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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Schwatka's Search, by William H. Gilder
+
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+Title: Schwatka's Search
+
+Author: William H. Gilder
+
+Release Date: September, 2004 [EBook #6594]
+[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule]
+[This file was first posted on December 30, 2002]
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+Edition: 10
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+Language: English
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+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SCHWATKA'S SEARCH ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Charles Aldarondo, Charles Franks
+and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team.
+
+This file was produced from images generously made available by the
+Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions.
+
+
+
+
+
+[Frontispiece: LIEUTENANT SCHWATKA]
+
+SCHWATKA'S SEARCH
+
+SLEDGING IN THE ARCTIC IN QUEST OF THE FRANKLIN RECORDS
+
+BY
+
+WILLIAM H. GILDER
+SECOND IN COMMAND
+
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTION.
+
+
+On the 25th of September, 1880, the leading English newspaper published
+the following words:--
+
+"Lieutenant Schwatka has now resolved the last doubts that could have
+been felt about the fate of the Franklin expedition. He has traced the
+one untraced ship to its grave beyond the ocean, and cleared the
+reputation of a harmless people from an undeserved reproach. He has
+given to the unburied bones of the crews probably the only safeguard
+against desecration by wandering wild beasts and heedless Esquimaux
+Which that frozen land allowed. He has brought home for reverent
+sepulture, in a kindlier soil, the one body which bore transport. Over
+the rest he has set up monuments to emphasize the undying memory of
+their sufferings and their exploit. He has gathered tokens by which
+friends and relatives may identify their dead, and revisit in
+imagination the spots in which the ashes lie. Lastly, he has carried
+home with him material evidence to complete the annals of Arctic
+exploration."
+
+The record of Schwatka's expedition is written in these pages. Much of
+it has already been published in detached letters by the 'New York
+Herald', which engaged the author to act as its correspondent during
+the journey. Other hands than his have reduced it to its present shape,
+for his restless energy has again driven him toward the North, and has
+enlisted him among the crew of the 'Rodgers', which is seeking the
+lost 'Jeannette'. Beyond a mere concatenation of the chapters it
+has been nowhere altered with a view to literary effect or sensational
+color. The notes from which it is drawn were made from day to day; and
+if critics find in it facts which are either improbable or unpalatable,
+they may, at least, have the satisfaction of knowing that it is a
+faithful narrative of carefully sifted evidence.
+
+This needs to be said because the statements of the writer have already
+been questioned in one or two details. He says that the party
+experienced such cold weather as was almost without precedent in Arctic
+travel, the temperature falling to seventy-one degrees below zero. He
+says that the party killed more than five hundred reindeer, besides
+musk-oxen, bears, walrus, and seal, in regions where Rae and McClintock
+could scarcely find game at all, and where the crews of the
+'Erebus' and 'Terror' starved to death. He says that of the
+last survivors of Franklin's party the majority were officers, arguing
+that the watches and silver relics found with their skeletons go far to
+prove their rank. These statements have been doubted. The accuracy of
+the thermometers being questioned, they were tested and found to be
+curiously exact. The facilities for procuring game were assisted by the
+use of improved weapons; and besides, as Sir Leopold McClintock has
+justly shown, it was merely a tradition, not an ascertained fact, that
+these sub-arctic regions were destitute of animal life. The method by
+which the official position of the bodies was determined is
+indisputably open to objection. "Watches and silver relics," writes
+Vice-admiral Sir George Richards, "do not necessarily indicate a
+corresponding number of officers. Such light valuable articles would
+naturally be taken by the survivors."
+
+But the point which has provoked more criticism than all the rest is
+the native evidence that the distressed crews were in the last resort
+reduced to cannibalism. This is set down just as it was heard, being
+worth neither more nor less than any testimony on an event which
+happened so many years ago. Between the risk of giving pain to living
+relatives, and the reproach of having suppressed essential parts of the
+story, no traveller should hesitate for an instant. Dr. John Rae, the
+veteran of Franklin search parties, writes to the author in the
+following words: "As my name is mentioned in connection with the
+subject of cannibalism, I must state that when I came home in 1854 I
+felt bound to report in as condensed a form as possible all the
+information given us by the Esquimaux, including the most painful part.
+I would have felt it my duty to do this even had my dearest friends
+been among the lost ones, for had I withheld any part of the sad story,
+it would have come to light through my men, and I should have been
+accused, with some show of justice, of garbling my report. I consider
+it no reproach, when suffering the agony to which extreme hunger
+subjects some men, for them to do what the Esquimaux tell us was done.
+Men so placed are no more responsible for their actions than a madman
+who commits a great crime. Thank God, when starving for days, and
+compelled to eat bits of skin, the bones of ptarmigan up to the beak
+and down to the toe-nails, I felt no painful craving; but I have seen
+men who suffered so much that I believe they would have eaten any kind
+of food, however repulsive."
+
+On the other hand, Sir George Richards shows strong reasons why the
+Esquimaux should not be believed. "They are said to give as their
+reasons," he writes, "that some of the limbs were removed as if by a
+saw. If this is correct, they were, probably, the operators themselves.
+We learn from the narrative that they were able to saw off the handles
+of pickaxes and shovels. At all events the intercourse between the
+natives and such of Franklin's crews as they met is surrounded by
+circumstances of grave suspicion, as learned from themselves, and this
+suspicion gathers strength from various circumstances related on
+Schwatka's journey. Be this as it may, I take my stand on far higher
+ground. Of course such things have happened. Strong, shipwrecked
+mariners, suddenly cast adrift on the ocean, have endeavored to extend
+life in this way when they were in hourly expectation of being rescued.
+But how different the case in point! The crews of the 'Erebus' and
+'Terror', when they abandoned their ship, were, doubtless, for the
+most part, suffering from exhaustion and scurvy; death had been staring
+them in the face for months. The greater part of them probably died
+from exhaustion and disease long before they got a hundred miles from
+their ships, and found their graves beneath the ice when it melted in
+summer, or on the beach of King William Land. It is possible that no
+more than half a dozen out of the whole crew ever reached the entrance
+to the Great Fish River. We need not call in starvation to our aid. I
+fully believe that by far the greater portion perished long before
+their provisions were consumed. The only thing that would have restored
+men to convalescence in their condition would have been nursing and the
+comforts of hospital treatment, not a resort to human flesh."
+
+Apart from these objections, of which the reader is only forewarned,
+the importance of the results achieved by Lieutenant Schwatka's
+expedition has not been gainsaid by any one possessing the least
+acquaintance with Arctic matters. It made the largest sledge journey on
+record, having been absent from its base of supplies for eleven months
+and twenty days, and having traversed 2,819 geographical, or 3,251
+statute miles. It was the first expedition which relied for its own
+subsistence and for the subsistence of its dogs on the game which it
+found in the locality. It was the first expedition in which the white
+men of the party voluntarily assumed the same diet as the natives. It
+was the first expedition which established beyond a doubt the loss of
+the Franklin records. McClintock recorded an opinion that they had
+perished: Schwatka recorded it as a fact.
+
+The success of this latest Arctic journey has been attributed to small,
+as well as to greater causes. The advantages of summer exploration were
+manifest. The Esquimaux of the party gave invaluable aid, building
+snow-huts with the skill to which none but natives attain, coating the
+sledge-runners with ice according to a method which only natives
+understand, and by their good offices enabling the expedition to hold
+communication and have dealings with the wild tribes with whom they
+came in contact. The dogs were chosen with the utmost circumspection,
+and justified this care by their wonderful endurance. Game was
+abundant. Such minor devices as the use of blue lights proved
+efficacious in the dispersal of wolves. Woolen foot gear, made by
+friendly natives, supplied a need which has often proved fatal in the
+Arctic. Good management kept all the Esquimaux loyal, and Schwatka's
+strong will helped the travellers to live while the dogs were falling
+exhausted and dying by the way.
+
+Among the relics that were brought home was the prow of the boat seen
+by Sir Leopold McClintock in Erebus Bay, the sled on which it had been
+transported, and the drag-rope by which the sled was drawn. There were
+also two sheet-iron stoves from the first camp on King William Land, a
+brush marked "H. Wilkes," some pieces of clothing from each grave,
+together with buttons, canteens, shoes, tin cans, pickaxes, and every
+thing that could in any way tend to identify the occupants of the
+different graves or those who died without burial. They were offered to
+the British Admiralty, and, having been gratefully accepted, were added
+to the relics already deposited at the Museum in Greenwich Hospital,
+and at the United Service Institution in London.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+CHAPTER I. NORTHWARD
+
+CHAPTER II. THE WINTER CAMP
+
+CHAPTER III. OUR DOGS
+
+CHAPTER IV. IN THE SLEDGES
+
+CHAPTER V. NATIVE WITNESSES
+
+CHAPTER VI. THE MIDNIGHT SUN
+
+CHAPTER VII. RELICS
+
+CHAPTER VIII. IRVING'S GRAVE
+
+CHAPTER IX. ARCTIC COSTUMES
+
+CHAPTER X. OVER MELTING SNOWS
+
+CHAPTER XI. AMATEUR ESQUIMAUX
+
+CHAPTER XII. WALRUS DIET
+
+CHAPTER XIII. THE RETURN
+
+CHAPTER XIV. FAMINE
+
+CHAPTER XV. ESQUIMAU HOME-LIFE
+
+CHAPTER XVI. HOMEWARD
+
+CHAPTER XVII. THE GRAVES OF THE EXPLORERS
+
+
+
+
+LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
+
+
+LIEUTENANT SCHWATKA
+CAMP DALY IN SUMMER
+ESQUIMAUX GOING TO THE HUNTING-GROUND
+A CAIRN
+CAIRN MARKING DEPOSIT OF PROVISIONS
+THE SHIPS IN WINTER QUARTERS
+ESQUIMAU PLAYING THE KI-LOWTY
+CAMP DALY IN WINTER
+DOWN-HILL WITH THE SLEDGES
+HUNTING MUSK-OXEN
+THE GREAT BEND IN HAYES RIVER
+THE SOURCES OF THE HAYES RIVER
+MEETING WITH THE OOKJOOLIKS
+THE NETCHILLIK AMBASSADRESS
+THE COUNCIL WITH THE NETCHILLIKS
+SNOW-HUTS ON CAPE HERSCHEL
+CROSSING EREBUS BAY
+CURIOUS FORMATION OF CLAY-STONE
+CLAY-STONE MOUNDS
+THE BREAKING UP OF THE ICE
+THE MARCH SOUTHWARD
+SCHWATKA'S PERMANENT CAMP
+HENRY KLUTSCHAK'S CAMP
+VIEW ON BACK'S RIVER
+THE DANGEROUS RAPIDS, BACK'S RIVER
+THE MARCH IN EXTREME COLD WEATHER
+VIEW ON CONNERY RIVER
+ESQUIMAUX BUILDING A HUT
+SECTION AND PLAN OF ESQUIMAUX HUT
+ESQUIMAU WOMAN COOKING
+
+[Map: THE OVERLAND ROUTE OF THE Exploring Expedition of
+Lieut. Schwatka to and from KING WILLIAM'S LAND. 1879-1880.]
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+SCHWATKA'S SEARCH.
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+NORTHWARD.
+
+
+"Haul in the gang-plank;" "Let go the tow-line," shouted the captain of
+the 'Fletcher'. Then he signalled the engineer to go ahead, and
+the little schooner 'Eothen' was abandoned to her own resources
+and the mercy of the mighty ocean. The last frantic handshaking was
+over, and only wind-blown kisses and parting injunctions passed back
+and forth as the distance between the voyagers and their escort kept
+continually increasing, until nothing could be heard but the hearty
+cheers that wished for us a pleasant journey and unbounded success.
+There was no time now for regrets, for if we would be comfortable we
+must direct our thoughts seaward and get our bunks ready for sleeping.
+So we were paired off and went immediately to work. As Lieutenant
+Schwatka was not only the senior officer of the expedition, but at the
+same time taller than I by several inches, I willingly yielded him the
+top bunk of our state-room, and waited patiently outside until he had
+prepared his lair, for it would be impossible for two to work at the
+same time in such very narrow space. He at last arranged his two
+buffalo robes to his perfect satisfaction, and I soon spread my humbler
+blankets to the best advantage. So much accomplished we retired to our
+first sleep on shipboard.
+
+We had left New York on the 19th June, 1878, a party of five, none of
+us unaccustomed to hardship and adventure. Lieutenant Frederick
+Schwatka, of the Third United States Cavalry, Polish by descent,
+American by birth, had been distinguished in the war; and I, who was
+second in command, had seen a good deal of active service. Henry
+Klutschak, a Bohemian by birth, a civil engineer by profession, brought
+us the advantage of his previous experiences in the Arctic; Frank E.
+Melms was an experienced whaleman; and Joseph Ebierbing, well known as
+"Esquimau Joe," had been with Captain Hall and Captain Hayes in their
+journeys, and with the 'Pandora' expedition from England. The
+'Eothen', that carried us, was commanded by Captain Thomas F.
+Barry. Her crew included a first, second, and third mate, a carpenter,
+blacksmith, cooper, steward and cook, three boat-steerers, and twelve
+men before the mast. To prepare her for encounters with the ice, the
+hull had been overlaid to the chain-plates with oak planking an inch
+and a half thick, and the stem had been covered with oak about two feet
+thick, over which was iron plating to the depth of three-quarters of an
+inch. She was a stout vessel of one hundred and two tons. The stock of
+provisions laid in on board of her for the use of the party included
+hard bread, Indian-meal, flour, molasses, pemmican, canned meats,
+preserved vegetables, preserved fruits, coffee, tea, and chocolate.
+Horseradish was taken as a preventive against scurvy, and tobacco was
+stored in abundance for the use of such Esquimaux as might have stories
+to tell or assistance to offer. Arms and ammunition had been generously
+presented to us by several manufacturers, and to individual bounty we
+also owed many of our books, night-signals, instruments, and the timber
+for our sledges.
+
+The commander of the 'Eothen' was, indirectly, the originator of
+the expedition. Everybody knows that for more than twenty years
+explorers had been sailing from English and American ports in search of
+the bodies or the papers of Sir John Franklin and his party. The
+partial success which attended the investigations of Sir Leopold
+McClintock had served to whet the public appetite. A story which
+Captain Barry brought home from the Arctic made the curiosity still
+greater. He said that in 1871-73, while on a whaling expedition, he was
+frozen in with the 'Glacier' in Repulse Bay, and was there visited
+by several Esquimaux who brought their families on board his vessel.
+They had lost their way while hunting, and were anxious to see the
+ships of white men. While on board the 'Glacier' they spoke of a
+stranger in uniform who had visited them some years before, and who was
+accompanied by many other white men. All of the party had afterward
+died, but the chief had meanwhile collected a great quantity of papers.
+He had left these papers behind him in a cairn, where, among other
+things, some silver spoons had since been found. In the winter of 1876,
+while the captain was with the bark 'A. Houghton' before Marble
+Island, another set of Esquimaux visited him, and while looking at his
+logbook said that the great white man who had been among them many
+years before had kept a similar book, and having told him this one of
+them gave him a spoon engraved with the word "Franklin."
+
+This was enough to arrest the attention and stir the adventurous spirit
+of Lieutenant Schwatka. He became eager to organize a search party and
+find the cairn where the papers were supposed to be still buried. He
+obtained leave of absence, went to New York, and proposed to Judge
+Daly, of the Geographical Society, to take charge of an expedition.
+After listening to the lieutenant's offer, Judge Daly gave him all the
+information in his possession concerning the whereabouts of the
+supposed cairn, so far as its site could be ascertained from the
+history of the relics already said to be found, and commended him to
+General Sherman, indorsing his application to be detailed to command
+the exploring party. The lieutenant also conferred with Messrs.
+Morrison & Brown, the shipping merchants of South Street, New York, who
+owned the whaling vessel on which the supposed clew was brought home,
+and they readily accepted his offer, and with the help of private
+subscriptions fitted out the 'Eothen'. Their instructions to
+Lieutenant Schwatka were as follows: "Upon your arrival at Repulse Bay
+you will prepare for your inland journey by building your sledges and
+taking such provisions as are necessary. As soon as sufficient snow is
+on the ground you will start for King William Land and the Gulf of
+Boothia. Take daily observations, and whenever you discover any error
+in any of the charts you will correct the same. Whenever you shall make
+any new discoveries you will mark the same on the charts; and important
+discoveries I desire to be named after the Hon. Charles P. Daly and his
+estimable wife, Mrs. Maria Daly. Any records you may think necessary
+for you to leave on the trip, at such places as you think best, you
+will mark ''Eothen' Franklin Arctic Search Party, Frederick
+Schwatka in command;' date, longitude, and latitude; to be directed to
+the President of the American Geographical Society, New York, United
+States of America. Should you be fortunate in finding the records,
+remains, or relics of Sir John Franklin or his unfortunate party, as I
+have hopes you will, you will keep them in your or Joe's control, and
+the contents thereof shall be kept secret, and no part thereof
+destroyed, tampered with, or lost. Should you find the remains of Sir
+John Franklin or any of his party, you will take the same, have them
+properly taken care of, and bring them with you. The carpenter of the
+'Eothen' will, before you start on your sledge journey, prepare
+boxes necessary for the care of relics, remains, or records, should you
+discover the same. Whatever you may discover or obtain you will deliver
+to Captain Thomas F Barry, or whoever shall be in command of the
+schooner 'Eothen', or such vessel as may be despatched for you.
+You are now provisioned for eighteen months for twelve men. I shall
+next spring send more provisions to you, so that in the event of your
+trip being prolonged you shall not want for any of the necessaries of
+life. You will be careful and economical with your provisions, and will
+not allow anything to be wasted or destroyed. Should the expedition for
+which it is intended prove a failure, make it a geographical success,
+as you will be compelled to travel over a great deal of unexplored
+country."
+
+Thus manned, equipped, and instructed, we sailed from New York. It was
+nearly a month before we saw our first iceberg. During the night of
+July 11th I heard the order given to wear ship, and was called on deck
+to see an iceberg dead ahead; but so great was the distance and so
+foggy the weather that it was some time before I could make it out, and
+then it appeared only as a thin, faintly bluish line. The eagle eyes of
+the second mate had discovered it in time to avoid any danger of
+collision; but the captain thought it more prudent to heave to and wait
+until dawn before continuing on our course. The following morning a
+regular old veteran berg could be seen from the deck, about twenty
+miles away. It was apparently about a mile long, and could have
+supplied the city of New York with ice for many years, were there any
+way to preserve it for that purpose. During the 13th we saw four large
+icebergs, which passed close by the ship. While writing in the cabin,
+about eleven o'clock of the 15th, the mate on watch called me on deck
+to see a magnificent aurora, the first we had seen. It was truly a
+grand spectacle. At the same time the moon was shining brightly and the
+sea was as smooth as glass. Near by an immense iceberg looked black
+against the red twilight along the horizon, while in the distance
+another berg was white in the light of the full moon. The air was
+filled with the voices of wild-ducks, who could be heard, but not seen.
+On Friday, the 19th, in latitude 59 deg. 54 min. north, and longitude
+60 deg. 45 min. west., thirteen icebergs were to be seen during the
+morning, and were of the most varied and picturesque description. One
+appeared like a huge circus tent, with an adjoining side-show booth;
+while near by another was a most perfect representation of a cottage by
+the sea, with gables toward the observer, and chimneys rising at proper
+intervals along the roofs. On the other side of the vessel a huge
+monster presented a vast amphitheatre, with innumerable columns
+sparkling in the sunlight and dazzling the spectator with their intense
+brilliancy. I made a few sketches of the most remarkable in view; but
+as twenty-three could be seen from the deck at three o'clock I gave up
+in despair. At six o'clock thirty-three were in sight, and the sun set
+beautifully, eight minutes past nine, surrounded by fourteen of these
+monsters of the deep. On the night of the 19th I went on deck to see an
+iceberg, which was a perfect counterpart of Newstead Abbey. One could
+almost fancy he saw the ivy creeping over its sides, so deceptive were
+the shadows that fell upon it from pinnacles and horizontal projections
+innumerable.
