menu_book Chapter 14

Soon after our establishment there, Makina informed me that he and his chiefs had held a council both before and after quitting Nutka, in which they had determined that I must marry one of their women, urging as a reason to induce me to consent that as there was now no probability of a ship coming to Nutka to release me, that I must consider myself as destined to pass the remainder of my life with them, that the sooner I conform to their customs the better, and that a

wife and family would render me more contented and satisfied with their mode of living. I remonstrated against this decision, but to no purpose, for he told me that should I refuse, both Thompson and myself would be put to death, telling me, however, that if there were none of the women of his tribe that pleased me, he would go with me to some of the other tribes, where he would purchase for me such a one as I should select. Reduced to this sad extremity,

with death on the one side and matrimony on the other, I thought proper to choose what appeared to me the least of the two evils, and consent to be married, on condition that as I did not fancy any of the Nutka women, I should be permitted to make choice of one from some other tribe. This being settled, the next morning by daylight, Makina, with about fifty men in two canoes, set out with me for Aititsart, taking with him a quantity of cloth, a number of muskets,

sea otter skins, etc., for the purchase of my bride. With the aid of our paddles and sails, being favored with a fair breeze, we arrived some time before sunset at the village. Our arrival excited a general alarm, and the men hastened to the shore armed with the weapons of their country, making many warlike demonstrations and displaying much zeal and activity. We, in the meantime, remained quietly seated in our canoes, where we remained for about half an hour, when the

messenger of the chief, dressed in their best manner, came to welcome us and invite us on shore to eat. We followed him in procession to the chief's house, Makina at our head, taking care to leave a sufficient number in the boats to protect the property. When we came to the house, we were ushered in with much ceremony, and our respective seats pointed out to us, mine being next to Makina by his request. After having been regaled with a feast of herring spawn and oil,

Makina asked me if I saw any among the women who were present that I liked. I immediately pointed out to a young girl of about seventeen, the daughter of Upquesta the chief, who was sitting near him by her mother. On this Makina, making a sign to his men, arose and, taking me by the hand, walked into the middle of the room and sent off two of his men to bring the boxes containing the presents from the canoes. In the meantime, Kinnick-Climitz, the master of ceremonies,

whom I have already spoken of, made himself ready for the part he was to act, by powdering his hair with white down. When the chests were brought in, specimens of the several articles were taken out, and showed by our men, one of whom held up a musket, another a skin, a third a piece of cloth, etc. On this Kinnick-Climitz stepped forward and, addressing the chief, informed him that all these belonged to me, mentioning the number of each kind, and that they were offered to him for the

purchase of his daughter, Ustachik-Ekwa, as a wife for me. As he said this, the men who held up the various articles walked up to the chief, and with a very stern and morose look, the complimentary one on these occasions, threw them at his feet, immediately on which all the tribe, both men and women, who were assembled on this occasion, set up a cry of, Kla-ko-ta-yi, that is, thank ye, chief. His men, after this ceremony, having returned to their places, Makina rose, and in a speech of more

than half an hour, said much in my praise to the Aititsart chief, telling him that I was as good a man as themselves, differing from them only in being white, that I was, besides, acquainted with many things of which they were ignorant, that I knew how to make daggers, cheetools, and harpoons, and was a very valuable person, whom he was determined to keep always with him, praising me at the same time for the goodness of my temper, and the manner in which I had conducted myself since

I had been with them, observing that all the people of Nutka, and even the children, loved me. While Makina was speaking, his master of ceremonies was continually skipping about, making the most extravagant gestures, and exclaiming, Wokosh! When he had ceased, the Aititsart chief arose amidst the acclamations of his people, and began with setting forth the many good qualities and accomplishments of his daughter, that he loved her greatly, and as she

was his only one, he could not think of parting with her. He spoke in this manner for some time, but finally concluded by consenting to the proposed union, requesting that she might be well used and kindly treated by her husband. At the close of this speech, when the chief began to manifest a disposition to consent to our union, Kiniklimits again began to call out as loud as he could bawl, Wokosh! cutting a thousand capers, and spinning himself around on his heel,

like a top. When Ukwesta had finished his speech, he directed his people to carry back the presents which Makina had given to him, to me, together with two young male slaves, to assist me in fishing. These, after having been placed before me, were by Makina's men taken on board the canoes. This ceremony being over, we were invited by one of the principal chiefs to a feast at his house of klusamit, or dried herring, where after the eating was over, Kiniklimits amused the company

