THE SEAL-FEAST. — AUTHOR BECOMES AN ANGEKO. 267 



Entrails, which the old lady drew through her fingers yards in 

 length. This was served to every one but me in pieces of two 

 to three feet long. I saw at once that it was supposed I would 

 not like to eat this delicacy; but, having partaken of it before, I 

 signified my wish to do so now ; for, be it remembered, there is no 

 part of a seal but is good. I drew the ribbon-like food through 

 my teeth Innuit fashion ; finished it, and then asked for more. This 

 immensely pleased the old dames. They were in ecstasies. It 

 seemed as if they thought me the best of the group. They laugh- 

 ed — they bestowed upon me all the most pleasant epithets their 

 language would admit. I was one of them — one of the honored 

 few ! 



Soon as this round of feasting was ended, one of the old lady 

 Innuits drew my attention to her afflictions. She had a dreadful 

 pain in her side and back, and had been badly troubled for weeks. 

 Before I had time for thought, she drew off her long-tailed coat 

 over her head, and sat there before me nude as Nature made her. 

 The laughing face and the joyful, ringing voice of the old lady 

 were now exchanged for expressions indicative of suffering and 

 the need of sympathy. The whole party present were now absorb- 

 ed in the subject before me. I put on as long and dignified a face 

 as I could in this trying scene, and, as much was evidently ex- 

 pected from me, I was determined no disappointment should fol- 

 low. Therefore I proceeded to manipulate the parts affected, or, 

 rather, plowed my fingers in the rich loam — real estate — that cov- 

 ered the ailing places. The result was that I gave notice that she 

 should live on, eating as much fresh seal and walrus as she want- 

 ed, drinking water several times a day, and applying the same 

 amount at the end of every ten days that she had drank in that 

 time to the outside of her body by the process of scrubbing, which 

 I there and then practically explained to her and the others. I 

 told her, moreover, that as the suk-e-neir (sun) was day by day 

 getting higher and higher, she must keep herself warm and dry, 

 and then, in my opinion, she would soon be quite relieved. 



So caressingly did I finger the old lady's side during the deliv- 

 ery of my impromptu advice, that she declared I was the best an- 

 geko she had known, and positively she felt much better already. 

 Placing on her coat, she then jumped up and ran away to her own 

 igloo as lively as a cricket. 



During the time I was stopping in Sampson's igloo I made ev- 

 ery inquiry possible about the tradition concerning ships entering 



