414 



SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 



Sb. of occasionall y explaining to them in some measure in what direction our 

 *ry^ country lay, and of giving them some idea of its distance, climate, popula- 

 tion, and productions. It was with extreme difficulty that these people had 

 imbibed any correct idea of the superiority of rank possessed by some indi- 

 viduals among us ; and when at length they came into this idea they naturally 

 measured our respective importance by the riches they supposed each to 

 possess. The ships they considered as a matter of course to belong to Cap- 

 tain Lyon and myself, and on this account distinguished them by the names 

 of Lyon-oomiak and Paree-oomiak ; but they believed that the boats and other 

 parts of the furniture were the property of various other individuals among us ; 

 they were therefore not a little surprised to be seriously assured that neither 

 the one nor the other belonged to any of us, but to a much richer and more 

 powerful person, to whom we all paid respect and obedience, and at whose 

 command we had come to visit and enrich the Inuuees. Ewerat, on account 

 of his steadiness and intelligence, as well as the interest with which he lis- 

 tened to any thing relating to Kabloonas, was particularly fit to receive infor- 

 mation of this nature ; and a general chart of the Atlantic Ocean, and of the 

 lands on each side, immediately conveyed to his mind an idea of the distance 

 we had come, and the direction in which our home lay. This and similar 

 information was received by Ewerat and his wife with the most eager 

 astonishment and interest, not merely displayed in the " hei-ya ! " which 

 constitutes the usual extent of Esquimaux admiration, but evidently enlarg- 

 ing their notions respecting the other parts of the world, and creating in 

 them ideas which could never before have entered their minds. By way 

 of trying their inclinations, I asked them if they would consent to leave their 

 own country and, taking with them their children, go to live in ours, where 

 they would see no more Innuees, and never eat any more seal or walrus. To 

 all this they willingly agreed, and with an earnestness that left no doubt of 

 their sincerity ; Togolat adding in an emphatic manner, " Shagloo ooagoot nao" 

 (we do not tell a falsehood,) an expression of peculiar force among them. 

 The eagerness with which they assented to this proposal made me almost 

 repent my curiosity, and I was glad to get out of the scrape by saying, that 

 the great personage of whom I had spoken, would not be pleased at my taking 

 them home, without having first obtained his permission. Information of 

 the kind alluded to was subsequently given to many of the other Esquimaux, 

 some of whom could at length pronounce the name of " King George," se- 

 as to be tolerably intelligible. 



