equator, and the pole." I am com- tually one and the same individual." pelled to acknowledge," he says, "that It is, in our opinion, much more in proportion as the superior under- "amusing" to see a man of Captain standing of this extraordinary wo- Parry's experience and intelligence man became more and more deye-, surprised at any such result. No loped, her head, for what female matter in what country he may head is indifferent to praise, began travel, he will find this, human nato be turned with the general atten- ture-such examples are to be found tion and numberless presents she re- everywhere-indeed, we would put ceived. The superior decency and it to himself whether he need go a even modesty of her behaviour had single step from England-or even combined, with her intellectual quali- from the Admiralty, in search of a ties, to raise her, in our estimation, spoiled "child of Adam." The far above her companions; and I often Esquimaux people seem to have heard others express what I could much conciliated the favour of the not but agree in, that for Iligliuk gallant navigator, and we must conalone, of all the Esquimaux women, fess the character in " domestic life," that kind of respect could be enter- which he thus winds up, rather surtained which modesty in a female prises us, considering a few of the never fails to command in our sex. interesting particulars which precede Thus regarded, she had always been it. "It is here," he says, "as a social freely admitted into the ships, the being, as a husband, and the father quarter-masters, at the gangway, of a family, promoting, within his never thinking of refusing entrance own little sphere, the benefit of that to the wise woman,' as they called community in which providence has her." The account goes on then to cast his lot, that the moral character narrate the various intellectual ser- of a savage is truly to be sought; vices which Iligliuk rendered, the and who can turn without horror gratitude which was returned, and from the Esquimaux peaceably seatat length, alas, the giddiness of head, ed, after a day of honest labour, with which, as the Captain says truly his wife and children in their snowenough, sudden exaltation seldom built hut, to the self-willed and vin-. fails to produce "in every child of dictive Indian plunging his dagger Adam from the equator to the into the bosom of the helpless wopoles." That our readers may see man, whom nature bids him chehow very similar the effects of good rish and support?" This is not an fortune are both at home and abroad, ill-drawn picture, and could hardly we give it in the instance before us, have been expected after the little and in the words of the book. "The incident narrated in page 380, of an consequence was that ligliuk was elderly gentleman, of the name of soon spoiled; considered her admission Sheradeoo, settling a dispute between into the ship, and most of the cabins, his two wives by slashing away with no longer an indulgence, but a right; his knife at the forehead of the one, ceased to return the slightest ac- and the hands of the other. This is knowledgment for any kindness or certainly mentioned as an unusual presents; became listless and inat- occurrence; but still it appears the tentive in unravelling the meaning of ladies bore the operation with all the our questions, and careless whether, facility of custom, and so little brookher answers conveyed the informa- ed any inquiry into the cause of it, tion we desired. In short, Iligliuk "that here, as elsewhere, it seemed in February, and Iligliuk in April, most prudent not to interfere in the were confessedly very different per- quarrels betwixt man and wife." sons; and it was, at last, amusing to The following is a pleasing picture recollect, though not very easy to of what one of these gentry can perpersuade one's self, that the woman form," as a social being," "sitting who now sat demurely in a chair. so down in his hut, with his wife and confidently expecting the notice of family, after a day of honest labour," those around her; and she, who had, in the eating and drinking line. at first, with eager and wild delight, Verily, one would suppose the "hoassisted in cutting snow for the build- nest labour," was only beginning.ing of a hut, and with the hope of Observing that their appetites were obtaining a single needle, were ac- rather pastoral, Captain Parry had the following quantities of food and drink weighed out and measured to "a lad scarcely full grown," to observe what progress he would make in their demolition-he made a clear sweep of the entire in something less than twenty hours: viz. 4 Sea-horse flesh, hard frozen, 4 lbs. 4 oz. .... 1 Total.. 10 Rich gravy soup, 14 pint. Raw spirits 3 wine glasses. 1 tumbler. 12 place, and seldom leaves it till he has succeeded in killing the animal. For this purpose, he builds himself a snow-wall, about four feet high, to shelter him from the wind, and seating himself under the lee of it, deposits his spear, lines, and other instruments upon several little forked sticks inserted into the snow, in order to prevent the smallest noise being made in moving them when 4 Solids. wanted. He also ties his knees together with a thong to prevent his clothes from rustling. Thus situated will he sit for hours together attentively listening to any noise made by the seal. When he supposes the hole to be nearly completed, he cautiously lifts his spear, to which the line has been previously attached; and, as soon as the blowing of the seal is distinctly heard, and the ice very thin, he drives the instrument down with both hands, and then cuts away with his knife the remaining crust of ice to enable him to repeat his wounds, and get him out. When they are in doubt whether a seal is at work below, they ascertain it by means of a very ingenious little instrument called a keipkuttuk. This is made of bone, with a point at one end, and a knot at the other, and is as fine as a slender wire in order that the seal may not see it; this they thrust through into the ice, and its motion informs them that the animal is at work; if it does not move they give up the attempt. When they observe a seal upon the surface of the ice, they lie down, and crawl feet foremost towards him, an operation of great fatigue and tediousness-one man lies concealed behind the other, and by scraping the ice with his spear, and moving his feet in imitation of their flappers, they generally deceive the animal until they get very close to him; lying then stationary for a short time, in order to render their appearance familiar to him, they suddenly spring upon their feet, and strike him with the spear; it will be inferred that this requires great skill and dexterity. 