296 THE ESKIMO ABOUT BERING STRAIT (etilaxx. 18 



the food supply at their own home had been exhausted. They were a 

 stroug, energetic set of men, and, being bold and dishonest, did not 

 hesitate to bully and otherwise terrify the more peaceable villagers into 

 sui)plying them with food. 



In the morning after my arrival at Sledge island a knife was stolen 

 from my box of trading goods, and on making this known to the head- 

 man he sent out a small boy, who returned in a few moments with the 

 knife, everyone apparently knowing who had committed the theft. 



A little later one of the King island men, who was sitting close by 

 me, and who had traveled down the coast with the trader and myself 

 the previous day, tried to steal a small article from me but was 

 detected in the act, and 1 at once ordered him to leave the house. To 

 this he paid uo attention, I then seized him by the right arm, and 

 when he saw that I was in earnest his face grew dark with passion, but 

 he did not hesitate to take up his mittens and leave the room. He did 

 not return during the day, but that evening when the people had left the 

 room and the trader and myself were preparing for bed, we noticed that 

 the headman of the village was still seated by the entrance way on the 

 other side of the room, although everyone else had left and the family 

 occupying the house were asleep. Making down our beds upon the 

 floor, we wrapped ourselves in the blankets. We had a suspicion that 

 the cause of the headman's presence was due to the trouble that I had 

 had with the King islander during the day, and I awoke several times 

 during the night and found him sitting wakeful by the entrance hole. 

 About 3 oclock the next morning I was awakened by a Alight noise, 

 and, raising my head cautiously, heard someone creeping in through the 

 passageway. A moment later the head of the thief whom I had sent 

 out and shamed before his companions the day before was thrust into 

 the room. In an instant the watchful headman had taken him by the 

 shoulder and spoke rapidly to him in an undertone. In a few minutes 

 the King islander drew back and went away. The headman remained 

 in his place until we arose in the morning. During the day we left 

 the island and at a hut on the mainland encountered the same King 

 islander, he having left the village immediately after going out of the 

 house. 



I have always considered that the watch kept by the headman dur- 

 ing that night was all that prevented an attempt by the King islander 

 to obtain revenge for my having offended him. 



When we came to the first hut on the nuiinland, upon our return 

 from the island, the Eskimo living there urged us to remain all night, 

 and when we refused to do this he insisted on our going in to eat some 

 crabs and dried fish with him before resuming our journey. 



Near Cape Darby we were welcomed in a cordial way and made to 

 join in a feast of freshly killed seal, and in villages on the lower Yukon 

 I met the same hospitable treatment. 



At some other i)laces our reception was the reverse of this. In the 



