OOMIAK AND KAYACK. 
CHAPTER X. 
July 6. The 6th found us in latitude 72 ° 54 ', heat- 
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 neighhorhood 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 ol‘ 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 unerring 
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. 
