Some Repairs Were Necessary, And, While They Were Making,
The Party Encamped Close By The Village.
Having had repeated and
vexatious proofs of the pilfering propensities of this tribe
during his former visit, Mr. Clarke ordered that a wary eye
should be kept upon them.
He was a tall, good-looking man, and somewhat given to pomp and
circumstance, which made him an object of note in the eyes of the
wondering savages. He was stately, too, in his appointments, and
had a silver goblet or drinking cup, out of which he would drink
with a magnificent air, and then lock it up in a large garde vin,
which accompanied him in his travels, and stood in his tent. This
goblet had originally been sent as a present from Mr. Astor to
Mr. M'Kay, the partner who had unfortunately been blown up in the
Tonquin. As it reached Astoria after the departure of that
gentleman, it had remained in the possession of Mr. Clarke.
A silver goblet was too glittering a prize not to catch the eye
of a Pierced-nose. It was like the shining tin case of John Reed.
Such a wonder had never been seen in the land before. The Indians
talked about it to one another. They marked the care with which
it was deposited in the garde vin, like a relic in its shrine,
and concluded that it must be a "great medicine." That night Mr.
Clarke neglected to lock up his treasure; in the morning the
sacred casket was open - the precious relic gone!
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