THE WORLD'S WONDERS. 729 



reached the settlement, a rnile and a-half up the hav. The whole 

 colony eagerly assisted us in landing the boats and in carrying 

 up the cargo. About twenty of them, as if it were fine sport, 

 seized the painter and the gunwale, and endeavored to imitate us 

 in every motion, breaking out into loud peals of laughter when- 

 ever they made a mistake. The subject which caused them the 

 most merriment was the ' Heave-oh !' of the sailors. This they 

 attempted to imitate ; and it Was very amusing to observe their 

 efforts to chime in and keep time. They could not approach 

 nearer than 'I-e-u!' They afterward i-e-u-d everything, and 

 'I-e-u ! i-e-u !' rang through the settlement the livelong night." 

 On the following day friendly intercourse was established, and 

 the Esquimaux were invited to share with Hayes some of his 

 food. Writing 1 of their astonishment at the customs of white 



o 



people, he says : 



"We gave them a share of our meal, offered them a taste of 

 coffee, and passed around some pieces of ship-biscuit. The 

 biscuit proved too hard for their teeth, and, until they saw us eat, 

 they could not divine its use. They laughed and nibbled at it 

 alternately, and then stuck it into their boots their general tem- 

 porary receptacle for all curiosities. They made wry faces over 

 the coffee, and a general laugh arose against the Angekok, who 

 persisted in taking a drink of the hot liquid. We had, altogether, 

 an amusing time with them. The evening being warm, we sat 

 upon the rocks for several hours, and after supper our men 

 lighted their pipes. This capped the climax of our strange 

 customs. The Esquimaux seemed amazed, and looked first at us, 

 then at each other, then at us again. They evidently thought it 

 a religious ceremony, seeing how solemn were our faces. At 

 length I could not abstain from a smile ; the signal thus given 

 was followed by shouting, clawing of hands, and general confu- 

 sion among the troop. They ran about, puffing out their cheeks, 

 and imitating, as nearly as they could, the motions of the 

 smokers. Kalutunah, the chief, who was determined to try every- 

 thing, begged to be allowed to smoke a pipe. One being handed 

 to him, he was directed to take a long and deep inhalation ; tfcis 



