The Adventures of John Jewitt: Only Survivor of the Crew of the Ship Boston During a Captivity of Nearly Three Years Among the Indians of Nootka Sound in Vancouver IslandJewitt, John Rodgers
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The Adventures of John Jewitt: Only Survivor of the Crew of the Ship Boston During a Captivity of Nearly Three Years Among the Indians of Nootka Sound in Vancouver Island
Jewitt, John Rodgers
Indian captivities; Nootka Indians; Nootka Sound (B.C.)
This boy was handsome, extremely well formed, amiable, and of a
pleasant, sprightly disposition. I used to take a pleasure in decorating
him with rings, bracelets, ear-jewels, etc., which I made for him of
copper, and ornamented and polished them in my best manner. I was also
very careful to keep him free from vermin of every kind, washing him and
combing his hair every day. These marks of attention were not only very
pleasing to the child, who delighted in being kept neat and clean, as
well as in being dressed off in his finery, but was highly gratifying
both to Maquina and his queen, who used to express much satisfaction at
my care of him.
In making my domestic establishment, I determined, as far as possible,
to live in a more comfortable and cleanly manner than the others. For
this purpose I erected with planks a partition of about three feet high
between mine and the adjoining rooms, and made three bedsteads of the
same, which I covered with boards, for my family to sleep on, which I
found much more comfortable than sleeping on the floor amidst the dirt.
Fortunately, I found my Indian princess both amiable and intelligent,
for one whose limited sphere of observation must necessarily give rise
to but a few ideas. She was extremely ready to agree to anything that I
proposed relative to our mode of living, was very attentive in keeping
her garments and person neat and clean, and appeared in every respect
solicitous to please me.
She was, as I have said, about seventeen; her person was small but well
formed, as were her features; her complexion was, without exception,
fairer than any of the women, with considerable colour in her cheeks,
her hair long, black, and much softer than is usual with them, and her
teeth small, even, and of a dazzling whiteness; while the expression of
her countenance indicated sweetness of temper and modesty. She would
indeed have been considered as very pretty in any country, and,
excepting Maquina's queen, was by far the handsomest of any of their
women.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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