58 



Menzies' Journal. 



Gulf of Georgia. 



1792. 

 June 19th. 



Bark of Thuja 

 plicata (Giaut 

 Cedar). 



Blankets. 

 See Appendix. 



Probably of 

 wool of 

 Mountain- 

 goat {Oreamnos 

 montanus) . 



Vane, Voy. I., 

 284. Whidbey 

 reported seeing 

 on east side of 

 Whidbey's Id. 

 " forty dogs 

 In a drove, 

 shorn close to 

 the skin like 

 sheep." 



the weather was then hazy with gentle showers but it soon 

 cleard up & the rest of the day was fair & pleasant with little 

 or no wind. We had not gone far when the appearance of 

 smoke issuing from a part of the wood on an Island before 

 us indued us to land at a place where we found four or five 

 families of the Natives variously occupied in a few tempor- 

 ary huts formd in the slightest & most careless manner by 

 fastening together some rough sticks & throwing over them 

 some pieces of Mats of Bark of Trees so partially as to 

 form but a very indifferent shelter from the inclemency of 

 the weather. 



Their food at this time was some dried fish & Clams; 

 we also saw some fresh Halibut & purchasd two large pieces 

 of it for an English half penny each. In one Hut some 

 pieces of the flesh of a Porpuse were seen by some of the 

 party who had taken it for Venison & nearly purchasd the 

 whole of it with great eagerness at a very high price when 

 the mistake was discoverd & all importunities suddenly 

 ceased, tho the Natives were somewhat surprizd at this 

 turn of conduct & could not comprehend the cause, yet they 

 were by no means displeasd at finding themselves thus freed 

 from the temptation of parting with their favourite food. 



The Women were employd in making Mats & large 

 Baskets for holding their provisions stores & Luggage. In 

 one place we saw them at work on a / kind of coarse Blanket 

 made of double twisted woollen Yarn & curiously wove by 

 their fingers with great patience & ingenuity into various 

 figures thick Cloth that would baffle the powers of more 

 civilizd Artists with all their implements to imitate, but 

 from what Animal they procure the wool for making these 

 Blankets I am at present uncertain; it is very fine & of a 

 snowy whiteness, some conjecturd that it might be from the 

 dogs of which the Natives kept a great number & no other 

 use was observd to be made of them than merely as domes- 

 ticated Animals. Very few of them were of a White 

 colour & none that we saw were coverd with such fine wool, 

 so that this conjecture tho plausibly held forth appeard 

 without any foundation. On our landing we observd that 

 all their dogs were muzzled, a precaution which we supposd 

 the Natives had taken to prevent their giving us any dis- 

 turbance or alarm at our approach to their Village, & indeed 

 the whole tenor of their conduct shewd them to be an harm- 



