them to go away. Toolooak was also a little given to this mood, but
never retained it long, and there was no malice mixed with his
displeasure. One evening that he slept on board the Fury, he either
offended Mr. Skeoch, or thought that he had done so, by this kind of
humour; at all events, they parted for the night without any formal
reconciliation. The next morning Mr. Skeoch was awakened at an unusually
early hour, by Toolooak's entering his cabin and taking hold of his hand
to shake it, by way of making up the supposed quarrel. On a disposition
thus naturally charitable, what might not Christian education and
Christian principles effect? Where a joke is evidently intended, I
never knew people more ready to join in it than these are. If ridiculed
for any particularity of manner, figure, or countenance, they are sure
not to be long behind-hand in returning it, and that very often with
interest. If we were the aggressors in this way, some ironical
observation respecting the _Kabloonas_ was frequently the consequence;
and no small portion of wit as well as irony was at times mixed with
their raillery.

In point of intellect as well as disposition, great variety was, of
course, perceptible among the different individuals of this tribe; but
few of them were wanting in that respect. Some, indeed, possessed a
degree of natural quickness and intelligence which, perhaps, could
hardly be surpassed in the natives of any country. Iligliuk, though one
of the least amiable, was particularly thus gifted. When she really
wished to develop our meaning, she would desire her husband and all the
rest to hold their tongues, and would generally make it out while they
were puzzling their heads to no purpose. In returning her answers, the
very expression of her countenance, though one of the plainest among
them, was almost of itself sufficient to convey her meaning; and there
was, in these cases, a peculiarly decisive energy in her manner of
speaking which was extremely interesting. This woman would, indeed, have
easily learned anything to which she chose to direct her attention; and
had her lot been cast in a civilized country instead of this dreary
region, which serves alike to "freeze the genial current of the soul"
and body, she would probably have been a very clever person. For want
of a sufficient object, however, neither she nor any of her companions
ever learned a dozen words of English, except our names, with which it
was their int