MY GUIDE 



" Ai-ai's " of astonishment greeted the mystery of 

 potato peeling. The ship's cat caused quite a stampede, 

 to its own tremendous alarm. It bounded up the 

 rigging like a streak, amid a chorus of " Suna un " 

 (what's that) ? Kappe-e " (what an awful thing) ! 

 There it sat palpitating, with hair all bristling, while 

 some one who had seen a cat before told his excited 

 friends that this was " Poosee-kulluk " (poor little 

 pussy) ! 



But this was no time for dawdling ; here was a 

 fine day going, with work waiting to be done. The 

 mate's voice called for hatches off, and everybody 

 volunteered for work. The event of the year, the 

 unloading of the ship, had begun. 



I went ashore to explore the village. It was no 

 easy matter to get a guide, because everybody was 

 busy on the ship or on the landing-stage; but I 

 finally managed to button-hole a middle-aged man 

 (only he had no button-holes, nor yet buttons, 

 because he wore the characteristic Eskimo " attig^k " 

 or " dicky "), who spent all his spare time in leading 

 me around and showing me the sights. We climbed 

 the hill behind the village, so that I might get some 

 idea of the scenery. Like a true Eskimo he trotted 

 up at about five miles an hour, while I panted and 

 stumbled behind him in a partly successful attempt 

 to keep him in sight. 



From the top of the hill we saw the snow-capped 

 heights of inland Labrador, and on the seaward 

 horizon the long chain of flat islands which we call 

 the " Buttons." 



Bob, or Baab, as he called himself, grew com- 

 municative. 



" Those are the Tutjat," he said. 



27 



