\nName of Flat-head a misnomer\u00E2\u0080\u0094A marriage.\nAs dispatch was necessary, owing to the lateness of the season, I remained only one night at\nSpokan House, and set off early in the morning of\nthe 22d November for Oakinagan. I took two\nadditional men with me, and fifty horses. The\nroad was good, the distance about one hundred\nand fifty miles, and no danger to be apprehended\nfrom Indians. Having plenty of horses to change, INSTRUCTIONS.\n229\nwe went on briskly; and on the evening of the\n25th arrived at the Columbia, opposite the entrance of Oakinagan river, where the fort was built.\nOn crossing over I found that the northern parties\nhad set off for their wintering quarters; and as I\nwas appointed to take charge of those intended for\nthe eastern posts, I slept only that night at Oakinagan, and the next morning (the 26th) had all the\ngoods transported across the river. The following\nis an extract from the letter of instructions directed to me on this occasion, the whole of which\nis rather lengthy and uninteresting for insertion:\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n\" On your arrival here, you will assume the\nimmediate management of the brigade, and every\nthing else during the voyage ;* and make the best\nof your way to Spokan House, where you will\nmake as little delay as possible. From thence\nyou will proceed to join Mr. M'Millan at the Flat-\nheads; and if you are reduced to eat horses, either\nat Spokan or farther on, they ought to be the\nworst.\" The liberal writer of this economical ad-\n* This word is used generally in the Indian country for all\nterraqueous journies; and voyageurs is the term applied to the\nCanadian canoe men. Bl-P^ -\n230 SEVERE TRIALS.\nvice was in other respects a very worthy good-\nnatured individual, and in his own person evinced\nthe most Spartan contempt for the good things of\nthe table. Tobacco was his mistress; and from\nthe moment he rose until he retired to rest, his\ncalumet was seldom allowed to cool. I was not,\nhowever, philosopher enough to prefer the into3_i||\neating fumes of the Virginian weed to the substantial enjoyment of fat and lean ; and candidly\nconfess, that in my choice of horses for the kettle*\nI wilfully departed from my instructions, by selecting those whose ribs were least visible.\nWe arrived safely at Spokan, at which place I\nslept one night, and then continued on for the\nFlat-heads with eight men and twelve loaded\nhorses. We pursued the same route I had followed the preceding winter with my friend Farn-\n__fajtti* through the thick woods along the banks of the\nFlat-head river; and after suffering great hardf^\nships from cold and snow, reacl)\u00C2\u00AEd Mr. M'Millan\non the 24th of December, with the loss of two\nhorses, which we were obliged to leave in the\nwoods from exhaustion. The fort was about forty\nmiles higher up in an easterly direction than the TIMELY ARRIVAL.\n231\nplace Farnham and I had chosen for the log-house.\nIt had a good trading store, a comfortable house\nfor the men, and a snug box for ourselves; all\nsituated on a point formed by the junction of a\nbold mountain torrent with the Flat-head river,\nand surrounded on all sides with high and thickly\nBpooded hills, covered with pine, spruce, larch,\nbeech, birch, and cedar. A large band of the\nFlat-head warriors were encamped about the fort.\nThey had recently returned from the buffalo\ncountry, and had revenged their defeat of the\npreceding year, by a signal victory over their\nenemies the Black-feet; several of whose warriors,\nwith their women, they had taken prisoners.\nM'Millan's tobacco and stock of trading goods\nhad been entirely expended previous to my arrival, and the Indians were much in want of ammunition, &c. My appearance, or I should rather\nsay, the goods I brought with me, was therefore\na source of great joy to both parties. The natives smoked the much-loved weed for several\n\u00E2\u0080\u00A2days successively. Our hunters killed a few\nB^ountain sheep, and I brought up a bag of flour,\na bag of rice, plenty of tea and coffee, some arrow- 232 TREATMENT OF CAPTIVES.\nroot, and fifteen gallons of prime rum. We spent\na comparatively happy Christmas, and, by the\nside of a blazing fire in a warm room, forgot the\nsufferings we endured in' our dreary prdgress\nthrough the woods. There was, however, in the\nmidst of our festivities, a great drawback from the\npleasure we should have otherwise enjoyed. I\nallude to the unfortunate Black-feet who had\nbeen captured by the Flat-heads. Having been\ninformed that they were about putting one of\ntheir prisoners to death, I went to their camp to\nwitness the spectacle. The man was tied to a\ntree; after which they heated an old barrel of a\ngun until it became red hot, with which they\nburned him on the legs, thighs, neck, cheeks, and\nbelly. They then commenced cutting the flesh from\nabout the nails, which they pulled out, and next\nseparated the fingers from the hand joint by joint.\nDuring the performance of these cruelties the\nwretched captive never winced, and instead of\nsuing for mercy, he added fresh stimulants to\ntheir barbarous ingenuity by the most irritating ,\nreproaches, part of which our interpreter translated as follows :\u00E2\u0080\u0094\" My heart is strong.\u00E2\u0080\u0094You do HORRIBLE CRUELTIES. 238\nnot hurt me.\u00E2\u0080\u0094You can't hurt me.\u00E2\u0080\u0094You are fools.\n-r-You do not know how to torture.\u00E2\u0080\u0094Try it again.\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094I don't feel any pain yet.\u00E2\u0080\u0094We torture your relations a great deal better, because we make them\ncry out loud, like little children.\u00E2\u0080\u0094You are not\nbrave: you have small hearts, and you are always\nafraid to fight.\" Then addressing one in particular, he said, \" It was by my arrow you lost your\neye;\" upon which the Flat-head darted at him,\nand with a knife in a moment scooped out one of\nhis eyes; at the same time cutting the bridge of\nhis nose nearly in two. This did not stop him:\nwith the remaining eye he looked sternly at\nanother, and said, \" I killed your brother, and I\nscalped your old fool of a father.\" The warrior\nto whom this was addressed instantly sprung at\nhim, and separated the scalp from his head. He\nwas then about plunging a knife in his heart, until\nhe was told by the chief to desist. The raw skull,\nbloody socket, and mutilated nose, now presented\na horrific appearance, but by no means changed\nhis tone of defiance.\u00E2\u0080\u0094\"It was I,\" said he to the\nchief, I that made your wife a prisoner last fall; fftip.\n234 RELEASE FROM SUFFERINGS.\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094we put out her eyes ;\u00E2\u0080\u0094we tore out her tongue,-\nwe treated her like a dog. Forty of our young\nwarriors \"\nThe chieftain became incensed the moment his\nwife's name was mentioned : he seized his gun,\nand, before the last sentence was ended, a ball\nfrom it passed through the brave fellow's heart,\nand terminated his frightful sufferings. Shocking, however, as this dreadful exhibition was, it\nwas far exceeded by the atrocious cruelties practised on the female prisoners; in which, I am\nsorry to say, the Flat-head women assisted wittr\nmore savage fury than the men. I only witnessed\npart of what one wretched young woman suffered,'\na detail of which would be too revolting for publicity. We remonstrated against the exercise of\nsuch horrible cruelties. They replied by saying\nthe Black-feet treated their relations in the same\nmanner; that it was the course adopted by afflfe\nred warriors; and that they could not think of\ngiving up the gratification of their revenge to the\nfoolish and womanish feelings of white men;\nShortly after this we observed a young female led SUCCESSFUL REMONSTRANCE. 235\nforth, apparently not more than fourteen or fifteen years of age, surrounded by some old women,\nwho were conducting her to one end of the village, whither they were followed by a number of\nyoung men. Having learned the infamous intentions of her conquerors, and feeling interested\nfor the unfortunate victim, we renewed our remonstrances ; but received nearly the same answer\nas before. Finding them still inflexible, and\nwishing to adopt every means in our power consistent with safety in the cause of humanity, we\nordered our interpreter to acquaint them, that,\nhighly as we valued their friendship, and much as\nwe esteemed their furs, we would quit their country for ever, unless they discontinued their unmanly and disgraceful cruelties to their prisoners.\nThis had the desired effect, and the miserable\ncaptive'was led back to her sorrowing group of\nfriends. Our interference was nearly rendered\nineffectual by the furiotft reproaches of the infernal old priestesses who had been conducting her\nto the sacrifice. They told the young warriors\nthey were cowards, fools, and had not the hearts\nof fleas; and called upon them in the names 236 DECREASE OF POPULATION.\nof their mothers, sisters, and wives, to follow the\nsteps of their forefathers, and have their revenge\non the dogs of Black-feet. They began to waver;\nbut we affected not to understand what the old\nwomen had been saying. We told them that this\nact of self-denial on their part was peculiarly\ngrateful to the white men; and that by it they\nwould secure our permanent residence among\nthem, and in return for their furs be always furnished with guns and ammunition sufficient to\nrepel the attacks of their old enemies, and preserve their relations from being made prisoners.\nThis decided the doubtful; and the chief promised faithfully that no more tortures should be\ninflicted on the prisoners, which I believe was\nrigidly adhered to, at least for that winter.\nThe Flat-heads were formerly much more numerous than they were at this period; but owing\nto the constant hostilities between them and the\nBlack-feet Indians, their numbers had been\ngreatly diminished. While pride, policy, ambi-^\ntion, self-preservation, or the love of aggrandisement, often deluges the civilised world with\nChristian blood ; the only cause assigned by the ANNUAL CONFLICTS. 237\nnatives of whom I write, for their perpetual warfare, is their love of buffalo. There are extensive\nplains to the eastward of the mountains frequented\nin the summer and autumnal months by numerous herds of buffaloes. Hither the rival tribes\nrepair to hunt those animals, that they may procure as much of their meat as will supply them\nuntil the succeeding season. In these excursions\nthey often meet, and the most sanguinary conflicts\nfollow.\nThe Black-feet lay claim to all that part of the\ncountry immediately at the foot of the mountains,\nwhich is most frequented by the buffalo; and\nallege that the Flat-heads, by resorting thither\n-to hunt, are intruders whom they are bound to\noppose on all occasions. The latter, on the contrary, assert, that their forefathers had always\nclaimed and exercised the right of hunting on\n^these \" debateable lands;\" and that while one\nof their warriors remained alive the right should\nnot be relinquished. The consequences of these\ncontinual wars are dreadful, particularly to the\nFlat-heads, who, being the weaker in numbers,\nwere generally the greater sufferers. Indepen- 1\n238 % INDIAN WARFARE.\n.dently of their inferiority in this respect, their\nenemy had another great advantage in the use\nof fire-arms, which they obtained from the Company's trading posts established in the department of Forts des Prairies. To these the Flat-\nheads had nothing to oppose but arrows and their\nown undaunted bravery. Every year previous\nto our crossing the mountains witnessed the gradual diminution of their numbers ; and total annihilation would shortly have been the consequence, but for our arrival with a plentiful supply\nof \" villanous saltpetre.\" They were overjoyed\nat having an opportunity of purchasing arms and\nammunition, and quickly stocked themselves with\na sufficient quantity of both.\nFrom this moment affairs took a decided change\nInslfceir favour; and in their s.uhsequent contests\nthe numbers!oof killed, wounded, and prisoners\nwere more equal. The Black-feet became enraged at this, and declared to our people at Forts\ndes Prairies, that all white men who might happen\nto fall into their hands, to the westward of the\naB-OTtttains, would be treated by them as enemies,\nin consequence of their furnishing the Flat-heads >;t$||E FLAT-HEADS. 239\nwith .weapons, which were used with such deadly\neffect against their nation. This threat, as\nwill appear hereafter, was strictly put in execution. 3gie lands of the Flat-heads are well\nstocked with deer, morjptain sheep, bears, wild\nfowl, and fish; and when we endeavoured to\ninduce them to give up such dangerous expeditions, and confine themselves to the produce of\ntheir own country, they replied, that their fathers\nhad always hunted on the buffalo grounds; that\nthey weredaccustomed to do the same thing from\ntheir infancy; and they would not now abandon\na practice which had existed for several generations among their people.\nWith the excejttion of the cruel treatment of\ntheir prisoners, (which, as it is general among all\nsavages, must not be imputed to them as a peculiar vice,) the Flat-heads have fewer failings than\nany of the tribes I ever met with. They are\nhonest in their dealings, brave in the field, quiet\nand amenable to their chiefs, fond of cleanliness,\nand decided enemies to falsehood of every de-\nscrij_I_on. The women are excellent wives and\nmothers, and their character for fidelity is so well 240 CHARACTER AND DRESS.\nestablished, that we never heard an instance of\none of them proving unfaithful to her husband.\nThey are also free from the vice of backbiting,\nso common among the lower tribes; and laziness\nis a stranger among them. Both sexes are comparatively very fair, and their complexions are a\nshade lighter than the palest new copper after\nbeing freshly rubbed. They are remarkably well\nmade, rather slender, and never corpulent. The\ndress of the men consists solely of long leggings,\ncalled mittasses by the Canadians, which reach .\nfrom the ancles to the hips, and are fastened by\nstrings to a leathern belt round the waist, and a\nshirt of dressed deer-skin, with loose hanging\nsleeves, which falls down to their knees. The\noutside seams of the leggings and shirt sleeves\nhave fringes of leather. The women are covered\nby a loose robe of the same material reaching\nfrom the neck to the feet, and ornamented with\nfringes, beads, hawk-bells, and thimbles. The\ndresses of both are regularly cleaned with pipeclay, which abounds in parts of the country; and\nevery individual has two or three changes. They\nhave no permanent covering for the head, but in GOVERNMENT.\n24*\nwet or stormy weather shelter it by part of a\nbuffalo robe, which completely answers all the\npurposes of a surtout. The principal chief of the\ntribe is hereditary; but from their constant wars,\nthey have adopted the wise and salutary custom\nof electing, as their leader in battle, that warrior\nin whom the greatest portion of wisdom, strength,\nand bravery are combined. The election takes\nplace every year; and it sometimes occurs that\nthe general in one campaign becomes a private in\nthe hext. This \" war-chief,\" as they term him,\nhas no authority whatever when at home, and is\nas equally amenable as any of the tribe to the\nhereditary chief; but when the warriors set out\non their hunting excursions to the buffalo plains,\nhe assumes the supreme command, which he exercises with despotic sway until their return. He\ncarries a long whip with a thick handle decorated\nwith scalps and feathers, and generally appoints\ntwo active warriors as aides-de-camp. On their\nadvance towards the enemy he always takes\nthe lead ; and on their return he brings up the\nt Great regularity is preserved during the\n; and I have been informed by Mr.\nol. i. Q 242 SUBORDINATION. ||fe|\nM'Donald, who accompanied some of these\nwar parties to the field of action, that if any\nof the tribe fell out of the ranks, or committed\nany other br\u00C2\u00A7aeh of discipline, he instantly received a flagellation from the whip of the chieftain. He always acted with the most perfect\nimpartiality, and would punish one of his subalterns for disobedience of orders with equal severity as any other offender. Custom, however,\njoined to a sense of public duty, had reconciled\nthem to these arbitrary acts of power, which they\nnever complained of or attempted to resent. After\nthe conclusion of the campaign, on their arrival on\ntheir own lands, his authority ceases; when the\npeace chief calls all the tribe together, and they\nproceed to a new election. There is no canvassing, caballing, or intriguing; and should the last\nleader be superseded, he retires from office with\napparent indifference, and without betraying any\nsymptoms of discontent. The fighting chief at\nthis period had been five times re-elected. He was\nabout thirty-five years of age, and had killed\ntwenty of the Black-feet in various battles, the\nscalps of whom were suspended in triumphal THE WAR CHIEF.\n243\npride from a pole at the door of his lodge. His\nmife had been captured by the enemy the year\nbefore, and her loss made a deep impression on\n-him.. He was highly respected by all the warriors for his superior wisdom and bravery ; a consciousness of which, joined to the length of time\nhe had been accustomed to command, imparted to\nhis manners a degree of dignity which we never\n||p-_aarked in any other Indian. He would not\ntake a second wife ; and when the recollection of\n'the one fee had lost came across his mind, he retired into the deepest solitude of the woods to\nindulge his sorrow, where some of the tribe informed us they often found him calling on her\nspirit to appear, and invoking vengeance on her\nfeonquerors. When these bursts of grief subsided,\nhis countenance assumed a tinge of stern melancholy, strongly indicating the mingled emotions of\nsorrow and unmitigated hatred of the Black-feet.\nWe invited him sometimes to the fort, upon which\noccasions we sympathised with him on his loss; but\nat the same time acquainted him with the manner\nin which civilised nations made war. We told him\nthat warriors only were made prisoners, who were 244 WARFARE.\nnever tortured or killed, and that no brave white\nman would ever injure a female or a defenceless\nman ; that if such a custom had prevailed among\n-them, he would now by the exchange of prisqj|j|\ners be able to recover his wife, who was by their\nbarbarous system lost to him for ever; and if it\nwere impossible to bring about a peace with their\nenemies, the frightful horrors of war might at least\nbe considerably softened by adopting the practice\nof Europeans. We added that he had now a glorious opportunity of commencing the career of\nmagnanimity, by sending home uninjured the\ncaptives he had made during the last campaign;\nthat our friends on the other side of the mountains would exert their influence with the Black-\nfeet to induce them to follow his example; and\nthat ultimately it might be the means of uniting\nthe two rival nations in the bonds of peace. He\nwas at first opposed to making any advances; but\non farther pressing he consented to make the\ntrial, provided the hereditary chief and the tribe\nstarted no objections. On quitting us he made\nuse of the following words: \" My white friends,\nyou do not know the savage nature of the SUCCESSFUL REMONSTRANCE.\n24t\nBlack-feet; they hope to exterminate our tribe;\nthey are a great deal more numerous than we\nare ; and were it not for our bravery, their object\nwould have been long ago achieved. We shall\nnow, according to your wishes, send back the\nprisoners; but remember, I tell you, that they\nwill laugh at the interference of your relations\nbeyond the mountains, and never spare a man,\nwoman, or child, that they can take of our nation.