198 
LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. 
distant* the native above alluded to was the candidate for the 
high and important office, the chief and principal qualification 
of which consisted in the superiority of his tact for imposition 
and deception. The Esquimaux entertain a belief in certain spi¬ 
rits or superior beings, and this Angekok or conjuror is supposed 
to have those spirits und^r his controul, and that he is enabled 
to descend to the regions where they hold their dominion, and 
there to force them to relinquish any evil designs, which they 
may have in contemplation against any of his tribe. The pro¬ 
ceedings of these Angekoks are all carried on in the dark, and 
during their incantations, they are generally accompanied by 
their Torngak, or familiar spirit, who being as deeply skilled in 
imposition as his master, acts as his assistant during the per¬ 
formance of the farcical ceremony, and who also pretends to have 
some acquaintance with the powers below, though not possessing 
that direct controul which peculiarly belongs to the Angekok. 
In some instances, the conjuror is attended by his wife, who has 
been properly initiated in all the mysteries of his profession, and 
who assists her conscientious husband most conjugally and zea¬ 
lously, in the performance of the necessary rites. When the 
assistance of the Angekok is required, which is particularly the 
case when there is a scarcity of seals or sea unicorns in the seas, 
as it is supposed that they are kept away by the malignant in¬ 
fluence of the demoniac spirits, he is sent for to the hut of the 
oldest native, in order that he may be prevailed upon to take a 
journey to the lower realms, in order to force the malignant spi¬ 
rits to forego their hold over the animals, and to give them free 
liberty to visit their former haunts, and thereby obviate all fear 
of an approaching famine. It is supposed by the natives that a 
particular genius, very evil minded and ill disposed, takes the 
animals at times under his especial protection, and instructs 
them in the various devices and stratagems which are employed 
on earth for their caption, and therefore it is most natural to 
suppose that the animals will cautiously avoid those places, 
where such stratagems are put in force against their life. It 
is therefore very proper that the Angekok should put an end to 
these malicious proceedings on the part of the evil genius, and 
