﻿1848. OLD MAN. 257 



attempt to raise one of the boat's anchors, and 

 continued to prowl about until the sentinel on duty 

 checked him by showing his musket. In the middle 

 of the night he entered one of the tents, with a 

 long knife in his hand, but retreated on being 

 spoken to. Perhaps he had no intention of com- 

 mitting any violence, as he habitually carried tliis 

 knife, which was of Russian manufacture, either in 

 his hand or up his sleeve. Through Albert I 

 learnt that the two natives whom we had seen on the 

 preceding day were sons of this man, and that they, 

 with their families and some young people who were 

 hunting with them, would come to the village in a 

 few days to engage in the chase of whales, when they 

 would be joined by one or two parties then in the 

 pursuit of game on the east side of a river which 

 falls into M'Kinley Bay. This small community 

 does not wander far from their winter station on 

 Point Atkinson. The hunters pursue rein-deer and 

 water-fowl on the neighbouring flats in summer, 

 chase the whale during one month or six weeks of 

 autumn, live with their families in the village during 

 the dark winter months, and in spring travel sea- 

 ward on the ice to kill seals, at which time they 

 dwell in snow-houses. The old man and several 

 of his elderly companions who subsequently 

 came to the village declared that they had no re- 

 membrance of my former visit to this coast, and 



VOL. I. s 



