Page:Life with the Esquimaux - 1864 - Volume 1.djvu/214

Rh however, did not long continue. A few days afterward, on the 30th of December, the thermometer was down to zero; and on the 5th of January it was sixty degrees below freezing point! The bay and harbour had again been coated over with solid ice, and parties of Innuits were out in all directions seal-hunting, but with such slight success that several of them departed for other quarters, where they hoped seals would be more abundant. Among these were Ugarng and his family. They started for Cornelius Grinnell Bay, but, before leaving, a few cakes of hard bread were given them, that the party might have something to fall back upon in case of success not following immediately. It was not long, however, before Ugarng returned very sick. He left in the morning, and arrived at the ship about 4 thus making a rapid journey on his sledge of about forty miles. Two days afterward, having received extra aid and medicine, he once more started, and, as will be presently related, when I made an excursion to where he had gone, I found him busily engaged sealing. Among the other incidents to be mentioned as occurring about this period of my narrative, I must not forget to say that Christmas and New Year's Day were celebrated by us in our winter quarters with all the honours it was in our power to show. A few of the natives were on board to dine on Christmas Day, and I took the opportunity to give Tookoolito a Bible that had been placed in my hands by the Young Men's Christian Union of Cincinnati, and which I thought could not be devoted to a better purpose. I inscribed upon it the following:— "Presented to Tookoolito, Tuesday, December 25th, 1860." Her first act was to read the title, "Holy Bible," then to try and read some of its pages, which she still longs to understand. The new year of 1861 was welcomed by me at its very earliest commencement, having been up throughout the night. The previous evening I had been paying visits on shore