\nYour exertions to save blood show you are good\npeople. If they follow our example, we shall\nkill no more prisoners; but I tell you, they will\nlaugh at you and call you fools.\"\nWe were much pleased at having carried our\npoint so far; while he, true to his word, assembled\nthe elders and warriors, to whom he represented\nthe subject of our discourse, and after a long\nspeech, advised them to make the trial, which\nwould please their white friends, and show their\nreadiness to avoid unnecessary cruelty. Such an\nunexpected proposition gave rise to an animated\ndebate, which continued for some time; but being\nsupported by a man for whom they entertained so 1\n246\nPAGIFIC OVERTURE.\nmuch respect, it was finally carried; and it was\ndetermined to send home the Black-feet on the\nbreaking up of the winter. We undertook\nto furnish them with horses and provisions for\ntheir journey, or to pay the Flat-heads a fair price\nfor so doing. This was agreed to, and about the\nmiddle of March the prisoners took their departure tolerably well mounted, and with dried meat\nenough to bring them to their friends. Mr.\nM'Millan, who had passed three years in their\ncountry, and was acquainted with their language,\ninformed them of the exertions we had used to\nsave their lives, and prevent farther repetitions\nof torture; and requested them particularly to\nmention the circumstance to their countrymen, in\norder that they might adopt a similar proceeding.\nWe also wrote letters by them to the gentlemen\nin charge of the different establishments at Forts\ndes Prairies, detailing our success, and impressing on them the necessity of their attempting to\ninduce the Black-feet in their vicinity to follow the\nexample set them by the Flat-heads. The lafccfe\nof this tribe present a pleasing, diversity of woods CROSS-BRED DOG.\n247\nand plains, valleys and mountains, lakes and\nrivers. Besides the animals already mentioned,\nthere are abundance of beavers, otters, martens,\nwolves, lynxes, &c.\nThe wolves of this district are very large and\ndaring ; and were in great numbers in the immediate vicinity of the fort, to which they often approached closely for the purpose of carrying away\nthe offals. We had a fine dog of mixed breed,\nwhose sire was a native of Newfoundland, and\nwhose dam was a wolf, which had been caught\nyoung, and domesticated by Mr. La Rocque, at Lac\nlaRonge, on the English River. He had many rencontres with his maternal tribe, in which he was\ngenerally worsted. On observing a wolf near the\nfort, he darted at it with great courage : if it was\na male, he fought hard ; but if a female, he either\nallowed it to retreat harmless, or commenced\nfondling it. He sometimes was absent for a week\nor ten days ; and on his return, his body and\nneck appeared gashed with wounds inflicted by\nShe tusks of his male rivals in their amorous\nencounters in the woods. He was a noble ani- 248 PHARMACY.\nmal, but always appeared more ready to attack a\nwolf than a lynx.\nOur stock of sugar and molasses having\nfailed, we were obliged to have recourse to the\nextract of birch to supply the deficiency. This\nwas obtained by perforating the trunks of the\nbirch trees in different places. Small slips of\nbark were then introduced into each perforation,\nand underneath kettles were placed to receive\nthe juice. This was afterwards boiled down to\nthe consistency of molasses, and was used with\nour tea as a substitute for sugar: it is a bitter\nsweet>jmd answered its purpose tolerably well.\nThe Flat-heads are a healthy tribe, and subject\nto few diseases. Common fractures, caused by an\noccasional pitch off a horse, or a fall down a declivity in the ardour of hunting, are cured by tight\nbandages and pieces of wood like staves placed\nlongitudinally around the part, to which they are\nsecured by leathern thongs. For contusions they\ngenerally bleed, either in the temples, arms,\nwrists, or ancles, with pieces of sharp flint, or\nJjfgfds of arrows: they however preferred being COLD BATHING.\n249\nbled with the lancet, and frequently brought us\npatients, who were much pleased with that mode\nof operation. Very little snow fell after Christmas ; butifce cold was intense, with a clear atmosphere. I experienced some acute rheumatic\nattacks in the shoulders and knees, from which\nI suffered much annoyance. An old Indian proposed to relieve me, provided I consented to follow the mode of cure practised by him in similar\ncases on the young warriors of the tribe. On\ninquiring the method he intended to pursue, he\nreplied that it merely consisted in getting up\nearly every morning for some weeks, and plunging\ninto the river, and to leave the rest to him. This\nwas a most chilling proposition, for the river was\nfirmly frozen, and an opening to be made in\nthe ice preparatory to each immersion. I asked\nhim, \" Would it not answer equally well to have\nthe water brought to my bed-room?\" But he\nshook his head, and replied, he was surprised\nthat a young white chief, who ought to be wise,\nshould ask so foolish a question. On reflecting,\nhowever, that rheumatism was a stranger among\nIndians, while numbers of our people were mar-\nL 250 CURE FOR RHEUMAtlSM.\ntyrs to it, and, above all, that I was upwards of*\nthree thousand miles from any professional assistance, I determined to adopt the disagreeable expedient, and commenced operations the following\nmorning. The Indian first broke a hole in the\nice sufficiently large to admit us both, upon which\nhe made a signal that all was ready. Enveloped\nin a large buffalo robe, I proceeded to the spot,\nand throwing off my covering, we both jumped\ninto the frigid orifice together. He immediately\ncommenced rubbing my shoulders, back, and\nloins: my hair in the mean time became ornamented with icicles ; and while the lower joints\nwere undergoing their friction, my face, neck,\nand shoulders were incased in a thin covering of\nice. On getting released I rolled a blanket about\nme, and ran back to the bed-room, in which I had\npreviously ordered a good fire, and in, a few mi*\nnutes I experienced a warm glow all over my\nbody. Chilling and disagreeable as these matinal\nafoittti&fls were, yet, as I found them so beneficial,\nI continued them for twenty-five days, at the\nexpiration of which my phj&ieian was pleased to\nsay that no mots were necessary, and that I hal MEDICAL TREATMENT. 251\ndone my duty.like a wise man.. I was never after\ntroubled with a rheumatic pain! One of our old\nCanadians, who had been labouring many years\nunder a chronic rheumatism, aiked the Indian if\nhe could cure him in the same manner: the latter\nreplied it was impossible, but that he would try\nanother process. He accordingly constructed the\nskeleton of a hut about four and a half feet high,\nand three broad, in shape like a bee-hive, which\nhe covered with deer-skins. He then heated\nsome stones- in an adjoining fire, and having\nplaced the patient inside in a state of nudity, the\nhot stones were thrown in, and water poured on\nthem : the entrance was then quidkjyi;closed, and\nthe man kept in for some time until he begged\nto be released, alleging that he was nearly suffocated. On coming ou$*che was in a state of profuse\n\u00C2\u00A9efspiration. The Indian ordered him to be immediately enveloped in blankets and conveyed to\nbed. This operation was repeated several times>\nand although it did not effect a radical cure, the\nviolence of the pains was so far abated as to per-\nAtebthe patient to follow his ordinary business,\nand to enjoy his sleep in comparative ease._^fcrij 252 BELIEF.\nThe Flat-heads believe in the existence of a\ngood and evil spirit, and consequently in a future\nstate of rewards and punishments. They hold,\nthat after death the good Indian goes to a country\nin which there will be perpetual summer ; that he\nwill meet his wife and children; that the rivers\nwill abound with fish, and the plains with the\nmuch-loved buffalo; and that he will spend his\ntime in hunting and fishing, free from the terrors\nof war, or the apprehensions of cold or famine!\nThe bad man, they believe, will go to a place\ncovered with eternal snow; that he will always\nbe shivering with cold, and will see fires at a\ndistance which he cannot enjoy; water which he\ncannot procure to quench his thirst, and buffa_it|\nand deer which he cannot kill to appease his hunger. An impenetrable wood, full of wolves, panthers, and serpents, separates these \" shrinking\nslaves of winter\" from their fortunate brethren in\nthe \" meadows of ease.\" Their punishment is\nnot however eternal, and according to the different shades of their crimes they are sooner or later\nemanciplated, and permitted to join their friends\nin the Elysian fields. BEAVERS.\n253\nTheir code of morality, although short, is comprehensive. They say that honesty, bravery, love\nof truth, attention to parents, obedience to their\nchiefs, and affection for their wives and children,\nare the principal virtues which entitle them to the\nIppe of happiness, while the opposite vices condemn them to that of misery. They have a curious tradition with respect to beavers. They\nfirmly believe that these animals are a fallen race\nof Indians, who, in consequence of their wickedness, vexed the Good Spirit, and were condemned\nby him to their present shape; but that in due\ntime they will be restored to their humanity.\nThey allege that he beavers have the powers of\nspeech ; and that they have heard them talk with\neach other, and seen them sitting in council on an\noffending member.\nThe lovers of natural history are already well\nacquainted with the surprising sagacity of these\nwonderful animals;'with their dexterity in cutting down trees, their skill in constructing their\nhouses, and their foresight in collecting and sto^\nring provisions sufficient to last them during the\nwinter months : but few are aware, I should n\n254 BEAVERS.\nimagine, of a remarkable custom among them,\nwhich, more than any other, confirms the Indians\nin believing them a fallen race. Towards the\nlatter end of autumn a certain number, varying\nfrom twenty to thirty, assemble for the purpose of\nJiaBdiag their winter habitations. They immediately commence cutting down trees; and nothing\ncan be more wonderful than the skill and patience\nwhich they manifest in this laborious undertaking ; to see them anxiously looking up, watching\nthe leaning of the tree when the trunk is nearly\nsevered, and, when its creaking announces its ap.-\nprbaching fall, to observe them scampering off ia\nall directions to avoid being crushed.\nWhen the tree is prostrate they quickly strip it\nof its branches; after which, with their dental\nchisels, they divide the trunk into several piece*\nof equal lengths, which they roll to the rivulet\nacross which they intend to erect their house.\nTwo or three old ones generally superintend the\nothers; and it is no unusual sight to see them\nbeating those who exhibit any symptoms of lazi*\nness. Should, however, any fellow be incort^\ngible, and persist in refusing:to work, he is driven INDIAN DESIGNATIONS.\n255\ngganinjoij-sly by the whole tribe to seek shelter\nand provisions elsewhere. These outlaws are\ntherefore obliged to pass a miserable winter, half\nstarved in a burrow on the banks of some stream,\nwhere they are easily trapped. The Indians call\nthem \"lazy beaver,\" and their fur is not half so\nvaluable as that of the other animals, whose persevering industry and prSvoyance secure them provisions and a comfortable shelter during the severity of winter.\n\u00E2\u0096\u00A0ftepuld not discover why the Black-feet and\nFlat-heads received their respective designations;\nfor the feet of the former are no more inclined to\nsable than any other part of the body, while the\nheads of the latter possess their fair proportion of ro-?\nIBgpdity. Indeed it is only below the falls and rapids\nthat real flat^heads appear, and at the mouth of the\nl^iambia that they flourish most supernaturally.\nPierre Michel, the hunter, was the son of a\n\u00C2\u00A7pg$ectable Canadian by an Indian mother. He\nalso held the situation of interpreter, and was a\nniost valuable servant of the Company, Michel\naccompanied the Flat-heads on two of theirwm\nH^mpajgns, and by hk unerring mm mbmMmted 256 PIERRE MICHEL.\nbravery won the affection of the whole tribe. The\nwar chief in particular paid great attention to his\nopinion, and consulted him in any difficult matter;\nMichel wanted a wife; and having succeeded in\ngaining the affections of a handsome girl about\nsixteen years of age, and niece to the hereditary\nchieftain, he made a formal proposal for her. A\ncouncil was thereupon called, at which her uncle\npresided, to take Michel's offer into consideration.\nOne young warrior loved her ardently, and had\nobtained a previous promise from her mother that\nshe should be his. He, therefore, with all his relations, strongly opposed her union with Pierre,\nand urged his own claims, which had been sanctioned by her mother. The war chief asked him\nif she had ever promised to become his wife : he\nreplied in the negative. The chief then addressed\nthe council, and particularly the lover, in favour\nof Michel's suit; pointing out the great services\nhe had rendered the tribe by his bravery, and\ndwelling strongly on the policy of uniting him\nmore firmly to their interests by consenting to the\nproposed marriage, which he said would for ever\nmake him as one of their brothers. His influence MARRIAGE RITES. 257\n.predominated, and the unsuccessful rival immediately after shook hands with Michel, and told\nthe young woman, as he could not be her husband,\nhe hoped she would always regard him as a brother. This she readily promised to do, and so\nended the opposition. The happy Pierre presented a gun to her uncle, some cloth, calico, and\nornaments to her female relatives; with a pistol and\n\u00E2\u0080\u00A2 handsome dagger to his friend. He proceeded in\nthe evening to the chief's lodge, where a number\nof her friends had assembled to smoke. Here she\nreceived a lecture from the old man, her mother,\nand a few other ancients, on her duty as a wife\nand mother. They strongly exhorted her to be\nmhgjste, obedient, industrious, and silent; and\nwhen absent with her husband among other tribes,\nalways to stay at home, and have no intercourse\nwith strange Indians. She then retired with the\nold women to an adjoining hut, where she underwent an ablution, and bade adieu to her leathern\nchemise, the place of which was supplied by one\n.of gingham, to which was added a calico and\ngreen cloth petticoat, and a gown of blue cloth,\nvol. i. R 258 MARRIAGE RITES.\n-After this was over, she was conducted back to\nher uncle's lodge, when she received some farther\nadvice as to her future conduct. A procession\nwas then formed by the two chiefs, and several\nwarriors carrying blazing flambeaux of cedar, to\nconvey the bride and her husband to the fort.\nThey began singing war songs in praise of Michel's\nbravery, and of their triumphs over the Black-feet.\nShe was surrounded by a group of young and\nold women, some of whom were rejoicing, and\nothers crying. The men moved on first, in a slow\nsolemn pace, still chaunting their warlike epi-\nthalamium. The women followed at a short distance ; and when the whole party arrived in front\nof the fort, they formed a circle, and commenced\n,'dancing and singing, which they kept up about\ntwenty minutes. After this the calumet of peace\nwent round once more, and when the smoke of\nthe last whiff had disappeared Michel shook\nhands with his late rival, embraced the chiels,\nand conducted his bride to his room. While I\nremained in the country they lived happily toge-\n\u00E2\u0080\u00A2 ther; and as I mean to finish this chapter here, MARRIAGES.\nm\nI may as well state that he was the only person\nof our party to whom the Flat-heads would give\none of their women in marriage. Several of our\nmen made applications, but were always refused. 260 JOURNEY RENEWED.\nCHAPTER XII.\nEffect of snow on the eyes\u00E2\u0080\u0094Description of a winter at Oakinagan\u00E2\u0080\u0094News from the sea\u00E2\u0080\u0094Capture of Astoria by the Racoon sloop of war\u00E2\u0080\u0094Offer of Chinooks to cut off the British\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094A party attacked ; Mr. Stewart wounded; two Indians j\nkilled\u00E2\u0080\u0094Arrival of Mr. Hunt\u00E2\u0080\u0094Shipwreck of the Lark\u00E2\u0080\u0094\nMassacre of Mr. Read and eight of his men\u00E2\u0080\u0094Extraordinary I\nescape of Dorrien's widow and children.\nOn the 4th of April, 1814, we took leave of our\nFlat-head friends, on our way to Spokan House, j\nwhile they proceeded to make preparations for\nthe ensuing summer's campaign. We pursued our\nroute partly by land, and partly by water. In\nsome places the snow had entirely disappeared ;\nbut in others, particularly the dense forests, it was\ncovered with a slight incrustation. CORRESPONDENCE. j26t\nThe sun was very hot, and where its fays' were\nreflected from the congealed, or partly dissolved\nmasses of snow, it caused a very painful sensation\nin the eyes of all, and nearly blinded half the party.\nMy sight was partially injured, and my nose, lips;\nand cheeks, so severely scorched, that I did not\nrecover from the effects for more than a month after.\nWe arrived safely at Spokan House on the 15th,\nwhere I found a couple of letters which had been\nwritten to me by my friend' M'Gillivray from\nOakinagan, at which place he had wintered ; but\nwhich, from want of a conveyance, could not be\nforwarded to me from Spokan. Although accustomed to the style of living on the eastern side\nof the mountains, and well acquainted with Indians, this was his first winter on the Columbia;\nand, for the information of some of my readers, I\n,shall give an extract from one of his letters; viz.\n\" Oakinagan, Feb. 1814.\n\" This is a horribly dull place. Here I have\nbeen, since you parted from us, perfectly solus.\nMy men, half Canadians and half Sandwich islanders. The library wretched, and no chance of my n\n262 CORRESPONDENCE.\nown books till next year, when the Athabasca men\ncross the mountains. If you, or my friends at\nSpokan, do not send me a few volumes, I shall\nabsolutely die of ennui. The Indians here are\nincontestably the most indolent rascals I ever\nmet; and I assure you it requires no small degree of authority, with the few men I have, to\nkeep them in order. Montignier left me on the\n23d of December to proceed to Mr. M'Donald at\nKamloops. On his way he was attacked by the\nIndians at Oakinagan Lake, and robbed of a\nnumber of his horses. The natives in that quarter seem to entertain no great friendship for us,\nas this is not their first attempt to trespass on our\ngood-nature. My two Canadians were out hunting at the period of the robbery; and the whole\nbf mty household troops merely consisted of Bo*\nnaparte! Washington!! and Cesar !!! * Great names,,\nyou will say; but I must confess, that much as I\nthink of the two great moderns, and highly as I\nrespect the memory of the immortal Julius, among\n* The individuals bearing these formidable names were\nmerely three unsophisticated natives of the Sandwich Islands.. CORRESPONDENCE.\n263\nthese thieving scoundrels ' a rose, by any other\nname, would smell as sweet.' The snow is between two and three feet deep, and my trio of\nOwhyee generals find a sensible difference between such hyperborean weather and the pleasing\nsun-shine of their own tropical paradise. Poor\nfellows! They are not adapted for these latitudes,\nand I heartily wish they were at home in their\nown sweet islands, and sporting in the ' blue\nsummer ocean' that surrounds them.\n\" I have not as yet made a pack of beaver.\nThe lazy Indians won't work ; and as for the emperor, president, and dictator, they know as much\nabout trapping as the monks of La Trappe. I have\nhitherto principally subsisted on horse-flesh. I\ncannot say it agrees with me, for it nearly produced a dysentery. I have had plenty of pork,\nrice, arrow-root, flour, taro-root, tea, and coffee;\nno sugar. With such a variety of bonnes choses\nyou will say I ought not to complain; but want\nof society has destroyed my relish for luxuries,\nand the only articles I taste above par are souchong and molasses. What a contrast between\nthe manner I spent last year and this! In the 26\u00C2\u00A3 ARRIVALS.