very highly with his tricks, and the evening's entertainment was closed by a new war song from our men, and one in return from the Aititsartes, accompanied with expressive gestures and wielding of their weapons. After this our company returned to lodge at Ukwesta's, except a few who were left on board the canoes, to watch the property. In the morning I received from the chief his daughter, with an earnest request that I would see her well, which I promised him. When taking leave of her

parents she accompanied me with apparent satisfaction on board of the canoe. The wind, being ahead, the natives were obliged to have recourse to their paddles, accompanying them with their songs, interspersed with the witticisms and buffoonery of Kiniklimits, who in his capacity of King's steersman, one of his functions which I forgot to enumerate, not only guided the course of the canoe, but regulated the singing of the boatmen. At about five in the morning we reached

Tassis, where we found all the inhabitants collected on the shore to receive us. We were welcomed with loud shouts of joy and exclamations of Wokosh, and the women, taking my bride under their charge, conducted her to Makina's house, to be kept with them for ten days, it being a universal custom, as Makina informed me, that no intercourse should take place between the new married pair during that period. At night Makina gave a great feast, which was succeeded by a

dance in which all the women joined, and thus ended the festivities of my marriage. The term of my probation being over, Makina assigned me an apartment, the space in the upper part of his house, between him and his elder brother, whose room was opposite. Here I established myself with my family, consisting of myself and wife, Thompson and the little Satsatsaxis, who had always been strongly attached to me, and now solicited his father to let him live with me, to which he

This boy was handsome, extremely well formed, amiable, and of a pleasant, sprightly disposition. I used to take a pleasure in decorating him with rings, bracelets, ear jewels, etc., which I made for him of copper and ornamented and polished them in my best manner. I was also very careful to keep him free from vermin of every kind, washing him and combing his hair every day. These marks of attention were not only very pleasing to the child, who delighted in being kept

neat and clean, as well as in being dressed off in his finery, but was highly gratifying both to Makina and his queen, who used to express much satisfaction at my care of him. In making my domestic establishment, I determined, as far as possible, to live in a more comfortable and cleanly manner than the others. For this purpose I erected, with planks, a partition of about three feet in height between mine and the adjoining rooms, and made three bedsteads of the same,

which I covered with boards for my family to sleep on, which I found much more comfortable than sleeping on the floor amidst the dirt. Fortunately, I found my Indian princess both amiable and intelligent, for one whose limited sphere of observation must necessarily give rise to but a few ideas. She was extremely ready to agree to anything that I proposed relative to our mode of living, was very attentive in keeping her garments and her person neat and clean,

and appeared, in every respect, solicitous to please me. She was, as I have said, about 17. Her person was small but well-formed, as were her features. Her complexion was, without exception, fairer than any of the women, with considerable color in her cheeks, her hair long, black, and much softer than as usual with them, and her teeth small, even, and of a dazzling whiteness, while the expression of her countenance indicated sweetness of temper and modesty.

She would indeed have been considered as very pretty in any country, and, excepting Makina's queen, was by far the handsomest of any of their women. With a partner possessing so many attractions, many may be apt to conclude that I must have found myself happy, at least comparatively so. But far otherwise was it with me. A compulsory marriage with the most beautiful and accomplished person in the world can never prove a source of real happiness, and in my situation I could not

but view this connection as a chain that was to bind me down to this savage land and prevent my ever again seeing a civilized country, especially when in a few days after, Makina informed me that there had been a meeting of his chiefs, in which it had been determined that as I had married one of their women, I must be considered as one of them, and conform to their customs, and that in future neither myself nor Thompson should wear our European clothes, but dress in cut sacks like

themselves. This order was to me most painful, but I persuaded Makina at length so far to relax in it as to permit me to wear those I had at present, which were almost worn out, and not to compel change his dress, observing that as he was an old man such a change would cause his death. The religious celebration which the last year took place in December was in this commenced on the 15th of November, and continued for 14 days. As I was now considered as one of them, instead of

being ordered to the woods, Makina directed Thompson and myself to remain and pray with them to Quahoots, to be good to them, and thank him for what he had done. It was opened in much the same manner as the former, after which all the men and women in the village assembled at Makina's house in their plainest dresses, and without any kind of ornaments about them, having their heads bound round with the red fillet, a token of dejection and humiliation, and their countenances expressive

