177$. THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 471 



whirling it nimbly round as a drill; thus producing 

 fire in a few minutes. This method is common in 

 many parts of the world. It is practised by the 

 Kamtschadales, by these people, by the Greenlanders, 

 by the Brazilians, by the Otaheiteans, by the New 

 Hollanders ; and probably by many other nations. 

 Yet some learned and ingenious men have founded 

 an argument on this custom to prove, that this and 

 that nation are of the same extraction. But acci- 

 dental agreements, in a few particular instances, will 

 not authorize such a conclusion ; nor will a disagree- 

 ment, either in manners or customs, between two 

 different nations, of course, prove that they are of 

 different extraction. I could support this opinion by 

 many instances besides the one just mentioned. 



No such thing as an offensive or even defensive 

 weapon was seen amongst the natives of Oonalashka. 

 We cannot suppose that the Russians found them in 

 such a defenceless state ; it is more probable that for 

 their own security they have disarmed them. Poli- 

 tical reasons too may have induced the Russians not 

 to allow these islanders to have any large canoes ; for 

 it is difficult to believe they had none such originally, 

 as we found them amongst all their neighbours 

 However we saw none here but one or two belonging 

 to the Russians. The canoes made use of by the 

 natives are the smallest we had any where seen upon 

 the American coast ; though built after the same 

 manner, with some little difference in the construc- 

 tion. The stern of these terminates a little abruptly; 

 the head is forked ; the upper point of the fork pro- 

 jecting without the under one, which is even with the 

 surface of the water. Why they should thus con- 

 struct them is difficult to conceive ; for the fork is 

 apt to catch hold of every thing that comes in the 

 way ; to prevent which they fix a piece of small stick 

 from point to point. In other respects their canoes 

 are built after the manner of those used by the 

 Greenlanders and Esquimaux - y the framing being of 



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