INNUIT CHARACTER, CUSTOMS, ETC. 



573 



istrations are accompanied by what sounds to a stranger's ear like 

 howling, but is doubtless a formula, either handed down by tradi- 

 tion, or composed on the spot by the angeko, varying according 

 to the talent of the operator. Some descriptions of ankooting 

 have been given in the body of this work. 



Even Tookoolito was not exempt from the general belief in the 

 efficacy of the angeko's ministrations. One day, when visiting 

 her, I found that she had parted with her cooking-pan, which she 

 had always considered indispensable and of great value. On in- 

 quiry, I learned that she had given it to "Jennie," a female an- 

 geko, in payment for her attendance upon Ebierbing when sick ; 

 and, moreover, she had in like manner given nearly all her valu- 

 able things, even to some of her garments. I was hardly aston- 

 ished, for I knew that the Innuits considered that in proportion 

 to the value of what they give for an angeko's services, so are the 

 benefits conferred upon the sick. " Make poor pay, and the help 

 is poor ; good pay, and the benefit is great." 



On one occasion (it was at the time we were about to start for 

 the States, but were suddenly frozen in at the commencement of 

 the second winter), having seen the angeko very busy ankooting 

 on the hills, I asked Ebierbing and Tookoolito what it was for. 

 They replied, " To try and get the pack-ice out of the bay." It 

 may be remarked here that this attempt to get the ice out of the 

 bay was caused by the desire of the Innuits to have the George 

 Henry leave the country, they having become tired of the pres- 

 ence of the sailors, and being, perhaps, somewhat jealous of them. 

 On the occasion referred to, the angeko had told the people that 

 on a certain day they were not to do any work. Then, in the 

 evening, he commenced his incantations ; and on that day it had 

 been noticed by the ship's company that the Innuits went on 

 board the vessel in th&r best attire, though no one then knew 

 the cause. 



The general deference to the wishes of the angeko has some 

 exceptions, though they are rare. One such exception was this : 

 One day in the month of July, 1861, the angeko Mingumailo, who 

 had two wives, sent them from his tupic among the mountains 

 to Koojesse, who was then staying at Cape True, with an order for 

 an exchange of wives. Now Koojesse's wife, Tunukderlien — " Is- 

 abel," as we sometimes called her — was something of a belle, and, 

 though Koojesse had been a good disciple of the angeko, he 

 would not now yield to his demands. He refused to exchange 



