100 



ARCTIC RESEARCH EXPEDITION 



in the coldest and most comfortless dens of the earth, they are 

 ever on the grin, whatever befalls them. When they see a white 

 man and his knickknacks, they grin. They grin when they rub 

 their noses with snow, when they blow their fingers, when they 

 lubricate their hides inside and out with the fat of the seal. Tru- 

 ly, then, as Sterne says, 'Providence, thou art merciful!' " 



The above description must speak for itself; but, without en- 

 dorsing more than its reference to the good -humor of the Esqui- 

 maux, I must say that, whatever they may be physically and so- 

 cially, they are undoubtedly a kind-hearted, hospitable, and well- 

 disposed race of beings. On my first meeting with them, at the 

 time I am writing of, in Cornelius Grinnell Bay, I was much struck 

 by their peculiar dress and good-natured features. The women 

 especially attracted my attention, and I could not but think of old 

 Grimes — "that good old man" — in his long-tailed coat. The dif- 

 ference, however, in the coats of these Esquimaux women and that 

 of old Grimes is that they do not button down before. In truth, 

 there is no button about these arctic coats. They have a long, 

 neatly- worked flap behind, with a baby pouch on the shoulders, 

 and are slipped over the head like a frock. But a full descrip- 

 tion of their dress will be given in a chapter devoted entirely to 

 the manners and customs of these singular people. 



Among the visitors on board when we anchored were a few 

 who will frequently figure in my narrative. Ugarng, who has 

 been alreadj^ named, was a very prominent character, and it seems 

 to me well to give some account of him and his family, especially 

 as the history of most all the Innuits I met is so full of strange 

 adventure, and so indicative of their peculiar customs, that it can 

 not fail to be interesting. The particulars were gathered only 

 at intervals long after my first acquaintance with the parties. 



At the time of which I write there lived in the neighborhood 

 of my explorations a very aged and singular woman called Oo- 

 ki-jox-y Ni-noo. This patriarchal dame was born on an island 

 named An-nan-ne-toon, situated on the north side of Hudson's 

 Strait, and when I first saw her I believe she could not have 

 been less than one hundred years old. She was an important 

 personage among her people, and, as the reader will find, proved 

 of much service to me from the knowledge she had of Innuit tra- 

 ditions. 



Now this woman had been married to a man called Pier-lwo-ne- 

 me-loon, who had also, at the same time, a second wife, Poor-loong- 



