entered the river Columbia, and sent the furs on shore to be re-packed. In November, nine bark canoes arrived with furs from the interior; on the 10th we received our cargo on board with stores, &c. and on the 13th, made sail for the Sandwich Islands. Nothing remarkable occurred on our passage, and on the 10th of December we made the Island of Owyhee; the ship was surrounded with canoes filled with articles of trade. On the 12th we came too off the village of Tyroa, half a mile from the Morai on the point. Found the American ship Milwood here, purchasing sandal wood at the rate of 7 dollars for 133lbs. The King, Tameahmeah, came on board with the gentlemen we left last year, who had been well treated by the natives and wanted for nothing. On their first landing, the King had houses built for them, and gave them servants to attend on them. His Majesty and the Queens were rejoiced to see their old friend, Captain Jennings, and after taking a good proportion of wine they went on shore together. The Prince Reoreo and his step-sister Maroo also visited the vessel; the Prince was accompanied by one of the chief priests; he was highly tatooed, and would not go under deck for fear the sailors or natives would walk above him. Being the greatest man on the island, no person was allowed to put even a hand above his head on pain of death. His sister was not so ceremonious, but came below and took her wine with me, and pressed me very much to remain on Owyhee. The Russians had arrived and were on shore. Dr. Shefham assured the King that he merely came to collect plants and see what the Islands produced. During our whole stay, our decks were continually crowded with natives. We shipped a large quantity of island rope, which makes excellent running rigging; and the people were employed killing and salting pork; the King, Queens, Prince and Princess coming on board daily and remaining until evening. Wanting to overhaul the rigging and caulk the ship, we determined to run down to Woahoo, where there is a fine close harbour. We acquainted the King with our intentions, and he sent one of his hikanees or confidential men on board, named Kenopoo, to accompany us and see that we should get what we wanted. On the 16th of December we took leave of Tameahmeah, and with the ship full of men, women, and children, made sail for Woahoo, passed the islands of Tahoorooa, Raini, and Morokoi, and on the 18th arrived at Woahoo. We were boarded outside by John Young, a white man, who had lived on these islands upwards of 33 years: he piloted us into the harbour and we moored close to the shore, where thousands of the natives were collected, and soon crowded us. Mr. Manning, a Spaniard, and Mr. Harrbottle, an Englishman, who had been on the island for many years, came on board, as did also a number of respectable white men. This being Sunday we gave the people liberty to go on shore; one of the men, who left the Forester at Owyhee, came back with them, and remained. Next morning at sunrise we fired two muskets and sent the women out of the ship, and at sunset did the same as a signal for them to come on board; this practice we continued, and by that means kept the ship clear of natives. By the 29th of December we had completed repairing the rigging, caulked and painted the ship inside and out, and salted a quantity of pork; we then left these friendly people, and made sail towards Mooi, another of the group. 1st of January, 1816, we were close in with the village of Whymea; the natives came off in great numbers, bringing hogs, goats, and vegetables to barter. The King, Tamoree, did not make his appearance, but sent his head man to measure the schooner. On the 4th our gentlemen came on board, and we sailed for China, where we arrived on the 11th of February. The grand mandarin came on board to measure the vessel, and made the usual present of two lean bullocks, ten jars of sour stuff misnamed wine, and ten bags of something they call flour; they were not worth the trouble of taking on board, and I sold them to the compridore for two dozen geese. April 30th.-Weighed and made sail from Macao towards the N. W. coast of America. On the 23d of May we passed Ormsby's Peak, a very high rock that makes like a ship in full sail, and is quite covered with birds, latitude 30d. 48m. north, longitude 217d. east. Our passage was the quickest ever made. July 11th, we saw Hallibut Island; also a remarkable volcano on the main land, from which a column of smoke ascended. Stood along towards the Straits of Oonalaska, and next day were close up with the island of that name.