is wife went over to a small shallow lake, on
the opposite side of the river, where they caught three or four fish of
the salmon kind, but none more than one pound in weight. He then came
back to the tent, and made a small spear according to their own fashion;
but with this, to his great disappointment, he could not strike a single
fish. A sort of _fish-gig_, which we made out of four large hooks lashed
back to back at the end of a light staff, succeeded much better, the
bait being played in the usual manner to attract the fish, which were
then hooked up with great ease and certainty by this instrument. In this
manner we soon caught a dozen of the same kind as before; and the rest
of our party had in the mean time killed a deer.

Toolemak began now to be extremely impatient to return home, his
principal anxiety arising, I believe, from a childish desire to know
what I should give him for his trouble; and when, in writing a note to
Lieutenant Nias, I enumerated the articles I intended to present to him,
he expressed more delight than I had ever before seen escape him. Among
these was one of the rifle-guns supplied as presents, together with a
sufficient quantity of ammunition to last him one summer, after which
the gun would probably become useless itself for want of cleaning. It
was astonishing to see the readiness with which these people learned to
fire at a mark, and the tact they displayed in everything relating to
this art. Boys from twelve to sixteen years of age would fire a
fowling-piece, for the first time, with perfect steadiness; and the men,
with very little practice, would very soon become superior
marksmen.[005] As, however, the advantage they could derive from the
use of firearms must be of very short duration, and the danger to any
careless individuals very considerable, we did not, on any other
occasion, consider it prudent to furnish them in this manner.

On the morning of the 28th Toolemak had left us for the ships, carrying
with him our venison to be left there, and having first explained when
and where the Esquimaux catch the fish with which he had supplied us the
preceding summer; for it now appeared that they were not found in great
abundance, or of that magnitude, in the river, but at the mouth of a
very small stream about two miles lower down the creek on the same side.
Their method is, to place in the bed of the stream, which is quite
narrow, and seldom or never so deep as a man's middle, though