them. Upon each pike were marked, by small nails driven into the wood, the words "Fury and Hecla, 1822."

Almost the whole of these people were now affected with violent colds and coughs, occasioned by a considerable thawing that had lately taken place in their huts, so as to wet their clothes and bedding; though we had, as yet, experienced no great increase of temperature. From the nature of their habitations, however, their comfort was greater, and their chance of health better, when the cold was more severe. On this account, they began to make fresh alterations in these curious dwelling-places, either by building the former apartments two or three feet higher, or adding others, that they might be less crowded. In building a higher hut, they constructed it over, and, as it were, concentric with the old one, which is then removed from within. It is curious to consider that, in all these alterations, the object kept in view was coolness, and this in houses formed of snow!

Some of them had caught a wolf in their trap; but we found that nothing less than extreme want could have induced them to eat the flesh of that which we had given them, as, now that they had other food, they would not touch it. Only four wolves at this time remained alive of the original pack, and these were constantly prowling about near the ships or the village.

The month of February closed with the thermometer at -32°, and, though the sun had now attained a meridian altitude of nearly sixteen degrees, and enlivened us with his presence above the horizon for ten hours in the day, no sensible effect had yet been

produced on the average temperature of the atmo. sphere. The uniformly white surface of the snow, on which, at this season, the sun's rays have to act, or, rather, leaving them nothing to act upon, is much against the first efforts to produce a thaw; but our former experience of the astonishing rapidity with which this operation is carried on, when once the ground begins to be laid bare, served in some measure to reconcile us to what appeared a protraction of the cold of winter not to have been expected in our present latitude.

CHAPTER VIII.

A Journey performed across Winter Island.-Sufferings of the Party by Frost.-Departure of some of the Esquimaux, and a separate Village established on the Ice.-Various Meteorological Phenomena -Okotook and his Wife brought on board. -Anecdotes relating to them.-Ships released from the Ice by sawing.

OUR intercourse with the Esquimaux continued, and I many occasions occurred in which they display. ed great good humour, and a degree of archness for which we could have scarcely given them credit.

On the 12th Okotook came, according to an appointment previously made, with a sledge and six dogs, to give me a ride to the huts, bringing with him his son Sioutkuk, who, with ourselves, made up a weight of near four hundred pounds upon the. sledge. After being upset twice, and stopping at least ten times, notwithstanding the incessant bul

lying of Okotook, and, as it seemed to me, more bodily labour on his part to steer us clear of acci. dents than if he had walked the whole way, we at length arrived at the huts, a distance of two miles, in five-and-twenty minutes. Of this equipment and their usual modes of travelling, I shall have occasion to speak more fully in another place.

I found that several fresh alterations had been made in the huts since my last visit, all, however, of the same kind, and having in view the same object as those last described. In these alterations they seem to consult the convenience of the moment, and to do it all by such unanimous consent, that no consultation or difference of opinion ever appears to exist about it. So much snowdrift had now collected about the huts, that their external appearance was as much altered as that of the interior, and it was difficult to trace any resemblance to the original village, or even to perceive its present limits. The snow was now as high as the roofs on every side, so that one might walk completely over them, and, but for the round plates of ice composing the windows, without suspecting the little hive of human beings that was comfortably established below. This, however, was not always done with impunity, when the thawing within had too much weakened the roofs, in which case a leg sometimes made its way through, and discovered in what parts repairs were become necessary. The natives were at this time extremely well furnished with seals' flesh for food and oil for their lamps, and all they would accept from us (except meat, which we could not afford to give) was water, and this they swallowed in such quantities whenever

they came to the ships, that it was impossible to furnish them with half as much as they desired.

We had before this time communicated to Ayo. ket and his countrymen our intention of sending a party of our people to the northward in the spring; and Captain Lyon had displayed to him all the charms of a brightly-polished brass kettle, of greater magnitude than had, perhaps, ever entered into an Esquimaux imagination, as an inducement, among various others, for him to accompany the Kabloonas in their excursion. The prospect of such riches was a temptation almost irresistible; but enterprise is not the genius of an Esquimaux; and Ayoket, we soon began to perceive, had no fancy for the proposed trip, which all his friends persisted in say. ing could never be accomplished. This was evidently to be attributed, in no small degree, to jealousy of any one individual among them being thus selected; and the brass kettle was speedily the means of increasing the distance to "Iligliuk's country" from sixteen to twenty-four days' journey. We had long, indeed, observed that this feeling of jealousy was easily excited among these people; but, what is extraordinary, it never displayed itself (as is most usual) among themselves, but was entirely vented upon us, who were, though innocently, the authors of it. As an instance of this, a man of the name of Karrětok refused to take from me a strong and useful pair of scissors as a present, because, as he did not hesitate to assure me, I had given Okotook a pike, which was more valuable. To show him that this temper was not likely to produce anything to his advantage, I took back the scissors, and, having sent him away, went to my

dinner. Going accidentally on deck an hour afterward, I found Karretok still on board, who, having had time to reflect on his folly, now came up to me with a smiling face, and begged hard for the scissors, which, of course, he did not get. Many similar instances occurred, both to Captain Lyon and myself.

To this discouragement on the part of his friends, was added, on that of Ayoket, the same wavering and inconstant disposition which most other savages possess, rendering it impossible to place any dependance on his promises and intentions for two hours together. Indeed, the more our scheme was pressed upon his attention, and the more he saw of the actual preparations for the journey, the less doubtful his intentions became; and arrangements were therefore made for completing the party with. out him. For the reasons now given, it was equally impossible even to direct the attention of the Esquimaux, with any hope of success, to our scheme of their conveying letters to the Hudson's Bay settlements.

Notwithstanding the inclemency of the weather, some of the Esquimaux had, by the foot and sledge marks, found their way to the ships on the morning of the 16th, assuring us, as we found to be too true, that, in consequence of the gale, which prevented their going out for seals, they had not any food, nor a single lamp alight in the village. In the course of the following day, we had farther proofs of the wretchedness which these poor people were enduring at the huts; for, though the weather was little better than before, above forty men and women, besides some children, came down