HAYES' EXPEDITION (i860) 53 



shelves in spite of all I can do to the contrary. Once I 

 caught the whole library tacking about the deck after an 

 unusually ambitious dive of the schooner, and the advent 

 of a more than ordinarily heavy rush of water through 

 the ' companion-way.' 1 " 



Land was first sighted on the 31st July, and proved to 

 be the southern extremity of Disco Island. Owing to a 

 calm, Proven was not reached till 6th August. The 

 entry into the harbour is thus described by Dr. Hayes : — 



" We were escorted into the harbour of Proven by the 

 strangest fleet of boats and the strangest-looking boatmen 

 that ever convoyed a ship. They were the far-famed 

 Kavakers of Greenland, and they deserve a passing notice. 



" The Kayak of the Greenlander is the frailest specimen 

 of marine architecture that ever carried human freight. 

 It is 18 feet long and as many inches wide at its middle, 

 and tapers, with an upward curving line, to a point at 

 either end. The skeleton of the boat is made of light 

 wood ; the covering is of tanned seal-skin, sewed together 

 by the native women with sinew thread, and with a 

 strength and dexterity quite astonishing. Not a drop of 

 water finds its way through their seams, and the skin 

 itself is perfectly waterproof. The boat is about 9 inches 

 deep, and the top is covered like the bottom. There is 

 no opening into it except a round hole in the centre, 

 which admits the hunter as far as his hips. This hole is 

 surrounded with a wooden rim, over which the Kayaker 

 laces the lower edge of his water-tight jacket, and thus 

 fastens himself in and keeps the water out. He propels 

 himself with a single oar about 6 feet long, which 

 terminates in a blade or paddle at either end. This 

 instrument of locomotion is grasped in the centre, and is 

 dipped in the water alternately to right and left. The 

 boat is graceful as a duck and light as a feather. It has 

 no ballast and no keel, and it rides almost on the surface 



