PULLEN'S MAIDEN SPEECH IN ESKIMO. 443 



at least, without any difficulty ; but as regretting would do nothing for us, 

 I hauled in for the land and secured, determining, if to-morrow I should see 

 no change, to haul the whale-boats across the narrow strip of land into 

 Elson's Bay, and push on in that direction. The wind was now from north- 

 east, but light ; an increase might drive the ice to a sufficient distance off 

 the land to enable us to proceed, or a southerly wind might start it 

 altogether, as a great quantity of it was shore-ice and very much decayed. 

 At 11.30 A.M. I landed among a large concourse of natives, who, directly 

 they found we wanted firewood, collected and brought us a large quan- 

 tity, and were in every way friendly. Such behaviour I could not pass 

 over without notice, so got them all seated in a ring, and, with our small 

 stock of Eskimo, made them a speech, saying how anxious we were to 

 be peaceable with them, and how eagerly we hoped that the good feel- 

 ing now existing would continue. I then explained the errand on which 

 we had come hither, and expressed my hopes that they would lend us 

 their assistance. By means of the words ' Kabloonan teyma mueet ' 

 (white men friendly to the Eskimos) and signs, we managed to make each 

 other understood. Mr Hooper was a famous auxiliary on these occa- 

 sions, so the interpreter was not much missed. I distributed among them 

 beads, tobacco, and two or three knives, the latter of which I was at 

 a loss how to bestow, wishing to give them to the chiefs ; but as I could 

 see no mark of distinction among them, I gave one to a woman who had 

 a swelled face, from a severe blow received in carrying firewood for us, 

 and the others they scrambled for — at which they were as much dehghted 

 as at the receipt of other trifles. The latitude at noon was 71° 20' 30" N., 

 about three miles south of Point Barrow, which just then I saw no pos- 

 sibility of reaching. 



" After dinner we hauled the boats close up to the ice, and endeavoured 

 to force a passage, but it was too firmly set. I then pulled along the edge 

 up to the main pack, and into many indentations ; but the whole composed 

 one solid mass, some parts aground in as much as five fathoms water. I 

 then returned to the boats and landed with a party to walk across to Elson's 

 Bay, but before we got thither such a thick and wetting fog had closed 

 around us, that, on reaching its shores, we could not see half-a-dozen yards 

 in advance. On our way we passed through a native village — a great many 

 of the people accompanying us ; and as we were returning more had assem- 

 bled round a turned up oomiak, to leeward of which the old men and some 

 others, who apparently were chiefs, seated themselves, while the younger of 

 both sexes danced for an hour, or at least as long as we remained with 

 them, under the direction of the elders. They did not, as Simpson wit- 

 nessed, form in a circle, but stood in two lines — two men and three women, 

 the latter in front— all dancing together, and the women being constantly 



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