May. branches of trees, fhrubs, or grafs ; none however appeared to be con-
-v— < drafted for protefting them, either againft the heat o f fummer, or the
inclemency of the winter. In them were hung up to be cured by the
fmoke of the fire they kept conflantly burning, clams, mufcles, and a
few other kinds o f filh, feemingly intended for their winter’s fubfidence.
The clams perhaps were not all referved for that purpofe, as we frequently
faw them ftrung and worn about the neck, which, as inclination
direfted, were eaten two, three, or half a dozen at a time. This
ftation did not appear to have been preferred for the purpofe of filhing,
as -we faw few of the people fo employed; nearly the whole of the inhabitants
belonging to the village, which confided of about eighty or
an hundred men, women and children, were bufily engaged like fwine,
rooting up this beautiful verdant meadow in qued of a fpecies o f wild
onion, and two other roots, which in appearance and tade greatly re-
fembled the faranne, particularly the larged ; the fize o f the fmalled did
not much exceed a large pea: this Mr. Menzies confidered to be a new
genus. The colleaing of thefe roots was mod likely the objea which
attached them to this fp ot; they all feemed to gather them with much
avidity, and to preferve them with great care, mod probably for the
purpofe of making the pade I have already mentioned.
Thefe people varied in no effential point from the natives we had feen
fince our entering the draits. Their perfons were equally ill made,
and as much belmeared with oil and different coloured paints, particularly
with red ochre, and a fort o f diining chaffy mica, very ponderous,
and in colour much refembling black lead; they likewife poffeffed more
ornaments, efpecially fuch as were made of copper, the article mod
valued and edeemed anqongd them. They feemed not wanting in offers
of ffiendlhip and hofpitality; as on our joining their party, we were pre-
fented with fuch things as they had to difpofe o f: and they immediately
prepared a few of the roots, and fome fhell filh for our refrelh-
ment, which were very palatable. In thefe civil offices, two men who
appeared the mod aftive, and to be regarded by their countrymen as
the mod important perfons of the party, were particularly afliduous to
pleafe. To each of them I made prefents, which were received very
thankfully;
1792.
May.
thankfully; and on my returning towards the boat, they gave me to
underdand by figns, the only means we had of converling with each
other, that it would not be long ere they returned our vidt on board
the lhip. This they accordingly did in the afternoon, with no fmall
degree of ceremony. Bedde the canoes which brought thefe two fupe-
rior people, five others attended, feemingly as an appendage to the
confequence of thefe chiefs, who would not repair immediately on board,
but agreeably to the cudom of Nootka advanced within about two
hundred yards of the lhip, and there reding on their paddles a conference
was held, followed by a fong principally fung by one man, who
at dated times was joined in chorus by feveral others, whild fome in
each canoe kept time with the handles o f their paddles, by driking them
againd the gunwale or fide of the canoe, forming a fort of accompany-
ment, which though expreffed by fimple notes only, was by no means
deditute of an agreeable effeft. This performance took place whild
they were paddling fiowly round the lhip, and on its being concluded, they
came alongfide with the greated confidence, and without fear or fufpi-
cion immediately entered into a commercial intercourfe with our people.
The two chiefs however required fome little intreaty before they could be
induced to venture on board. I again prefented them with fome valuables,
amongd which was a garment for each of blue cloth, fome copper, iron
in various lhapes, and fuch trinkets as I thought would prove mod acceptable.
In this refpeft either my judgment failed, or their padion for
traffick and exchange is irrefidible; for no fooner had they quitted the
cabin, than excepting the copper they bartered away on deck nearly
every article I had given them, for others o f infinitely lefs utility or real
value, confiding of fuch things as they could bed appropriate to the
decoration of their perfons, and other ornamental purpofes, giving
uniformly a decided preference to copper.
In the morning of the 21 d, fell a few (howers of rain, which were Monday in
neither fo .heavy as to retard our bufinefs on lhore, nor to prevent the
friendly Indians paying us a vifit on board. Convinced of our amicable
difpofition towards them, nearly the whole of the inhabitants, men, women
and children, gratified their curiofity in the eourfe of the day by
paddling