Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 6.djvu/205

199 JOURNAL OF A VOYAGE TO N. W. AMERICA. 199 ual ascent ; seamed better fitted for cultivation than any place N. of the Columbia we had yet visited. At this place two canoes came of[f] to us from the Nootkaside. In one of them was a famous chief named Waskalatchy, who had wandered more over the N. W. coast than any Indian upon it. This chief readily agreed to accompany us up the straits, & in the evening we anchored in Strawberry Cove, Cypress Island. 15th August. Since we anchored in this cove we have seen no Indians, but Waskalatchy informed us that there was a village a little to the N. E. of us. On obtaining this intelligence we fired a gun & in about an hour & a half we saw three canoes making for the ship. The Indians seamed to be under considerable apprehension & appeared to hesitate whether they should proceed or not-. After a short consultation they came near to us, & we soon found means to dissipate their alarm. They seamed very poor & had nothing in their canoes but a seal & a few gulls. In the afternoon when the canoes left us we had an op- portunity of visiting Strawberry Cove ; but, as evening was approaching, I had but little time to make observa- tions. We landed on a fine smooth sandy beach, which was bounded on all sides by low & marshy ground, cov- ered with Scirpi & Carices, & abounding in dear trails. Along the beach we found abundance of Berberis Aqui- folia & B. Nervosa. 16th. This afternoon we left Cypress Island & before sunset we anchored opposite an Indian village. This tribe of Indians is called the Lummie tribe, & are on terms of friendship with Klallums, & along with Squastin's peo- ple carry on a constant war with the people further up the straits. These friendly savages made us a present of two fine beavers, which afforded us an agre[e]able repast after being so long confined to salmon. Our Klallum friends,