450 



SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 



ward in pursuit of deer ; before they left the tent they informed me, that 

 the women had mentioned their intention of continuing their journey next 

 day towards a station where they procure fish. I made inquiries, but 

 could hear nothing ; and as it appeared from their previous conduct that 

 they were unwilling to acquaint me with their designs, I directed the men 

 to gather all the information they could. It was now become evident that 

 they did not intend going direct to Toonoonee-roochiuk ; but as I con- 

 ceived a longer stay with them might furnish something interesting, I 

 determined on it ; more especially as the distance to Igioolik was greater 

 than we could conveniently travel without diminishing our loads. The 

 Esquimaux returned in the evening with a few seals, some ducks, and a 

 great many eggs. They had emptied the latter out of their shells into 

 walrus bladders, containing each between two and three gallons. They 

 gave us two ducks and half a dozen eggs, an act of generosity of which 

 they seemed to think highly, but with which we were by no means satis- 

 fied, after being disappointed of a trip to the island, where we might have 

 collected some for ourselves. 



'-' We remained stationary on the 12th, the Esquimaux stating that their 

 dogs were too lame to travel. They buried most of their tin pots and 

 iron hoops, which looked as if they intended returning soon. One of the 

 women excited our attention by the ingenuity she displayed in mending 

 a tin kettle which she had procured from the ships, and which had become 

 unsoldered. She paid little attention to our instructions, and at length com- 

 pleted the task, in her own way, by suspending the kettle over the flame of the 

 lamp, and dropping pieces of solder obtained from the rim of a meat canister, 

 which when melted she spread with a spike-nail over the joint. In the 

 evening we were diverted by Kooeetseearioo, who went through the whole 

 ceremony of raising Tornga. My men put up a screen, behind which he 

 went after some persuasion, and performed the whole of his part with 

 great skill, particularly the diving scene, where he managed his voice so well 

 that it really appeared to come some distance from under ground. It would 

 seem from this that the art is not difficult and that, from the ridicule with 

 which they seemed to treat it, they were not imposed on. The old people 

 alone seemed to pay respect to the Angetkoks, while the young ones inva- 

 riably treated their mysteries with contempt. 



" At half-past ten A.M. on the 18th, we quitted this station, which by the 

 mean of five meridian altitudes is in lat. 69° 42' 29", and by the mean of seven 



