KALUTUNAH THE ESKIMO 237 



Kane's Humboldt glacier, some fifty miles north-east 

 of their winter quarters, which was described as " the 

 mighty crystal bridge which connects the two continents 

 of America and Greenland," when, of course, it does 

 nothing of the sort. 



What with sickness, accident, and other disaster, it 

 became evident that the Advance would never leave her 

 wintering place, and in July Kane set off on a wild 

 endeavour to reach Beechey Island and obtain relief 

 from the Franklin search vessels, but he had to return. 

 Next month Hayes was sent to Upernivik, but he also 

 came back. Finally in May, 1855, the brig was aban- 

 doned and the survivors began their journey to the 

 south. Fortunately on the outward voyage Kane, at 

 Fiskernaes, had engaged Hans Hendrik the Green- 

 lander, then a boy of nineteen, who became quite a 

 prominent figure in this and subsequent voyages, and 

 without him and Kalutunah, chief of the Etah Eskimos, 

 the whole party would have perished miserably. 



Hans first appears when spearing a bird on the wing ; 

 Kalutunah's first appearance was equally encouraging. 

 " The leader of the party," says Kane, " was a noble 

 savage, greatly superior in everything to the others of 

 his race. He greeted me with respectful courtesy, yet 

 as one who might rightfully expect an equal measure 

 of it in return, and, after a short interchange of saluta- 

 tions, seated himself in the post of honour at my side. 

 I waited, of course, till the company had fed and slept, 

 for among savages especially haste is indecorous, and 

 then, after distributing a few presents, opened to them 

 my project of a northern exploration. Kalutunah 

 received his knife and needles with a ' Kuyanaka,' ' I 