\nfirst, with all the pride of a newly-created subaltern, occasionally fighting the Yankees, a la mode\ndu pays; and anon, sporting my silver wings before some admiring paysanne along the frontiers.\nThen what a glorious winter in Montreal, with\ncaptured Jonathans, triumphant Britons, astonished Indians, gaping habitans, agitated beauties $\nballs, routs, dinners, suppers; parades, drums\nbeating, colours flying, with all the other ' pride,\npomp, and circumstance of glorious war!'\u00E2\u0080\u0094but\nt Othello's occupation's gone!' and here I am,\nwith a shivering guard of poor islanders, buried\nin snow, sipping molasses, smoking tobacco, and\nmasticating horse-flesh!\u00E2\u0080\u0094-But I am sick of the\ncontrast.\"\ni On the 24th of April Messrs. David Stuart and\nClarke arrived on horseback with three men.\nThey informed us that they had left Fort George\non the 4th in company with Mr. John George\nM'Tavish and the gentlemen lately belonging\n4o the Pacific Fur Company, who were British\nsubjects, and who were on their return home to\nCanada. They left the main party about a day's NAVAL AFFAIRS.\n265\nmarch above Lewis River, for the purpose of procuring provisions at Spokan, with which they were\nto meet the canoes at the Kettle Falls, and from\nthence proceed up the Columbia on their route to\nCanada. The intelligence brought by these gentlemen was by no means of a pleasing description.\nAt the period of their departure from the sea the\nIsaac Tod had not arrived, nor had any accounts\nbeen received of her. That vessel sailed from\nLondon in March 1813, in company with the\nPhoebe frigate and the Cherub and Racoon\nsloops of war. They arrived safe at Rio Janeiro,\nand thence proceeded round Cape Horn to the\nPacific, having previously made arrangements to\nmeet at Juan Fernandez. The three men-of-war\nreached the latter island after encountering dreadful gales about the Cape. They waited here some\ntime for the arrival of the Isaac Tod; but as she\ndid not make her appearance, Commodore Hillier\ndid not deem it prudent to remain any longer inactive. He, therefore, in company with the Cherub, proceeded in search of Commodore Porter,\nwho, in the American frigate Essex, was clearing\nthe South Sea of English whalers, and inflicting p\u00C2\u00A7 i _.\nmerce.\n266 ARRIVAL OF THE RACOON.\nother injuries of a serious nature on our com-.\nAt the same time he ordered Captain Black in\nthe Racoon to proceed direct to the Columbia,\nfor the purpose of destroying the American establishment at Astoria. The Racoon arrived at the\nColumbia on the 1st of December 1813. The\nsurprise and disappointment of Captain Black and\nhis officers were extreme on learning the arrangement that had taken place between the two companies, by which the establishment had become\nBritish property. They had calculated on obtaining a splendid prize by the capture of Astoria, the\nstrength and importance of which had been much\nmagnified; f and the contracting parties were\ntherefore fortunate in having closed their bargain\nprevious to the arrival of the Racoon.\nCaptain Black however took possession of As*\n* He shortly after met the Essex at Valparaiso, and after a\nsevere contest captured her. She is now the convict hulk at\nKingstown near Dublin.\nf On looking at the wooden fortifications, Captain Black\nexclaimed, \" Is this the fort about which I have heard so\nmuch ? D\u00E2\u0080\u0094n me, but I'd batter it down in two hours with a\nfour-pounder!\" PROPOSED ALLIANCE. 267\ntoria in the name of his Britannic Majesty, and\nrebaptised it by the name of \" Fort George.\" He\nalso insisted on having an inventory taken of the\nvaluable stock of furs, and all other property\npurchased from the American company, with a\nview to the adoption of ulterior proceedings in\nEngland for the recovery of the value from the\nNorth-west Company; but he subsequently relinquished this idea, and we heard no more about\nhis claims. The Indians at the mouth of the\nColumbia knew well that Great Britain and America were distinct nations, and that they were\nthen at war, but were ignorant of the arrangement made between Messrs. M'Dougall and\nM'Tavish, the former of whom still continued as\nnominal chief at the fort. On the arrival of the\nRacoon, which they quickly discovered to be one\nof \" King George's fighting ships,\" they repaired\narmed to the fort, and requested an audience of\nMr. M'Dougall. He was somewhat surprised at\ntheir numbers and warlike appearance, and demanded the object of such an unusual visit. Com-\ncomly, the principal chief of the Chinooks, thereupon addressed him in a long speech; in the 268 OVERTURES REJECTED.\ncourse of which he said that King George had\nsent a ship full of warriors, and loaded with nothing but big guns to take the Americans, and\nmake them all slaves; and that as they (the\nAmericans) were the first white men who settled\nin their country, and treated the Indians like good\nrelations, they had resolved to defend them from\nKing George's warriors, and were now ready to\nconceal themselves in the woods close to the\nwharf, from whence they would be able with\ntheir guns and arrows to shoot all the men that\nshould attempt to land from the English boats;\nwhile the people in the fort could fire at them\nwith their big guns and rifles. This proposition\nwas uttered with an earnestness of manner that\nadmitted no doubt of its sincerity: two armed\nboats from the Racoon were approaching; and\nhad the people in the fort felt disposed to accede\nto the wishes of the Indians, every man in them\nwould have been destroyed by an invisible enemy.\nMr. M'Dougall thanked them for their friendly\noffer; but added that, notwithstanding the nations\nwere at war, the people in the boats would not\ninjure him or any of his people, and therefore INDIAN ATTACK. 269\nrequested them to throw by their war-shirts and\narms, and receive the strangers as their friends.\nThey at first seemed astonished at this answer;\nbut on assuring them in the most positive manner\nthat he was under no apprehensions, they consented to give up their weapons for a few days.\nThey afterwards declared they were sorry for\nhaving complied with Mr. M'Dougall's wishes;\nfor when they observed Captain Black surrounded\njpjy. his officers and marines, break the bottle of\nport on the flag-staff, and hoist the British ensign\nafter changing the name of the fort, they remarked\nthat, however we might wish to conceal the fact,\nthe Americans were undoubtedly made slaves ;\nand they were not convinced of their mistake until\nthe sloop of war had departed without taking any\nprisoners.\nMr. Stuart farther informed us, that a party of\nseventeen men under the command of Messrs.\nJames Keith and Alexander Stewart, which had\nleft Fort George early in January with merchandise for the interior, had been attacked by the\np^ttives between the first and second portages of\nthe first rapids; that Mr. Stewart was danger- 270 CONTEST.\nously wounded by two arrows, one of which entered his left shoulder, and the other penetrated\nbetween his ribs close to the heart, notwithstanding which he succeeded in shooting two of the\nsavages dead. By this time some of the men came\nto his assistance, and for a while succeeded in\nkeeping back their assailants, who every moment\nbecame more daring, and evinced not merely a\ndetermination to revenge the death of their countrymen, but to seize and carry away all the merchandise in the portage. Mr. Keith having observed a large reinforcement of the savages from\nthe opposite side approach in their war-canoes,\nto join those by whom Mr. Stewart was surrounded, and seeing that gentleman's wounds\nbleeding profusely, felt that it would have been\nfoolish obstinacy, and would have produced an\nunnecessary sacrifice of lives to remain longer in\nsuch a dangerous situation. He therefore determined to abandon the goods ; and having embarked Mr. Stewart, the whole party'pushed off\nin one canoe, leaving the other, with all the property, to the mercy of the Indians. The latter\nwere so overjoyed at becoming masters of such an WARLIKE EXPEDITION.\n271\nunexpected quantity of plunder, that they allowed the party to effect their retreat unmolested;\nand on the second day the canoe reached Fort\nGeorge.\nAmong the goods thus abandoned were upwards of fifty guns, and a considerable quantity\nof ammunilaen, which, if allowed to remain in the\nhknds of the savages, might have been turned\nagainst us on a future occasion ; and as this was\nthe first attack which had proved successful, the\nproprietors at once determined not to allow it to\npass with impunity. They accordingly sent Mr.\nFranchere to the principal friendly chiefs in the\nvicinity of the fort for the purpose of acquainting\nthem with the late occurrence, and inviting them\nto join our people in their intended expedition\nagainst the enemy. They readily consented,\nand on the following morning a brigade of six\ncanoes, containing sixty-two men, under the command of Messrs. M'Tavish, Keith, Franchere,\nMatthews, &c. took their departure from Fort\nGeorge.\nHaving no lading, they quickly reached the\nrapids. Every thing there appeared hostile. The ^*\n272 STRATAGEM.\nwarriors lined the beach at different places well\narmed, and the old men, women, and children\nwere invisible. A council of war was immediately held, at which two chiefs of the Clatsops\n(one of whom was an old female) were present.\nThey advised the gentlemen to assume the ap-\n. pearance of friendship; and after entering into a\nparley with the natives, and inviting them to\nsmoke, to seize one of their chiefs, and detain him\nas a hostage until the property should be restored.\nThis advice was followed, and succeeded to perfection. Having by some coaxing, and repeated\noffers of the calumet, collected a number of the\nnatives about them, to whom they made trifling\npresents of tobacco, they were at length joined by\nthe principal chief of the place, who had for some\ntime cautiously kept out of view. He was in-\nstantly seized, bound hand and foot, and thrown\ninto a tent, with two men to guard him armed\nwith drawn swords. The others were then sent\naway, with directions to acquaint their countrymen of their chiefs captivity, and were told that\nif the entire of the property was not forthwith restored, he should be put to death. This had the\n:\u00E2\u0096\u00A0\u00E2\u0096\u00A0 PACIFIC TERMINATION.\n273\ndesired effect, and shortly after all the guns, part\nof the kettles, and nearly one half of the other\ngoods were brought back. They declared they\ncould not recover any more, and asked our gentlemen, \" would they not allow them any thing\nto place over the dead bodies of their two relations,\nwho had been killed by Mr. Stewart ?\"\nThe mostjijpportant object of the expedition\nhaving been thus attained without bloodshed,\nand as the aggressors had been pretty severely\npunished in the first instance, the party deemed\nit both humane and prudent to rest satisfied with\nwhat they had recovered. They also felt that an\nunnecessary waste of human blood might prove\nultimately prejudicial to their own interests, by\nraising up a combined force of natives, against\nwhom their limited numbers would find it impossible to contend. They therefore gave the\nchief his liberty, and presented him with a flag,\ntelling him at the same time, that whenever that\nwas presented to them unfurled they would consider it as a sign of friendship; but that if any of\nhis tribe ever approached them without displaying\nthis emblem of peace, it would be taken as a\nvol. i. s 274 ARRIVAL AND NARRATIVE.\nsymptom of hostility, and treated as such. The\nchief promised faithfully to abide by this engagement, and the parties then separated.\nMr. Hunt,* late of the Pacific Fur Company,\narrived at Fort George early in February this\nyear, in a brig which he had purchased at the\nSandwich Islands. When the Beaver had left\nthe Columbia, this gentleman embarked in her on\na trading voyage to the northward, which proved\nvery successful. At the termination of her northern\ntrip the season was too far advanced to permit her\nreturning to the Columbia, in consequence of\nwhich Mr. Hunt sent her on to Canton, and embarked on board an American trading vessel on\nthe coast. Shortly after the unwelcome intelligence of the war reached him; and finding no vessel bound for the Columbia, he proceeded in the\ntrader to the Sandwich Islands. He did not remain long here, when he re-embarked on board\nanother trader, and after traversing an immea^l\nspace of the Pacific Ocean, in the course of which\nhe encountered many dangers, returned again to the\nislands. At Whoahoo he purchased a brig called\nthe Pedler, and was preparing to come in her to SHIPWRECK OF THE LARK.\n275\nthe Columbia, when he was informed by some of\nthe natives that an American vessel had been\nwrecked on the island of Tahoorowa. He instantly repaired thither, and found Captain Northrop, late commander of the ship Lark, with several\nof his crew, all in a state of great destitution. The\nLark had been despatched from New York by Mr.\nAstor, freighted with provisions and merchandise\nfor the establishment at the Columbia. After\nescaping various British cruisers, she made an\nlejsc&Uent passage, until she arrived within about\nthree hundred miles of the Sandwich Islands,\nwhen a sudden squall threw her on her beam\nends. By this unfortunate accident the second\nmate and four men perished. The captain, however, and the rest of the crew, by cutting away\nthe masts, succeeded in righting her; but she was\ncompletely water-logged. With much difficulty\nthey hoisted a sail on a small jury foremast. They\nfortunately got out of the cabin a box containing\na few dozen of wine; on which, with the raw\nflesh of a shark they had caught, they supported\nnature thirteen days! At the end of this period\nthe trade-winds, which had been, for some time 276\nDEPARTURES.\nfavourable, drove the vessel on the rocky coast of\nTahoorowa, where she went to pieces. The captain and his surviving crew were saved and kindly\ntreated by the natives, who however plundered\nthe wreck of all the property they could find.\nMr. Hunt took Captain Northrop and his men\non board the brig^ and sailed forthwith for the.\nColumbia, which he reached in the beginning of\nFebruary. Being ignorant of the events that had\noccurred during his absence, he was confounded\nat the iitelligence he received; and censured in\nstrong terms the precipitate manner in which the\nsale had been effected. It was, however, irrevocable, and he was obliged to submit.\nHaving no farther business at Fort George,\nMr. Hunt determined on returning to the United\nStates without loss of time. He took on board\nsuch American citizens as preferred returning\nhome by sea to crossing the continent, and after\nrather a tedious voyage they all arrived safely; at* r\nNew York.*\n* Mr. Hunt subsequently returned to St. Louis, at the entrance of the Missouri, in which neighbourhood he possessed'\nextensive property, and from accounts which I have recently\nJ MASSACRE OF MR. READ'S PARTY. 277\nWe also learned from Messrs. Stuart and Clarke\nthe following melancholy intelligence:\u00E2\u0080\u0094On their\nway up, a few miles above the Wallah Wallah\nriver, they were followed by .some Indian canoes,\nfrom one of which a voice hailed them in French,\nand requested them to stop. They accordingly\nput ashore, and were joined by the Indians, among\nwhom they were surprised to find the widow of\nPierre Dorrie'n, (a half-bred hunter, who had accompanied Mr. Read to the country of the Shoshone's the preceding autumn, as already mentioned,) with her two children. She told them,\nthat shortly after Mr. Read had built his house\nshe proceeded, with her husband and two other\nhuntersViiamed Peznor and Le Clerc, between four\nand five days' march from the post to a part of the\ncountry well stocked with beaver, of which they\nsucceeded in trapping a considerable quantity.\nOne evening about the beginning of January,\nwhile the poor fellows were thus occupied, Le\nClerc staggered into her hut mortally wounded.\nreceived, I feel pleasure in stating, has been elevated to the\nimportant office of governor of the state. A more estimable\nindividual could not be selected for the situation. 278 FEMALE HARDIHOOD.\nHe had merely strength sufficient to acquaint her\nthat the savages had suddenly fallen on them\nwhile they were at their traps, and had killed her\nhusband and Peznor:\u00E2\u0080\u0094he was then proceeding to\ngive her directions as to the best means of effecting her escape; but ere he had concluded, death\nterminated his existence.\nWith that courage and self-possession of which |\nfew Indian women are devoid in times of necessity*\nshe at once determined on flying from a spot so\ndangerous. With considerable difficulty she suc^\nceeded in catching two horses. On one she\nplaced her clothes, a small quantity of dried\nsalmon, and some beaver meat which remained in\nthe hut. She mounted on the other with her two\nchildren, th&$lder of whom was^only three yea$\u00C2\u00A7^\nold, and the other did not exceed four months.\nThus provided, she commenced her journey towards Mr. Read's establishment. On the third\nday she observed a number of Indians on horseback galloping in an easterly direction : she immediately dismounted with the children, and was\nfortunate enough to escape unnoticed. That night\nshe slept without fire or water. Late in the even* FEMALE HARDIHOOD.\n279\ning of the fourth day, on which she expected to\nhave arrived at Mr. Read's house, she came in\nsight of the spot on which it had stood ; but was\nhorror-struck at beholding there only a smoking\nruin, with fresh marks of blood scattered all\n.around. Her fortitude, however, did not forsake\nher, and she determined to ascertain whether any\nof the party were still living.\nHaving concealed the children and horses in an\nadjoining cluster of trees, she armed herself with\na tomahawk and a large knife, and after night-fall\nshe cautiously crept towards the scene of carnage.\nAll was silent and lonely, and at every step fresh\ntraces of blood met her view. Anxious to ascertain if any had escaped the massacre, she repeatedly called out the various names of the\nparty, but no voice responded. By the expiring glare of the smouldering timbers she observed a band of prairie wolves engaged in a sanguinary banquet. The sound of her voice scared\n.them, and they fled. Fearful that they might\nbend their way to the spot in which she had deposited her precious charge, she hastened thither, \"I\n280 FEMALE HARDIHOOD.\nand arrived just in time to save her children from\nthree of those ferocious animals which were then\napproaching them.\nintern thence she proceeded the following morning towards a range of mountains not far from the\nupper parts of the Wallah Wallah river, where\nshe intended to remain the rest of the winter.\nThis place she reached on the next day in a state\nof great exhaustion from the want of food. Fortunately she had a buffalo robe and two or three\ndeer skins, with which, aided by some pine bark\nand cedar branches, she constructed a wigwam\nthat served to shelter her tolerably well from the\ninclemency of the weather. The spot she chose\nwas a rocky recess close by a mountain spring.\nShe was obliged to kill the two horses for food,\nthe meat of which she smoke-dried, and the skins\nserved as an additional covering to her frail habitation. In this cheerless and melancholy solitude the wretched widow and her two poor orphans dragged on a miserable existence during a\nsevere season. Towards the latter end of March\nshe had nearly consumed the last of her horse- FEMALE HARDIHOOD. 