In another instance, an axe was
offered by some of the Griper's gentlemen as the price of a dog,
to which the woman who owned the animal consented. To show that we
placed full confidence in them, the axe was given to her before
the dog was caught, and she immediately went away with a kind of
halter or harness of thongs, which, they use for this purpose, and
honestly brought one of the finest among them, though nothing
would have been easier than to evade the performance of the
contract. The readiness, however, with which they generally parted
with their commodities, was by no means the effect of fear, nor
did it always depend on the value of the articles offered in
exchange; for having, as I thought, concluded a bargain for a
second canoe belonging to the old woman, I desired the men to hand
it down to the boat; but I soon perceived that I had misunderstood
her, for she clung fast to the canoe, and cried most piteously
till it was set down; I then offered a larger price than before,
but she could not be induced to part with it.
The stature of these people, like that of Esquimaux in general, is
much below the usual standard. The height of the old man, who was
rather bent by age, was four feet eleven inches; and that of the
other men, from five feet four and a half to five feet six inches.
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