Page:Voyages in the Northern Pacific - 1896.djvu/86

68 occur between these tribes and King Comley's tribe, in consequence of their having diverted some of the trade out of his hands. He used to take goods up the country, and trade with the tribes there, bringing the furs to the fort, where he had a profit of nearly half, so that it was to his advantage to keep them from the fort, by telling them the white men were bad, and would take them off and make slaves of them. I am sorry to say that the slave trade is carried on, on this coast, to a very great extent by the Americans. They buy slaves to the southward and take them to the northward, where they exchange them for the sea otter and other furs. If they cannot buy the slaves cheap, they make no scruple to carry them off by force. A Captain Ayres, of the ship Mercury, took twelve from the Columbia river in this manner, but while bearing down the coast, seven of them seized the whale-boat and ran from the ship; only one, however, arrived at the river. This Captain Ayres was so oppressive that three of his men left him, and were kept by Com Comley for twelve months; they afterwards got off in the American ship Albatross.

The chief articles of trade given in exchange to all the natives on the coast are muskets, blankets, powder, shot, red paint, (which they use to paint their faces,) tobacco, beads, buttons, thick brass wire, with which they make bracelets, rings, etc.; ready-made clothes are in great demand; but, in fact, any trifling toys will please them. The country is full of bears, wolves, tiger-cats, foxes, racoons, rabbits, muskrats,