Captain Lyotis 



alongside. Oil Iioisliiin- dim in we were 

 astniiislicd to fiiiil that Ills wciglit ex- 

 cecdcfi 1600 !l)s! 



His dimensions were as follows : 

 Lengtli. 



Fret. In. 



Snout (o tiie insertion of the tail 8 7\ 

 'i'lie licad only . . .16 

 From (lie fje <o the oar . 10 



Nose to (he ceiilre of tiie eye S\ 

 The car alone . . . 4f 

 The tail from root (o tij) . 5 



Fore claws . . . .0 2^ 

 Hinder claws . . ,014 



Tusks 2^ 



Girth. 

 Round the body . . .7 11 

 Neck . . . . 3 4| 



Fore \c% . . . .23 

 Hind lag . . . .33 

 Hound the snout . . . 1 9| 

 Round the forehead . .21 



Height. 

 Shoulder . . . .49 

 Rump 4 8i 



Breadth. 

 The paws . . . . 10 

 Between the cars . .13 



Between the tusks . .03 



ESKIMAUX. 



A loud shouting was heard, and we 

 knew that the Eskimaux were coming 

 Oii' to US, although we could not see 

 Iheui amongst tiie loose ice near the 

 shore. A numl)er of people were at 

 lenglh observed paddling along a lane 

 of water which led to the Fury, and 

 others were seen carrying (heir caiioes 

 over pieces of ice, and llieu laiiiiciiing 

 them again. The nearer our visitors 

 !il)proach!d, the more vehement were 

 their cries of joy and salulation. The 

 loud " Ha, baa," resounded from all 

 quarters ; lor our people again repeated 

 it, to encourage the natives. 



We soon bad a large assemblage of 

 rauoes alongside our floe, and a most 

 noisy but merry barter instantly took 

 ])lace: all of us being as anxious to 

 ))urchase Eskimaux curiosities, as they 

 were to prociue iron and European toys. 

 In less than an hour we had thirty 

 canoes round us, and five of the women's 

 large bo^ls, or " Oomiaks." 



An old man steered each woman's 

 boat by an oar, and a|ipeared to have a 

 kind of authority over the ladies. Some 

 iiO}S were also in the boats; but no 

 men, except the steersman. In the 

 largest of the Oomiaks 1 counted 

 twenty-one per.'.ons. It is (jiiile out of 

 my power to describe the shouts, yells, 

 and laughter of the savqges, or l!ic ge- 



MoNTHLY xMag. No. 398, 



Pn'iafe Journal. Sif 



neral confusion wiiicli existed for two or 

 three hoins. The females were at first 

 very shy, and unwilling to come on the 

 ice, but bartered every thing from their 

 boats. This timidity, however, soon 

 wore oft", and they, in the end, became 

 as noisy and boisterous as the men. 



I could not, even in a dozen visits, 

 have discovered the regular colour of 

 fiicir skin, from its being so covered 

 with blood, grease, and dirt, as tobafilc 

 all atiempts to trace its natural hue. 

 lis iirtilieial die was of a dull copper or 

 brown colour. Amongst some of the 

 young girls we occasionally could dis- 

 cover a deep purple tinge of health on 

 the cheeks; and the skins of both sexes 

 were very soft and greasy to the touch. 

 The bair of the women was confined in 

 a kiiot on the top of the head, or on the 

 forehead in some ; but others, like men, 

 More it in glorious confusion all over 

 their necks and faces. Whichever way 

 it was arranged, hot a curl was to be 

 seen, and the jetty black of these locks 

 gave an air of inexpressible wildness to 

 each countenance. The men bad very 

 scanty or no beards, and, as far as wo 

 could learn, the bodies of both sexes 

 were destitute of bair. A species of 

 ophthalmia appeared very generally to 

 exist; many persons had lost their eye- 

 lashes, and some were nearly blind. 



It is scarcely possi!)Ie to conceive 

 any thing more ugly or disgusting than 

 the countenances of the old women, who 

 had inflamed eyes, wrinkled skin, black 

 teeth, and, in fact, such a forbidding set 

 of features as scarcely coidd be called 

 human : to which might be added their 

 dress, which was such as gave them the 

 appearance of aged Ourang Outangs. 



The dresses of the Eskimaux were 

 cliiefly composed of seals' skin?, but 

 many articles of clothing consisted of 

 those of bears, deer, wolves, foxes, 

 bares, and birds, all sewed in a neat and 

 even elegant manner, with the sinews of 

 animals. The habits of the men differ- 

 ing in some degree from those of the 

 women, I shall describe each separately 



One or two jackets of seals' skin, 

 having no ojiening in the front, reach as 

 low down as the upper part of the 

 thigh. The outer one has a hood for 

 covering the head, but at this season of 

 the year it was sullered to hang between 

 the shoulders. 'I'lie trowsers have no 

 waistbands, but arc drawn by strings 

 tight roiMid the body. They descend to 

 below the knee, whence the boots com- 

 |)lcle the clothing of the legs. They 

 are of seals' hide ; and half boots of va- 

 4 O ricgnfcd 



