Nor were the king and chiefs much more fortunate in their whaling, even after I had furnished Maquina with the improved weapon for that purpose; but four whales having been taken during the season, which closes the last of May, including one that had been struck by Maquina and escaped, and was afterwards driven on shore about six miles from Nootka in almost a state of putridity. These afforded but a short supply to a population, including all ages and sexes, of no less than fifteen hundred persons, and of a character so very improvident, that, after feasting most gluttonously whenever a whale was caught, they were several times, for a week together, reduced to the necessity of eating but once a day, and of collecting cockles and mussels from the rocks for their food. And even after the cod and halibut fishing commenced, in June, in which they met with tolerable success, such was the savage caprice of Maquina, that he would often give us but little to eat, finally ordering us to buy a canoe and fishing implements and go out ourselves and fish, or we should have nothing. To do this we were compelled to part with our greatcoats, which were not only important to us as garments, but of which we made our beds, spreading them under us when we slept. From our want of skill, however, in this new employ, we met with no success; on discovering which, Maquina ordered us to remain at home. Another thing, which to me in particular proved an almost constant source of vexation and disgust, and which living among them had not in the least reconciled me to, was their extreme filthiness, not only in eating fish, especially the whale, when in a state of offensive putridity, but while at their meals, of making a practice of taking the vermin from their heads or clothes and eating them, by turns thrusting their fingers into their hair and into the dish, and spreading their garments over the tubs in which the provision was cooking, in order to set in motion their inhabitants.[118] Fortunately for Thompson, he regarded this much less than myself, and when I used to point out to him any instance of their filthiness in this respect, he would laugh and reply, "Never mind, John, the more good things the better." I must, however, do Maquina the justice to state, that he was much neater both in his person and eating than were the others, as was likewise his queen, owing, no doubt, to his intercourse with foreigners, which had given him ideas of cleanliness, for I never saw either of them eat any of these animals, but, on the contrary, they appeared not much to relish this taste in others. Their garments, also, were much cleaner, Maquina having been accustomed to give his away when they became soiled, till after he discovered that Thompson and myself kept ours clean by washing them, when he used to make Thompson do the same for him.