+
+At half-past seven o'clock in the evening we sighted a brigantine off
+the weather beam, while thirty-one icebergs were around us. The vessel
+was going the same way that we were bound, and was about fifteen miles
+away. Sunday night, the 21st, was a splendid night. One could read
+distinctly on deck throughout the entire night. There were plenty of
+icebergs around. Those in front and on both sides of the ship were
+black against the sky, the moon being on the other side of them, while
+those we passed shone in all their virgin beauty in the bright
+moonlight. The red twilight still lingered along the horizon,
+graduating through a pale yellow tint to orange, and then deepening
+into intense blue that was almost black. The picture was fierce in
+color and startling in the contrasts it presented.
+
+At a quarter before nine o'clock the next night we sighted Resolution
+Island in the dim distance. Spy-glasses were at once brought into
+requisition, and we could see that the mirage had fooled us, though
+there seemed little doubt of the land's being visible. The next morning
+the land was in plain sight, about thirty or thirty-five miles off the
+weather beam, and the water filled with small and dangerous pieces of
+ice. The land was covered with fog, and looked desolate enough, but
+nevertheless seemed acceptable after a tedious journey against head
+winds and calms. The wind was still directly out of the straits, and we
+had to beat backward and forward from Resolution to Button Island, and
+it seemed as if the straits were unapproachable. Toward night the wind
+blew a perfect gale, and added to the usual dangers was the risk of
+running upon the innumerable pieces of loose ice which appeared on
+every side, many of them having sharp points projecting below the
+surface of the water, and heavy enough to pierce the sides of any
+vessel going at the speed we were compelled to make in order to keep
+sufficient headway to steer clear of such obstacles as could be seen.
+The captain and first mate, who were on deck most of the night, said
+that disaster was imminent; that the danger was constant, and that the
+night was withal one of the most terrible ordeals they had ever
+experienced. I was tired and slept soundly, and consequently knew
+nothing about it until morning, which dawned brightly and with a light
+breeze, under which we passed up to the first ice-pack I had ever seen.
+While engaged in conversation an inexperienced hand at the wheel
+brought us so close to a small cake of ice, about the size of a
+schooner, that collision was inevitable. A long projection beneath the
+water had a most dangerous look, but fortunately was so deep that the
+keel of the 'Eothen' ran up on it and somewhat deadened her
+headway. Long poles were got out at once, and, all hands pushing,
+succeeded after a while in getting her clear without damage; but it was
+a perilous moment.
+
+We worked over toward the south side of the straits, and found a
+channel through which we could make but slow progress. The wind
+increased and blew terrifically all night, forcing the vessels to beat
+back and forth in the mouth of the straits, and we had a similar
+experience on the night of the 22d, running the gauntlet under reefed
+mainsail and jib through loose ice and in imminent danger of shipwreck.
+Next day the ice appeared somewhat open, and Captain Barry concluded to
+venture into the pack. When we got into clear water we worked up to the
+bulkhead of ice and passed Resolution Island. We were almost as glad to
+get rid of it as we had been to see it, nearly a week before. All the
+icebergs we saw were aground, and several of them had arches cut into
+their sides, which looked as if our vessel might safely sail inside and
+secure a harbor. We worked up beyond the Lower Savage Islands, and in
+sight of the Middle Savage and Saddleback Rock.
+
+When we went to bed the weather was a dead calm, and the water of
+glassy smoothness. Not a sound was to be heard save the distant thunder
+of bursting icebergs and the water swashing up against the field-ice
+that now and then passed with the current. It sounded for all the world
+like waves upon a rock-bound coast, or like the distant rumbling of a
+train of cars. About midnight Joe called me to announce that the
+natives were coming off to the ship in boats. I hastened to put on my
+clothes; but before I got dressed I could hear the captain's voice
+shouting "Kimo" (Welcome), from the quarter-deck, and when I joined him
+I could see two dark objects that seemed to be approaching rapidly, and
+could hear the confused sounds of voices in conversation coming up from
+the water. Presently it could be seen that one was a kyack and the
+other an omien, or women's boat, filled with women and children and a
+few men. By this time Joe had come on deck, and at Captain Barry's
+request invited them to come aboard. When they heard their native
+tongue from the stranger ship their surprise was unfeigned. The men
+bought a number of corlitangs and kummings (native boots), as well as
+other articles of apparel, and gave in exchange small pieces of
+tobacco, a few cases of matches, and articles of clothing that were not
+worth keeping. Captain Barry got a quantity of whalebone, reindeer and
+fox skins, walrus ivory, a bear-skin, and about a hundred and fifty
+pounds of fresh reindeer meat. We also bought three dogs for about a
+pound of powder, and a kyack for Joe, for which the captain gave an old
+broken double-barrelled gun and a handful of powder and shot. The owner
+was in ecstasy over the bargain and Joe was more than happy.
+
+I could not help, however, feeling mortified that such advantage should
+be taken of their childish ignorance of values. I was not surprised,
+then, when Joe, who has been long enough in civilized lands to know
+what values are, came to me and said he thought it was wrong to rob
+these people. They were his own people, and from the same tribe, in
+fact, so that his interest was naturally with them. His own uncle was
+one of the chief men of this tribe, but at the time we arrived had gone
+inland with most of the men on a hunting expedition. Joe sent him his
+pocket-knife as a present, and also was liberal with needles among the
+women, who were very grateful for his generosity. The whalers seriously
+object to giving things away to the natives, as it renders their system
+of barter more difficult. It would be a greater benefit to all these
+tribes to send one or two of their most intelligent young men to the
+United States or to England for a few years, so that they could protect
+them against the rapacity of the masters and owners of whaling ships.
+They could then get something like a fair equivalent for the goods they
+have to dispose of. The natives are better whalemen than any of the
+seamen who come to this country, and they should certainly receive more
+than a handful of powder and a few bullets for hundreds of pounds of
+bone, worth about $2.50 a pound. Shortly after daylight the natives
+departed, and a breeze springing up we set sail upon our journey.
+
+Most of the day we were in full sight of the land, which I regarded
+with keen interest. It certainly seemed the most desolate-looking
+region I ever saw--a succession of hills of bald rock, with occasional
+patches of snow and moss; not a house, nor a tree, nor, in fact, any
+sign of animal or vegetable life--and yet I longed to put my foot upon
+that barren soil and commence the work we had before us.
+
+One of the principal annoyances of all sailing-masters in the Arctic
+regions is the sluggish action of the magnetic needle as they approach
+the magnetic pole, and it was a difficulty from which we were not
+exempt. The land all looks so much alike that even when running in
+plain sight of it it requires the greatest familiarity with the
+principal points to be able to steer by them. During the night of
+Friday, August 2, we, by some mysterious operation, got in between
+Nottingham and Salisbury Islands, when we thought we were beyond the
+Digges. We found a bad reef, just on a level with the water's edge,
+about eight miles north-west of the north-west point of Nottingham
+Island, which is not down upon the charts, and is situated just where a
+vessel running along at night, "handy to the land," as sailors say,
+would inevitably run upon it. We put it down upon our charts and called
+it Trainor's Reef, as it was discovered by the third mate from the
+mast-head. During a previous voyage Captain Barry discovered a similar
+reef, about the same distance off the easterly point of Salisbury
+Island, which we also noted and put down as Barry's Rock.
+
+We reached Whale Point, at the entrance of Rowe's Welcome, during the
+morning of Wednesday, August 7, just seven weeks from New York, and
+about six o'clock a whale-boat reached the vessel's side, after having
+chased us all night. It was loaded with natives of the Iwillie tribe,
+two or three families of whom still remained at the Point, while the
+others had gone down to the vicinity of Depot Island, which is half-way
+between Cape Fullerton and Chesterfield Inlet. The visitors comprised
+two men, a woman, two boys, a little orphan girl, and a baby. The woman
+was a daughter of "Prince Albert," a man of considerable influence in
+his tribe, and I understood that his power was due to superior
+intelligence and sagacity. In fact, all those whom we met at this time
+seemed much superior in intelligence to those who came aboard at the
+Lower Savage Islands. They were cleaner, but by a mere trifle, and
+showed improvement from contact with civilization. They usually
+preferred to array themselves in some part of the costume of white
+people, though not by any means particular in wearing it as white
+people do. One of the men was a young fellow known as "Jim," who, the
+captain thought, would be a desirable acquisition to our party to go to
+King William Land, and Joe made the proposition to him. He regarded the
+matter favorably, and was particularly interested when he saw some of
+our fine rifles. His father was an old man, called "The Doctor," who
+was dependent upon his son. After giving our guests breakfast and a few
+presents we bade them good-by, and set sail for Depot Island, where we
+arrived about four o'clock in the afternoon.
+
+The lookout from the mast-head saw some boats coming from the
+main-land, and presently three kyacks, an omien, and two whale-boats
+came alongside, bringing about fifty people, including men, women,
+and children. Among them were Armow and his two half-brothers, Ik-omer
+(Fire) and Too-goo-lan. "Papa" was there also, and he, too, is one of
+the few savages that are thoroughly reliable in every respect. He was
+one of Captain Hall's party when he visited King William Land in 1868.
+All these people seemed very friendly toward us, and upon a
+consultation over the charts we decided to go on to the main-land, near
+Depot Island, to spend the winter. We learned with deep regret that one
+of the Natchillis, who was said to have spoken to Captain Barry about
+the existence of books among the Franklin relics, had since died, and
+that nobody knew what had become of the other. We determined to make
+every effort to find the latter, for should he know where the books
+were hidden, and be willing to conduct us there, our labor would have
+been materially lessened. But in any case, whether we found him or not,
+we had great faith that, by staying at least one season on King William
+Land, when the snow was off the ground, we should be able to find the
+records, and complete the history of Sir John Franklin's last
+expedition.
+
+[Map: LIEUT. SCHWATKA'S EXPED. to KING WILLIAM LAND to
+Discover the Remains of the FRANKLIN EXPEDITION.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+THE WINTER CAMP.
+
+
+[Illustration: CAMP DALY IN SUMMER.]
+
+Meanwhile we had need of patience. Our camp, which was in latitude 63
+deg. 51 min. north and 90 deg. 26 min. 15 sec. west of Greenwich, had
+been named by Lieutenant Schwatka after the president of the American
+Geographical Society. The tents that had been provided for the
+expedition proving quite inadequate for our wants, Captain Barry got
+Armow (the Wolf), one of the most influential natives, to let us have
+his tent, one that had been made by the crew of the brig 'A.
+Houghton', memorable to us as the vessel on which Captain Barry
+received his spoon. The Iwillie tribe moved up their tupics to the land
+nearest Depot Island, so as to be near us; but finding they were a
+considerable distance from any fresh water, moved again to the spot
+where our stores were landed. We had bidden adieu to the officers and
+crew of the 'Eothen', and had been rowed ashore by the Inuits. The
+solitude of our first day on land was enlivened by the visit of a
+ponderous young Natchilli, named Joe (or Natchilli Joe, to distinguish
+him from Esquimau Joe). He promised to accompany us in the spring. He
+was a fine-looking young man, with a big head, and a shock of
+raven-black hair, as massive-looking as a lion, and with none of the
+bloodthirsty look which I had been led to expect in the Natchilli
+features. He had been living with the Iwillie tribe for about two
+years, and they all liked him very much. We felt that it would tend to
+assure our favorable reception by his tribe to have one or two of their
+own people with our party.
+
+Ten days after we landed all went to the hunting-grounds but Armow and
+his party, who were to go in a boat, but it was so stormy that they did
+not get off. When the others broke camp and started over the hills it
+was a novel and interesting spectacle. Each one had his load, the
+women, in addition to their other burdens, having to carry their
+children upon their backs. Behind them came their dogs, staggering
+under loads that almost hid them from view and getting into all kinds
+of trouble among the rocks. They were accompanied by "Jerry," a native
+for whom Esquimau Joe had a great liking. He took all his family except
+his son Koumania, who had been given to me as a body-servant. Koumania
+was an unusually bright, manly little fellow, and, though so young, had
+already killed a reindeer. We were all much interested in him, and his
+parents were much pleased that he had found favor with the Kodlunars.
+His father was one of Captain Hall's party in his King William Land
+journey, and was also to accompany us. He seemed like a good, honest,
+faithful fellow, and had the reputation of being a first-class hunter.
+Koumania came running to me, before his father's departure, with his
+face covered with smiles and soapsuds, and I found that Frank had given
+him some soap and told him I would like him better if he would wash.
+Poor fellow! he had done the best he could, and had at any rate shown a
+willing spirit.
+
+[Illustration: ESQUIMAUX GOING TO THE HUNTING-GROUND.]
+
+It was not until Wednesday that the boat party could get away. Most of
+the time it rained and blew a perfect gale. We were then alone in the
+camp, with the exception of a tupic, which contained one old man, two
+old women, and three children. There were plenty of dogs, though, and
+we had concerted music every night. I spent some time in making over
+some civilized clothes for my boy. I had to take them in everywhere
+except around the waist. There he was as big as I am, though I weigh
+nearly two hundred pounds.
+
+I returned from a hunting and exploring excursion Saturday night,
+August 31, and had come to the conclusion by that time, after
+satisfactory experience, that tuk-too hunting is not a pastime. It is
+good, solid work from beginning to end, with no rest for the weary. If
+any readers have meditated such a task as a divertisement, I would beg
+to dissuade them from the undertaking, for they know not what they do.
+Before attempting to follow tuk-too hunters over these hills and
+valleys, I would advise a severe course of training. We started on the
+morning of the 25th, in the midst of a strong gale, which had been
+blowing all night from the north-west, and was bitter cold. It rained,
+snowed, and hailed all at the same time, and the pelting hard stones
+cut our faces nearly all the morning. The party consisted of "Sam,"
+another of Joe's friends, his two younger brothers, Koumania, and
+myself. I took a blanket and some little provisions, in case I should
+be out over night. We walked along, without stopping, a distance of
+about eight miles across the hardest country to travel over I had ever
+seen, and when we halted to rest I was indeed tired. The rocks and
+hills were hard enough to walk over, but the worst of all were the
+moss-covered meadows. Your foot would sink at every step, and it was as
+much like walking in loose, wet sand as anything with which I could
+compare it. I wore native boots, or kummings, as they are called, for I
+knew it would be impossible to get along with anything else; but the
+sharp edges and points of the stones could be felt through them almost
+as if one were barefooted. Do not think that the mossy meadows were a
+relief after the rocks. On the contrary, they were but a delusion and a
+snare, for beneath the velvet cushion was concealed the sharp and
+jagged rock that cut the foot all the same, and proved a more deadly,
+because a hidden foe. Though tired when I sat down to rest, I was more
+so when I got up to walk again; but, ashamed of my weakness, I kept on,
+gritting my teeth and determined to do or die.
+
+It was getting late, and still we saw no deer--in fact, I was losing my
+interest in deer very rapidly, and only hoped I might soon see a tupic.
+After we had walked about fifteen miles, "Sam" pointed out a mountain
+that did not seem so very far off, and said, "Io wunga tupic sellow"
+(My tent is there). This was refreshing, and I plodded along still more
+determinedly. I would have given anything to have been back in my own
+tent, but that was out of the question. It was farther to go back than
+to go ahead, and though every bone in my body ached I plodded along,
+frequently stopping to rest. I thought we had passed the mountain that
+"Sam" had pointed out, and finally I ventured to ask him where the
+tupic was. His answer was invariably, "Con-i-tuk-vo-loo" (A little way),
+and I began to weary of the monotony of the answer, as probably he did
+of the question, until at last, in a valley farther off than I had
+originally thought the mountain, I saw the tupic. The approach was by
+a circuitous route, the wind still blowing so strongly against us that
+each took his turn in leading, the others crouching behind the slight
+shelter thus afforded. And this was a pleasure trip! When we finally
+did reach the tent, I received the kindly welcome of old "Molasses"
+and his wife, and dropped down on some deer-skins, completely used up.
+The hunters were naturally hungry after their long walk, and from a
+pile of fresh meat on the side of the tent "Sam" seized a large piece,
+half cooked, and taking a vigorous bite, cut off the mouthful with his
+disengaged hand and passed the rest to the one standing nearest him,
+who helped himself in the same way, and thus it kept circulating until
+it was all gone.
+
+I awoke early the next morning, and went outside the tent and feebly
+attempted to walk; but it was a most excruciating effort. My
+hip-joints, that ached like a toothache the night before, now seemed
+to be made of old rusty iron, and grated and shrieked when I tried to
+move, as if they rebelled against it. I felt as if there was nothing
+left for me to do but to walk the soreness off; therefore I kept
+moving, though I was conscious that my step lacked its wonted firmness
+and grace. After bathing in the lake that spread out in the valley in
+front of the tupic, I returned to find the hunters ready for the day's
+sport. I took up my rifle and started off with the hunters. Presently
+the pain left my hips, or, more properly speaking, my feet got so sore
+from the constant walking over sharp rocks that my mind was diverted
+in that direction solely. While resting on the top of a high bluff
+overlooking the lakes, I heard a faint "halloo," which seemed to come
+on the wind from an immense distance. I called "Sam's" attention to it,
+and he immediately dropped behind a rock, out of the wind, until it was
+repeated several times, when saying, "Inuit ky-ete" (Somebody says
+come), he started off down the steep mountain side in the direction
+of the voice, and the boys and I followed him. We walked nearly
+three-quarters of an hour before we finally saw the object of our
+search, and then he appeared perched on a rock against the clear blue
+sky, but still too far off to be recognized even by my hawk-eyed
+guides. At last we were near enough to see that it was "Alex Taylor,"
+one of the Inuits from our camp, who had left with the others for the
+hunting-grounds. He had with him his wife and two children, one a babe
+in the hood, and two bags packed with tupic and poles. He had a heavy
+back-load of skins, and his wife another big bundle. They seemed both
+surprised and pleased to see me. "Alex" told me that he had seen no
+deer that day, but had previously shot nine, and that there were
+"ama-suet" (plenty) farther on. He regaled us with some raw meat, and
+honored me with a nice raw deer tongue, which I ate with great relish
+after he had skinned it and eaten the skin.
+
+After luncheon and a pipe, we gathered up the bundles and trudged along
+until nearly sundown, when we arrived at a tupic under a cliff and
+between two large lakes. Two young married women and an old palsied
+crone came out to meet us. "Alex Taylor" told me that I was to stay
+there all night. The next morning, after walking about nine or ten
+miles without seeing anything in the way of game except some deer
+tracks, we ascended a high bluff that had been on our right since
+leaving camp, when, to my infinite delight, I saw a large river,
+which "Alex," tracing the course with his finger, indicated as emptying
+into a large bay near our camp, opposite Depot Island. Its course was
+nearly straight for about three miles below and seven miles north of
+where we stood; then, as my guide indicated with a wave of his hand,
+flowed to the east and again to the south. It extended much farther to
+the west and north, and from what I have since learned from the natives,
+rises between the head of the Invich and Wager rivers, and is about
+ninety-five miles in length. To the south and west of where we stood
+it passed over a broad stony portage, and beyond that swelled out, as
+do most of the rivers in this country, into a series of broad lakes
+filled with islands.
+
+This discovery appeared to me of inestimable value, as indicating an
+entirely new and feasible route to King William Land, and, since my
+return to camp, Esquimau Joe, who had been away with the hunters for
+about three weeks, was here for a few hours, and told me that his
+hunting-camp was on the east bank of this same river, and the inquiry
+he has already made of the Inuits in his party confirmed my judgment of
+the feasibility of this route. I named the river after Mr. Thomas B.
+Connery, of New York.
+
+We resumed our walk, turning back along the bank of the river, which on
+the east side is high and almost perpendicular. We reached the portage,
+about three miles to the south, and crossed over to the west side,
+which is a low, rolling country, covered with moss, which at a distance
+looked like sun-burned grass. The portage was nearly a quarter of a
+mile wide, but by the exercise of some agility, where the current ran
+most swiftly through the large rocks, we got over without wetting our
+feet, and about a mile from the river bank stopped to rest on a rocky
+eminence. "Alex" pointed vaguely in the direction of some hills about
+two or three miles away, and said he thought there were some deer over
+there; but as I had been walking three days now without seeing a deer,
+and was desperately tired, I told him to go on if he wanted to, and
+take my rifle, and I would wait till he came back. He trotted along,
+and I sat under the lee of a rock, taking advantage of the opportunity
+to write up my journal and trace the course of the river. In the
+meantime the sun sank lower and lower, but no signs of "Alex Taylor."
