C H A P . doubt, they soon discovered the cask. They knocked off the hoops with
, a large stone, and then tasted the contents, which they intimated were
August, very nauseous. The thieves then packed up the hoops, and carried them
over the hills to another part of the country.
We patiently heard the whole of this circumstantial account, which
we had afterwards great reason to believe w'as an invention of their
own, and that they had some of the flour secreted in their tents, which,
no doubt, was the reason of their dishke to our approaching them.
In the forenoon one of our seamen found a piece of board upon Chamisso
Island, upon which w'as written, in Eussian characters, “ Eurick,
July 28th, 1816,” and underneath it “ Blaganome erinoy, 1820.” The
former was of course cut by Kotzebue wlien he visited the islands;
and the latter, I suppose, by Captain Von Basilief Schismareff, his
Ueutenant, w'ho paid this island a second visit in 1820.
Upon the low point of this island there was another party of
Esquimaux, who differed in several particulars from those upon the
peninsula. 1 was about to pay them a visit, but early in the morning
our peninsular friends came off to say they were going away; and as I
wished to see a httle more of them before they left us, I deferred going
there until the next day, by which I lost the opportunity of seeing
those upon Chamisso, as they decamped in the evening unobserved.
They were, however, visited by several of the officers. Like the party on
the peninsula, they were on their return to winter-quarters, with large
heaps of dried fish, seals’ flesh, oil, skins, and all the necessary appurtenances
to an Esquimaux residence. They had four tents and several
baidars, which were turned over upon their nets and fishing-tackle
for protection. In one of their tool-chests was found a part of an
elephant’s tooth, of the same species as those which were afterwards
collected in Escholtz Bay. They had the same aversion to our officers
approaching their habitations as the party before described on the
peninsula, and in all probability it proceeded from the same cause, as
Mr. Osmer detected a young girl eating some of our flour mixed up
with oil and berries. On seeing him she ran hastily into her tent, and in
so doing spilt some of the mixture, which led to the discovery.
The women of this party differed from the females we had hitherto
seen, having the septum of the nose pierced, and a large blue bead CHAP.
strung upon a strip of whalebone passed through the orifice, the bead
hanging as low as the opening of the mouth. One of them, on re- A^st,
1826.
ceiving a large stocking-needle, thrust it into the orifice, or, as some of
the seamen said, “ spritsail-yarded her nose.” A youth of the party
who had not yet had his lips perforated wore his hair in bunches on
each side of the head after the fashion of the women, which I notice
as being the only instance of the kind we met with, and which I trust
does not indicate a nearer resemblance to a class of individuals mentioned
by Langsdorff as existing in Oonalashka under the denomination
of Schopans.
Bed and blue beads, buttons, knives, and hatchets were as usual
the medium through which every thing they would part with was purchased.
The men w'ere more excited than usual by a looking-glass,
which, after beholding their own features in it, and admiring alternately
the reflection of their head and lip ornaments, they very
inconsiderately carried to one of their party who was perfectly blind,
and held before his face. As this was done rather seriously, certainly
without any appearance of derision, it is possible that they imagined it
might produce some effect upon his sight. On landing at the encampment
on the peninsula, I was received in a more friendly manner even
than the day before. Each of the natives selected a friend from
among our party, and, like the Gambier islanders, locked their arms
in ours, and led us to a small piece of rising ground near their
tents, where we sat down upon broad planks and deer-skins. A
dried fish was then presented to each of us, and a bowl of cranberries
mashed up with sorrel and rancid train-oil was passed round, after the
manner of the Kraikees on the Asiatic shore; but, however palatable
this mixture might have been to our hosts, it was very much the reverse
to us, and none of our party could be induced to partake of it, except
Mr. Osmer, who did so to oblige me at the expense of his appetite
for the rest of the day. The Esquimaux were surprised at our refusal
of this offer, and ridiculed our squeamishness; and by way of
convincing us what bad judges we were of good cheer, five of them
fell to at the bowl, and with their two forefingers very expeditiously