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14 - Captivity of Nearly Three Years Among the Savages of Nootka Sound by John R. Jewitt · Captivity of Nearly Three Years Among the Savages of Nootka Sound

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  Speaker 1: Section fourteen of a Captivity of nearly three Years among
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  Speaker 1: the Savages of Nootka sound by John R. Jewett. This
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  Speaker 1: LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Soon after our
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  Speaker 1: establishment there, Makina informed me that he and his chiefs
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  Speaker 1: had held a council both before and after quitting Nutka,
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  Speaker 1: in which they had determined that I must marry one
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  Speaker 1: of their women, urging as a reason to induce me
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  Speaker 1: to consent, that as there was now no probability of
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  Speaker 1: a ship coming to Nootka to release me, that I
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  Speaker 1: must consider myself as destined to pass the remainder of
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  Speaker 1: my life with them, that the sooner I conformed to
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  Speaker 1: their customs, the better, and that a wife and family
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  Speaker 1: would render me more contented and satisfied with their mode
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  Speaker 1: of living. I remonstrated against this decision, but to no purpose,
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  Speaker 1: for he told me that should I refuse, both Thompson
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  Speaker 1: and myself would be put to death, telling me, however,
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  Speaker 1: that if there were none of the women of his
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  Speaker 1: tribe that pleased me, he would go with me to
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  Speaker 1: some of the other tribes, where he would purchase for
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  Speaker 1: me such a one as I should select. Reduced to
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  Speaker 1: this sad extremity, with death on the one side and
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  Speaker 1: matrimony on the other. I thought proper to choose what
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  Speaker 1: appeared to me the least of the two evils, and
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  Speaker 1: consent to be married, on condition that, as I did
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  Speaker 1: not fancy any of the Nutca women, I should be
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  Speaker 1: permitted to make choice of one from some other tribe.
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  Speaker 1: This being settled the next morning by daylight, Makina, with
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  Speaker 1: about fifty men in two canoes, set out with me
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  Speaker 1: for I titsart, taking with him a quantity of cloth,
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  Speaker 1: a number of muskets, sea otter skins, et cetera, for
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  Speaker 1: the purchase of my bride. With the aid of our
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  Speaker 1: paddles and sails. Being favored with a fair breeze, we
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  Speaker 1: arrived some time before sunset at the village. Our arrival
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  Speaker 1: excited a general alarm, and the men hastened to the shore,
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  Speaker 1: armed with the weapons of their country, making many warlike
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  Speaker 1: demonstrations and displaying much zeal And activity. We, in the meantime,
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  Speaker 1: remained quietly seated in our canoes, where we remained for
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  Speaker 1: about half an hour, when the messenger of the Chief,
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  Speaker 1: dressed in their best manner, came to welcome us and
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  Speaker 1: invite us on shore to eat. We followed him in
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  Speaker 1: procession to the chief's house, Makina at our head, taking
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  Speaker 1: care to leave a sufficient number in the boats to
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  Speaker 1: protect the property. When we came to the house, we
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  Speaker 1: were ushered in with much ceremony, and our respective seats
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  Speaker 1: pointed out to us mine being next to Makina by
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  Speaker 1: his request. After having been regaled with a feast of
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  Speaker 1: herring spawn and oil, Makina asked me if I saw
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  Speaker 1: any among the women who were present that I liked.
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  Speaker 1: I immediately pointed out to a young girl of about seventeen,
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  Speaker 1: the daughter of Ukoista, the chief, who was sitting near
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  Speaker 1: him by her mother. On this, Makina, making a sign
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  Speaker 1: to his men, arose and taking me by the hand,
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  Speaker 1: walked into the middle of the room and sent off
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  Speaker 1: two of his men to bring the boxes containing the
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  Speaker 1: presents from the canoes. In the meantime, Kinniklemits, the master
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  Speaker 1: of ceremonies, whom I have already spoken of, made himself
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  Speaker 1: ready for the part he was to act by powdering
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  Speaker 1: his hair with white down. When the chests were brought in,
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  Speaker 1: specimens of the several articles were taken out and showed
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  Speaker 1: by our men, one of whom held up a musket,
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  Speaker 1: another a skin, a third a piece of cloth, et cetera.
