LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. 
203 
and grotesque in the extreme; clad in their dark vestments, they 
appeared in the midst of the white drifts of snow, like so many 
moving shadows gliding away into incorporality, and gradually 
vanishing like so many spectres of the heath into airy nothingness. 
It was observed that the Esquimaux always kept their dogs in 
the front, urging them on at times by the crack of their whips, 
and it was then conjectured that it was by the scent of these 
animals, that the natives were able to find their way back to 
their huts. It must have been by some power of this kind, that 
they were enabled on this occasion to retrace their course, for 
no one but an Esquimaux could have endured the pelting of the 
pitiless storm, 1 ’ or would have dared to face its terrors, with the 
chance of almost inevitable destruction appearing on every side. 
The sagacity however of the savage tribes, is well known in dis¬ 
covering* their route to particular points, through woods where 
human footstep never trod before, and it is effected by a close 
attention to several natural phenomena, to which the creature of 
civilized life would pay no attention. 
Thus the savage observes, that the bark of a tree is the dark¬ 
est on that side which fronts the south, and he directs his course 
accordingly. The instinct, however, which guides the Esqui¬ 
maux through his trackless deserts of snow, when in the midst 
of a snow storm, or one of those dense fogs peculiar to the country, 
he finds himself at a distance from his hut, is one of those pro¬ 
blems which has not been satisfactorily solved. It is very proba¬ 
ble that some truth lies in the hypothesis, that he is guided by 
the scent of his dog, but then this can only apply to the return 
of the Esquimaux to his hut, and not to his determination to re¬ 
pair to a particular spot or object, such as the Victory, for here 
the sagacity of the animal cannot be of any avail, unless, which 
is not very probable, the Esquimaux has some method, peculiar 
to himself, of imparting to his dog the exact object to which it 
is intended to direct his course. The most inclement weather 
appeared to have no effect upon the Esquimaux, for although the 
wind might blow a hurricane, driving the snow in dense volumes 
in every direction, and which would have made the effeminate 
European cower by his ingle side, as if his immediate death lay 
