The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1888-04-07
tains spouted pure seal oil and 10
houses were built OF blocks OF frOaO

~ ~. n
houses were built OF blocks Of lfr0aSn
reindeer and walrus meat.
i The only chance OF sudden dansef
was in case the Zoe should, in SOME gpf3
It's collisions with others, split difaet)yS
through their snow house and dfopg
them in the sea. But such ~ cli3sSsy
for a violent collision was hourly greyss
ing less, for toward the weather sids A.
long line Of other Ice cakes torn frfn
the wide shore Ice or blown out ofsobe
big inlet was forming q yertiable fe
pack--Or q long but continuous strhg,
OF ice cakes of all sizes, from the lak-3.
est toes to the smallest pieces, add
oftentimes but Il few, hundred ySSSs
wide, but number OF miles In 1engh
:. - and whore tue "pack" forms natti8
has built as good a breakwater to stb
the furious waves and breakers of a !ses
as any ever devised by the art of MAJ.
I{WasIOnceo on O. sailing vessel Off th
mouth OF Hudson's strait and iuh
bowling storm that made 1t lmposslbb
for a land crab like myself to keep nR
feet under me on the deck. We web
tackipg UP and down in front Of an i'd
pack trying to get through, an attenit
that would have been suicide il we hal
plunged into the grinding ice. A breal
was Gually found, however alh
through 1t we sailed, finding ourselves
between two ice packs a half mile
apart, but extending for miles In
length, and as soon as we got through
the sea was smoothed down to hale its
dimensions. Getting through the next
Ice pack the water was as still as d
river, although wind was blowing
that sent us plowing along at. twelve
knots an hour. u
by 2 o'clockp m. darkness had set,
In and they were at their Wits end to
know what to do for light although
they had all the walrus blubber needed
from which to extract sheo but they
were without the ssmblanee OF lamp
In which to burn It. y TJannook, how
ever. overcome this by fashioning one
from the inch thick hide or the walrus,
sewing it with SEAL skin thongs cut
frsm the dog harness, while wlcking
was had by cnttlnglsup Ikqueesik's
woolen tobacco bag, and matches were
plentiful enough among all my hired
natives who smp Stobacc o9th
n e1iGnnooh ard ! Ikqn ne6sik sJood e0tJM to-
ward the head Of the list. In little
while, therefore, q bright enough fire
for light was had, though hardly strong
enough to heat the house to any extent,
and they were sitting on the snow bed
discussing the dismal prospects. For
supper they had raw frozen walrus
meat. but this was not 80 bad, as it
was often the staple diet of their meals,
and even at home they could. only ex-
pect to supplement it with some hot
soup and a piece Of steamipg walrus
.1lpper. The principal worry about
their meat supply was quantity. not
quality, and the chances of renewing
that supply when the present gave out;
and this latter did not look so genera :
ly bad as the floating Ice packs were
known to contain more seal and walrus
than the solid shore ice, as they had
often remarked when hunting on the
latter. Should they 60 off their own
little island Of ice, however, to hunt
for an animal the drifting waters
might separate them from 1t 50 that
they could never return, and this pro-
liability would con6ne their hunting
tours to a very limited area. So, take
1t all in all, however dark and dismal
their outlook seemed. there were many
brlaht possibilities breaking through
tho black clouds, and after the first
depression was over they looked at
things In q far more cheerful light.
They went to sleep early to save their
oil, curling up on the snow bed in their
reindeer clothes "a not unusual circum.
stance, for they often stay out at night
to hunt, building small igloo to sleep
in--the only change being to withdraw
their arms from their sleeves and fold
them on their bare breasts, common
practice among these people when in a
chilly, fireless snow house or taking O
nap in their clothes. 1t was almost
certain that they would not be missed
the first night at the village sufficient
to cause alarm, as nightly absences of
hunters are frequent when watching q
seal hole or when success has taken
them far away.
Here they were, then, sailing away
In the dead Of night with lighted
ship that could carry thousands OF
tons of freight. and this. too, in the
very midst OF an Arctic winter and
despite the assertions Of many news.
papers of the Atlantic seaboard that.
jealous Of, their Canadian cousins and
their proposed Hudson bay route to
to England, have constantly asserted