A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Volume 16

by Robert Kerr

Their weapons are bows and arrows, slings, spears, short truncheons of bone, somewhat like the patoo patoo of New Zealand, and a small pick-axe, not unlike the common American tomahawk. The spear has generally a long point, made of bone. Some of the arrows are pointed with iron; but most commonly their points were of indented bone. The tomahawk is a stone, six or eight inches long, pointed at one end, and the other end fixed into a handle of wood. This handle resembles the head and neck of the human figure; and the stone is fixed in the mouth, so as to represent an enormously large tongue. To make the resemblance still stronger, human hair is also fixed to it. This weapon they call taaweesh, or tsuskeeah. They have another stone weapon called seeaik, nine inches or a foot long, with a square point.

From the number of stone weapons and others, we might almost conclude, that it is their custom to engage in close fight; and we had too convincing proofs that their wars are both frequent and bloody, from the vast number of human sculls which they brought to sell.

Their manufactures and mechanic arts are far more extensive and ingenious, whether we regard the design or the execution, than could have been expected from the natural disposition of the people, and the little progress that civilization has made amongst them in other respects. The flaxen and woollen garments, with which they cover themselves, must necessarily engage their first care; and are the most material of those that can be racked under the head of manufactures. The former of these are made of the bark of a pine-tree, beat into a hempen state. It is not spun, but, after being properly prepared, is spread upon a stick, which is fastened across to two others that stand upright. It is disposed in such a manner, that the manufacturer, who sits on her hams at this simple machine, knots it across with small plaited threads, at the distance of half an inch from each other. Though, by this method, it be not so close or firm as cloth that is woven, the bunches between the knots make it sufficiently impervious to the air, by filling the interstices; and it has the additional advantage of being softer and more pliable. The woollen garments, though probably manufactured in the same manner, have the strongest resemblance to woven cloth. But the various figures, which are very artificially inserted in them, destroy the supposition of their being wrought in a loom; it being extremely unlikely that these people should be so dexterous as to be able to finish such a complex work, unless immediately by their hands. They are of different degrees of fineness; some resembling our coarsest rugs or blankets; and others almost equal to our finest sorts, or even softer, and certainly warmer. The wool, of which they are made, seems to be taken from different animals, as the fox and brown lynx; the last of which is by far the finest sort, and, in its natural state, differs little from the colour of our coarser wools; but the hair, with which the animal is also covered, being intermixed, its appearance, when wrought, is somewhat different. The ornamental parts or figures in these garments, which are disposed with great taste, are commonly of a different colour, being dyed, chiefly either of a deep brown or of a yellow; the last of which, when it is new, equals the best in our carpets as to brightness.

To their taste or design in working figures upon their garments, corresponds their fondness for carving in every thing they make of wood. Nothing is without a kind of freeze-work, or the figure of some animal upon it; but the most general representation is that of the human face, which is often cut out upon birds, and the other monstrous figures mentioned before; and even upon their stone and their bone weapons. The general design of all these things is perfectly sufficient to convey a knowledge of the object they are intended to represent; but the carving is not executed with the nicety that a dexterous artist would bestow even upon an indifferent design. The same, however, cannot be said of many of the human masks and heads; where they shew themselves to be ingenious sculptors. They not only preserve, with great exactness, the general character of their own faces, but finish the more minute parts with a degree of accuracy in proportion, and neatness in execution. The strong propensity of this people to works of this sort, is remarkable, in a vast variety of particulars. Small whole human figures; representations of birds, fish, and land and sea-animals; models of their household utensils and of their canoes, were found amongst them in great abundance.

The imitative arts being nearly allied, no wonder that, to their skill in working figures in their garments, and carving them in wood, they should add that of drawing them in colours. We have sometimes seen the whole process of their whale-fishery painted on the caps they wear. This, though rudely executed, serves, at least, to shew, that, though there be no appearance of the knowledge of letters amongst them, they have some notion of a method of commemorating and representing actions in a lasting way, independently of what may be recorded in their songs and traditions. They have also other figures painted on some of their things; but it is doubtful if they ought to be considered as symbols, that have certain established significations, or only the mere creation of fancy and caprice.

Their canoes are of a simple structure; but, to appearance, well calculated for every useful purpose. Even the largest, which carry twenty people or more, are formed of one tree. Many of them are forty feet long, seven broad, and about three deep. From the middle, toward each end, they become gradually narrower, the after-part, or stern, ending abruptly or perpendicularly, with a small knob on the top; but the fore-part is lengthened out, stretching forward and upward, ending in a notched point or prow, considerably higher than the sides of the canoe, which run nearly in a straight line. For the most part they are without any ornament; but some have a little carving, and are decorated by setting seals' teeth on the surface, like studs, as is their practice on their masks and weapons. A few have, likewise, a kind of additional head or prow, like a large cut-water, which is painted with the figure of some animal. They have no seats, nor any other supporters, on the inside, than several round sticks, little thicker than a cane, placed across, at mid depth. They are very light, and their breadth and flatness enable them to swim firmly, without an out-rigger, which none of them have; a remarkable distinction between the navigation of all the American nations and that of the southern parts of the East Indies, and the islands in the Pacific Ocean. Their paddles are small and light; the shape, in some measure, resembling that of a large leaf, pointed at the bottom, broadest in the middle, and gradually losing itself in the shaft, the whole being about five feet long. They have acquired great dexterity in managing these paddles, by constant use; for sails are no part of their art of navigation.

Their implements for fishing and hunting, which are both ingeniously contrived, and well made, are nets, hooks and lines, harpoons, gigs, and an instrument like an oar. This last is about twenty feet long, four or five inches broad, and about half an inch thick. Each edge, for about two-thirds of its length, (the other third being its handle,) is set with sharp bone-teeth, about two inches long. Herrings and sardines, and such other small fish as come in shoals, are attacked with this instrument; which is struck into the shoal, and the fish are caught either upon or between the teeth. Their hooks are made of bone and wood, and rather inartificially; but the harpoon, with which they strike the whales and lesser sea-animals, shew a great reach of contrivance. It is composed of a piece of bone, cut into two barbs, in which is fixed the oval blade of a large muscle-shell, in which is the point of the instrument. To this is fastened about two or three fathoms of rope; and to throw this harpoon, they use a shaft of about twelve or fifteen feet long, to which the line or rope is made fast; and to one end of which the harpoon is fixed, so as to separate from the shaft, and leave it floating upon the water as a buoy, when the animal darts away with the harpoon.

We can say nothing as to the manner of their catching or killing land-animals, unless we may suppose that they shoot the smaller sorts with their arrows, and engage bears, or wolves and foxes, with their spears. They have, indeed, several nets, which are probably applied to that purpose;[³] as they frequently threw them over their heads, to shew their use, when they brought them to us for sale. They also, sometimes, decoy animals, by covering themselves with a skin, and running about upon all-fours, which they do very nimbly, as appeared from the specimens of their skill, which they exhibited to us, making a kind of noise, or neighing, at the same time; and on these occasions, the masks or carved heads, as well as the real dried heads of the different animals, are put on.

As to the materials, of which they make their various articles, it is to be observed, that every thing of the rope kind is formed either from thongs of skins and sinews of animals, or from the same flaxen substance of which their mantles are manufactured. The sinews often appeared to be of such a length, that it might be presumed they could be of no other animal than the whale. And the same may be said of the bones of which they made their weapons already mentioned; such as their bark-beating instruments, the points of their spears, and the barbs of their harpoons.