, 1888-01-08

four dogs were curlcd up abaft tho main
hatch, tho former of which might do for
fuel and the latter for food in case of an
emergency or too long n cruise.
At first the trip was not a very severe
n as long as they could feel tho protcc-
ton OF the coast, but tho further away
they got the higher tho wavcs were swell.
ing, and in tho course Of two or three
hours the surf waa dashing over tho
weather sidc and flying in lino spray and
fruth across the littlo cold weather cruis-
crs and making things uncomfortable
generally.
There WA somcc ompacted now under
the leo OF a limo Of high hummocks that
had oncC marked tho place OF tho reef
from which the storm had torn the great
foe, and here our three Esbimoa busted
Themselves in building q comfortable igloo
or snow house, which would protect
them from tho weather, and two smaller
mes were made alongside, ono 10 store
the meat TO keep IL from the hungry dogs
and the other TO protect tho dogs them
selves. II Is very seldom that these pco-
pln cvor build such snow konnols for their
dogs, however cold or stormy the weather,
but now tho flying spray freezing on their
fur and tho want of something TO do to
Ai'AA ~ AA'A iANAA pom
Gus situation, determined them to build n
snow house for these animals.
Their war vessel seemed 10 DO OF tho
ram order, and Of tho most beligcrcnt
class, too, for it went crashing fore and
aft into every other ship Of its own kind,
without regard TO ia size, and tho Eskimo
crow woro often rcgaled with q Wow Of a
borenl battle In which missiles Of ice, a
score Of times greater than Krupp over
dreamed OF, woro hurled backward and
forward by tho contendins foes ~ thoy
came crashing together.
Tho snow hut built and everything
being housed, they had timo 10 look
their situntion fairly in the facO, and 1t
was not n very inviting ono, The danger
Of life, 1t IL trIo, was not as great as less
experienced persons might infer from such
n situation, and those great Ice fields, tough
ns oak, In tho depth OF an Arctic winter,
very seldom wen 10 piOoes, and when
they did ii was because two creator hoos
would CruGli them between them, and on
TO the ARRIVING fields the men would
escape. But II tha storm continued long
they might get so far away that tho
lighter southern winds would mover wait
them back, or at least before tho summer
was on Thorn and the leo became 40 rot
ten that IL was likely 10 go 10 pieces In n
storm from tina nero motion of tho waves
and be reduced 10 such small cakes that
each and all worO constantly overturning,
so that lifo would DO as unsafe us that OF
u bug ON n lot OF floating sawdust in a
rapid.
Again, their ship might bring into a
foreign port from which, though safe,
they could mover return, or only after n
long interval; for there was n case among
tho lwillilI Eskimo, n man whom they
had left that very morning, who, some
twenty years before, had beer carried
away by M ice foo and landed three
weeks later ON tho southern shore of
Southampton Island, and from there had
been n long, Lonesome year and n half
getting from tho natives OF that strange
land back to his beloved lwillik, where
his friends and relatives had long since
given him up MS having joined that great
Eskimo majority in the land where the
fountains spouted pure seal oil and the
houses whore built Of blocks of frozon
reindeer and walrua meat.
Tho only chance of sudden d1ngor was
in case the foo should, in some of is
collisions with othors, split directly
through their snow house and drop them
in tho sea. But such n chance for n vio-
len collision was hourly growing less,
for toward the weather side II long limo
of other ice cakes torn from tho wide
shore ice or blown out of some big inlet
was forming n veritablo ice paCk-or u
long but continuous string of Ice cakes OF
all sizea, from tho largest foes to tho
smallest pieces, and oftcntimes but a few
hundred yards wide, but n number OF
Ill. =, l.,.Il, ,,l ,.l,,., ~. t4..I1-r
forms natur has built AS good a break
water to stop tho furious waves and
breakers of n sea rs any ever devised by
the art of man. l was once on a sailing
vessel Off tho mouth of uudson's strait
and in n bowling storm that mado it
impossible for n land crab like myself
to keep my feet under me on the deck.
We were lacking up and down
in front of IN ice pack trying
to get through, nm attempt that
would have been suicide if wo had
plunged into the grinding ice. A break
was finally found, however, and through
it we called, finding ourselves between
two ice packs q half n milo apart, but eI-
tending for miles in length, and as soon
MS we got through the sea was smoothed
down TO half its Dimensions. Getting
through the next ice pack tho water was
us still rs n river, although n wind was
blowing that sent US blowing along at
twelve knots an hour.
BY Q O'Clock p. m. darkness had set in
and they were at their wits end to know
what to do for y light, although they had
all the walrus hlubber needed from which
to extract the oil, but thsy wero without
the semblance of a lamp in which to burn
it Nuuuook, however, overcome this
by f~ashioniug one from tho inch thick
hide of the walrus, sewing it with seal
skin thongs cut FROM the dog harness,
while wiCkinS was had by cutting up
IkquCesik's wooden tobacco bag, and
matches were plentiful enough among
all my hired natives who smoked
tobacco. and both Eannook and TX
queesik stood well toward the head
on the list, In a little while, there
fore. a bright enough fire FOR Light was
had. though hardly strong enough to
heat the house 10 any extent, and they
were sitting on the snow bed discussing
the dismal prospects. For supper they
had raw frozen valrus meat, hut this
was not so bad. as It was often the staple
diet Of their meals, and even at homo
they could only expect t. supplement 1t
with some hot sDuu and a niece Of steam