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  Speaker 1: On this kinney clements, stepped forward, and, addressing the chief,
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  Speaker 1: informed him that all these belonged to me, mentioning the
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  Speaker 1: number of each kind, and that they were offered to
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  Speaker 1: him for the purchase of his daughter ustatch eat Equa
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  Speaker 1: as a wife for me. As he said this, the
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  Speaker 1: men who held up the various articles walked up to
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  Speaker 1: the chief, and, with a very stern and morose look,
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  Speaker 1: the complimentary one on these occasions, threw them at his feet, immediately,
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  Speaker 1: on which all the tribe, both men and women, who
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  Speaker 1: were assembled on this occasion, set up a cry of
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  Speaker 1: clac cootetai, that is thanke'ee chief his men. After this ceremony,
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  Speaker 1: having returned to their places, Makina rose and, in a
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  Speaker 1: speech of more than half an hour, said much in
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  Speaker 1: my praise to the it Titsar chief, telling him that
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  Speaker 1: I was as good a man as themselves, differing from
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  Speaker 1: them only in being white. That I was besides acquainted
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  Speaker 1: with many things of which they were ignorant, that I
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  Speaker 1: knew how to make daggers, cheetools, and harpoons, and was
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  Speaker 1: a very valuable person whom he was determined to keep
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  Speaker 1: always with him, praising me at the same time for
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  Speaker 1: the goodness of my temper and the manner in which
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  Speaker 1: I had conducted myself since I had been with them,
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  Speaker 1: observing that all the people of Nootka, and even the children,
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  Speaker 1: loved me. While Makina was speaking, his master of ceremonies
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  Speaker 1: was continually skipping about, making the most extravagant gestures and
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  Speaker 1: exclaiming Wokosh. When he had ceased the artitsar chief arose
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  Speaker 1: amidst the acclamations of his people, and began with setting
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  Speaker 1: forth the many good qualities and accomplishments of his daughter.
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  Speaker 1: That he loved her greatly, and as she was his
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  Speaker 1: only one, he could not think of parting with her.
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  Speaker 1: He spoke in this manner for some time, but finally
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  Speaker 1: concluded by consenting to the proposed union, requesting that she
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  Speaker 1: might be well used and kindly treated by her husband.
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  Speaker 1: At the close of this speech, when the Chief began
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  Speaker 1: to manifest a disposition to consent to our union, Kinney
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  Speaker 1: Clemens again began to call out as loud as he could,
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  Speaker 1: bawl wo Cosh, cutting a thousand capers and spinning himself
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  Speaker 1: around on his heel like a top. When Uquesta had
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  Speaker 1: finished his speech, he directed his people to carry back
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  Speaker 1: the presence which Machi had given to him to me,
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  Speaker 1: together with two young male slaves to assist me in fishing. These,
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  Speaker 1: after having been placed before me, were by Makina's men
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  Speaker 1: taken on board the canoes. This ceremony being over, we
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  Speaker 1: were invited by one of the principal chiefs to a
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  Speaker 1: feast at his house of clousamet or dried herring, where
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  Speaker 1: after the eating was over, Kinney clements amused the company
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  Speaker 1: very highly with his tricks, and the evening's entertainment was
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  Speaker 1: closed by a new war song from our men and
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  Speaker 1: one in return from the Eitzarts, accompanied with expressive gestures
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  Speaker 1: and wielding of their weapons. After this, our company returned
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  Speaker 1: to lodge at Uquestas, except a few who were left
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  Speaker 1: on board the canoes to watch the property. In the morning,
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  Speaker 1: I received from the chief his daughter with an earnest
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  Speaker 1: request that I would see her way well, which I
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  Speaker 1: promised him. When taking leave of her parents, she accompanied
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  Speaker 1: me with apparent satisfaction on board of the canoe, the
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  Speaker 1: wind being ahead. The natives were obliged to have recourse
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  Speaker 1: to their paddles, accompanying them with their songs interspersed with
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  Speaker 1: the witticisms and buffoonery of kinnech Clements, who, in his
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  Speaker 1: capacity of King's steersmen, one of his functions, which I
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  Speaker 1: forgot to enumerate, not only guided the course of the canoe,
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  Speaker 1: but regulated the singing of the boatmen. At about five
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  Speaker 1: in the morning, we reached Tassis, where we found all
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  Speaker 1: the inhabitants collected on the shore to receive us. We
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  Speaker 1: were welcomed with loud shouts of joy and exclamations of woe.
