train of cars. About midnight Joe called me to announce that the
natives were coming off to the ship in boats. I hastened to put on my
clothes; but before I got dressed I could hear the captain's voice
shouting "Kimo" (Welcome), from the quarter-deck, and when I joined him
I could see two dark objects that seemed to be approaching rapidly, and
could hear the confused sounds of voices in conversation coming up from
the water. Presently it could be seen that one was a kyack and the
other an omien, or women's boat, filled with women and children and a
few men. By this time Joe had come on deck, and at Captain Barry's
request invited them to come aboard. When they heard their native
tongue from the stranger ship their surprise was unfeigned. The men
bought a number of corlitangs and kummings (native boots), as well as
other articles of apparel, and gave in exchange small pieces of
tobacco, a few cases of matches, and articles of clothing that were not
worth keeping. Captain Barry got a quantity of whalebone, reindeer and
fox skins, walrus ivory, a bear-skin, and about a hundred and fifty
pounds of fresh reindeer meat. We also bought three dogs for about a
pound of powder, and a kyack for Joe, for which the captain gave an old
broken double-barrelled gun and a handful of powder and shot. The owner
was in ecstasy over the bargain and Joe was more than happy.

I could not help, however, feeling mortified that such advantage should
be taken of their childish ignorance of values. I was not surprised,
then, when Joe, who has been long enough in civilized lands to know
what values are, came to me and said he thought it was wrong to rob
these people. They were his own people, and from the same tribe, in
fact, so that his interest was naturally with them. His own uncle was
one of the chief men of this tribe, but at the time we arrived had gone
inland with most of the men on a hunting expedition. Joe sent him his
pocket-knife as a present, and also was liberal with needles among the