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Updated: June 21, 2025
Moreover, Davis began to see that, owing to the great quantity of whales in the northern waters, and the ease with which seal-skins and furs could be bought from the natives, these ventures might be made a source of profit whether the Western Passage was found or not. In his second voyage alone he bought from the Eskimos five hundred sealskins.
To the sea-captains who feasted with him and drank themselves torpid under his table, he proposed a plan he would supply the Aleut hunters for them to hunt on shares as far south as southern California. Always, too, he was an eager buyer of their goods, giving them in exchange seal-skins from the Seal Islands. Boston vessels were the first to enter partnership with Baranof.
At Uppernavik 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 imagining the purpose they were ultimately destined to serve.
His underclothing was made of birds' skins, like our own, and he wore a coat of fox-skins, with a heavy hood covering up the head completely. On his hands he wore mittens made of seal-skins, with warm dog-skin for an inside lining, and his stockings were of the same. The nose was very small and very flat, and the eyes were small and narrow.
With these she made several warm quilts, the first of which she presented to the ladies, telling them that she hoped still to have enough feathers to supply all the women and children. Another important object, which Harry especially desired to succeed in, was the manufacture of the seal-skins into leather.
To soften the seal-skins of which the boots, shoes, and mittens are made, the women chew them for an hour or two together, and the young girls are often seen employed in thus preparing the materials for their mothers. The covering of the canoes is a part of the women’s business, in which good workmanship is especially necessary to render the whole smooth and water-tight.
The captain was equally anxious to get some seal-skins, and he told us that, after we had visited the wreck, and explored the island, we should try and catch some of the animals. Seals are curious-looking creatures.
The cold lake-breeze died away, and on the little inland river the sun was actually oppressive. Seal-skins were cast aside, and we sent hastily below for sun-umbrellas. The speed of the steamer was slackened to four miles an hour.
We took from this deposit four seal-skins to repair our shoes and left in exchange a copper-kettle, some awls and beads. We paddled all day along the coast to the eastward on the inside of a crowded range of islands and saw very little ice; the blink of it however was visible to the northward, and one small iceberg was seen at a distance.
"Now what shall I bring in?" "Nothing for the bed but seal-skins," said she. "I do not like the feathers. The seal-skins are stiff at present, but I think we may be able to soften them by-and-bye. Now, Frank, your chest had better come in here, as it is of no use where it is, and we will make a storeroom of it, to hold all our valuables." "What, the diamonds?" replied I.
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