The Adventures of John Jewitt Part 7

[82] The harpoon is at present a little different in construction. Pine resin, not "turpentine," is used for the purpose described, and the tips of deers' horns are utilised for the barbs. The most remarkable fact about the west coast of Vancouver Island whaling is its use of inflated sealskins to impede the motion of the animal through the water. This is an Eskimo contrivance in use by the Alaskans and other extreme northern tribes, from whom the West Vancouverians seem to have borrowed it. In Sproat's _Scenes and Studies of Savage Life_, p. 226, there is an excellent description of whaling as practised in that part of Vancouver Island. The species pursued is usually finbacks, though a "black fish"

with good whalebone is occasionally captured.

[83] The honour of using the harpoon is a hereditary privilege, enjoyed by only a few men in a tribe, and previous to the whaling season the crews have to practise all manner of ascetic practices in order to ensure good luck in the venture.

[84] This porpoise Dr. Gray considered, after examining a skull which I brought to the British Museum in 1866, to differ little, if at all, from the _Phocaena communis_ of the Atlantic; but Dr. (afterwards Sir) W. H.

Flower (_List of the Specimens of Cetacea_, etc., 1885, p. 16) seems to be of a different opinion.

[85] This "sea-cow," of which Meares also speaks as an animal hunted by the Nootka people, though rarely seen so far south, must, one might think, be another name for the seal or "sea-calf," were not the latter expressly referred to by name. The sea-cow, dugong, or manatee is not found in these seas, and the _Rhytina Stelleri_, once so abundant on Behring Island in Behring Strait, is generally considered to have been exterminated in the interval between 1741-1768. This, however, is hardly in accordance with fact, for, as evidence collected by Nordenskjold proves, they were occasionally killed in 1780, while one was seen as late as 1854. It is therefore by no means improbable that in 1803 a few stragglers were still waiting their end on the sh.o.r.es of Vancouver Island. The sea-lion (_Eumetopias Stelleri_) is a seal also verging on extinction, the _Otaria ursinus_ being now the fur seal of commerce (and politics) in that part of the North Pacific.

[86] A species of cedar (_Thuja_) is the wood used.

CHAPTER VIII

MUSIC--MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS--SLAVES--NEIGHBOURING TRIBES--TRADE WITH THESE--ARMY

They have a number which they sing on various occasions--at war,[87]

whaling and fishing, at their marriages and feasts, and at public festivals or solemnities. The language of the most of these appears to be very different in many respects from that used in their common conversation, which leads me to believe either that they have a different mode of expressing themselves in poetry, or that they borrow their songs from their neighbours; and what the more particularly induces me to the latter opinion is, that whenever any of the Newchema.s.s, a people from the northward, and who speak a very different language, arrived, they used to tell me that they expected a new song, and were almost always sure to have one.

Their tunes are generally soft and plaintive, and though not possessing great variety, are not deficient in harmony. Their singing is generally accompanied with several rude kinds of instrumental music, among the most prominent of which is a kind of a drum. This is nothing more than a long plank hollowed out on the under side and made quite thin, which is beat upon by a stick of about a foot long, and renders a sound not unlike beating on the head of an empty cask, but much louder.

But the two most favourite instruments are the rattle and the pipe or whistle; these are, however, only used by the king, the chiefs, or some particular persons. The former is made of dried sealskin, so as to represent a fish, and is filled with a number of small smooth pebbles; it has a short handle, and is painted red. The whistle is made of bone, generally the leg of a deer; it is short, but emits a very shrill sound.

They have likewise another kind of music, which they make use of in dancing, in the manner of castanets. This is produced by a number of mussel or c.o.c.kle sh.e.l.ls tied together and shaken to a kind of tune, which is accompanied with the voice.

Their slaves, as I have observed, form their most valuable species of property. These are of both s.e.xes, being either captives taken by themselves in war, or purchased from the neighbouring tribes, and who reside in the same house, forming as it were a part of the family, are usually kindly treated, eat of the same food, and live as well as their masters. They are compelled, however, at times to labour severely, as not only all the menial offices are performed by them, such as bringing water, cutting wood, and a variety of others, but they are obliged to make the canoes, to a.s.sist in building and repairing the houses, to supply their masters with fish, and to attend them in war and to fight for them.

