Of the political and religious institutions established amongst them, it cannot be supposed that we should learn much. This we could observe, that there are such men as chiefs, who are distinguished by the name or title of Acweek, and to whom the others are, in some measure, subordinate. But, I should guess, the authority of each of these great men extends no farther than the family to which he belongs, and who own him as their head. These Acweeks were not always elderly men; from which I concluded, that this title came to them by inheritance.
I saw nothing that could give the least insight into their notions of religion, besides the figures before mentioned, called by them Klumma. Most probably these were idols; but as they frequently mentioned the word acweek, when they spoke of them, we may, perhaps, be authorised to suppose that they are the images of some of their ancestors, whom they venerate as divinities. But all this is mere conjecture; for we saw no act of religious homage paid to them; nor could we gain any information, as we had learned little more of the language, than to ask the names of things, without being able to hold any conversation with the natives, that might instruct us as to their institutions or traditions.
In drawing up the preceding account of the people of this Sound, I have occasionally blended Mr. Anderson’s observations with my own; but I owe every thing to him that relates to their language; and the following remarks are in his own words:
“Their language is, by no means, harsh or disagreeable, farther than proceeds from their using the k and h with more force, or pronouncing them with less softness than we do; and, upon the whole, it abounds rather with what we may call labial and dental, than with guttural sounds. The simple sounds which we have not heard them use, and which, consequently, may be reckoned rare, or wanting in their language, are those represented by the letters b, d, f, g, r, and v. But, on the other hand, they have one, which is very frequent, and not used by us. It is formed, in a particular manner, by clashing the tongue partly against the roof of the mouth, with considerable force; and may be compared to a very coarse or harsh method of lisping. It is difficult to represent this sound by any composition of our letters, unless, somehow, from lszthl. This is one of their most usual terminations, though we sometimes found it in the beginning of words. The next most general termination is composed of tl; and many words end with z and ss. A specimen or two, of each of these, is here put down:
| Opulszthl, | The sun. |
| Onulszthl, | The moon. |
| Kahsheetl, | Dead. |
| Teeshcheetl, | To throw a stone. |
| Kooomitz, | A human skull. |
| Quahmiss, | Fish roe. |
“They seem to take so great a latitude in their mode of speaking, that I have sometimes observed four or five different terminations of the same word. This is a circumstance very puzzling at first to a stranger, and marks a great imperfection in their language.
“As to the composition of it, we can say very little; having been scarcely able to distinguish the several parts of speech. It can only be inferred, from their method of speaking, which is very slow and distinct, that it has few prepositions or conjunctions; and, as far as we could discover, is destitute of even a single interjection, to express admiration or surprise. From its having few conjunctions, it may be conceived, that these being thought unnecessary, as being understood, each single word, with them, will also express a great deal, to comprehend several simple ideas; which seems to be the case. But, for the same reason, the language will be defective in other respects; not having words to distinguish or express differences which really exist, and hence not sufficiently copious. This was observed to be the case in many instances, particularly with respect to the names of animals. The relation or affinity it may bear to other languages, either on this or on the Asiatic continent, I have not been able sufficiently to trace, for want of proper specimens to compare it with, except those of the Esquimaux and Indians about Hudson’s Bay; to neither of which it bears the least resemblance. On the other hand, from the few Mexican words I have been able to procure, there is the most obvious agreement, in the very frequent terminations of the words in l, tl, or z, throughout the language.”[[50]]
The large vocabulary of the Nootka language, collected by Mr. Anderson, shall be reserved for another place[[51]], as its insertion here would too much interrupt our narration. At present, I only select their numerals, for the satisfaction of such of our readers as love to compare those of different nations, in different parts of the world:
| Tsawack, | One. |
| Akkla, | Two. |
| Katsitsa, | Three. |
| Mo, or moo, | Four. |
| Sochah, | Five. |
| Nofpo, | Six. |
| Atslepoo, | Seven. |
| Atlaquolthl, | Eight. |
| Tsawaquulthl, | Nine. |
| Haeeoo, | Ten. |
Were I to affix a name to the people of Nootka, as a distinct nation, I would call them Wakashians, from the word wakash, which was very frequently in their mouths. It seemed to express applause, approbation, and friendship; for when they appeared to be satisfied, or well pleased with any thing they saw, or any incident that happened, they would, with one voice, call out, Wakash! wakash! I shall take my leave of them with remarking, that, differing so essentially as they certainly do in their persons, their customs, and language, from the inhabitants of the islands in the Pacific Ocean, we cannot suppose their respective progenitors to have been united in the same tribe, or to have had any intimate connection, when they emigrated from their original settlements, into the places where we now find their descendants.