were made to the Esquimaux to come off, and the English pulled back a little to await their arrival in deeper water. Three canoes, each carrying only a single person, pushed off, and these were followed rapidly by others; so that in a few minutes the whole space between the boats and the shore was alive with those little vessels, which they name kayaks. An attempt was at first made to count them, and the sailors got the length of seventy; but they increased in such quick succession as to baffle their further efforts. At first every thing proceeded in a friendly manner. Augustus, after delivering a present, informed them, that if the English succeeded in finding a navigable channel for large ships, an advantageous trade would be opened. This intimation was received with a deafening shout, and the sight of the presents which had been carried away by the three foremost kayaks inflamed the cupidity of their companions; so that the boats were in a moment surrounded by nearly three hundred persons, offering for sale their bows, arrows, and spears, with a violence and perseverance which became at last exceedingly troublesome, and Captain Franklin directed the boats to be put to seaward. At this moment a kayak was upset by one of the oars of the Lion, and its unhappy possessor was struck by the accident with his head in the mud and his heels in the air. He was instantly extricated, wrapped in a warm great-coat, and placed in the boat, where, although at first excessively frightened and angry, he soon became reconciled to his situation, and looking about, discovered many bales and other articles which had hitherto been carefully concealed. His first impulse was to ask for every thing he saw, his next to be indignant that his requests were not granted; and on joining his companions, as they afterward learned, he harangued on the inexhaustible riches of the Lion, and proposed a plan for a general attack and pillage of both the boats. This scheme was immediately carried into execution; and although the plunderers at first affected to be partly in sport, matters soon assumed a serious complexion. Two of the most powerful men, leaping on board, seized Captain Franklin, forced him to sit between them, and when he shook them off, a third took his station in front to catch his arm whenever he attempted to raise his gun or lay his hand on the broad dagger which hung by his side. During this assault the two boats VIOLENT CONDUCT OF THE ESQUIMAUX. 189 were violently dragged to the shore, and a numerous party, stripping to the waist and brandishing their long sharp knives, ran to the Reliance, and commenced a regular pillage, handing the articles to the women, who, ranged in a row bebind, quickly conveyed them out of sight. No sooner was the bow cleared of one set of marauders than another party commenced their operations at the stern. The Lion was beset by smaller numbers, and her crew, by firmly keeping their seats on the canvass cover spread over the cargo, and beating off the natives with the butt-end of their muskets, succeeded in preventing any article of importance from being carried away. Irritated, at length, by their frequent failure, the Esquimaux made a simultaneous charge, and, leaping on board, began to wrest the daggers and shot-belts from the sailors, and to strike with their knives. In the midst of this attack, when the crew in the Lion were nearly overpowered and their commander disarmed, all at once the natives took to their heels, and concealed themselves behind the drift-timber and canoes on the beach. This sudden panic was occasioned by Captain Back, whose boat at this time had been got afloat, commanding his crew to level their muskets, a proceeding which was immediately observed by the Esquimaux, though not noticed by Captain Franklin's men, who were wholly occupied in defending themselves. The Lion happily floated soon after; and as both boats pulled off, Captain Franklin desired Augustus to inform some of the Esquimaux, who manifested a disposition to follow and renew the attack, that he would shoot the first man who ventured to approach within musket-range.* In the evening, Augustus anxiously entreated permission to attend a conference of his countrymen on the shore, to which he had been formally invited. The courage_and fidelity of this person had much endeared him to the English, and it was not without hesitation that Captain Franklin agreed to his request, as he stated his determination to reprove the natives for their disgraceful conduct. He was at length allowed to go, and by the time he reached the shore the number of Esquimaux amounted to forty, all of them armed. On landing, he walked undauntedly into the middle of the assembly, and addressed them in the following * Franklin's Second Journey, p. 101-107. animated speech, which he afterward repeated to his English friends:-" Your conduct," said he, has been very bad, and unlike all other Esquimaux. Some of you even stole from me, your countryman-but that I do not mind. I only regret that you should have