Our friends, the natives, attended us, till we were almost out of the Sound; some on board the ships, and others in their canoes. One of their chiefs, who had, some time before, attached himself to me, was amongst the last who left us. Having, before he went, bestowed upon him a small present, I received in return a beaver-skin, of much greater value. This called upon me to make some addition to my present, which pleased him so much, that he insisted upon my acceptance of the beaver-skin cloak which he then wore; and of which I knew he was particularly fond. Struck with this instance of generosity, and desirous that he should be no sufferer by his friendship to me, I presented to him a new broad sword, with a brass hilt, the possession of which made him completely happy. He, and also many others of his countrymen, importuned us much to pay them another visit; and, by way of encouragement, promised to lay in a good stock of skins. I made no doubt, that whoever comes after me to this place, will find the natives prepared accordingly, with no inconsiderable supply of an article of trade, which, they could observe, we were eager to possess; and which we found could be purchased to great advantage.[2] [Footnote 2: Captain King, as we shall afterwards find, proposes a plan for the establishment of a fur-trade with this coast of America. To this he was incited by the experience of the value of these articles in the Chinese market. In fact, a settlement for the purpose of carrying on this trade was commenced in 1786, by an association of British merchants resident in India. It was soon afterwards seized on by the Spaniards who pretended a prior right. But they, as we have already mentioned, vol. xv. p. 157, abandoned all claim to this Sound in 1790; and in 1795, it was formally taken possession of, in name of his Britannic Majesty.--E.] Such particulars about the country, and its inhabitants, as came to our knowledge during our short stay, and have not been mentioned in the course of the narrative, will furnish materials for the two following sections. SECTION II. _The Name of the Sound, and Directions for Sailing into it.--Account of the adjacent Country.--Weather.--Climate.--Trees.--Other Vegetable Productions.--Quadrupeds, whose Skins were brought for Sale.--Sea Animals.--Description of a Sea Otter.--Birds.--Water Fowl.--Fish.--Shell-fish, &c.--Reptiles.--Insects.--Stones, &c.--Persons of the Inhabitants.--Their Colour.--Common Dress and Ornaments.--Occasional Dresses, and monstrous Decorations of wooden Masks.--Their general Dispositions.--Songs.--Musical Instruments.--Their Eagerness to possess Iron and other Metals._