I44 EXPLORATIONS IN THE FAR NORTH 



the ice field at that season prevented the sea from being driven 

 in by storms. They had no kaiaks, but set their herring nets 

 with the aid of two or three slender poles spliced together, one 

 end of the net being made fast ashore and the other pushed out 

 from the beach. At our approach they talked and gesticulated 

 in an animated manner. As they walked I noticed the char- 

 acteristic gait, so frequently mentioned, and usually called 

 "rolling," though the term does not describe it. They are usu- 

 ally considered greatly inferior to the Indians as runners. 

 They are a seafaring race, who hunt caribou in summer only r 

 and at that season the yielding moss would tend to develop,, 

 rather than correct, the peculiarity in their stride. The custom 

 of shaking hands, which is so ceremoniously observed by the 

 Indians, was treated rather as a joke by the Eskimos; they 

 would grasp a proffered hand, but with an air of doing so 

 merely to oblige. Some of the men were of tall stature, one of 

 them must have exceeded six feet, and his nose was quite 

 prominent. 1 They were "Anderson River Eskimos," from the 

 coast east of the Mackenzie. The dogs at this camp were large 

 and well fed. The curled tails, erect ears, and heavy coats 

 indicated the pure blood Eskimo dog. They were black in 

 color with white markings. 



On the fifth a strong northwest wind, accompanied by rain 

 and snow, prevented traveling. Fortunately, we had a small 

 tent which protected the Count and myself from the violence 

 of the storm. The Indians improvised a shelter from a piece of 

 boat canvas, which they stretched over drift willow sticks, 

 arched in the form of the Loucheux lodge, which resembles an 

 Eskimo ice hut in shape. They crouched under this low roof 

 and passed the time in sleep or chattered with banter and 

 laughter about the strange sights of the sea. After we had 

 been delayed thirty-six hours, the wind suddenly shifted to the 

 southward, allowing us to proceed. We had to make quick 

 work of loading the canoes to avoid being nipped by the floes, 

 which were driven rapidly along by a strong tide. The ice had 

 accumulated during our halt, so that further progress was im- 

 possible until the change of wind again drove it offshore. 



l "Il est parmi eux des hommes fort grands, mais la taille des femmes est 

 geneValement petite." Petitot, Monographe, p. 4. 



Compare Kelly, Arctic Eskimos in Alaska and Siberia, p. 15. 



