Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-10-09

long hair with which we protected our
heads and left mass of dangling frost.
An Icy Coating.
Accumulated moisture from the eyes
coated the eyelashes and brows. The hui
Nudity escaping about the forehead left
a crescent of snow above. while that es-
Gaping under the chin. combined with fall
ing breath, made a semi-circle of ice The
most uncomfortable icicles, however, were
those that had formed on the coarse hair
within the nostrils 1t is to free the face
of this kind of decorations that the Eski-
mos pull the facial hair out by the roots,
hence the real poverty of mustaches and
boards.
During two days of chilly buster the
sleds were forced along with encouraging
results, and on the evening of March 2S
with pedometer and other methods OF
dead reckoning for position, we were
placed at latitude "a deg - min.. lOngi-
tude 96 deg. 90 min. The western horizon
remained persistently undisturbed: brisk
storm, 1t seemed, was gathering, but 1t
was a long time In coming eastward. On
the evening Of the 26th we prepared for
the blast and built the igloo stronger than
usual, hoping that the horizon would be
cleared by a good blow on the morrow
and afford us day of rest The long,
steady marches, without time for re-
cuperation, had begun to check our en-
thusiasm.
In the daily monotony of hardship we
had learned to appreciate more and more
the joy of the sleeping bag. 1t was the
only animal comfort which afforded a re-
to force upon the weary body in the long
marches pleasing anticipation.
The Disrobing.
In the evening. after the blocks of snow
walled a dome in which we could breathe
quiet air. the blue-fiame lamp sang the
notes Of astronomical delights. A
heaven-given drink Of ice water was frs.
INDUCED in to queneh the chronic thirst
and then the process of disrobing began
one at time. for there was not room for
all to act at once.
The fur-stuffed boots were pulled and
the bearskin pants were stripped. Their
half of the body was quickly pushed into
the bag. A brick of pemmican was next
taken out and the teeth were set to the
grind Of this bonelike substance. The ap.
petite was always large, but a half pound
Of cold withered beef and tallow changes
hungry mans thoughts effectually.
The tea. an hour in making. was now
ready and we rose on elbows to take It
Under the influence of the warm drink
the fur coat with its mask of ice was re-
moved. Next the shirt with its ring of Ice
about the waist comes off, giving the last
sense of shivers Pushing farther into the
Ae$NN
and we were lost to the world Of ice.
The warm sense of mental and physical
pleasure which follows is an in erestns
study. The movement OF others. the
sting Of the air. the noise of torturing
winds. the binding rays Of a heatless
sun, the pains of driving SHOWS and all
the bitter elements were absent The
mind. freed of the agitation of frost
wandered to home and better times under
these peculiar circumstances: there comes
,1o cipo wi
| own warm skin, while the companion
ship of the arms and legs, freed Of their
cumbersome furs. makes a new discovery
in the art of getting next to ones self.
In the Heart Of a Storm.
On March q it blew half gale al
night, but at noon on the following day
the wind eased. The bright >sun and
rising temperature were too tempting to
remain quiescent, and though the west
was still darkened by threatening clouds
the dogs were put to the sleds, and of
they went among the wind-swept hum
mocks We had not gone many miles be-
fore the first rush Of storm struck us.
Throwing ourselves over the sleds, we
waited the passing Of the icy blast.
There was no suitable snow near to
begin the erection of a shelter. but Few
miles northward was a promising area
for camp. and to this we hoped to take
ourselves after few moments rest. The
souall soon spent it's force. and In the
! wind which followed good progress was
made without suffering severely. The
temperature was forty-one degrees below
zero Fahrenheit and the barometer 29O5.
Once in moving order. the drivers re-
quired very little encouragement to pro-
, long the effort to fair days march in
spite of the weather. AS the sun Sc tied
In the western gloom the wind increased
It's fury and forced us into camp. Be
fore the gloom was finished a steady.
rasping wind brushed the hummocks and
piled up the snow In large dunes, like
the sands of home shores.
The snowhouse was not cemented with
water. The tone of the wind did not
seem to indicate danger, and. further
more, we were beginning to realize the
great need of fuel economy. We there
fore did not deem it prudent to use oil
for the fire to melt snow. except to
quench thirst
Not particularly anxious about the out
come of the Storm, and with senses
blunted by overwork and benumbed with
cold, we sought the comfort of the bags.