282 
VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 
1820 . for a second canoe belonging to the old woman, I desired the men to hand 
it down to the boat; but I soon perceived that I had misunderstood her, 
for she clung fast to the canoe, and cried most piteously till it was set 
doAvn ; I then offered a larger price than before, but she could not be in- 
duced to part with it. 
The stature of these people, like that of Esquimaux in general, is much below 
the usual standard. The height of the old man, who was rather bent by age, 
was four feet eleven inches, and that of the other men from five feet four and a 
half to five feet six inches. Their faces are round and plump in the younger indi- 
viduals ; skin smooth ; complexion not very dark, except that of the old man ; 
teeth very white ; eyes small ; nose broad, but not very flat ; hair black, straight, 
and glossy ; and their hands and feet extremely diminutive. The old man had a 
grey beard in which the black hairs predominated, and wore the hair rather 
long upon his upper lip, which was also the case with the eldest of the three 
others. One of these, we thought, bore a striking resemblance to our poor 
friend John Sackheuse, well-known as the Esquimaux who accompanied the 
former Expedition, the want of whose services we particularly felt on this 
occasion, and whose premature death had been sincerely lamented by all 
who knew him, as an intelligent and amiable man, and a valuable member 
of society. 
The grown-up females measured from four feet ten to four feet eleven 
inches. The features of the two youngest were regular; their complexions 
clear, and by no means dark; their eyes small, black, and piercing; teeth 
beautifully white and perfect ; and although the form of their faces is round 
and chubby, and their noses rather flat than otherwise, their countenances 
might, perhaps, be considered pleasing even according to the ideas of beauty 
which habit has taught us to entertain. Their hair, which is jet-black, 
hangs down long and loose about their shoulders, a part of it on each side 
being carelessly plaited, and sometimes rolled up into an awkward lump, 
instead of being neatly tied on the top of the head, as the Esquimaux women 
in most other parts are accustomed to wear it. The youngest female had 
much natural bashfulness and timidity, and we considered her to be the 
only unmarried one, as she differed from the other three in not being tattoed 
upon the face. Two of them had their hands tattooed also, and the old 
woman had a few marks of the same kind about each wrist. None of the 
meri or children were thus distinguished. 
The children were generally good-looking, and the eldest boy, about twelve 