— Tacked one mile from the west side of the Straits, wind blowing in hard squalls from N. W.; all the islands in sight were covered with snow; three bodarkees, with Oonalaska Indians, came on board, abreast of Cook's-harbour. They had been out fishing, and were returning home; they gave us some fish, and we gave them rum in exchange. July 17th, off the Island of St. George, we were boarded by two bodarkees, with one Russian and four Indians; next day we got off the landing-place where there was a considerable store, a large bodarkee came on board and took the cargo on shore, and by the evening we had taken on board 313 bales of fur seal-skins. The Russians brought us off plenty of gull's eggs, salted ducks, and a number of young sea lions, which we found very good eating. The Islands of St. Paul and St. George are within sight of each other; the Russians keep 12 men on each, for the purpose of curing the fur seal-skin, with which these islands abound. They take 40,000 annually, and still the seal does not decrease. The mode they pursue is as follows :— The seal comes on shore to pup in July, and stays the whole summer, (leaving a sufficient number of clap matches and wigs ;) the hunters drive up the last year's pups like a flock of sheep, out of sight and hearing of the old ones, and knock them on the head; taking care not to let one of those driven up escape. Each summer's pups go to sea and come on shore next summer, and are fit to kill. They leave the islands in November very lean; they take in several smooth stones about the size of an egg, I suppose for ballast. I could never find out where the seal winters; but certain it is, they must have a place where they remain during that season and feed, which has not yet been discovered. The people on these islands live under ground; they collect drift-wood enough in summer to last the winter; they live chiefly on sea-lion meat jerked, pickled ducks, gull's eggs preserved in oil, &c. On the 24th we saw the ship-rock, and could hear the roaring of the sealion and elephant, long before we could see the rock, it being very foggy. On its clearing away, we saw the Island of Oonalaska, and stood towards Cook's Straits. The next day it came on to blow hard from S. E.; made sail for the harbour, black whale blowing in all directions; we found a snug town, church, &c. the natives were all employed drying salmon for the winter. Captain Jennings and the gentlemen accompanied the governor on shore; they took some rum with them to treat the Russians, who have a numerous herd of cattle and make excellent butter and cheese. They keep two skinboats constantly employed in summer, collecting the drift-wood about the isl and, which is the only fuel they have. We lay here until the 29th, when we made sail towards Cook's Straits.While we lay about these islands we had not more than three clear days. The Island of Oonalaska is in the latitude of 53d. 55m. north, and longitude 166d. 22m. west. This island is the chief depot for all the furs collected on the Aluthean Islands; and appears quite barren, without the least sign of wood. There is an excellent harbour off the N. W. side, capable of holding seven hundred vessels, and completely land-locked. The town consists of about twenty houses, a church, and some large sheds for the purpose of drying salmon and other fish. There are about twelve Russians here; the remainder of the inhabitants of the town are Kodiacks, and natives of the island, all converts to the Greek church. The natives of this, as well as of all the Aluthean Islands, are low in stature, broad, flat faces, with black eyes, and coarse black hair. Their dress consists of a loose frock, made of the skins of ducks and other birds, sewed neatly together; this part of the dress is the same in both sexes. When the men go in their canoes to hunt or fish, they wear a dress of the entrails of the seal; it is made like a large loose shirt, with a hood, and is water-proof. They also wear trowsers and boots, made from the throat of the sea-lion or elephant, which are water-proof also.They are extremely fond of ornaments, particularly of beads, with which they ornament their garments and person; they wear them round the neck, and pendant from the nose and ears, through which many holes are made. The men have a helmet or cap, ornamented with the beard of the sea-lion and with seed-beads. All the natives use paint. There are several villages about the harbour, but the island seems very thinly peopled, owing, I suppose, to the number that are employed by the Russians on their establishments on the N. W. coast of America. Their canoes or bodarkees, are made from the skins of the hair-seal, stretched over a light wooden frame, leaving one, two, or three holes on the top for the sitters; the frame is sometimes of whalebone, and the vessels are from 10 to 16 feet long, and about three feet wide in the middle, gradually tapering towards the ends. They are pulled with great swiftness by a double paddle, about 12 feet long, with a blade at each end, and held by the middle; they are generally made of ash. The canoes perform voyages along the coast for several hundred miles, for the purpose of hunting the sea-otter