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  Speaker 1: Cosh and the women, taking my bride under their charge,
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  Speaker 1: conducted her to Makina's house to be kept with them
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  Speaker 1: for ten days, it being a universal custom, as Makina
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  Speaker 1: informed me that no intercourse should take place between the
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  Speaker 1: new married pair during that period. At night, Makina gave
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  Speaker 1: a great feast, which was succeeded by a dance in
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  Speaker 1: which all the women joined, and thus ended the festivities
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  Speaker 1: of my marriage. The term of my probation being over,
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  Speaker 1: Makina assigned me an apartment the space in the upper
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  Speaker 1: part of his house between him and his elder brother,
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  Speaker 1: whose room was opposite. Here, I established myself with my family,
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  Speaker 1: consisting of myself and wife Thompson, and the little Satsatsaksis,
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  Speaker 1: who had always been strongly attached to me, and now
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  Speaker 1: solicited his father to let him live with me, to
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  Speaker 1: which he consented. This boy was handsome, extremely well formed, amiable,
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  Speaker 1: and of a pleasant sprightly disposition. I used to take
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  Speaker 1: a pleasure in decorating him with rings, bracelets, ear jewels,
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  Speaker 1: et cetera, which I made for him of copper, and
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  Speaker 1: ornamented and polished them in my best manner. I was
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  Speaker 1: also very careful to keep him free from vermin of
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  Speaker 1: every kind, washing him and combing his hair every day.
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  Speaker 1: These marks of attention were not only very pleasing to
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  Speaker 1: the child, who delighted in being kept neat and clean,
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  Speaker 1: as well as in being dressed off in his finery,
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  Speaker 1: but was highly gratifying both to Makina and his queen,
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  Speaker 1: who used to express much satisfaction at my care of him.
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  Speaker 1: In making my domestic establishment, I determined as far as
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  Speaker 1: possible to live in a more comfortable and cleanly manner
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  Speaker 1: than the others. For this purpose I erected with planks
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  Speaker 1: a partition of about three feet in height between mine
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  Speaker 1: and the adjoining rooms, and made three bedsteads of the same,
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  Speaker 1: which I covered with boards for my family to sleep on,
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  Speaker 1: which I found much more comfortable than sleeping on the
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  Speaker 1: floor amidst the dirt. Fortunately, I found my Indian princess
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  Speaker 1: both amiable and intelligent. For one whose limited sphere of
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  Speaker 1: observation must necessarily give rise to but a few ideas,
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  Speaker 1: she was extremely ready to agree to anything that I
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  Speaker 1: proposed relative to our mode of living, was very attentive
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  Speaker 1: in keeping her garments and her person neat and clean,
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  Speaker 1: and appeared, in every respect solicitous to please me. She was,
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  Speaker 1: as I have said about seventeen. Her person was small
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  Speaker 1: but well formed, as were her features. Her complexion was
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  Speaker 1: without exception fairer than any of the women, with considerable
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  Speaker 1: color in her cheeks, her hair long black and much
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  Speaker 1: softer than as usual with them, and her teeth small even,
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  Speaker 1: and of a dazzling whiteness. While the expression of her
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  Speaker 1: countenance indicated sweetness, of temper and modesty. She would indeed
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  Speaker 1: have been considered as very pretty in any country, and
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  Speaker 1: excepting Makina's Queen was by far the handsomest of any
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  Speaker 1: of their women. With a partner possessing so many attractions,
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  Speaker 1: many may be apt to conclude that I must have
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  Speaker 1: found myself happy, at least comparatively so. But far otherwise
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  Speaker 1: was it with me. A compulsory marriage with the most
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  Speaker 1: beautiful and accomplished person in the world can never prove
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  Speaker 1: a source of real happiness, and in my situation, I
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  Speaker 1: could not but view this connection as a chain that