+About three hours after he left me he reappeared, with his hat in
+his hand and a heavy bundle over his shoulder, trotting along so
+nimbly that I envied him. He had shot two deer, a "cooney" and an
+"isaacer"--that is, a doe and a buck--and he had their warm, bloody
+skins on his back. He said that there were plenty of deer over there,
+and to-morrow we would move the camp up to that spot. So we put the
+skins and some tenderloin in a cairn, and covered it up with heavy
+stones, and after eating some of the raw tenderloin we started for
+home. It was long after dark when we reached there, and I was glad to
+find Sam's tupic already up, with his old father and young mother, and
+my blankets and a little package of salt, which I had missed very much
+while eating so much raw meat.
+
+The next day we broke camp at an early hour, and moved bag, and
+baggage, to the place where "Alex Taylor" had shot the deer the
+preceding afternoon. Notwithstanding my sore feet and tired limbs,
+I took a load on my shoulders out of sheer shame, for without that
+I would have been the only one, old or young, biped or quadruped,
+without something, so I made a martyr of myself. Just after leaving the
+spot where "Alex" and I had cached the skins yesterday afternoon, "Sam"
+dropped his burden from his shoulders, grasped his rifle, and, with the
+single word "tuk-too," started over the country on a run. Three others
+joined him, and the rest of us kept on until we reached the lake, where
+our new camp was to be located. The tents were soon put up, and the
+boys started off to carry in the two carcasses that "Alex" had shot and
+buried under stones. Presently the hunters who went off with "Sam" came
+back, saying they had seen nothing, and later "Sam" came in with the
+skin of a big buck which he had shot. He is quite young, but one of the
+best and most indefatigable hunters in the tribe.
+
+I went out in the morning with "Sam" and "Roxy" to find some deer.
+After some wanderings, in which "Sam" got separated from us, and after
+several unsuccessful shots at the game, "Roxy" and I returned, I being
+too weary and footsore to find much interest in the sport, especially
+as it began to rain and was bitter cold. In fact, the first new ice I
+have seen this summer was around the shores of the lake that morning,
+and I had to break it when I went down to bathe. On our way home we
+passed, on the top of a high, barren hill, a cairn, which "Roxy" at
+once said had been built by the Kinnepatoos, a tribe which formerly
+occupied these lands, and the boys soon threw aside the stones to find
+the dried-up skeleton of a deer killed many years ago. "Sam" did not
+get back until dark, but he brought with him the skin of an isaacer
+that he had killed since he left us.
+
+That night I proposed to "Sam" to bring me down to our tent at the salt
+water, and though I could see that he did not relish leaving the good
+hunting-grounds just as he had reached them, he consented, and finally
+seemed delighted when I promised him an old pair of pantaloons for his
+trouble. "Alex Taylor" also came to the tupic and said he would
+accompany us, and this made the prospect more cheerful, as I knew it
+would be at least two days' hard travelling. During the night we were
+visited by a severe thunder-storm, which frightened my tent-mates
+because unused to it, and they lighted an ikomer to take the sharp edge
+off the lightning; but I slept on peacefully while "Old Molasses" held
+a stick so that the shadow kept the light of the lamp from my eyes. It
+stopped raining toward morning, but it was still chilly and damp when
+we started, shortly after daylight, on our long journey.
+
+"Sam" and "Alex" again got separated from us in pursuit of deer, and I
+became so chilly that we gave up waiting for them to rejoin us, and
+moved on. At last we could see Picciulok, as the natives call Depot
+Island, but it was at a considerable distance, and it was getting late.
+The sun was then below the horizon, and we hastened along to get sight
+of some familiar ground; but, alas! at every hill-top Picciulok seemed
+as far, if not farther off, and finally we could not see it all, it was
+so dark. My guides knew they were lost, and wanted to lie down until
+morning, but I kept them up, for I could see the stars and could keep
+the right course; but the walking was terrible. My feet were now so
+sensitive that I could feel every sharp stone through the soles of my
+kummings, and the stony portages between the lakes and over the little
+indentations of the coast seemed to increase in number all the time. It
+was so dark that I could not see where to step, and my feet would slip
+down and wedge in the angle between the sharp stones, or the point of a
+rock would come right in the hollow of my foot, until I stumbled and
+floundered and almost screamed with pain. And yet no familiar
+landmarks. I began to despair, or rather to doubt my physical ability
+to proceed, when the sharp-eyed Netchuk called my attention to the
+light from a tupic at a considerable distance, and a little to our
+right. This was indeed refreshing, so we kept on as well as we could,
+though we often fell, and I staggering with a strained cord in one foot
+and the skin worn off the sole of the other. But there were the lights
+ahead, and we kept right straight for them, though no matter how far we
+walked they seemed just the same distance off. It was certainly
+discouraging, and I could not help thinking of the will-o'-the-wisp,
+and wondering if the phenomenon was ever seen in the Arctic. I could
+not remember any instance in my reading, and determined to reach that
+light or perish in the effort. At last it did seem nearer. We could
+make out the shapes of the tents, and finally we could hear dogs
+barking and snarling, and before long we were there. We found the
+lights in the tupics that were occupied by the old folks left behind at
+Camp Daly by the hunters, and found "Alex Taylor," "Sam," and the boy
+had just got in; so, after learning that "Alex" had killed two deer
+with my gun, "Sam" and Koumania and I went up to our own tent, which
+was dark.
+
+[Illustration: A CAIRN.]
+
+These were our diversions. Our business was to inquire into the truth
+of Captain Barry's story. Pursuing our investigation through the next
+three months, we learned that there had never been other than three
+families of Natchillis living with the Iwillik Esquimaux. One of those,
+the native who had died in the preceding winter, was an aged paralytic
+called "Monkey," whose tongue was so affected that even his own people
+could scarcely understand him. The second was Natchilli Joe, known to
+his own people as Ekeeseek, who was a child in his mother's hood at the
+time when he lived on King William Land, and only knew the story of the
+Franklin expedition from hearsay. The third, Nu-tar-ge-ark, a man of
+about forty-five or fifty years of age, gave us valuable information.
+His father, many years ago, opened a cairn on the northern shore of
+Washington Bay, in King William Land, and took from it a tin box
+containing a piece of paper with some writing on it. Not far from this
+same spot were the ruins of a cairn which had been built by white men
+and torn down by Inuits. The cairn had been built upon a large flat
+stone, which had the appearance of having been dragged to its present
+location from a stony point near by. The cairn itself was found to be
+empty, but it was generally believed by the Inuits that there was
+something buried beneath this stone. It was very heavy, and as they had
+only been there in parties of two or three at a time, they had never
+been able to overturn the stone, though they had repeatedly tried.
+Nutargeark also said he had brought a spoon with him from King William
+Land, which corresponded in description with the one Barry took to the
+United States. He said it was given to him by some of his tribe, and
+that it had come from one of the boat places, or where skeletons had
+been found on King William Land or Adelaide Peninsula, he could not
+remember exactly where. He had not given the spoon to Captain Barry,
+but to the wife of Sinuksook, an Iwillik Esquimau, who afterward gave
+it to a Captain Potter. We saw Sinuksook's wife a little later, and she
+distinctly remembered having given the spoon to Captain Potter. It was
+necessary, therefore, to find this officer.
+
+[Illustration: CAIRN MARKING DEPOSIT OF PROVISIONS.]
+
+During the first week in January, 1879, we learned that he was
+wintering at Marble Island, being now second in command on the whaler
+'Abbie Bradford'. So Henry Klutschak and I made our way to Marble
+Island, with the first sled that had crossed from the main-land, being
+eight days on the road from Depot Island. We had reason to believe that
+Captain Barry and the 'Eothen' would also be at our destination,
+and that we could there replenish our stores. The trip was uneventful,
+except that when four days out I ran out of food through sharing my
+hard bread and pork with the natives, of whom there were twelve on my
+sled. They had plenty of tepee walrus meat, which was good food for
+them, but which I could not at that time eat. So for four days I had
+not a mouthful to eat, though I walked and ran nearly the whole
+distance travelled. I did not experience much inconvenience from
+weakness until the last day, which was that on which we came across the
+ice from Little Rabbit Island. When nearly half-way over, and moving
+rapidly over the new ice, the sled on which I was seated broke through,
+and all its occupants were precipitated into the water. The front part
+of the sled still hung by the ice, which bent beneath its weight. When
+I was struggling to get out the ice kept breaking off in huge cakes,
+and my clothing getting heavier and heavier all the time, I began to
+think that I would not be able to save myself; but at last I succeeded
+in rolling out upon the hard ice, and turning around to see if my help
+was needed in rescuing the women and children, found them already
+safely landed on the floe. The thermometer ranging thirty-eight degrees
+below zero, we were not long standing in the wind before our clothes
+were frozen stiff, so that it was almost impossible to bend a limb.
+
+We succeeded in getting the sled out again, and started once more for
+Marble Island. I went ahead to pick out a route for the sled, and again
+the treacherous ice gave way under me, and I sank below the surface. It
+was with great difficulty that I regained the firm ice, and by this
+time my clothing was so heavy and stiff that I had to take off my
+outside tocklings, or trousers, in order to walk at all. It was now
+about ten o'clock in the morning, and in half an hour we reached about
+two miles distant from the island, but only to find an impassable
+channel of open water from a quarter to half a mile wide. We could see
+some one walking upon the shore of the island, but could hold no
+conversation with him. The natives who were with me said that when the
+tide turned perhaps the channel might close, and they proposed to wait;
+but in the meantime I was afraid I might freeze to death unless I kept
+moving. In the course of a few hours, during which I found out that I
+could not get back to Rabbit Island before dark, I became so faint for
+the want of food that I had to get some tepee walrus from the natives,
+and I ate it with a keen appetite. It did not taste as badly as I
+anticipated, so I ate a quantity, including some pieces of hide, about
+three quarters of an inch thick, which was cut into small pieces and
+looked like cheese. After eating several pieces I thought I would bite
+off the outside rind, which, on closer examination, I noticed to be the
+short stiff hair of the animal which I had been eating. Presently I
+began to feel warm all over my body, despite my frozen clothing--a
+condition attributable partly to the peculiar qualities of frozen food,
+and partly perhaps to the rasping in my interior, produced by the stiff
+walrus hair that I had eaten. It was now nearly dark, but we could see
+that the ice-floes were coming together, and crunching up a pudge of
+soft ice between them. At last the men started out over this pudge,
+stepping quickly from one piece of moving ice to another, until at last
+we reached firm footing again, though only by the exercise of
+considerable agility and looking sharply to where you went. It was a
+great relief to be again upon the shore; but we were still a
+considerable distance from the ships, and the Inuits proposed to lie
+down on the snow until daylight, as they could not see and did not know
+the route. I was afraid to stop moving, and proposed to keep walking in
+the direction of the harbor. All who came ashore, therefore, started
+with us; but the road at last became so difficult that I felt it
+necessary to rest quite often, wearied as I already was by previous
+hardships.
+
+The route chosen by our guide was to follow the shore ice around until
+the harbor was reached. This was a very circuitous and dangerous road,
+as in the darkness one would frequently pitch headlong over a steep
+precipice upon the snow beneath. My trousers were so stiff that I could
+not bend my knee or lift my foot high enough to clear ordinary
+impediments, and I fell very often. It was fortunate for me that I
+never fell upon the shore ice beneath the cliff, for in many places it
+was very deep, and I could not see where I trod. When I commenced
+falling I never knew where I would alight, though I usually brought up
+in some friendly snow-drift. At last all the Inuits grew so impatient
+to reach the ships that they left Henry and me to find our way as best
+we could, and pushed on as rapidly as their better vision and greater
+familiarity with the country would permit. In half an hour from the
+time they left us they had reached the harbor; but with their
+accustomed indifference to the comfort of others they failed to
+say that two "kodlunars" (white men) were still out upon the
+island--one of them too weak and frozen to keep up with them. As soon
+as the officers learned the fact from them, Captain Barry despatched
+"Domino," one of the natives with his ship, to find us and bring us
+to the vessel. We saw a lantern which he carried, and, coming down from
+the cliff upon the smooth ice, were overjoyed to find ourselves in the
+harbor and but a few hundred yards from the ships. We shouted at the
+top of our voices, and "Domino" ran at once to us. I never was so glad
+to see any one in my life, for I felt that the terrible ordeal through
+which I had passed was at an end. We were soon in the warm cabin of the
+'Eothen', where my frozen garments were removed and warm, dry
+"kodlunar" clothing substituted. Were it not for the previous
+training we had undergone in igloo life, I could not have survived the
+hardships of that day. As it was, I felt very little inconvenience,
+except from a severe cold, which always follows a change such as moving
+from an igloo into the heated air on shipboard. My appetite was
+enormous, and it seemed as if I could not eat enough of the generous
+fare of our hosts. I soon regained my usual robust health, and gained
+flesh at the rate of a pound a day for three weeks.
+
+In the harbor, besides the 'Eothen', and the 'Abbie Bradford', the
+latter commanded by Captain Fisher, we found the 'Abbott Lawrence',
+Captain Mozier, and the 'Isabella', Captain Garvin, all except the
+'Eothen' being from New Bedford. The ships were all comfortably housed
+with boards, and so banked up with snow that ordinary coal fires made
+them uncomfortably warm. It was painful to see, however, that scurvy had
+broken out in the fleet, and each vessel has had an average of half a
+dozen cases during our stay with them. They had more than the usual
+amount of fresh meat at this season, and it was difficult to account for
+the unusually large percentage of scurvy, unless Captain Fisher's theory
+were the correct one. He attributed it to the unusual severity of the
+fall and early winter-season, which, he said, was unprecedented in his
+experience of over fourteen years in these waters. The ships were driven
+into winter quarters nearly a month previous to the usual time by a
+succession of gales and heavy weather, which occasioned the loss of one
+vessel of the fleet--the brig 'A. J. Ross' of New Bedford, Captain
+Sinclair, which went ashore near Cape Kendall, on the eastern coast of
+Rowe's Welcome during the latter part of August. Though scurvy had been
+so prevalent it had not been so severe as usual, and as yet the graveyard
+on "Deadmen's Island," on the outer harbor, had received no accession
+from the crews. The successful treatment of the disease seems to be to
+compel the patient to eat abundantly of raw walrus or seal meat, and to
+take moderate exercise, at first under shelter and then in the open
+air.
+
+[Illustration: THE SHIPS IN WINTER QUARTERS.]
+
+The officers of the vessels treated us with the most unbounded
+generosity, and readily placed at our disposal whatever they could
+spare that we required. The wreck of the 'A. J. Ross' had thrown
+the care of another crew upon them, and yet they could find plenty to
+add to the comfort of those who have another season in this climate and
+a long and severe journey before them. Captain Sinclair, though himself
+so great a sufferer by the loss of a vessel in which nearly his whole
+means were invested, had been a large contributor toward the search
+party. They expected to be frozen in here till about the 1st of June,
+when they could saw a channel through the ice to the clear water beyond
+Deadmen's Island. Marble Island has been the winter quarters of whaling
+vessels for many years, though not altogether a safe harbor. In the
+winter of 1872 two vessels were wrecked here, the 'Ansel Gibbs'
+and the 'Oray Taft'. The hulk of the latter still lay upon the
+shore of the inner harbor, but the 'Ansel Gibbs' broke up outside
+and had long since gone to pieces. The graves of a number of their
+crews are in the graveyard by the sea. Upon the bald face of a rock
+near the outside harbor is a list of names written in red paint nearly
+a century ago; but whether a visitor's list or a gigantic tombstone to
+record those who perished here long ago by shipwreck is unknown. Upon
+the north-east end of the island, partly hidden by moss, is a quantity
+of soft coal, which was probably left here by one of the early Arctic
+explorers.
+
+The loss of so many vessels in these waters is chiefly attributable to
+the imperfections in the admiralty charts. The coast line is altogether
+wrong, and Marble Island is laid down several degrees west of its
+actual position. Lieutenant Schwatka and Henry Klutschak made careful
+surveys from Cape Fullerton to the island, and made a chart which has
+already proved useful to the whalers.
+
+But our more immediate business was with Captain Potter. I asked him if
+he remembered Captain Barry's getting a Franklin spoon while with him
+on the 'Glacier', and he said he had never heard anything about it
+until he read in the newspapers that Barry had sent one to Sir John
+Franklin's niece, Miss Craycroft, which surprised him very much. He
+further said that he (Potter) had received three spoons at that time,
+one of which mysteriously disappeared shortly afterward. The published
+description of Barry's spoon corresponded exactly with the one he had
+lost, even to its being broken off near the bowl and mended with
+copper, as was the one he had received from Sinuksook's wife. Captain
+Potter further said, that to one who had lived with the Esquimaux, and
+acquired the pigeon English they use in communicating with the whalers
+in Hudson's Bay, and contrasted it with the language they use in
+conversation with each other, the assertion of Captain Barry, that he
+overheard them talking about books and understood them, was supremely
+ridiculous. There is probably no white man in the Arctic, or who ever
+visited it, that would understand them under such circumstances unless
+it be one or two in Cumberland, who have lived with them for fifteen or
+twenty years.
+
+In this crucible of fact the famous spoon melted. So far as Captain
+Barry and his clews were concerned, we had come on a fool's errand.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+OUR DOGS.
+
+
+There being no cairn, as a matter of course there was no guide to
+conduct us to it; but instead of returning to New York from Camp Daly,
+as he would have been justified in doing, Lieutenant Schwatka
+determined to make the summer search in King William Land, in order to
+find the records, if possible; or, at any rate to so conduct the search
+as to make it final and conclusive of the Franklin expedition.
+Lieutenant Schwatka was much impressed with the statements made by
+Nutargeark, especially as this native's intelligence and veracity were
+tested by his pointing out correctly upon the map the location of
+cairns which he had seen, including one at Cape Herschel, built by
+Dease and Simpson in 1839, and the spot where McClintock saw a boat
+with skeletons. Both Hall and McClintock account for the fact of so few
+bodies being found, by the presumption that Captain Crozier and his men
+followed the shore ice down, and, dying there, fell through into the
+water when the ice melted during the summer. Nutargeark, however, said
+that there were plenty of bodies lying upon the ground on King William
+Land, which would be invisible in winter from being covered with snow.
+To verify these statements was the purpose of our journey.
+
+The first thing necessary was to get dogs enough for our teams. To that
+end I made a visit to the land of the Kinnepatoos, which is about
+seventy miles west and north from Marble Island. I found them in
+igloos, upon a large lake on the western shore of Hudson Bay, and was
+the first white man who had been there. Many of this tribe had never
+seen a white man before, but all were exceedingly friendly. I found
+that they had but few available dogs, but succeeded in securing from
+them several fine animals by the exchange of ammunition, tobacco, and
+matches, which are the staples of trade with these people. I found
+their igloos to be much larger and better built than those of
+the northern natives. The entrance would usually be by a narrow
+passage-way, excavated from a snow-drift, six to eight feet below the
+surface, and perhaps twenty-five or thirty feet long. They had no
+fires for heating the igloos, and, consequently, there was a clammy,
+vault-like atmosphere indoors that was anything but pleasant. They use
+oil only for light, and, even in the depth of winter, cook what little
+food they do not eat raw with moss. As I approached the village I was
+walking ahead of my guides, who were with the sled. It was getting
+late, and we were endeavoring to trace the direction by following the
+tracks on the snow which covered the lake; but a high wind, which was
+blowing from the north, had nearly obliterated all signs and rendered
+the task a difficult one. Presently, however, I heard the barking of
+dogs and the voices of a number of children, who soon appeared
+approaching over a hill on the right bank of the lake, beyond which the
+village was built. I hastened toward them, and was shortly conducted
+into an igloo where all the men were seated, tailor fashion, around
+bones which showed that justice had been done to a hearty repast of
+frozen deer meat. They extended a rude but cordial welcome, and
+hospitably inquired if I was hungry; but as I had recently eaten a
+quantity of frozen salmon I declined further food. I had long ago
+learned to relish fish and meat which they call "topee," and which
+civilized people denominate "rotten". When frozen it does not taste
+any worse than some kinds of cheese smell, and is a strong and
+wholesome diet unless eaten in great quantities. It fortifies the
+system against cold, and, shortly after eating, causes a healthy
+glow of warmth to pervade the body, even in the coldest weather. I can
+now eat almost anything an Esquimau can, and almost as much. Though
+the weather during the four days of my journey out was intensely
+cold--the thermometer ranging from thirty to sixty degrees below zero
+most of the time, with a strong wind blowing--I did not suffer with
+the cold, except that my nose and cheeks would occasionally freeze. In
+fact, if I had no nose I believe I could stand the cold nearly as well
+as the natives. Even they are constantly freezing their noses and
+cheeks, and there seems to be no way of avoiding this very
+disagreeable contingency.
