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.)
When I saw Thompson off, I asked the natives what they intended to do
with me. They said I must talk to the captain again, in another letter,
and tell him to let his boat come on shore with Maquina, and that I
should be ready to jump into the boat at the same time Maquina should
jump on shore. I told them that the captain, who knew that they had
killed my shipmates, would never trust his men so near the shore, for
fear they could kill them too, as they were so much more numerous, but
that if they would select any three of their number to go with me in a
canoe, when we came within hail, I would desire the captain to send his
boat with Maquina, to receive me in exchange for him.
This appeared to please them, and after some whispering among the
chiefs, who, from what words I over-heard, concluded that if the captain
should refuse to send his boat with Maquina, the three men would have no
difficulty in bringing me back with them, they agreed to my proposal,
and selected three of their stoutest men to convey me. Fortunately,
having been for some time accustomed to see me armed, and suspecting no
design on my part, they paid no attention to the pistols that I had
about me.
As I was going into the canoe, little Sat-sat-sok-sis, who could not
bear to part with me, asked me, with an affecting simplicity, since I
was going away to leave him, if the white men would not let his father
come on shore, and not kill him. I told him not to be concerned, for
that no one should injure his father, when, taking an affectionate leave
of me, and again begging me not to let the white men hurt his father, he
ran to comfort his mother, who was at a little distance, with the
assurances I had given him.
On entering the canoe, I seated myself in the prow facing the three men,
having determined, if it was practicable, from the moment I found
Maquina was secured, to get on board the vessel before he was released,
hoping by that means to be enabled to obtain the restoration of what
property belonging to the _Boston_ still remained in the possession of
the savages, which I thought, if it could be done, a duty that I owed to
the owners. With feelings of joy impossible to be described did I quit
the savage shore, confident now that nothing could thwart my escape, or
prevent the execution of the plan that I had formed, as the men
appointed to convey and guard me were armed with nothing but their
paddles.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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