RECEPTION OF JEWITT BY THE SAVAGES—ESCAPE OF THOMPSON—ARRIVAL OF NEIGHBOURING TRIBES—AN INDIAN FEAST

We were received by the inhabitants of the village, men, women, and children, with loud shouts of joy, and a most horrible drumming with sticks upon the roofs and sides of their houses,[42] in which they had also stuck a great number of lighted pine torches, to welcome their king's return, and congratulate him on the success of his enterprise.

Maquina then took me on shore to his house, which was very large, and filled with people—where I was received with much kindness by the women, particularly those belonging to the king, who had no less than nine wives, all of whom came around me, expressing much sympathy for my misfortune, gently stroking and patting my head in an encouraging and soothing manner, with words expressive of condolence. How sweet is compassion even from savages! Those who have been in a similar situation, can alone truly appreciate its value.

In the meantime all the warriors of the tribe, to the number of five hundred,[43] had assembled at the king's house, to rejoice for their success. They exulted greatly in having taken our ship, and each one boasted of his own particular exploits in killing our men, but they were in general much dissatisfied with my having been suffered to live, and were very urgent with Maquina to deliver me to them, to be put to death, which he obstinately refused to do, telling them that he had promised me my life, and would not break his word; and that, besides, I knew how to repair and to make arms, and should be of great use to them.

The king then seated me by him, and ordered his women to bring him something to eat, when they set before him some dried clams and train-oil, of which he ate very heartily, and encouraged me to follow his example, telling me to eat much, and take a great deal of oil, which would make me strong and fat. Notwithstanding his praise of this new kind of food, I felt no disposition to indulge in it, both the smell and taste being loathsome to me; and had it been otherwise, such was the pain I endured, the agitation of my mind, and the gloominess of my reflections, that I should have felt very little inclination for eating.

Not satisfied with his first refusal to deliver me up to them, the people again became clamorous that Maquina should consent to my being killed, saying that not one of us ought to be left alive to give information to others of our countrymen, and prevent them from coming to trade, or induce them to revenge the destruction of our ship, and they at length became so boisterous, that he caught up a large club in a passion, and drove them all out of the house. During this scene, a son of the king, about eleven years old, attracted no doubt by the singularity of my appearance, came up to me: I caressed him; he returned my attentions with much apparent pleasure, and considering this as a fortunate opportunity to gain the good will of the father, I took the child on my knee, and, cutting the metal buttons from off the coat I had on, I tied them around his neck. At this he was highly delighted, and became so much attached to me, that he would not quit me.

The king appeared much pleased with my attention to his son, and, telling me that it was time to go to sleep, directed me to lie with his son next to him, as he was afraid lest some of his people would come while he was asleep and kill me with their daggers. I lay down as he ordered me, but neither the state of my mind nor the pain I felt would allow me to sleep.

About midnight I was greatly alarmed by the approach of one of the natives, who came to give information to the king that there was one of the white men alive, who had knocked him down as he went on board the ship at night. This Maquina communicated to me, giving me to understand that as soon as the sun rose he should kill him. I endeavoured to persuade him to spare his life, but he bade me be silent and go to sleep. I said nothing more, but lay revolving in my mind what method I could devise to save the life of this man. What a consolation, thought I, what a happiness would it prove to me in my forlorn state among these heathens, to have a Christian and one of my own countrymen for a companion, and how greatly would it alleviate and lighten the burden of my slavery.

As I was thinking of some plan for his preservation, it all at once came into my mind that this man was probably the sail-maker of the ship, named Thompson, as I had not seen his head among those on deck, and knew that he was below at work upon sails not long before the attack. The more I thought of it, the more probable it appeared to me, and as Thompson was a man nearly forty years of age, and had an old look, I conceived it would be easy to make him pass for my father, and by this means prevail on Maquina to spare his life. Towards morning I fell into a dose, but was awakened with the first beams of the sun by the king, who told me he was going to kill the man who was on board the ship, and ordered me to accompany him. I rose and followed him, leading with me the young prince, his son.

On coming to the beach, I found all the men of the tribe assembled. The king addressed them, saying that one of the white men had been found alive on board the ship, and requested their opinion as to saving his life or putting him to death. They were unanimously for the latter. This determination he made known to me. Having arranged my plan, I asked him, pointing to the boy, whom I still held by the hand, if he loved his son. He answered that he did. I then asked the child if he loved his father, and on his replying in the affirmative, I said, "And I also love mine." I then threw myself on my knees at Maquina's feet, and implored him, with tears in my eyes, to spare my father's life, if the man on board should prove to be him, telling him that if he killed my father, it was my wish that he should kill me too, and that if he did not, I would kill myself—and that he would thus lose my services; whereas, by sparing my father's life, he would preserve mine, which would be of great advantage to him, by my repairing and making arms for him.

