juty.' our endeavours to gain the confidence, and, if poffible, to conciliate the
-v— -> good opinion of, our vi.fitors, But all was to no effeft; they refufed
to accept any more prefents, whilft thofe- who had condefcended ■ to-receive
any, made figns that we Ihould go to their place o f abode, - which
we had by this time palled; and frequently made ufe o f the words
“ Wmnee watter," fignifying to flop and trade, producing at the fame-
time fome very indifferent fea otter ikins. Recolleaing the avidity with
which all the .inhabitants of thele parts enter into commercial intercourle,
I thought their uncourteous behaviour might have arifen from our back-
wardnefs in following the famepurfuit; and hoped, by offering to trade
with them, we Ihould be able to. obtain their friendlhip. But neither
cloth, iron, copper, nor any thing we had, was in their opinions fuffioient
in quantity, or equal in quality to the. value o f their fkins; which were,
without exception, the worft I had yet feen on the coaft. On the launch
coming up we pulled towards the Ihore ; they now feemed better pleafed,
and on landing they offered their Ikins again for dale, but it was not
within our reach to purchafe them. Whilft we . remained together on
Ihore their behaviour was more civil, and we feemed - to part on much
better terms than we had met. They remained at the point, and we
proceeded up the arm. Their abfence however was not o f long duration,
as they Ihortly followed us waving their Ikins, and ex poling them
for fale;. and it was not a little extraordinary,■ that- they -Ihould now exchange
their Ikins, and other articles o f traffic, for the very identical
commodities, which they had before reje&ed with fo much contempt.
It was not eafy to account for the fingular appearance and'rude behaviour,.
o f this,, tribe, fo very different from what w e -had hitherto experienced;
fome amongft us fuggefted, that. thele ' people might pro-
bably belong to that party on whom Mr. Brown, had recently been
obliged to fire 'in this neighbourhood,; and-at no great dillance from our
aftual ftation; but it appeared to me- far more likely, that their relent-
ment had been excited by our perfect indifference to their commodities
brought fpr fale, and our having declined their invitations to the place
o f their abode. This opinion was foon confirmed by their fubfequent
conduct; on being now offered blue cloth for' their flans, they began a
fong,
fong, that continued until they came clofe to us, when I obferved that *793-
their arms and war garments were all laid afide; and having difpofed of i— «—
fuch things as they had for fale, they began to betray a fqmewhat thiev- ■
ilh difpofition. I endeavoured to make them fenfible of my difappro-
bation of this conduft, and made figns that they Ihould depart, with
which they reluftantly complied.
I did not obferve that ;thefe people differed from the generality
o f the North-Weft Americans, otherwife than in the ferocity of their
countenances. Their weapons feemed well adapted to their condition;
their fpears, about fixteen feet long, were pointed with iron,
wrought in feveral fimple forms, amongft which fome were barbed.
Their bows were well conftrufted, and their arrows, with which they
were plentifully fupplied, appeared but rude, and were pointed with
bone or iron. Each man was provided with an iron dagger, fufpended
from his neck in a leather (heath, feemirtgly intended to be ufed When
in clofe aftion. Their war garments were formed of two,- three, or
more folds, o f the ftrongeft hides of the land animals they ate able to
procure. In the center was a hole fuffic-ient to admit the head and left
arm to pafs through; the mode o f wearing them being over the right
Ihoulder, and under the left arm. The left fide of the garment is fewed
up, but the right fide remains open; the body is however tolerably well
proteHed, and both arms are left at liberty for aftion. As a further ,
fecurityon the part which covers the breaft, they fometimes fix on the
inlide thin laths of wood; the whole is feemingly well contrived, and I
doubt not anfwers the effential purpofe o f proteftion' againft their native
weapons.
The weather though pleafant was unfortunately cloudy about noon,
and prevented any obfervation being made for the latitude. The fame
unfavorable circumftance attended us during our excurfion to the northward
of the veffels. We continued to the n . n . £., without meeting any
interruption or break in the Ihores until about eight in the evening,
when we arrived at a point on the weftern Ihore, fituated in latitude 55°
16', longitude 230° 8'. Near this point we relied for the night. From
hence the arm took a dire&ion n . 15. w ., continuing in general about
.X x 2 the