1787- ftroyed by a cuftom extremely Angular, and what we had never met
with before, neither do I recoiled): having feen it mentioned by any
Voyagers whatever.
An aperture is made in the thick part of the under lip, and in-
creafed by degrees in a line parallel with the mouth, and equally
long : in this aperture, a piece of wood is conftantly’wore, of an
eliptical form, about half an inch thick ; the fuperficies not -flat,
but hollowed out on each fide like a fpoon, though not quite fo
deep ; the edges are likewife hollowed in the form of a pully, in
order to fix this precious ornament more firmly in the lip, which
by this means is frequently extended at leal): three inches horizontally,
and confequently diftorts every feature in the lower part of
the face. This curious piece of wood is wore only bv the women,
and feems to be oonfidered as a mark of diftinction, it not being
wore by all indifcriminately, but only thole who appeared in a fu-
perior ftation to the reft.
The language here is different from that of Prince William’s
Sound, or Cook's River; it appears barbarous, uncouth, and difficult
to pronounce: they frequently ufed the word Amcou, which
fignifies a Friend, or Chief, and their numerals reckon to ten ; but
I was not able to procure any farther fpecimen of their language,,
as they are very clofe and uncommunicative in their'difpofitions..
Their habitations are the moft wretched hovels that can poffibly
be conceived; a few poles ftuck in the ground, without order or
regularity, enclofed and covered with loofe boards, conftitute an
Indian hut, and fo little care is taken in their conftruftion, that
they are quite infuificient to keep out the fnow or rain : the numeroits.
rous chinks and crannies ferve, however, to let out the fmoke, no 1787.
particular aperture being left for that purpofe. ^— — j
The infide of thefe dwellings exhibits a compleat picture of dirt
and filth, indolence and lazinefs; in one corner are thrown the
bones, and remaining fragments of victuals left at their meals ; in
another are heaps of fifh, pieces of ftinking flelh, greafe, oil, &c.
ih Ihort, the whole lerved to Ihew us, in how wretched a ftate it is
poflible for human beings to exift; and yet thefe people appear contented
with their fitua.tion, and probably enjoy a much greater
portion of hap.pinefs, and tranquillity,, than is t.o be found under
the gilded roofs of the moft defpotie monarch,
'Tis probable, that the chief reafon why thefe Indians take no-
greater pains in the ftructurc of their habitations is, that then
fituation is merely temporary: no fooner does the mafter of a
tribe find game begin to grow fcarce, or fifh not fo plentiful as he
expected, than he takes down his hut, puts the boards into his
canoe, and paddles away to feek out for a fpot better adapted to his
various purpofes, which, having found, he prefently erefts his:
dwelling in the fame carelelefs manner as before.
I before took notice, that their fmall canoes were neatly finiflied;*'
the very reverfe is the cafe with their large ones ; they are made
entirely of one large tree, rudely excavated and reduced to no particular
Ihape, hut each end has the refemblance of a butcher’s tray,
and generally are large enough to hold twelve or fourteen- people.
Whilft we lay here, thefe people fupplied us very plentifully with
halibut, which we bought of them for beads and fmall toes. The
place.
* One of thefe was brought home by Captain Dixon, and is now in the pofleflio.n
•fStr Jofeph Banks.