Page:Narrative of the Discoveries on the North Coast of America.djvu/194

 land, which had been obscured by fog on the outward journey. The reindeer seemed animated by the unwonted fineness of the weather, and were grazing in great numbers near the shore. In Dease Inlet three noble bucks stood so nigh the bank, that I landed with Taylor to get a shot. The deer could not see us; but we had not crawled far towards them, when, warned by their acute sense of smell, they tossed up their antlers, whose tips guided our approach, and started off as if impelled by wings across the plain. The ebbing tide ran strongly out of the inlet as we traversed it in the evening. The depth midway was two fathoms, on a bottom of mud. Our Esquimaux friends seemed over-joyed at our return, and would lain have detained us all night: but, not choosing to lose the fine weather, I told them we must be off immediately; and, as we still stood in need of their valuable canoe, I invited some of the men to accompany us to Boat Extreme, where they should be liberally recompensed. Four of them accordingly embarked in their kayaks; of whose speed, with their mode of shooting their arrows and darting their lances, they gave us an ample exhibition. We ourselves struck up some French and Highland boat-songs, which probably for the first time resounded from an Esquimaux