rescue party had been out seventy-two hours, and had only halted in all eight hours. On April 4th Dr. Kane writes: "Four days have passed, and I am again at my record of failures, sound, but aching at every joint. The rescued men are not out of danger, but their gratitude is very touching. Pray God that they may live!"

The week that followed was one of deep anxiety. Nearly the whole party, rescuers and rescued, relapsed, and were confined to their berths-some frozen, others undergoing amputations, several with dreadful premonitions of tetanus. Some extracts from Dr. Kane's journal will be interesting at this point.

"Early in the morning of the 7th I was awakened by a sound from Baker's throat, one of those the most frightful and ominous that ever startle a physician's ear. The lock-jaw had seized himthat dark visitant whose foreshadowing were on so many of us. His symptoms marched rapidly to their result; he died on the 8th of April. We placed him the next day in his coffin, and, forming a rude but heart-full procession, bore him over the broken ice, and up the steep side of the ice-foot to Butler Island; then, passing along the snow-level to Fern Rock, and climbing the slope of the observatory, we deposited his corpse upon the pedestals which had served to support our transit instrument

164

Baker's Funeral.

and theodolite. We read the Service for the Burial of the Dead, sprinkling over him snow for dust, and repeated the Lord's Prayer; and then, icing up again the opening in the walls we had made to admit the coffin, left him in his narrow house."

CHAPTER XVI.

Interview with the Esquimaux-A Treaty-Hospitality on Board the Brig-Native Astonishment -Impulsive Feeding Greenland Gratitude.

44

W

E were watching in the morning at Baker's death-bed, when one of our deck-watch, who had been cutting ice for the melter, came hurrying down into the cabin with the report, 'People hollaing ashore!' I went up, followed by as many as could mount the gangway; and there they were, on all sides of our rocky harbour, dotting the snowshores, and emerging from the blackness of the cliffs-wild and uncouth, but evidently human beings.

"As we gathered on the deck, they rose upon the more elevated fragments of the land-ice, standing singly and conspicuously, like the figures in a tableau of the opera, and distributing themselves around, almost in a half-circle. They were vociferating, as if to attract our attention, or, perhaps,

166

Arrival of Esquimaux.

only to give vent to their surprise; but I could make nothing out of their cries, except 'Hoah, ha, ha!' and 'Ka, kǎah! ka, kǎāh!' repeated over and over again.

"There was light enough for me to see that they brandished no weapons, and were only tossing their heads and arms about in violent gesticulations. A more unexcited inspection showed us, too, that their numbers were not as great nor their size as Patagonian as some of us had been disposed to fancy at first. In a word, I was satisfied that they were natives of the country; and, calling Petersen from his bunk to be my interpreter, I proceeded, unarmed and waving my open hands, toward a stout figure who made himself conspicuous, and seemed to have a greater number near him than the rest. He evidently understood the movement, for he at once, like a brave fellow, leaped down upon the floe, and advanced to meet me fully half

way.

"He was nearly a head taller than myself, extremely powerful and well-built, with swarthy complexion and piercing black eyes. His dress was a hooded capôte, or jumper, of mixed blue and white fox-pelts, arranged with something of fancy, and booted trousers of white-bear skin, which at the end of the foot were made to terminate with the claws of the animal.

"I soon came to an understanding with this gallant diplomatist.

"Almost as soon as we commenced our parley, his companions, probably receiving signals from him, flocked in and surrounded us; but we had no difficulty in making them know positively that they must remain where they were, while Metck went with me on board the ship. This gave me the advantage of negotiating with an important hostage.

"Although this was the first time he had ever seen a white man, he went with me fearlessly, his companions staying behind on the ice. Hickey took them out what he esteemed our greatest delicacies— slices of good wheat bread and corned pork, with exorbitant lumps of white sugar, but they refused to touch them. They had evidently no apprehension of open violence from us. I found afterward that several among them were, singly, a match for the white bear and the walrus, and that they thought us a very pale-faced crew.

"Being satisfied with my interview in the cabin, I sent out word that the rest might be admitted to the ship; and although they, of course, could not know how their chief had been dealt with, some nine or ten of them followed with boisterous readiness upon the bidding. Others in the meantime, as if disposed to give us their company for the full time of a visit, brought up from behind the