Maquina appeared moved by my entreaties, and promised not to put the man to death if he should be my father. He then explained to his people what I had said, and ordered me to go on board and tell the man to come on shore. To my unspeakable joy, on going into the hold, I found that my conjecture was true. Thompson was there. He had escaped without any injury, excepting a slight wound in the nose, given him by one of the savages with a knife, as he attempted to come on deck, during the scuffle. Finding the savages in possession of the ship, as he afterwards informed me, he secreted himself in the hold, hoping for some chance to make his escape; but that, the Indian who came on board in the night approaching the place where he was, he supposed himself discovered, and, being determined to sell his life as dearly as possible, as soon as he came within his reach, he knocked him down, but the Indian, immediately springing up, ran off at full speed.

I informed him, in a few words, that all our men had been killed; that the king had preserved my life, and had consented to spare his on the supposition that he was my father, an opinion which he must be careful not to undeceive them in, as it was his only safety. After giving him his cue, I went on shore with him, and presented him to Maquina, who immediately knew him to be the sail-maker, and was much pleased, observing that he could make sails for his canoe. He then took us to his house, and ordered something for us to eat.

On the 24th and 25th, the natives were busily employed in taking the cargo out of the ship, stripping her of her sails and rigging, cutting away the spars and masts, and, in short, rendering her as complete a wreck as possible, the muskets, ammunition, cloth, and all the principal articles taken from her, being deposited in the king's house.

While they were thus occupied, each one taking what he liked, my companion and myself being obliged to aid them, I thought it best to secure the accounts and papers of the ship, in hopes that on some future day I might have it in my power to restore them to the owners. With this view I took possession of the captain's writing-desk, which contained the most of them, together with some paper and implements for writing. I had also the good fortune to find a blank account-book, in which I resolved, should it be permitted me, to write an account of our capture, and the most remarkable occurrences that I should meet with during my stay among these people, fondly indulging the hope that it would not be long before some vessel would arrive to release us. I likewise found in the cabin a small volume of sermons, a Bible, and a Common Prayer-book of the Church of England, which furnished me and my comrade great consolation in the midst of our mournful servitude, and enabled me, under the favour of Divine Providence, to support with firmness the miseries of a life which I might otherwise have found beyond my strength to endure.

As these people set no value upon things of this kind, I found no difficulty in appropriating them to myself, by putting them in my chest, which, though it had been broken open and rifled by the savages, as I still had the key, I without much difficulty secured. In this I also put some small tools belonging to the ship, with several other articles, particularly a journal kept by the second mate, Mr. Ingraham, and a collection of drawings and views of places taken by him, which I had the good fortune to preserve, and on my arrival at Boston, I gave them to a connection of his, the Honourable Judge Dawes, who sent them to his family in New York.

On the 26th, two ships were seen standing in for Friendly Cove. At their first appearance the inhabitants were thrown into great confusion, but, soon collecting a number of muskets and blunderbusses, ran to the shore, from whence they kept up so brisk a fire at them, that they were evidently afraid to approach nearer, and, after firing a few rounds of grape-shot, which did no harm to any one, they wore ship and stood out to sea. These ships, as I afterwards learned, were the Mary and Juno of Boston.

They were scarcely out of sight when Maquina expressed much regret that he had permitted his people to fire at them, being apprehensive that they would give information to others in what manner they had been received, and prevent them from coming to trade with him.

A few days after hearing of the capture of the ship, there arrived at Nootka a great number of canoes filled with savages from no less than twenty tribes to the north and south. Among those from the north were the Ai-tiz-zarts,[44] Schoo-mad-its,[45] Neu-wit-ties,[46] Savin-nars,[47] Ah-owz-arts,[48] Mo-watch-its,[49] Suth-setts,[50] Neu-chad-lits,[51] Mich-la-its,[52] and Cay-u-quets,[53] the most of whom were considered as tributary to Nootka. From the south, the Aytch-arts[54] and Esqui-ates,[55] also tributary, with the Kla-oo-quates,[56] and the Wickannish, a large and powerful tribe about two hundred miles distant.

These last were better clad than most of the others, and their canoes wrought with much greater skill; they are furnished with sails as well as paddles, and, with the advantage of a fair breeze, are usually but twenty-four hours on their passage.

