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Updated: June 13, 2025
The language of Nootka is by no means harsh or disagreeable; for it abounds, upon the whole, rather with what may be called labial and dental, than with guttural sounds. A large vocabulary of it was collected by Mr. Anderson. Gore, who bought them from a native, who wore them, tied together with a leather thong, as an ornament round his neck. Mr.
They willingly supplied the ships with such provisions as they possessed, but would receive nothing but brass in return, and all brass articles to be found on board were bartered away. Nearly a month was passed in uninterrupted friendship among these savages. The inlet was called "Nootka Sound," from the native name. Again putting to sea on the 4th of May, Mount Saint Elias was seen.
Admiring this instance of generosity, and desirous that he should not suffer by his friendship, the captain gave him a new broad-sword, with a brass hilt; the possession of which rendered him completely happy. On Captain Cook's first arrival in this inlet, he had honoured it with the name of King George's Sound; but he afterward found that it is called Nootka by the natives.
"Your mother and I were talking of a bad man, Nootka," said Mangivik. "Ay, a very very bad man," exclaimed Mrs Mangivik, with a decided nod of her head. "If he is so very bad," returned Nootka, "it would be good that he should never come back. Who is it?" "Gartok," answered her mother, with the air of one who has mentioned the most hateful thing in creation. Nootka laughed.
Ever since the breakdown of English forms that set in about the time of the Norman Conquest, our language has been straining towards the creation of simple concept-words, unalloyed by formal connotations, but it has not yet succeeded in this, apart, possibly, from isolated adverbs and other elements of that sort. Such a radical-word, to take a random example, is the Nootka word hamot "bone."
Martinez examined Gray's passports, learned that the Americans had no thought of laying claim to Nootka and, finding out about Douglas's ship inside the harbor, seemed to conclude that it would be wise to make friends of the Americans; and he presented Gray with wines, brandy, hams, and spices. "She will make a good prize," was his sententious remark to Gray about the English ship.
A still younger bull, anxious, perchance, to win its spurs, took advantage of the situation, and made a dash at the opposite side, but Nootka sent about two feet of her paddle down its throat, which induced it to reconsider its intentions. Just then a loud report told that the spouter was again to the front. This time the ball took effect on the old bull's forehead, and remained there.
"He will lose some of his skin if he does," said Nootka quietly referring not to any habit of the Eskimos to flay bad boys alive, but to their tendency to punish the refractory in a way that was apt to ruffle the cuticle. Quite indifferent to all such prospects in store for him, the boy hurried on until he reached the foot of the snow staircase.
Though the fact had not been trumpeted to the world, the Spanish said that their pilots had explored these coasts as early as 1775 at least three years before Cook's landing at Nootka; so that if first exploration counted for possession, Spain had first claim. Whether the Spaniards instigated the raid that now threatened the rival American fort at Clayoquot, the two 'Bostonnais' never knew.
Here they built a stockaded fur-post for themselves, which they named Fort Defence. During the winter they built and launched a little coasting schooner, the Adventure. Up at Nootka the Spaniard Gonzales de Haro had replaced Martinez; and his countrymen Quimper and Elisa were daily exploring on the east side of Vancouver Island, where to this day Spanish names tell of their charting.
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