of seriousness and melancholy. The performances during the continuance of this celebration consisted almost wholly in singing a number of songs to mournful heirs, the king regulating the time by beating on his hollow plank or drum, accompanied by one of his chiefs seated near him, with the great rattle. In the meantime, they eat but seldom, and then very little, retiring to sleep late and rising at the first appearance of dawn, and even interrupting this short period of repose

by getting up at midnight and singing. The ceremony was terminated by an exhibition of a similar character to the one of the last year, but still more cruel. A boy of 12 years old, with six bayonets run into his flesh, one through each arm and thigh and through each side close to the ribs, was carried around the room, suspended upon them, without manifesting any symptoms of pain. Makina, on my inquiring the reason of this display, informed me that it was an ancient custom of his

nation to sacrifice a man at the close of this solemnity in honor of their god, but that his father had abolished it and substituted this in its place. The whole closed on the evening of the 29th with a great feast of salmon, spawn and oil, at which the natives, as usual, made up for their late abstinence. A few days after a circumstance occurred which from its singularity I cannot forbear mentioning. I was sent for by my neighbor Yelf Lohr, the king's elder brother, to file his

teeth. Which operation, having performed, he informed me that a new wife whom he had a little time before purchased, having refused to sleep with him, it was his intention, provided she persisted in her refusal, to bite off her nose. I endeavored to dissuade him from it, but he was determined and, in fact, performed his savage threat that very night, saying that since she would not be his wife, she should not be that of any other, and in the morning sent her back to her

father. This inhuman act did not, however, proceed from any innate cruelty of disposition or malice, as he was far from being of a barbarous temper. But such is the despotism exercised by these savages over their women, that he no doubt considered it as a just punishment for her offense in being so obstinate and perverse, as he afterwards told me, that in similar cases the husband had a right with them to disfigure his wife in this way, or some other, to prevent her ever marrying again.

About the middle of December we left Tassus for Coupe tea. As usual at this season we found the herrings in Great Plenty, and here the same scene of riotous feasting that I witnessed last year was renewed by our improvident natives, who, in addition to their usual fare, had a plentiful supply of wild geese, which were brought to us in great quantity by the escorts. These, as Makina informed me, were caught with nets made from bark in the fresh waters of that country. Those who take

them make choice for that purpose of a dark and rainy night, and with their canoes stuck with lighted torches, proceed with as little noise as possible to the place where the geese are collected, who, dazzled by the light, suffer themselves to be approached very near when the net is thrown over them, and in this manner from fifty to sixty or even more will sometimes be taken at one cast. On the 15th of January, 1805, about midnight, I was thrown into considerable alarm,

in consequence of an eclipse of the moon, being awakened from my sleep by a great outcry of the inhabitants. On going to discover the cause of this tumult, I found them all out of their houses, bearing lighted torches, singing and beating upon pieces of plank, and when I asked them the reason of this proceeding, they pointed to the moon and said that a great codfish was endeavoring to swallow her and that they were driving him away. The origin of this superstition I could not discover.

Though in some respects my situation was rendered more comfortable since my marriage, as I lived in a more cleanly manner and had my food better and more neatly cooked, of which besides I had always aplenty my slaves generally furnishing me, and upquesta never failing to send me an ample supply by the canoes that came from Aititsart. Still, from my being obliged at this season of the year to change my accustomed clothing and to dress like the natives, with only a piece of cloth

of about two yards long thrown loosely around me, my European clothes having been for some time entirely worn out, I suffered more than I can express from the cold, especially as I was compelled to perform the laborious task of cutting and bringing the firewood, which was rendered still more oppressive to me from my comrade for a considerable part of the winter, not having it in his power to lend me his aid in consequence of an attack of the rheumatism in one of his knees,

with which he suffered for more than four months, two or three weeks of which he was so ill as to be under the necessity to leave the house. This state of suffering, with the little hope I now had of ever escaping from the savages, began to render my life irksome to me. Still, however, I lost not my confidence in the aid of the supreme being to whom whenever the weather and a suspension from the tasks imposed on me would permit, I never failed regularly on Sundays to retire to the wood

to worship, taking Thompson with me when he was able to go. End of section 14.