The pond above mentioned was small, not more than a quarter of a mile in breadth, and of no great length, the water being very clear, though not of great depth, and bordered by a beautiful forest of pine, fir, elm,[101] and beech,[101] free from bushes and underwood--a most delightful retreat, which was rendered still more attractive by a great number of birds that frequented it, particularly the humming-bird.[102] Thither we used to go to wash our clothes, and felt secure from any intrusion from the natives, as they rarely visited it, except for the purpose of cleansing themselves of their paint. In July we at length thought that the hope of delivery we had so long anxiously indulged was on the point of being gratified. A ship appeared in the offing; but, alas! our fond hopes vanished almost as soon as formed; for, instead of standing in for the shore, she passed to the northward, and soon disappeared. I shall not attempt to describe our disappointment--my heart sank within me, and I felt as though it was my destiny never more to behold a Christian face. Four days after, there occurred a tremendous storm of thunder and lightning, during which the natives manifested great alarm and terror, the whole tribe hurrying to Maquina's house, where, instead of keeping within, they seated themselves on the roof, amid the severest of the tempest, drumming upon the boards, and looking up to heaven, while the king beat the long hollow plank, singing, and, as he afterwards told me, begging _Quahootze_, the name they give to God, not to kill them, in which he was accompanied by the whole tribe; this singing and drumming was continued until the storm abated. As the summer drew near its close, we began to suffer from the frequent want of food, which was principally owing to Maquina and the chiefs being out whaling, in which he would not permit Thompson and myself to join, lest we should make our escape to some of the neighbouring tribes. At these times the women seldom or ever cook any provision, and we were often hungry, but were sometimes fortunate enough to procure secretly a piece of salmon, some other fish, spawn, or even blubber, which, by boiling in salt water, with a few onions and turnips, the remains of the Spanish garden, or young nettles or other herbs, furnished us a delicious repast in private. In the meantime, we frequently received accounts from the tribes who came to Nootka, both from the north and south, of there being vessels on the coast, and were advised by their chiefs to make our escape, who also promised us their aid, and to put us on board. These stories, however, as I afterwards learned, were almost all of them without any foundation, and merely invented by these people with a view to get us into their power, in order to make slaves of us themselves, or to sell us to others.