SOUTHAMPTON ISLAND. 01 



planed ancl painted black on one side. This was 1S24. 

 amongst the valuables of the family, although Aug-ust. 

 from its size it could not have been made useful, 

 but was probably treasured in consequence of 

 its having drifted to their shore from one of the 

 Hudson's Bay ships. This, with three bows, 

 each consisting of many pieces, was all the 

 wood in their possession, for their spears were 

 made of the whale's rib bone, and in a rougher 

 style than any we had hitherto seen. Yet this 

 scarcity of wood did not prevent their gladly 

 selling the bows ; and I afterwards learnt 

 that one with five arrows was purchased for a 

 livery buttoi|^ I distributed knives, boarding- 

 pikes, and beads to the whole of this little 

 tribe, and observed that each individual on re- 

 ceiving a present, immediately offered to the 

 donor the choice of their property, the most 

 valuable of which, in their own estima- 

 tion, were small rolls of dried salmon-skins, 

 and little pieces of flint for the purpose of 

 making knives and arrows. Poor Neakoodloo, 

 on receiving two knives for himself and wife, 

 appeared quite distressed at my refusing the 

 dirty pieces of stone and fish-skins which 

 he offered me ; and fancying that I rejected 

 them as not being good enough, he took a 

 sharp flint, and began cutting up a large seal- 



