A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Volume 16Kerr, Robert
History
A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Volume 16
Kerr, Robert
Voyages and travels
From this village I proceeded up the west side of the Sound. For about
three miles, I found the shore covered with small islands, which are
so situated as to form several convenient harbours, having various
depths of water, from thirty to seven fathoms, with a good bottom. Two
leagues within the Sound, on this west side, there runs in an arm in
the direction of N.N.W.; and two miles farther, is another nearly in
the same direction, with a pretty large island before it. I had no
time to examine either of these arms; but have reason to believe, that
they do not extend far inland, as the water was no more than brackish
at their entrances. A mile above the second arm, I found the remains
of a village. The logs or framings of the houses were standing; but
the boards that had composed their sides and roofs did not exist.
Before this village were some large fishing wears; but I saw nobody
attending them. These wears were composed of pieces of wicker-work
made of small rods, some closer than others, according to the size of
the fish intended to be caught in them. These pieces of wicker-work
(some of whose _superficies_ are, at least, twenty feet by twelve),
are fixed up edgewise in shallow water, by strong poles or pickets,
that stand firm in the ground. Behind this ruined village is a plain
of a few acres extent, covered with the largest pine-trees that I ever
saw. This was more remarkable, as the elevated ground, on most other
parts of this west side of the Sound, was rather naked.
From this place, I crossed over to the other, or east side of the
Sound, passing an arm of it that runs in N.N.E., to appearance not
far. I now found, what I had before conjectured, that the land, under
which the ships lay, was an island; and that there were many smaller
ones lying scattered in the Sound on the west side of it. Opposite
the north end of our large island, upon the main land, I observed a
village, and there I landed. The inhabitants of it were not so polite
as those of the other I had just visited. But this cold reception
seemed, in a great measure, if not entirely, owing to one surly chief,
who would not let me enter their houses, following me wherever I went;
and several times, by expressive signs, marking his impatience that
I should be gone. I attempted in vain to sooth him by presents, but
though he did not refuse them, they did not alter his behaviour. Some
of the young women, better pleased with us than was their inhospitable
chief, dressed themselves expeditiously in their best apparel, and,
assembling in a body, welcomed us to their village, by joining in a
song, which was far from harsh or disagreeable.
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