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[[boxed date]] 1862 Apr 29th Tues [[/boxed date]] have a little of my Pemican as she in her present condition according to Innuit Custom could not eat Seal. Of Course I responded to the wish by giving her some. It seems that when an Innuit wife has her "Monthly" she must not eat Seal - nor must she Cook any thing ^[[or make snow-water for herself]] except by herself. When she attends to a call of Nature, she must go a long distance off from Igloo or Tupik. Neither must she cook for any Innuit during this time she has the "Monthly" - tho' not a serious matter [[underlined]] if she should Cook for a White Man. [[/underlined]] 9th Enc. Wednesday Apr 30th 1862 AM +23° Fresh S E Thick weather - hail last night. M +39° " S.E. " " PM +8° Light NW nearly Fair Sharkey with dogs & sledge (accompanied by Henry) started off hIX- this Morning for Sealing - down to the open water. From the appearance of Clouds in that direction the strong S.E. wind of yesterday PM & this Morning, the ice has been driven up Bay of Frobisher, filling the open water space. Koo-jes-se saw ^[[yesterday]] some of the Innuits at place of 8th Enc & learned that Koo-kin stuck 2 Walrus the day before but harpoon drawed & then lost them. On going out of Tupik this Morning found my Me-rak dead. The poor fellow had a terrible night of it his constant cries piteous. Now but three of the 7 dogs obtained at Holsteinburg, Greenland on my Voyage [[?out]] living. A fact that I have especially observed that the Eastland(Greenland) dogs cannot endure the hardships of the Innuit [[end page]] [[start page]] [[boxed date]] 1862 Apr 30 Wedn [[/boxed date]] dogs [[strikethrough]]can[[/strikethrough]] this side of Davis Strait. [[?]] Expecially they cannot Keep up their own as dogs here when deprived of their usual food - Nor can they endure the severe cold weather of this region as well. Like the Greenland Innuits, the Greenland dogs seem to be less hardy - less of the [[underlined]] "iron [[/underlined]] race - the more civilization there [[?is]] around them. To-day while eating my Seal dinner discovered a scale of gold midst the vertabrae! The effect on me was not precisely of that eminent degree wh. the development of a gold mine in this Country would be - but it set my wits to work - the ^[[source]] & result [[strikethrough]]wa[[/strikethrough]]:that in gnawing away upon Seals back-bone ^[[&]] [[underlined]]"crunching"[[/underlined]] some of the performance had lost a particle of gold from the [[?dental]] mine I brought here with me. Effect must be trend back to true course in wrong conclusions may be drawn. A singular story for me to have reported at Home that the Seals of this Country were gold! [[?yet ?after ?all]] much Seal oil & many Seal skins are annually turned into gold by those hailing from Civilization's pile. Sharkey & Henry returned VIII O'clock this eve. They went down this Morning to the edge of the floe stopped there about 30 to 45 minutes only & turned for the place of 8th Enc after the remaining stray dog. while by the open water Sharkey came near having a shot at an Ook-gook (the largest of Seals) wh. was upon the drifting ice. but as that tide had just commenced ebbing, setting the ice on the move down the Bay he lost the opportunity of securing about a ton of fresh provision & Ook-sook. While there they saw as usual thousands of Ducks, Nowyers & [[?Regging ?Whale"]]" On arrival to place 8th Enc. fount that the nations there when we left, had moved up the Bay. Sharkey & Henry followed their (the said nations) sledge tracks for a distance of about 10 mile when they came to their encampment out on the ice, their Tupic an inverted Oo-mi-en (the large family Boat.) There they found [[end page]]
