430 Thirty Years 



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that this party is usually employed, during the sum- 

 mer, in catching whales and seals, in the vicinity of 

 the Mackenzie, and that they seldom travel to the 

 westward beyond a few days' journey. We were, 

 therefore, not much distressed by intelligence which 

 we supposed might have originated in exaggerated 

 accounts received from others. In the evening Au- 

 gustus returned with them to their tents, and two of 

 the men undertook to fetch a specimen of the rock 

 from Mount Fitton, which was distant about twenty 

 miles. 



The party assembled at divine service in the even- 

 ing. The wind blew in violent squalls during the 

 night, which brought such a heavy swell upon the ice, 

 that the larger masses near the encampment were 

 broken before the morning of the 10th, but there was 

 no change in the main body. 



M ]'ui'i! :iy ' r -^ ne Esquimaux revisited us in the morning, 

 with their women and children; the party consisted 

 of forty-eight persons. They sealed themselves as be- 

 fore, in a semicircle, the men being in front, and the 

 women behind. Presents were made to those who 

 had not before received any ; and we afterwards pur- 

 chased several pairs of seal-skin boots, a few pieces of 



dressed seal-skin, and Borne deer-skin cut and twisted, 



to be used as cords. Beads, pins, needles and orna- 

 mental urticlrH, were most in request by the women, 



