266 AVOYAGETOTHE 



^ ^ .f" ^' kro-e wing- feathers ; at which time they are not able 



XII. o o ■' ^ 



y -» to fly. 



1787. ^ 



Auguft. 



Thurfdayp. These Indians had a number of beads about them of 

 quite a different fort to any I ever faw ; they had alfo a 

 carpenter's adze made in a different manner to ours, with 

 the letter B and three fleurs-de-lis on it. The chief in- 

 formed me that he received thefe articles from two veffels 

 which had been with them to the North Weft, and de- 

 fcribed them as having three mafts : he gave me to un- 

 derftand that they had a drum on board, and a number of 

 great guns. Thefe circumftances inclined me to think 

 that the veffels defcribed by this chief were the French 

 men of war that were fitting out for difcovery at the time 

 we left England. 



Besides thefe fhips juft mentioned, I was informed 

 by fome of the Indians, that another veffel had vifited 

 the coaft a little way to the North Weft of our fituation, 

 and from their defcription, I fhould rather fuppofe her to 

 have been the Queen Charlotte than any other veffel ; as 

 they defcribed her having only two mafts, and her boat 

 like our whale-boat. They alfo made me underftand very 

 clearly, that an unfortunate accident happened to one of 

 her boats, which v/as fifliing at an anchor in the mouth of 

 the port where {he. lay : whilft fifliing, the wind came in 

 frefh from the fea, which caufed a good deal of fea to fet 

 in, and when endeavouring to weigh their anchor, the 

 cable flipped on the broad-fide of the boat, which overfet 

 her ; and before any afliftance could be given them from 

 the fhip five men were drowned. The boat to which this 

 misfortune happened they gave me to underftand was 



exadly 



