426 
ESQUIMAUX ASTRONOMY. 
thou art mindful of him ?” And then I have thought 
of the kindly world we had left, with its revolving sun¬ 
shine and shadow, and the other stars that gladden it 
in their changes, and the hearts that warmed to us 
there; till I lost myself in memories of those who are 
not;—and they bore me hack to the stars again. 
The Esquimaux, like other nomads, are careful 
observers of the heavenly bodies. An illustration of 
the confidence with which they avail themselves of 
this knowledge occurred while Petersen’s party were 
at Tessieusak. I copy it from my journal of Novem¬ 
ber 6. 
“A number of Esquimaux sought sleeping-quarters 
in the hut, much to the annoyance of the earlier visit¬ 
ors. The night was clear; and Petersen, anxious to 
hasten their departure, pointed to the hoi-izon, saying 
it would soon be daylight. £ No,’ said the savage; ‘ when 
that star there gets round to that point,’ indicating the 
quarter of the heavens, ‘and is no higher than this star,’ 
naming it, ‘will be the time to harness up my dogs.’ 
Petersen was astounded; but he went out the next 
morning and verified the sidereal fact. 
“ I have been shooting a hare to-day up the ravine 
pointed out by Ootuniah. It has been quite a pleasant 
incident. I can hardly say how valuable the advice 
of our Esquimaux friends has been to us upon our 
hunts. This desert homestead of theirs is as thoroughly 
travelled over as a sheepwalk. Every movement of 
the ice or wind or season is noted; and they predict 
its influe .ice upon the course of the birds of passage 
