M'Keev&ifs Voyage to Hudson's Say. 



29 



is so very remarkable in these countries ; males and females, 

 young- and old, had all the same low, husky, whispering kind 

 of voice.* 



I shall here give a few words of their language, which I 

 occasionally wrote down during their visits to us. 



* This hoarse, whispering kind of voice was very observable in the young 

 Esquimeaux who was at Edinburgh last year; though he had been, when I 

 saw him, near eight months in the country, he still spoke, in ordinary con- 

 versation, as if he were whispering. He was a very fine young man, aged 

 about nineteen, and had been a widower for a considerable time. It was 

 surprising to see how soon he adopted the European customs : when shewn 

 into a room, he bowed very gracefully, and was very mild and tractable in 

 his manners. This poor fellow had been drifted out to sea in his canoe near 

 a hundred miles, when he fortunately met with one of the homeward-bound 

 Greenland ships, which took him up. I saw him exhibit several times while 

 he remained at Leith ; one day, in particular, the whole population of the 

 country appeared assembled for the purpose of witnessing this interesting 

 sight The shore for a considerable distance, the shrouds of every vessel, 

 the tops of all the houses, were actually swarming with people. He was 

 this day to row in his canoe against a twelve-oared galley. At a given 

 .signal they started : in a few seconds, however, though the brawny Scotch- 

 men rowed with all their might, the Esquimeaux was several yards before 

 them. After getting on a considerable distance, having made all things 

 tight, he capsised himself in his canoe, and appeared at the opposite side. 

 He then waited until his almost exhausted competitors came up to him, and 

 again flew along with the swiftness of an arrow. In this way he went on for 

 near two hours. At the close of the contest a subscription, to a very large 

 amount, was made for him, with which the captain purchased several articles 

 of wearing apparel, as also a number of hatchets, saws, tin-pots, &c. to 

 bring over with him a? presents to his countrymen. 



