CHAPTER IX.
Land on an Island—Innuit Insolence—Leave Kingaite Coast for the North Side of the Bay of Frobisher—Extraordinary Scenes—Singular Customs—Drinking Deer's Blood—More Ankooting—Mystical Songs—"Fool's Gold"—Parting with old Too-loo-ka-ah—Arrival at Niountelik—Proceed to Kodlunarn, or "White Man's" Island—Important Discoveries—Ship's Trench—Ruins of Stone Houses—Coal and Tile—Return to Niountelik and Encamp—Cruise in "Countess of Warwick Sound"—Arrive at Tikkoon—Discovery of a heavy Piece of Iron—Passage across the Sound—Proceed up Victoria Bay—Precipitous Mountains—Ekkelezhun—A fine and secure Harbour—Discovery of several Tons of Coal and Flint-stones—Return to Niountelik.
That the reader may be advancing with me as I proceed with my narrative, and, at the same time, get an idea of some of the trials referred to near the close of the preceding chapter, I will here introduce the following extracts directly from my "rough-and-ready" note-book, written at the moment and upon the spur of the occasion:—
"August 15th, 1861.—Start from eighteenth encampment at 6.15 a.m. wind light from the west, and cloudy. Both boats and two kias under way. 'Miner' has just shot a nowyer on the wing from his kia. First pop, down it comes. We are on the rocks first thing; 'bad beginning, good ending.' Under oars; the fifth oar cannot be used on account of the overloaded boat. Another Job's comforter on my shoulder, the sinister. Geese flying to the southward. Little girl Shoo-kok (whalebone) on board our boat. 8.45 a.m. land on a small island to bale the old leaky boat. This moment I ask Koojesse which way now, the many islands ahead making it doubtful which is the better course. He points across the bay to the other or north side. I suspected this was the way he was directing the boat. He acts the devil with me. My work on this, the Kingaite side, is ended. I said to him I cannot do the work I wanted to....
