kindness that they bestow upon the Indians.

Do

not deceive yourselves and suppose that they are afraid of you; I tell you they are not, and that it is entirely owing to their humanity that many of you were not killed to-day, for they have all guns with which they can destroy you either near or at a distance. I also have a gun, and can assure you that if a white man had fallen, I would have been the first to have revenged his death." During this speech, which was delivered, as they perceived from the boats, with much energy and spirited gesticulation, the Esquimaux expressed their approbation by frequent shouts, and on its conclusion made a very penitent, though somewhat singular apology:

They had never seen white men before," they said, " and really all the things in the boats were so beautiful and desirable that it was impossible not to steal them. As they were very anxious, however, for the friendship and trade of the white men, they solemnly promised never to repeat such conduct, and, at the request of Augustus, sent back the large kettle, the tent, and some pairs of shoes which they had carried off."* The interpreter was afterwards invited to a dance, and a friendly understanding seemed to be established; but Captain Franklin soon discovered that the professions of the natives were hollow and treacherous; and nothing but his jealous precautions saved him and his companions from massacre, in which it had been resolved to include the faithful Augustus.

Their voyage along the coast in the direction of west-north-west, after a progress of twelve miles, was

* Franklin's Second Journey, pp. 108, 109.

impeded by the ice stretching from the shore far to seaward. The boats were in consequence hauled up; and as the frozen masses were piled round to the height of thirty feet, it became necessary to await the breaking up of this formidable barrier. Having gone to sleep, the officers were startled at midnight by the guard calling to arms: Three Esquimaux, belonging to a larger party encamped at some distance, had stolen forward, and been only discovered when close at hand. Alarmed at the арpearance of the men, who stood to their arms, the strangers were on the point of discharging their arrows, when they were arrested by the loud voice of Augustus, who explained the object of the expedition, and dilated upon the advantages which they would derive from it. A present confirmed his statement, and an amicable intercourse was opened, -a line, however, being first drawn at a certain distance from the tents, across which no Esquimaux was to pass under the penalty of being instantly shot. Against this they made no remonstrance, only remarking, when informed of the treacherous conduct of the natives at the mouth of Mackenzie River, that these were bad men, altogether different from them, and never failed either to steal or quarrel whenever an opportunity was offered." The delight exhibited by these people, including the most elderly among them, on receiving any little present, was exactly similar to that of children when they get hold of toys. They ran from one thing to another; examined with restless curiosity every part of Augustus' dress, who, to gratify his vanity, had put on his gayest apparel; and, ignorant of the uses of the articles presented to them, they walk

ed about with cod-fish hooks and awls dangling from the nose, and copper thimbles strung to their trousers or rein-deer jackets. The men were robust, and taller than those seen on the east coast by Captain Parry, though their manner of life appeared to be nearly the same. With the broad nose and small eyes, which peculiarly distinguish the whole Esquimaux tribes, they had the cheekbones less projecting than those of the eastern coast. From a constant exposure to the glare of the ice and snow, the whole party were afflicted with sore eyes, and two of the old men seemed nearly blind. They wore the hair on the upper lip and chin, and every man had pieces of bone or shells thrust through the septum of the nose, whilst holes were pierced on each side of the under lip, in which were placed circular pieces of ivory with a large blue bead in the centre,-ornaments which they valued highly, and declined selling. Their clothes consisted of a jacket of rein-deer skin, with a skirt behind and before, and a small hood; breeches of the same material, and large seal-skin boots. The dress of the females differed from that of the men only in their wearing wide trousers, and in the size of their hoods, which did not fit close to the head, but were made large for the purpose of receiving their children these were ornamented with stripes of different coloured skins, and round the top was fastened a band of wolf's hair, made to stand erect. The women were from four feet and a half to four feet three quarters high, and some of the younger, though too corpulent, were pretty; their black hair was tastefully turned up from behind to the top of the head, and braided with strings of white and

blue beads and cords of white deer-skin. Both men and women were much pleased by having their portraits sketched by Captain Back; and one young lady, who sat for a full-length and chose the extraordinary attitude of stuffing both hands into her breeches-pockets, interrupted the labours of the draughtsman by repeatedly jumping into the air, and smiling in a very ludicrous and irresistible manner. The men were armed with bows and arrows, long knives, which they concealed in the shirtsleeve, and spears tipped with bone.*

*Franklin's Second Journey, pp. 118, 119.

The Esquimaux had predicted, that as soon as a strong wind began to blow from the land it would loosen the ice; and on 12th July a heavy rain with a pretty high gale set in, and opened up a passage. The boats accordingly were launched; and, passing a wide bay named by the commander after his friends Captains Sabine and King, they were suddenly arrested by a compact body of ice, and enveloped at the same time in a dense fog. On attempting to pull back for the purpose of landing, they discovered that the ice had closed between them and the shore. In this situation only one alternative was left, which was to pull to seaward and trace the outer border of the ice. This they at last effected; though a sudden change of wind brought on a heavy swell, and surrounded them with floating masses of ice, which threatened to crush the boats to pieces. They succeeded, however, after five hours employed in pulling in and out between these floating icebergs, in reaching the shore and landing a little to the west of Point Sabine. After a detention of two days they proceeded as far as Point Kay; but being here again impeded by a compact body of ice, which extended to seaward as far as the eye could reach, they were obliged to encamp and wait patiently for the first strong breeze from the land.

The time of their sojourn in these arctic solitudes was pleasantly occupied in making astronomical observations, collecting specimens of the plants in flower, sketching scenery, and completing charts of the coast. Augustus went in search of his countrymen, and returned at night with a young Esquimaux and his wife, who, after a few presents, became loquacious, and informed them that the ice would