Maquina, who was very proud of his new acquisition, was desirous of welcoming these visitors in the European manner. He accordingly ordered his men, as the canoes approached, to assemble on the beach with loaded muskets and blunderbusses, placing Thompson at the cannon, which had been brought from the ship and laid upon two long sticks of timber in front of the village; then, taking a speaking trumpet in his hand, he ascended with me the roof of his house, and began drumming or beating upon the boards with a stick most violently.

Nothing could be more ludicrous than the appearance of this motley group of savages collected on the shore, dressed as they were with their ill-gotten finery in the most fantastic manner, some in women's smocks, taken from our cargo, others in Kotsacks[57] (or cloaks) of blue, red, or yellow broadcloth, with stockings drawn over their heads, and their necks hung round with numbers of powder-horns, shot-bags, and cartouch-boxes, some of them having no less than ten muskets apiece on their shoulders, and five or six daggers in their girdles. Diverting indeed was it to see them all squatted upon the beach, holding their muskets perpendicularly with the butt pressed upon the sand, instead of against their shoulders, and in this position awaiting the order to fire.

Maquina, at last, called to them with his trumpet to fire, which they did in the most awkward and timid manner, with their muskets hard pressed upon the ground as above-mentioned. At the same moment the cannon was fired by Thompson, immediately on which they threw themselves back and began to roll and tumble over the sand as if they had been shot, when, suddenly springing up, they began a song of triumph, and, running backward and forward upon the shore, with the wildest gesticulations, boasted of their exploits, and exhibited as trophies what they had taken from us. Notwithstanding the unpleasantness of my situation, and the feelings that this display of our spoils excited, I could not avoid laughing at the strange appearance of these savages, their awkward movements, and the singular contrast of their dress and arms.

When the ceremony was concluded, Maquina invited the strangers to a feast at his house, consisting of whale-blubber, smoked herring spawn, and dried fish and train-oil, of which they ate most plentifully. The feast being over, the trays out of which they ate, and other things, were immediately removed to make room for the dance, which was to close the entertainment. This was performed by Maquina's son, the young prince Sat-sat-sok-sis, whom I have already spoken of, in the following manner:—

Three of the principal chiefs, drest in their otter-skin mantles, which they wear only on extraordinary occasions and at festivals, having their heads covered over with white down and their faces highly painted, came forward into the middle of the room, each furnished with a bag filled with white down, which they scattered around in such a manner as to represent a fall of snow. These were followed by the young prince, who was dressed in a long piece of yellow cloth, wrapped loosely around him, and decorated with small bells, with a cap on his head to which was fastened a curious mask in imitation of a wolf's head, while the rear was brought up by the king himself in his robe of sea-otter skin, with a small whistle in his mouth and a rattle in his hand, with which he kept time to a sort of tune on his whistle. After passing very rapidly in this order around the house, each of them seated himself, except the prince, who immediately began his dance, which principally consisted in springing up into the air in a squat posture, and constantly turning around on his heels with great swiftness in a very narrow circle.

This dance, with a few intervals of rest, was continued for about two hours, during which the chiefs kept up a constant drumming with sticks of about a foot in length on a long hollow plank, which was, though a very noisy, a most doleful kind of music. This they accompanied with songs, the king himself acting as chorister, while the women applauded each feat of activity in the dancer, by repeating the words, Wocash! Wocash Tyee![58] that is, Good! very good, Prince!

As soon as the dance was finished, Maquina began to give presents to the strangers, in the name of his son Sat-sat-sok-sis. These were pieces of European cloth, generally of a fathom in length, muskets, powder, shot, etc. Whenever he gave them anything, they had a peculiar manner of snatching it from him with a very stern and surly look, repeating each time the words, Wocash Tyee. This I understood to be their custom, and was considered as a compliment, which, if omitted, would be supposed as a mark of disregard for the present. On this occasion Maquina gave away no less than one hundred muskets, the same number of looking-glasses, four hundred yards of cloth, and twenty casks of powder, besides other things.

After receiving these presents, the strangers retired on board their canoes, for so numerous were they that Maquina would not suffer any but the chiefs to sleep in the houses; and, in order to prevent the property from being pillaged by them, he ordered Thompson and myself to keep guard during the night, armed with cutlasses and pistols.

In this manner tribes of savages from various parts of the coast continued coming for several days, bringing with them blubber, oil, herring spawn, dried fish, and clams, for which they received in return presents of cloth, etc., after which they in general immediately returned home. I observed that very few, if any, of them, except the chiefs, had arms, which, I afterwards learned, is the custom with these people, whenever they come upon a friendly visit or to trade, in order to show, on their approach, that their intentions are pacific.[59]