d4S Caplaht I.i/on''s Pfitale Journal. 



ri('Ka1o(l skins are somclimcs worn over bchvceii llic tliiglis 



iiil. Tlie soles of llicso :iie com|)osc-tl of 

 strong skill dcinivcil of liair, Jiiid per- 

 fectly impervious to water. Mittens of 

 deer or !>e;ils' ^kill, warmly lined, and 

 fitting «;iose to the liainl, were generally 

 worn. Of all tlic articles of male attire 

 there are other coniiilctc sets wliioii re- 

 semble them in form, but arc made of 

 llic intestines of seals, or the skins of 

 animals deprived of bair, and which, by 

 being water-proof, protect the fnr 

 clothing from the rain, or spr;iy of the 

 tea. A few of these dresses, which we 

 purchased, were transparent, resembling 

 luoad ribands of white oil-.'-kin, and 

 formed of the seals' entrails. Some 

 gloves resembling strong parchment 

 proved a great ccmfoit to our leadsmen 

 while sounding in frosly weather. 



The jackets of the women, although 

 of the sanse materials as thofe of the 

 men, diffi^rfrom them very essentially in 

 form, I however do not think the ladies 

 have been judicious in the fashion of 

 their clothes, which gives liieni a most 

 uionkey-likc a|)pearanee. 



A sni:ill peak or ilap hangs down in 

 front to the depth of about six inches, 

 but its extreme narrow ness renders it a 

 very useless appendage : w bile behind 

 there is anotiier llaj) or tail, whi<'h 

 reaches nearly to the ground, is about 

 six or eight inches bro;id, and rounded 

 at the lower extremity. Aiucli attention 

 is paid To ornanseniing tlicse flaps, by 

 sewing very neat borders of dillerent 

 coloured skins round their edges. The 

 hoods of the women's coats are also 

 much larger than those of the men, 

 being for the |)iirpose of carrying their 

 young children stark naked ugaiust the 

 back. 



The arrangement of the colours of 

 skins, and the I'oi tJiaiioii of their clothing, 

 arc very stiictly a i: ended to. Thus the 

 dark and mottled part of the seal is 

 placed in the cenlie of the back or 

 breast, while the lighter shades are on 

 the sides. In the sleeves, tlie fore and 

 back piece are often of two colours, and 

 the cuffs also of a diftVrent hue. As 

 tacii of the numeious varieties of seal 

 slfords a peculiar skin, it m.iy be ima- 

 gined that these people avail themselves 

 of this in order to arrange the most oj)- 

 posite and glossy colours iu the same 

 habit. The women wear no trowsers, 

 vy, at all events, very few do so. They 

 have, however, rather a complicated 

 substitute for these indispensables ; for 

 Kiiuid the loins a li^ht leather girth or 

 giidlc is laced, one j^art of it passing 



Jjong stockings, 

 more properly speaking, legs of 

 trowsers, are then drawn on, and at- 

 faclied to the hind part of the girdle. 

 Yet, wit!) these contrivances, a portion 

 of the stomach and upper leg is shown 

 naked. 'J'lio boots were the same as 

 tliiise worn by the men. 



THElli BAIITF.R. 



A very singular custom prevailed 

 amongst them in concluding t!ie most 

 trilling bargain ; for no sooner had they 

 recci\cd an ailicle in exchi.nge for their 

 goods than it was instantly ai)plied to 

 the tongue, and licked several times 

 previous to being put away in scciuity. 

 Whatever might be the article given, 

 even if a sharp r^'zor, the. bargain was 

 not concluded until it had gone through 

 the above eercniony ; and I frequently 

 shuddered at seeing the chililrcn draw a 

 razor over (heir tongue as unconcernedly 

 as if it bad been an ivory pa|)er-knife. 

 Wo ha<l a conyineirjg prpof of the im- 

 portance attached to the above custooi, 

 in one poor woman whom I detected 

 going over the side w ilii an ice-axe upon 

 In-r shoulder, wliich, fancying she had 

 stolen it, I ordered it to be taken from 

 her. .Tliisslie loudly and firmly resisted, 

 crying bilterly, and looking anxiously 

 round for the person from whom she 

 had received it, making signs that it had 

 been given in cxchaugc for a very 

 handsome seal-skin jacket which she had 

 been observed to wear, and at the same 

 time licking every part of the ;ixe, to 

 show it had been a bargain. By this 

 we were convinced that some one had 

 been despicable enough to give this 

 poor creature an article which he knew 

 would be taken from her again. When 

 a button or other trifle was given as a 

 present, without demanding an ex- 

 change, it did not receive the cnstoinary 

 licking. Nothing can equal tlie eager- 

 ness for barter evinced by these savages, 

 or the frenzy they exhibited to possess a 

 nail or any other trifle. To describe the 

 various modulations of their screams of 

 joy or anxiety would be absolutely im- 

 possible. \\'e, however, in the general 

 confusion, were of opinion that the wor«l 

 used for barter w as " Chi bo ;" for it was . 

 repeated in every key to which the 

 human voice can be raised. "Pille tay" 

 was also clamorously and frequently re- 

 peated ; and we had no doubt that it 

 implied " Give me," all ages and sexes 

 being most indefatigable beggars. They 

 were, however, traders as long as they 

 had any stock. From the men we pur- 

 chased oil, weapons, iind ivory ; the 

 women 



