Page:Life with the Esquimaux - 1864 - Volume 2.djvu/94

Rh return. Climbing the steep bank, though a feat not easily accomplished, was soon performed. When up we directed our steps along a narrow, smooth, grassy, slightly inclined plain, hemmed in by rough old rocks. Thence we turned to the left, mounting the rocks leading to the highest part of the island. We kept our eyes fixed on the ground over which we made our footsteps, anxiously searching for fragments of brick, which I thought must somewhere be found on Niountelik. I had understood Koo-ou-le-arng to say that she had seen brick on this island, therefore every few minutes I said to her, ' Nou-ti-ma brick? ' (where is brick?) To make her understand ' brick ' I took up a small stone spotted over with a peculiar red moss, calling her attention to the red; and then, taking off her head ornament— ' kar-oong (a rounded, polished piece of brass in the form of a semicircle, fitted to and worn on the head by the Innuit women as an adornment), I made motions as if polishing it, for I knew, from information I had gained from time to time, that Innuits had procured pieces of brick on or somewhere in the neighbourhood of the island on which we were, and used them specially for brightening their ornaments, to wit, hair-rings (toong-le-lé-une), finger-rings (nuk-guer-ming), and kar-oongs. "Koo-ou-le-arng knew by my description what I desired to find, but did not seem to recollect where she had seen brick: though, from her expressions and conduct, I was satisfied she had seen mi-e-oo-koo-loo (small) pieces somewhere in the vicinity. Gaining the top of the island, we made search there for relics, but found none. I looked specially for some signs of a stone monument, which I conceived Frobisher might in his day (if he visited this island) have erected, this being the highest point of the whole island. But none whatever could I find. Thence we directed our way down on the west side to a small grassy slope, not far from the termination of the island. Here we made careful search, but without finding anything that I so ardently