281\nflesh, in consequence of which she found it necessary to change her quarters. During the whole\nof this period she saw none of the natives, or any\nindication of human habitations. Having packed\nup as much covering and dried meat as she\ncould carry, she placed it with her younger child\non her back, and taking the elder by the hand,\nshe bade adieu to her wintry encampment. After\ncrossing the ridge of mountains she fell on the\nWallah Wallah river, along the banks of which\nshe continued until she arrived at its junction\nwith the Columbia. Her reception and treatment by the tribe at that place was of the most\ncordial and hospitable description; and she had\nbeen living with them about a fortnight when\nthe canoes passed, and took her up to Oakinagan. %^4?\nThe house that had been built by Mr. Read\nhad no paling or defence of any kind; and as the\n'men were constantly out hunting, or procuring\nprovisions, she supposed he had not mc:e than\none or two with him at the time they were attacked, and that the others had been cut off in\nthe same manner as her husband and his compa- 282 DREADFUL OCCURRENCE.\nnions. She could not assign any reason for this\nbutchery, and up to the period I quitted the country the cause of it was never satisfactorily ascertained. Some imagined that it was committed\nby the tribe to which the man belonged that had\nbeen hanged by Mr. Clarke, in revenge for his\ndeath; but this could not have been the case; for,\nleaving the policy or impolicy of that execution\nout of the question, we subsequently learned that\nhis tribe inhabited the upper parts of Lewis River,\nand never crossed the mountains beyond which\nMr. Read had formed his establishment.\nFrom the quantity of blood Dorrien's widow\nsaw, she thinks that several of the savages must\nhave been killed or wounded before their bloodthirsty efforts were crowned with such fatal\nsuccess.\nMr. Read was a rough, warm-hearted, brave,\nold Irishman. Owing to some early disappointments in life he had quitted his native country 1\nwhile a young man, in search of wealth among\nregions\nWhere beasts with man divided empire claim,\nAnd the brown Indian marks with murd'rous aim ;\n\u00E2\u0080\u00A2 DREADFUL OCCURRENCE.\n2S3\nand after twenty-five years of toils, dangers, and\nprivations, added another victim to the long list\nof those who have fallen sacrifices to Indian\ntreachery. 284\nARRIVAL AT FORT GEORGE.\nCHAPTER XIII.\nArrival of .the Isaac Tod\u00E2\u0080\u0094Miss Jane Barnes, a white woman\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094Murder of one of our men by Indians\u00E2\u0080\u0094Trial and execution of the murderers\u00E2\u0080\u0094Death of Mr. Donald M'Tavish\nand five men.\nWe left Spokan House on the 25th of May,\nand reached Oakinagan on the 29th, where I\nfound my disconsolate friend, the ex-subaltern,\njust recovering from the melancholy into which\nhis hibernal solitude had thrown him. The different parties having now assembled, we all\nstarted for the sea on the 30th of May, and on\nthe 11th of June arrived at Fort George. We\nwere highly gratified at finding the so long expected Isaac Tod safe at anchor. After parting\ncompany with the men-of-war off Cape Horn, THE RACOON. 285\nshe touched at Juan Fernandez and the Galli-\npagos Islands, from whence she proceeded to\nMonterey, a Spanish settlement on the coast of\nCalifornia, for provisions. Here the captain was\ninformed that a British man-of-war had put into\nSan Francisco in distress, and was unable to leave\nit. This latter place is also a Spanish establishment, and is situate in Lat. 38\u00C2\u00B0 N., about two degrees to the southward of Monterey. Captain\nSmith of the Isaac Tod immediately proceeded\nthither, and found the vessel alluded to was the\nRacoon sloop of war, commanded by Captain\nBlack. This vessel, on quitting the Columbia,\nstruck several times on the. bar, and was so severely damaged in consequence, that she was\nobliged to make for San Francisco, which port\nshe reached in a sinking state, with seven feet\nwater in her hold. Finding- it impossible to procure the necessary materials there to repair the\ndamage, Captain Black and his officers had determined to abandon the vessel, and proceed overland\nto the Gulf of Mexico, whence they could have,\nobtained a passage to England; but when the\nIsaac Tod arrived they succeeded, with her as- 286 ARRIVAL OF THE ISAAC TOD.\nsistance, in stopping the teaks, and putting the\nRacoon in good sailing order; after which the\nIsaac Tod weighed anchor, and on the 17th of\nApril crossed the bar of the Columbia, after a\nvoyage of thirteen months from England.\nShe brought out the following passengers ; viz.\nMessrs. Donald M'Tavish and John M'Donald,\nproprietors; and Messrs. Alexander and James\nM'Tavish, Alexander Fraser, and Alexander\nM'Kenzie^ clerks, with Doctor Swan, a medical\ngentleman engaged as resident physician at the\nfort.\n; The two first-named gentlemen, from their long\nexperience of Indian living, knew well the little\nluxuries that would be most grateful to men so\nlong debarred from the enjoyments of civilised-\nlife; and they accordingly brought out a few\ncasks of bottled porter, some excellent cheese,\nand a quantity of prime English beef, which they\nhad dressed and preserved in a peculiar manner\nin tin cases impervious to air; so that we could\nsay we ate fresh beef which had been, killed and\ndressed m England thirteen months before! Acceptable as were these refreshers to our memory\n'vftfte: MISS JANE BARNES. 287\nof \" lang syne,\" they brought out another object\nwhich more strongly recalled to our semi-bar-\nbarised ideas the thoughts of our \" dear native\nhome,\" than all the other bonnes choses contained in\nthe vessel. This was neither more nor less than a\nflaxen-haired, blue-eyed daughter of Albion, who,\nin a temporary fit of erratic enthusiasm, had consented to become le compagnon du voyage of Mr.\nMac . Miss Jane Barnes had been a lively\nbar-maid at an hotel in Portsmouth, at which Mr.\nMae had stopped preparatory to his embark-\nation. This gentleman, being rather of an\namorous temperament, proposed the trip to Miss\nJane, who, \" nothing loth,\" threw herself on his\nprotection, regardless of consequences, and after\nencountering the perils of a long sea voyage, found\nherself an object of interest to the residents at the\nfort, and the greatest curiosity that ever gratified\nthe wondering eyes of the blubber-loving aboriginals of the north-west coast of America. The\nIndians daily thronged in numbers to our\nfort for the mere purpose of gazing on, and\nadmiring the fair beauty, every article of\nwhose dress was examined with the most minute 288 PROPOSALS OF MARRIAGE.\nscrutiny. She had rather an extravagant wardrobe, and each day exhibited her in a new dress,\nwhich she always managed in a manner to display,\nher figure to the best advantage. One day, her\nhead, decorated with feathers and flowers, produced the greatest surprise ; the next, her hair,\nbraided and unconcealed by any covering, excited:\nequal wonder and admiration. The young women\nfelt almost afraid to approach her, and the old\nwere highly gratified at being permitted to touch\nher person. Some of the chiefs having learned\nthat her protector intended to send her home,,\nthought to prevent such a measure by making\nproposals of marriage. One of them in particular,\nthe son of Comcomly, the principal chief of the,\nChinooks, came to the fort attired in his richest\ndress, his face fancifully bedaubed with red paint,\nand his body redolent of whale oil. He was young,\nand had four native wives. He told her, that if\nshe would become his wife, he would send one\nhundred sea-otters to her relations; that he would\nnever ask her to carry wood, draw water, dig for\nroots, or hunt for provisions ; that he would make\nher mistress over his other wives, and permit her REJECTED ADDRESSES. 289\nto sit at her ease from morning to night, and\nwear her own clothes;* that she should always\nhave abundance of fat salmon, anchovies, and elk,\nand be allowed to smoke as many pipes of tobacco\nduring the day as she thought proper; together\nwith many other flattering inducements, the tithe\nof which would have shaken the constancy of a\nscore of the chastest brown vestals that ever\nflourished among the lower tribes of the Columbia.\nThese tempting offers, however, had no charms\nfor Jane. Her long voyage had not yet eradicated\ncertain Anglican predilections respecting mankind,\nwhich she had contracted in the country of her\nbirth, and among which she did not include a flat\nhead, a half-naked body, or a copper-coloured\nskin besmeared with whale oil.\nHer native inamorato made several other ineffectual proposals; but finding her inflexible, he\ndeclared he would never more come near the fort\nwhile she remained there. We shortly afterwards\nlearned that he had concerted a plan with some\ndaring young men of his tribe to carry her off\n* Meaning that he would not insist on her wearing the light\ncovering of the Indian females.\nVOL. I. T 290\nA CHINESE ALLIANCE.\n\"...\nwfeile she was walking on the beach, (her general\ncustom every evening while the gentlemen were\nat dinner,) a practice which, after this information,\nshe was obliged to discontinue.\nMr. Mac at first intended to have brought\nher with him across the continent to Montreal; but\non learning the impracticability of her performing\nsuch an arduous journey, he abandoned that idea,\nand made arrangements with the captain for her\nreturn to England by way of Canton. A few\nwords more, and I shall have done with Miss\nBarnes. On the arrival of the vessel at Canton\nshe became an object of curiosity and admiration\n\u00E2\u0096\u00A0among the inhabitants of the \" Celestial Empire.\"\nAn English gentleman of great wealth, connected\nwith the East-India Company, offered her a\nsplendid establishment. It was infinitely superior to any of the proposals made by the Chinook\nnobility, and far beyond any thing she could ever\nexpect in England: it was therefore prudently\n#\u00C2\u00A9eepted, and the last account I heard of her stated\nthat she was then enjoying all the luxuries of\neastern magnificence.*\n* Miss Barnes was fond of quotations ; but she was no Blue. CHARCOAL BURNERS. 291\nAbout a month after the arrival of the Isaac\nTod a circumstance occurred which, as it caused\na considerable sensation for some time, I shall\nfully relate.\nAbout two miles at the rear of the fort, on the\nClatsop River, a place had been established for\nmaking charcoal. One of the men employed at\nOne of the clerks was one day defending the native and half-\nbred women, whose characters she had violently attacked, and\nhe recriminated in no very measured language on the conduct\nof the white ladies : \" O Mr. Mac !\" said she, \" I suppose you\nagree with Shakspeare that \" Every woman is at heart a\nrake?\"\u00E2\u0080\u0094\"Pope, ma'am, if you please.\"\u00E2\u0080\u0094\" Pope! Pope!\"\nreplied Jane. \" Bless me, sir! you must be wrong ; rake is\ncertainly the word.\u00E2\u0080\u0094I never heard of but one female Pope.\"\nThen, in order to terminate the argument, she pretended to read\nan old newspaper which she held in her hand. He quickly\ndiscovered by her keeping the wrong end uppermost that she\ndid not know a syllable of its contents. He quitted her abruptly ; and as he was coming out I met him at the door, a\nwicked and malicious grin ruffling his sun-burnt features.\n\" Well, Mac,\" said I, |* what's the matter ? You seem annoyed.\"\u00E2\u0080\u0094\"What do you think?\" he replied, \"lhave just\nhad a conversation with that fine-looking damsel there, who\nlooks down with such contempt on our women, and may I be\nd\u00E2\u0080\u0094d if the b\u00E2\u0080\u0094h understands B from a buffalo !\"\nHer supposed education was the only excuse in his opinion\nto justify her usurpation of superiority ;\u00E2\u0080\u0094that gone, he judged\nher \"poor indeed.\" 292\nDREADFUL MURDER.\nthis business was a poor half-witted American\nfrom Boston, named Judge, who had crossed the\ncontinent with Mr. Hunt's party, and whose sufferings during that journey had partially deranged\nhis intellect. He was however a capital woodsman; and few men could compete with him, as\nhe said himself, in hewing down forests \" by the\nacre.\" His comrade had been absent one day selecting proper wood for charcoal, and on returning\nto the lodge in the evening he found the body of the\nunfortunate Judge lying stretched on the ground,\nwith his skull completely cleft in two by the blow\nof an axe which was lying beside him steeped in\nblood. He instantly repaired to the fort, and\ncommunicated the dreadful intelligence; upon\nwhich a party was despatched for the mangled\nremains of poor Judge.\nMr. M'Tavish forthwith summoned all the\nneighbouring chiefs to attend at the fort; and on\nthe following day there was a congress of representatives from the Chinooks, Chilts, Clais&ps,\nKillymucks, and Cathlamahs. They could not\nassign any reason for the murder; nor indeed\ncould any one, for Judge was the most harmless NIGHT EXPEDITION. 293\nindividual belonging to our establishment. They\npromised, however, that every exertion should be\nmade on their part for the discovery of the perpetrators; and Mr. M'Tavish offered a large reward for their apprehension. Some time elapsed\nin vain inquiry; but, through the agency of the\nClatsop chief, we received private information\nthat the murderers were two of the Killymucks,\nand that if we sent a party well armed to his\nvillage, he would render every assistance to\ntake them into custody. Mr. Matthews and\nseven men were accordingly ordered on this\ndangerous duty. They proceeded early in the\nday in a canoe up the Clatsop River, as if on\na hunting excursion, and stopped late in the evening at a place previously agreed on, where they\nwere joined by three Clatsops and a Killymuck,\nwho was the informer. After night-fall they continued on until they arrived at the Killymuck\nvillage, when they landed. The informer having\npointed out the lodges in which the murderers\nslept, and told their names, separated from the\nparty. Mr. Matthews immediately proceeded to\nthe chief's dwelling, and made him acquainted\nL ii\n294\nCAPTURE OF THE MURDERERS.\nwith the object of his visit. He appeared somewhat surprised; but stated, that having promised\nto assist in discovering them, he would not oppose\ntheir apprehension, provided they were allowed a\nfair trial, and that nothing should befall them but\non the clearest testimony. This was of course\nagreed to; and Mr. Matthews, with his party,\nthen cautiously approached the habitations of the\ntwo delinquents, which were adjoining each other;\nand having divided his men, leaving the Clatsops\nto mind the canoe, they entered the houses, and\nsucceeded in seizing, binding, and hurrying the\nprisoners on board before the village was alarmed.\nThe men paddled hard until they arrived at the\nClatsop village, where they stopped to rest, and\nthe following morning at day-break they reached\nFort George in safety. The day subsequent to\nthat of our arrival was fixed for the trial. It was\nheld in the large dining-hall; and the jury was\ncomposed of the gentlemen belonging to the\nCompany, with an equal number of Indians,\nconsisting of chiefs and chieftainesses, for among\nthese tribes old women possess great authority. It\nappeared in the course of the investigation that EVIDENCK ON TRIAL. 295\nrevenge was the cause of the murder. About\ntwo years before this period, while houses were\nbeing built for the men, the greater number of\nthem were lodged in tents and huts about the\nfort, from which the Indians were constantly in\nthe practice of pilfering whatever they could lay\ntheir hands on; particularly at night, when the\nworkmen were buried in sleep after the labour of\nthe day.\nJudge and three others were lodged together;\nand one night, when it was supposed they were\nfast asleep, one of them heard the noise of footsteps outside approaching the tent. Through a slit\nin the canvass he ascertained they were natives,\nand without awaking his comrades, he cautiously\nunsheathed his sword, and waited a few minu$e$\nin silence, watching their motions, until they at\nlength reached the tent, the lower part of which\nthey were in the act of raising, when, by a des-\nperate,biow of the sword, he severely cut one of\nthen* arms. The savage gave a dreadful yell,\nand the panadian rushed out, when he distinctly\nj^reeived two Indians running away quickly, and\ndisappear in the gloom of the forest behind. Tte II\n296\nEVIDENCE ON TRIAL.\ncircumstance made some noise at the time; the\nparties were not discovered, and in a few weeks\nthe event was forgotten by our people ; but it was\nnot so with. the savages. They harboured the\nmost deep and deadly revenge; and thinking that\nJudge was the person who had inflicted the wound,\nthey determined to wreak their vengeance on him.\nFor this purpose they had been for nearly two\nyears occasionally lurking about the fort, until\nthe fatal opportunity presented itself of gratifying\ntheir demoniacal passion. On the day of the .\nmurder, after Judge's comrade had quitted the\nlodge, they stole unperceived on him, and while he\nwas engaged at the fire they felled him to the\nground with a blow of his own axe, after which ?\nthey split his skull, and made their escape. All\nthese facts were brought out during the trial,\nwhich lasted the greater part of the day. Several\nof the witnesses underwent a strict cross-examination, particularly by the old women, who\nevinced much more acuteness than was displayed\nby the chiefs.\nThe prisoners made no defence, and observed a\nsulky taciturnity during the whole of the proce\u00C2\u00A9^ CONVICTION AND SENTENCE.\n297\nings. They were found guilty by the unanimous\nverdict of the jury, and sentenced to be shot the\nfollowing morning. They showed no signs of\nrepentance or sorrow; and on being led out of\nthe hall, the fellow whose arm had been cut held\nit up, and exclaimed, \" Were I now free, and he\nalive, I would do the same thing again !\"\nAbout nine o'clock the next morning they were\nbrought from the guard-house pinioned, and conducted to the farther end of the wharf, at which\nplace it was arranged they were to suffer. Twenty-\nfour men were selected by ballot to carry the\ndreadful sentence into execution under the command of Mr. M , to whom the lot fell. Immense numbers of Indians belonging to the various\nsurrounding nations were in attendance; some on\nshore, and others in canoes. The guns on the\nbattery and in the bastions were loaded with\ngrape, and attended by men with slow matches.\nThe remainder of our people were drawn up in\nfront of the fort, all armed with muskets and\nbayonets. The culprits made considerable opposition to their being tied together, and refused to\nkneeJ,$_g. allow the caps to be drawn over their m\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094'P\n298\nEXECUTION.\neyes. At length, between force and entreaty*\nthese preliminaries were accomplished, and orders\nwere given to fire. After the discharge a loud\nand frightful yell was sent forth from the surrounding savages; but they remained tranquil.\nOn the smoke clearing away, it was perceived\nthat both the unfortunate men were still alive,\nalthough several balls had taken effect. Mr.\nM ordered the party to reload quickly, and\na second volley was discharged: one only was\nkilled; and as the other made repeated attempts\nto rise, and appeared to suffer great agony, he\nwas despatched by one of the men, who fired a\nball through his head. The party then gave three\ncheers, and retired to the fort, while the friends\nand relatives of the deceased took away their\nbodies amidst the greatest lamentations; during\nwhich not a murmur was heard, or the slightest;\nsymptom of disapprobation expressed. Shortly\nafter a number of the chiefs and elders came up\nto the fort, when Mr. M'Tavish invited them\ninto the hall, to thank them for their assistance ;\nand having paid the promised rewards, and made\nvarious presents, they smoked the calumet \u00C2\u00A9f FATAL ACCIDENT.