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88 SECOND VOYAGE OF THE DUTCH
The king had guards who went every where, and carefully watched what happened,
particularly obferving the fales and the purchafers. One of the Dutch having ap-
proached a little nearer to him than the others, and having faluted him after the manner
of the country, prefented him with fome bifcuit, which the king took with much civi-
lity, and immediately began.to eat it; but while eating, he looked around and atten-
tivély obferved what they were doing.
Their fledges are always ready, and are drawn by a rein-deer or two, which run fo
fwiftly, that they carry a man or two with greater celerity than horfes could do.
One of the Dutch having fired his gun towards the fea, they were fo terrified that
they ran and jumped like madmen: they were pacified, however, when they underftood
no harm was intended to them. ‘The Dutch gave them to underfland that thofe were
the arms they ufed inftead of bows. F ;
But in order to make them underftand the power and ufe of this kind of arms, one
of the Dutch took a flat ftone, as large as the half of the palm of the hand, and placed it -
ata diftance on an eminence. The Samoiedes, who comprehended by the figns which
were made that he was about to perform fomething fingular, aflembled to the number
of about fifty or fixty, and placed themfelves near the ftone: the Hellander fired and
having hit the mark, the {tone was broken to pieces, at which the {pectators evinced a
‘great aftonifhment. :
At length they parted with figns of amity on both fides, and when the Dutch were in
their yacht, they once more took off their caps and founded the trumpets ; to which the
Samoiedes having anfwered in their manner, they returned to their fledges and feated
themfelves.
A little time afterwards they faw one of them return to the fhore to reclaim a ftatue
of very rude carving which one of the Dutch had carried away. He came on board
the yacht, and having feen the ftatue, fignified to them that they had been guilty of a
very bad action in taking it away. They returned it to him, and it was firft placed.cn
an eminence near the fhore, from which it was afterwards carried away in a fledge.
it would appear from this and many other occafions that thefe {tatues are the gods of
the Samoiedes. Near a hundred were alfo found on the point of Weigats, which had
been named the Cape of Idols, not better finifhed than the other: they were a little
rounded at the top, and in the middle was a {mall elevation ferving for a nofe, with two
little holes above ior the eyes, and another under the nofe for the mouth. A quantity
of afhes and bongs of rein-deer were obferved before them, which fhewed that the Sa-
moiedes had offered facrifices to them.
The Dutch having fet fail on the fecond of September, two hours before fun-rife,
found thenifeives at jun-fet at the diftance of a league from Twifthoek, to the eaft of
that cape; and failing north till noon, performed about fix leagues of their courfe,
They afterwards met with fo much ice, the wind was fo changeable, and there arofe fo
thick a fog, that they were under the neceflity of making fhort tacks; and at length
they drifted to the eaft of the Ifle of the States, within mutket-fhot of the land.
‘They landed on the ifland where they met with a great quantity of hares, many of
which they killed. On the fixth of September fome failors again landed to feek for a
certain fort of ftone, a fpecies of diamond, of which a fufficient quantity is alfo found
in the Ile of the States. During this fearch two of the failors fleeping by one another,
a white bear very lean approached them foftly, and feized one by the nape of the neck.
The failor not knowing what it was, cried out, Who has feized me thus behind? His
companion having raifed his head faid, Holloa! my dear friend, it is a bear; and imme-
diately rifing ran away. ‘The bear bit the unfortunate man in feyeral parts of the head,
and
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