17G 



abundant. Sea-otter are not obtained at the cape, but the Indians pur- 

 chased them of the Nittinat, and carried them to Victoria for sale. For- 

 merly they raised a large quantity of potatoes; but since the sickness they 

 have neglected this provision. 



The Makah bore the nose as well as ears, and both men and women 

 wear ornaments in them, generally; in the former, a small triangular bit of 

 shell, in the latter, larger pieces. The men for the most part wear nothing 

 but a blanket; the women, a breech-elout, and blanket of dogs' hair or 

 down, or a cedar bark robe. A few of the men, at the time of the council, 

 had bear skins tied around the throat with the fur out; and as they sat on the 

 ground, the skins encircling them and covering the face to the nose, they 

 made a very picturesque appearance. Their hats, when they wear any, are 

 of the conical form common along the coast. Their finest manufactures 

 are the blankets already mentioned. Those of dogs' hair and down are 

 common to other parts of the sound, more particularly those which have 

 least communication with the whites, as homespun articles here, as else- 

 where, give place to "store goods" with advancing civilization. The cedar 

 blankets and robes are known almost exclusively to be their own; they are 

 very nicely made, and quite pliable. Their dishes resemble those of the 

 northern Indians, of which many specimens have found their way to the 

 States; long, shallow trays serving to hold the common mess, and smaller 

 square ones for the individual portion. 



The Makah before they were broken by sickness carried their war- 

 parties to some distance. They are still on bad terms with the Soke and 

 Psong of Vancouver Island, as well as with their immediate neighbors to 

 the south, the Kwillehiut. They chastised the Tsemakum of Port Town- 

 send before the Klallam attacked them, and not long since threatened the 

 Klallam also, but the difficulty was arranged by King George, the Klallam 

 chief, giving his sister to the white chief in marriage; a regal settlement of 

 difficulties worthy of European diplomacy. 



On occasion of the treaty made with them by Governor Stevens, in 

 January last, the Makah were first brought into official intercourse with 

 the whites. Previous to that time, they had declined to receive papers from 

 the agent, Colonel Simmons, being under apprehensions that they would 



