sembling in a body, welcomed us to their village, by join❤ ing in a song, which was far from harsh or disagreeable.

The day being now far spent, I proceeded for the ships, round the north end of the large island; meeting, in my way, with several canoes laden with sardines, which had been just caught, somewhere in the east corner of the Sound. When I got on board, I was informed, that, while I was absent, the ships had been visited by some strangers, in two or three large canoes, who, by signs, made our people understand that they had come from the S.E., beyond the bay. They brought several skins, garments, and other articles, which they bartered. But what was most singular, two silver table-spoons were purchased from them, which, from their peculiar shape, we supposed to be of Spanish manufacture. One of these strangers wore them round his neck, by way of ornament. These visitors also appeared to be more plentifully supplied with iron than the inhabitants of the Sound,

1

The mizen-mast being finished, it was got in, and rigg. ed, on the 21st; and the carpenters were set to work to make a new fore-top-mast, to replace the one that had been carried away some time before.

Next morning, about eight o'clock, we were visited by a number of strangers, in twelve or fourteen canoes. They came into the cove from the southward, and as soon as they had turned the point of it, they stopped, and lay drawn up in a body above half an hour, about two or three hundred yards from the ships. At first, we thought, that they were afraid to come nearer; but we were mistaken in this, and they were only preparing an introductory ceremony. On advancing toward the ships, they all stood up in their canoes, and began to sing. Some of their songs, in which the whole body joined, were in a slow, and others in quicker time; and they accompanied their notes with the most regular motions of their hands; or beating in concert, with their paddles, on the sides of the canoes, and making other very expressive gestures. At the end of each song, they remained silent a few seconds, and then began again, sometimes pronouncing the word hooee! forcibly, as a chorus. After entertaining us with this specimen of their music, which we listened to with admiration, for above half an hour, they came alongside the ships, and bartered what they had to dispose of. Some of our old friends of

the

the Sound were now found to be amongst them, and they took the whole management of the traffic between us and the strangers, much to the advantage of the latter.

Our attendance on these visitors being finished, CaptainClerke and I went, in the forenoon, with two boats, to the village at the west point of the Sound. When I was there before, I had observed, that plenty of grass grew near it; and it was necessary to lay in a quantity of this, as food for the few goats and sheep which were still left on board. The inhabitants received us with the same demonstrations of friendship which I had experienced before; and the moment we landed, I ordered some of my people to begin their operation of cutting. I had not the least imagination, that the natives could make any objection to our furnishing ourselves with what seemed to be of no use to them, but was necessary for us. However, I was mistaken; for, the moment that our men began to cut, some of the inhabitants interposed, and would not permit them to proceed, saying they must "makook," that is, must first buy it. I was now in one of the houses; but as soon as I heard of this, I went to the field, where I found about a dozen of the natives, each of whom laid claim to some part of the grass that grew in this place. I bargained with them for it, and having completed the purchase, thought that we were now at liberty to cut wherever we pleased. But here, again, it appeared, that I was under a mistake; for the liberal manner in which I had paid the first pretended proprietors, brought fresh demands upon me from others; so that there did not seem to be a single blade of grass, that had not a separate owner, and so many of them were to be satisfied, that I very soon emptied my pockets. When they found that I really had nothing more to give, their importunities ceased, and we were permitted to cut whereever we pleased, and as much as we chose to carry away.

Here I must observe, that I have no where, in my several voyages, met with any uncivilized nation, or tribe, who had such strict notions of their having a right to the exclusive property of every thing that their country produces, as the inhabitants of this Sound. At first, they wanted our people to pay for the wood and water that they carried on board; and had I been upon the spot, when these demands were made, I should certainly have complied with them. Our workmen, in my absence, thought differently, for they

took

took but little notice of such claims; and the natives, when they found that we were determined to pay nothing, at last ceased to apply. But they made a merit of necessity, and frequently afterward took occasion to remind us, that they had given us wood and water out of friendship.'

During the time I was at this village, Mr Webber, who had attended me thither, made drawings of every thing that was curious, both within and without doors. I had also an opportunity of inspecting more narrowly, the construction of the houses, household furniture, and utensils, and the striking peculiarities of the customs and modes of living of the inhabitants. These shall be described in another place, in the best manner I can, calling in to my assistance the observations of Mr Anderson. When we had completed all our operations at this village, the natives and we parted very good friends, and we got back to the ships in the afternoon.

