WHALING VOYAGE. 
805 
but besides the persons I have mentioned before, others 
were seen of a much more advanced age, having grey 
hair, and other signs of decay ; there was “ no specula- 
tion’’ in their eyes, and they were almost inanimate in 
their motions, but still curiosity held possession of their 
minds, although it shewed itself in a feeble manner. 
The middle-aged men appeared to possess the greatest 
muscular strength, but the drowsy visage betokened 
premature mental decay, while the boys appeared remark- 
ably healthy both in body and mind, possessing great 
apparent shrewdness, and desire to learn, which was 
plainly demonstrated by the manner in which they ex- 
amined our boat, and compared its make with that of 
their own canoes, the fastenings of the planks, the 
manner in which they were laid, the form of our oars, 
and the manner of using them, — all were closely scru- 
tinised by these intelligent little fellows. Our boat’s 
keg, which contained water for the crew, came in for a 
considerable share of their attention, and when they 
found anything very surprising, as some of our clothing, 
they gave a sudden hiss, or a sharp whistle, and smacked 
their fingers together with a sudden jerk, as some people 
do after taking a pinch of snuff. I found one of them, 
while I was turned slightly from him, very busy in 
comparing the colour of our complexions, and as my 
hands and face were brown from the action of the sun 
upon them during the many months’ exposure in the 
different regions I had passed, I thought it would be 
more surprising to him if I shewed him the real colour 
of the skin, and I therefore stripped the sleeve of my 
