184 Thirty Years 



repressed his feeble effort, and soon calmed his fears 

 by presenting him with some pieces of iron, and 

 assuring him of his friendly intentions. Dr. Richard- 

 son and I then joined them, and, after receiving our 

 presents, the old man was quite composed, and be- 

 came communicative. His dialect differed from that 

 used by Augustus, but they understood each other 

 tolerably well. 



It appeared that his party consisted of eight men 

 and their families, who were returning from a hunting 

 excursion with dried meat. After being told who we 

 were, lie said, that he had heard of white people from 

 different parties of his nation which resided on the sea- 

 coast to the eastward ; and to our inquiries respecting 

 the provision and fuel we might expect to get on our 

 voyage, he informed us that the reindeer frequent the 

 eoasl during summer, the fish are plentiful at the 

 mouths of the rivers, the seals arc abundant, bul there 

 are no sea-horses nor whales, although he remember- 

 ed one of the latter, which had been killed by some 

 distant tribe, having been driven on shore on his 

 pari of the coast by a gale of wind ; that musk oxen 

 were to be found a little distance up the rivers, and 

 that we should find drift wood along the Bhore. lie 

 had do knowledge of the coast to the easl ward beyond 

 tin' next river, which he culled Nappa-arktok-towock, 

 or Tree River. The old man, contrary to the Indian 



