Page:Life with the Esquimaux - 1864 - Volume 2.djvu/32

Rh abounding with animal life, he told me that the dread of it could not be removed. It had left upon the minds of all Innuits an impression of horror which descended from parent to child, and was likely to last for a long time. Even he himself would not have come now but for much persuasion and the influence of the civilized white man over the dark races, besides his strong personal attachment to me. As for Koodloo, he had been induced by the example and persuasions of Ebierbing more than by any favourable feelings on his own part. After he had arrived here, it was plain to me he regretted it; and possibly, in his inner soul, "the mysterious ship" may have added to his superstitious feelings concerning the place.

While returning from this trip across Hall's Island, Ebierbing related to me the following anecdote, prefacing it by the simple remark that the breaking away of the sea-ice and carrying off one or more Innuits is not a rare occurrence. Once two of his people were driven out of Cornelius Grinnell Bay while on the ice sealing. The ice finally brought up against Lady Franklin's Island, twenty-five miles from the main land, upon which island the forlorn Innuits landed. Here they lived for several months on ducks, walrus, bears, and seals, which they found there in abundance. They did not make their appearance for months, and were given up as lost. But, to the surprise of every one, they ultimately returned, having effected their escape by means of "floats" made of the skins of seals which they had killed. I may here mention that also, in returning on the before-described vexatious walk, we noticed a wall of stone—moss-covered stone—at the outlet of the lakelet, which was made, as Ebierbing said, by his people that had lived a great many years before, for a hiding-place, to enable them to kill tuktoo as they followed along their path, which was close by. Numerous old bones of this animal we saw by this wall.

On the 11th of June, at noon, I put on a rock a delicately-balanced compass needle, the north pole of which stood on