832 



ARCTIC RESEARCH EXPEDITION. 



CHAPTER XX. 



The George Henry free from her icy Prison. — Dog " Smile" capturing a Seal. — Fresh 

 Fish caught. — Another Trip to the Whaling Depot. — Immense Flocks of Ducks. 

 — Large Shoals of Walrus. — A Walrus-attack on the Boat. — Islands in Frobisher 

 Bay. — Innuit Diseases. — Consumption. — Sharkey's Wife. — " Las-as-ses. " — In- 

 nuit love for Sweets. — Return Trip through Lupton Channel. — French Head 

 again. — Corpse of John Brown gone. — All the Ice disappeared. — Great Heat. — 

 Traveling over broken Ice. — Dangerous Leaps. — The Rescue's Ghost. — Supersti- 

 tion of Sailors. — Ice-floes pressing on the Ship. — Great Danger. — The "Ghost" 

 again appears. — Author's attempt to form a Vocabulary. — Aid of Tookoolito. — 

 The Innuits fast passing away. — Return of all the Crew from Whaling Depot. — 

 Mate Rogers. — Incidents of his Trip up the Bay. — Serious Illness of some Innuits. 

 — Starvation. — A good Harbor. — Eating Ducks raw. — Arrival on Board. — Au- 

 thor's Plans for exploring. — Leaves the Ship. — Takes up his Abode with the Na- 

 tives. — The George Henry departs. — Author's Visit to the Rescue's Hull. — Arctic 

 Robins. — Unexpected Return of the Ship. — Ebierbing sick. — Jennie, the Angeko. 

 — Practice of Ankooting. — Philosophy of the Operation. — Opening for Missionary 

 Enterprise. — Pemmican, best Mode of preparing it. — Author Visits the Ship. — 

 Returns to Whale Island. — Ankooting again. — Solemnity of the Company pres- 

 ent. — Superstition. — Nice Distinction as to what is Work.— Final Visit to the 

 Ship. — Natives' Doubts removed. — Crew completed. — The Fashions. — Suzhi the 

 heaviest Innuit. — Preparations for the Boat Voyage nearly made. 



On Wednesday morning, the 17th of July, 1861, we were de- 

 lighted to find that our ship had broken from her eight months' 

 imprisonment during the past night, and now swung to her chains 

 in the tidal waters of Eescue Harbor. But it was only in a pool 

 she was free. Ice still intervened between our anchorage and 

 the main bay, and we could do nothing but wait yet longer with 

 whatever patience we could command. I myself was getting 

 quite impatient. Time was passing on, and no chance yet of- 

 fered for my going away on one or other of my intended explo- 

 rations. What could I do ? I was, at times, as if crazy ; and 

 only a walk on some island, where I could examine and survey, 

 or a visit to my Innuit friends, helped to soothe me. But the 

 reader will feel little interest in all this ; I will therefore pass on 

 to some other incidents of my voyage. 



Ebierbing had been out one day with dogs and sledge where 

 the ice was still firm, when suddenly a seal was noticed ahead. 



