DR. KANE'S EXPEDITION. 495 



ho At once, like a brave fellow, leaped down upon the 

 flo-3, and advanced to meet me fully half-way. 



" He was nearly a head taller than myself, extremely 

 powerful and well-built, with swarthy complexion, and 

 black eyes. His dress was a hooded capote or jumper, 

 of mixed white and blue fox-pelts, arranged with some- 

 thing- of fancy ; and booted trousers of white bear-skin, 

 which, at the end of the foot, were made to terminate 

 with the claws of the animal. 



" I soon came to an understanding with this gallant 

 diplomatist. Almost as soon as we commenced our 

 parley, his companions, probably receiving signals from 

 him, flocked in and surrounded us ; but we had no diffi- 

 culty in making them know, positively, that they must 

 remain where they were, while Metek went with me on 

 board the ship. This gave me the advantage of nego- 

 tiating with an important hostage. 



" Although this was the first time he had ever seen 

 a white man, he went with me fearlessly, his compan- 

 ions staying behind on the ice. Hickey took them out 

 what he esteemed our greatest delicacies slices of 

 good wheat bread, and corned pork, with exorbitant 

 lumps of white sugar ; but they refused to touch them. 

 They had evidently no apprehension of open violence 

 from us. I found, afterward, that several among them 

 were singly a match for the wliite bear and the walrus, 

 and that they thought us a very pale-faced crew. 



" Being satisfied with my interview in the cabin, I 

 sent out word that the rest might be admitted to the 

 ship ; and, although they, of course, could not know 

 how their chief had been dealt with, some nine or ten 

 of them followed, with boisterous readiness, upon the 

 bidding. Others, in the mean time, as if disposed to 

 give us their company for the full time of a visit, 

 brought up from behind the land-ice as many as fifty-six 