+
+I was with the Kinnepatoos a week, during which I lived upon frozen
+meat and fish, and enjoyed myself studying their habits and customs.
+Every night they met in one large igloo, twenty-five feet in diameter
+at the base, and twelve feet high, where the men would play upon the
+ki-lowty while the women sung in unison. The ki-lowty is a drum, made
+by stretching a thin deerskin over a huge wooden hoop, with a short
+handle on one side. In playing, the man grasps the handle with his left
+hand, and constantly turns it, while he strikes it upon the wooden
+side, alternately, with a wooden drumstick shaped like a potato-masher.
+With each blow he bends his knees, and though there are various degrees
+of skill in playing, I have never yet learned to be critical. I can
+only see a difference in style. Some are dramatic, some classical, some
+furious and others buffo. The song is a monotonous, drawling wail, with
+which the drumming has no sort of connection, for it increases and
+diminishes in rapidity according to the pleasure or strength of the
+player. I am sure a concert, such as I witnessed nightly, would cause a
+sensation in New York, though I do not believe it would prove a lasting
+attraction to cultivated audiences. I frequently got very weary of it,
+and often slept during the performance without giving offence to my
+hosts by my lack of appreciation. One night the entertainment was
+varied by a dramatic performance that was exceedingly interesting.
+There were three players, who walked about the arena and conversed,
+occasionally passing off the stage, not by the right and left, but
+stooping down and darting in and out of the door of the igloo, an
+entrance two feet high and about the same width. As nearly as I could
+understand, while outside in the dark the players saw some supernatural
+horror, which on entering they would endeavor to explain to the
+audience; but words failing to convey all they felt, they resorted to
+pantomime, until at last one, who was more affected than the others,
+came in and expired in the arms of his comrades. I was intensely
+interested during this novel performance, and imagined I recognized
+considerable histrionic ability on the part of the players.
+
+[Illustration: ESQUIMAU PLAYING THE KI-LOWTY.]
+
+During the daytime those men who were not out hunting engaged
+in playing a game somewhat allied to gambling, which they call
+"nu-glew-tar." A small piece of bone is suspended from the
+roof by a line made of walrus hide, and a heavy weight dangles below
+it to keep it from swinging. The bone is pierced with four small holes,
+and the players, as many as choose to engage, stand around, armed with
+sharp sticks, with which they jab at the bone, endeavoring to pierce
+one of the holes. Some one starts the game by offering a prize, which
+is won by him who pierces the bone and holds it with his stick. The
+winner in turn offers something for the others to try for. It is
+perfectly fair, because unless one wins it costs him nothing. They are
+very fond of this game, and play almost incessantly. Another similar
+game is played by placing a prize in a bowl made out of a musk-ox
+skull, the players standing in a circle around the bowl, which is then
+set twirling rapidly. The one toward whom the handle points when the
+bowl stops moving is the winner, and replaces the prize with another.
+This game, like nu-glew-tar, has no end, and the players only stop when
+they get hungry and adjourn to eat. The men all dine together in one
+igloo, no women being allowed to be present, and generally demolish
+the whole of a carcass of reindeer at a meal. This may be called their
+dinner, but when they have plenty of food on hand they eat nearly all
+the time. In the morning, before getting out of bed, they eat; and at
+night, after getting into bed, or "sin-nek-pig," as they call
+it, they eat. A few whiffs from a pipe are always in order, and
+especially so after eating. The pipe is passed from mouth to mouth,
+without regard to any foolish civilized notions of cleanliness. Eating
+frozen fish or meat always makes one cold at first, but presently warm.
+So always, after eating the mid day repast, the men pull their hoods
+over their heads, draw their arms out of their sleeves and cross
+them over their warm, naked breasts, and wait patiently and in silence
+for the heated term to ensue; but during the silent period they
+resemble a group of mummies, and are about as cheerful. When they begin
+to feel warm their spirits rise, and they are soon like a parcel of
+good-natured children. When their stomachs are full they are contented
+and happy. The principal diet of the Kinnepatoos is deer meat, as that
+of the Iwilliehs is walrus and seal.
+
+I left the Kinnepatoo village, returning to Marble Island in two days'
+journey, though it took me four days to go. I returned by a shorter
+route, and travelled after the sun had gone down, the moon affording
+sufficient light to see our way. On my return I discovered another
+large lake between the one on which the Esquimau village was located
+and the salt-water ice. This smaller lake is probably twelve miles long
+and from two to four miles wide. The larger one is about forty-five
+miles long and fourteen wide at the widest point. It is known among the
+natives as "The Big Lake," and with the approval of Lieutenant Schwatka
+I named it Brevoort Lake, after Mr. James Carson Brevoort, of Brooklyn,
+N. Y., whose deep interest in Arctic research was felt by this as well
+as other expeditions. The other lake I named after General Hiram
+Duryea, of Glen Cove, a warm personal friend and comrade in arms, who
+was also a contributor toward the expedition. On my way back to Marble
+Island, instead of following the shore ice along to the narrow place
+where the pack is choked between Rabbit and Marble islands, I struck
+off in nearly a direct line for our destination, crossing most of the
+distance over the thin new ice. The advantage in this route was that,
+besides being much shorter, the ice was free from snow, and the dogs
+could run at nearly full speed. To be sure it was open to the objection
+of being dangerous; but moving as rapidly as we did there was scarcely
+time for the sled to break through, though the water oozed up along the
+track of the sled as we sped swiftly over the surface of smooth thin
+ice. It was pretty venturesome, perhaps, and I might be excused if I
+was nervous, for twice before I had broken through on a sled and bathed
+in the waters of Hudson's Bay. But I was anxious to reach the ships and
+finish what work I had to do, so as to get back to Depot Island in time
+to have all the dogs well fed before starting upon our long journey.
+
+I should here say that the dogs of Hudson's Bay and contiguous
+territory do not resemble those usually pictured in the illustrated
+editions of Arctic works, which are the Greenland dogs. From what I
+gather by reading of the performances of the dogs in Greenland and
+North-eastern Asia, and comparing them with our experience in Hudson's
+Bay, I should judge the animals from the latter country to be
+immeasurably the superior in endurance and pluck, though perhaps
+inferior in speed for one or two days' travel. When food is plentiful
+the dogs are fed every other day while travelling; but if living in
+camp once in ten or twelve days is considered enough, and often twenty
+days will intervene between meals. Not but that they pick up a trifle
+now and then, and by a raid on an igloo will secure meat enough to last
+for several days. Their mode of life forces upon them the character of
+thieves, and all their waking moments are devoted to the one object of
+making a raid. Whether it be on the meat in the igloo or the
+storehouse, or the bag of blubber for the lamps, or the seal-skin
+clothing, it is all the same. They know from experience that the
+severest penalty will be enforced as a punishment for their offence but
+to them the pleasure of theft and the exquisite bliss of greasing their
+stomachs with a slice of blubber outweighs every other consideration.
+
+Too often have they felt the cruel snow-stick across their defenceless
+heads, and the sting of the long-lashed whip cutting a morsel of flesh
+at each blow, to doubt the quality of their reception, and the howl of
+pain as they start upon the grand rush is in anticipation of the end. A
+raid can sometimes be brought to an end with a good stout club that
+will knock a dog senseless at each blow; but there is nothing like the
+ip-er-ow-ter, the Esquimau dog whip, to bring them to their senses. The
+ip-er-ow-ter has a handle made of wood, bone, or reindeer horn, about
+twelve or eighteen inches long, and a lash from eighteen to thirty feet
+in length. The lash is of seal-skin or oak-jook, that part of the thong
+near the handle being plaited or doubled to stiffen it, or give a
+spring that adds materially to its usefulness.
+
+The men acquire considerable dexterity in the use of this whip, the
+lash of which is thrown forward or back with a quick turn of the wrist.
+That portion of the lash near the handle strikes the ground first, and
+then the long seal-skin thong unwinds, gaining rapidity and strength as
+the end is reached, and this strikes with such force as to make the
+snow fly, and with a report like a pistol. It is not a handy implement,
+for it requires time to get in position to swing the long lash. First
+it is thrown back, and then forward--this time for execution; and it is
+no unusual thing to see a dog with an eye gone or a piece of ear
+missing--a witness to the power of the ip-er-ow-ter in the practised
+hand of the Esquimau dog driver. Even the boys are quite skilful in the
+use of the whip, and dog driving is taught them almost from infancy.
+The driver sits on the front part of the sled or runs alongside, the
+long lash of the whip trailing behind him on the snow, so that when
+occasion occurs calling for the administering of punishment it is
+already in the proper position for delivering the blow.
+
+The first effect of the whip is to retard the sled. The dog that is
+struck invariably draws back, and then usually pitches upon his
+neighbor, and for a while there is a row that threatens the sled with
+stoppage. The driver usually takes advantage of this occasion to
+administer a general chastisement, each dog receiving a share of the
+punishment, whether guilty of insubordination or not. The Esquimau
+theory is, that if not deserving of the whip this time he would be
+before long, and so might as well receive it now as any time.
+
+The dogs are attached to the sled by harness made of either reindeer or
+seal-skin. One loop passes around the neck, while each leg is lifted
+through a loop, all three loops joining over the back and fastened to a
+long seal-skin line. These lines are of different lengths, so as to
+allow the dogs to pull to greater advantage than if all the traces were
+of the same length, causing the dogs to spread out like a fan. At every
+few miles the traces have to be unloosened and extricated from the most
+abominable tangle that it is possible to conceive. This comes from a
+habit the dogs have of constantly running under and over the other
+traces to avoid the whip, or in some cases merely from a spirit of pure
+deviltry.
+
+The leader of the team is a dog selected for his intelligence, and is
+one known as setting an example of constant industry under all
+circumstances. You will always see the leader of a team of dogs working
+as if the load was being drawn by him alone. He goes along, his head
+bent over and tugging in his harness, his mouth open and tongue lolling
+out, while his ears are ever ready to hear the word of command from the
+driver. To go to the left, the command is given, "Ah'-root," and to the
+right, "Why-ah'-wah-ha." Then he sometimes, to encourage or urge to
+greater exertion, says, "Ah-wah-hagh-oo-ar." To stop the team he says
+"Woah," as one says when driving horses. It is the noisiest method of
+travel yet invented, for the driver is constantly talking to his team,
+calling each by name, and usually following the word with a blow of the
+whip, so that the next time that dog is spoken to, he will understand
+that it means "hurry up." The conversation with a dog team is
+incessant, and the work of the driver is not confined to his team
+alone. He has to constantly keep watch over the front of the sled, to
+turn it to the right or left in order to avoid hummocks or stones that
+would upset the load or tear the ice from the bottom of the runners.
+
+Inuits are fond of riding on the sled while travelling, and as long as
+there is a spot that would hold one they will pile up there. But should
+there be no place for them, they will run alongside without apparent
+discomfort for almost any length of time or distance. This is equally
+true of the children of both sexes, and when any are compelled to walk,
+for lack of dogs or of room on the sled, it is the women and girls who
+have to give way to the men and boys. With a light sled, and from nine
+to fifteen good strong dogs, the Esquimaux of North Hudson's Bay will
+sometimes make a journey of from eighty to one hundred miles during the
+long days of spring. A light sled has reference to one with nothing on
+it except the skins for the beds, a lamp and small quantity of oil,
+with not more than one or two days' rations of food. The same number of
+dogs will drag a sled, with about fifteen hundred pounds of load, at
+the rate of three or four miles an hour over the smooth salt-water ice
+and snow. When travelling with light sleds all the party ride, except
+when necessary to run for the purpose of getting warm. In travelling,
+and especially when starting from a halt, some one runs ahead of the
+team so as to get them to pull together. When the sleds are heavily
+loaded the start is effected in the same way, and the driver, gathering
+the reins in his hands, pulls back with all his might until he sees
+every dog straining against his collar, when he lets go his hold and
+all spring forward together.
+
+It often happens that there are not a sufficient number of dogs, or
+that they are poor and unable to travel with sufficient rapidity, and
+then the people have to put on harness and help. First the women and
+children engage in this labor, and, lastly, the men. And the drivers
+will sit on the sled and smoke, with the utmost composure, while their
+wives and daughters are tugging in the harness. The women do not mind
+this treatment, for they are accustomed to it and look upon it as the
+proper thing. In the summer the Esquimaux use their dogs while
+travelling as pack animals, and a stranger would be astonished to see
+what loads these dogs will carry. I have seen a fine large dog that
+would carry two saddles of reindeer meat, or the entire fore-quarters
+of two reindeer. His back would be bent low beneath the burden he bore,
+but still he would struggle along, panting the while and regarding his
+master with a look of the deepest affection whenever he came near him
+yet ever ready to fight any other dog that got in his way.
+
+These, then, were the faithful comrades of our march. Before the day
+appointed by Lieutenant Schwatka they were ready. We were all eager to
+start. The projected journey was one which more than one expedition had
+undertaken without success since Sir Leopold McClintock's memorable
+sledge journey, which accomplished so much, and left so much to be
+desired. We were determined to bring it to a successful issue. Our
+igloo life at Camp Daly during the previous winter had inured us to the
+climate, so that, though we often found the cold intensely
+disagreeable, we were free from the evil consequences that have
+assailed many expeditions and make Arctic travel so dangerous, though
+few have been exposed to such low temperature as was our party,
+especially during the return trip in the winter of 1879-80. Previous
+sledge journeys had taught us how to clothe ourselves and otherwise
+provide against the cold, and we had already become acquainted with
+Inuit fare, so that when the emergency arrived when we were compelled
+to subsist entirely upon such food, we did not regard it with that
+repugnance that those would who had not become accustomed to it. In
+other words, we had become thoroughly acclimated during the eight
+months we had already lived in the country.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+IN THE SLEDGES.
+
+
+It was eleven o'clock on the morning of the 1st of April when the three
+heavily laden sledges moved out from Camp Daly on to the shore ice of
+Hudson's Bay, and commenced the long march toward King William Land.
+Lieutenant Schwatka's preliminary sledge journey in the direction of
+Wager River, during midwinter, had determined him upon taking that
+route, though across land entirely unknown either to previous explorers
+or to any natives with whom we had come in contact. Whether we would
+find practicable watercourses, such as rivers and lakes, or whether
+mountain ranges would oppose their granite walls to farther progress,
+was yet to be ascertained. Its recommendation was that it was the most
+direct course, and whatever obstacles it might present would, when
+overcome, always leave us that much nearer our goal. As we reached the
+smooth salt-water ice, we turned to take a last look at Camp Daly,
+which had been so long our home--a comfortless dwelling-place indeed,
+but for all that a home--and I never expect to lose a feeling of
+affection for its barren rocks and forbidding scenery. Its snow-clad
+hills were almost hidden behind the hummocks that everywhere bound the
+shore and make it a difficult undertaking to get on or off the ice at
+low tide. The loaded sledges were making but slow progress as they
+wound through the rough ice, but greatly enlivened the landscape, which
+at other times is dreary and monotonous in the extreme. The drivers, by
+voice and whip, were urging on their teams; while the dogs made the
+wilderness ring with howls of pain or impatience. The men were bending
+their shoulders to the task, as the women and children walked ahead and
+coaxed the dogs to greater exertion. It was not difficult, as we looked
+upon this picture, to realize that we were at least under way, and the
+work for which we had renounced the comforts of civilization for so
+long a period had at last begun, and our spirits rose with the prospect
+of action.
+
+[Illustration: CAMP DALY IN WINTER.]
+
+It was not Lieutenant Schwatka's intention to make a long march this
+day, but to break loose from camp and get well straightened out on our
+course. Our direction was due east until we reached Winchester Inlet,
+where we turned north-north-west and took up our line of march upon the
+frozen waters of the newly-named Connery River. The sun was setting
+when we halted about ten miles from Camp Daly and built two igloos, one
+of which was occupied by Toolooah's family and the four white men, the
+other by the remainder of the party. After the first night, however,
+there were always three igloos, Joe and Ishmark, his father-in-law,
+building a separate one for themselves and their families. There was at
+first some dissatisfaction manifested by the Inuits of the party at the
+determination of our commander to move always with the entire outfit,
+whenever practicable, and never to make portages or, in other words,
+transport a portion of the loads ahead before moving on with the
+remainder, unless absolutely forced so to do, and experience
+demonstrated the wisdom of his decision. Inuits always prefer to move
+by portages when they have heavy loads and plenty of food on the
+sledges, and such had been the custom on all the previous sledge
+journeys made by "Esquimau Joe" in company with white men. He
+particularly was anxious to travel in that way, but Lieutenant Schwatka
+was resolute, and many days and many dogs were saved to us thereby.
+
+The party was composed of four white men, Lieutenant Frederick
+Schwatka, United States Army, commander; W. H. Gilder, second in
+command; Henry W. Klutschak, and Frank Melms, with thirteen Inuits, as
+follows: "Esquimau Joe," interpreter; Neepshark, his wife; Toolooah,
+dog driver and hunter; Toolooahelek, his wife, and one child; Equeesik
+(Natchillik Inuit), dog driver and hunter; Kutcheenuark, his wife, and
+one child; Ishmark, Karleko, his wife, Koomana, their son, aged about
+thirteen, and Mit-colelee and Owanork, Equeesik's brothers, aged
+respectively about twenty and thirteen. The sleds were drawn by
+forty-two dogs, accumulated by hard work, persistent effort, and
+overpowering liberality with regard to guns, ammunition, and other
+articles of trade. The loads aggregated about five thousand pounds
+on the day of starting; but a large part of this consisting of walrus
+meat, both for dogs and people they were materially lightened from day
+to day. Our provisions besides the walrus meat comprised--
+
+  Hard bread              500 Lbs.
+  Pork                    200 Lbs.
+  Compressed corned-beef  200 Lbs.
+  Corn starch              80 Lbs.
+  Oleomargarine            40 Lbs.
+  Cheese                   40 Lbs.
+  Coffee                   40 Lbs.
+  Tea                       5 Lbs.
+  Molasses                 20 Lbs.
+
+This, it will be seen, is only about one month's rations of civilized
+food for seventeen people, and was, in fact, nearly exhausted by the
+time we reached King William Land. Our main dependence was, therefore,
+the game of the country through which we were travelling; a contingency
+upon which we had calculated and were willing to rely, having full
+faith in the superior quality of the arms and ammunition with which we
+had been so liberally equipped by American manufacturers. It is well
+for us that our faith was well founded, for there can scarcely be a
+doubt that it was this that made our expedition possible. In all other
+respects we were probably in a much worse condition than any previous
+expedition; but the quality of our arms put us at once upon a footing
+to derive all the benefit possible from the game of the country, a
+benefit of which we availed ourselves, as the unparalleled score of 522
+reindeer, besides musk oxen, polar bears and seals will show. This is
+what was killed by our party from the time we left Camp Daly until our
+return. The quality of our provisions was excellent, and it was only
+deficient in quantity. The Inuit shared our food with us as long as it
+lasted, and, indeed, that was one of the inducements to accompany us on
+the journey. Some of the compressed corned-beef, corn starch, and
+cheese was reserved for the use of detached search parties on King
+William Land, as being the most condensed form of nutriment among our
+stores, and even that was shared with the Inuits who accompanied us
+during the search. Late in the afternoon of the second day's march we
+left Connery River, after crossing, with much difficulty, three rapids
+where the ice was piled up from fifteen to twenty feet high. The
+Connery was abandoned here on account of its direct westerly bearing
+and we moved across land to the Lorillard River, which we reached about
+noon of the 4th. This gave us several days good travelling in a
+northerly direction, when we again took the land, and moved somewhat to
+the eastward in order to avoid the Hazard Hills, which Lieutenant
+Schwatka discovered in his preliminary sledge journey. He found that
+range exceedingly precipitous, and so devoid of snow upon its summit as
+to materially impede our progress were we compelled to force a passage
+that way.
