s," where none of the delicacies enjoyed by the blessed
are to be found; and even the commonest necessaries are procured with
endless toil, and pain, and disappointment. Although the "tomakhs,"
or dead men, become the inhabitants of the sea, they indulge in the
pleasures of the chase on their old element, whenever they please; and
are often heard calling to each other while in pursuit of the deer.

The Esquimaux have their "men of medicine," in whose preternatural
powers they place the most implicit confidence; by working on the
superstitious fears of the people, these impostors obtain much
authority. They are allowed to take the lead in every affair of
importance; and, in short, all their movements are, in a great
measure, regulated by these harlequins, who appear to be the only
chiefs among them.

They dispose of their dead by placing them on the rocks, and covering
them over with ice or stones; these tombs prove but feeble barriers
against the wolves and other beasts of prey, who soon carry off the
bodies. The property belonging to the deceased is placed by the side
of his grave;--his caiak, or skin canoe, his bows, arrows, and spears.
Thus equipped, the _emigrant_ spirit cannot find itself at a loss on
arriving at a better country!

It is said by some that the Esquimaux abandon their aged parents:
from inquiry, as well as observation, I am led to believe there is
no foundation for the charge. It is not reasonable to expect that
the more refined feelings of humanity should be found in the breast
of a savage, or that he should honour his father and mother in the
same degree as he whose principles are moulded by the precepts
of Christianity; yet I must do them the justice to say, that they
appeared to me to treat their parents with as much kindness, at least,
as any other savage nation I have met with. They do not deny, however,
that old people no longer able to provide for themselves, and without
any relative to care for them, are sometimes left to perish.

No people suffer more from hunger than the Esquimaux who inhabit
the shores of Ungava Bay; seals being extremely scarce in the winter
season, and no fish to be found; so that the poor creatures are
often reduced to the most revolting expedients to preserve life. An
Esquimaux, who had been about the post for two years, proceeded, in
the winter of 1839, to join some of his relatives along the coast.
When he returned in the ensuing spring, I observed that his moth