

*NOOTKA SOUND.*

The circumstances of thetrade and situation of this part of North America being a matter of such general conversation and great public moment, we are particularly happy in being enabled to give some further account of the transactions, that have happened at Nootka Sounds, as well as to point out the advantages that were likely to be extended to other places by the means of this trade.

It is necessary to remark that the skin of the sea otter is worn only in the Northern regions of China. Its fur, though beautiful and magnificent, is too heavy for the sultry atmosphere of the Southern Provinces.

Pekin is, therefore, the proper mart for this valuable commodity, and in this immense city, the consumption is so great, that the produce of the voyage meets and immediate sale.

The Mandarins of the Court, and even the Emperor himself, are fond of wearing this costly fur. To a citizen of common rank, a sea otter's collar to his vestment is a luxury.

The natives of the North West Coast of Ameerica set so great a value on woollens of all kinds, that all the blankets, cloths, hats, and stockings, that could be procured in China, if English manufacture, were sold to the Indians, with whose Chiefs treaties of commerce had been formed.

An act of cruelty committed by an officer of the Spanish Admiral Martiney's ship deserves to be recorded.

The Spaniards discovering that Callicum, a Chief, second in authority at Nootka Sound, was in alliance with the English, he was shot through the heart in the month of June 1789.?The wife of Callicum, with an infant child, escaped, but not till wounded.

Macquilla, the Chief, first in command, retired at the head of the allies of England, from Nootka Sound, and to avoid the cruelty of the Spaniards, they fled to distant parts. Such of the natives as they could seize, the Spaniards condemned to work as slaves on their fortifications.

At this period it was in the contemplation of the Spaniards to seize the Sandwich Islands, with a view to deprive British ships of refreshments. And we further add, on authority that amounts nearly to demonstration, that on the very lands purchased from the Nootka Chief by Captain Mears, the Spaniards have already opened valuable mines.

Another object of this enterprise wasto supply the markets of Kamschatka, and other ports belonging to the Russians, with the teas and other produce of China. This promised to be an invaluable channel of commerce, as the Chinese have shut their ports against the Russians, who 

On this voyage of discovery and experiment, one of our ships sailed and disposed of her cargo, but was unfortunately lost on her return to China.

To these curious particulars we add, with a patriot joy, that the consumption of the glorious staple of England, her broad cloths, is astonishingly great in Japan and China: British hardware, &c. is also in great request.

From the friendship of Tiara to Captain Mears, ships which touch at the Sandwich islands may depend on the utmost attention and civility. This Prince is six feet 4 1/2 inches high, of proportionate bulk.