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  Speaker 1: was to bind me down to the savage land and
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  Speaker 1: prevent my ever again seeing a civilized country, especially when,
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  Speaker 1: in a few days after Makina informed me that there
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  Speaker 1: had been a meeting of his chiefs in which it
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  Speaker 1: had been determined that as I had married one of
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  Speaker 1: their women, I must be considered as one of them
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  Speaker 1: and conformed to their customs, and that in future neither
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  Speaker 1: myself nor Thompson should wear our European clothes, but dress
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  Speaker 1: in cut sacks like themselves. This order was to me
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  Speaker 1: most painful, but I persuaded Makina at length so far
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  Speaker 1: to relax in it as to permit me to wear
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  Speaker 1: those I had at present, which were almost worn out,
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  Speaker 1: and not to compel Thompson to change his dress observing that,
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  Speaker 1: as he was an old man, such a change would
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  Speaker 1: cause his death. Their religious celebration, which the last year
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  Speaker 1: took place in December, was in this commenced on the
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  Speaker 1: fifteenth of Nova Remember, and continued for fourteen days. As
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  Speaker 1: I was now considered as one of them. Instead of
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  Speaker 1: being ordered to the woods, Makina directed Thompson and myself
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  Speaker 1: to remain and pray with them to Quahouts, to be
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  Speaker 1: good to them and thank him for what he had done.
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  Speaker 1: It was opened in much the same manner as the former,
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  Speaker 1: after which all the men and women in the village
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  Speaker 1: assembled at Makina's house in their plainest dresses and without
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  Speaker 1: any kind of ornaments about them, having their heads bound
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  Speaker 1: round with the red filet a token of dejection and humiliation,
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  Speaker 1: and their countenances expressive of seriousness and melancholy. The performances
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  Speaker 1: during the continuance of this celebration consisted almost wholly in
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  Speaker 1: singing a number of songs to mournful heirs, the king
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  Speaker 1: regulating the time by beating on his hollow plank or drum,
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  Speaker 1: accompanied by one of his chiefs seated near him with
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  Speaker 1: the great rattle. In the meantime, they eat but seldom
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  Speaker 1: and then very little, retiring to sleep late and rising
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  Speaker 1: at the first appearance of dawn, and even interrupting this
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  Speaker 1: short period of repose by getting up at midnight and singing.
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  Speaker 1: The ceremony was terminated by an exhibition of a similar
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  Speaker 1: character to the one of the last year, but still
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  Speaker 1: more cruel. A boy of twelve years old, with six
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  Speaker 1: bayonets run into his flesh, one through each arm and thigh,
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  Speaker 1: and through each side close to the ribs, was carried
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  Speaker 1: around the room, suspended upon them, without manifesting any symptoms
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  Speaker 1: of pain. Makina, on my inquiring the reason of this display,
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  Speaker 1: informed me that it was an ancient custom of his
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  Speaker 1: nation to sacrifice a man at the close of this
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  Speaker 1: solemnity in honor of their God, but that his father
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  Speaker 1: had abolished it and substituted this in its place. The
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  Speaker 1: whole closed on the evening of the twenty ninth with
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  Speaker 1: a great feast of salmon, spawn and oil, at which
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  Speaker 1: the natives, as usual, made up for their late abstinence.
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  Speaker 1: A few days after, a circumstance occurred which from its
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  Speaker 1: singularity I cannot forbear mentioning I was sent for by
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  Speaker 1: my neighbor yealth lower the king's elder brother to file
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  Speaker 1: his teeth, which operation having performed, he informed me that
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  Speaker 1: a new wife, whom he had a little time before purchased,
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  Speaker 1: having refused to sleep with him, it was his inn
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  Speaker 1: provided she persisted in her refusal to bite off her nose.