\nH96F\npeace, and departed for their respective villages,\napparently much gratified with the manner they\nhad been treated.\nScarcely was this tragedy ended when one\nmore fatal to the interests of the Company occurred by the melancholy and untimely death of\nMr. Donald M'Tavish. This gentleman had embarked in an open boat, with six voyageurs, to\nproceed to the opposite side of the Columbia. It\nblew a stiff gale ; and about the middle of the\nriver, owing to some mismanagement of the sail, a\nheavy wave struck the boat, which instantly filled\nand went down. With the exception of one man,\nthey all perished: he succeeded in gaining a snag\nwhich was a few feet above the water, and on\nwhich he remained for nearly two hours, until he\nwas rescued when in a state of great exhaustion\nby two Chinooks, who proceeded to his assistance\nin a small canoe. Thus perished the respected\nMr. Donald M'Tavish, one of the oldest proprietors of the North-west Company, and for many\nyears the principal director for managing the\naffairs of the interior. He had realised an independent fortune; and had, in fact, retired from\nm 300\nMR. DONALD M'TAVISH.\nthe Company, when he volunteered his services\nto organise the new department of Columbia;\nafter effecting which object it was his intention to\nhave crossed the continent to Canada, and from\nthence to proceed to Scotland, where he had purchased an estate, on which, after a life of fatigues\nand hardships, he had hoped to spend an old age\nof ease and comfort. Mr. M'Tavish was a man\nof bold, decided character. His enmity was open\nand undisguised; his friendship warm and sincere. Sprung from a comparatively humble origin,\nhe was the founder of his own fortune; and merit\nwith him was sure to be appreciated without\nreference to a man's family or connexions.\n, The day after this melancholy event the body\nof the lamented gentleman, with those of four of\nthe men, were found, and interred in a handsome\nspot behind the north-east bastion of Fort George,\nwhere a small monument, tolerably well engraved;\npoints to the future Indian trader the last earthly\nremains of the enterprising Donald M'Tavish.\n\" THE NATIVES 301\nCHAPTER XIV.\nSketch of the Indians about the mouth of the Columbia\u00E2\u0080\u0094Process of flattening the head\u00E2\u0080\u0094Thievish disposition\u00E2\u0080\u0094Treatment\nof their slaves\u00E2\u0080\u0094Suggestions to the missionary societies \u00E2\u0080\u0094\nDreadful ravages of the small-pox\u00E2\u0080\u0094Jack Ramsay\u00E2\u0080\u0094Their\nideas of religion\u00E2\u0080\u0094Curious superstition\u00E2\u0080\u0094Marriage ceremonies\u00E2\u0080\u0094Anecdote\u00E2\u0080\u0094Aversion to ardent spirits\u00E2\u0080\u0094Government\u00E2\u0080\u0094\nWar\u00E2\u0080\u0094Arms and Armour\u00E2\u0080\u0094Canoes and houses\u00E2\u0080\u0094System of\ncooking\u00E2\u0080\u0094Utensils\u00E2\u0080\u0094Gambling\u00E2\u0080\u0094Haiqua\u00E2\u0080\u0094Quack doctors-\nMode of burial.\n1814.\nWe remained a couple of months this summer\nat Fort George, making the necessary arrangements for our winter's campaign. During this\nperiod we made several excursions on pleasure or\nbusiness to the villages of the various tribes, from\none to three days' journey from the fort. They\ndiffer little from each other in laws, manners, or 302\nDISTORTION OF THE HEAD.\ncustoms, and were I to make a distinction, I\nwould say the Cathlamahs are the most tranquil,\nthe Killymucks the most roguish, the Clatsops\nthe most honest, and the Chinooks the most incontinent. The Chilts, a small tribe who inhabit\nthe coast to the northward of Cape Disappoint-!\nment, partake in some degree of these various,!\nqualities. The abominable custom of flattening!\ntheir heads prevails among them all. Immediately after birth the infant is placed in a kind of\noblong cradle formed like a trough, with moss\nunder it. One end, on which the head reposes,\nis more elevated than the rest. A padding is then J\nplaced on the forehead with a piece of cedar-bark\nover it, and by means of cords passed through\nsmall holes on each side of the cradle the padding|\nis pressed against the head. It is kept in thisi\nmanner upwards of a year, and is not I believe\nattended with much pain. The appearance of the!\ninfant, however, while in this state of compression1,1\nis frightful, and its little black eyes, forced out by\nthe tightness of the bandages, resemble those of a\nmouse choked in a trap. When released from\nthis inhuman process, the head is perfectly flat- OTHER DEFORMITIES.\n303\ntened, and the upper part of it seldom exceeds an\ninch in thickness. It never afterwards recovers\nits rotundity. They deem this an essential point\nof beauty, and the most devoted adherent of our\nfirst Charles never entertained a stronger aversion\nto a Round-head than these savages.*\nThey allege, as an excuse for this custom, that\nall their slaves have round heads; and accordingly\nevery child of a bondsman, who is not adopted by\nthe tribe, inherits not only his father's degradation, but his parental rotundity of cranium.\nThis deformity is unredeemed by any peculiar\nbeauty either in features or person. The height\nof the men varies from five feet to five feet six\ninches ; that of the women is generally six or eight\ninches less. The nose is rather flat, with distended\nnostrils; and a mouth, seldom closed, exposes to\nview an abominable set of short dirty irregular\nteeth. The limbs of the men are in general well-\nshaped ; but the women, owing to tight ligatures\n* Doctor Swan, on examining the skulls I had taken, candidly confessed that nothing short of ocular demonstration could\nhave convinced him of the possibility of moulding the human\nhead into inch a form. 304\nCHARACTER OF NATIVES.\nwhich they wear on the lower part of the legs, are\nquite bandy, with thick ankles, and broad flat feet.\nThey have loose hanging breasts, slit ears, and\nperforated noses, which, added to greasy heads,\nand bodies saturated with fish-oil, constitute the\nsum total of their personal attractions.\nThe good qualities of these Indians are few;\ntheir vices many. Industry, patience, sobriety\nand ingenuity nearly comprise the former; while\nin the latter may be classed, thieving, lying, incontinence, gambling, and cruelty. They are\nalso perfect hypocrites. Each tribe accuses the\nother of \" envy, hatred, malice, and all uncha-\nritableness.\" Even the natives of the same\nvillage, while they feign an outward appearance\nof friendship, indulge in a certain propensity's\ncalled back-biting; in this respect differing but\nlittle from the inhabitants of more civilised countries, among whom the prevalence of such ill-\nnatured practices has by certain envious and\nsatirical coffee-drinkers been unjustly attributed\nto the scandalising influence of tea.\nTheir bravery is rather doubtful; but what they\nwant in courage they make up in effrontery. Fear THIEVING PROPENSITIES. 305\nalone prevents them from making any open or\nviolent attempt at robbery; and their offences\nunder this head, in legal parlance, may more\nstrictly be styled petty larcenies. I have seen a\nfellow stopped on suspicion of stealing an axe.\nHe denied the charge with the most barefaced\nimpudence ; and when the stolen article was\npulled from under his robe, instead of expressing\nany regret, he burst out laughing, and alleged fie\nwas only joking. One of the men gave him a few\nkicks,' which he'endured with great sang-froid ;\nand on joining his companions, they received him\nwith smiling countenances, and bantered him on\nthe failure of his attempt. They seldom make any\nresistance to these summary punishments; and\nif the chastisement takes place in the presence\nof a chief, he seems delighted at the infliction.\nThey purchase slaves from the neighbouring\ntribes for beaver, otter, beads, &c. I could never\nlearn whether any were taken by them in war.\nWhile in good health, and able to work, they are\nwell treated; but the moment they fall sick, or\nbecome unfit for labour, the unfortunate slaves are\ntotally neglected, and left to perish in the most\nvol. i. u 306 INCONTINENCE.\nmiserable manner. After death their bodies are\nthrown without any ceremony at the trunk of a\ntree, or into an adjoining wood. It sometimes\nhappens that a slave is adopted by a family ; in\nwhich case he is permitted to marry one of the\ntribe, and his children, by undergoing the flattening process, melt down into the great mass of the\ncommunity.\nChastity is an item seldom inscribed on the\ncredit side of their account current with futurity.\nIndeed a strict observance of it before marriage is\nnot an article of their moral code.\nFormerly an act of post-nuptial incontinence\nsubjected the woman to the loss of life; but in\nlatter times infractions of conjugal rights are often\nconnived at, or if committed sans permission, only\nslightly punished.*\nNumbers of the women reside during certain\nperiods of the year in small huts about the fort,\nfrom which it is difficult to keep the men. They\ngenerally retire with the fall of the leaf to their\n* We were told by an old man that he knew but of one instance in which a husband killed his wife for infidelitv.\n\u00C2\u00A7 PROSTITUTION.\n307\nrespective villages, and during the winter months\nseldom visit Fort George. But on the arrival of\nthe spring and autumn brigades from the interior\nthey pour in from all parts, and besiege our\nvoyageurs much after the manner which their frail\nsisters at Portsmouth adopt when attacking the\ncrews of a newly arrived India fleet. Mothers\nparticipate with their daughters in the proceeds\narising from their prostitution; and, in many instances, husbands share with their wives the wages\nof infamy. Disease is the natural consequence of\nthis state of general demoralisation, and numbers\nof the unfortunate beings suffer dreadfully from\nthe effects of their promiscuous intercourse.\nNow that the North-west and Hudson's Bay\nCompanies have become united, and that rivalship\nin trade cannot be brought forward as an excuse\nfor corrupting Indians, it would be highly desirable\nthat the missionaries would turn their thoughts to\n4hisj remote and too long neglected corner of the\nglobe. Their pious labours have already effected\nwonders in the comparatively small islands of the\nPacific, where idolatry, human sacrifices, and\nother crimes more revolting to humanity, have 308'\nMISSIONARIES.'\nbeen abolished. I woulditherefore respectfully\nsuggest to the consideration of the benevolent in-,\ndividuals who constitute the missionary societies,\nthe propriety of extending the sphere of their.\nexertions to the North-west coast of America, and\nfrom thence through the interior of that vast continent; the aboriginal inhabitants of which, with\nthe exception of Canada and a very trifling part of\nthe frontiers, are still buried in the deepest igrio^\nranee: During the period that France held pos^\nsession of the Canadas the Jesuits made wondlifl_\u00C2\u00A7|\nprogress in converting the Ind ians, and most of the\nnatives of the two provinces are now ChristianstPlfi|j\nmy journey across the continent small wooden huts;\nornamented with crucifixes and other symbols of\nChristianity^situated from five to seven hundred\nmiles beyond the limits of civilisation were pointed\nout to me, which had been formerly inhabited by\nthese'enterprising missionaries in their progress\nthrough the wilderness. These dwellings are now\ndeserted ;' but are still regarded with pious reverence by the' thoughtless voyageurs: and even the\npoor Indians, who by the cessation of the Jesuit\nmissions, have relapsed into their former habits, pay INDIAN CONVERSION. 309\nthe utmost respect to the houses, which were inhabited, as they say, by g the good white fathers,\nwho, unlike other white men, never robbed or\ncheated them.\" Since the annexation of Canada\nto the British crown Indian conversion has almost\nceased ; or has made, at most, a slow and sickly\nprogress. Their moral amelioration is completely\nneglected by both English and Americans ; and it\nis only in periods of war that we pay them any\nattention. The first settlers of the United States\ndid not act so. They fought their way through the\ncountry with the Bible in one hand and the sword\nin the other; and it was not until the former ceased\nto convince that recourse was had to the latter.\nObjectionable, however, as this system, undoubtedly was, the plan adopted by the modern Americans\nis more so. Their anti-republican love of aggrandisement, by the continual-extension of their territorial possessions, must sooner or later destroy the\nunity of their a confederation ; and it is a subject\ndeeply to be lamented that,in their gradual encroachments on the Indian lands, Christianity^ forgotten,\nthe word of God does not now, as in the time of\ntheir forefathers, keep in check the sanguinary sword w\n310\nRELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION.\nof man; and extermination, instead of regeneration, seems to be their motto. To return to the\nColumbia. It is the only situation on the northwest coast, to the northward of California, free from\ndanger; and I have no doubt that by a proper\napplication the Hudson's Bay Company, who\nhave now possession of Fort George, would give a\npassage, and afford every facility to resident missionaries. Odious as the vices are to which I\nhave referred, the few good qualities which the\nIndians possess would materially assist* in bringing them to ailmowledge of the true religion.\nIndependently of the beneficial results which we\nmight naturally expect to flow from their exertions\namong the natives, there is another consideration\nwhich induces me to think that the Company\nwould, for its own interest, render them every\nassistance in its power. I allude to the situation\nof a number of men in its employment whose\nknowledge of Christianity, owing to a long absence fo.ni their native country, has fallen into a\nkind of abeyance, and which would undoubtedly\nbe revived by the cheering presence of a minister\nof God. Cannibalism, although unknown among\n\u00E2\u0096\u00A0\u00E2\u0080\u00A2- MISSIONARIES.\n311\nthe Indians of the Columbia, is practised by the\nsavages on the coast to the northward of that\nriver; so that by the progressive labours of the\n*gii-Bsionaries this dreadful custom, with the others,\nmight be gradually abolished. The settlement\nformed by Lord Selkirk on Red River, which falls\ninto the great Lake Winepic, and which suffered\nso much in its infancy from interested enemies, is\nat present, I am happy to hear, in a thriving condition. A missionary has been established here,\nwhose labours have already been productive of\nmuch good. Numbers of the surrounding natives\nhave become converts, and they are yearly increasing. The progress of civilisation will gradually gain ground among the western tribes; and\nwe may indulge the pleasing hope that the day is\nnot far distant when the missionaries, in their glorious career eastward and westward, from the St.\nLawrence and the mouth of the Columbia, despite\nthe many difficulties and dangers they must unavoidably encounter, may meet on the Rocky\nMountains, and from their ice-covered summits\nptbclaim to the beuighied savages \" Glory to God 311\nTHE SMALL-POX.\nin the highest, and on earth peace and good-will\ntowards men.\"\nAbout thirty years before this period the smallpox had committed dreadfuf ravages among these\nIndians, the vestiges of which were still visible on\nthe countenances of the elderly meipand women.\nIt is believed in the north-west that this disease\nwas wilfully introduced by the American traders\namong the Indians of the Missouri, as a short\nand easy method of reducing their numbers, and\nthereby destroying in a great measure their hostility to the whites. The Americans throw the\nblame on the French; while they in turn deny\nthe foul imputation, and broadly charge the\nSpaniards as the original delinquents. Be this\nas it may, the disease first proceeded from the\nbanks of the Missouri, and the British are free\nfrom having had any participation in the detestable act. It travelled with destructive rapidity as\nfar north as Athabasca and the shores of the Great\nSlave Lake, crossed the Rocky Mountains at the\nsources of the Missouri, and having fastened its\ndeadly venom on the Snake Indians, spread its THE SMALL-POX. 313\ndevastating course to the northward and westward, until its frightful progress was arrested by\nthe Pacific Ocean. Some of the old voyageurs\nwho were stationed at English River and Athabasca, when this scourge made its first appearance, give the most harrowing details of its ravages. The unfortunate Indians when in the\nheight of the fever would plunge into a river,\nwhich generally caused instant death; and thousands of the miserable wretches by suicide anticipated its fatal termination. Whole villages were\ndepopulated, and an old man well known in the\nIndian country, named Louis La Libert^, told me\nthat one morning during its height he saw between two and three hundred bodies of men,\nwomen, and children, suspended from trees, close\nto an adjoining village of the Cree nation, the\nsurviving inhabitants of which did not exceed\nforty persons. They believed that the \" Great\nMaster of Life had delivered them over to the Evil\nSpirit for their wicked courses;\" and for many\nyears afterwards those who escaped, or survived\nthe deadly contagion, Strictly conformed them\u00C2\u00A3i$e\u00C2\u00A3&\nto their own code of moral laws. The recollec- 314\nIMPOSITION.\ntion of it, however, is now fast wearing away\nfrom their memory. Those who bore any traces\nof it are nearly extinct; and on the eastern side of\nthe mountains, intoxication, and its attendant vices\nare becoming too prevalent. The western tribes\nstill remember it with a superstitious dread, of\nwhich Mr. M'Dougall took advantage, when he\nlearned that the Tonquin had been cut off. He\nassembled several of the chieftains, and showing\nthem a small bottle, declared that it contained\nthe small-pox; that although his force was weak\nin number, he was strong in medicine; e^_hd that\nin consequence of the treacherous cruelty of thd I\nNorthern Indians, he would open the bottle and\nsend, the small-pox among them. The chiefs i\nstrongly remonstrated^gainst his doing so. They\ntold him that they and their relations were always friendly to the white people; that tte^l\nwould remain so; that if the small-pox was once\nlet out, it would run like fire among the good\npeople as well as among the bad; and that it was\ninconsistent with justice to pun&h friends for the\ncrimes committed by enemies. Mr. M'Dougall\nappeared to be convinced by tbese reasons, and ANGLO-INDIAN.\n315\npromised, that if the white people were not attacked or robbed for the future, the fatal bottle\nshould not be uncorked. He was greatly dreaded\nby the Indians, who were fully impressed with\nthe idea that he held their fate in his hands, and\nthey called him by way of pre-eminence, \" the\ngreat small-pox chief.\"\nAn Indian belonging to a small tribe on the\ncoast, to the southward of the Clatsops, occasionally-spisited the fort. He was a perfect lusus\nnatural, and his history was rather curious. His\nskin was fair, his face partially freckled, and his\nhair quite red. He was about five feet ten inches\nhigh, was slender, but remarkably well made;\nhis head had not undergone the flattening process;\nand he was called Jack Ramsay, in consequence\nof that name having been punctured on his left\narm. Jfhe Indians allege that his father was an\nEnglish sailor, who had deserted from a trading\nvessel, and had lived many years among their\ntribe, one of whom, he married; that when Jack\nwas born he insisted on preserving the child's\nhead in its natural state, and while young had\npunctured the arm in the above manner. Old 316\nFUTURE STATE.