522 
LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. 
but stops immediately that it raises its head. As soon, however, 
as the seal drops its head on the surface of the ice, the Esquimaux 
proceeds towards it, until he gets within the reach of his spear. 
The seal, not being an animal of very quick motion, and having 
its head generally in a direction contrary to its hole, the Esqui¬ 
maux darts at it, in its attempt to dive into the water, and kills 
it with his spear. 
On the 4th, a party set out in a direction contrary to that 
which the first party took, for the purpose of discovering the 
huts of these people ; and found them on the shore of a lake, 
in the vicinity of which, it was supposed they had encamped 
themselves, for the benefit of the fishing. On the arrival of the 
party, the natives were found all asleep. The access to their 
toopiks or tents not presenting any difficulty, as was the case 
with the snow huts of the natives in Felix Harbour, the sailors 
entered them, and such a scene of misery and wretchedness had 
never before been presented to their eyes. In the first tent were 
two families, consisting of two men, two women, and three chil¬ 
dren; in the second, two men, two women, and three children; 
and in the third, one man, two women, and one child. This 
was the man, vrho had two wives; but although there were 
only six women belonging to the tribe, two of the ugliest of 
them had fallen to his lot; and it must be allowed, that an Es¬ 
quimaux woman, who has reached the superlative degree of 
ugliness, must be one of Nature’s most finished pieces. It 
appeared, however, that the Esquimaux was not so much a 
bigamist by choice, as he was by necessity. There were but five 
men belonging to the tribe, and six women ; and, therefore, it 
followed, as a matter of course, that one of them must either 
pass a life of single blessedness, and be the only old maid in 
the community, or she must share the connubial bed with the 
first of her sex, who might be disposed to admit her as a sleeping 
partner. Polygamy is not disallowed amongst the Esquimaux ; 
but, so far from it being general, it very seldom happens, that 
the two sexes are so unequally proportioned, as that a woman 
can have two husbands, or a man, two wives. It must also 
be observed, that the different tribes of the Esquimaux, can 