+
+We witnessed a most peculiar and interesting spectacle on the 8th, in
+what appeared to be a frozen waterfall, about twenty-five feet in
+height, where a branch seemed to flow into the Lorillard from the west.
+At a distance it looked like a mountain torrent which had been arrested
+in its progress by some mighty hand and transformed into stone. Its
+ripples of crystals gleamed in the sunlight, and sparkled as if studded
+with myriads of gems. After enjoying its varied beauties for some time,
+I climbed to the top of the bank to make a closer inspection of it.
+Tracing its course for a short distance from the shore, I found a
+shallow brook which had frozen in a level place at the top of the hill,
+forcing the water to the right and left until it spread in a thin sheet
+over the face of the rock for a space of about fifty feet in breadth.
+Successive layers of ice were thus formed, and this novel and beautiful
+effect produced. The first few days of our journey were excessively
+fatiguing. The sleds were heavy, and we often had to put on our harness
+and help the dogs over a ridge or through a deep drift. We had not yet
+become hardened, and consequently experienced much difficulty from
+blistered feet and chafing; but as we got rid of our superfluous flesh
+these petty troubles became less annoying, and we did not so easily
+become fatigued from walking.
+
+During the afternoon of the 12th we came suddenly upon a herd of
+reindeer, and the hunters killed three of them. The sleds then moved on
+and we went into camp in the vicinity of the carcasses, in order to get
+them in and cut up before dark. Soon we saw another smaller herd
+running over the hills pursued by five wolves, which we could hear
+howling at intervals during the evening until we went to sleep. That
+night they came into camp close to the igloos, and Toolooah, who always
+sleeps with one eye and one ear open, heard the dogs giving a peculiar
+low bark, with which they announce the presence of wolves. We had a box
+of Coston night signals close at hand in the igloo, and, knowing that a
+light frightens them away, made a small hole in the igloo and thrust
+out a "distress" signal with the most brilliant result. Toolooah was
+already dressed and outside the igloo as the light started, and said
+the wolves stopped and looked at it for a second and then fled in
+dismay, each change of color in the signal light seeming to lend
+additional wings to their flying feet. We saw them prowling around
+during the next day's march, but they kept at a respectful distance.
+During our entire trip the Coston signals served us a good purpose in
+keeping the wolves from our doors, though I don't remember that the
+prospectus mentioned this application as one of the advantages of
+keeping the signals on hand.
+
+On the 14th of April the thermometer rose above the freezing-point in
+the middle of the day for the first time, and as we remained in camp
+while the hunters went ahead to pick out a better road, we gladly
+embraced the opportunity to dry our stockings. It is one of the
+greatest discomforts of Arctic travel that the exercise of walking wets
+one's fur stockings with perspiration. At night they freeze, and it is
+anything but an agreeable sensation to put bare feet into stockings
+filled with ice, which is a daily experience in winter travelling. But
+it is astonishing how soon one gets accustomed to that sort of thing,
+and how little he minds it after a while. The warmth of the feet soon
+thaws the ice, and then a wet stocking is nearly as warm as a dry one,
+except in the wind. During the next day we were passing through a high
+rolling country, but with plenty of snow and not bad sledging. We found
+the descent of the hills always greater than the ascent, and presumed
+that we were approaching the bed of Wager River, as our route crossed
+the lower branch of that river, as mapped, well down toward the fork.
+The slope of these hills was usually so steep that we had to take the
+dogs off the sledges and let them run down upon the lakes by gravity.
+This was an exciting but not very dangerous method of travelling. So
+rapid would be the descent, that we had all we could do to hold on to
+the sleds trying to retard their progress. Some would be taking steps
+ten feet long, while others, with their feet planted straight out
+before them, were ploughing up the snow and scattering it in every
+direction. The dogs followed behind the sleds, running and barking,
+some of them, entangled in their harness, rolling over and dragged
+along by their swifter comrades. We were gratified to see plenty of
+reindeer nearly every day, as it relieved our anxiety concerning our
+commissariat. The ice upon the fresh-water lakes where we encamped
+averaged about six and a half feet. An occasional salmon is caught
+through the water hole by one of the women, who usually drop a line in
+after the hole is made.
+
+[Illustration: DOWN-HILL WITH THE SLEDGES.]
+
+The sun for the last three days had been insufferably hot, and my
+forehead and face were blistered painfully. It was altogether a new
+experience to have my nose blistered on one side by the sun, and on the
+other by a frost-bite. During my first winter in this country my nose
+was particularly tender. I could scarcely go out of doors without
+having it nipped. There is no pain in a frost-bite, but the cold upon
+my nose would cause me much suffering when first exposed to it, without
+exciting the least sympathy in my companions; but just as it would
+begin to feel comfortable once more, some one would run up and tell me,
+"Tling-yack quark" (Nose frozen), at the same time pressing a
+warm hand against it to thaw it out. The person who has the frozen nose
+is almost invariably surprised when informed of the fact. During winter
+travel people always have each other's noses and cheeks in charge, and
+one readily acquires the habit of occasionally taking hold of his nose,
+especially when it feels comfortable, to see if it is frozen. The
+frost-bite is at once detected by a white, wax-like patch, with edges
+sharply defined against the ruddy color of the healthy flesh. When you
+touch it, it feels cold and hard, and as if you had hold of somebody
+else's nose. It thaws readily, and without further inconvenience, under
+the pressure of a warm finger, unless it has been frozen for a long
+time. During the second winter, though exposed to an intensity of cold
+that is seldom encountered, it was seldom that I had a frozen nose or
+cheek. No serious frost bites occurred to any of our party, and I
+noticed that the Inuits suffered from the cold quite as much as the
+white men. The skin invariably comes off the frozen part within a few
+days, even when only slightly nipped. The consequence was that my nose
+was constantly peeling, and at all times as tender as an infant's. Now
+that the freezing days were about over, it began to peel from sunburn.
+I don't know how many layers of skin were thus removed, but more than I
+could account for, unless a man's nose is like an onion.
+
+The sun was now having a very perceptible effect upon the snow, even
+when the black rocks began to peep up through the surface, and great
+patches of moss could be seen completely bare. The great bugbear of
+sledge travelling is stony ground, or a hidden rock beneath a thin
+layer of snow that cuts through and sweeps the ice from the runners
+before the sled can be stopped. When the ice is gone from the runners
+all comfort has gone with it. The sled that the dogs would drag without
+apparent difficulty suddenly seems to weigh tons. All hands in harness
+and pulling like slaves cannot accomplish more than two miles an hour.
+The ice is put upon the runners the first thing in the morning when
+coming out of the igloo. The sled is turned upside down, and the water,
+after being held in the mouth a little while to warm it, is squirted
+over the runners and freezes almost immediately in a temperature below
+zero. In this way successive layers are applied until a clean, smooth
+surface is acquired, upon which the sled slips over the snow with
+comparative case. Now, the ice was usually all off the sleds by noon,
+and progress was slow and laborious.
+
+[Illustration: HUNTING MUSK-OXEN.]
+
+We got an observation on the 21st at noon, which showed us our latitude
+to be 65 deg. 45 min. north, agreeing closely with Lieutenant
+Schwatka's dead reckoning. This, according to the chart, would put us
+on the north bank of Wager River; but as yet we had seen no signs of
+it, nor did we subsequently see anything that looked like such river.
+This can be accounted for by the presumption that the survey was made
+during the early summer, when the lakes are full, and some of the
+valleys connecting them may have contained water enough to float a
+boat. Before winter these might dry up and leave only a series of
+disconnected lakes. Fresh musk-ox tracks were seen on the 27th, and on
+the 29th we lay over to hunt some that Equeesik had seen after coming
+into camp on the 28th. After a chase of about three miles we succeeded
+in killing four, which completed our musk-ox score, as we saw no more
+either in going to or coming from King William Land. May 3d, we found
+water at a depth of eight feet, and on the 6th had to dig through eight
+and a half feet. This was the thickest ice we saw of one winter's
+formation. About noon of the 7th we ran into a herd of fourteen
+reindeer, lying down upon a hillside, and in less than three-quarters
+of an hour ten of them lay dead upon the field, and I believe those who
+got away carried some lead with them. Lieutenant Schwatka, who remained
+with the sleds, said that when the firing began it sounded for a while
+like a sharp battle, so rapidly and incessantly were the shots
+delivered. It clearly illustrates the advantage of breech-loaders and
+magazine guns when game is plentiful and much is required.
+
+[Illustration: THE GREAT BEND IN HAYES RIVER.]
+
+The next day a storm kept us in camp, but on the 9th we pulled out
+again and found the sledging in a most wretched condition. The country
+was very hilly and the snow entirely gone in many places, so that it
+occasioned much halting and considerable trouble to pick out a route by
+which the sled could move at all. About noon, however, we were rejoiced
+by reaching the head of a small river or creek by a perilous flying
+switch down a very long and steep hill. One of the sleds was
+overthrown, but fortunately it sustained no material damage, and was
+soon righted and landed on the ice below. One more flying run and we
+were safe upon the river. We had to congratulate ourselves upon the
+good fortune by which we discovered this river, for the land was
+getting more rugged all the time, and we began to fear that the snow,
+which was disappearing very rapidly, would soon be in such a condition
+that we could not travel at all, and we be left so near and get beyond
+reach of our destination. The range of hills from which we descended to
+the river was from eight hundred to a thousand feet high and their
+peaks entirely denuded of snow. Lieutenant Schwatka decided to keep to
+the river under all circumstances, though at present it was impossible
+to tell whether it was the Castor and Pollux or a branch of Back's
+River. It proved to be the latter, and quite an important branch, which
+we followed for upward of ninety miles, leaving it only when it turned
+due south and at a right angle to our course. The entire length is 110
+or 120 miles. It empties into Cockburn Bay, on the eastern shore of
+Back's River. Lieutenant Schwatka named it Hayes River, in honor of the
+President. On the 11th of May we killed seven reindeer, and on the 13th
+nine. The country seems to be filled with game, and nearly every day we
+saw two or three large herds. Our dogs get well fed, and are really in
+finer condition than when we left Camp Daly. We had the misfortune to
+lose one of our best dogs, Toekelegeto, Toolooah's leader, on the night
+of the 13th, who choked to death with a piece of bone in his throat. He
+had eaten a piece of the shoulder-blade of the reindeer, which is thin
+and breaks into fine splinters. The Inuits usually hide this bone in
+the snow, as they say such accidents are frequent, especially when the
+dogs eat rapidly, as they always do when there is a number together.
+
+[Illustration: THE SOURCES OF THE HAYES RIVER.]
+
+The northern shore of the river is here bounded by high hills--in fact,
+almost a mountain range, and as I walked along the crest on the 14th,
+the sleds moving along the river at my feet looked like toys. Inland I
+could see the rocky hills piled together, barren and forbidding, and I
+could not help feeling grateful that we had found so good a road out of
+this country, for it would have been next to impossible to have crossed
+these ridges with our heavy sledges. About noon we came upon a freshly
+cut block of snow turned up on end, an unmistakable indication that
+natives had been there within two or three days, and a little farther
+on fresh footprints in the snow led us to a cache of musk-ox meat, and
+near by a deserted igloo. Equeesik knew by these signs that we were in
+the Ooqueesik-Sillik country, and as the natives never go far from
+Back's River, or the Ooqueesik-Sillik, as is the Esquimau name, this
+was joyful news and we were all excitement at the prospect of speedily
+meeting the natives. We followed the tracks upon the ice, and could see
+that they had used dogs to drag a musk-ox skin for a sled. This is a
+usual mode of travel with these people, who have very little wood with
+which to make sledges. Their supply consists entirely of drift-wood,
+with the exception of the material they obtained from the small boats
+of the 'Erebus' and 'Terror', two of which were found on
+Adelaide Peninsula and two on King William Land.
+
+[Map: THE LOWER PORTION OF BACK'S OR GREAT FISH RIVER.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+NATIVE WITNESSES.
+
+
+We left camp at half-past seven in the morning of the 15th, a sharp
+wind blowing in our faces. We had not gone far when the dogs began to
+prick up their ears, and finally started off on a brisk run, barking
+and manifesting great excitement. The Inuits at once attributed this
+unwonted energy on the part of the dogs to the fact that there were
+people not far distant, and, sure enough, we soon saw several igloos
+about three-quarters of a mile ahead, with poles sticking in the snow
+around them--an evidence that they were inhabited. The sleds were now
+halted, and preparations made to open communication with the strangers.
+The Inuits of our party, especially Ishnark and Joe, were very much
+frightened, and said the people we were about to meet were as warlike
+as the Netchilliks, and always wanted to fight when they met strangers.
+They were somewhat reassured when their attention was called to the
+immense advantage we had over them with our breech-loaders and magazine
+guns against their bows and spears. In accordance with the custom of
+the country, the Inuits armed themselves with snow-knives and spears,
+while the white men carried their rifles or revolvers. All the men and
+boys then advanced toward the igloos, but not a soul was to be seen.
+Two or three dogs ran out and barked and then ran to where the sleds
+were halted, the women and children cowering down behind them. When
+within about three hundred yards of the camp our party halted, while
+Equeesik and Ishnark went a few paces further and began shouting
+something, which I afterward learned was Equeesik's name, with which
+they were acquainted, and announcing the fact that there were white men
+with our party. Presently one man crawled timidly out of the doorway of
+an igloo and asked a question, which must have been satisfactorily
+answered, for others soon followed and arranged themselves alongside of
+him; then all of them shouted an invitation to advance, whereupon we
+approached, and conversation between the Inuits became general. We were
+objects of great curiosity to the strangers, most of whom now saw white
+men for the first time. It seems that when they first saw us they
+thought we were Netchilliks, and were in consequence very much
+frightened, so that while some of our people were dreading an
+encounter, these poor creatures were shaking in their shoes and afraid
+to come out of their igloos. They all carried knives in their hands,
+but as weapons they might as well have carried nothing. Most of them
+were bits of hoop-iron or copper, worked down to a blade, and fastened
+upon long handles of reindeer horn.
+
+[Illustration: MEETING WITH THE OOKJOOLIKS.]
+
+There were in the party nine men, nearly all belonging to the immediate
+family of an old man, who acted as spokesman. He said he was an
+Ookjoolik, but he and others had been driven from their country by
+their more numerous and warlike neighbors the Netchilliks. His family
+comprised nearly all that was left of the tribe which formerly occupied
+the western coast of Adelaide Peninsula and King William Land. We
+concluded to encamp with them, and get what information we could from
+them concerning our mate and the Franklin ships. We were fortunate in
+finding the old man, an interesting and important witness. "Esquimau
+Joe," Ishnark, and Equeesik acted as interpreters, and through them we
+learned that these people were in great distress for food. The musk-ox
+we saw cached was all the meat they had in hand, or had had for a long
+time. An old man of their tribe had starved to death about a month
+before our arrival. We gave them some reindeer meat, of which we
+fortunately had plenty on the sleds, and told them where they would
+find the carcass of a reindeer that one of our party had killed the day
+before and left on the field because the sleds were too far off to wait
+for it. Their clothing was in a dilapidated condition, though
+originally well made, and instead of reindeer gloves and shoes, they
+wore articles made of musk-ox skin, which had a most extraordinary
+effect. The hair of the musk-ox is several inches long, and it looked
+as if they had an old-fashioned muff on each hand. They were very good
+natured and friendly, however, and helped to build our igloos and make
+them comfortable. We obtained from them a few trifling relics of the
+'Erebus' and 'Terror', in exchange for knives and needles,
+which made them happy. It seemed strange to me that they should be
+hungry in a country swarming with reindeer, but our people explained to
+me that in winter it is almost impossible to get near enough to
+reindeer; to kill them with arrows, which are their only weapons. In
+summer they kill a few reindeer from their kyacks, or skin canoes,
+while crossing the big lakes on their migrations. The Netchilliks also
+kill a few reindeer in this way. In the summer and fall these people
+catch great quantities of salmon and cow-e-sil-lik, a species of fish
+peculiar to this country, and in the neighboring hills kill a few
+musk-oxen. Their main dependence, however, is upon fish from Back's
+and Harris's rivers.
+
+From Ikinnelikpatolok, the old Ookjoolik, we learned at the interview
+that he had only once seen white men alive. That was when he was a
+little boy. He is now about sixty-five or seventy. He was fishing on
+Back's River when they came along in a boat and shook hands with him.
+There were ten men. The leader was called "Tos-ard-e-roak," which Joe
+says, from the sound, he thinks means Lieutenant Back. The next white
+man he saw was dead in a bunk of a big ship which was frozen in the
+ice near an island about five miles due west of Grant Point, on
+Adelaide Peninsula. They had to walk out about three miles on smooth
+ice to reach the ship. He said that his son, who was present, a man
+about thirty-five years old, was then about like a child he pointed
+out--probably seven or eight years old. About this time he saw the
+tracks of white men on the main-land. When he first saw them there
+were four, and afterward only three. This was when the spring snows
+were falling. When his people saw the ship so long without any one
+around, they used to go on board and steal pieces of wood and iron.
+They did not know how to get inside by the doors, and cut a hole in
+the side of the ship, on a level with the ice, so that when the ice
+broke up during the following summer the ship filled and sunk. No
+tracks were seen in the salt-water ice or on the ship, which also was
+covered with snow, but they saw scrapings and sweepings alongside,
+which seemed to have been brushed off by people who had been living
+on board. They found some red cans of fresh meat, with plenty of what
+looked like tallow mixed with it. A great many had been opened, and
+four were still unopened. They saw no bread. They found plenty of
+knives, forks, spoons, pans, cups, and plates on board, and afterward
+found a few such things on shore after the vessel had gone down. They
+also saw books on board, and left them there. They only took knives,
+forks, spoons, and pans; the other things they had no use for. He
+never saw or heard of the white men's cairn on Adelaide Peninsula.
+
+Peowat, son-in-law of the previous witness, a man about forty, said
+that when about fourteen or fifteen years old he saw two boats come
+down Back's River. One had eight men in it, and the other he did not
+notice how many. He afterward saw a stone monument on Montreal Island,
+which, when he opened it, was found to contain a pocket-knife, a pair
+of scissors, and some fish-hooks, which he took away. He saw no papers
+anywhere about it.
+
+We remained in this camp two days and a half, and before we left
+engaged a young man named Narleyow to accompany us as guide and seal
+hunter. His wife, Innokpizookzook, and their child, a little girl about
+three years old, also went with us. Our new hunter was given a gun and
+ammunition, and placed in the care of Equeesik to instruct in the use
+of fire-arms. I noticed that these people have slightly fairer
+complexions than the natives of Hudson's Bay, and the women are
+somewhat more elaborately tattooed, despite which they are quite
+comely. The children are all remarkably pretty, but the men have a
+ghastly look from wearing wooden goggles to guard against snow
+blindness, which makes the skin around the eyes, where protected by the
+goggles, several shades lighter than the rest of their face.
+
+We reached Back's River in four more marches, two of which were on the
+Hayes River, and two on land, crossing from the great bend to avoid the
+detour that otherwise we would be compelled to make. We were compelled
+to remain in camp one day, while on the land, on account of a severe
+storm. The day we reached Back's River was also one of the most
+disagreeable days we marched, and it was a joyful sight to us, after
+nearly two months' travelling over an entirely unknown country, to find
+ourselves within easy reach of our destination. It seemed as if nothing
+now could prevent the accomplishment of our desire. As long as we were
+dependent upon the snow the prospect was growing more and more dubious;
+but with the salt-water ice beneath us, we felt assured of reaching our
+destination in due season. We remained one day at Montreal Island, to
+look for the remains of the cairn spoken of by Peowat, but every trace
+of it had been removed, as he said.