None but the king and chiefs have slaves, the common people being prevented from holding them, either from their inability to purchase them, or, as I am rather inclined to think, from its being considered as the privilege of the former alone to have them,[88] especially as all those made prisoners in war belong either to the king or the chiefs who have captured them, each one holding such as have been taken by himself or his slaves. There is probably, however, some little distinction in favour of the king, who is always the commander of the expedition, as Maquina had nearly fifty, male and female, in his house, a number const.i.tuting about one half of its inhabitants, comprehending those obtained by war and purchase; whereas none of the other chiefs had more than twelve. The females are employed princ.i.p.ally in manufacturing cloth, in cooking, collecting berries, etc., and with regard to food and living in general have not a much harder lot than their mistresses, the princ.i.p.al difference consisting in these poor unfortunate creatures being considered as free to any one, their masters prost.i.tuting them whenever they think proper for the purpose of gain. In this way many of them are brought on board the ships and offered to the crews, from whence an opinion appears to have been formed by some of our navigators injurious to the chast.i.ty of their females, than which nothing can be more generally untrue, as perhaps in no part of the world is that virtue more prized.[89]

The houses at Nootka, as already stated, are about twenty, without comprising those inhabited by the Klahars, a small tribe that has been conquered and incorporated into that of Nootka, though they must be considered as in a state of va.s.salage, as they are not permitted to have any chiefs among them, and live by themselves in a cl.u.s.ter of small houses at a little distance from the village. The Nootka tribe, which consists of about five hundred warriors,[90] is not only more numerous than almost any of the neighbouring tribes, but far exceeds them in the strength and martial spirit of its people; and in fact there are but few nations within a hundred miles either to the north or south but are considered as tributary to them.

In giving some account of the tribes that were accustomed to visit Nootka, I shall commence at the southward with the Kla-iz-zarts, and the Wickinninish, premising that in point of personal appearance there prevails a wonderful diversity between the various tribes on the coast, with the exception of the feet and legs, which are badly shaped in almost all of them from their practice of sitting on them.

The Kla-iz-zarts are a numerous and powerful tribe, living nearly three hundred miles to the south, and are said to consist of more than a thousand warriors.[91] They appear to be more civilised than any of the others, being better and more neatly dressed, more mild and affable in their manners, remarkable for their sprightliness and vivacity, and celebrated for their singing and dancing.

They exhibit also greater marks of improvement in whatever is wrought by them; their canoes, though not superior to those of Nootka in point of form and lightness, are more highly ornamented, and their weapons and tools of every kind have a much higher finish and display more skill in the workmanship. Their cast of countenance is very different from that of the Nootkians, their faces being very broad, with a less prominent nose and smaller eyes, and the top of the head flattened as if it had been pressed down with a weight. Their complexion is also much fairer, and their stature shorter, though they are well formed and strongly set.

They have a custom which appears to be peculiar to them, as I never observed it in any of the other tribes, which is to pluck out not only their beards and the hair from their bodies, but also their eyebrows, so as not to leave a vestige remaining. They were also in general more skilful in painting and decorating themselves, and I have seen some of them with no less than a dozen holes in each of their ears, to which were suspended strings of small beads about two inches in length. Their language is the same as spoken at Nootka, but their p.r.o.nunciation is much more hoa.r.s.e and guttural. These people are not only very expert in whaling, but are great hunters of the sea-otter and other animals, with which their country is said to abound, and the metamelth, a large animal of the deer kind, the skin of which I have already spoken of, another of a light grey colour, with very fine hair, from which they manufacture a handsome cloth, the beaver, and a species of large wild cat or tiger cat.

The Wickinninish,[92] their neighbours on the north, are about two hundred miles from Nootka. They are a robust, strong, and warlike people, but considered by the Nootkians as their inferiors in courage.

This tribe is more numerous than that of Nootka, amounting to between six and seven hundred warriors. Though not so civilised as the Kla-iz-zarts, and less skilful in their manufactures, like them they employ themselves in hunting, as well as in whaling and fishing. Their faces are broad, but less so than the Kla-iz-zarts, with a darker complexion and a much less open and pleasing expression of countenance, while their heads present a very different form, being pressed in at the sides and lengthened towards the top somewhat in the shape of a sugar loaf. These people are very frequent visitors at Nootka, a close friendship subsisting between the two nations, Maquina's _Arcomah_ or queen, _Y-ya-tintla-no_, being the daughter of the Wickinninish king.

The Kla-oo-quates[93] adjoining them on the north are much less numerous, their force not exceeding four hundred fighting men; they are also behind them in the arts of life. These are a fierce, bold, and enterprising people, and there were none that visited Nootka, whom Maquina used to be more on his guard against, or viewed with so much suspicion. The Eshquates[94] are about the same number; these are considered as tributary to Maquina. Their coast abounds with rivers, creeks, and marshes.

