Three Voyages for the Discovery of a Northwest Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and Narrative of an Attempt to Reach the North Pole, Volume 1Parry, William Edward, Sir
History
Three Voyages for the Discovery of a Northwest Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and Narrative of an Attempt to Reach the North Pole, Volume 1
Parry, William Edward, Sir
Arctic regions; Northwest Passage; Parry, William Edward, Sir, 1790-1855
Notwithstanding the inclemency of the weather, some of the
Esquimaux had, by the foot and sledge marks, found their way to
the ships on the morning of the 16th, assuring us, as we found to
be too true, that, in consequence of the gale, which prevented
their going out for seals, they had not any food, nor a single
lamp alight in the village. In the course of the following day, we
had farther proofs of the wretchedness which these poor people
were enduring at the huts; for, though the weather was little
better than before, above forty men and women, besides some
children, came down to the ships, and begged with more than their
usual earnestness for something to eat. It now once more became an
act of humanity, and consequently of duty, to supply them as well
as we were able; and all were admitted to partake of as much
bread-dust as they could eat, besides a quantity which they took
away with them. It had been long since Okotook and Iligliuk cared
to accept this kind of food from us, partly because our respect
for the latter generally ensured them something better, and partly
because, of late, they had procured plenty of seals; to-day,
however, they devoured it eagerly, and seemed very well satisfied
to take their share with the others. When the usual time of
departure came, they all discovered a wish to remain on board;
but, as we could not find lodgings for the whole tribe, they were
obliged very reluctantly to return. _Nannow_, a fine, quiet young,
man, whose native country is near Chesterfield Inlet, and who,
having only a sister here, used to live with Okotook, begged very
hard to remain on board; but, as I did not like to give the
preference to one in particular, he also took his leave.
On the 18th, almost every man from the huts was out seal-hunting,
and three or four, as the women informed us, had gone to a
considerable distance "for walruses" and with the intention of
remaining out for the night in a snow hut. While the men were thus
employed, their wives did not fail to use their endeavours also to
procure food; and I believe that every female belonging to the
village, without a single exception, made her appearance at the
ships to-day, and was supplied with a proportion of bread-dust for
her family. It was pleasing to observe that they were always
punctual in returning the buckets and bags which we lent them for
carrying out their provisions.
The endeavours we had lately been making to gain from the
Esquimaux some knowledge of the geographical features of the land
to the northward, had at length been crowned with greater success
than we had anticipated, and some information of a very gratifying
and interesting nature thus obtained. I shall here, therefore,
give some account of that information, and of the progressive
steps by which it was communicated, which may, at the same time,
serve to show the kind and degree of dependence that is to be
placed on geographical notices thus obtained.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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