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  Speaker 1: I endeavored to dissuade him from it, but he was determined,
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  Speaker 1: and in fact performed his savage threat that very night,
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  Speaker 1: saying that since she would not be his wife, she
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  Speaker 1: should not be that of any other, and in the
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  Speaker 1: morning sent her back to her father. This inhuman act
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  Speaker 1: did not, however, proceed from any innate cruelty of disposition
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  Speaker 1: or malice, as he was far from being of a
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  Speaker 1: barbarous temper. But such is the despotism exercised by these
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  Speaker 1: savages over their women, that he no doubt considered it
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  Speaker 1: as a just punishment for her offense in being so
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  Speaker 1: obstinate and perverse, as he afterwards told me that in
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  Speaker 1: similar cases, the husband had a right with them to
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  Speaker 1: disfigure his wife in this world or some other, to
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  Speaker 1: prevent her ever marrying again. About the middle of December,
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  Speaker 1: we left Tassis for koop Tea. As usual at this season,
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  Speaker 1: we found the herrings in great plenty, and here the
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  Speaker 1: same scene of riotous feasting that I witnessed last year
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  Speaker 1: was renewed by our improvident natives, who, in addition to
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  Speaker 1: their usual fare, had a plentiful supply of wild geese,
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  Speaker 1: which were brought to us in great quantity by the Esquots. These,
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  Speaker 1: as Makina informed me, were caught with nets made from
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  Speaker 1: bark in the fresh waters of that country. Those who
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  Speaker 1: take them make choice for that purpose of a dark
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  Speaker 1: and rainy night, and with their canoes stuck with lighted torches,
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  Speaker 1: proceed with as little noise as possible to the place
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  Speaker 1: where the geese are collected, who dazzled by the light,
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  Speaker 1: suffer themselves to be approached very near when the net
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  Speaker 1: thrown over them, and in this manner, from fifty to
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  Speaker 1: sixty or even more will sometimes be taken at one cast.
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  Speaker 1: On the fifteenth of January eighteen o five, about midnight,
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  Speaker 1: I was thrown into considerable alarm in consequence of an
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  Speaker 1: eclipse of the moon, being awakened from my sleep by
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  Speaker 1: a great outcry of the inhabitants. On going to discover
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  Speaker 1: the cause of this tumult, I found them all out
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  Speaker 1: of their houses, bearing lighted torches, singing and beating upon
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  Speaker 1: pieces of plank. And when I asked them the reason
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  Speaker 1: of this proceeding, they pointed to the moon and said
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  Speaker 1: that a great codfish was endeavoring to swallow her, and
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  Speaker 1: that they were driving him away. The origin of this
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  Speaker 1: superstition I could not discover, though in some respects my
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  Speaker 1: situation was rendered more comfortable since my marriage, as I
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  Speaker 1: lived in a more cleanly manner, and had my food
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  Speaker 1: better and more neatly cooked, of which besides I had
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  Speaker 1: always a plenty my slaves generally furnishing me, and a Questa,
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  Speaker 1: never failing to send me an ample supply by the
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  Speaker 1: canoes that came from i Titzart. Still, from my being
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  Speaker 1: obliged at this season of the year to change my
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  Speaker 1: accustomed clothing and to dress like the natives, with only
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  Speaker 1: a piece of cloth of about two yards long thrown
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  Speaker 1: loosely around me, my European clothes having been for some
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  Speaker 1: time entirely worn out, I suffered more than I can
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  Speaker 1: express from the cold, especially as I was compelled to
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  Speaker 1: perform the laborious task of cutting and bringing the fire wood,
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  Speaker 1: which was rendered still more oppressive to me from my
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  Speaker 1: comrade for a considerable part of the winter, not having
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  Speaker 1: it in his power to lend me his aid. In
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  Speaker 1: consequence of an attack of the rheumatism in one of
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  Speaker 1: his knees, with which he suffered for more than four months,
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  Speaker 1: two or three weeks of which he was so ill
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  Speaker 1: as to be under the necessity to leave the house.
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  Speaker 1: This state of suffering, with the little hope I now
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  Speaker 1: had of ever escaping from the savages, began to render
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  Speaker 1: my life irksome to me. Still, however, I lost not
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  Speaker 1: my confidence in the aid of the Supreme Being, to
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  Speaker 1: whom whenever the weather and a suspension from the tasks
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  Speaker 1: imposed on me would permit, I never failed regularly on
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  Speaker 1: Sundays to retire to the wood to worship, taking Thompson
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  Speaker 1: with me when he was able to go. And of
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  Speaker 1: Section fourteen