+
+[Illustration: THE NETCHILLIK AMBASSADRESS.]
+
+The day we left Montreal Island two seals were killed, which were
+the first since leaving Hudson's Bay. We found the distance from the
+north-east end of the island much less than mapped, and went into camp
+well up the coast, after killing three reindeer. We again took the
+land, crossing the Oyle Point and Richardson Point peninsulas, which we
+found much wider than mapped. In an inlet west of Richardson Point, or
+"Nu-oo-tar-ro," as it is known by the natives, we ran into the first of
+the Netchillik encampments, on the last day of May. The ceremony of
+opening communication was similar to that with the Ooquee-sik-silliks a
+few days before, with the exception that instead of remaining in their
+igloos the men were drawn up in line of battle in front of them, and
+sent out an old woman to find out who we were and what we wanted. If
+our designs had been hostile, and we had killed the old woman, their
+fighting strength would not have been reduced, and it would only have
+been one less old woman to care for. They carried their bows in their
+hands, with arrows fixed to the strings; but when the old woman shouted
+back that we were white men, they laid aside their arms and received us
+in a friendly manner, striking their breasts and saying, "Many-tu-me,"
+though Joe afterward told me that one of the men wanted a fight anyhow.
+They have a custom of killing the first stranger who comes among them
+after a death in the tribe, and as we filled that requirement, it seems
+he wanted to carry out the custom. At Equeesik's suggestion a gun had
+been discharged in the air as we approached, and it is probable that
+the knowledge that we were better armed than they had some effect in
+securing peace. They acted in quite a friendly manner after we came
+among them, and Lieutenant Schwatka and I visited all their igloos,
+leaving needles, thimbles, spoons, knives, and fish-hooks with them in
+exchange for a few unimportant Franklin relics. The next day we
+interviewed an old man named Seeuteetuar, who had seen a number of
+skeletons near the water line in an inlet about three or four miles
+west from the present camp. He had also seen books and papers scattered
+around among the rocks along the shore and back from the beach. There
+were also knives, forks and spoons, dishes and cans. There was no sled
+there, but there was a boat, which was afterward broken up and taken
+away by the natives, with which to manufacture wooden implements. He
+was shown a watch, and said he saw several like it lying around, which
+were also taken and broken up by the children. Some were silver and
+some gold. He said the bones were still there, unless carried off by
+foxes and wolves. He had never seen or heard of a cairn erected by
+white men along the coast on this side of Simpson Strait, and had never
+heard of any other traces of white men here. It was a long time since
+he had been there, but he could show us the spot.
+
+Toolooah, another Netchillik, about forty-five years old, had also been
+at the boat place, but after nearly everything had been removed. He
+had, however, seen traces of white men in the Ookjoolik country, on the
+western coast of Adelaide Peninsula, and as late as last summer had
+picked up pieces of bottles, iron, wood and tin cans on an island off
+Grant Point. Ookjoolik natives had pointed out this island as a place
+near which a ship had been sunk many years ago. A map was shown to him,
+and he pointed to a spot about eight miles due west of Grant Point as
+the place where the ship went down. Ooping, an Ookjoolik Inuit, who
+lived near the mouth of a big inlet that extends nearly across Adelaide
+Peninsula, from the head of Wilmot Bay, was the last Esquimau who had
+gone over the west coast of King William Land. This was two years ago.
+He had seen traces of white men near Cape Jane Franklin and along the
+coast of Cape Felix. This inlet, spoken of by Toolooah, seemed of
+sufficient importance to deserve surveying, and Lieutenant Schwatka
+decided to include it in the search of the Ookjoolik country.
+
+The sun exerted sufficient power during the middle of the day to bring
+our igloo down; but we had finished our interviewing and were ready to
+visit the cove where the boat and skeletons had been found. One light
+sled, with plenty of dogs, took us over, with Seeuteetuar and Toolooah
+as guides, and our Toolooah as driver. We found the place about three
+miles from camp, and, though the ground was nearly all covered with
+snow, and nothing whatever distinguished it from the coast on either
+side, we could not but be impressed by the mournful interest with which
+the sad fate of the lost explorers invested it. To our minds there
+seemed little doubt but that this was the farthest point in the
+direction of Hudson's Bay that any of them had reached. The party was
+a small one, and had, probably, been sifted down to the few hardiest
+men, whose anticipation of rescue from the horrible death that awaited
+them had not faltered under all their terrible sufferings while they
+had the continent in view. It probably seemed that if they could only
+reach the mainland they would be comparatively safe. But even the
+bravest hearts must have sunk--and that there were many brave hearts
+among them cannot be doubted, when the awful desolation of this country
+forced itself upon them. No more powerful picture of utter abandonment
+could possibly be devised than this. The land low and barren, so low,
+indeed, as to be scarcely distinguished from the sea, as both lay
+covered with their mantle of snow. Neither tree nor sprout, and
+scarcely a hill visible--nothing whatever to relieve the crushing
+monotony of the scene--no living thing to be seen anywhere, though the
+eye had uninterrupted range over so vast a territory. Even a wolf
+prowling around would have been a relief in the utter loneliness that
+oppressed them. All this presented itself to our minds as we looked
+around but saw no traces of the lost ones. Had we known at this time
+what we learned a few days later, the place would have had an
+additional interest as the spot where the records of the expedition,
+which had been brought thus far with infinite toil and care, had been
+irrecoverably lost. We marked the spot carefully, for a thorough search
+when the snow was off the ground, and returned to camp. Our guides
+informed us that the boat was found upside down on the beach, and all
+the skeletons beneath it. They did not remember the exact number, but
+thought there were about five or more.
+
+[Illustration: THE COUNCIL WITH THE NETCHILLIKS.]
+
+That night Equeesik learned from two natives who came in late that his
+sister was with another portion of the tribe near Richardson Point, and
+went there with his sled, returning the next day but one with several
+families, including an old woman whom we found to be another important
+and interesting witness. She was one of a party who met some of the
+survivors of the ill-fated ships on Washington Bay. Since then she had
+seen no white man until now. Her name was Ahlangyah, a Netchillik,
+about fifty-five years of age. She had a fine intelligent face, and a
+quantity of jet black hair, slightly tinged with gray, that had
+probably never been annoyed by any efforts at arrangement, and hung
+down over her shoulders or straggled over her face without reserve or
+molestation. I succeeded during the interview in getting a very
+characteristic portrait of her, the authenticity of which was
+subsequently attested when I had forgotten her name and her friends at
+once identified her by the portrait. It is but fair to state that we
+have reason to put great faith in the statements of these people, as
+truthfulness seems to be an inherent quality with them. They never
+attempted to deceive us in regard to relics, though perhaps it would
+seem easy and profitable. In many instances what appeared to us to be
+interesting relics they told us came from the natives of Repulse Bay
+and elsewhere.
+
+Ahlangyah pointed out the eastern coast of Washington Bay as the spot
+where she, in company with her husband, and two other men with their
+wives, had seen ten white men dragging a sledge with a boat on it many
+years ago. There was another Inuit with them who did not go near the
+white men. The sledge was on the ice, and a wide crack separated them
+from the white men at the interview. The women went on shore, and the
+men awaited the white people at the crack on the ice. Five of the white
+men put up a tent on the shore, and five remained with the boat on the
+ice. The Inuits put up a tent not far from the white men, and they
+stayed together here five days. During this time the Inuits killed a
+number of seals on the ice and gave them to the white men. They gave
+her husband a chopping-knife. He was the one who had the most
+intercourse with the white crew. The knife is now lost, or broken and
+worn out. She has not seen it for a long time. At the end of five days
+they all started for Adelaide Peninsula, fearing that the ice, which
+was very rotten, might not let them across. They started at night,
+because then, the sun being low, the ice would be a little frozen. The
+white men followed, dragging their heavy sledge and boat, and could not
+cross the rotten ice as fast as the Inuits, who halted and waited for
+them at Gladman's Point. The Inuits could not cross to the mainland,
+the ice was too rotten, and they remained in King William Land all
+summer. They never saw the white men again, though they waited at
+Gladman's Point fishing in the neighboring lakes, going back and forth
+between the shore and lakes nearly all summer, and then went to the
+eastern shore near Matty Island.
+
+Some of the white men were very thin, and their mouths were dry and
+hard and black. They had no fur clothing on. When asked if she
+remembered by what names the white men were called, she said one of
+them was called "Agloocar," and another "Toolooah." The latter seemed
+to be the chief, and it was he who gave the chopping-knife to her
+husband. (Agloocar and Toolooah are both common Esquimau names, and it
+is probable the names she heard the white men call resembled these in
+sound, and thus impressed themselves upon her mind.) Another one was
+called "Dok-took" (Doctor). "Toolooah" was a little older than the
+others, and had a large black beard, mixed with gray. He was bigger
+than any of the others--"a big, broad man." "Agloocar" was smaller, and
+had a brown beard about four or five inches below his chin (motioning
+with her hand). "Dok-took" was a short man, with a big stomach and red
+beard, about the same length as "Agloocar's." All three wore
+spectacles, not snow goggles, but, as the interpreters said, all the
+same seko (ice).
+
+The following spring, when there was little snow on the ground, she saw
+a tent standing on the shore at the head of Terror Bay. There were dead
+bodies in the tent, and outside were some covered over with sand. There
+was no flesh on them--nothing but the bones and clothes. There were a
+great many; she had forgotten how many. Indeed, Inuits have little idea
+of numbers beyond "ten." She saw nothing to indicate any of the party
+she met before. The bones had the chords or sinews still attached to
+them. One of the bodies had the flesh on, but this one's stomach was
+gone. There were one or two graves outside. They did not open the
+graves at this time; saw a great many things lying around. There were
+knives, forks, spoons, watches, many books, clothing, blankets, and
+such things. The books were not taken notice of. This was the same
+party of Esquimaux who had met the white men the year before, and they
+were the first who saw the tent and graves. They had been in King
+William Land ever since they saw the white men until they found the
+tent place.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+THE MIDNIGHT SUN.
+
+
+Such was the statement of Ahlangyah the Netchillik. When she had
+finished it we gave her some needles, spoons, a tin pan, and other
+articles that well repaid her for the trouble she had taken to reach
+us. Here was a woman who had actually seen the poor, starving
+explorers, and her story was replete with interest for us. Every word
+she uttered seemed fraught with the dread tragedy, and she appeared to
+share our interest, for her face was full of expression. At times it
+was saddened with the recital of the piteous condition of the white
+men, and tears filled her eyes as she recalled the sad scene at the
+tent place where so many had perished, and their bodies become food for
+wild beasts. It would seem, from what she related to-day, that the
+party which perished in the inlet we visited yesterday, was part of the
+same that Ahlangyah met on King William Land. She and her friends could
+not get across Simpson Strait, while the white men kept on over the
+rotten ice, probably at last compelled to take to their boat, and then,
+at the mercy of the wind and ice, after losing others of their number
+near Pfeffer River and Todd Islands, had drifted into the inlet where
+the dead bodies were found with the boat. How long it took them to
+reach this place will probably never be known, but there is little
+doubt that they were in a desperate condition. In fact, as we
+subsequently learned from other witnesses, there were almost
+unmistakable evidences of their being compelled to resort to
+cannibalism, until at last they absolutely starved to death at this
+point--at least all but one, whose remains were found, during the
+summer after our visit here, about five miles further inland.
+
+We secured one valuable relic here, in the sled seen by Sir Leopold
+McClintock, in Erebus Bay, which at that time had upon it a boat, with
+several skeletons inside. Since the sled came into the hands of the
+Inuits it has been cut down several times. It was originally seven feet
+longer than at present, the runners about two inches higher and twice
+as far apart. But even in its present state it is an exceedingly
+interesting memento. We have carefully preserved it in the condition in
+which it has been in constant use by the Esquimaux for many years. We
+met other portions of this tribe at intervals of from six to ten miles
+along this coast, until we reached Seaforth Point, where we crossed to
+King William Land, and left them behind until our return in the
+following September.
+
+Meanwhile we were pushing steadily onward. We were beginning to get
+used to the phenomena of the Arctic, not the least among which is the
+"midnight sun." It is difficult for one who has not witnessed it
+himself to understand the meaning of this portent. The idea of the long
+Arctic night seems to be much more generally comprehended. Nearly all
+writers upon the subject, whether those who have themselves experienced
+its effects, or those whose knowledge is derived from study, dwell with
+great force on the terribly depressing effect upon the physical
+organization of natives of the median zones caused by the long Arctic
+night whenever brought within its influence. Though much less has been
+written or said concerning the interminable day, its effects are almost
+as deleterious upon the stranger as the prolonged night. Indeed, to the
+sojourner in high latitudes the day is much more appreciable, for at no
+point yet visited by man is the darkness the total darkness of night
+throughout the entire day, while the "midnight sun" makes the night
+like noon-day. Even when the sun passes below the horizon at its upper
+culmination, the daylight is as intense as at noon in lower latitudes
+when the sun's disk is obscured by thin clouds. The long twilight in
+the north, where the sun's apparent path around the earth varies so
+little in altitude at its upper and lower culminations, takes some of
+the edge off of the prolonged night at the highest latitude ever
+attained by the Arctic explorer; but there is nothing to relieve the
+"long, long, weary day" of its full power upon the system.
+
+In this latitude the sun goes down at night, and we retire to our
+couches and sleep. In the morning the sun returns, and we arise to the
+pursuit of our various daily avocations. But there, in the spring, the
+sun never sets. There is no morning and no night. It is one continuous
+day for months. At first it seems very difficult to understand this
+strange thing in nature. One never knows when to sleep. The world seems
+to be entirely wrong, and man grows nervous and restless. Sleep is
+driven from his weary eyelids, his appetite fails, and all the
+disagreeable results of protracted vigils are apparent. But gradually
+he becomes used to this state of affairs, devises means to darken his
+tent, and once more enjoys his hour of rest. In fact, he learns how to
+take advantage of the new arrangement, and when travelling pursues his
+journey at night, or when the sun is lowest, because then he finds the
+frost that hardens the snow a great assistance in sledging.
+
+The sun's rays then, falling more obliquely, are less powerful, and he
+avoids somewhat the evils that beset his pathway at noontime. He is not
+so much exposed to sunburn or to snow-blindness. It may sound strangely
+to speak of sunburn in the frigid zone, but perhaps nowhere on the
+earth is the traveller more annoyed by that great ill. The heat of
+ordinary exercise compels him to throw back the hood of his fur coat,
+that the cool evenings and mornings preclude his discarding, and not
+only his entire face becomes blistered, but especially--if he is
+fashionable enough to wear his hair thin upon the top of his head--his
+entire scalp is affected about as severely as if a bucket of scalding
+water had been poured over his head. This is not an exaggeration. At a
+later period than that of which I am writing, Lieutenant Schwatka's
+entire party, while upon a sledge journey from Marble Island to Camp
+Daly, were so severely burned that not only their faces but their
+entire heads were swollen to nearly twice their natural size. And a
+fine-looking party they were. Some had their faces so swollen that
+their eyes were completely closed upon awakening from sleep. When one
+could see the others he could not refrain from laughing, so ludicrous
+was the spectacle. All dignity was lost. Even the august commander of
+the party was a laughing-stock, and though he knew why they laughed at
+each other, he could not understand why he should excite such mirth
+until he saw his face in a mirror. Then, when he tried to smile, his
+lips were so thoroughly swollen that the effect was entirely lost, and
+it was impossible to tell whether his expression denoted amusement,
+anger, or pain. The torture resulting from these burns was so severe
+that it was almost impossible to sleep. The fur bedding, which also
+served the purpose of a pillow, irritated the burns like applying a
+mustard-plaster to a blister. Then it was that the night was turned
+into day for the rest of the journey, and during the heat of the day
+the party were comparatively comfortable in the shelter of their tent.
+Straw-hats would have been the proper style of head-dress, but they had
+been omitted from the outfit, as was also another very important source
+of comfort, mosquito nettings. It is in the summer, however, that the
+necessity for the latter luxury is encountered.
+
+While the sun's rays pour down with all their force upon the devoted
+head of the traveller the reflection from the snow is almost as intense
+and still more disagreeable, for there is no possible escape from it.
+Not satisfied with producing its share of sunburn, it acts upon the
+eyes in a manner that produces that terrible scourge of the Arctic
+spring--snow-blindness. It is a curious fact that persons who are
+near-sighted are generally exempt from the evils of snow-blindness,
+while it appears to be more malignant with those who are far-sighted
+in direct ratio to the superior quality of their vision. Lieutenant
+Schwatka and his companion, the present writer, are both near-sighted,
+and during the two seasons that they were exposed to the disease
+neither were at any time affected by snow-blindness; while the other
+members of the party, and especially the natives, who have most
+powerful visual organs, were almost constantly martyrs to the disease
+whenever exposed to its attacks.
+
+It seems the only method of guarding against it is to wear what we
+called snow-goggles all the time one is out of doors. The natives use
+those of home manufacture--that is, a piece of wood with a notch to fit
+over the bridge of the nose, and a narrow, horizontal slit opposite
+each eye. This rude spectacle, called by them igearktoo, is made to fit
+close to the eyes, and is held in place by strings passing behind and
+over the top of the head. It serves to shelter the eyes from the direct
+and reflected rays of the sun, but also interrupts the vision so much
+that they habitually push it up on top of their heads, and run a risk
+which almost invariably results to their disadvantage, yet their
+goggles are so unsatisfactory that no amount of adverse experience is
+sufficient to serve as a warning to them. The civilized visitors among
+them wear goggles of various patterns and degrees of excellence. Some
+are made of differently colored glass, from the various shades of
+smoked glass to blue and green of varying degrees of opacity; some are
+of glass surrounded with wire gauze; others of wire gauze without the
+glass, and some are merely a strip of bunting hanging from the peak of
+the cap. Of all the various kinds the general experience seems to be in
+favor of the wire gauze without glass. They interfere very little with
+the vision, and yet furnish a perfect protection for the eyes. Glass of
+any pattern or shade subjects the wearer to constant annoyance by
+fogging from the breath, which congeals very rapidly upon the surface
+of the glass, and apparently always at the most inconvenient time, as
+when the hunter is stalking a deer by crawling a long distance upon
+his hands and knees, and just as he raises his rifle for a shot his
+goggles are like pieces of ground glass. The native spectacles give
+such a limited field of vision that it is impossible to use them in
+hunting; but the wire-gauze seems to be free from all these objections.
+A well-supplied expedition is provided with every kind of snow-goggles,
+as they are absolutely essential to the well being of the party. The
+superiority of the wire-gauze pattern seemed to have been appreciated
+by the Franklin expedition, for many of them were subsequently found
+at the various burial-places and at other points where relics were
+obtained. It is also said that painting around the eyes upon the upper
+and lower lids with burned cork or some dark pigment is a protection
+against snow-blindness; but it is doubtful if this method has been
+sufficiently tested to admit of its being relied upon. The symptoms of
+snow-blindness are inflammation of the inner coating of the lids,
+accompanied by intense pain and impairment of the vision, so as to
+disable the sufferer from the performance of his duties. A wash of
+diluted tincture of opium is probably the best remedy, and gives almost
+immediate relief. The patient should remain within doors for two or
+three days, by which time he will usually be sufficiently cured to
+resume his out-door labors.
+
+It might be supposed that in the utter barrenness of the Arctic
+landscape, flowers never grew there. This would be a great mistake. The
+dweller in that desolate region, after passing a long, weary winter,
+with nothing for the eye to rest upon but the vast expanse of snow and
+ice, is in a condition to appreciate, beyond the ability of an
+inhabitant of warmer climes, the little flowerets that peep up almost
+through the snow when the spring sunlight begins to exercise its power
+upon the white mantle of the earth. In little patches here and there,
+where the dark-colored moss absorbs the warm rays of the sun, and the
+snow is melted from its surface, the most delicate flowers spring up at
+once to gladden the eye of the weary traveller. It needs not the
+technical skill of the botanist to admire these lovely tokens of
+approaching summer. Thoughts of home, in a warmer and more hospitable
+climate, fill his heart with joy and longing, as meadows filled with
+daisies and buttercups spread out before him, while he stands upon the
+crest of a granite hill that knows no footstep other than the tread of
+the stately musk-ox or the antlered reindeer, as they pass in single
+file upon their frequent journeys, and whose caverns echo to no sound
+save the howling of the wolves or the discordant cawing of the raven.
