A NOVEL SCENE. 



373 



fill two large-sized lamps. Koodloo and Kooperneung were stand- 

 ing up in the tupic at the time, I was seated with Akchuker- 

 zhun at my right, on tuktoo, by Suzhi's head, waiting for my 

 lamp, while Koojesse and his partner, Tunukderlien, were at my 

 left, wrapped in Innuit slumbers. It was a novel scene, that of 

 Koo-ou-le-arng's operations in grinding blubber for oil; in par- 

 ticular, the incidental exhibition of what Burns describes as 



" Twa drifted heaps, sae fair to see," 



exaggerated in size, as is the case with most Innuit women, struck 

 me forcibly. The whole scene, though so- strange to me, was taken 

 by the Innuits as an every-day affair, and quite a matter of course. 



The Innuits certainly show peculiar skill in thus expressing 

 oil without allowing a particle of moisture to come in contact with 

 it. It may be doubted that such a thing is possible, but so it is. 

 My replenished lamp burned brightly, allowing me to write up 

 my diary with great facility. 



Jones's Cape was really one of the finest places I had seen in 

 the North, not excepting even Greenland. Force's Sound is near- 

 ly surrounded by magnificent mountains, and is sheltered from 

 winds and heavy seas by a number of islands. There is an excel- 

 lent entrance for ships, and the harbors, I thought, might rival 

 any in the civilized world. If a colony should ever be planted in 

 those regions for the purpose of Christianizing the people, Jones's 

 Cape presents many of the advantages desired. 



On the following morning, August 14th, I took Koojesse and 

 ascended a mountain in the rear of our encampment. The view 

 was very extensive, and I could plainly see more than fifty miles 

 of Kingaite coast, the nearest point being distant some thirty miles. 

 On* my way I observed a considerable quantity of the stone I had 

 noticed upon Iron Island, and I also saw many small pieces of 

 limestone on the very summit, about a thousand feet above the 

 level of the sea. 



I remained at Cape Jones until noon for the purpose of obtain- 

 ing a meridian observation. While making this I was amused to 

 see the astonishment depicted in the countenances of the Innuits 

 of the settlement around me — as far, at least, as they ever do ex- 

 hibit unusual interest in any subject. 



At 12 30 P.M. we again set out on our expedition, directing 

 our course westerly across the east arm of the bay. The natives 

 assembled in large numbers to bid us ter-bou-e-tie, which may be 



