248 RAE'S LAND EXPEDITION. 



through the interior, from Canada. Here he wintered, 

 and, on the 12th of June, set sail in two boats, with six 

 men to each, along the shores of Hudson's Bay, which 

 are here low, flat, and uninteresting. On the 27th they 

 landed at Churchill. They found the people here en- 

 gaged in killing white whales, which are often seen 

 rolling their bulky forms up the rivers that flow into 

 the bay. Their flesh is used as food for dogs, the house 

 in which it is kept being called the blubber-house ; to 

 find which house, especially in summer, the simple 

 direction, " follow your nose/' is sufficient. 



Having taken on board Ooligbuck, an Esquimaux 

 interpreter, and the son of Ooligbuck, a sad thief, who 

 Had a peculiar fancy for tobacco and buttons, they left 

 Churchill July 5th, 1846. During the day they passed 

 the Pau-a-thau-kis-cow river, where they were overtaken 

 by three Esquimaux, in their kayaks. These little 

 canoes were propelled by their vigorous occupants so 

 swiftly, that they easily kept up with the boats, while 

 sailing at the rate of four miles an hour. The kayak is 

 about twelve feet in length, and two in breadth, taper- 

 ing off from the centre to the bow and stern, almost to 

 a mere point. The frame is of wood, covered with seal- 

 skin, having an aperture in the centre, which barely 

 admits of the stowage of the nether man. They are 

 used solely for hunting, and, by means of the double 

 paddle, are propelled through the water with the veloc- 

 ity of the dolphin. No land animal can possibly escape 

 when seen in the water ; the least exertion is sufficient 

 to keep up with the reindeer when swimming at its 

 utmost speed. 



The oomiak, or women's boat, is much clumsier, 

 Blower, and safer, more in the form of a boat than a 

 canoe, and is used to convey the female portion of the 

 community and their families from one part of the coast 



