FIRST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS 
93 
sail, but before they had proceeded ten miles to the westward, 
they were stopped by a barrier of large floes and bergs, which 
seemed to extend from the land to the main ice. The atmo¬ 
sphere was extremely clear, and all distant objects seemed wonder¬ 
fully raised by refraction. It was afterwards ascertained that 
the land seen from the mast head, must have been at the immense 
distance of one hundred and forty miles. The ice was now 
closing in upon them, the weather had every appearance of a 
gale, and no time was therefore lost in seeking a place of shelter, 
which they were fortunate enough to find close to an iceberg, 
that was firmly secured to the land ice. 
They had not remained long at their moorings before they 
were gratified by the appearance of three of the natives at a 
distance. Sacheuse was furnished with presents and sent to 
speak to them, and he found they were not his former acquaint¬ 
ance, but other natives, who had received a good report of the 
strangers, and therefore they had not testified any alarm at their 
appearance; Capt. Ross accompained by Lieut. Parry repaired 
to the place of communication, and having performed the 
customary ceremonies, invited the natives on board; they were 
however no sooner on board than they began to beg and steal, 
laying their hands on every small piece of wood which they met 
with, and pocketing every nail that they could find about the ship. 
After spending some time in helping themselves to whatever 
appeared portable; Meigack, who had promised to introduce his 
wife to them, and his two sons accompanied by three other 
Esquimaux, were shown into the cabin, where, after much 
solicitation, they gave a specimen of their dancing. While 
Capt. Ross and his party were amusing themselves with the 
strange distortions of the dancers, and too absorbed in the con¬ 
templation of the singular scene before them, to pay particular 
attention to the actions of the other natives, Meigack took the 
opportunity to slip unobserved into the state room and purloined 
Capt. Ross’best telescope, a case of razors, and a pair of scissors, 
which he artfully concealed in his tunic, and then rejoined 
the party as if nothing had happened. Fie however did not 
escape the vigilance of the steward, who followed him on deck, 
