380 ESQUIMAUX. 



Tima, with much more doubtless greatly to 

 the purpose, but to me of course utterly unin- 

 telligible. However, I interpreted it into friend- 

 ship ; and, on that supposition, I endeavoured 

 to make them comprehend that we were not In- 

 dians, but Kabloonds — Europeans — come to 

 benefit not to injure them ; and as they did not, 

 like their neighbours to the north, go through 

 the ceremony of rubbing noses by way of sa- 

 lutation, I adopted the John Bull fashion of 

 shaking each of them heartily by the hand. 

 Then patting their breasts, according to their 

 own manner, I conveyed to them, as well as I 

 could, that the white men and the Esquimaux 

 were very good friends, 



All this seemed to give great satisfaction, 

 which was certainly not diminished by a pre- 

 sent to each of two new shining buttons. 

 These, some fish-hooks, and other trifles of 

 a like kind, were the only articles which I had 

 brought for this purpose, being strongly op- 

 posed to the customary donation of knives, 

 hatchets, and other sharp instruments, which 

 may be so easily turned to use against the party 

 presenting them. They expressed much asto- 

 nishment at seeing me constantly refer to a small 

 vocabulary with which Mr. Lewis, of the Com- 

 pany's service, had been kind enough to provide 

 me; and were waggish enough to laugh at 

 my patchwork discourse of mispronounced and 