[Ill.u.s.tration: UK-LULAC-AHT INDIAN.]

To the north the nearest tribe of any importance is the Aitizzarts;[95]

these, however, do not exceed three hundred warriors. In appearance they greatly resemble the people of Nootka, to whom they are considered as tributary, their manners, dress, and style of living also being very similar. They reside at about forty miles' distance up the Sound. A considerable way farther to the northward are the Cayuquets;[96] these are a much more numerous tribe than that of Nootka, but thought by the latter to be deficient in courage and martial spirit, Maquina having frequently told me that their hearts were a little like those of birds.

There are also both at the north and south many other intervening tribes, but in general small in number and insignificant, all of whom, as well as the above-mentioned, speak the same language. But the Newchema.s.s, who come from a great way to the northward, and from some distance inland, as I was told by Maquina, speak quite a different language,[97] although it is well understood by those of Nootka. These were the most savage-looking and ugly men that I ever saw, their complexion being much darker, their stature shorter, and their hair coa.r.s.er, than that of the other nations, and their dress and appearance dirty in an extreme. They wear their beards long like Jews, and have a very morose and surly countenance. Their usual dress is a _kotsuk_ made of wolf-skin, with a number of the tails attached to it, of which I have seen no less than ten on one garment, hanging from the top to the bottom; though they sometimes wear a similar mantle of bark cloth, of a much coa.r.s.er texture than that of Nootka, the original of which appears to be the same, though from their very great filthiness it was almost impossible to discover what it had been.

Their mode of dressing the hair also varies essentially from that of the other tribes, for they suffer that on the back of the head to hang loose, and bind the other over their foreheads in the manner of a fillet, with a strip of their country cloth, ornamented with small white sh.e.l.ls. Their weapons are the _cheetolth_, or war-club, which is made from whalebone, daggers, bow and arrows, and a kind of spear pointed with bone or copper.[98] They brought with them no furs for sale, excepting a few wolf-skins, their merchandise consisting princ.i.p.ally of the black shining mineral called _pelpelth_, and the fine red paint, which they carefully kept in close mat bags, some small dried salmon, clams, and roes of fish, with occasionally a little coa.r.s.e matting cloth. They were accustomed to remain a much longer time at Nootka than the other tribes, in order to recover from the fatigue of a long journey, part of which was overland, and on these occasions taught their songs to our savages.

The trade of most of the other tribes with Nootka was princ.i.p.ally train-oil, seal or whale's blubber, fish fresh or dried, herring or salmon sp.a.w.n, clams and mussels, and the _yama_,[99] a species of fruit which is pressed and dried, cloth, sea-otter skins, and slaves. From the Aitizzarts and the Cayuquets, particularly the former, the best Ife-whaw and in the greatest quant.i.ties was obtained. The Eshquates furnished us with wild ducks and geese, particularly the latter. The Wickinninish and Kla-iz-zarts brought to market many slaves, the best sea-otter skins, great quant.i.ties of oil, whale sinew, and cakes of the _yama_, highly ornamented canoes, some Ife-whaw, red ochre and pelpelth of an inferior quality to that obtained from the Newchema.s.s, but particularly the so much valued metamelth, and an excellent root called by the Kla-iz-zarts _Quawnoose_.[100] This is the size of a small onion, but rather longer, being of a tapering form like a pear, and of a brownish colour. It is cooked by steam, is always brought in baskets ready prepared for eating, and is in truth a very fine vegetable, being sweet, mealy, and of a most agreeable flavour. It was highly esteemed by the natives, who used to eat it, as they did everything else, with train-oil. From the Kla-iz-zarts was also received, though in no great quant.i.ty, a cloth manufactured by them from the fur already spoken of, which feels like wool and is of a grey colour.

Many of the articles thus brought, particularly the provisions, were considered as presents, or tributary offerings, but this must be viewed as little more than a nominal acknowledgment of superiority, as they rarely failed to get the full amount of the value of their presents. I have known eighteen of the great tubs, in which they keep their provisions, filled with sp.a.w.n brought in this way. On these occasions a great feast is always made, to which not only the strangers, but the whole village, men, women, and children, are generally invited, and I have seen five of the largest tubs employed at such time, in cooking at the king's house. At these feasts they generally indulge in eating to an excess, making up in this respect for their want of inebriating liquors, which they know no method of preparing in any form, their only drink being water.

