inay, 1 866. J Hall wUl Rcnew his Journey 269 



tlie return of the successful tooJc-too party of this day, I invittd ;ill iln- nun 

 into my Icom-mong, and there I served each with moderati' drinks of capital iuhhI 

 Bourbon whisky. We talked, smoked, and drank— talked, smoked, and drank 

 till every heart felt that it should be friendly to everybody. One matter is 

 worthy of record : all the men of my party are still determined to accompany me 

 next si)ring-, when I purpose to try again. 



It would seem, however, that this last statement was directly 

 against the experience of the 5th of the month which lias been re- 

 corded ; for, on that day, every one of Hall's companions except 

 Ebierbing and Too-koo-li-too had insisted on his return. Nu-her-zhoo 

 (Jack) particularly had shown the white feather even while standing- 

 before Hall, boasting of his courage ; and it will be found in the story 

 of the year 1869, that when Hall first succeeded in reaching King Wil- 

 liam's Land, this man, when the whole company were well armed, 

 was again much alarmed at the first sight of strange Innuits. Hall 

 certainly found each of the tribes hostile and apprehensive — mutually 

 fearing and feared. Before setting out on this journey, his party had 

 more than once spoken of the See-ne-mee-utes — the natives of "xSee- 

 wee," near Cape Berens — as being a party of murderous fellows ; their 

 way of greeting a stranger* being to present a long knife seemingly as 

 a gift, but allowed accidentally to slip into his breast. (See page 277.) 

 That a fight was not in some like way begun by the Felly Bay men 

 on their meeting with Hall's company, seems to have been owing to 

 their having learned from Too-koo-li-too about the ships in the bay — 

 Hall's friends. 



* The customs of the Eskimos of Cumberland Inlet in this, as reported by Mr. L. Kumlien, 

 of the recent Howgate Expedition, seem less dangerous, but equally strange : 



"When a stranger arrives at an encampment, the Ancoot and the stranger face one an- 

 other. Both have mittens of seal-skin. The stranger complacently folds his arms over his 

 breast, and inclines bis bead to one side, so as fully to expose his cheek, while the Ancoot deals 

 him a terrible blow on it, sometimes felling him to the ground. The two actors now change 

 parts, and it becomes the stranger's turn to strike, which he does with a vengeance. The two 

 then kiss each other, the ceremony is over, and due hospitality is shown to the stranger by all. 



