322 CAPTAIN COOK'S VOYAGES 



use of that metal. Many of the canoes followed us to our 

 anchoring place, and a group of about ten or a dozen of 

 them remained alongside the Resolution most part of the 

 night. 



" These circumstances gave us a reasonable ground of 

 hope that we should find this a comfortable station to supply 

 all our wants, and to make us forget the hardships and 

 delays experienced during a constant succession of adverse 

 winds and boisterous weather, almost continual since our 

 arrival upon the coast of America. 



" Next morning I lost no time in endeavouring to find a 

 commodious harbour where we might station ourselves 

 during our continuance. I had very little trouble in finding 

 what we wanted. On the north-west of the arm we were 

 now in, and not far from the ships, I met with a convenient, 

 snug cove, well suited for our purpose. 



" A great many canoes, filled with the natives, were about 

 the ships all day, and a trade commenced betwixt us and 

 them, which was carried on with the strictest honesty on 

 sides. The articles which they offered to sell were skins of 

 various animals, such as bears, wolves, foxes, deer, racoons, 

 polecats, martens ; and in particular, the sea otters, which 

 are found at the islands east of Kamtschatka. Besides the 

 skins in their native shape, they also brought garments 

 made of them, and another sort of clothing made of the 

 bark of a tree, or some plant like hemp ; weapons, such as 

 bows, arrows, and spears ; fish-hooks, and instruments of 

 various kinds ; wooden vizors of many different monstrous 

 figures ; a sort of woollen stuff, blanketing ; bags filled with 

 red ochre, pieces of carved work, beads, and several other 

 little ornaments of thin brass and iron, shaped like a horse- 

 shoe, which they hang at their noses, and several chisels or 

 pieces of iron fixed to handles. From their possessing which 

 metals, we could infer that they had either been visited by 

 some civilized nation, or had connections with tribes on their 

 continent who had communication with them. But the 

 most extraordinary of all the articles which they brought 

 to the ships for sale were human skulls, and hands not yet 

 quite stripped of the flesh, which they made our people 

 plainly understand they had eaten ; and indeed, some of 

 them had evident marks that they had been upon the fire. 

 We had but too much reason to suspect, from this circum- 

 stance, that the horrid practice of feeding on their enemies 

 was prevalent here. For the various articles which they 

 brought they took in exchange knives, chisels, pieces of iron 

 and tin, nails, looking-glasses, buttons, or any kind of metal. 

 Glass beads they were not fond of, and cloth of every sort 

 they rejected. 



