OOMIAK AND KAYACK. 
CHAPTER X. 
July 6. The 6th found us in latitude 72° 54', beat- 
ing to windward, as usual, between "the pack" and 
the land. This land was of some interest to us, for 
we were now in the neighborhood of the Danish set- 
tlement of Uppernavik. 
With the exception of one subordinate station, eight- 
een miles further to the north, this is the last of the 
Danish settlements. It is the jumping-olF place of Arc- 
tic navigators — our last point of communication with 
the outside world. Here the British explorers put the 
date to their official reports, and send home their last 
letters of good-by, We sent ours without the delay 
of seeking the little port ; for a couple of kayacks 
boarded us twenty miles out to sea, and for a few bis- 
cuits gladly took charge of our dispatches. The hon- 
esty of these poor Esquimaux is proverbial. Letters 
committed to their care are delivered with unerrino- 
safety to the superintendent of the port or station. 
We were boarded, too, by an oomiak, or woman's 
boat, returning from a successful seal hunt. From 
the crew, consisting of three women and four men, 
