Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 6.djvu/189

183 JOURNAL OF A VOYAGE TO N. W. AMERICA. 183 lichen. On our return it began to blow Very hard, & it was with some difficulty we could reach the ship ; once indeed the canoe was nearly upset, & it was dark before we got on board. We now received the disagre[e]able in- telligence that in our absence the ship had drifted from her anchorage & was with much difficulty prevented from going ashore. July 1st. This morning we left our disagre[e]able an- chorage & a favourable wind soon brought us to Salmon Cove. Before getting under way we were visited by an- other canoe from Nass, in which were some women, with their lips deformed in a remarkable manner. A trans- verse incision had been made in the lower lip, about an inch and a half in length, into this opening an oval shaped piece of wood was introduced, of about the same length as the incision, an inch in thickness, & concave on its upper & lower surfaces. This piece of wood they often exchange for a larger one & dilate the lip to a monstrous size. In some cases the lower lip projected about H ; inch before the tip of the nose, & and. gave them a most grotesque appearance when they chose to eat anything. The Indians appeared to have some traditions of G. Vancouver, as they were at some pains to make us under- stand that a great many snows ago two vessels had an- chored in the place where we now are. The little vall[e]y in which Salmon Cove is situated has a verdant appearance, & a small brook supples it with abundance of excellent water. The stones in the brook are everywhere covered by Fontinalis antipyschea & F. squamosa, the last is in the state of perfect fruit. d. Our excursion on shore to-day was very limited, as we were under perpetual apprehension of a visit from the Nass Indians, whom our Skittigass friend was at great pains to assure us were a bloody & treacherous people.