Captain Lyon's Private Journal. 



649 



wruiien snpplieil iis witli skiim, orim- 

 ni<-tits, liflle pdiiclies, &l'. and tioin the 

 cliildn^n were procured small toys and 

 iiKidels, tlieir |);iiPiits directing them in 

 tiicir bargains and beg-ginjjs also. There 

 was one little child, whi), liaviiig no 

 merchandize to dispose of, ran abonl 

 lioldiny ujj the red legs of a dovekie, in 

 liopes that their colour mijjlit attract a 

 ciistumer ; but nieetii.g with no success, 

 the poor little trader was returning dis- 

 consolate to his mother, when a button 

 wliicii I gave iiini put the poor child 

 quite into raptures, and underwent nioie 

 kissing tlian button ever received before. 



Jjotli sexes eagerly sold their clothes, 

 and some went away nearly naked, 

 nolwitlistantlihg the severity of the 

 wcatlicr. I must liowever say, injustice 

 to the softer sex, that they were more 

 correct in tlie t;hoice of w hat parts of 

 their clotliing they woiild dispose of 

 th.m the men ; for I do iiol rLiiienibcr 

 to have seen a single lady part with lier 

 hreeches, while the gentlemen were by 

 110 means so scrnpidous, and evinced no 

 shame at ajjpcaring nearly naked. 



A nail was considered a lair equiva- 

 lent for a sjjcar with i\ory liead, and 

 with line and bladder attached to it. 

 Small pieces of iron hoop w ere equally 

 valuable; and a knife might pureliase 

 any article. Saws, however, were the 

 most eagerly inquired for; and, hail 

 any been produced at first, nothing else 

 would have beeti tak-cn. In all ex- 

 cliangcs the natives sho^v^d as much 

 joy as if they had accjuired the greatest 

 riches, although in many inst<ii;ces they 

 were losers by the bargain. 



The strangers were so w ell pleased in 

 our society, that they showed no wish 

 to le-»ve us, and, when the market had 

 quile ceased, they begun dancing and 

 playiiig with our jieople on llie ice 

 alongside: this exercise again set many 

 of their noses bleeding (which at their 

 first arrival we had observed to be the 

 case), and discovered to us a most nasty 

 custom, which accounted for their gory 

 faces; and which was, that as fast as 

 the blood ran down, they scraped it 

 with the fingers into their mouths, ap- 

 pearing to consider it a refreshment or 

 dainty, if we might judge by the zest 

 with which they smac ked tlieir lips] at 

 each supply. Some of the most quiet 

 came on board the ship, and behaved 

 very well; while others walked qnietly 

 alongside, gazing occasionally at the 

 men, hut more frequently at some quar- 

 ters of old English beef, which were 



hanging over the stern, ami had a niost 

 attractive appearance. Some slices 

 were cutofl'^md tfirown down to them, 

 and tiiese they instantly devoured with 

 great satisfaction; but they refused to 

 eat the biscuit wliich was oH'cred at the 

 same time. One woman in particular 

 attracted general notice by her un- 

 wearied application for presents, and by 

 feigning to be hurt, and crying to exci'iC 

 compassion; in which siie no sooner 

 succeeded, than a loud and triumphant 

 Jaugh proclaimed the cheat. Of all 

 horrible yells, tliis laugh was the most 

 fiend-like I ever heard ; and her coun- 

 tenance corresponded with her voice. 

 She had lost all her front teeth, w ilh the 

 exception of the eye-teeth ; her mouth 

 was plentifully ornamented by blue 

 tattoo lines; and a vast profusion of 

 black, straight, and matted hair, hung 

 ail round her liead and face. At her 

 buck was an imp not iDorc prepossessing 

 in features than herself, and {screaming 

 itself black in the face. Although the 

 countenances of the other young chil- 

 dren were generally railier pretty than 

 otherwise, yet, from their dress and 

 manner of walking, they might, without 

 any great stretch of the imagination, 

 have been taken for the cubs of wild 

 animals ; particularly some who were 

 laid for s.ilcty in the bottom of the 

 women's boats, amongst blubber, tha 

 entrails of seals, &c. of which they were 

 continuHll} sucl-ing whatever was near- 

 est to them. 



A DANCE. 



In order to amuse our new acquaint- 

 ances as much as possiijie, the tiddler 

 was sent on t!ie ice, w here he instantly 

 foinid a most delightful set of dancers, 

 of whom some of the women kept 

 pit^tty good time. Their only figure 

 consisted in stamping and jumiiing with 

 all their might. Our iiiusician, who 

 was a lively fellow, soon caught the in- 

 fection, and began cutting capers also. 

 In a shoit time every one on the floe, 

 oUicers, men, and savages, were dancing 

 togeliier, and exhibited one of the most 

 extraordinary siglits I ever witnessed. 

 One of our seamen, of a fresh ruddy 

 complexion, excited the admiration of 

 all the young females.who patted his face 

 and danced round him wherever lie 

 went. 1 was half inclined to snjiposo 

 they fancied him a woman, although he 

 was nearly six feet high, and stout in 

 proportion. I am sorry to give but a 

 bad account of the morals of our visitors, 

 some of whom were very importunate in 

 oll'cring 



