The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1880-10-22

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the open water. The thermometer would
frequently register 80 and so degrees when
we were moving with strong wind blow
ing directly in our faces. Such travelling as
this Is simply terrible, and it il astonishing
that We were able to do 1t without encoan-
tering severe frost bites. Storms have kept
Us In camp several days during the journey
mp the river, and our provisions were near
ly exhausted, 30 that we had 70 lie over to
hunt for game. The hunters could find
nothing near the river, and we were OBJ
liged to 60 with sled one days march to
the east, build an igloo, and hunt from 1t.
IL was terribly cold for them, sleeping in an
igloo without fur or blankets, merely a
shelter from the wind, aud forced, as they
we're, to sleep in their clothes. Equeesik
killed four reindeer, aud We had to wait for
them to be brought In. At this time this
was all the food we had, and before more
was obtained We were
UPON SHORT RATIoNs.
The dogs were beginning to feel the ef-
fects OF hard work and cold weather and
low diet, aud already we lost two fine dogs
that died In consequence Of priyation. Be-
fore we reached Depot Island We had lost
twenty-seven dogs. The last day we trav-
eled on the river, December 23th, the ther-
mometer had registered during the day 8S
degrees in the morning, "a degrees at noon
and 90 degrees at o'clock in the evening.
The lowest was 101 degrees below the
freezing point. Toolooah, Joe and Tshurk
went hunting next. but were unfortunate in
not being able to secure any game. Lieut..
Schwatka decided to abandon the river,
and strike directly for Depot Island, which
had the advantage Of being shorter route
than by the unsurveyed river. 1t was our
daily experience now to lose one or more
dogs. They got plenty Of reindeer meat.
but 1t was usually fed frozen, and has little
nourishment in It in that state for cold
weather, when fat and warming food Is re-
quired. A seal skin full OF blubber each
week would have saved many of our dogs,
but we bad none to spare for them, as we
were reduced to the point where we had to
save it for the exclusive purpose of lighting
the igloos at night. Our meals had to be
eaten cold-that is, frozen so solid that the
food had to be broken into convenient
Jumps, which, when first put into the
mouth, we're like stones, or cooked with
moss gathered from the hillside and the
snow beaten off with stick. The coun-
try began to swarm with wolves now, a.
with reindeer, and we met them almost
daily. Often they would come quite close
to the ieloos, and one night Equeesik shot
one Of three that were eating with our dogs
the meat he had thrown to them for food.
They killed and ate four of Equeesik's
dogs and attacked him when he went out of
the igloo to drive them off. He killed two
Of his assailants with bis rifle and two more
By the most Internal traps ever devised.
He set two keenly sharpened knife blades
In the ice and covered them with blood,
which the wolves licked, at the same time
slicIng their tongues, the cold preventing
them from feeling the wounds at the time,
and their own blood tempting them to
continue until their tongues were 80 scarf
fed that death was inevitable. Toolooah
was out hunting ON the 23d day of Febru-
ary, when pack Of about twenty wolves
attacked him. He jumped upon big rock
which was soon surrounded, and there he
fought the savage beasts off with the butt
of his gun until he got sure shot, when
he killed one, and while the Others fought
and e @<- G...
DEvoURED THE CARCASS,
He made the best of the opportunity to get
back into camp. On the 25th we were de-
tanned In camp by a storm which Tooleoah
took advantage Of for hunting. He saw a
reindeer not far from camp, and was aston
ished to see another Inuit following the
same animal. The stranger, when he saw
Toolooah, ran back to his igloo, but Too
looah let the deer go and followed the man,
whom he found to be q Kurmpatoo ac-
euaintance named Ted,luue. From him he
learned that Depot Island was three days
off with long marches and light sledges.
We moved up to Tedsluus's igloo the fol-
lowing day and bought some meat from
him. There we packed all our heavy stuff
and with sleds and forced marches reached
Depot Island on the fourth day of the trip
by way of Connery river. The mean tem-
perature here for the past month has been
A degrees above. We still knew moth
ing about Hudson's Bay since we left,
about year before, Tedsluue having seen
no one since he came to the camp where we
found him. The great question with MS
was We're there any ships in the harbor?
If there was the prospects we're there
would be some news from home and letters
from our friends. We hoped that there
were ships. and believed that they would
be wintsring at Depot Island, a. 10 was the
unanimous opinion Of the officers Of the
fleet at Marble Island the previous year
shat Depot Island was the preferable place
to- winter, on account OF the difficulty OF
getting fresh meat for the crews at the
other harbors. > At any rate we felt sure of
finding our hard bread, pork and molasses,
tngetber with some other provisions that
Captain Barry said he could spare and leave
With Arom, the native who hsc charge OF
our stuff at Depot Island, and the prospect
Of again eating some civilized food was
most cheering. The natives exhibited m
unusual degree Of activity. and We got nm
der way ut O'Clock the next morning,
moving off at tho rate Of three and half
miles an hour. We soon arrived in sight
Of Depot Island, looking anxiously for slegde
tracks, which We felt would be abundant II
any ships were near By. We saw no tracks
fcr 90 long time that ws began 20 doubt
II fgthere were any natives there.9 At noon
we were within four or five miles Of the 10.
land, and saw some natives on the ice In
the dim distance. Then all Was exotic
ment With our party, and it increased -
the distance diminishad,, At last the sleds
drew near enough for ns to reoognizs Aror,
who was Fastening 70 Us ahead Of the 9th
ara. From Arom W learned that there
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