The three following days were employed in getting ready to put to sea; the sails were bent, the observatories and instruments, brewing vessels, and other things, were moved from the shore; some small spars, for different uses, and pieces of timber, which might be occasionally sawn into boards, were prepared and put on board; and both ships were cleared, and put into a sailing condition,

Every thing being now ready, in the morning of the 26th, I intended to have put to sea; but both wind and tide being against us, was obliged to wait till noon, when the S.W. wind was succeeded by a calm, and the tide turning in our favour, we cast off the moorings, and with our boats towed the ships out of the cove. After this, we had variable light airs and calms, till four in the afternoon, when a breeze sprung up northerly, with very thick, hazy weather. The mercury in the barometer fell unusually low, and we had every other fore-runner of an approaching storm, which we had reason to expect would be from the southward. This made me hesitate a little, as night

was

Similar to the behaviour of the natives of Nootka, on this occasion, was that of another tribe of Indians, farther north, in latitude 57° 18', to the Spaniards, who had preceded Captain Cook only three years, in a voyage to explore the coast of America, northward of California. See the journal of that voyage, writ by the second pilot of the fleet, and published by the Honourable Mr Daines Barrington, to whom the literary world owes so many obligations.-Miscellanies, p. 505, 506.-D.

was at hand, whether I should venture to sail, or wait till the next morning. But my anxious impatience to proceed upon the voyage, and the fear of losing this opportunity of getting out of the Sound, making a greater impression on my mind, than any apprehension of immediate danger, I determined to put to sea at all events.

Our friends, the natives, attended us, till we were almost out of the Sound; some on board the ships, and others in their canoes. One of their chiefs, who had, some time before, attached himself to me, was amongst the last who left us. Having, before he went, bestowed upon him a small present, I received in return a beaver-skin, of much greater value. This called upon me to make some addition to my present, which pleased him so much, that he insisted upon my acceptance of the beaver-skin cloak which he then wore; and of which I knew he was particularly fond. Struck with this instance of generosity, and desirous that he should be no sufferer by his friendship to me, I presented to him a new broad sword, with a brass hilt, the possession of which made him completely happy. He, and also many others of his countrymen, importuned us much to pay them another visit; and, by way of encouragement, promised to lay in a good stock of skins. I made no doubt, that whoever comes after me to this place, will find the natives prepared accordingly, with no inconsiderable supply of an article of trade, which, they could observe, we were eager to possess; and which we found could be purchased to great advantage.'

Such particulars about the country, and its inhabitants, as came to our knowledge, during our short stay, and have not been mentioned in the course of the narrative, will furnish materials for the two following sections.

SECTION

2 Captain King, as we shall afterwards find, proposes a plan for the establishment of a fur-trade with this coast of America. To this he was incited by the experience of the value of these articles in the Chinese market. In fact, a settlement for the purpose of carrying on this trade was commenced in 1786, by an association of British merchants resident in India. It was soon afterwards seized on by the Spaniards who pretended a prior right. But they, as we have already mentioned, vol. xv. p. 157, abandoned all claim to this Sound in 1790; and in 1795, it was formally taken possession of, in name of his Britannic Majesty.-E.

SECTION II.

-The Name of the Sound, and Directions for Sailing into it. Account of the adjacent Country.-Weather.-Climate.Trees.-Other Vegetable Productions.Quadrupeds, whose Skins were brought for Sale.-Sea Animals.-Description of a Sea Otter.-Birds.-Water Fowl.-Fish.-Shell-fish, &c.-Reptiles.-Insects.-Stones, &c.- Persons of the Inhabitants. Their Colour.-Common Dress and Ornaments. -Occasional Dresses, and monstrous Decorations of wooden Masks.-Their general Dispositions.-Songs.-Musical Instruments.Their Eagerness to possess Iron and other Metals.

ON my arrival in this inlet, I had honoured it with the name of King George's Sound; but I afterward found, that it is called Nootka by the natives. The entrance is situated in the east corner of Hope Bay, in the latitude of 49° 33′ N., and in the longitude of 233° 12° E. The east coast of that bay, all the way from Breaker's Point to the entrance of the Sound, is covered by a chain of sunken rocks, that seemed to extend some distance from the shore; and, near the Sound, are some islands and rocks above water.

We enter this Sound between two rocky points, that lie E.S.E., and W.N.W. from each other, distant between three and four miles. Within these points the Sound widens considerably, and extends in, to the northward, four leagues at least, exclusive of the several branches toward its bottom, the termination of which we had not an opportunity to ascertain. But, from the circumstance of finding that the water freshened where our boats crossed their enI trance, it is probable that they had almost reached its utmost limits. And this probability is increased by the hills that bounded it toward the land, being covered with thick snow, when those toward the sea, or where we lay, had not a speck remaining on them, though, in general, they were much higher. In the middle of the Sound are a number of islands of various sizes. The depth of water in the middle of the Sound, and even close home to some parts of its shore, is from forty-seven to ninety fathoms, and perhaps more. The harbours, and anchoring-places within its circuit, are numerous; but we had no time to survey them.

2

The