+He is a boy again, and involuntarily plucks the feathery dandelion, and
+seeks the time of day by blowing the puffy fringe from its stem, or
+tests the faith of the fair one, who is dearer to him than ever in this
+hour of separation, by picking the leaves from the yellow-hearted
+daisy. Tiny little violets, set in a background of black or dark green
+moss, adorn the hill-sides, and many flowers unknown to warmer zones
+come bravely forth to flourish for a few weeks only, and wither in the
+August winds. Very few of the flowers, so refreshing and charming to
+the eye, have any perfume. Nearly all smell of the dank moss that forms
+their bed.
+
+As soon as the snow leaves the ground, the hill-sides in many
+localities are covered with the vine that bears a small black berry
+(called by the natives parwong,) in appearance, though not in flavor,
+like the huckleberry. It has a pungent spicy tartness that is very
+acceptable after a long diet of meat alone, and the natives, when they
+find these vines, stop every other pursuit for the blissful moments of
+cramming their stomachs with the fruit. This is kept up, if the crop
+only lasts long enough until they have made themselves thoroughly sick
+by their hoggishness. But the craving for some sort of vegetable diet
+is irresistible, and with true Inuit improvidence they indulge it,
+careless of consequences. Fortunate for them is it that their summer,
+is a short one, and the parwong not abundant, or cholera might be added
+to the other dangers of Arctic residence. But the days of the buttercup
+and the daisy, and of the butterfly and the mosquito are few. With the
+winter comes the all-pervading snow, and the keen, bracing north-west
+wind, the rosy cheek and the frozen nose; but with it also comes rugged
+health and a steady diet of walrus meat.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+RELICS.
+
+
+From this point onward our march was attended with the most profitable
+results. On the evening of the 4th of June we met a young man, named
+Adlekok, who, during the previous summer, had found a new cairn erected
+by white men near Pfeffer River, which had never been seen by any other
+Inuits. Near by were three graves and a tent place in which he found a
+pair of wire-gauze snow-goggles, which we bought from him. This
+information seemed of sufficient importance to be followed up
+immediately before any other natives should find and rob the cairn.
+Consequently the next day Lieutenant Schwatka and I took a light
+sled, with Toolooah to drive and Adlekok as guide, and visited the
+spot. We took a day's rations with us, to use in case we did not get
+back that night, and started with a head wind and storm that confined
+our view to the immediate vicinity of the sledge. Our guide, however,
+took us through this trackless waste of smooth ice, a distance of over
+twenty-five miles, without deviation from the direct line, with no
+landmarks or sun to steer by; but on he went with the unerring
+instinct of a dog, until we struck the land at the western banks of
+Pfeffer River. Arrived at the cairn we found it as he said, "a white
+man's cairn" unmistakably, but before proceeding to take it down we
+examined it carefully and found scratched on a clay stone with the
+point of a sharp instrument,
+
+      MAY
+    H XII
+     1869
+
+and on the opposite side,
+
+    ETERNAL HONOR TO THE DISCOVER-
+         ERS OF THE NORTH WE-
+
+and knew it to be the cairn erected by our countryman, Captain Hall,
+over the bones of two of Franklin's men which he speaks of having found
+here. A portion of the inscription was lost by the breaking off of a
+piece of the stone on which it was written. We did not take down the
+monument, but after making a hasty sketch, returned to camp, having
+travelled over fifty miles in ten hours.
+
+At this camp we found another interesting relic, in a pine board that
+seems to have been part of the head of a bunk or other permanent
+fixture, and has the initials "L. F." in brass tacks upon it. This was
+picked up on the west coast of Adelaide Peninsula, near where the ship
+went down that drifted through Victoria Strait, and may serve to
+identify that vessel, thus proving a most interesting and valuable
+historic relic. At the next camp, which was our last stopping-place on
+the main-land, we met an old woman named Tooktoocheer, widow of
+Pooyetah, who was among the first to visit the boat place we saw a few
+days ago. We were somewhat disappointed in her as a witness, for she
+was so old that her memory was at fault, and she would wander about to
+different places and relate circumstances without explanation. Her son,
+who was present at the interview, was a lad of about twelve years when
+he visited the boat place with his parents, and retained a vivid
+recollection of the place. His testimony, therefore, proved to be what
+we had hoped of his mother's. All the time he was talking the old woman
+sat nodding approval as the circumstances he was relating were recalled
+to her memory. His name is Ogzeuckjeuwock, and he is an aruketko, or
+medicine-man, in his tribe. The recollection of the boat place was
+somewhat impressed upon his mind by the explosion of a can of powder
+with which he and another lad were playing after the articles were
+found there. The effects of the explosion came near proving fatal at
+the time, and when I met him during the fall on King William Land, he
+told me he had never entirely recovered from the shock.
+
+I give the interview with Tooktoocheer and her son as I recorded it in
+my note-book at the time, so that each reader may draw his own
+conclusions. Some of the statements will undoubtedly appear strange,
+but in the main they are perfectly intelligible and exceedingly
+interesting. Tooktoocheer said she was from Okbillegeok (Pelly Bay
+of the charts), a portion of the Netchillik country. She is the widow
+of Pooyetah, spoken of by Sir John Ross and Captain Hall. She appeared
+to be about seventy years old, and was an object of high esteem by her
+people, as was evinced in the care that was bestowed upon her comfort.
+She said she had never seen any of Franklin's men alive, but saw six
+skeletons on the main-land and an adjacent island--four on the
+main-land and two on the island. This she pointed out on the southern
+coast near ninety-five degrees west longitude. There were no graves
+at either place. Her husband was with her at the time, and seven other
+Inuits. This was when she was at the boat place west of Richardson
+Point. In fact, she seemed to have the two places somewhat mixed up in
+her mind, and Ogzeuckjeuwock took up the thread of the narrative here.
+In answer to a question which we asked his mother, he said he saw books
+at the boat place in a tin case, about two feet long and a foot square,
+which was fastened, and they broke it open. The case was full. Written
+and printed books were shown him, and he said they were like the
+printed ones. Among the books he found what was probably the needle of
+a compass or other magnetic instrument, because he said when it touched
+any iron it stuck fast. The boat was right side up, and the tin case in
+the boat. Outside the boat he saw a number of skulls. He forgot how
+many, but said there were more than four. He also saw bones from legs
+and arms that appeared to have been sawed off. Inside the boat was a
+box filled with bones; the box was about the same size as the one with
+the books in it.
+
+He said the appearance of the bones led the Inuits to the opinion that
+the white men bad been eating each other. What little flesh was still
+on the bones was very fresh; one body had all the flesh on. The hair
+was light; it looked like a long body. He saw a number of wire
+snow-goggles, and alongside the body with flesh on it was a pair of
+gold spectacles. (He picked out the kind of metal from several that
+were shown him.) He saw more than one or two pairs of such spectacles,
+but forgot how many. When asked how long the bodies appeared to have
+been dead when he saw them, he said they had probably died during the
+winter previous to the summer he saw them. In the boat he saw canvas
+and four sticks (a tent or sail), saw a number of watches, open-faced;
+a few were gold, but most were silver. They are all lost now. They were
+given to the children to play with, and have been broken up and lost.
+One body--the one with flesh on--had a gold chain fastened to gold
+ear-rings, and a gold hunting-case watch with engine-turned engraving
+attached to the chain, and hanging down about the waist. He said when
+he pulled the chain it pulled the head up by the ears. This body also
+had a gold ring on the ring finger of the right hand. It was taken off,
+and has since been lost by the children in the same way that the other
+things were lost. His reason for thinking that they had been eating
+each other was because the bones were cut with a knife or saw. They
+found one big saw and one small one in the boat; also a large red tin
+case of smoking tobacco and some pipes. There was no cairn there. The
+bones are now covered up with sand and sea-weed, as they were lying
+just at high-water mark. Some of the books were taken home for the
+children to play with, and finally torn and lost, and others lay around
+among the rocks until carried away by the wind and lost or buried
+beneath the sand.
+
+His statement in reference to one of the deceased wearing a watch by a
+chain attached to his ears appears strange, but I give the statement as
+he made it. The chain may in some way have become attached to the ears,
+or, ridiculous as the story sounds, there may have been some eccentric
+person in the party who wore his watch in that way, and if such should
+prove to be the case, this would certainly identify him beyond doubt.
+While the old woman sat in our igloo giving her statement, or trying to
+recollect the circumstances, I succeeded in getting a good portrait
+sketch of her, which attracted considerable interest among the natives,
+and Ogzeuckjeuwock, who toward the latter part of the interview had
+begun to exhibit symptoms of impatience, turned quickly around as soon
+as he had finished, and asked to have his portrait taken also, in which
+I accommodated him, much to his gratification.
+
+In reviewing the testimony of the foregoing witnesses it appears
+confirmatory of the opinion that the skeletons found at this place were
+the remains of some of the party who were seen by Ahlangyah and her
+friends on Washington Bay. She said that "Toolooah," "Agloocar," and
+"Doktook" wore spectacles, and spectacles were found at the boat place.
+Gold watches being found, there is also an evidence that there were
+officers in the party. It is probable that the five men who had a tent
+on shore near the Inuit "tupics" were all officers. It is also a
+very natural deduction that the books that were found in a sealed or
+locked tin case, which had to be broken open by the natives, were the
+more important records of the expedition, and in charge of the chief
+surviving officers, as it is not probable that men who were reduced to
+the extremity that these were, and having to drag everything by hand,
+would burden themselves with general reading matter. The boat, judging
+from the relics that we found, was a very heavy one, and copper
+bottomed; for most of the kettles that we saw in use among the
+Netchilliks were made of sheet copper that they said came from this and
+the other boats in Erebus Bay. But the boat was an absolute necessity
+and could not be abandoned. There is no doubt, however, that everything
+superfluous had been dropped from time to time, until nothing remained
+that could possibly be dispensed with, and such books as they had,
+besides the Nautical Almanac and Ephemeris, if indeed under the
+circumstances they would even carry them, were probably the most
+important records of the expedition.
+
+During the year and a half that the 'Erebus' and 'Terror'
+were frozen fast in the Victoria Strait, the officers had probably
+surveyed the adjacent shores very carefully, and had undoubtedly made
+observations that were highly important. Especially would this be the
+case with their magnetical observations, as they were right upon the
+magnetic pole. We saw some tall and very conspicuous cairns near Cape
+Felix, which had no records in them, and were apparently erected as
+points of observation from the ships. As their terrible experience
+commenced after abandoning the vessels, it is probable that their time
+previous to that was occupied in a manner creditable to themselves and
+exceedingly valuable to all interested in scientific work. The records
+of these observations were in all probability contained in the tin box
+which Ogzeuckjeuwock speaks of as having been found and lost beyond
+recovery.
+
+An old Netchillik, named Ockarnawole, stated that five years ago he and
+his son, who was also present in the igloo, made an excursion along the
+north-western coast of King William Land. Between Victory Point and
+Cape Felix they found some things in a small cask near the salt water.
+In a monument that he did not take down, he found between the stones
+five jack-knives and a pair of scissors, also a small flat piece of
+tin, now lost; saw no graves at this place, but found what, from his
+description of the way the handle was put on, was either an adze or a
+pickaxe. A little north of this place found a tent place and three tin
+cups. About Victory Point found a grave, with a skeleton, clothes, and
+a jack-knife with one blade broken. Saw no books. In a little bay on
+the north side of Collinson Inlet saw a quantity of clothes. There was
+plenty of snow on the ground at the time they were there.
+
+[Illustration: SNOW-HUTS ON CAPE HERSCHEL.]
+
+Viewing this statement in the light of our subsequent search upon this
+ground, I am inclined to believe that the grave they found was not at
+Victory Point, but was Irving's grave, about three miles below there.
+We saw no evidence of any grave at Victory Point, though we made a
+particularly extended search around that entire section of the country.
+The little bay spoken of is also probably the little bay where
+Lieutenant Irving's grave was discovered. There is a little bay on the
+north side of Collinson Inlet, but Lieutenant Schwatka and I visited it
+several times without finding any traces of clothing or any other
+evidences of white men having been there; and from what we saw at other
+places it seems almost impossible that there could have been much there
+as late as five years ago without some indications remaining. The
+vicinity of places where boats had been destroyed, or camps where
+clothing was found, were invariably indicated by pieces of cloth among
+the rocks, at greater or less intervals, for a long distance--sometimes
+as far as one or two miles on either side, and it would be almost
+impossible to escape seeing the principal point when led to it by such
+gradually cumulative evidence.
+
+From this camp we went in two marches to Cape Herschel, where we left
+the heaviest of our baggage, with Joe and the other Inuits, taking only
+the white men of the party, with Toolooah and his family, and Owanork,
+Equeesik's youngest brother, to assist in the management of the sled,
+and started for Cape Felix on the 17th. We left instructions with Joe
+to remain at Cape Herschel as long as they could find enough to eat
+there; but if there was more game further down the coast, or on the
+main-land, to go there, and leave stones to indicate their route, so
+Toolooah would know where to look for them when we returned from Cape
+Felix. We took a course but little west of north, and at night encamped
+at the head of Washington Bay. Here we left the salt-water ice and
+started across land, keeping the same direction, with the intention of
+striking Collinson Inlet near its head. Our surprise can then be
+imagined when, after two days' travelling, we came out on Erebus Bay,
+which we thought was far to the west. This discrepancy was afterward
+accounted for when we found, by a comparison with the position of
+points between Cape Jane Franklin and Cape Felix, established by Sir
+James Ross, and confirmed by the officers of the 'Erebus' and
+'Terror', that Cape Herschel is really about eighteen or twenty
+miles further west than mapped on the Admiralty charts.
+
+The travelling across land was exceedingly heavy and tedious, owing to
+the softening condition of the snow, and to the lakes being covered
+with water to the depth of about six or eight inches. In the morning
+the slight crust on the snow, formed during the night, would break
+through at nearly every step; while during the rest of the day it was
+simply wading through slush or water. We found the salt-water ice also
+in a bad condition for travelling. It was very old ice, and as hummocky
+as it is possible for ice to be. We usually kept near the coast, where
+we found pretty good sledging; but one day we took to the hummocks, to
+avoid a great detour that following the shore ice would have entailed
+upon us, and did it to our sorrow. The fall snows and winter winds had
+piled up around and among the hummocks, filling in the interstices, so
+that, were the snow frozen, the sledging would not have been so very
+difficult; but the sun had already poured his rays upon it, day and
+night, for so long a time that the snow was soft, and nearly every step
+would break through.
+
+Sometimes we would sink to our waists, and then our legs would be
+dangling in slush and water without finding bottom. The sled would
+often sink so that the dogs could not pull it out, light as was the
+load, and when we would gather round to help them, we could only get an
+occasional foothold, perhaps by kneeling in a hummock, or holding on
+with one hand while we pulled with the other. Even the dogs could not
+pull to any advantage. Some would be floundering in the slush and
+water, while others were scrambling over the broken ice, and yet under
+all these disadvantages we were able to make a march of ten miles,
+through the skill and experience of our Inuit dog driver. Without the
+assistance of dogs and natives, it is altogether probable that we would
+not have been able to accomplish more than two or three miles at the
+best; and I can well understand that Dr. Hayes had so much difficulty
+in crossing Smith Sound through the heavy hummocks in the spring of
+1861. But at the same time I feel pretty well convinced that with
+plenty of good dogs and competent native drivers to manage the sledges,
+there is no ice in the Arctic that would prevent an average march of
+ten miles a day, with light loads, during the long days of spring. I
+would not even stipulate for such an exceptionally excellent guide and
+driver as our faithful Toolooah. Such as he are rare anywhere, and
+especially so among the Esquimaux. He is not only the best hunter in
+his tribe, but the best dog driver, and the most energetic man I have
+seen among all the tribes with whom I have come in contact. He is more
+like a capable white man, in that respect, than an Esquimau, and there
+is a legend in his tribe that he was never known to be tired. It is
+certain that to him, more than to all the other natives with us,
+combined, is due the success of our enterprise.
+
+When the weather was unpropitious for hunting, and we would be
+without food, it was nothing more than the usual Inuit custom to say,
+"Ma-muk-poo-now" ("No good"), and sit down to wait for the weather
+to improve. But under such circumstances I have known our brave-hearted
+Toolooah rise equal to the emergency and go out to hunt for game until
+he found it. The others would perhaps go out and look around for a
+short time, and if they saw no game would come in, while he would not
+get in until nearly midnight, if, as was seldom the case, he came in
+empty-handed. I remember one time when we were without food, and moving
+into a portion of the country which we knew to be but thinly stocked
+with game. The hunters all went out, though the weather was thick with
+snow, and the only probability of seeing reindeer was that they might
+stumble upon them unobserved by the accident of approaching them
+against the wind. The others came in about noon, discouraged, having
+seen no game. Toolooah, on the contrary, did not get in until about
+five hours later; then he came in for the dogs, to bring in three
+reindeer that he had killed a few miles north of the camp. He went out
+in a south-westerly direction, and started to make a circuit of the
+camp on a radius of about five miles. By this ingenious course he came
+upon the fresh tracks of three reindeer, and at once started in
+pursuit, determined to follow them until he came up to them. The days
+were short, and he had to move rapidly, so that he absolutely ran about
+twelve miles until he overtook and killed them. I merely mention this
+incident to show the kind of metal our Toolooah is made of; not as a
+sample of Inuit character, but as a remarkable contrast to it.
+
+[Illustration: CROSSING EREBUS BAY.]
+
+Our ten-mile march through Erebus Bay occupied fifteen hours, and we
+were all pretty well worn out when we reached the shore and encamped,
+still some distance below Franklin Point. We lay over the next day, for
+Toolooah, who had exerted himself even beyond his great powers of
+endurance, was still quite exhausted, and though he expressed his
+readiness to resume the journey, Lieutenant Schwatka did not think it
+sufficiently urgent to run the risk of breaking him down altogether;
+not only out of personal regard for the noble fellow, but, as he was
+our sole dependence, losing his services would have been a sad if not a
+fatal disaster to the entire party. During the day I shot two of an
+apparently distinct species of snipe, to preserve their skins for the
+Smithsonian Institute collection. One of them was distinguished by a
+sweet, simple song, somewhat similar to the lark's, its silvery tones
+gushing forth as if in perfect ecstasy of enjoyment of sunshine and
+air; at the same time rising and poising itself upon its wings. It
+seemed almost inhuman to kill the sweet little songster, particularly
+as it was the only creature I saw in the Arctic that uttered a pleasant
+note. All other sounds were such as the scream of the hawk and the
+gull, the quack of the duck, the yell of the wolf, the "Ooff! ooff!" of
+the walrus, or the bark of the seal--all harsh and unmelodious, save
+the tones of this sweet little singer. Nothing but starvation or
+scientific research could justify the slaughter of one of these
+innocents. I believe I shut my eyes when I pulled the trigger of my
+gun, and I know my heart gave a regretful thump when I heard the thud
+of its poor, bleeding body upon the ground. When we started for
+Franklin Point the next day, Lieutenant Schwatka concluded to follow
+Toolooah's advice, and keep upon the smooth ice near the shore, even
+though it should increase the distance marched. Our experience of the
+hummocks of Victoria Strait was not one that we were anxious to repeat.
+We had a short stretch of similar work in crossing the mouth of an
+inlet just below Franklin Point, and we were glad enough when we got
+through. The thermometer registered thirty-seven degrees in the shade,
+and sixty degrees in the sun. There was scarcely any wind, and coats
+were a burden of which we had soon to relieve ourselves. The heat while
+walking was quite as exhausting as ninety-eight degrees in the shade at
+New York. We saw a number of seals on the ice opposite the mouth of the
+inlet, and Toolooah shot one which was an unusually big specimen. In
+fact, the average of those we saw in this part of the country is much
+larger than those at Hudson's Bay.
