210 
LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. 
for aught he knew, it might have implied an invitation to a 
sumptuous dinner of seal’s flesh, and whale’s blubber, or a formal 
polite inquiry into the state of his health. The expression of the 
word was also attended by a particular motion of the head, which 
consisted in a projection of the nose as far forward as possible, 
but for what purpose the gesture was made, whether indicative of 
contempt or affection was a problem too difficult for the unedu¬ 
cated seaman to solve, although he might have ranked as one of 
the most adept scholars in the classical gymnasium of the Victory. 
We know that in certain parts of the Mongolese country, a tweak 
of the nose is similar in its meaning to our shake of the hand, 
and the harder and more severe the tweak, the more sincere and 
ardent is the esteem which is entertained ; it was certainly possi¬ 
ble that the customs of the Mongolese might have penetrated as 
far as the country in which Felix Harbour was situate, but still 
it would have been rather a dangerous experiment on the part of 
a British sailor, to have taken an Esquimaux lady by the nose, 
before he had thoroughly convinced himself that it would be 
received as a token of her respect and esteem. 
In the mean time however, the solution of the word koonig en¬ 
grossed the attention of the sailors, for from the manner in which 
it was whispersd in their ears, no doubt whatsoever existed, that 
some very significant sense was attached to it. It happened 
that one of the petty officers of the vessel had acquired a slight 
knowledge of the German language, and imbued with the spirit 
of a Johnson or a Walker, he decided that the Esquimaux word 
koonig, was evidently derived from the German word konig, al¬ 
though by what means it had travelled from Leipsic to the coun¬ 
try of the Esquimaux, appeared like the very object of which he 
was in search, to be decidedly undiscoverable. The significa¬ 
tion of the German word is a king, and therefore it is by no 
means a deduction half so far fetched, or so extravagant as some 
of the etymologies of Johnson, that the Esquimaux w r ord koonig, 
was one of high endearment, signifying most probably that the 
individual to whom it was addressed was the king or chief of her 
affections ; this was a most plausible and talented conjecture, but 
then what construction was to be put upon the pouting or pro- 
