OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 



293 



tribe, which from constant repetition I could now manage pretty well. In ^2, 

 one tent I found a man mending his paddle, which was ingeniously made of v-^r^. 

 various little scraps of wood, ivory, and bone, lashed together. He put it 

 into my hands to repair, taking it for granted that a kabloona would succeed 

 much better than himself. An hour afterwards the poor fellow came and took 

 me by the hand to his tent, where I found a large pot of walrus flesh evi- 

 dently cooked for me. His wife licked a piece and offered it, but on his 

 saying something to her took out another, and having pared off the outside 

 gave me the clean part, which, had it been carrion, I would not have hurt 

 these poor creatures by refusing. The men shewed me some curious puz- 

 zles with knots on their fingers, and I did what I could in return. The 

 little girls were very expert in a singular but dirty amusement, which con- 

 sisted in drawing a piece of sinew up their nostrils, and producing the end 

 out of their mouths. The elder people were for the most part in chase of 

 the tormentors which swarmed in their head and clothes ; and I saw for the 

 first time an ingenious contrivance for detaching them from the back, or 

 such parts of the body as the hands could not reach. This was the rib of a 

 seal, having a bunch of the whitest of a deer's hair attached to one end of 

 it, and on this rubbing the places which require it the little animals stick 

 to it : from their colour they are easily detected, and of course consigned 

 to the mouths of the hunters. 



" The weather clearing in the afternoon one ship was seen in the distance, 

 which diffused a general joy amongst the people, who ran about screaming 

 and dancing with delight. While lounging along the beach and waiting the 

 arrival of the ship, I proposed a game at ' leap-frog,' which was quite new 

 to the natives, and in learning which some terrible falls were made. Even 

 the women with the children at their backs would not be outdone by the 

 men, and they formed a grotesque party of opposition jumpers. Tired with 

 a long exhibition 1 retreated to the tent, but was allowed a very short re- 

 pose, as I was soon informed that the people from the farthest tents were 

 come to see my performance, and on going out I found five men stationed 

 at proper distances with their heads down for me to go over them, which I 

 did amidst loud cries of koyenna (thanks). 



<c As the ship drew near in the evening I perceived her to be the Hecla, 

 but not expecting a boat so late lay down to sleep. I soon found my mis- 

 take, for a large party came drumming on the side of the tent, and crying 

 out that a " little ship" was coming, and in fact I found the boat nearly on 



