90 



SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 



1821. her back ; they too accompanied us to their tent, which was situated on a 

 vrt high part of the coast overlooking the sea. It consisted of a rude circular 

 wall of loose stones, from six to eight feet in diameter and three in height, in 

 the centre of which stood an upright pole made of several pieces of fir- wood 

 lashed together by thongs, and serving as a support to the deer-skins that 

 formed the top covering. Soon after our arrival we were joined by a good- 

 looking modest girl of about eight, and a boy five years old. Of these nine 

 persons, which were all we now saw, only the elder man and two of the 

 children belonged to this tent, the habitations of the others being a little 

 more inland. The faces of the women were round, plump, tattoed, and in 

 short completely Esquimaux. During the cursory examination of these people's 

 dresses which we had now an opportunity of making, I observed nothing 

 beyond the peculiarities which have been repeatedly described, except that 

 the tails of the women's jackets were of unusual length as well as breadth. 

 The kayak or canoe belonging to this establishment was carefully laid on 

 the rocks close to the sea-side, with the paddle and the man's mittens in 

 readiness beside it. The timbers were entirely of wood, and covered as 

 usual with seal-skin. Its length was nineteen feet seven inches, and its 

 extreme breadth two feet ; it was raised a little at each end, and the rim or 

 gunwale of the circular hole in the middle was high, and made of whale- 

 bone. A handsome seal-skin was smoothly laid within as a seat, and the 

 whole was sewn and put together with great neatness. The paddle was 

 double, made of fir, and the ends of the blades tipped with bone, to pre- 

 vent splitting. 



The fire-place in the tent consisted of three rough stones carelessly placed 

 on end against one side, and they had several pots of lapis ollaris, for culi- 

 nary purposes. These people seemed to us altogether more cleanly than 

 any Esquimaux we had before seen, both in their persons and in the interior 

 of their tent, in neither of which could we discover much of that rancid and 

 pungent smell, which is in general so offensive to Europeans. One instance 

 of their cleanliness which now occurred, deserves perhaps to be noticed, 

 both because this is justly considered rather a rare quality among Esquimaux, 

 as- well as to shew in what way they do sometimes exercise it. When leaving 

 the tent, to return to our boats, I desired one of the seamen to tie the articles 

 we had purchased into a single bundle, for the convenience of carrying 

 them ; but the elder of the two male Esquimaux, who watched the man thus 

 employed, would not permit it to be done without excluding a pot, which, as 



