If they saw more than one of these at a time, they
would try hard to get the whole for the commodity they were
offering, though, when we had for some time persisted in refusing,
they would not only accept what was offered, but jump for joy at
having obtained it. They always licked the articles given them,
and in one instance only did we notice any inclination to break
the contract after this process had been gone through.
Shortly after these men had arrived, a large _oomiak_, or woman's
boat, made its appearance, containing six or seven females and
four men, the oldest of the latter, as is usual among them,
steering the boat with a rude oar of wood. The women could not be
induced to land upon the floe, but held up skins and small narrow
strips of well-tanned leather to exchange, loudly vociferating
_pilletay_ (give me) the whole time. There were in this boat
several skins of oil and blubber, which I tried hard to purchase,
but nothing could induce the old man to part with more than one
skin of it; for what reason I could not tell, except that he
hoped, by perseverance, to obtain a higher price. On my desiring
our men to hand out a second skin of oil, as an equivalent for
which I put into the old man's hand a second knife, he resisted
most vehemently, pushing our men aside in the boat with a violence
I have never seen the Esquimaux use on any other occasion.
Pages:
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243