and seal; they also kill black whales, which are about these islands in great plenty. If in their hunting excursions they are overtaken by a gale of wind, they lash all their canoes together in form of a raft, and in this manner float lightly on the top of the sea without the least danger. The large boats, or bodarkees, are made from the skins of the sea-lion or elephant, stretched over a stout wooden frame, open at the top, and are capable of carrying 50 or 60 men. In these boats they go to all the Aluthean Islands, to collect the furs; and sometimes to the main land for timber. In catching the sea-otter and seal, these CHAP. VI. The Winter of 1816, on the Columbia Ri- IN August, 1816, we once more touched at the Columbia, unloaded,and refitted. We lived in tents on shore, within a fence erected to keep the Indians from stealing our tools. On the 9th Sept. two canoes, belonging to the N. W. Company, arrived from the interior; they had left the brigade, consisting of nine canoes and about seventy men, encamped at Oak-point, sixty miles up the river. On the 1st of October, the whole brigade of canoes arrived with furs; and, on the 5th, they again sailed (well armed) with stores for the interior, under the direction of Mr. M'Kenzie. While here, I employed an Indian hunter; who, with my finding powder and shot, supplied the ship with ducks, geese, and swans, for one blanket. On the 10th Jan. we crossed the bar and got safe to sea. The Columbia river is full of sandbanks, formed by the numerous small rivers that branch off in various directions from the main one. The country, on both sides, is formed of impenetrable woods, chiefly pine, elder, maple, and birch trees; further up, there are plenty of good oaks and ash. The first tribe of Indians we saw were call ed the Chickeloes, under a chief,named Calpo. They come from a place called Classet, to the northward of the river, on the sea coast, and bring otter and beaver skins to trade at the fort. They encamp in Baker's-bay, and continue, from June to October, curing salmon and sturgeon for the winter. They are a very warlike people, and extremely dangerous, taking every advantage if you are off your guard. So hostile and treacherous were they, that we never allowed the men of this tribe to come on board. About five miles up the river, on the north side, stands the Chinook village. The king of this tribe is called Com Comly, or Madsaw, which, in the Chinook tongue, signifies Thunder. The village consists of about thirty houses, built of wood, and very large; they are formed of boards, with the edges resting on each other, and fastened with stripes of bark to upright posts, which are stuck in the ground on either side of them. Some have ridgepole and rafters, but the chief part are nearly flat on the top; they have old mats spread inside and out, to keep out the wind and rain. In every house there are from five to fifteen families, and each family has a fire in the middle of the building. On the sides they have their bed places, raised about a foot from the earth, and covered with mats; where they pig in all together, men, women, and children. The houses are decorated with rude carved images, which they call clamas, or gods, but they do not seem to pay any kind of homage or attention to them. Their furniture consists of boxes or chests, hollowed from the solid wood, of all sizes, and curiously carved; and a number of baskets, which they work so close as to hold water. In the boxes they keep their property and spare garments, and also their dry provision. When the Indians shift to their winter quarters, they carry all the planks and mats of their houses with them, leaving nothing but the rafters and frame standing. They are filthy to the extreme; allow whole piles of fish entrails and other uncleanness to lie in the middle of the houses, never attempting to clear it away. Even in their eating they are very nasty; I have frequently seen them with a piece of meat, half roasted, in the dirt and ashes, lying on the ground with their feet on it, and tearing it like wild beasts with their teeth. After their fish is boiled, they turn it out on a mat, or, if they have not got one readily, on the ground, and collect round it like a pack of hounds, devouring dirt and all. Their mode of boiling fish, vegetables, &c. &c. is rather singular, and deserves to be related. They put whatever is to be cooked into a basket, and, nearly filling it with water, place it on the ground; they then proceed to boil or sodden it, by putting in red hot stones (of which they have a number for the purpose) in quick succession, until the victuals are done to their satisfaction. The chief employment of the men is to hunt and fish; they are, however, generally speaking, very lazy, and their young men lie basking in the sun, on the sides of the river, for hours together. The women and girls are employed in making