﻿244 THE ESKIMOS. Auausx, 



even the hunting-grounds of families being kept 

 sacred. Yet their covetousness of the property 

 of strangers and their dexterity in thieving are 

 remarkable, and they seem to have most of the 

 vices as well as the virtues of the Norwegian 

 Vikings. Their personal bravery is conspicuous, 

 and they are the only native nation on the North 

 American continent who oppose their enemies 

 face to face in open fight. Instead of flying, like 

 the Northern Indians, on the sight of a stranger, 

 they did not scruple in parties of two or three to 

 come off to our boats and enter into barter, and 

 never on any occasion showed the least disposition 

 to yield any thing belonging to them through 

 fear. 



As the narratives of the recent arctic voyages 

 contain descriptions of the manners, customs, and 

 features of these people, and the sketches of Cap- 

 tains Beechey, Lyons, Sir George Back, Lieutenant 

 Kendall, and others, give correct delineations of 

 the personal appearance and costume, I shall not 

 say more of them in this place. 



As soon as the last of the kaiyaks disappeared 

 beyond our horizon, we struck the boats' masts, 

 and, pulling obliquely in towards the shore, landed 

 to cook our supper at a place where there were 

 three winter Eskimo habitations, and which is 

 situated about seven or eight miles to the eastward 



