The sun., 1919-04-06
TENT OF Tie I" STONE AGE ESKIMO
Explorer Sets Out for Another Year
With Blond Eskimo Tin Cans
as Legal Tender to Help Pay
Way on Long Trip

Union Straits we were in twilight, for
there is in this latitude but a small
arc OF daylight in the north at mid
night on the first of May. We knew
that Lambert Island lies in the middle
of the straits. and 1t seemed desirable
camping place, for / knew from
Eskimo report that there was some
driftwood upon 1t. and I thought I
should find in this neighborhood the
seal hunting village of the Noahonirg-
miut.
With my six power Zeiss glasses
was able to see the land on either side
Of the straits, although II was not
visible to the naked eye, as we'll as the
dark mass ahead. which l knew must
be Lambert Island. Besides this saw
scattered over the ice little black dots
that were puzzle to us. One of them
was straight ahead and we were
gradually approaching 1t. When we
got within two or three hundred yards
l turned my glasses on it again and
found it to be a seal. Now 1t IL not
In the nature Of seals ordinarily at this
season Of the year to lie on top of the
ice in the dark Of night. The thing
ton, as was also a large black patch
on the ice beside the seal
I, Ordinarily seal at this time of year
hauls himself out through hole barely
large enough for his body. But the
black spot beside this seal was no small
hole, but many square yards in extent
and was therefore a mystery until the
reflection of a star in II all at once made
1t clear that 1t was water. Things ]
had heard from the Eskimos about the
strong currents In Dolphin and Union
Straits came to my mind only then. I
/ should of course have remembered
them earlier, before We entered the
strait.
] was perhaps 100 yards ahead of
Natkusiak, who was following with
the dog team. l Immediately called to
him to stop and simultaneously lay
down fiat on the ice, drew out my
hunting knife and stabbed the ice.
Tbs knife went right through into the
water; the ice was not much over an
men thick under about six inches OF
snow, | turned to crawl back when
NGtkusiak called out that the sled was
settling. that it was already standing
In pool of water. Had 1t remained
motionless for a few minutes II would
gradually have settled until the ice
broke. sending it to the bottom.
whistled to the dogs and crawling
ahead of them made a slow circle and
got around to our old trail again and
then commenced a retreat.
Dangerous Travelling.
Every few yards I tried the Ice with
my knife and everywhere It seemed to
be about an inch thick, while the sled
tracks and footprints We had made
gong west were already black with
water that had oozed into them. Con-
tinually testing the ice we had to re-
turn several miles before the ice was
Two or three inches thick, which is a
safe thickness. We then began work
Ing toward the mainland shore. but
every now and then we came to thin
ner patches and had to turn back. 1t
took us some hours at this rate To get
ashore. When we eventually got there
tie sun was high in the sky.
Ihis was an adventure brought on.
as most adventures are, by incompe-
tence. / had had positive information
or the dangerousness of Dolphin and
Union Straits, but l had allowed nv
self to forget 1t. and because the Ice
was everywhere smooth and white /
had walked thoughtlessly into the dan
ger from which had we broken through
there would have been no escape, for
the current flows like "A mill race.
When crawling back over the ice I
had several times stopped to listen and
could always hear the rustic of the
water underneath the ice. Even II
we had had no positive warning from
the Eskimos the fact that Dolphin and
Union Straits at this point are less
than twenty miles wide should have
maze IL clear that 1t was dangerous
ground. for they connect the open
ocean TO the west with the large Coro-
nation Gulf in the east and the lido
currents are bound TO be terrific.
Inc caribou migrations northward
were In steady progress all around us.
We saw marching bands on every
rand. On the afternoon of Nav l.
after our adventure with the thin ice.
we waited until a band of some twenty
caribou started across the ice going
north toward Lambert Island. We fol-
lowed IN their tracks, calculating that
II they came upon weak ice they would
fall through and thus warn us.
They did not break through. Their
march was zigzag and took us much
out OF our way, but We followed their
path vigorously and We got across
safely. As matter OF fact We passed
over on very thin ice. tested IL IRE
uently and found IL nowhere over two
inches thick.
Copyright by Vtihjalmur stetansson.S