Mr Scolder's Voyage to the Pacific Ocean. *]l 



his father's name, a practice which seems to be general among 

 these tribes, as the chief of the Cheenooks on the Columbia had 

 also bestowed his name and authority on his favourite son. 

 The second son of Macuinna was about eighteen, was called 

 Soodoo, and was the most cheerful and amiable of the family. 

 Notwithstanding all the apparent friendship of Macuinna, we 

 could not but look with disgust on this wily savage, whose subjects 

 murdered the crew of a merchant vessel not many years ago, in 

 the place where we now were. He affected to speak with re- 

 spect and gratitude of Quadra, Vancouver, and Mr Mears, 

 and readily recognized the portrait of the last-named gentle- 

 man. But all the kindness these enlightened men had shown 

 him, has failed in taming his savage temper, and allowing the 

 question of his anthropophagism to remain unsettled, enough 

 remains to render his character disagreeable. I have seen the 

 narrative of an unfortunate seaman, who spent several years of 

 a dangerous captivity among the Indians of Yucualt. The ship 

 to which this man belonged was captured by Macuinna, through 

 the culpable negligence of the captain, and only two of the crew 

 were spared, who afterwards made their escape on board another 

 vessel which visited this harbour. 



From the narrative of these men, which contains many in- 

 teresting facts, it appears that very little provocation was given 

 on the part of the captain, and that the cause of the disaster 

 was the desire of the Indians to possess the property of the 

 vessel, encouraged by the success a neighbouring tribe had ex- 

 perienced in cutting off the numerous crew of the Tonquin 

 of Boston. The capture of two vessels within the space of 

 ten years, has no doubt augmented the boldness of the In- 

 dians, but, with a moderate degree of caution on the part of 

 commanders of ships, no such catastrophe could possibly hap- 

 pen. Although, during the earlier periods of the fur trade 

 on the north-west coast, Nootka was much frequented by trad- 

 ing vessels, it is at present but seldom visited. It produces 

 but few beaver-skins, and the sea-otter is more plentiful far- 

 ther north, so that there is but little inducement to visit it. 

 Macuinna is not the miniature Montezuma that Humboldt sup- 

 poses ; his authority, like that of every other tyee or chief, is 

 confined to his own tribe, and his influence among his neigh- 