1 gallon, 1 pint... Fluids, "Certain it is," adds the account, "that, on a particular occasion of great plenty, one or two individuals were seen lying in the huts so distended by the quantity of meat they had eaten, that they were unable to move, and were suffering considerable pain solely from this cause." This would be a fine place to try the effect of Dr. Jukes's new instrument for sweeping out the stomach. It seems, indeed, both in water and on land, to be an excellent climate for an appetite. Captain Lyon, one day intending to have a treat for dinner, dipped a fine goose into the sea in order to soak or thaw it into freshness; on taking it up, however, he was spared the trouble of dressing it, as "myriads of small shrimps" had picked it so clean that it was a perfect specimen of anatomical preparation; the navigators turned this discovery to good account afterwards by enclosing any animals, of which they wished to preserve skeletons, in nets, and submitting them for a while to the surgery of the shrimps, who, in this art, seemed to unite great proficiency with great expedition. As the Esquimaux depend entirely for their subsistence on what they can procure for themselves, it is very curious to observe the contrivances to which they have recourse, both in their fishing, and their hunting excursions. Captain Parry had frequently observed little mounds upon the ice, resembling our mole hills, without ever once suspecting that they were the work of the seals underneath, until he observed an Esquimaux watching one. If a native imagines there is a seal at work he immediately attaches himself to the Not less ingenious is their method of procuring the rein deer, which is a principal article of their food, and great quantities of which are killed by them in the summer season. They drive them from the islands or narrow necks of land into the sea, and then spear them from their canoes; or they shoot them from behind heaps of stones raised for the purpose of watching them, and imitating their peculiar bellow or grunt. One of their most cunning artifices consists in this; two men walk directly from the deer which they wish to kill, when the animal almost always follows them. As soon as they arrive at a large stone, one of the men hides himself behind it with his bow, while the other continuing to walk on, soon leads the deer within reach of his companions' arrows. They are also very careful to keep to leeward of the deer, and will scarcely go out at all after them when the weather is calm. They use traps for the wolves, foxes, and birds, all very ingeniously contrived. Their dogs are also of the greatest service to them, not only to hunt, but also to draw the sledge, and carry burthens. They are generally about two feet high, and scarcely distinguishable from the wolf. Indeed, they are so similar, that a question has arisen whether they are not wolves in a state of domestication. Mr. Skeoch made, at the request of Captain Parry, a skeleton of each, and the number of vertebræ was found to be the same in both. A trial was made of the skill in archery of these people, the mark being two of their own spears set upright in the snow, presenting a surface of about three inches and a half. They hit this every time at twenty yards, and the calculation was that at forty or forty-five they would hit a fawn if it stood still; their weapons are sufficient to inflict a mortal wound at more than that distance. The principal dependence of these poor people for food is on the walrus, and small seal in winter, to which in summer may be added, the rein-deer, musk ox, (" in the parts, says Captain Parry, where this animal is to be found,” a circumstance which we, with great humility, suppose extends also to the other animals,) the whale, and two sorts of salmon. In winter, however, they are at times reduced to famine, as occurred more than once during the stay of the expedition. Among the traits of the Esquimaux character, we should be inclined, from Captain Parry's experience, to place honesty amongst the principal. Lat terly, indeed, some instances of a departure from this occurred, but it is not very surprising when we consider that they were placed in the midst of temptations the greatest treasures, wood and iron, were spread out within their grasp; and, we fear, that higher and more civilized beings would scarcely at all times have resisted such an inducement. Captain Parry truly remarks, that they were as much tempted by these articles as an Englishman would have been, surrounded by heaps of gold and sil ver. Amongst themselves, there was no instance of a deviation from this virtue, and, it would appear from the following anecdote, that when they were led astray in their intercourse with the crew, and that was. seldom, they were the victims not so much of a natural vice as of continual temptation. This occurred at Winter Island. "Some of the gentlemen of the Hecla had purchased two of their dogs which had on the preceding evening made their escape, and returned to the huts. After the departure of the Esquimaux to-day, we were surprised to find that they had left two dogs carefully tied up on board the Fury, which, on inquiry, proved to be the animals in question, and which had been thus faithfully restored to their rightful owners." In estimating this anecdote, we must not forget that their dogs are to them invaluable. There were other characteristics however of a different description; they were envious, ungrateful, selfish, and deceitful; when any of their little artifices were discovered, the only notice which they