1827. 



304 VOYAGE TO THE 



CHAP. Smoking is their favourite habit, in which they in- 



^^^' ^ dulge as long as their tobacco lasts. Parties assemble 

 Oct. to enjoy the fumes of this narcotic, and the pipe passes 

 round like the calumet of the Indians, but apparently 

 without the ceremony being binding. Their pipes are 

 short, and the bowls of some contain no more tobacco 

 than can be consumed in a long whiff ; indeed, the great 

 pleasure of the party often consists in individuals en- 

 deavouring to excel each other in exhausting the con- 

 tents of the bowl at one breath, and many a laugh is 

 indulged at the expense of him who fails, or who, as 

 is very frequently the case, is thrown into a fit of 

 coughing by the smoke getting into his lungs. 



They seldom use tobacco in any other way than 

 this, though some natives whom w^e saw to the south- 

 ward of Beering's Strait w ere not averse to chewing 

 it, and the St. Lawrence islanders indulged in snufF. 

 Their predilection for tobacco is no doubt derived from 

 the Tschutschi, w^ho are so passionately fond of it, 

 that they are said, by Captain Cochrane, to snuff, 

 chew, and smoke, all at the same time. The practice 

 of adulterating tobacco is common with the Tschut- 

 schi, and has, no doubt, passed from them to the Es- 

 quimaux, who often adopt it from choice. That which 

 finds its way to the N.W. coast of America is of very 

 inferior quality, and often has dried wood chopped up 

 with it. 



The ornaments worn in the lip, described in the 

 course of this narrative, are peculiar to the males of 

 the Western Esquimaux, and are in use only from 

 Norton Sound, where they were seen by Captain 

 King, to the Mackenzie River, where they were 

 worn by the party which attacked Captain Franklin. 

 The practice is by no means modern, as Deschnew, as 

 far back as 1648, describes the inhabitants of the 



