Accordingly next morning, ten or fifteen dog teams, with their drivers, made their appearance, having come from a settlement east of us for the purpose of transporting us, with our effects, to new and larger quarters. We arrived at this latter place about four o'clock in the afternoon, distance about twenty miles.
The captain, with two others, went directly to the head man of the settlement, whose name was Taunty, and made him understand, by signs and gestures, that they wished him to take care of the whole company.
He readily assented to our request. He manifested a most kind and obliging disposition. He showed a degree of sympathy for us in our destitute and dependent condition wholly unlooked for, and altogether unexpected. Such accommodations as he and his people had were promptly offered to us.
Native Costume.
In this instance of cordial reception by the natives, the hand of a good and merciful Providence can be easily discovered. What if, at this time of our need, the natives had thrust us away from their dwellings, and refused us shelter for the night, or a protection from the storm? or if they had exhibited towards us the spirit of hostility and war? Augmented sufferings would have been added to our otherwise unhappy lot. There would have been no escape for us from the arctic region. But we found friends when we most needed them.
We were distributed among the natives in the following manner: four men and one officer were to constitute a company; and in this proportion we occupied our respective huts, lived with the families, and shared in their accommodations.
Compared with the first settlement, where we stopped for the first night in our travel, this one was quite respectable, numbering twenty or more huts.
We had no intention of making this settlement a permanent resting place for the winter, if by any means we could find a more southern locality. We cherished strong hope of being able to reach East Cape, and thus being taken off by some ship passing through the straits, before the approach of winter. Nor was there any time to be lost towards completing such an arrangement as this.
One of the first things which we did, was to make known our wants to the head man of the settlement. So far as we were able, we conversed with him by signs, and thus endeavored to explain to him what we wished to do. He gave us to understand that it was impossible for us to travel down to East Cape this season of the year, and that the distance to the cape was very great, and it was therefore impossible to get there.