took of it was a general laugh. Towards the sick, old men and widows, they were unfeeling in the extreme, and this is much the worst part of their character. Their most amiable trait is the affection which they show for their children-nothing can exceed their kindness to them, and the child in return exhibits the greatest docility. "Even from their earliest infancy they possess that quiet disposition, gentleness of demeanour, and uncommon evenness of temper, for which in more mature age they are for the most part distinguished." Disobedience is scarcely ever known; a word, or a look from a parent is enough-they never cry from trifling accidents, and bear without a whim per what would cause an English child to sob for an hour. At eight years old the boys are brought to see the sealing excursions, and at eleven are rendered useful. It was at first imagined by the navigators, that the parents would not unwillingly have bartered away their children, but this proved afterwards to be a mistake. "Happening one day (says Captain Parry,) to call myself Toolooah's father, and pretend that he was to remain with me on board the ship, I received from the old man, his father, no other answer than what seemed to be very strongly and even satirically implied, by his taking one of our gentlemen by the arm, and calling him his son; thus intimating that the adoption which he proposed was as feasible and as natural as my own." This custom of adoption is very prevalent amongst them, and is scarcely reconcileable with the parental affection which we have already noticed. We have not room to enter into a very minute estimate of the qualities of this singular people -they seem free from the extremes either of vice or virtue-not remarkable for brilliant qualities, but then not sullied by those of an opposite character-not grateful, but not vindictive--if not very ardent in their friendship, still not very implacable in their enmities; good-natured and modest, not anxious to avoid the duties or perils imposed on them by their station, nor to arrogate superior praise even where superiority might well be claimed; though savages, they are unassuming and peaceable "fishermen, not warriors"-with a bundant courage however for arduous undertakings, often as Captain Parry says, "attacking a polar bear singlehanded, or committing themselves to floating masses of ice which the next puff of wind may drift for ever from the shore;" in their domestic relations, with some few exceptions, social and orderly, doing their best, by the rude dance and song and innocent recreations, to cheer a life perilous and precarious, and soften the horrors of a relentless climate. On the important subject of religion, these people seem to have no very distinct ideas. The notion of a God is not entertained amongst them. They are however, extremely superstitious, and fully believe in the pre ternatural agency of certain spirits with whom their sorcerers hold a mysterious intercourse. In sickness or famine, these conjurers, by means of a darkened hut, a peculiar modulation of voice, and the utterance of many unintelligible sounds, contrive to persuade their dupes that they are descending to the lower regions and extorting the requisite information. The traditional reverence in which these jugglers are held, and their skill in the performance of their mummery, effectually imposes on the multitude and prevents the detection of the imposture. So true it is, that there is no country in the world so poor, or no people so destitute, that wizards may not be found to make a gain of the sacred name of religion, and convert their pretended godliness to profit. Captain Parry excuses himself for not going more at length into these subjects, as his friend Captain Lyon, who is also about to publish a journal, had made them his more immediate and particular study. We may perhaps give an analysis of this work also, if we find that it contains any additional interesting information. Having passed two winters in this inhospitable region, some appearance of the scurvy amongst the crews seems, and very justly, to have determined Captains Parry and Lyon not to risk a third, and indeed, this opinion seems to have been considerably strengthened, if not created, by the judgment of the medical officers. We have already said the result of the expedition had not been fortunate, and must refer our readers who are curious upon this point, to the book for the reasons assigned, which we have no doubt are very good ones. Indeed, it would be a gross act of injustice in us, if we did not, as a part of the nation, pay every tribute to the skill, patience, and perseverance, with which this expedition has been a second time conducted. Such men as Captains Parry and Lyon deserve well of their country, and their exertions seem to have been ably seconded by every individual attached to the service. third expedition, we find, is on the eve of sailing, and we sincerely wish it success. If this passage should be discovered, it ought to be called Parry Passage, and a Colossus of ice A 1 to which every winter might add, should be erected to his memory. No Iligliut, however, should approach too near it for fear of a thaw. Upon the whole, the thing which we chiefly dislike about this book, is the price of it-in these days of lithography the plates could have been given at a trifling expence, and every individual in the nation ought to have at least a fair chance (now out of the question) of perusing the details of an expedition, furnished at the publicexpence and for the public information. Speculation on such a subject is not creditable, and unfair to those gallant men with whose enterprise the whole nation should be acquainted. THE TWO RAVENS. AN OLD SCOTTISH BALLAD. THERE were two ravens sat on a tree, As I sat on the deep sea sand, I saw a fair ship nigh at land, I waved my wings, I bent my beak, Come, I will show ye a sweeter sight, His sword half drawn, his shafts unshot, But his hawk, his hound, and his lady fair. His hound is to the hunting gane, His hawk to fetch the wild fowl hame, His lady's away with another mate, O cauld and bare will his bed be, C. |