North-lVest Continent of America. 237 



we had satisfied ourselves with the fish, one of the people 

 who came with us from the last village approached, with a 

 kind of ladle in one hand, containing oil, and in the other 

 something that resembled the inner rind of the cocoa-nut, 

 but of a lighter colour ; this he dipped in the oil, and, having 

 eat it, indicated by his gestures how palatable he thought 

 it. He then presented me with a small piece of it, which 

 I chose to taste in its dry state, though the oil was free 

 from any unpleasant smelh A square cake of this was 

 next produced, when a man took it to the water near the 

 house, and having thoroughly soaked it, he returned, and, 

 after he had pulled it to pieces like oakum, put it into a 

 well-made trough, about three feet long, nine inches wide, 

 and five deep ; he then plentifully sprinkled it with salmon 

 oil, and manifested by his own example that we were to 

 eat of it. I just tasted it, und found the oil perfectly 

 sweet, without which the other ingredients would have 

 been very insipid. The chief partook of it with great 

 avidity, after it had received an additional quantity of oil. 

 This dish is considered by these people as a great deli- 

 cacy ; and on examination, I discovered it to consist of 

 x the inner rind of the hemlock tree, taken off early in sum- 

 mer, and put into a frame, which shapes it into cakes of 

 fifteen inches long, ten broad, and half an inch thick ; and 

 in this form I should suppose it may be preserved for a 

 great length of time. This discovery satisfied me re- 

 specting the many hemlock trees which I had observed 

 stripped of their bark. 



In this situation we remained for upwards of three 

 hours, and not one of the curious natives left us during all 

 that time, except a party often or twelve of them, whom 

 the chief ordered to go and catch fish, which they did in 

 great abundance, with dipping nets, at the foot of the 

 weir. 



At length we were relieved from the gazing crowd, and 

 got a lodge erected, and covered in for our reception dur- 

 ing the night. I now presented the young chief with a 

 blanket, in return for the robe with which he had favoured 

 me, and several other articles, that appeared to be very 

 gratifying to him. I also presented some to his father, 

 and amongst them was a pair of scissars, whose use I ex- 

 plained to him, for clipping his beard, which was of great 

 length ; and to that purpose he immediately applied them. 

 My distribution of similar articles was also extended to 



