THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 
Their fpears are like our fpontoons; and their knives, which 
they keep in fheaths, are of a confiderable length. Thefe, 
with a few glafs beads, are the only things we faw amongft 
them that were not of their own manufacture. I have al¬ 
ready offered my conjectures from whence they derive their 
foreign articles; and fhall only add here, that, if it were 
probable that they found their way to them from fuch of 
their neighbours with whom the Ruffians may have efta- 
bliffied a trade, I will be bold to fay, the Ruffians them- 
felves have never been amongft them : for if that had been 
the cafe, we ffiould hardly have found them clothed in fuch 
valuable fkins as thofe of the fea-otter. 
There is not the lead; doubt, that a very beneficial fur 
trade might be carried on with the inhabitants of this vaft 
coaft. But unlefs a Northern paffage ffiould be found prac¬ 
ticable, it feems rather too remote for Great Britain to re¬ 
ceive any emolument from it. It muft, however, be ob- 
ferved, that the moft valuable, or rather the only valuable 
fkins, I faw on this Weft fide of America, were thofe of the 
fea-otter. All their other fkins feemed to be of an inferior 
quality; particularly thofe of their foxes and martins. It 
muft alfo be obferved, that moft of the fkins, which we 
purchafed, were made up into garments. However, fome 
of thefe were in good condition; but others were old and 
ragged enough; and all of them very loufy. But as thefe 
poor people make no other ufe of fkins but for clothing 
themfelves, it cannot be fuppofed that they are at the 
trouble of dreffing more of them than are neceffary for this 
purpofe. And, perhaps, this is the chief ufe for which they 
kill the animals; for the fea and the rivers feem to fupply 
them with their principal articles of food. It would, pro¬ 
bably, be much otherwife, were they once habituated to a 
Vol. II. 3 F conftant 
