Besides the toys and models I have mentioned above, as articles of
barter with these people, we also employed them more usefully in
making wooden shades for the eyes, after their own method, as the
time was fast approaching when some such precaution would become
necessary to guard the eyes from the excessive glare of reflected
light. There was also a considerable _trade_ established in
mittens, which being made of prepared sealskin, and nearly
water-tight, were particularly serviceable to our men when
constantly handling the leadlines in the summer. In this manner we
contrived to turn our new acquaintance to some little account.
Among the natives who visited the Fury to-day was Ewerat; of whom
I have already spoken as _Ang-et-kook_, or chief sorcerer of the
tribe, a distinction with which he had made some of our gentlemen
acquainted at one, of their earliest visits to the huts. Being
desirous of seeing him perform some of the tricks which had
acquired for him this pre-eminence, I requested him to indulge me
with a sight of them. After some little demur, he began to make
his lips quiver, then moved his nose up and down, gradually closed
his eyes, and increased the violence of his grimaces till every
feature was hideously distorted; at the same time, he moved his
head rapidly from side to side, uttering sometimes a snuffling
sound, and at others a raving sort of cry.
Pages:
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333