\nRamsay had died about twenty years ;he$bre this\nperiod: he had several more children, but Jack\nwas the only red-headed one among them. He\nwas the only half-bred I ever saw with red hair,\nas that race in general partake of the swarthy\nhue derived from their matetnal ancestors. Poor\nJack was fond of his father's countrymen, and\nhad the decency to wear trousers whenever he\ncame to the fort. We therefore made a collection\nof old clothes for his use, sufficient to last him for\nmany years.\nThe ideas of thesetjtadians on the subject of a\nfuture state do not differ much from the opinions\nentertained by the natives of the interior. - They\nbelieve that those who have not committed murder ; who have fulfilled the relative duties of son,\nfather, and husband; who have been good fishers J\nmen, &c, will after their death go to a place of\nhappiness, in which they will find an abundant\nsupply of fish, fruit, &c.; while those who have\nfollowed a contrary course of life will be.condemned to a cold and barren country, in which\nbitter fruits and salt water will form theSupriaeii |\npal means of subsistence. Mr. Franchere, who TRADITIONS OF THE CREATION, 317\nwas stationed permanently at Fort George, and\nwho obtained an accurate knowledge of their lan^\n)$0&ge, &c, states they have a tradition relative to\nthe origin of mankind, of which the following is\nP^l^ubstance:\u00E2\u0080\u0094Man was at first created by a\ndivinity named Etalapass; but he was originally\nimperfect. His mouth was not divided, his eyes\nwere closed, and his hands and feet immoveable ;\nin short, he was rather a statue of flesh than a\nliving being. A second divinity, named Ecannum,\nless powerful than Etalapass, but more benevolent, seeing man in this imperfect state, took pity\non him, and with a sharp stone opened his mouthy\nunclosed his eyes, and imparted motion to his\nhands and feet. Not satisfied with these gifts,\nthe compassionate deity taught mankind how to\n; i_|&ke canoesj*paddles, nets, and all their domestic utensils. He also overturned rocks into the\nrivers, which, by obstructing the progress of the\nfish through the waters, enabled them to take sufficient to satisfy their wants. We observed no\nidols among them; and although they had some\nsmall grotesque-looking figures, carved out of m\n318\nSUPERSTITIOUS OBSERVANCES.\nwood, they seemed to pay them no respect, and\noften offered to barter them for trifles.\nCivilised countries are not exempt from superstition ; it is therefore not surprising to find it\nexist among untutored savages. They believe that\nif salmon be cut cross-ways the fishery will be\nunproductive, and that a famine will follow. In\nthe summer of 1811, they at first brought but a\nsmall quantity to the people who were then building the fort. As Mr. M'Dougall knew there\nwas no scarcity, he reproached the chiefs for furnishing such a scanty isiipply : they admitted the\ncharge, but assigned as a reason their fears that\nthe white people would cut it the unlucky way.\nMr. M'Dougall promised to follow their plan,\nupon which they brought a tolerable good quantity, but all roasted ; and which, in order to avoid\ndispleasing them, our people were obliged to eat\nbefore sunset each day.\nThe negotiations preceding a marriage are short,\nand the ceremony itself simple. When a young\nman has made his choice, he commissions his\nparents or other relations to open the business to MARRIAGE.\n319\nthe girl's relations. They are to receive a certain\nquantity of presents; and when these are agreed\non, they all repair to the house intended for the\nfuture residence of the young couple, to. which\nnearly all the inhabitants of the village are invited. The presents, which consist of slaves,\naxes, beads, kettles, haiqua, brass and copper\nbracelets, &c, are now distributed by the young\ntaan, who in his turn receives an equal or perhaps\ngreater quantity, from the girl's relations. The\nbride, decorated with the various ornaments common among the tribe, is then led forth by a few\nold women, and presented to the bridegroom.\nHe receives her as his wife; and the elders, after\nwishing them plenty of fish, fruit, roots, and cfeffc\ndren, retire from the house, accompanied by all\nthe strangers. The marriage tie is not indis-\n.soluble. A man may repudiate his wife, who\nis then at liberty to take another husband. Infidelity is the general cause of these separations,\nwhich however are of rare occurrence.\nA man may have as many wives as his means\nwill permit him to keep. Some have four or five,\nThey live together in the greatest harmony ; and 320\nRECOGNITION AND REPULSE.\nalthough their lord may love one more than another,\nit causes no jealousy or disunion among the rest.\nMany of these women, who have followed a\ndepraved course of life before marriage, become\nexcellent and faithful wives afterwards; an instance of which I shall here relate :\u00E2\u0080\u0094In the early\npart of this summer one of the clerks, who had\nbeen out on a trading excursion, happened to be\npresent at a marriage in the Clatsop village. He\nwas surprised at recognising in the bride an old\nchere amie, who the preceding year had spent\nthree weeks with him in his tent, actually decorated with some of the baubles he had then given\nher. His eye caught hers for a moment; but his\nappearance excited not the least emotion, and she\npassed him by as one.whom she had never seen.\nA few days afterwards she came to the fort accompanied by her husband and other Indians.\nShe remained at the gate while the men were\nselling some fish in the trading store. Her old\nlover, observing her alone, attempted to renew\ntheir former acquaintance; but she betrayed no\nsymptom of recognition, and in a cold distant\nmanner told him to go about his business. INTOXICATION. C40VERNMENT. 321\nAll the Indians on the Columbia entertain a\nstrong aversion to ardent spirits, which they regard\nas poison. They allege that slaves only drink to\nexcess ; and that drunkenness is degrading to\nfree men. On one occasion some of the gentlemen\nat Fort George induced a son of Comcomly the\nchief to drink a few glasses of rum. Intoxication\nquickly followed, accompanied by sickness; in\nwhich condition he returned home to his father's\nhouse, and for a couple of days remained in a state\nof stupor. The old chief subsequently r^grOached\nthe people at the fort for having degraded his son\nby making him drunk, and thereby exposing him\nto the laughter of his slaves.\nEach village is governed by its own chief. He\npossesses little authority, and is respected in proportion to the number of wives, slaves, &c., which\nBKyjmay keep. The greater number of these, the\ngreater the chief. He is entitled, however, to\nconsiderable posthumous honour; for at his death\nthe tribe go into mourning by cutting their hair,\nand for some months continue to chant a kinfd of\nfuneral dirge to his memory. As each village forms 322\nINDIAN WARFARE.\na petty sovereignty, governed by independent\nchieftains, differences often arise between them.\nThese differences are generally settled by giv^\ning compensation for the injury inflicted; but\nin the event of a serious offence, such as murder,\n^#hich is very rare,) or the abduction of a woman,\n(which is not uncommon,) the parties prepare for\nwar.\n\u00C2\u00A3 ^iMfe great mass of the American Indians, in their\nwarlikef%icounters, fall suddenly on their enemies*\nand taking them unprepared, massacre or capture\nmen, women, and children. The plan adopted by\nthe Chinooks forms an honourable exception to\nthis system. Having once determined on hostilities, they give notice to the enemy of the day on\nwhich they intend to make the attack; and having J\npreviously engaged as auxiliaries a number of\nyoung men whom they pay for that purpose, tbe^ I\nembark in their canoes for the scene of aetiotg.\nSeveral of their women accompany ^htem on these\nexpeditions, and assist in working the canoes.\nOn arriving at the enemy's village they enter\ninto a parley, and endeavour b^&bgotiation to terminate the quarrel amicably. Sometimes a third INDIA-ST * i.WaASRF ARE.\najs3\nparty, who preserves a strict neutrality, undertakes the office of mediator; but should tjieir joint\nefforts fail in procuring redress, they immediately\nprepare for action. Should the day be far advanced, the combat is defended, by mutual consent,\ntill the following morning; and they pass the intervening night in frightful yells, and makingjaa_se\nof abusive and insulting language to eafch other.\nThey generally fight from their canoes, wh^ch\nthey take care to incline to one side, presenting\n-fee-higher flank to the enemy; and in this position^\nwith their bodies quite bent, the battle comments'.\nOwing to the cover ol their cahoes, and their impenetrable armour, it is seldom bloody; and as\nsoon as one or ~t$8-> men fall, the party to whom\nthey belonged acknowledge themselvesxanquished,\nand the combat ceases. If the -assailants be unsuccessful, they return without redress ; bulj.if\nconquerors, they receive various presents from the\nvanquished party in addition to their original demand. The womeaa and childiilipcare always sent\naWay>before the engagement commences.\nTheir warlike weapons are the bow and arrow, \"1\n324 ARMOUR.\nwith a curious kind of short double-edged sword\nor club, two and a half feet in length by six inches\nin breadth. They seldom, however, fight near\nenough to make use of this formidable instrument.\nTheir armour consists of a shirt of elk-skin remarkably thick, doubled, and thrown over the\nshoulders, with holes for the arms. It descends\nto the ankles; and from the thickness of the leather\nis perfectly arrow-proof. The head is covered by\na species of helmet made of cedar bark, bear grass,\nand leather, and is also impenetrable by arrows.\nThe neck, therefore, is the only vital part of the\nbody exposed to danger in action. In addition to\nthe above they have another kind of armour, which\nthey occasionally wear in place of the leathern shirt.\nIt is a species of corset, formed of thin slips of hard\nwood ingeniously laced together by bear grass,\n*and is much lighter and more pliable than the\nformer; but it does not cover so much of the body.\nThey have a few guns, which they seldom use.\nThey are not good hunters; and their chief de-\npendences for support is on the produce of the\nwater. It is unnecessary to mention that in their CANOES. 325\nwarlike expeditions their faces and bodies are\npainted in various colours, and with the most grotesque figures.\nTheir canoes are of various forms and sizes.\nThe following description of the largest kind of\nthese vessels I take from Lewis and Clarke. It is\nperfectly accurate, and more technical than I could\nI give it. \" They are upwards of fifty feet long,\nand will carry from eight to ten thousand pounds\nweight, or from twenty to thirty persons. Like\nall the canoes we have mentioned, they are cut\nout of a single trunk of a tree, which is generally\nwhite cedar, though the fir is sometimes used.\nThe sides are secured by cross bars or round sticks,\ntwo or three inches in thickness, which are inserted through holes made just below the gunwales, and made fast with cords. The upper\nedge of the gunwale itself is about five-eighths of\nan inch thick, and four or five in breadth; and\nfolds outwards so as to form a kind of rim, which\nprevents the water from beating into the, boat.\nThe bow and stern are about the same height, and\neach provided with a comb reaching to the bottom\nof the boat. At each end also are pedestals, 326 NAVIGATION.\nformed of the same solid piece, on which are\nplaccfcl strange grotesque figures of men or animals rising sometimes to the height of five feet,.\nand composed of *sfhall pieces of wood firmly\nunited, with great ingenuity, by inlaying and mortising, without a spike of any^kind. The paddle\nis usually from four and a half to five feet in\nlength; the handle being thick for one-third of its\nlengtS, when it widens and is hollowed and\nttfirined 6l_^ach side of the centre, which forms\na sort of rib. When they embark, one Indian sits\nIfi. the stern and steers with a paddle; the others\nkneel in pairs in the bottom of the canoe, and\nsitting on their heels paddle over the gunwale\nTie'xt to them. In this way they ride with perfect\nsafety^the highest waves, and venture without the\nleast concern in seas where other-teats or seamen\ncould not live an instant. They sit quietly and\npaddle, with no other movement, Except when any\nlarge wave throws the boat on her side, and to the\neye of the spectator she seems lost: the man to\nwindward then steadies her by throwing his body\ntowards the upper side, and sinking his paddle\nd^e^^mo the waves, appears to catchs^he water, HOUSES. 3gJT\nand force it unde&fhe boat, which the saiBe \u00C2\u00A7tj$tee\npushes on with great velocity.\"\nThe description of their houses, and their manner of building them, I also extract from the same\nauthority:\njSafifcThe houses in this neighbourhood are all large\nwooden buildings, varying in length from twenty\nto sixty feet, and from fourteen to twenty in\nwidth.* They are constructed in the following\nmanner: *E&o or more posts of :#plit timber,\nagreeably to the number of partitions, are sunk\nin the ground, above which they rise to the height;\nof fourteen or eighteen feet. They are hollowed\nat the top so as to receive the ends of a round\nbeam or pole, stretching from one end to the\nllfiber, and forming the upper point of the roof for\nthe whole extent of the building. On each side\nof this range is placed another, which forms the\neaves of the house, and is about five feet high;\nbut as the building is often sunk to the depth of\nfour or five feet, the eaves come very near the\n* I have seen some of their houses upwards of 90 feet long,\nand from 30 to 40 broad. $$& HOUSES.\nsurface of the earth. Smaller pieces of timber are\nnow extended by pairs in the form of rafters,\nfrom the lower to the upper beam, where they are\nattached at both ends with cords of cedar bark.\nOn these rafters two or three ranges of small poles\nare placed horizontally, and secured in the same\nway with strings of cedar bark. The sides are\nnow made with a range of wide boards sunk a\nsmall distance into the ground, with the upper\nends projecting above the poles at the eaves, to\nwhich they are secured by a beam passing outside, parallel with the' eave poles, and tied by\ncords of cedar bark passing through holes made in\nthe boards at certain distances. The gable ends\nand partitions are formed in the same way, being\nfastened by beams on the outside, parallel to the\nrafters. The roof is then covered with a double\nrange of thin boards, except an aperture of two or\nthree feet in the centre, for the smoke to pass\nthrough. The entrance is by a small hole cut out\nof the boards, and just large enough to admit the\nbody. The very largest houses only are divided\nby partitions ; for though three or more families\nreside in the same room, there is quite space\nenough for all of them. 329\n\"In the centre of each room is a space six or\neight feet square, sunk to the depth of twelve\ninches below the rest of the floor, and enclosed\nby four pieces of square timber. Here they make\nthe fire, for which purpose pine bark is generally\npreferred. Around this fire-place mats are spread,\nand serve as seats during the day, and very frequently as beds at night: there is however a more\npermanent bed made, by fixing in two, or sometimes three sides of the room, posts reaching from\nthe roof down to the ground, and at the distance\nof four feet from the wall. From these posts to\nthe wall itself one or two ranges of boards are\nplaced, so as to form shelves, on which they either\nsleep, or stow their various articles of merchandise. The uncured fish is hung in the smoke of\ntheir fires, as is also the flesh of the elk, when\nthey are fortunate enough to procure any, which\nis but rarely.\"\nTheir culinary articles consist of a large square\nkettle made of cedar wood, a few platters made of\nash, and awkward spoons made of the same material. Their mode of cooking is however more\nexpeditious than ours. Having put a certain 330\nCULINARY OPERATIONS.\nquantity of water into the kettle, they throw in\nseveral hot stones, which quickly cause the water\nto boil; the fish or meat is then put in, and the\nsteam is kept from evaporating by a small mat\nthrown over the kettle. By this system a large\n. salmon will be boiled in less than twenty minutes,\nand meat in a proportionably short space of time.\nThey are not scrupulously clean in their cooking.\nA kettle in which salmon is boiled in the morning\nmay have elk dressed in it the same evening, and\nthe following day be doomed to cook a dish of\nsturgeon, without being washed out, or scarcely\nrinsed. They occasionally roast both their meat\nand fish on small wooden brochettes, similar to those\nused-hj1 the upper Indians.\nIt will no doubt be regarded as a subject of\nsurprise, that in felling the timber for their houses,\nand in the laborious operation of forming their\ncanoes, they had not, previous to our arrival, an\naxe. Their only instruments consisted of a chisel\ngenerally formed out of an old file, a kind of oblong stone, which they used as a hammer, and a\nmallet made of spruce knot, well oiled and hardened by the action of fire. With Ihese wretched FISHING.\n331\ntools they cut down trees from thirty to forty feet\nin circumference; and with unparalleled patience,\nand perseverance continued their tedious and laborious undertaking until their domicile was roofed\nor their canoe fit to encounter the turbulent waves\nof the Columbia.\nAs their chief source of subsistence depends on\ntheir fisheries, they pay great attention to their\nnets, in the manufacture of wMch they exhibit\ntheir usual ingenuity. They occasionally fish\nwith the hook and line. They make use of the\ncommon straight net, the scooping or dipping net,\nand the gig. Lewis and CH&rke mention that\nifi^the first is of different lengths and depths, and\nused in taking salmon, carr, and trout, in the deep\ninlets among the marshy grounds, and the mouths\nof deep creeks. The scooping net is used for\nsmall fish in the spring and summer season; and\nin both kinds the net is formed of silk:grass, or the\nbark of while'cedar. The gig is used at all seasons, and for all kinds of fish they can procure\nwith it; so too is the hook and line; of which\nthe line is made of the same material as the net,\nand the hoflsU-generally brought by the traders; 332 GAMING. HAIQUA.\nthough before the whites came they made hooks\nout of two small pieces of bone, resembling the\nEuropean hook, but with a much more acute\nangle, where the two pieces were joined.\"\nGambling is one of their most incorrigible vices;\nand so inveterately are they attached to it, that\nthe unfortunate gamester often finds himself\nstripped of slaves, beads, haiqua, and even nets.\nTheir common -game is a simple kind of hazard.\nOne man takes a small stone which he changes\nfor some time from hand to hand, all the while\nhumming a slow monotonous air. The bet is then\nmade; and according as his adversary succeeds\nin guessing the hand in which the stone is concealed, he wins or loses. They seldom cheat;\nand submit to their losses with the most philosophical resignation.\nHaiqua, which I have so often mentioned, is\na white round shell of extreme hardness, varying\nfrom one to four inches in length, and from three-\neighths to half an inch in circumference. It is\nhollow, slightly curved, and tapers a little towards\nthe ends. These shells are highly estimated, the\nlongest being the most valuable. They are found MEDICAL TREATMENT. 333\nin the neighbourhood of Nootka, and form an\nimportant article of local traffic. The Indians\nregulate the prices of their various articles by\nhaiqua ; a fathom of the best description being\nequal in value to ten good beaver skins.