280 
VOYAGE TO THE 
CHAP, self upon a piece of driftwood at a little distance from the baidar, and 
continued there, muttering an unintelligible language, and apparently 
Apust, believing herself to be holding communion with that invisible world to 
which she was fast approaching. Though in her dotage, her opinion 
was often consulted, and on more than one occasion in a mysterious 
manner. We afterwards witnessed several instances of extremely old 
women exercising great influence over the younger part of the com- 
munity. On this occasion I purchased a bow and quiver of arrows for a 
brooch. The man who sold them referred the bargain to the old woman 
above-mentioned, who apparently disapproved of it, as the brooch was 
returned, and the bow and arrows re-demanded. The males of this party 
were all provided with lip ornaments ; and we noticed a gradation in 
the size, corresponding to the ages of the party who wore them, as well 
as a distinction in the nature of them. Two young lads had the orifices 
in their lips quite raw : they were about the size of a crow-quill, and 
were distended with small cylindrical pieces of i vory, with a round knob 
at one end to prevent their falling out. For some time after the opera- 
tion has been performed, it is necessary to turn the cylinders frequently? 
that they may not adhere to the festering flesh : in time this action 
becomes as habitual with some of them as that of twirling the mus- 
tachios is with a Mussulman. In the early stage it is attended with 
great pain, the blood sometimes flowing, and 1 have seen tears come 
into the bo3^s’ eyes while doing it. Lip ornaments, with the males, ap- 
pear to correspond with the tattooing of the chins of the females ; a 
mark which is universally borne by the women throughout both the 
eastern and w^estern Esquimaux tribes : the custom of wearing the 
labrets, however, does not extend much beyond the Mackenzie Eiver. 
The children we saw to-day had none of these marks ; a girl, about 
eleven, had one line only; and a young woman, about twenty-three 
years of age, the mother of the infants, had the three perfect. One 
of her children was rolling in the bottom of the baidar, with a large 
piece of seal-blubber in its mouth, sucking it as an European child 
would a coral. The mother was rather pretty, and allowed her por- 
trait to be taken. At first she made no objection to being gazed at 
stedfastly, as was necessary for an indifferent artist to accomplish his 
