Page:Life with the Esquimaux - 1864 - Volume 1.djvu/286

Rh upon him. The Innuits, Sharkey, Kop-e-o, whom I called "Dick," and most of those now at the lower village, were of this company. Another incident mentioned to me was that a party of Innuits, a few years ago, went out on the sea-ice walrus hunting, and being driven away from land, were unable to reach it for three months! Fortunately for them, however, they did not suffer as the others had done. Walruses were caught, and thus they were enabled to exist.

Not a winter passes but similar occurrences take place among the Innuits. Indeed, during our stay in Rescue Harbour several persons were carried away on the ice, but in a day or two afterward succeeded in getting ashore again. Numerous anecdotes of remarkable escapes were at different times related to me by the Innuits. One or two may be aptly brought forward here. The following was told me by Tookoolito.

In the spring of 1857, a company of Esquimaux, natives of Northumberland Inlet, were far out on the floe, by open water, for the purpose of whaling. A whale was at length seen moving leisurely along within striking distance, when the Esquimaux succeeded in making fast to it by four harpoons, each of which was fastened by a ten to fifteen fathom line of ookgook hide to a drug made of an uncut sealskin inflated like a life-preserver. By some incautious act of one of the harpooners, one of his legs became entangled in the line, and quick as thought the whale dragged him down into the sea out of sight. His companions were horror-stricken, and for awhile all around was still as death. The whole party earnestly peered out upon the blue waters far and near, looking for the reappearance of their comrade. They paced to and fro; when at last a shout came from one of their number—"The lost is found!"—which brought all to one spot. The circumstance which led to this fortunate discovery was the sight simply of the finger-tips of one hand clinging to the top edge of the floe. The rescuers, on looking over the