588 Conversations ivith Innuits. December, ise*. 



PAPER A. 



EXTEACT8 FROM HALL'S CONVERSATIONS HELD WITH THE INNUITS OF REPULSE 

 BAY IN THE MONTH OF DECEMBER, 18C4. 



December 6th, 1864. — This night I have had a deeply interesting interview 

 with several of the natives. On the return of the walrus hunters, tliey almost 

 uniformly call at our igloo during the evening to see and talk with me ; this 

 evening Ar-mou first comes in. I asked him when he was at Igioo-lik a few 

 years ago and what names of Kob-lu-nas he heard of, that he remembered ? 

 The answer was Parry, Lyon and Crozier — the first two were Esh-e-mut-tas (chiefs 

 or captains), but the latter one was not. 



Ar-too-a, the An-nat-ko, next came in. He has been to Pelly Bay (Ok-ke- 

 be-gu-loo-a, as the Innuits call it) which is near Neitch-il-le (Boothia Peninsula). 

 While at my igloo Ar-too-a once told me that he had heard of Orozier when at 

 Pelly Bay, that he (C) was one of the Koblunas belonging to the two ships that 

 were in the ice near Neitch-il-le for two years before the white men left them. 



I proceeded to ask Ar-too-a the questions of the names of the white men 

 he had heard of from Innuits, who had been to Igloo-lik. He said. Parry, Cro- 

 zier and Lyon ; — he had heard of others, but could not now remember them. I 

 asked him if he had heard a great deal about Crozier, and he replied, with great 

 warmth, that he had ; and then went on talking with Ar-mou and Ebierbing, tell- 

 ing them how much he knew. 



Oong-oo-too next came in, followed by Ou-e-la and Shoo-she-ark-uuk. The 

 latter two, I knew, would be of great service in communicating important facts, 

 if such were in their possession. The former is a smart, strong, muscular young 

 man, a great musk-ox hunter, but a very small talker. I can never get much 

 out of him in the way of tongue work. 



The parties now named were all present. Ar-too-a had become deeeply inter- 

 ested in giving all the facts he knew about Crozier. He drew his brothers Oue-la, 

 Shoo-she ark-nuk, and my man Ebier-bing into a general conversation with him 

 oTi the subject. Too-koo-li-too sat at her usual place on the took-too bed before 

 the fire-lamp, knitting a sack of zephyr worsted to keep my nasal organ from 

 freezing wlien I go out on sledge trips this winter. At the same time she was 

 attentively listening to all that was said, that she might, as interpreter, commu- 

 nicate the sooner to me. I was seated on my stool, deeply absorbed in all that I 

 could understand, which I must confess was very little. 



