ish
his hold till the taste began to leave his mouth. The quantity of
water which he drank in the course of the four-and-twenty hours
is beyond conception; and the cabin fire could scarcely, by the
melting of snow, furnish enough for their consumption. These people
are extremely particular as to the purity of the water they drink.
Some that had been melted in our steamer, and which I thought very
good, neither of them would touch, or, at least, always spat out
again. If the water was much above the temperature of 32 deg., they
also disliked it, and immediately put snow into it to cool it
down. Iligliuk, who came on board with one side of her hair loose,
loosened the other also to-day, in consequence of her fancying
Okotook worse, though it was only the annoyance of the blister that
made him uneasy; for even in this sequestered corner of the globe
dishevelled locks bespeak mourning. It was not, however, with her
the mere semblance of grief, for she was really much distressed
throughout the day, all our endeavours not availing to make her
understand how one pain was to be removed by inflicting another.

Captain Lyon being desirous of having some little clothes made as
models of the Esquimaux costume, and thinking Iligliuk's present
leisure afforded her a good opportunity of making them, had
yesterday obtained her promise that she would do so. Okotook being
now very much better, and she having herself resumed her usual
gayety in consequence, I pressed her to commence her work, and
placed the skins before her, when she said that she could not do
them here, as she had no needles. These being supplied her, she
now complained of, having no _t=o=okt~oo-e-w=all~oo_ (reindeer
sinew), their usual thread. This difficulty, unfortunately for
Iligliuk's credit, was as easily overcome as the other; and when
scissors, pattern clothes, and all the other requisites were laid
before her, she was at length driven to the excuse that Okotook's
illness would not permit her to do it. Seeing us half laughing at
the absurdity of these excuses, and half angry at the selfish
indolence which prompted them, she at last flatly asserted that
Okotook desired her not to work, which, though we knew it to be a
falsehood, the latter did not deny. We then supposed that some
superstition might be at the bottom of this; but having, a little
while after, by way of experiment, thrown Iligliuk some loose
beads upon the table, she eagerly employed herself for ha