Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-11-10


| real treat.
Col. McAlpine and the writer had two
+, picked out to be mounted as souvenirs,
but they were eaten on the way out.
| The other fish, one of q kind Of white
fish and the other herring, went down
hard They were brought to us straight
from the dog food caches. Boiling re-
duced their toughnesS, but brought out
| an oil not unlike cod liver oil which
the youngsters shy at occasionally. A
fish not quite so good was met and the
Eskimos who frequently visited would
be greatly amused at our discontinue.
Ptarmigan were found 20 be plentiful
during the early part Of our stay, but
when the Winter set in they gathered
in hocks and became very wary and
gradually disappeared from our line Of
food.
Sea Freezes Over.
Reference to the diary shows that
soon after our arrival on the coast ice
| started to form in earnest. Not only
| did the lakes close up within q week,
| but the sea became covered. 1t then
became q question of how long 1t would
be before the trip to the post would be
possible, Mai. Baker realized that one
Of our prime wants would be fuel. The
| gathering Of moss and tiny willows be-
| hunting. Willow-gathering was slow as
they rarely were found to be much more
than a half inch through near the root,
| and not more than o foot and q half
| long BY sticking to 1t. fuel caches
were made against the time when the
snow would cover everything and piles
were left at Dease Point Luck came
our way when we were able to swap
| with the EskimoS pair Of field glasses
for a tiny StVoe about feet long and
foot wide and inches deep. It
made an impression on the mud shack
Trading odd articles with the EskimoS
brought us In fur clothing and 1t was
soTely needed as the absence Of sugar
and other heating foods had so reduced
our resistance against the cold that 1t
seemed impossible to get warm under
the reduced diet put into effect by the
writer.
The Waistlines Of members Of the
party were gradually reduced. One
man lost between SO and so pounds. as
the scales at Cambridge Bay testified.
With supplies very low at Baker Lake,
| when our party went through surplus
cigarettes and tobacco and candy were
left there. After o week at DeaSe Point
we began to regret our generosity.
/ Cigarettes soon ran out and chocolate
bars had TO be conserved for the trip
out In no time we got, ont Of tobacco,
The Esltmos divided SONS with US. hut
they soon ran out, too; and while some
members Of cur party tried smoking
moss, they gave 1t UP in disgust.
Kept Food on Minds.
1t was remarkable how the absence
OF food preyed on our minds. We tried
to keep from thinking Of things we
liked. For Q long time we could not
persuade ourselves to eat ground sQuiF-
rels We had been hunting them for
their fur Fortunately. they went well
when we were forced to eat the 20 or
so that had been skinned when the
ptarmigan ran out.
Time dragged on, but the Eskimos
eventually told us that we would be
starting for the post on october 81.
Imagine our surprise when on the goth
they told US the departure would have
to be postponed indefinitely. All our
| packing and cutting down Of weight to
| the last ounce had gone through. The
food supply had been used accordingly
and we had been eating half biscuit
day made from the last of our -four
and everything was. done to get the
party in as good physical shape Is pos
sible for the so or 70 mile trip.
The situation became serious again.
1t looked like a straight diet Of dried
fish.
We knew one member of the family
/ had died during q hunting trip and this
was q taboo against certain activities
| for a period following her death, but
ESkimos showed no desire to explain the
| change of program.
Mai. Baker met the situation with
renewed promises of articles when we
reached the post, promises that have
since been more than kept. The dis
| tribution right there Of our guns and
ammunition among the natives seemed
to fix the matter up. The EskimOs pro-
vided one dog team.
We got away early and In no time
had clipped of several miles. The food
which the Eskimos had supplied us
fish and caribou-came in handy, and
all members of the party stood the test
OF the f1rst day In great shape.
Nobody Complained.
Raw spots and tired muscles resulted
but there were no complaints for were
we not on the way to the post? TIC
some of the party dog-team travelling
was novelty. The moving pictures Of
a racing dog team carrying one at q
furious rate are far from true. Ir
places where the going was good W.
made splendid time, considering thu
loaded sleds, but the good places wer,
not frequent. What with resting th'
dogs numerous times and the stop a
noon for cup of tea from q thermo
flask, the IS miles covered was con.
sidered good. In places we were able Il
get on the sled and rest, but riding II
, the cold breeze did not make 1t com
Portable for long and we would have t,
, get of again to warm up.
The ESkimos told US they expects
to reach Cambridge Bay In three days
but If the travelling was found to b
, extra good we might make 1t In two.
IglooS were built on a small islam
between Melbourne Island and tn
mainland that night OF all the tryin
parts of dog team travelling, waitin
worst. Where we camped the sno'
was not deep. and 1t took well over o.
hour to get the igloo built
All the whites got pretty well chile
! IN the meantime, and the comparativ
warmth of a few degrees below freezing
In the igloo was q relief. During tn
. night 1t turned warm and our iglo
caved in, much to our discontinue. TIL
, ESkimos did not seem to mind 1t niIlc
: and we're able to rebuild 1t in the darl
/ To us one Of the most striking thing
. about the Eskimo was his ability t
} work and travel in the dark.
The warm weather not only SpOile
: the igloo. but it also ruined the sno'
| crust. and on October % our prOgreG
: was slow, the total being little NOR
! than five miles.
Helping Dogs Difficult.
Toward evening we got out In tn
4 | straits and found great hummocks G
\ snow and ice, made by heavy win
z storms of the week previous. From
scenic standpoint, they presented
: fine picture, but TO US they NEAR
o firing work helping the dogs and Eski
= mos haul the Sleds around and over tn
hummocks. After two hours OF this, tn