POLAR REGIONS. 



Polar among the women, who treated him with great kind- 

 Regions, ness. They stripped off his wet clothes, and, while 

 s "" "V""'' they dried them, covered him with seals' skins. 



. One of the first of the natives that was seen, made 

 his appearance very unexpectedly before one of the 

 captains who was taking a survey of the distant ice 

 from an iceberg. He had a boat hook in his hand, 

 which so attracted the attention of the Esquimaux, per- 

 haps for the value of the iron with which it was armed, 

 that he kneeled down and kissed it, not paying the 

 least regard to him who possessed it. He refused him 

 the boat hook, but gave him a bright button or two, 

 with which he was greatly delighted. In general it 

 was found, that bright buttons were in high estima- 

 tion among these people ; some of the sailors having 

 received a tinicorn's horn of ivory, seven feet long, for a 

 single metal button. 



When the sailors were numerous, it was difficult to 



fet near the natives, as they commonly fled on their 

 rst appearance. Sometimes, however, in a wicked 

 frolic, they contrived to surround an unwary Esqui- 

 maux, and then suddenly rush upon him, not a little 

 entertained with the grotesque expressions of fear which 

 the helpless creature manifested. 



These people understood and entered into some of 

 the frolics of the sailors with peculiar readiness. On 

 one of the Esquimaux attempting to retreat from a 

 party of sailors, pursuing him for the sake of a frolic, the 

 traces of his sledge broke, and his dogs ran off, on 

 which he was speedily overtaken. While he yet re- 

 mained in great fear and consternation, the sailors came 

 up, mounted him upon the sledge, and immediately, 

 with great good humour, and no little noise, began to 

 drag him forward towards the shore. The Esquimaux 

 instantly entered into the joke, and raising himself on 

 his sledge, expanded his whip, and, after cracking it 

 in the air two or three times, began very frankly and li- 

 berally, to the no small mirth and astonishment of the 

 sailors, to exercise it on the backs of his new traineaux. 



Pulling noses seemed to be their highest expression 

 of thankfulness or politeness, as it was only practised 

 on particular occasions. One of the captains having 

 decorated a prominent character, with a parcel of rib- 

 bons about his head, to crown the princely gift, pre- 

 sented him with a small looking-glass; on which the man 

 was in such raptures that he could not contain himself. 

 He pulled his nose, bowed his head, then pulled his 

 ears, fell on his knees, jumped up, whirled round, and 

 played such a variety of antics, as almost overwhelmed 

 the company in fits of laughter. 



They refused all kinds of food presented to them. 

 One of the captains endeavoured to prevail on an Es- 

 quimaux to eat a little white biscuit, but, after tasting it, 

 he spat it out. Being rather teased to try it again, and to 

 eat it, he ran to a store, and, with a piece of shell, he 

 cut off a slice of the flesh of a seal, that had evidently 

 been long dead, being quite putrid. This he took be- 

 twixt his teeth, and cutting one-half of it off, he present- 

 ed it to the captain, (whilst he ate the other half,) in- 

 timating by signs, so intelligible that could not be mis- 

 understood, that, if the captain would eat the seal's 

 flesh, he would then in return partake of the biscuit. 

 The challenge was of course declined. 



It was observed, respecting these people, that most 

 of them had their nostrils stuffed full of moss. 



Their dress was prepared of skins with the hair on, 

 and not of the water-proof kind used by the Esquimaux 

 of Disco IsUnd and the neighbourhood. 



These people were of a thievish turn, attempting to 

 steal every thing they could lay their hands on ; seve- 



ral of them tried to wrest an oar from one of the sailors. 

 Perhaps this disposition was encouraged by the circum- 

 stance of some of the whalers being wrecked in their 

 neighbourhood. On which occasion, having been per- 

 mitted to carry away almost what they pleased, they 

 might naturally extend the prerogative then given them 

 to other cases. Many of the articles they thus acquir- 

 ed being almost of incalculable value to them, especial- 

 ly wood and iron, they loaded their little sledges in 

 such a way that their dogs could not move them. 

 The conduct of some of them excited attention and 

 even amusement on this distressing occasion : for, it 

 was observed, that when thus circumstanced, the 

 owner of the sledge would sometimes mount upon the 

 top, for the purpose of exercising his whip over the 

 dogs, which, previously to the addition of his weight, 

 were so overloaded as to be incapable of moving. 



The Arctic Highlanders do not seem to be acquainted 

 with the canoe used by other Esquimaux. Captain 

 Ross could not ascertain that they knew any thing of 

 a boat ; but some of the whalers afterwards met with 

 a very rude vessel of this description, which they em- 

 ployed in securing the narwals, after being attacked 

 and killed from the land-ice. In their capturing of 

 this animal, these people stand in a line along the edge 

 of the land-ice, or by the side of a narrow vein of water 

 in the ice, where the narwals often appear. When one 

 comes sufficiently near, one or more darts are thrown 

 into it, having a line attached made of skin, with a 

 drag at the end. On its reappearance, which is often 

 by the edge of the ice, it is again attacked with darts, 

 &c. and perhaps killed, though it is evident, without 

 the use of boats for the capture, many of the narwals 

 must escape. 



IN their pursuit of the whales, the British fishers, 

 having recently been in the habit of approaching very 

 near to the western coast of Baffin's Bay, have discover- 

 ed different tribes of natives. Besides the people visit- 

 ed by Captain Parry, another tribe was met with a little 

 to the southward of Cape Jameson, in the year 1821, 

 on a low flat strand, where a considerable number of 

 persons, chiefly women, were seen. They were seen 

 by several of the whalers. On the landing of one party 

 of sailors, they were received by thirty or forty wornen 

 on the beach, and welcomed by loud shouts and excla- 

 mations. They appeared to be a wandering tribe, their 

 residences being in tents, erected on poles or bones, 

 covered with skins. There were no men among them 

 excepting two or three old persons, and one who was 

 maimed, having lost one of his feet. The restof the men, it 

 was presumed, were out upon some hunting expedition. 

 They were greatly attracted by bright buttons. Their 

 dress was nearly the same as the Esquimaux of the op- 

 posite coast ; /nen and women being habited nearly 

 the same. The women were all disfigured in their 

 faces by a sort of tattooing. One of the sailors entered 

 a tent uninvited, in which was a woman suckling an 

 infant, and an old man. The female was quite naked, 

 excepting a piece of skin about her shoulders. She did 

 not rise from her seat on the entrance of the sailors, 

 nor did she seem much surprised. She nodded to him, 

 however, and repeatedly pronounced the word timeah 

 or lymah, which he understood as an invitation of wel- 

 come. These women were totally free from the re- 

 serve, and even from the portion of delicacy, which 

 Egede Saabye states as being common to the females of 

 Greenland. They went voluntarily, and with great 

 freedom, on board of the whalers in their canoes ; and 

 such was their insensibility to ordinary decency, that, 



