Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 6.djvu/198

192 192 DR. JOHN SCOULER. in the natives of Kigannie: the Porta Cordova y Cordova of C. Vancouver's chart. At Kagannie the seamen went ashore without any precaution whatever, & the natives were allowed to visit the ship in as great numbers as they pleased. Much of the hostile disposition is probably ow- ing to the Americans themselves, who alone enjoy the trade to the N. of Nootka. Of this, at least, I am sure that offenses of the Indians have been punished in a most bloody & unrelenting manner. With respect to atrocity they can outdo the Indians in cruelty. While of[f] Skittigass the Indians gave us a specimen of their expertness in thieving. By some means or other they contrived to steal the charges of the great guns & did [it] in so expert a manner that it was not detected till next day. 30th. To-day we were of[f] Nootka harbour & a canoe with 10 Indians came of[f] to us. They repeated the well known words Wakush & Masquada, & invited us to visit their harbour. They gave us a few fishes, consisting chiefly of Cyprinus brama & Gadus minutus. In appear- ance & language they have affinity to the Cheenooks, & soon [we] were able to understand them pretty easily. About 5 in the afternoon we anchored in [illegible] Cove, about 4 miles above Friendly village. Here Moa- quilla came on board with his two sons. The elder bears his father's name, & is, as far as we could judge, of a very mild temper. The younger is called Sadoo. Before ven- turing on board the old man inquired from what country we came, & on being informed we were English, he & his people clapped their hands & seamed highly delighted. On showing him the portrait of Mr. Mears he soon recog- nized his old friend, & had not forgot the Spaniards or C. Vancouver. When we showed him the portraits of him- self & Calleum, he easily found out the unfortunate chief & told us that Komkela was dead for many years. In the