Whenever they came to visit or trade, it was their general custom to stop a few miles distant, under the lee of some bluff or rock, and rig themselves out in their best manner, by painting and dressing their heads. On their first coming on sh.o.r.e, they were invited to eat by the king, when they brought to him such articles as he wanted, after which the rest of the inhabitants were permitted to purchase, the strangers being careful to keep them in their canoes until sold, under strict guard to prevent their being stolen, the disposition of these people for thieving being so great, that it is necessary to keep a watchful eye upon them.

This was their usual mode of traffic, but whenever they wished to purchase any particular object, as, for instance, a certain slave, or some other thing of which they were very desirous, the canoe that came for this purpose would lie off a little distance from the sh.o.r.e, and a kind of amba.s.sador or representative of the king or chief by whom it was sent, dressed in their best manner, and with his head covered with the white down, would rise, and, after making known the object of his mission in a pompous speech, hold up specimens of such articles as he was instructed to offer in payment, mentioning the number or quant.i.ty of each, when, if the bargain was concluded, the exchange was immediately made.

On their visits of friendship or traffic, the chiefs alone used to sleep on sh.o.r.e; this was generally at the house of the king or the head chief, the others pa.s.sing the night on board of their canoes, which was done not only for the preservation of their property, but because they were not permitted to remain on sh.o.r.e, lest they might excite some disturbance or commit depredations.

All these people generally go armed, the common cla.s.s wearing only a dagger suspended from their neck behind, with a string of metamelth, and sometimes thrust in their girdles. The chiefs, in addition to the dagger, carry the cheetolth, or war-club, suspended in the same manner beneath their mantles; this, in the hands of a strong man, is a powerful weapon, in the management of which some of the older chiefs are very dexterous. It is made from the bone of a whale, and is very heavy. The blade is about eighteen inches long and three broad, till it approaches near the point, where it expands to the breadth of four inches. In the middle, from whence it slopes off gradually to an edge on each side, it is from one to two inches in thickness. This blade is usually covered with figures of the sun and moon, a man's head, etc.; and the hilt, which is made to represent the head of a man or some animal, is curiously set with small white sh.e.l.ls, and has a band of metamelth fastened to it, in order to sling it over the shoulder. Some of the tribes have also a kind of spear headed with copper or the bone of the sting ray, which is a dangerous weapon; this is, however, not usual, and only carried by the chiefs. The bow and arrow are still used by a few, but since the introduction of firearms among them, this weapon has been mostly laid aside.

FOOTNOTES:

[87] A specimen of one of their war-songs will be found at the end of this work.

[88] This was not the case. Any free-born native, provided he had the means, could own a slave.

[89] This is largely a tale of the past.

[90] It is questionable if there are now as many people in the whole tribe. Cook estimated the population of Friendly Cove at two thousand.

[91] This is wrong. The Kla-iz-zarts (Klahosahts) live _north_ of Nootka Sound.

[92] In Meares's time (1788) Wickinninish was regarded as the most powerful chief, next to Maquina or Maquilla, as he calls him. His residence was usually at "Port c.o.x" (Clayoquat Sound), but his territory extended as far south as Nettinaht, his subjects comprising thirteen thousand people. Meares does not fall into Jewitt's blunder of confounding the name of the chief with that of his tribe. But Meares derived his information first hand, while Jewitt obtained it merely from hearsay, never having visited any other part except the immediate vicinity of Nootka Sound.

[93] Klayoquahts. They have now barely two hundred warriors.

[94] Hishquahts. If they have twenty men, that is all. Thirty years ago they had only thirty adult males.

[95] Ayhuttisahts. Thirty years ago they had thirty-six men fit to fight.

[96] Ky-yoh-quahts. In 1860 they numbered two hundred and thirty adult men.

[97] Namely, the Kwakiool spoken on the east and north coasts of Vancouver Island from Comox northwards.

[98] These implements have fallen out of use.

[99] The salal (_Gaultheria Shallon_), which forms a carpet to the ground, especially where the soil is poor.

[100] The bulb of a pretty blue lily (_Gama.s.sia esculenta_), well known all over North-West America as the "gama.s.s" or "kama.s.s." The digging and storing of it in summer form one of the most picturesque of Indian occupations. The gama.s.s camps are always lively, and the skill and industry which a girl displays in this important part of her future duties are carefully noted by the young men in search of wives.