s which he had wrapped with care in a piece of deerskin and placed
in a small canvas sack. Taking the curios out of the sack one by one,
and unwrapping them carefully, he laid them on my table, saying as he
did so in his broken English, 'You like 'em?' Receiving an affirmative
reply, he said, 'You catch 'em,' at the same time shoving the articles
towards me. I thought the young man was bent upon a trade, so, to please
him, I laid out upon the table a number of edible articles, together
with a red bandana handkerchief (a red handkerchief is prized very
highly by all the natives), and awaited his decision. It was soon
forthcoming. 'Me no catch 'em,' he said, pointing to the articles which
he had placed upon the table; 'me give him you.' He left the trinkets
with me, but would not accept a thing in return for them.

"Some four weeks afterwards this Indian boy came to my cabin again. He
brought with him on his second visit a pair of small snowshoes and a
miniature Eskimo sled. He had been told that I had a little boy at home,
and he made me understand that he had made the snowshoes and sled for
him, insisting that I should take them, which I did, but he stoutly
refused anything in return for them. All this was to show his
appreciation of the little act of kindness which I had inadvertently
done him."

Mr. McElwaine concludes: "And yet, against the aborigines of Northern
Alaska many explorers have charged that they are the most ungrateful
wretches in the world."

Personally, I can cordially endorse this statement, but perhaps a very
short residence amongst these people has left me ignorant of their real
merits, and Mr. McElwaine may be perfectly right when he adds, in
connection with the aforesaid explorers: "All such statements are, in my
opinion, founded upon a misapprehension of the true character of this
peculiar race."

Mr. Henry Elliott thus describes the Eskimo, or Innuit, as he is
sometimes called, inhabiting the far northern portions of Alaska: "The
average Innuit stands about five feet seven inches in his heelless
boots. He is slightly Mongolian in his complexion and facial expression.
A broad face, prominent cheek-bones, a large mouth with full lips, small
black eyes, prominently set in their sockets, not under a lowering brow,
as in the case of true Indian faces. The nose is insignificant, and much
depressed, with scarcely any bridge. He has an abundance of coarse black
hair, which up to the age of thirty yea