LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. 
429 
men, who were with Commander Ross, were suffering severely 
from a pain in their eyes, which almost unfitted them for any of 
those arduous labors, which they w T ere then undergoing. To the 
credit, however, of Mr. Mc’Diarmid, it must be stated, that from 
his judicious management, the patients speedily recovered ; 
although it became a matter of necessity, for some time after¬ 
wards, to protect the eye-sight from the dazzling glare of the 
snow, by wearing shades, or drawing the cap deeply over the 
forehead. 
The two Esquimaux, who had assisted in bringing Blankey 
to the ship, received a suitable present, and then took their de¬ 
parture for their station, at the south east. 
The principal occupation of the crew on board, at this time, 
was the completion of the lee boards, from which some great 
advantages were anticipated, in the navigation of the inlets; 
but the expectations, which had been formed of them, were, as 
the sequel will show, by no means realized. 
On Sunday the 23rd, the two Esquimaux arrived, who were 
to have been at the ship on the preceding Sunday, for the pur¬ 
pose of acting as guides to Commander Ross; and a proof was 
now exhibited, that there is a certain authority, which rules 
with an absolute sway, in the hut of the Esquimaux, as well as 
in the palace of St. James. Not that we mean to infer, that it 
is an authority, which in the least displays itself at the latter 
place, for we cannot conceive an English king to be such a 
silly creature, as to allow himself to be ruled by a woman ; but, 
on the other hand, we have a decided proof now before us, 
that it is an authority, which is practised to some extent in the 
hut of the Esquimaux, and that, on the present occasion, it 
was put in full force, in despite of all resistance and opposition. 
The two Esquimaux declared, that it was their full intention to 
have kept their appointment on the preceding Sunday, and 
had made the necessary preparations for their departure, when, 
from some cause, which could not be at the time explained, 
their wives had entered into a confederacy to defeat their in¬ 
tentions; declaring it to be their absolute will and pleasure, 
that they should not join the expedition of the Kahloonas , and 
