NINE MONTHS IN THE ARCTIC. 173 



Nor did those natives who went with us to the 

 wreck know any thing about the fate of the crew. 

 As they had never seen any of them, nor heard 

 of their being in any of the settlements near by, we 

 naturally inferred that all on board were lost, or 

 that they were- immediately taken off of the wreck 

 or from the shore by some accompanying ship. 



The night before we left this settlement, and 

 where we were well used, another party of our 

 men arrived. We passed on to another collec- 

 tion of huts, about fifteen in number. 



The head man of-this settlement, and in whose 

 hut we happened to stop, was one of the most 

 crabbed, savage-like fellows with whom we had 

 met in all our past acquaintance with native life. 

 He appeared to take real delight and satisfaction 

 in degrading and mortifying us all he could. He 

 would cut the meat or blubber, whatever it might 

 be, into small pieces, and reach them to us on 

 the end of a stick, for us to take them, or bite 

 them off as a dog. Indeed, we were treated by 

 him in the same line of courtesy as he treated 

 his dogs. 



We quietly submitted to all manner of such ill 

 behavior on his part, simply for the sake of peace 

 and safety. We were completely in his power, 

 and he could use us as he saw fit ; and the least 

 we said about it the better. This head man was 



