Page:Life with the Esquimaux - 1864 - Volume 1.djvu/323

302 requested Tookoolito to take my place inside, but she preferred my retaining "the seat of honour." The following is the substance of her statements to me respecting the objects of my inquiry. Placing before her the sketch-chart formerly drawn by Koojesse, and showing her Cornelius Grinnell Bay, Singeyer, Field Bay, tracing along down through Bear Sound to Cape True, thence to Oopungnewing, I asked her if she recognised those particular parts. Her reply was that she did; and immediately asked, "What is the name of the island where Koochooarchu (Sampson) was?" meaning the island where myself, with Sterry and Kokerjabin, visited Sampson on the previous April 27th. I replied, "Ak-koo-wie-shut-too-ping."

"That," said she, "is where I have spent much of my life—many of my best days. But the place where the kodlunas (white people) of the ships landed is called Niountelik, an island near Oopungnewing."

She then proceeded to say that upon Niountelik she had seen bricks, and coal, and pieces of timber of various sizes. She had also heard from old Innuits that, many years before, ships had landed there with a great number of people. She remembered, when a little girl, hearing Innuits tell about these people having killed several Innuits; also that farther down, or on Kingaite side, as the old lady spoke it, they took away two Innuit women, who never came back again. I asked her if she knew how many ships had come there? Her reply was, They came every year; first two, then three, then am-a-su-ad-lo oo-moo-arch-chu-a (many—a great many ships). "Five Innuits were also killed by the kodlunas" (white people). Not feeling quite certain of the meaning of her answer, I repeated the question. How many ships came here? Tookoolito, on receiving the answer, gave it to me in this way: "She said 'they came every year,'" and then ceased from repeating more of the old woman's words. This puzzled me; I knew not what to make of it. I began to think that perhaps whaling ships had annually visited the great bay. But, after a few moments, I found Tookoolito had