NORTHWEST COAST OF AMERICA. 227 



and heads, with intermediate beaches. At 9 A. M. a large 

 canoe, paddled by nine Indians, boarded us. They were all 

 small in stature, and far from being good-looking, having 

 broad, flat faces, with high cheek-bones and low foreheads. 

 They were also very dirty about their persons, so much so 

 that it was difficult to make out the color of their skin. One 

 of them was dressed in corduroy pantaloons, and a jacket 

 made of scarlet cloth, and could speak a little English. Their 

 own language was harsh and disagreeable, seeming to be made 

 up principally of gutterals, and the sounds elude and click 

 They wore as ornaments a small silver tube stuck through 

 the partition of the nose, and small brass bells suspended 

 around the rim of their ears. They had with them some eight 

 or ten otter skins, but were unwilling to sell them. It 

 seemed as though they had come merely to look at the ship, 

 she being the largest they had ever seen. They remained on 

 board several hours and then went along-side the " Porpoise." 

 May 2d. This morning another canoe, manned by seven 

 men and one squaw, boarded us. They brought with them 

 some fish, which they readily exchanged for a few pipes and 

 some tobacco. The woman was seated in the bow of the 

 canoe, and was not permitted by the men to come on board. 

 At 3.30 P. M. we passed Point Dungenness, a low, woody 

 tongue of land. After passing this point, our progress was 

 greatly impeded by a very strong ebb-tide. It run between 

 three and four miles an hour. We observed as we sailed 

 along this part of the coast a great number of tall poles, which 

 our pilot informed me, were stuck up by the Indians for the 

 purpose of suspending nets to them, in which they take geese 

 and other wild fowl that frequent these shores at certain sea- 

 sons of the year. About sunset we reached Port Discovery, 

 und anchored for the night. Numbers of men, women and 



