PACiriC AND BEEltlNG'S STRAIT. 385 



Mackenzie River. The children we saw to-day had 

 none of these marks ; a girl, about eleven, had one 

 line only ; and a young woman, about twenty-three A ^S!' 

 years of age, the mother of the infants, had the 

 three perfect. One of her children was rolling in 

 the bottom of the baidar, with a large piece of seal- 

 blubber in its mouth, sucking it as an European 

 child would a coral. The mother was rather pretty, 

 and allowed her portrait to be taken. At first she 

 made no objection to being gazed at as stedfastly as 

 was necessary for an indifferent artist to accomplish 

 his purpose ; but latterly she shrunk from the scru- 

 tiny with a bashfulness that would have done credit 

 to a more civilized female ; and on my attempting to 

 uncover her head, she cast a look of inquiry at her 

 husband, who vociferated " naga," when she very pro- 

 perly refused to comply. The young men were very 

 importunate and curious, even to annoyance ; and 

 there is little doubt that if any persons in our dress 

 had fallen in with a powerful party of these savages, 

 they would very soon have been made to exchange 

 their suit of broad cloth for the more humble dress 

 of furs. Their honesty was not more conspicuous 

 than their moderation, as they appropriated to them- 

 selves several articles belonging to Mr. Collie. 



During three hours that we were on shore, the 

 tide fell one foot ; it had subsided eighteen inches 

 from its greatest height when we first landed, and 

 when we put off was still ebbing to the S. S. W. at 

 the rate of half a mile an hour. Four hours after- 

 wards, when by our observations on shore it must 

 have changed, it ran N. -J E. at the same rate, and 

 afforded another instance of the flood coming from 

 the southward. 



vol. i. 2 c 



