By this time the officers of both the ships had surrounded the Indians; while the bow of the Isabella, which was close to the ice, was crowded with sailors; and a more ludicrous, yet more interesting scene, was, perhaps, never beheld, than that which took place whilst the Indians were viewing the ship. Nor is it possible to convey to the imagination any thing like a just representation of the wild amazement, joy, and fear, by which they were successively agitated. The circumstance, however, which chiefly excited their admiration, was a sailor going aloft; for they kept their eyes intently fixed upon him, till he had reached the summit of the mast. The sails, which hung loose, they supposed to be skins.
After this, they were conducted to the foot of a rope-ladder suspended from the deck of the ship; and the mode of ascending it was shown to them; but a considerable time elapsed before they could be prevailed with to ascend. At length one of them went up, and he was followed by the rest. The wonders with which they were now surrounded, excited additional astonishment.
The knowledge which these Indians had of wood seemed to be confined to some kinds of heath, which had stems not thicker than the finger: hence they knew not what to think of the timber with which the ships were constructed. Not being aware of its weight, two or three of them, successively, seized hold of the spare topmast, and evidently with an intention of carrying it off. The only object on board which they seemed to view with contempt, was a little terrier dog; judging, no doubt, that it was too small for drawing a sledge: but they shrunk back, in terror, from a pig, whose pricked ears, and ferocious countenance, presented a somewhat formidable appearance. This animal happening to grunt, one of them was so much terrified, that he became, from that moment, uneasy, and impatient to get out of the ship. In carrying his purpose into effect, however, he did not lose his propensity to thieving, for he seized hold of, and endeavoured to carry off, the smith's anvil: but, finding it infinitely too heavy for his strength, he laid hold of the large hammer, threw it on the ice; and, following it himself, deliberately laid it on his sledge, and drove off. As this was an article that could not be spared, Captain Ross sent a man from the ship, who pursued the depredator, and, with some difficulty, recovered it.
The officers and men on board were much amused by putting into the hands of these Indians a magnifying mirror. On beholding themselves in it, their grimaces were highly entertaining. They first looked into, and then behind it, in hopes of finding the monster which was exaggerating their hideous gestures. A watch was held to the ear of one of them; and he, supposing it alive, asked if it was good to eat. On being shown the glass of the skylight and binnacle, they touched it, and desired to know what kind of ice it was.
Three of the men who remained on board were handed down into the captain's cabin, and shown the use of the chairs: this, however, they did not comprehend; for they appeared to have no notion of any other seat than the ground. They were shown paper, books, drawings, and various mathematical instruments, but these produced in them only the usual effect of astonishment. On being conducted to the gun-room, and afterwards round the ship, they did not appear to notice any thing particularly, except the wood that had been used in her construction. They stamped upon the deck, as if in surprise at the great quantity of this valuable material which they beheld. By the direction of the officers, Sacheuse enquired of these people, whether their country had as many inhabitants as there were pieces of ice, floating round the ship: they replied, "Many more;" and it was supposed that at least a thousand fragments could be distinguished.
The men were now loaded with presents of various kinds, consisting of articles of clothing, biscuit, and pieces of wood; in addition to which the plank that had been used in crossing the chasm, was given to them. They then departed, promising to return as soon as they had eaten and slept. The parting was attended, on each side, by the ceremony of pulling noses.
It has been remarked that these Indians were in possession of knives; and the iron of which their knives were made, was stated to have been procured from a mountain near the sea-shore. They informed Sacheuse that there was a rock, or great quantity of it; and that they cut off from this rock, with a sharp stone, such pieces as they wanted.
In the course of the three following days, the Isabella changed her station some miles westward. At length she was again moored near the ice; and, shortly afterwards, three of the natives appeared at a distance. Sacheuse, who had been furnished with presents, and sent to speak with them, induced them to drive, on their sledges, close to the vessel. The dogs attached to each sledge were six in number. Each dog had a collar of seal-skin, two inches wide, to which one end of a thong, made of strong hide, and about three yards in length, was fastened: the other end was tied to the front of the sledge: thus the dogs were ranged nearly abreast, each dog drawing by a single trace, and without reins. No sooner did they hear the crack of the driver's whip, than they set off at full speed, while he managed them with the greatest apparent ease, guiding them partly by his voice, and partly by the sound of his whip. One of these men pointed out to Captain Ross his house, which was about three miles distant, and could be discerned with a telescope.
A party of ten natives approached the ship, on the ensuing day. These having with them a seal-skin bag filled with air, they began to kick it at each other and at the strangers: in this play the Englishmen joined, to the great amusement of both parties. The inflated skin was what the men had been using as the buoy to a harpoon, in the killing of a sea-unicorn. They gave to Captain Ross a piece of dried sea-unicorn's flesh, which appeared to have been half roasted. This gentleman had already seen them eat dried flesh; and he now had an opportunity of ascertaining that they did not scruple to eat flesh in any state; for, one of them who had a bag full of marine-birds, took out one and devoured it raw.
The officers, desirous of ascertaining whether these Indians had any amusements of music or dancing, prevailed with two of them to give a specimen of their dancing. One of them began to distort his features and turn up his eyes. He then proceeded to execute, in succession, a variety of strange gestures and attitudes, accompanied by hideous distortions of countenance. His body was generally in a stooping posture; and his hands rested on his knees. After a few minutes, he began to sing; and, in a little while, the second performer, who, hitherto, had been looking on, in silence, began to imitate his comrade. They then sang, in chorus, the word, "hejaw! hejaw!" After this had continued, with increasing energy, for several minutes, the tune was suddenly changed to one of shrill notes, in which the words "weehee! weehee!" were uttered with great rapidity. They then approached each other, by slipping their feet forward: they grinned, and, in great agitation, advanced until their noses touched, when a loud and savage laugh terminated the extraordinary performance.