\nThe most enlightened nations are inundated\nwith charlatans: it is therefore not surprising they\nshould flourish among rude barbarians. Every\nIndian village has its quack doctor; or, as they\ncall him, \" the strong man of medicine.\" The\nmoment a native is attacked with sickness, no\nmatter of what description, the physician is sent\nfor. He immediately commences operations by\nstretching the patient on his back; while a number of his friends and relations surround him, each\ncarrying a long and a short stick, with which they\nbeat time to a mournful air which the doctor\nchants, and in which they join at intervals.\nSometimes a slave is despatched to the roof of the\nhouse, which he belabours most energetically with\nhis drum-sticks, joining at the same time with a\nloud voice the chorus inside. The man of medicine then kneels, and presses with all his force\nhis two fists on the patient's stomach. The un- 334\nQUACKERY.\nfortunate man, tortured with the pain produced\nby this violent operation, utters the most piercing\ncries ; but his voice is drowned by the doctor and\nthe by-standers, who chant loud and louder still\nthe mighty \" song of medicine.\"\nAt the end of each stanza the operator seizes\nthe patient's hands, which he joins together and\nblows on. Hi*'thus continues alternately pressing\n. and blowing until a small white stone, whfeih he\nhad previously placed in the patient's mouth, is\n-forced out. This he exhibits with a triumphant\nair to the man's relations; and with all the confidence and pomposity of modern quackery, as-\n-SUres them the disease is destroyed, and that the\npatient must undoubtedly recover. Mr. Franchere\nstates he has seen some of them carefully envelop the small stone, which they call the source\nof evil, in a piece of cedar bark, and throw it into\nthe fire.\nIt frequently happens that a man, who might\nhave been cured by a simple dose of medicine, is\nby this abominable system destroyed ; Jbut whether recovery or death be the consequence, the\nquack is equally recompensed. Some of the more FUNERAL RITES. 335\nintelligent undoubtedly perceive the imposition\nwhich these fellows practise ; but the great faith\nwhich the ignorant and superstitious multitude\nhave in their skill deters any man from exposing\ntheir knavery. Latterly, however, numbers of\ntheir sick have applied for relief and assistance at\nFort George; and as our prescriptions have been\ngenerally attended with success, their belief in the\ninfallibility of those jugglers has been considerably\nweakened.\nFrom the doctor to death, the charlatan to the\ncoffin, the transition is not unnatural. When a\nChinook dies, it matters not whether from natural causes or the effects of quackery, his remains\nare deposited in a small canoe, the body being\npreviously enveloped in skins or mats. His bow,\narrows, and other articles, are laid by his side.\nThe canoe is then placed on a high platform near\nthe river's side, or on rocks out of the reach of the\ntide, and other mats tied over it. If the relations\nof the deceased can afford it, they place a larger\ncanoe reversed over the one containing his body,\nand both are firmly tied together. His wives, \"1\n336 FUNERAL RITES.\nrelatives, and slaves go into mourning by cutting\ntheir hair; and for some time after his death repair twice a-day, at the rising and setting of the\nsun, to an adjoining wood to chant his funeral\ndirge. VOYAGE TO THE INTERIOR.\n337\nCHAPTER XV,\nVoyage to the interior\u00E2\u0080\u0094Party attacked,, and one man killed\u00E2\u0080\u0094\nArrive at Spokan House\u00E2\u0080\u0094Joy of the Indians at our return\u00E2\u0080\u0094\nThe chiefs speech\u00E2\u0080\u0094Sketch of Mr. M'Donald\u00E2\u0080\u0094Duel prevented between him and a chief\u00E2\u0080\u0094Kettle Indians; their surprise at seeing white men\u00E2\u0080\u0094Curious account of an hermaphrodite chief\u00E2\u0080\u0094Death of Jacques Hoole.\nOn the 5th of August, 1814, we left Fort\nGeorge. Our party, including proprietors and\nclerks, consisted of sixty men in nine heavily\nloaded canoes. We arrived early the third day at\nthe foot of the rapids. It was here our men had\nbeen robbed the preceding autumn; and here also\nMr. Stewart's party had been attacked, and himself wounded the following winter. We therefore\nVOL. i. v 338\nB1V0UACK.\ntook more than usual precautions, and formed a\nstrong guard to protect the carriers. The natives\nwere numerous, but evinced no disposition to be\ntroublesome. As the chief did not appear with\nthe flag, a party proceeded to the village and inquired for him. They were told he was absent\nfrom home. The Indian whom we suspected of\nhaving fired at Michel was also invisible. Their\nnon-appearance looked rather suspicious, and induced us to be doubly cautious. By hard labour\nwe finished the portage in one day, and encamped\nat the upper end. We arranged the goods and\ncanoes in such a manner as to prevent a surprise, and the whole party was divided into two\nwatches. At intervals during the night we heard\nfootsteps among the rocks, and in the woods; but\nit passed over quietly, and at day-break we commenced reloading. A few of the natives came to\nus unarmed, and brought with them some fish and\nroots, which we purchased; and having distributed\nsome tobacco among them, pushed oft'. The day\nafter we reached the narrows and falls in safety.\nWhen the last portage had been nearly finished\nnumbers of the Eneeshurs collected about us, and PILFERING.\nm&\nbecame very troublesome. They made several\nattempts to pilfer, and we were constrained to use\nsome violence to keep them in check. We asked\nrepeatedly for the chief; but were answered that\nhe was in the plains hunting: this we did not\nbelieve, and finding that they still persevered in\nseizing every loose article they could pick up, we\nwere obliged to order corporal punishment to be\nhfflicted on three of the ringleaders. They went\naway followed by a numerous party of their friends.\nTheir looks betokened revenge; and the few who\nremained told us to be on our guard, as they heard\nthe others talking in a threatening manner. We\ntherefore reloaded quickly, and crossed over to the\nopposite side. It was high and rocky, and. possessed many points from which an enemy could\nattack us with effect. The day-light was fast\nreceding; every one lent a hand to work the\ncanoes, and still no place presented itself at whic-h\nwe could land with safety. With much difficulty\nand labour we at length reached the long rocky\nisland already mentioned; and as it was then quite\ndark, we had no alternative but to land in a small\nsandy bay surrounded by high craggy rocks, of 340\nNIGHT ATTACK.\nwhich the island was chiefly composed. We~\ncould not procure any wood, and were obliged to\ndine and sup on some cold boiled rice which had\nbeen left from morning. It was judged advisable\nnot to pitch the tents; and we slept on the beach\nbehind the bales and cases of merchandise in rather an irregular -manner. The first watch, to\nwhich I belonged, passed over tranquilly; and we\nretired to sleep at midnight, on being relieved by'\nthe second. j%jim\nOur repose was not of long continuance. About\nhalf an hour before day-break the cry of Les:\nsauvages nousftechent! Les sauvages nousflechentl*\nrung in our ears, followed by the report of several\nshots.- Every man instantly seized his arms,\nand we discharged a volley at a rocky eminence\nwhich commahdedlifhe little bay, and from which\nthe enemy had fired down on our sentinels. This\ndislodged the savages; but owing to the darkness\nof the morning, and our ignorance of the interior\nof the island, we did not think it prudent to pur-:\nsue them.\nIt was impossible to ascertain whether any of\n* The savages are shooting at us with arrows. \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 LOSS OF LIFE.\n&41\nour balls had taken effect on the enemy ; and apprehensive of another attack in a spot so badly\ncalculated for defence, and in which we were\n\"completely exposed, orders were given to load the\ncandefc. In the hurry attendant upon this operation we did not at first miss one of our men,\nnamed Baptiste L'Amoureux, whom we found\nlying wounded at the farther end of the bay, at\nwhich he had been posted as a sentinel. His\nmoans conducted us to the spot. A ball had\npassed through his left breast, and came out near\n'the shoulder. Every assistance was rendered\n\u00E2\u0080\u00A2him, but in vain; he never uttered a word; and\nere the morning dawned he had ceased to breathe.\nWe did not before imagine these savages had\nany fire-arms among them; but this event showed\nwe had been mistaken* \u00C2\u00A3!\u00E2\u0096\u00A0\nNo other fatality occurred, although several of\nthe party had wonderful escapes. An arrow\n\u00E2\u0080\u00A2passed through the collar of one man?s coat, and\nthe nightcap of another was pierced through.\nMr. La Rocque and I slept together, and an arrow\npenetrated six inches into the ground between our\nnecks. Our. safety may in a great degree be^ I\n342 FLYING SKIRMISH.\nattributed to a number of the arrows having been\nintercepted by the bales and cases of trading\ngoods.\nThe canoes were quickly loaded, and at daybreak we pushed off from this dangerous spot. As\nwe paddled up the south side of the river some\narrows were discharged at us from the island.\nWe fired a few shots in return; but from the manner the assailants were covered, we conjectured\nour balls fell harmless.\nOn nearing the upper end of the island, we\ncaught a passing view of forty or fifty Qfy|he savages not more than two hundred yards distant.\nOrders were immediately given to those who had\ntheir guns ready to fire; but before a trigger was\npulled they had vanished. We landed at the\nspot; and a few of us, who ascended the rocks,\nobserved them at a considerable distance running\nlike hunted deer. We discharged a few random\nshots after them, upon which we re-embarked,\nand proceeded on our voyage. At half past eight\nwe put ashore at a low sandy point covered with\n-willows and cotton wood, for the purpose of\nbreakfasting and interring the body of L'Amou- JOURNEY RESUMED.\n343\nreux. The men were immediately set to work to\ndig a grave, into which were lowered the remains\nof the unfortunate Canadian. A few short prayers\nwere said in French; and after the earth was\nthrown in, to a level with the surface, it was\ncovered over with dry sand in such a manner as to\nkeep the natives in ignorance of the occurrence.\nWe remained here a few hours to refit, at the\nend of which we resumed our journey. We saw\nno Indians during the remainder of the day, and\nencamped late on a low stony island, above a\nrapid, on which we found plenty of drift wood.\nThe following day we passed a few villages of the\nfriendly tribes, from whom we purchased some\nhorses for the kettle. From hence to the Wallah\nWallahs, with whom we stopped one day, nothing\nparticular occurred. They received us in their\nusual friendly manner; and on inquiring from\nthem to what tribe the Indians belonged wholh'ad\ngiven my small party such a chase the preceding\nautumn, they replied that they were relatives of\nthe man who had been hanged by Mr. Clarke on\n~I*awis River, and were part of the Upper Nez 344 EXAGGERATIONS. '\nPercys; that they were very bad people, much\naddicted to thieving, and that we should be very\ncautious how we fell in their way, as they had\nvowed to kill a white man as a satisfaction for the\ndeath of their relation.\nWe met a few of the Nez Percys at the mouth\nof Lewis River: they appeared friendly, and sold\nus some horses. From this place nothing particular occurred until the 23d of August, on which\nday we arrived at Oakinagan. The news of the\nattack had preceded us, accompanied by the usual\nexaggerations of Indians. Mr. Ross, who was in\ncharge of that establishment, informed us that the\nfirst intelligence he received stated that ten white\nmen and twenty Indians had been killed. By\nother accounts our loss was varied from fifteen to\ntwenty, and one statement destroyed half the\nparty, and sent the remainder back to the sea,\nwith the loss of all the goods.\nFrom this place Mr. Keith proceeded with dispatches to the other side of the mountains; and\nthe various parties separated for their summer\ndestinations. Mine was Spokan House, in company with Messrs. Stewart, M'Millan, and M'Do- INDIAN HARANGUE; 345\nnald. We left Oakinagan on the 27th, and reached\nSpokan on the 31st of August. The trading goods\nhad been exhausted long before, and the Indians\nhad been upwards of two months without ammunition. Our arrival therefore was hailed with\ngreat jGy**\nThe whole tribe assembled round the fort, and\nviewed with delight the kegs of powder and\nthe bales of tobacco as they were unloaded from\nthe horses. A large circle was formed in the\ncourt-yard, into the centre of which we entered;\nand having lit the friendly calumet, smoked a few\nrounds to celebrate the meeting. A quantity of\ntobacco was then presented to each of the men,\nand the chief delivered a long oration; part of\nwhich, addressing us, ran as follows :\u00E2\u0080\u0094\n. \"My heart is glad to see you: my heart is glad\nto see you. We Were-$ long time very hungry for\ntobacco; and some of our young men said you\nwould 3tever come back. They were angry, and\nsaid to me, 'The white men made us love tobacco almost as much as we love our children,\nand now we are starving for it. They brought us\ntheir wonderful guns, which we traded from them;\nL 310 INDIAN HARANGUE.\nwe threw by our arrows as useless, because we\nknew they were not so strong to kill the deer as\nthe guns; and now we are idle, with our guns,\nas the white men have no fire-powder, or balls,\nto give us, and we have broken our arrows, and\nalmost forgotten how to use them : the while-men\nare very bad, and have deceived us.' But I spoke\nto them, and I said, You are fools; you have no\npatience. The white men's big canoes are a longtime coming over the Stinking Lake * that divides\n-their country from ours. They told me on going\nnway that they would come back, and I know they\nwould not tell lies.\" Then turning to his countrymen, he continued, \" Did I not tell you that\nthe white men would not tell lies ? You are fools,,\ngreat fools, and have no patience. Let us now\nshow our joy at meeting our friends; and tomorrow let all our hunters go into the plains, and\nup the hills, and kill birds and deer for the good\n.white men.\" They then commenced dancing,\njumping, and crying out in a most discordant\nmanner,\n* The sea. So called from its saline qualities. LIVE-STOCK. 347\nThe good white men, the good white men,\nOur hearts are glad for the good white men.\nThe good white men, the good white men,\nDance and sing for the good white men.\nThen giving three cheers, something like the\n\"Hip, hip, hurra!\" of our domestic bacchanalians, they retired to the village.\nThe next morning the hunters procured a fresh\nstock of ammunition, and, for some weeks following, our table was plentifully supplied with excellent grouse, wild geese, and ducks, in prime order.\nWe had planted the year before some turnips,\npotatoes, cabbage, and other esculents, which\nyielded a pretty good crop. The quantity was\nincreased the following spring; and this autumn\nwe had an abundance of these vegetables. We\nhad brought up a cock, three hens, >three goats,\nand three hogs. The Indians were quite astonished at beholding them. They called the fowl\n\" the white men's grouse;\" the goats were denominated \" the white men's deer;\" and the swine,\n\" the white men's bears.\" They inquired if animals of the above description were all tame in our\ncountry; and on being answered in the affirma- 348\nLIVE-STOCK.\ntive, they asked, if they caught some of those to\nwhich they compared them, could we tame them\nin a similar manner ? we told them to catch a few\nyoung ones, and we would make the attempt. A\nyoung bear was shortly secured: he was tied in\nthe stye with the pigs, and fed daily by one otbiar\nCanadians, of whom he became very fond, and\nwho in a short time taught him to dance, beg, and\nplay many tricks, which delighted the Indians\nexceedingly.\n\u00E2\u0080\u00A2 While we were here a curious incident occurred\nbetween Mr. M'Donald and an Indian, whitBOT|\nshall preface by a short account of the former.\nHe belonged to a highly respectable family which\nemigrated from Inverness-shire to Canada while\nhe was a lad. His first accents were lisped in\nGaelic; but in the capital of the Highlands, so\ncelebrated for its pure English, he made considerable progress in our language. On arriving in\nOanada he was obliged to learn French, in which\nhe had made some proficiency, when he joined\nthe North-west Company as an apprentice-clerk.\nAt the period I speak of he had been ten years\nabsent from Canada, and had travelled over an HETEROGENEOUS LINGUIST. 349\nimmense extent of Indian country. He seldom\nremained more than one winter at any particular\nplace, and had a greater facility of acquiring than\nof retaining the language of the various tribes\nwith whom he came in contact. He was subject\nto temporary fits of abstraction, during which the\ncountry of his auditory was forgotten, and their\nlingual knowledge set at defiance by the most\nStrange and ludicrous melange of Gaelic, English,\nFrench, and half a dozen Indian dialects. Whenever any thing occurred to ruffle his temper, it was\nhighly amusing to hear him give vent to his passion\nin Diaouls, God d\u00E2\u0080\u0094s, Sacres, and invocations of\nthe \" evil spirit\" in Indian : he was however a\ngood-natured, inoffensive companion, easily irritated, and as easily appeased. His appearance\nwas very striking: in height he was six feet four\ninches, with broad shoulders, large bushy whiskers, and red hair, which for some years had not\nfelt the scissors, and which sometimes falling over\nhis face and shoulders, gave to his countenance a\nwild and uncouth appearance. He had taken a\nSpokan wife, by whom he had two children. A\ngreat portion of his leisure time was spent in the 350\nSaUARBLE.\ncompany of her relations, by whom, and indeed\nby the Indians in general, he was highly beloved:\ntheir affection however was chastened by a moderate degree of fear, with which his gigantic body\nand indomitable bravery inspired them.\nOne day as we were sitting down to dinner,\none of our men, followed by a native, rushed into\nthe dining-room, and requested we would instantly repair to the village to prevent bloodshed,:\nas Mr. M'Donald was about to fight a duel with\none of the chiefs. We ran to the scene of action,\nand found our friend surrounded by a number of\nIndians, all of whom kept at a respectful distance.\nHe had his fowling-piece, which he changed from\none hand to the other, and appeared violently\nchafed. The chief stood about twenty yards from\nhim, and the following colloquy took place between them, which, for the information of my\nunlearned readers, I shall translate.\n. rMcJ).\u00E2\u0080\u0094\" Come on, now, you rascal! you toad!\nyou dog ! Will you fight?\"\nIndian.\u00E2\u0080\u0094\"I will:\u00E2\u0080\u0094but you 're a foolish man.\nA chief should not be passionate. I always thought\nthe white chiefs were wise men.\" CURIOUS DIALOGUE.\n351\nM'D.\u00E2\u0080\u0094\" I want none of your jaw : I say you\neheated me. You 're a dog ! Will you fight?\"\nIndian.\u00E2\u0080\u0094\" You are not wise. You get angry\nlike a woman ; but I will fight. Let us go to the\nwood. Are you ready ?\"\nM'D.\u00E2\u0080\u0094\"Why, you d\u00E2\u0080\u0094d rascal, what do you\nmean ? I'll fight you here. Take your distance\nlike a brave man, face to face, and we '11 draw lots\nfor the first shot, or fire together, whichever you\nplease.\"\nc Indian.\u00E2\u0080\u0094\" You are a greater fool than I thought\nyou were. Who ever heard of a wise warrior\nstanding before his enemy's gun to be shot at like\na dog ? No one but a fool of a white man would\ndo so/' %>j$ff\n-kli?D_\u00E2\u0080\u0094\"What do you mean? What way do\nyou want to fight ?