Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 6.djvu/191

185 JOURNAL OF A VOYAGE TO N. W. AMERICA. 185 & dried. Its taste was sweat & far more agre[e]able than the cake of Halymenia. These Indians resemble those of Q. Charlotte's Island very closely. The men are tall, stout & well proportioned, & have not the same aversion to beards that most Indian tribes have. They have high cheek bones, oval counte- nances, & rather round chins. When washed their com- plexion is not any darker than that of an inhabitant of the S. of Europe. There was a degree of decency among these people we did not observe among any tribe on the coast. Although most of the men wore blankets, they had a piece of cloth before them so as to prevent exposure. Almost the whole of the women had calico gowns & piece of blue cloth thrown over their shoulders, & had a very handsome appearance. They do not appear to use the lip ornament from their infancy. I saw many girls of about 14 or 16 who had not as yet assumed this mark of distinction ; probably it is conferred at marriage. 5th. In our boat excursions, we had found a more con- venient anchorage than Salmon Cove, about five miles further up the inlet ; to this situation the vessel proceeded & anchored in 30 fathoms [of] water in a very secure little bay. On account of the incessant rain we now experienced, as well as from the number of Indians about us, we judged it proper not to leave the ship. Friendly as the conduct of the people of Nass has been, the bad character they have got from previous visitors renders it by no means prudent to put ourselves in any degree at their mercy. Our Skitti- gass interpreter shrewdly advised us not to go on shore, but to employ the Indians to bring off water. As a further reason for adopting his advice, he said that a boat's crew belonging to an American trading vessel had been cut of[f] by the Nass people while employed in obtaining water; &