profpecr of my meeting with any furs of confequence. Towards
noon it grew nearly calm, and the whale boats were obliged to take
the long boat in tow.
“ Whilft we were proceeding in this manner acrofs the found,
fome canoes joined us, and one of the Indians had a few fea-otter
fkins, which he offered to fell. Happening to caft his eyes on a
frying-pan, which my people in the long boat had to drefs their
victuals with, he requefled to have it in barter; accordingly, it
was offered him, but he abfolutely refufed to take it entire, and
defiled us to break off the handle, which he feemed to regard as a
thing of ineftimable value, and reje&ed the bottom part with contempt.
Towards fix o’clock, the wind frefhening, the whale boats
were caft off, and foon afterwards the weather grew very rough,
with conftant fnow and fleet, which occafioned the boats to fepa-
rate. The night was very ftormy, and I did not get on board my
own veflel till four o’clock in the morning of the loth. The
King George’s boats arrived nearly about the fame time.’’
About eleven o’clock in the forenoon of the ioth, Captain
Meares, accompanied by Mr. Rofs, his. Firft Mate, came in then-
own boat on board the King George, bringing feveral bags, of
rice along with them, to exchange for various refrefhments, which
ffiey ftood greatly in need of.
From them we learnt, that the Fur-trade on this coaft had been
carried on from different parts of the Eaft Indies for fome years.
They
They told us various ftories refpefting their fuccefs in trade,
but on fhefe much reliance was not to be placed, as the Captain
and Mate feldom agreed in their accounts : at one time, they had
purchafed two thoufand fea-otter fkins; at another, not more than
feven hundred. This, however, is pretty certain, that they had
procured a confiderable quantity of valuable furs, and thefe chiefly,,
if not altogether, in Prince William’s Sound.
It was Captain Meares’s intention to have compleated his Voyage
in twelve months ; but the froft fetting in fooner than they'
expedited, had unavoidably detained them in the found during the
winter.. The great lofs they fuftalned by ficknefs has already been-,
related; unfortunately when the remaining part of Captain
Meares’s crew were weak and enfeebled to the laft degi'ee, they
were greatly diftreffed for fuel; and for fome time it was with the.
greateft difficulty that they got wood on board for their daily life..
On our enquiring whether the fcurvy, unattended with any other
complaint, had made fuch fatal havock amongft the people belonging
to the Nootka, we were informed, that a free and unreftrained
ufe of fpirits had been indifcriminately allowed them during the
extreme cold weather, which they had drank to fuch excefs about
Chriftmas, that numbers of them kept their hammocks for a fortnight
together ; add to this, their liquor was of a very pernicious
kind, fo that there is reafon to fuppofe its effects, when drank to
fuch an extreme, were not lefs fatal than the fcurvy itfelf. Admitting
this to be the cafe, it furely was ill-judged in Captain
Meares to fuffer fuch hurtful exceffes amongft his people; and I
am afraid that a fcanty fupply of the various antifcorbutics abfo--
lutely neceflary for thefe voyages, put it out of their power to check
this cruel diforder, fo often fatal to fea-faring people.
In