354 PICKPOCKETS. 



us, and never showed the slightest signs of unfriend- 

 Uness. They were, however, most expert thieves, and 

 we had many a laugh at their efforts to victimise us 

 in this way. One fellow put a silver spoon up his 

 sleeve, another buried the frying-pan (ah, cruel 

 attempt), and a third joker was detected endeavouring 

 to smuggle away about his person one of the fishing 

 nets (only 40 fathoms long). Our pockets were as 

 much the property of our friends as of ourselves, but 

 the most extraordinary circumstance of all was that 

 when upon missing any article we inquired for it 

 among our friends, it was immediately restored. I 

 suppose they only desired to take care of our goods 

 for us. 



On the 10th we quitted the island and encamped 

 on the main land a few miles from the Cape. There 

 was a tent here containing an Esquimaux man and 

 four women ; they approached us with some slight 

 hesitation, but became reassured by our conciliatory 

 words and gestures, and by the distribution of 

 presents. We had brought some vermilion with 

 us, knowing the partiality evinced for this material, 

 and I now bedaubed the faces of our friends in 

 artistic style. 



After dinner we endeavoured to beat up for Cape 

 Bathurst, and on passing abreast of the East and 



