, 1853-05-14

rN'St unchanged. ne lawns sui ploGuCr
the same byaullul flowers and shrubs, and
although closry snrromdyt hy dcns- woods
/ do nat seem To have been enrroachad upon
by their luxurant gowlh, although there
is no apparent reason why il should not
long ere this, have ovcrrm them.
Our anchorage in Port Discovery was
close to the shoIe, in twenty seven fathoms
water. ]; is a well projected harbor, and
very convenient Of access, but the depth of
water and the high prceffi6ous banks, would
almost preclude its being made the sat Of a
settlement
The name o. Port Discovery was given
by Vancouver. 1t is eight miles long, two
miles in average width, and its points, which
terminate in low sandy projections, lnler-
lock each other. The shor. 5 are supplied
with large quantities Of shell fish. Protpc-
tion Island covers it completely to the
north, and would render it easily defensive
against the most formilabl, attack. The
only objection to it as hrabor is that al
ready spoken Of, the great depth Of the wa
/ ter, which in the middle is no where less
than forty or fny lathoms, and is ofcR as
much as sixteen fnthoms close 10 the shore.
The Indians whom We found dwelling
here are of the Clalam tribe. They occupy
a few miserable lodges on one of The points,
and are a most filthy race, so much so indeed
that 10 enter their lodges is absolutely dis
gusting. They are no more Than few
rudely-cut slabs, covered in part by coarse
mats
There is no permanent settlement Of In
dians at Port Discovery, and during our
stay we had vIsiters from the various neigh
boring tribes The two sexes of all who
visited US were dressed almost alike, and
can hardly be distinguished in external ap-
pearance from each other both wear their
hair long, and both are equally dirty. All
the adults have their heads much hattened,
which appears to be performed as it is
among the more southern tribes, by com
pressing the frontal and occipital bones by
several thicknesses Of bark, until they be-
come set, and the head takes a permanent
shape.
Their children seem to give them but lit
tie trouble in their infancy they are tied
to piece of bark, which is hung 10 tree
or pole, where it is kept in motion by a
string fastened to the toe Of the mother.
These Indians appear to have but few Of
the comforts, and barely the necessaries Of
life. They live principally on fish, she'll
fish, the eammass root, and potatoes. They
have muskets and bows and arrows the
bows are short and small, but possess great
strength, and are made Of yew their ar
rows arc pointed with iron or bone.
They also possess large sheath4znives,
which they procure from the Hud on Bay
Company, in exchange for furs, and from
the same source they obtain blankets. For
these articles the Company has a regular
tariff of prices, which however, is not ad.
hered to when a Boston ship arrives. The
natives are sufficiently alive to the advania-
ges they derive from mpeliiion, and boasted
that in such cases they frequently obtained
four or five blankets for articles that usually
bring them only one. 1t was the hope Of
80 advantageous a traffic that caused so much
satisfaction when we arrived, aud the fall
ure Of this hope produced. as we have seen,
no little disappointment.
They arc not, however, wholly dcpsn-
dent on this trade for their clothing, for
some of The tribes manufacture a sort Of
blanket from dogs hair, which is subslan>
TALLY woven .l. .. .-...
During our stay at Port Discovery, they
supplied US plentifully with yenison, ducks,
geese, salmon, large species Of cod, aoun-
ders, herrings and crabs. They also brought
shell-ish. among which were the common
clam, (the quohog of the Eastern States,)
mussels, and small oysters.
Besides the ornaments we saw among our
irst visitors, some wampum belts and strings
Of danialium-s shells were observed. They
have a great passion for carved pipos, for
which they cultivate small quantities of a
species of tobacco. They also smoke the
leaves Of the dwarf Arbutus mixed with their
tobacco; these are powerful asiringents,
and are also frequently chewed.
The color Of the younger natives is al
most white, 50 much 50 as TO show the
blush on the check and some Of the women
would with difficulty be distinguished in
color from those Of European race. The
women are to lie seen weaving mats, ahtr
the Chinese fashion, of hullrushes (Seirpus
laeustris), which they place side by side and
fasten together at intervals. These are
used, as has been stated, 10 cover the fame
work Of their lodges.
Instead of the silver tube which has been
spoken Of, the women have a white bone
stuck through the cartilage of their noses.
This is kept bright, and may be sold TO be
the only clean thing about their p,rsons.-
The whole burden Of domestic occupation
is thrown upon them, Tor The men are to be
seen lounging about the whole day 10 The
sun, aud spend their nights in gambling.
The canoes Of this region differ from any
thing we had seen on the voyage. They
arc made from a single hunk, and have a
shape that may be considered elegant, and
,,It n is p,escrvc1 from chance la .tretrh-