treated in this violent manner the white people, who came solely to do you kindness. My tribe were in the same unhappy state in which you now are before the white people came to Churchill but at present they are supplied with every thing they need; and you see that I am well clothed, I get every thing I want, and am very comfortable. You cannot expect, after the transactions of this day, that these people will ever bring any articles to your country again, unless you show your contrition by returning the stolen goods. The white people love the Esquimaux, and wish to show them the same kindness that they bestow upon the Indians. Do not deceive yourselves, and suppose that they are afraid of you; I tell you they are not, and that it is entirely owing to their humanity that many of you were not killed to-day, for they have all guns with which they can destroy you either near or at a distance. I also have a gun, and can assure you that if a white man had fallen, I would have been the first to have revenged his death." During this speech, which was delivered, as they perceived from the boats, with much energy and spirited gesticulation, the Esquimaux expressed their approbation by frequent shouts, and on its conclusion made a very penitent, though somewhat singular apology: "They had never seen white men before," they said, "and really all the things in the boats were so beautiful and desirable that it was impossible not to steal them. As they were very anxious, however, for the friendship and trade of the white men, they solemnly promised never to repeat such conduct, and, at the request of Augustus, sent back the large kettle, the tent, and some pairs of shoes which they had carried off."* The interpreter was afterward invited to a dance, and a friendly understanding seemed to be established; but Captain Franklin soon discovered that the professions of the natives were hollow and treacherous; and nothing but his jealous precautions saved him and his com * Franklin's Second Journey, p. 108, 109. panions from massacre, in which it had been resolved to include the faithful Augustus. Their voyage along the coast in the direction of westnorth-west, after a progress of twelve miles, was impeded by the ice stretching from the shore far to seaward. The boats were in consequence hauled up; and as the frozen masses were piled round to the height of thirty feet, it became necessary to await the breaking up of this formidable barrier. Having gone to sleep, the officers were startled at midnight by the guard calling to arms: three Esquimaux, belonging to a large party encamped at some distance, had stolen forward, and been only discovered when close at hand. Alarmed at the appearance of the men, who stood to their arms, the strangers were on the point of discharging their arrows, when they were arrested by the loud voice of Augustus, who explained the object of the expedition, and dilated upon the advantages which they would derive from it. A present confirmed his statement, and an amicable intercourse was opened,-a line, however, being first drawn at a certain distance from the tents, across which no Esquimaux was to pass under the penalty of being instantly shot. Against this they made no remonstrance, only remarking, when informed of the treacherous conduct of the natives at the mouth of Mackenzie River, that "these were bad men, altogether different from them, and never failed either to steal or quarrel whenever an opportunity was offered." The delight exhibited by these people, including the most elderly among them, on receiving any little present, was exactly similar to that of children when they get hold of toys. They ran from one thing to another; examined with restless curiosity every part of Augustus's dress, who, to gratify his vanity, had put on his gayest apparel; and, ignorant of the uses of the articles presented to them, they walked about with cod-fish hooks and awls dangling from the nose, and copper thimbles strung to their trousers or rein-deer jackets. The men were robust, and taller than those seen on the east coast by Captain Parry, though their manner of life appeared to be nearly the same. With the broad nose and small eyes, which peculiarly distinguish the whole Esquimaux tribes, they had the cheek-bones less projecting than those of the eastern coast. From a constant exposure to the glare of the ice and snow, the whole party were afflicted with sore eyes, and two of the old men seemed nearly blind. They wore the hair on the upper lip and chin, and every man had pieces of bone or shells thrust through the septum of the nose, while holes were pierced on each side of the under lip, in which were placed circular pieces of ivory with a large blue bead in the centre,-ornaments which they valued highly, and declined selling. Their clothes consisted of a jacket of rein-deer skin, with a skirt behind and before, and a small hood; breeches of the same material, and large seal-skin boots." The dress of the females differed from that of the men only in their wearing T |