July 20, 1793. excerpts from the journal of Alexander MacKenzie. (censored)
“At an early hour this morning, I was again visited by the chief, in company with his son. The former complained of a pain in his breast; to relieve his suffering, I gave him a few drops of Turlington’s Balsam on a piece of sugar; and I was rather surprised to see him take it without the least hesitation. When he had taken my medicine, he requested me to follow him…”
Although MacKenzie fancies himself as a healer, or a doctor even, this is the 18th century after all. His dubious remedies and cures, such as this patent medicine, are likely not as remedial as the natives’ own practices might have been.
Picture 1. Turlington’s Balsam Of Life, patented 1754.
(Clear glass bottle found in Canada in 1961; photo Canadian Geographic)
MacKenzie is then asked to go and tend to one of the sons of the chief, who is very sick with various ailments. He gives him a similar treatment, but it doesn’t really seem to help the poor suffering man. Again, there is a lot going on and this chapter is quite descriptive, but beyond me to summarize it all here.
“After I had observed these culinary preparations, I paid a visit to the chief, who presented me with a roasted salmon, he then opened one of his chests, and took out a garment of blue cloth, decorated with brass buttons; and another of flowered cotton, which I supposed were Spanish…Copper and brass are in great estimation among them, and of the former they have great plenty: they point their arrows and spears with it, and work it up into personal ornaments; such as collars, ear-rings, and bracelets, which they wear...They also abound in iron. I saw some of their twisted collars of that metal that weighed upwards of twelve pounds. It is generally beat in bars of fourteen inches in length, and one inch three quarters wide. The brass is in thin squares; their copper is in larger pieces...They have various trinkets; but their manufactured iron consists only of poignards and daggers. Some have...very neat handles, with a silver coin of a quarter or eighth dollar fixed on the end of them...”
The Spanish had been trading on the Pacific coast (of USA and Canada), at least since the voyage of Perez in 1774, 19 years before MacKenzie’s arrival.
Picture 2. 18th Century Spanish Dagger. (source photo- Ebay)
Picture 3. 18th Century Poignard. (Photo Wikipedia)
“When I produced my instruments to take an altitude, I was desired not to make use of them. I could not then discover the cause of this request, but I experienced the good effect of the apprehension, which they occasioned, as it was very effectual in hastening my departure...I now discovered that they had entertained no personal fear of the instruments, but they were apprehensive that the operation of them might frighten the salmon from that part of the river. The observation taken in this village gave me 52.25.52 North latitude.”
This time he is a little off in his latitude reckoning, probably due to the “apprehension” of people around him. The actual latitude of Bella Coola is 52.22.19 N.
“...about ten winters ago he went a considerable distance toward the mid-day sun…when he saw two large vessels full of such men as myself, by whom he was kindly received: they were, he said, the first white people he had seen. They were probably the ships commanded by Captain Cook.” Cook had been to the coast of B.C., although he landed much farther south, in 1778.
“This canoe was built of cedar, was forty-five feet long, four feet wide, and three and a half in depth. It was painted black and decorated with white figures of fish of different kinds. The gunwale, fore and aft, was inlaid with the teeth of the sea-otter.”(1) As Captain Cook has mentioned, that the people of the sea-coast adorned their canoes with human teeth, I was more particular in my inquiries; the result of which was, the most satisfactory proof that he was mistaken; but his mistake arose from the very great resemblance there is between human teeth and those of the sea-otter.”
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