TRADITIONS OF THE INNUITS. 



279 



woman's words. This puzzled me ; I knew not what to make of 

 it. I began to think that perhaps whaling ships had annually 

 visited the great bay. But, after a few moments, I found Tookoo- 

 lito had ceased speaking merely to consider the true interpreta- 

 tion of what the old lady had said into my vernacular. She con- 

 tinued by saying, "First two, then two or three, then many — very 

 many vessels." 



This was clear ; and I immediately took up the only book I 

 then had with me bearing upon the subject, " Barrow's Chrono- 

 logical History of Arctic Discovery," and, turning to the account 

 of Frobisher's voyages, I read what had been given to the world 

 by means of writing and printing, and compared it with what was 

 now communicated to me by means of oral tradition. Written 

 history tells me that Frobisher made three voyages to the arctic 

 regions as follows : 



First voyage in 1576, with two* vessels. 



Second voyage in 1577, three vessels. 



Third voyage in 1578, fifteen vessels. 



Traditionary history informs me that a great many, many years 

 ago the vessels of white men visited the bay (Frobisher's) three 

 successive years : 



First, in two vessels. 



Second, in three vessels. 



Third, in many vessels. 



But this is not all that traditionary history gave me on that day. 

 Written history states that Frobisher lost five of his men on his 

 first voyage when conveying a native on shore. Oral history 

 told me that five white men were captured by Innuit people at 

 the time of the appearance of the ships a great many years ago ; 

 that these men wintered on shore (whether one, two, three, or 

 more winters, could not say) ; that they lived among the Innuits ; 

 that they afterward built an oomien (large boat), and put a mast 

 into her, and had sails ; that early in the season, before much wa- 

 ter appeared, they endeavored to depart ; that, in the effort, some 

 froze their hands ; but that finally they succeeded in getting into 

 open water, and away they went, which was the last seen or heard 

 of them. This boat, as near as I could make out at the time, was 

 built on the island that Frobisher and his company landed upon, 

 viz., Niountelik. 



I have here put down a part only of what I recorded in my 



* See Appendix, No. 8. 



