348 
LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. 
nence, from which the former expected that he should obtain an 
uninterrupted view of the country. At the foot of the eminence 
Commander Ross shot a hare, on which Pooivutyook expressed 
his surprise by the most extraordinary gestures. It was the first 
time that he had ever witnessed the use of fire-arms, and on tak¬ 
ing up the hare, he examined it in every part to discover the 
cause of its death, but not succeeding, he laid it down again, 
as if distrustful of the effect, which he had witnessed. Okalik 
tokoopoke, (“ hare kill, he does,”) said Poowutyook to Com¬ 
mander Ross pointing to the animal, and then made a noise 
with his mouth imitating the report of a gun, thereby implying 
that it was the noise which had killed the hare; Commander 
Ross gave him to understand that he was in error, and shewed 
him the shot as he proceeded to reload his piece, but this was 
still more difficult for Poowutyook to understand, for he could 
not be made to comprehend in what manner the little balls got 
to the hare; but when in a short time afterwards, Commander 
Ross shot a grouse on the wing, Poowutyook appeared as if 
almost petrified, he looked at Commander Ross—then at the 
bird, and afterwards appeared most anxious to inspect the gun. 
Commander Ross with the view of trying the firmness of the 
dispositions of Poowutyook, put a small quantity of powder into 
the gun, and placing it in his left hand, directed the right to the 
trigger; when, on the gun going off*, what with the noise, the 
flash, the recoil and the smoke, an actual degree of terror 
seized the savage, and without any further hesitation, he set 
off* at the fullest speed, w hich his rude and cumbersome habili¬ 
ments would permit him. In vain Commander Ross called 
after him, nak! nak! (“ no, no,”) vociferated Pootwutyook , who 
bent his course in the direction of the ship, and was soon out 
of sight. Commander Ross entertained no fear for the ultimate 
safety of the youth, for although he was then full 15 miles from 
the ship, yet he knew that an Esquimaux is something like his 
dog ; he has a kind of instinctive sense about him, which ena¬ 
bles him to direct his course to any particular point over untrod¬ 
den fields of snow, and on which no vestige of a human footstep 
is to be perceived. It is however generally supposed that an 