hats, mats, &c. and in collecting berries and wood. These people have not the least notion of tilling the ground; they trust to Providence for every thing, and derive their chief support from the river and sea. They collect plenty of berries and fish in summer to last them through the winter. The former they preserve by mixing them up with salmon or seal oil, and, making them into lumps, set them to dry in the sun. When sufficiently dry, they are laid by in boxes and baskets for winter. The salmon they cure by splitting it up into four slices, and running splinters of wood across them. These they also dry in the sun, and then hang them up in the houses, where they are soon smoked and laid by for use. They are cured without salt, which is never used. The Indian women are complete drudges, yet they seem to work cheerfully.They have a root here like the potatoe, called by the natives wapitoe; it grows chiefly in swampy ground, and is collected in September. The men are very stout and hardy; their height from 5 feet to 5 feet eight inches, well proportioned, and with very little beard. They wear a dress made of the skins of the wood-rat, sewed neatly together and thrown over the shoulders: this garment is the same in both sexes, with the addition of a petticoat, which the women wear. It goes under the right arm and above the left, where it fastens with a wooden skewer, being open down the side, so that it leaves both arms at liberty for the use of their weapons. Their ears are perforated in many parts, and small bits of leather fastened in, from which hang shells in shape not much dissimilar to a game cock's spur, and about one inch in length. These shells are called hiaqua. The nose is also perforated, from which beads are suspended; and sometimes a large goose or swan's quill is pushed through. They anoint their bodies with a sort of red ochre and seal oil; and are very expert in the use of the bow, bludgeon, and dagger. Their bows are made of pine, about four feet long, and, in the middle, two inches broad, tapering off towards each end. The sinew of the elk is laid on the back of the bow, which bends it the contrary way, and strengthens it; the string is also made of the sinew of the elk, and it requires a man of some strength to string them. The Chenooks are very expert in the use of this weapon; they will stand on the deck and stick an arrow into the truck with ease. Their arrows are made of light wood, and pointed with stone, bone, glass, ivory, or iron.Those barbed with ivory I have seen pierce a three-quarter of an inch plank at twelve yards distance. One day some of our people were practising the bow on board; they stood aft, and endeavoured to strike a small lookingglass placed on the bow of the vessel, but none of them could succeed. U ATHENEUM VOL. 10. An Indian, who was standing by, laughed most heartily at them, and taking up his bow, stood on the stern, and shooting, broke the glass in pieces, at a distance of 95 feet, the mark being about three inches square. The bludgeon is made of bone or iron, about two feet long, and stout in proportion, and handsomely carved and ornamented; the daggers are made of flint stone or iron, and are held by the middle, so that they use both ends. The natives have a kind of loop to the bludgeon and dagger, which goes over the wrist, to prevent their being wrenched out of their hands; and they never stir out without one of these weapons. Their original tools are chisels made out of the pine knot, axes of stone, and stone mallets. With these they split large cedar trees into planks, with which they build their houses. Their canoes are very simple; some are large enough to carry 30 people, being about 40 feet long, the middle nearly 6 feet broad, and becoming gradually narrower toward the end. They are about two feet deep, handsomely ornamented and painted; the ornamental parts are the teeth of the wolf and sea-otter, which navigators have taken for human teeth. The paddles are made light and small, the length generally 6 feet, of which 2 1-2 feet forms the blade: the lower end is forked like a fish's tail, and the upper end is crutched very neatly. In the canoes they keep nets, hooks, harpoons, and fish-gigs, &c. also long spears for spearing salmon. Chenook women are short and very stout, with thick and often bandy legs. Their hair, which is jet black, they allow to hang loose all round their heads and over their shoulders, never cutting it off unless at the death of some near relative. They wear, as I have noticed, a petticoat made of rushes twisted over a string, with ends hanging loosely down. This garment reaches the knee, and keeps them very warm.— The war-dress of the men is made of the elk-skin, which is dressed in the interior; it is very thick and vet pliable; an arrow cannot penetrate it. and I have even tried with a pistol ball at the distance of twelve yards without The |