stopped coming to school as pupils, but contin- 

 ued to drop in at odd times to look on. We had 

 over fifty young people who came with fair reg- 

 ularity. It was impossible to learn their ages. 

 Eskimo parents seldom remember the age of a 

 child who is more than three years old. When 

 asked when their children were born, they would 

 reply, "A-pan-ee" — Long ago. The boys were 

 all the way from five to twenty years old. 



The girls were so shy, and at first so much 

 afx-aid of me, that my wife taught them by 

 themselves; but as they gained confidence, we 

 gave them seats in the schoolroom, and had but 

 one session. 



Imagine, if you can, how the fifty-five young 

 Eskimos looked in the schoolroom, on those dark 

 winter days when a lamp had nearly always to 

 be kept burning. On the right-hand side, in the 

 front row, facing the teacher's desk, sat Angeit, 

 a boy about thirteen years old, as we supposed. 

 Angeit signifies the "catcher," or "snatcher," 

 and it was an appropriate name for the lad — 

 I shall have to confess privately that Mrs. Gam- 

 bell called him " Swipes." 



He was inclined at first to pocket everything 

 lie could lay hands on. We taught him better; 

 but still it would have been wrong to expose 

 him to much temptation. He had a very round 

 head, small black eyes and a wide mouth, and 

 he wore over his fur jacket a kind of jumper 

 made of a flour-sack that had the name of the 

 brand in big letters on the back of it. He was 



proud of this jumper, and the others envied him 

 its possession. 



Next to him was Sipsu, supposed to be fifteen. 

 Sipsu is the handsomest boy in the school, and 

 all too well aware of it. Those who suppose that 

 a Mahlemiut boy would have little to be vain of 

 should see "Sip" admire himself in Mrs. Gam- 

 bell's hand-mirror. A few years hence he will 

 be the dandy of the village, no doubt. 



At the desk next his was Kannakut, whom 

 the other boys call "Hennay," or "girl-boy," 

 because nearly every day he carried his little 

 sister, Seenatah, to school on his back. She is 

 too young to come to school, but I think that 

 her mother wishes to get her out of the way, 

 and so compels Kannakut, who seeins fond of the 

 child, to bring her with him. 



To keep her still in school-time, he gives her 

 little chunks of walrus fat, of which her mouth 

 is usually full. This queer little creature bit 

 my wife's finger quite severely the first time 

 she approached her, to poor Kannakut's un- 

 bounded regret. Kannakut has a good, kind 

 heart. He learned to read easy English in two 

 months ; and he can now add, subtract and mul- 

 tiply as well as manj^ white boys. He knows 

 the multiplication table up to the elevens. 



At Kannakut's left sat another boy, named 

 Poosay, whom Mrs. Gambell, who often sees the 

 humorous side of things, calls "Pussy" — for 

 many long, stiff hairs grow about his mouth, 

 and give him a truly catlike^appearance. 



