THE WORLD OF IGE. 129

the crew; but on closer inspection it became apparent
that the men had undergone a strange transformation,
and were capering with delight at the ridiculous
appearance they presented. They were clad from
head to foot in Esquimau costume, and now bore as
strong a resemblance to Polar bears as man could
attain to.

Meetuck was the pattern and the chief instrument
in effecting this change. At Upernavik Captain
Guy had been induced to purchase a large number of
fox-skins, deer-skins, seal-skins, and other furs, as a
speculation, and had them tightly packed and stowed
away in the hold, little imaginine the purpose they
were ultimately destined to serve. Meetuck had come
on board in a mongrel sort of worn-out seal-skin
dress ; but the instant the cold weather set in he drew
from a bundle which he had brought with him a dress
made of the fur of the Arctic fox, some of the skins
being white and the others blue. It consisted of a
loose coat, somewhat in the form of a shirt, with a
large hood to it, and a short elongation behind like
the commencement of a tail. The boots were made of
white bear-skin, which, at the end of the foot, were
made to terminate with the claws of the animal; and
they were so long that they came up the thigh under
the coat, or “ Jumper,” as the men called it, and thus
served instead of trousers, He also wore fur mittens,
with a bag for the fingers, and a separate little bag
for the thumb. The hair on these garments was long

and soft, and worn outside, so that when a man
9