\"\nIndian.\u00E2\u0080\u0094\" The way that all red warriors fight.\nLet us take our guns, and retire to yonder wood;\nplace yourself behind one tree, and I will take my\nstand behind another, and then we shall see who\nwill shoot the other first!\"\neiM'D.\u00E2\u0080\u0094\"You are afraid, and you 're a coward;\"\nIndian.\u00E2\u0080\u0094\" I am not afraid; and you 're a fool.\" 352\nINDIAN SELF-POSSESSION.\nM'D.\u00E2\u0080\u0094Come then, d\u00E2\u0080\u0094n my eyes if I care.\nHere's at you your own way.\" And he was\nabout proceeding to the wood, when we interfered,\nhad the combatants disarmed, and after much\nentreaty induced our brave Gael to return to the\nfort.\nThe quarrel originated in a gambling transaction, in which M'Donald imagined he had been\ncheated, and under that impression struck the\nchief, and called him a rogue. The latter told\nhim he took advantage of his size and strength,\narid that he would not meet him on equal terms\nwith his gun. This imputation roused all his ire.\nHe instantly darted into the field with his fowling-;\npiece, followed by the chief, when by our arrival\nwe prevented an encounter which in all probability would have proved fatal to our friend.\nThe gigantic figure, long red flowing locks,\nfoaming mouth, and violent gesticulation of M'Donald, presented a striking and characteristic contrast to the calm and immutable features of the\nchieftain. His inflexible countenance was, for a\nnioment, disturbed by something fike a smile,\nwhen he told his opponent that no one but a fool SKETCH OF CHARACTER.\n353\nwould stand before a gun to be snot at like a dog.\nIn fact, McDonald's proposition appeared to him\nso much at variance with his received notions of\nwisdom, that he could not comprehend how any\nman in his senses could make such an offer. On\nexplaining to him afterwards the civilised mode\nof deciding gentlemanly quarrels, he manifested\nthe utmost.incredulity, and declared that he could\nnot conceive how people so wise in other respects,\nshould be guilty of such foolishness. But when\nwe assured him in the most positive manner\nthat we were stating facts, he shook his head,\nand said, \"I see plainly there are fools every\nwhere.\" \u00E2\u0096\u00A0\u00E2\u0096\u00A0^jff^ ' .\nM'Donald was a most extraordinary and original character., To the gentleness of a lamb he\nunited the courage of a lion. He was particularly\naffectionate to men of small size, whether equals\nor inferiors, and would stand their bantering with\nthe utmost good-humour; but if any man approach*\ning his own altitude presumed to encroach too\nfar on his good-nature, a lowering look and distended nostrils warned the intruder of an approaching eruption. \ |8|p|M^^\nvol. i. z 354\nFISTY-CUFFS.\nOne of our Omadian voyageurs* named Bazil\nLucie, a remarkably strong man, about six feet\nthree inches high, with a muscular frame, and\nbuffalo neck, once said something which he\nthought bordered on disrespect. Any man under\nfive feet ten might have made use of the same\nlanguage with impunity, but from such a man as\nLucie, who was a kind of bully over his comrades, it could not be borne; he accordingly told\nhits to hold his tongue, and threatened to chastise him if he said another word* This* was\nsaid before several of the men, and Lucie replied\nby saying that he might thank the situation he\nheld for his safety, or he should have satisfaction\nsur k champ. M'Donald instantly fired, and asked\nhim if he would fight with musket, sword, or pistol ; but Lucie declared he had no notion of fighting in that manner, adding that his only weapons\nwere his fifcts. The pugnacious Celt resolving not\nto leave him any chance of escape, stripped off\nhis coat, called him un enfant de chienne, and\nchallenged him to fight comme un polisson. Lucie\nimmediately obeyed the call, and to work they\nfell. I was not present at the combat; but INDIAN WARFARE.\n355\nsome of the men told me thatin less than ten\nminutes Bazil was completely disabled, and was\nunfit to work for some weeks after.\nM'Donald frequently, for the mere love of fighting, accompanied the Flat-heads in their war excursions against the Black-feet. His eminent\nbravery endeared him to the whole tribe, and in\nall matters relating to warfare his word was a\nlaw. The following anecdote, which was related\nto me by several Indians, will at once show his\nsteady courage and recklessness of danger. In the\nsummer of 1812, at the buffalo plains they fell in\nwith a strong party of the Black-feet, and a severe\ncontest ensued. M'Donald was to be seen in every\ndirection in the hottest of the fire cheering and\nanimating his friends; and they at length succeeded in driving the Black-feet to take shelter in\na thick cluster of trees, from whence they kept up\na constant and galling fire on the Flat-heads, by\nwhich a few were killed, and several wounded.\nIn vain he exerted all his influence to induce his\nfriends to storm the trees, and drive the enemy\nfrom their covei*.\nTheir mode of attack was extremely foolish,, and 356\nCH1VALRIC RASHNESS.\nproductive of no benefit; for each warrior advanced\nopposite to the spot from whence the Black-feet\nfired, and after discharging a random shot into the\ngroup of trees, instantly galloped away. M'Donald, vexed at this puerile method of fighting,\noffered to take the lead himself to dislodge the\nenemy; but, with the exception of the war-chief,\nthey all refused to join him. He therefore resolved to try the effect of example, and putting\nhis horse into a smart trot, rode opposite to the\nplace from whence the chief fire of the Black-feet\nproceeded : he then dismounted, took a deliberate\naim at the head of a fellow which had just popped\nfrom behind a tree, and let fly. The bullet entered\nthe Black-foot's mouth, and he fell. A shower of\nballs instantly whizzed about M'Donald and his\nhorse; but he, undismayed, reloaded^while his\nfriends cried out and besought him to retire. He\ncovered another in the same manner, who also fell,\nafter which he calmly remounted, and galloped\nto his party uninjured. A prisoner, who was\nsubsequently taken, declared that the only two\nkilled of those who had taken refuge amono* the\ntrees, were both shot in the head by the \"big NARROW ESCAPE.\n357\nwhite chief,\" as they termed our friend. His\nfriends at Forts des Prairies repeatedly wrote to\nhim that the Black-feet complained greatly of his\nhaving joined the Flat-heads, who had, by his\nassistance and that of Michel, become powerful'\nand that they vowed vengeance against them if\never they fell in their way; but M'Donald paid\nno attention either to their warning or our entreaties. War was his glory, and \" piping peace \"\nhis aversion. Up to the period I quitted the Columbia he escaped harmless; but I regret to state\nthat a few years afterwards, one of the enemy's\nballs brought him to the ground: half-a-dozen\nsavages instantly rushed on him, and commenced\nhacking his skull with their tomahawks: the\n\u00E2\u0080\u00A2scalping-knife was in the act of beginning its\ndreadful operation, and in a moment all would\nhave been over, had not the war-chief, accompanied by a few friends, dashed to his assistance,\nkilled three of the Black-feet, and rescued their\nbenefactor from impending death. He subsequently recovered ; but I understand the wounds\nhe then received have left evident traces of their\nViolence on his bold and manly front. 358\nTHE CHAUDIERES.\nm\nAbout seven hundred miles from Fort George,\nand ninety from Spokan House, there is an immense fall in the Columbia, between sixty and\nseventy feet perpendicular, at low water, and\nabout forty-five in the spring and early part of\nthe summer, when the melting of the snow contributes to swell the mighty torrent. The basin\nat the foot of the cascade resembles a boiling\ncauldron, in consequence of which the fall is called\n\" La Chaud&re.\" A small tribe, called \" Les\nChaudieres,\" reside at this place : their village is\nsituated on the north side, just below the fall,\nwhere they remain the greater part of the year.\nThey take little beaver; but their lands are well\nstocked with game and fish; there is also abundance of wild fruit, such as choke-cherries, currants, small strawberries, with black and blue\nberries. They take vast quantities of salmon,\nwhich they dry and preserve for use\" during the\nwinter and spring months. Cleanliness cannot\nbe ranked amongst their vktues. Their habitations are filthy in the extreme, and the surrounding atmosphere is impregnated- with the\nmost noxious effluvia, produced by the piscatory ASTONISHING THE NATIVES. 359\n\u00C2\u00A9ffkte which lie scattered about their dwell*\nings. I visited their village in September in\ncompany with my friend M'Donald, his wife,\nsome of her relations, and two of our own men.\nThey received us in a friendly mantkela, and\ntreated us to abundance of roast and boiled salmon. A small branch of this tribe reside in the\nwaterier, about a day and a half's march to tb&\nnorthward. A family of them, consisting of a father,\nmother, and several children, arri_*ed at the fells\nthe day before us. They had never seen white*\nmen, and their astontehftie&t was extreme at the\ngreat contrast exhibited between the tall raw-\nboned figure, and flowing red hair of my frie#d,\ncompared to the cropped head, John-Bullish face,\nlow, and somewhat corpulent person of the author.\nThe old woman requested to see my arms uued*\nvered; and having gratified her, she begged *__\u00C2\u00BB see\nmy breast. I accordingly opened my shirt, and\nshe at length became satisfied that the skin was.\nfcU white, of which she appeared previously to\neatertain some doubts. Her etmosity was next\ndirected to what she looked upon as the superna- 360 INDIAN CURIOSITY, * '\ntural colour of M'Donald's hair, and expressed^\nwish to have a close examination of it: he com*\nplied, and having sat down, she commenced an\ninquisitorial search about its radical terminations,\nafter certain animalculi which shall be nameless.\nShe appeared much disappointed at not finding a\nsolitary \"ferlie,\" the absence of which she attributed to the extraordinary colour of his hair, which\nshe said frightened them away. Then turning to\nme, and observing mine was of a darker hue, she\nasked if I would allow her to take a \"look.\" I\nimmediately consented; but her eyes and digits\nhaving for some time toiled in vain, she appeared\nannoyed at her want of success, and rose up quite\nvexed, declaring we were altogether \"too clean.\"\nWe visited a small tribe, consisting of not more\nthan fifteen families, who occupied a few hunting\nlodges about midway between Spokan House and\nthe Chaudiere falls : their language is a dialect of\nthat spoken by the natives of the above places, but\napproaching more nearly to the Spokan. Their\nimmediate lands consist of beautiful open prairies,\nbounded by clear woods, and interspersed with INDIAN CHIEF.,\n361\nsmall rivulets and lakes. The latter are visited\nin the autumnal months by numbers of wild-geese\nand ducks, and their hills are well stocked with\ngrouse. They are an inoffensive race, and received us with every demonstration of friendship.\nWe remained a week among them, during which\nperiod we had excellent sport. The aquatic\nbirds were large and fit; and the grouse much\nbeyond ours in size; and so tame, that they seldom took wing until we approached within a few\nyards of them.\nThe chief of this tribe is an extraordinary being.\nThe Indians allege that he belongs to the epicene gender. He wears a woman's dress, overloaded with a profusion of beads, thimbles, and\nsmall shells; add to which, the upper part of the\nface and the manner of wearing the hair are quite\nfeminine; but these appearances are more than\ncounterbalanced by a rough beard, and a masculine tone of voice, which would seem to set his\nvirility beyond dispute. He never gambles, or\nassociates with either sex, and he is regarded with\na certain portion of fear and awe by both men ahflfe 362\nADOPTION AND EDUCATION.\nwomen, who look upon him as something more\nthan human. He has a calm and rather stern\ncountenance, and I never observed any tendency\ntowards a relaxation of his risible muscles. He\nis usually attended by two or three children, to\nwhom he pays great attention. Their chief occupation is to catch his horses, collect provisions,\nmake fires, and cook his meals. When they attain\na proper age, he gives them a portion, gets them\nmarried, and dismisses them; after which he\nselects from the largest and poorest families a\nfresh set of juvenile domestics: their parents\nmake no opposition, and are glad to get them so\nwell provided for.\nThis chief possesses a large number of horses j\nsome of which are the finest in the country. We\npurchased a few, and found him liberal in his\ndealings. He is free from the canting hypocrisy\nso common among Indians ; and if he finds any of\nhis young attendants tell a lie, or prevaricate in\nthe least, the offender is punished by a flogging\nand sent home, after which no consideration whatever would induce him to take back the delinquent. MORAL PHILOSOPHY.\n363\nHe seldom visited our fort; but whenever we\ncalled on him we were received with a degree of\ncourteous hospitality which I never experienced\nelsewhere. He was communicative, and inquisitive, and ridiculed the follies of the Indians in the\nmost philosophical manner. Of these he inveighed\nprincipally against gambling, and their improvident thoughtlessness in neglecting to provide\nduring the summer and autumnal months a sufficient quantity of dried salmon for the spring,\nwhich is the season of scarcity; by which neglect\nthey have been frequently reduced to starvation.\nHe had heard of M'Donald's quarrel with the\nIndian, which he adduced as one of the bad\neffects resulting from gambling, and added, \" had\nthe Spokan been mad enough to follow the foolish\ncustom of your countrymen, it is probable one of\nyou would have been killed about a foolish dispute arising out of a bad practice, which every\nwise man should avoid.\"\nHe inquired particularly about our form of\ngovernment, laws, customs, marriages, our ideas\nof a future life, &c. Our answers proved gene\nrally satisfactory ; but the only two things he could 364\nAN INDIAN PHILOSOPHER.\n''\nnot reconcile to wisdom, was the law of primo- #\ngeniture and the custom of duelling: the first, he\nsaid, was gross injustice; and he thought no one\nbut a man bereft of his senses could be guilty\nof the latter. Our knowledge of his language\nwas necessarily imperfect, owing to which the\nattempts I made to explain to him some of the\nabstruse doctrines of our religion were rather\nbungling; but he appeared much pleased whenever he ascertained that he comprehended what I\nwished to convey ; and, at the conclusion of our\ndiscourse, said he would be glad to converse\nwith some of the wise men we call priests on\nthese matters, and more particularly on the sub'\nject of a future state-\nHe is fond of tobacco; and the Indians say\nthey often see him sitting late at night, enjoying his calumet at the door of his tent, and observing the various revolutions in the firmament.\nOn all subjects therefore connected with the\nchanges of weather his opinion is deemed oracular, and I understand he is seldom or never\nmistaken in his prognostications.\n1 Although clothed in the garments of a female, HIS RESIDENCE.\n365\nf I have hitherto classed this uncommon being\namong the masculine portion of the human race;\nand from his muscular frame, bushy beard, and\nstrong decided tone of voice, I conceive myself\njustified in so doing. I never saw him angry\nbut once, and that was occasioned by observing\nsome private whispering and tittering going on in\nhis presence, which he suspected had some allusion to his doubtful gender. His countenance\ninstantly assumed a savage fierceness; but he\nquickly regained his composure on finding the\nsupposed offenders had changed their conduct.\nHis dwelling was covered with large deerskins, and was completely water-proof. The interior was remarkably clean, and spread over\nwith mats. In one corner he had a stock of\ndried provisions, stored in leather and mat bags,\nwhich in periods of scarcity he shared liberally\namong the tribe; in fact he wanted nothing that\ncould add to his happiness or comfort, and possessed a degree of calm contentment uncommon\namong savages, and which would put to the\nblush much of the philosophical wisdom of civilised man. 366 SINGULAR CHARACTER.\nWhile preparing for our autumnal journey to\nthe sea, we learned that one of our free hunters,\nnamed Jacques Hoole, had been murdered by the\nBlack-feet. His too was a character hors du com-\nmun. He was a native of France, and had been\na soldier. He began his military career in Scotland in 1745, was slightly wounded and made\nprisoner at Culloden: after being exchanged he\nwas sent to Canada, and was actively engaged\nin the old American war. He was present in\nthe battle on Abraham's Plains, when the gallant\nWolfe lost his life, and was one of the men who\nassisted in carrying the Marquis de Montcalm\ninto Quebec, after he had received his death-\nwound.\nThe conquest of Canada induced him to quit\nthe army: he married and became a farmer. On\nthe revolutionary war breaking out, the gallant\nveteran bade adieu to the plough, became a sergeant of militia, and for the second time stood\nthe siege of Quebec; in a sortie from which he\nreceived a wound in the knee, which caused a\nslight lameness during the remainder of his\nlife. SINGULAR CHARACTER.\n\u00C2\u00AB67\nOn the teraaination of the war, misfortunes came\ncrowding on him. The republicans had destroyed\nhis farm ; his wife proved faithless, and his chil-\n-dren disobedient. He therefore determined to\nproceed with some traders to the interior of the\nIndian country. He would not engage in the\nservice of the Company, but preferred trapping\nbeaver on his own account, which he afterwards\ndisposed of at the nearest trading post. This\nextraordinary old man was ninety-two years of\nage at the period of his death. I saw him the\nyear before, and he then possessed much of the\nlightness and elasticity of youth, with all the volatility of a Frenchman. His only luxury was tobacco, of which he consumed an incredible\nquantity. From his great age he was called\n\"Pere Hoole.\" The Canadians treated him with\nmuch respect, and their common salutation of\n\" Bon jour, pere,\" was answered by \" Merci,\nMerci, mon Jils.\" His body was found by the\nFlat-heads, close to a beaver dam :\u00E2\u0080\u0094a ball had\npenetrated his temples, and the few white hairs\nthat remained on his aged head did not prevent\nhis inhuman butchers from stripping it of the 368\nSINGULAR CHARACTER.\nscalp. -dHis clothes remained on him; but his-\nhorses, traps, and arms had been taken by the\nmurderers.\nEND OfVOiJi\nRINGED BY A. J. VALPY, RED LION COURT, FLEET STREET. -fcS^SW cbl *S*I */ \u00C2\u00A3?\nM ^K^.* fi\u00C2\u00BB\u00C2\u00AB><- "@en . "Books"@en . "FC3205_1_C69_1831_v1"@en . "10.14288/1.0114661"@en . "English"@en . "Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library"@en . "London : H. Colburn and R. Bentley"@en . "Rare Books and Special Collections"@en . "These images are provided for research and reference use only. Written permission to publish, copy or otherwise use these images must be obtained from Rare Books & Special Collections http://www.library.ubc.ca/spcoll/"@en . "University of British Columbia. Library. Rare Books and Special Collections. FC3205.1 .C69 1831"@en . "Indians of North America--Columbia River Valley"@en . "Columbia River Valley"@en . "Northwest, Canadian--Description and travel"@en . "Oregon--Description and travel"@en . "Adventures on the Columbia river, including the narrative of a residence of six years on the western side of the Rocky mountains, among various tribes of Indians hitherto unknown : together with a journey across the American continent"@en . "Text"@en . ""@en .