+
+During the entire day and night small flocks of ducks were flying
+swiftly past the tent, and so unaccustomed are they to meeting human
+beings in that wilderness, that they would be almost directly on the
+tent before they saw it, which only caused them to deviate a little to
+the right or left, or put on a little more steam. Lieutenant Schwatka
+seated himself on a rock alongside the tent, with his double-barrelled
+breech-loading shot-gun in his hand, and in a short time stopped
+three--two drakes and a duck. The drakes are exceedingly pretty,
+especially about the head and neck. The head is of a pale olive-green
+hue, a fashionable color in silks a few years ago, and known by the
+extraordinary name of "Elephant's Breath." This gradually merges into a
+very pale, warm gray, the line of demarcation between it and the very
+dark brown, which constitutes the general color of the body, being very
+abrupt. The bill is of a vermilion red, and surmounted by a bright
+orange-colored crest, with a black border as positively marked as if of
+black tape. At this season we usually see the drakes flying together,
+and the ducks in separate bands, reminding one of the division of sexes
+in a country meeting-house. We often came upon an immense body of
+drakes sitting upon the edge of an ice-floe, looking very much like a
+regiment of hussars at a distance drawn up in line of battle. The duck
+is not so gaudy as her husband. She is quite contented in a full suit
+of mottled brown and olive gray, presenting a texture on the back
+somewhat similar to the canvas-back species of Chesapeake Bay. About
+half-past ten o'clock in the evening, Toolooah and I walked up to the
+crest of a ridge, north of camp, to see if there were any points still
+to the north of us in this meridian. We found the coast bearing off
+well toward the eastward, and then toward the north-east, and knew it
+to be the upper coast of Franklin Point. We also saw a reindeer, which
+Toolooah shot before returning to camp.
+
+When we left Franklin Point, the four white men of the party kept upon
+the land near the coast, and left the sled in charge of the Inuits to
+follow along the shore ice. The snow was entirely off the ridges, and
+only lay in great patches of soft slush in the valleys and upon
+occasional marshes. We spread out on the land, so as to cover as much
+ground in our search as possible, moving along like a line of
+skirmishers, with instructions that in case we saw anything that we did
+not understand, or which required further investigation, to make
+signals to assemble. In this way, before reaching Collinson Inlet, we
+found the graves of two white men, near one of which was lying the
+upper part of a skull; while within the pile of stones we found the
+upper maxilla, with two teeth, and a piece of the cheekbone. No other
+human bones were found; but these were laid together for burial on our
+return, when we could give a more thorough search.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+IRVING'S GRAVE.
+
+
+The next day we stayed at Cape Jane Franklin to make a preliminary
+search of the vicinity. Lieutenant Schwatka and I went up Collinson
+Inlet, but saw no traces of white men. Henry and Frank, who had been
+sent up the coast, were more fortunate. About a mile and a half above
+camp they came upon the camp made by Captain Crozier, with his entire
+command from the two ships, after abandoning the vessels. There were
+several cooking stoves, with their accompanying copper kettles, besides
+clothing, blankets, canvas, iron and brass implements, and an open
+grave, wherein was found a quantity of blue cloth, part of which seemed
+to have been a heavy overcoat, and a part probably wrapped around the
+body. There was also a large quantity of canvas in and around the
+grave, with coarse stitching through it and the cloth, as though the
+body had been incased as if for burial at sea. Several gilt buttons
+were found among the rotting cloth and mould in the bottom of the
+grave, and a lens, apparently the object-glass of a marine telescope.
+Upon one of the stones at the foot of the grave Henry found a medal,
+which was thickly covered with grime, and was so much the color of
+the clay stone on which it rested as to nearly escape detection. It
+proved to be a silver medal, two and a half inches in diameter, with
+a bass-relief portrait of George IV., surrounded by the words,
+
+    GEORGIUS IIII., D. G. BRITTANNIARUM
+                 REX, 1820.
+
+on the obverse, and on the reverse a laurel wreath surrounded by
+
+    SECOND MATHEMATICAL PRIZE, ROYAL
+             NAVAL COLLEGE,
+
+and inclosing
+
+    AWARDED TO JOHN IRVING. MID-
+            SUMMER, 1830.
+
+This at once identified the grave as that of Lieutenant John Irving,
+third officer of the 'Terror'. Under the head was found a figured
+silk pocket-handkerchief, neatly folded, the colors and pattern in a
+remarkable state of preservation. The skull and a few other bones only
+were found in and near by the grave. They were carefully gathered
+together, with a few pieces of the cloth and the other articles, to be
+brought away for interment where they may hereafter rest undisturbed. A
+re-burial on King William Land would be only until the grave was again
+found by the natives, when it would certainly be again torn open and
+despoiled.
+
+The day after this discovery was made by the men we moved camp to the
+vicinity of the grave, and spent two days in searching for other
+matters of interest; but there was still some snow on the ground, and
+little ponds in the vicinity of the articles were partly frozen, so
+that an exhaustive search was impossible. Upon our return from Cape
+Felix, on the 11th of July, we found the snow entirely gone, and the
+ponds near the shore nearly all dry; we therefore had little difficulty
+in completing the search at that time. Among the various articles found
+was a brush with the name "H. Wilks" cut in the side, a two-gallon
+stone jug stamped "R. Wheatley, wine and spirit merchant, Greenhithe,
+Kent," several tin cans, a pickle bottle, and a canvas pulling strap, a
+sledge harness marked with a stencil plate "T 11," showing it to have
+belonged to the 'Terror'. We also found a stocking, rudely made of
+a piece of blanket, showing that they were in need of good stockings,
+which are so essential to the comfort of the Arctic traveller. For this
+purpose nothing is so good as the fur of the reindeer, but next to that
+well-made woollen stockings are the best. It was heart-rending to see
+this mute testimony to their destitution.
+
+At our second visit Toolooah's wife found in a pile of stones, where
+had formerly stood the cairn seen by Lieutenant Hobson, a piece of
+paper which had weathered the storms of more than twenty Arctic
+winters. It was with much difficulty that I could open it without
+tearing it, while all stood around in anxious expectancy, confident
+that it was an additional record from Captain Crozier, as it was in a
+tattered and weather-beaten condition.
+
+It, however, proved to be a copy of the Crozier record found by
+Lieutenant Hobson, of McClintock's expedition, and was in the
+handwriting of Sir Leopold McClintock. The document was written with a
+lead pencil on note-paper, and was partially illegible from exposure.
+It was literally as follows:--
+
+
+                                                     MAY 7, 1859,
+                          Lat. 69 deg. 38 min., long. 98 deg. 41 min. W.
+
+  This cairn was found yesterday by a party from Lady Frank-
+  lin's discovery yacht 'Fox', now wintering in Bellot Strait  *  *
+  *     *     *     *     *     *    a notice of which the  following
+  is    *     *     *    removed:--
+
+
+                                                     28TH MAY, 1847.
+  H. M. ships 'Erebus' and 'Terror' wintered in the ice in lat. 70 deg.
+  05 min. N., long. 98 deg. 23 min. W., having wintered at Beechy Island,
+  in lat. 74 deg. 43 min. 28 sec. N., long. 91 deg. 39 min. 15 sec. W.,
+  after having ascended Wellington Channel to lat. 77 deg., and returned
+  by the west side of Cornwallis Island.
+
+  Sir John Franklin commanding the expedition. All well. A
+  party of two officers and six men left the ships on Monday, the
+  24th May.
+                                    GRAHAM GORE.
+                                    CHARLES F. DES V * * *.
+
+
+  *    *    *    *    *     into a    *    *    *    *    *
+  printed form, which was a request in six languages, that if
+  picked up it might be forwarded to the British Admiralty.
+
+
+Round the margin of this paper was:--
+
+                                                 THE 25TH APRIL, 1848.
+
+  H. M. ships 'Terror' and 'Erebus', were deserted on the 22d
+  April  *   *  opens to the N. N. Wd. of this, having been beset
+  since 12th Sept., 1846. The officers and crews, consisting of 105
+  souls, under the command of Captain F. M. Crozier, landed here
+  in lat. 69 deg. 37 min. 42 sec. N., long. 98 deg. 41 min. W.
+
+  This paper was found by Lieutenant Irving, under the cairn
+  supposed to have been built by Sir James Ross in 1831, four
+  miles to the northward, where it had been deposited by the late
+  Commander Gore in June, 1847. Sir James Ross' pillar has not,
+  however, been found  *    *  the paper has been transferred
+  *    *    *    this position which    *    *    *    *    *
+  *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    was
+  erected.
+
+  Sir John Franklin died on the 7th of June, 1847, and the total
+  loss by deaths in the expedition has been    *    *   officers
+  and fifteen men.
+                   F. M. CROZIER, Captain and Senior Officer.
+                   JAMES FITZ JAMES, Captain H. M. S. 'Erebus'.
+
+
+  And start to-morrow for Back's Fish River.
+
+  At this cairn, which we reached   *    *   noon yesterday; the
+  last cairn appear to have made a selection of gear for travelling--
+  leaving all that was superfluous strewn about its vicinity. I re-
+  mained at this spot until nearly noon of to-day, searching for
+  relics, etc. No other papers   *    *   been found.
+
+  It is my intention to follow the land to the S. W., in quest of
+  the wreck of a ship said by the Esquimaux to be on the beach.
+  Three other cairns have been found between this and Cape Felix
+  *    *    *    they contain no infor    *    *    *    *    *
+  *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *
+  *    *    *  about it.
+                                 WILLIAM R. HOBSON,
+                                     Lieut. in charge of party.
+
+
+  This paper is a copy of a record left here by Captain Crozier
+  when retreating with the crews of the 'Erebus' and 'Terror' to the
+  Great Fish River--the information of its discovery by Lieut. W.
+  R. Hobson is intended for me. As the natives appear to have
+  pulled down a cairn erected here in 1831, I purpose burying a
+  record at ten feet true north from the centre of this cairn, and at
+  one foot below the surface.
+                                  F. L. McCLINTOCK, Capt. R. N.
+  *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *
+
+
+The asterisks in the foregoing copy indicate illegible words, the paper
+being much torn and soiled by exposure.
+
+We at once set about digging for the record that Captain McClintock
+proposed to bury ten feet true north from the centre of the cairn, and
+a foot below the surface; but though we dug a deep trench four feet
+wide from the centre of the cairn, due north, for a distance of twenty
+feet, nothing was found, and the inference is that Captain McClintock
+either failed to deposit the record, or that changes in the surface of
+the ground have brought it to light, and it has either been stolen by
+natives or washed into the sea. Some of the articles found were strewn
+along the beach for a long distance on either side of the pile of
+clothing and heavy implements, and were covered up with snow when we
+first visited the spot. There was a large quantity of cask hoops near
+by, but no wood. Even the handles of the shovels and pickaxes had been
+sawed off, probably by the natives who first found the place.
+
+This was evidently the spot where the crews landed when they abandoned
+the ships, and, as Lieutenant Hobson says, it appears as if they had
+selected only what was necessary for their sledge journey. It would
+further appear that when the party reached the southern coast of King
+William Land after a tedious and wasting journey, and found themselves
+fast fading away without being able to reach the main-land, a small
+party was sent back to the ships for provisions. The testimony of the
+Ookjoolik, who saw the ship that sank off Grant Point, showed that
+there were some stores on board even then, though only a small
+quantity. It is probable that Lieutenant Irving was the officer in
+charge of this return party, and that he died after reaching the camp.
+It is also probable that these people, who, according to the Ookjoolik
+testimony, drifted with the ship to the island of Grant Point, were
+also of this party, and, with the sailors' instinct, preferred to stick
+to the ship to returning to the already famishing party which they left
+with scarcely any better prospects on the south coast. The appearance
+of the boat place on Erebus Bay seems to indicate that it floated
+ashore after the ice broke up, and had previously been abandoned by
+those who were able to walk. That skeletons were found in the boat by
+those who saw it before it was destroyed, and near by by our party,
+would seem to indicate that the whole party were in a desperate
+condition at the time, otherwise the helpless ones would not have been
+abandoned.
+
+Such a state of affairs could scarcely have occurred on their southern
+trip, and is a strong indication of a return party. Lieutenant Irving's
+death had not occurred when they first left the vicinity of Cape Jane
+Franklin, or it would have been mentioned in Captain Crozier's record,
+which was written the day before they started for Back's River. That
+the boat on Erebus Bay drifted in, is evident from its being found just
+at high-water mark, where the debris are still visible. At the time the
+party returned under Lieutenant Irving the sleds could not have been
+dragged along that line, as the snow would have been off the ground
+just then, and probably was gone when the large party got so far on
+their way south, as the testimony of the natives who met them in
+Washington Bay shows that they moved exceedingly slow by. That there
+were men on the ship that drifted down Victoria Strait is additional
+reason for believing that they returned, for Captain Crozier in his
+record accounts for all the survivors being with him. It is possible
+that those who went out to the ship were caught there by the ice
+breaking up, and could not rejoin their companions on the shore, if
+indeed there were any there, which is doubtful, for we saw no skeletons
+at the camping place except Lieutenant Irving's. The ice broke up in
+Erebus Bay and Victoria Strait the year we were there on the 24th of
+July, and it is probable that it was as late in the season when the
+return party reached the camp near Lieutenant Irving's grave.
+
+We left Irving Bay on the 30th of June, caching all our heavy stuff in
+order to lighten the sled as much as possible, and reached Cape Felix
+on the 3d of July, having lain over one day on the north side of Wall
+Bay. We saw no traces of the Franklin expedition until we arrived at
+our place of encampment, near Cape Felix. The walking, however, was
+developing new tortures for us every day. We were either wading through
+the hill-side torrents or lakes, which, frozen on the bottom, made the
+footing exceedingly treacherous, or else with seal skin boots, rendered
+soft by constant wetting, painfully plodding over sharp clay stones,
+set firmly in the ground, with the edges pointing up, or lying flat and
+slipping as we stepped upon them and sliding the unwary foot into a
+crevice that would seemingly wrench it from the body. These are some of
+the features of a walk on King William Land, and yet we moved about ten
+miles a day, and made as thorough a search as was possible. All rocky
+places that looked anything like opened graves or torn-down cairns--in
+fact, all places where stones of any kind seemed to have been gathered
+together by human hands--were examined, and by spreading out at such
+intervals as the nature of the ground indicated, covered the greatest
+amount of territory. Lieutenant Schwatka carried his double-barrelled
+shotgun and killed a great many ducks and geese, and I, with my Sharp's
+rifle, got an occasional reindeer. We were now on a meat diet
+exclusively, and, as most of it was eaten almost as soon as killed, we
+all suffered more or less from diarrhoea. Nor did we have any other
+food until nine months later, when we reached the ship 'George and
+Mary', at Marble Island, except a few pounds of corn starch, which
+we had left at Cape Herschel when we started for Cape Felix on the 17th
+of June. In due course of time, however, we got used to the diet, and
+experienced no greater inconvenience from it than did our native
+companions.
+
+Where we encamped, which was about three miles south of Cape Felix,
+was what appeared to be a torn-down cairn, and a quantity of canvas
+and coarse red woollen stuff, pieces of blue cloth, broken bottles,
+and other similar stuff, showing that there had been a permanent
+camping place here from the vessels, while a piece of an ornamented
+china tea-cup, and cans of preserved potatoes showed that it was in
+charge of an officer.
+
+Our flag waved from the highest point of King William Land throughout
+the day following, which we were altogether too patriotic to forget was
+Independence Day. After firing a national salute from our rifles and
+shotguns our day's work was resumed. Henry and Frank were sent to
+explore the two points further along the coast, while Lieutenant
+Schwatka and I searched the vicinity of the camp and about a mile
+inland. It was a dismal, foggy day, but we derived great comfort from
+occasional glimpses of our country's flag through the lifting fog, the
+only inspiriting sight in this desolate wilderness--a region that fully
+illustrates "the abomination of desolation" spoken of by Jeremiah the
+prophet.
+
+The next day Lieutenant Schwatka went further inland, Frank and Henry
+down the coast, and I took Toolooah, with the sled, and went around the
+point toward Cape Sidney, keeping well out on the ice, to see if any
+cairn might have been erected to attract attention from that direction.
+On the way we stopped and took down a cairn that I had seen on the day
+of our arrival. We found nothing in it, though, the earth beneath it
+being soft, we dug far down in the hope of finding something to account
+for its existence, as Toolooah believed, though he was not certain,
+that it was a white man's cairn. I did not go as far as Cape Sidney,
+which had been my intention, as a thick fog, which came up as we left
+the cairn, rendered the trip useless for the purpose intended, as we
+could only get occasional glimpses of the shore, and could not see
+inland at all.
+
+Lieutenant Schwatka found a well-built cairn or pillar seven feet high,
+on a high hill about two miles back from the coast, and took it down
+very carefully without meeting with any record or mark whatever. It was
+on a very prominent hill, from which could plainly be seen the trend of
+the coast on both the eastern and western shores, and would most
+certainly have attracted the attention of any vessels following in the
+route of the 'Erebus' and 'Terror', though hidden by intervening hills
+from those walking along the coast. The next day Frank, Toolooah, and
+I went with Lieutenant Schwatka to take another look in the vicinity of
+the cairn, and to see if, with a spy-glass, we could discover any other
+cairn looking from that hill, but without success. It seemed unfortunate
+that probably the only cairn left standing on King William Land, built
+by the hands of white men, should have had no record left in it, as
+there it might have been well preserved. When satisfied that no document
+had been left there, the inference was that it had been erected in the
+pursuit of the scientific work of the expedition, or that it had been
+used in alignment with some other object to watch the drift of the
+ships. Before leaving we rebuilt the cairn, and deposited in it a record
+of the work of the Franklin search party to date.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+ARCTIC COSTUMES.
+
+
+We left Cape Felix on the 7th of July, reluctantly satisfied that Sir
+John Franklin had not been buried in that vicinity. The minuteness of
+our search will appear in the number of exploded percussion caps, shot,
+and other small articles that were found in various places. The Inuits
+who were with us evinced a most remarkable interest in our labors, and
+with their eagle eyes were ever finding things that would have escaped
+our attention. Everything they did not fully understand they brought to
+us, and though many of such things were of no account they were not
+discouraged. Since Toolooah had found the inscription scratched on a
+clay stone on the monument erected by Captain Hall over the remains
+near Pfeffer River, he had always been watchful, and often, while away
+from camp hunting, he has come upon a stone near a demolished cairn, or
+on some conspicuous place which had marks on that he thought might be
+writing. These he invariably brought into camp, though often compelled
+to carry them a long distance, in addition to a load of meat. We always
+praised his efforts in that line, and were pleased to notice that he
+did not get discouraged by repeated failures to discover something of
+interest. He is as untiring in his efforts to aid us in our search as
+in securing food, and there is always a degree of intelligence
+displayed in whatever he undertakes that is wholly foreign to the Inuit
+character. Even the stones that he brought into camp bore marks that
+were most astonishingly like writing. You could almost read them. If we
+had not been so straitened for transportation we would have brought
+some of these remarkable specimens home.
+
+As far as we had now progressed scarcely anything had given us more
+trouble than the question of clothing. In countries where tailors and
+dressmakers are abundant, clothing is a matter of very little labor to
+the masses--in fact, it simply resolves itself into a question of
+pecuniary resources. The dwellers in civilized cities can, therefore,
+scarcely appreciate the toil which all must share to secure the
+necessary garments to protect those who live in the highest latitudes.
+
+In the fur of the reindeer nature has provided the best possible
+protection from the cold, with the least amount of weight to the
+wearer. It might be possible to cover one's self with a sufficient
+quantity of woollen clothing to guard against the severest weather
+in the north, but it would require a man of immense muscular power
+to sustain the load. Two suits of reindeer clothing, weighing in all
+about five pounds, are quite ample for any season, and are only worn
+in the coldest weather. At other times one suit is all that is
+necessary. The inner coat is made of the skin of the reindeer killed
+in the early summer, when the hair is short and as soft as velvet,
+and is worn with the hairy side next to the bare skin. It is at first
+difficult for one to persuade himself that he will be warmer without
+his woollen undershirts than with them; but he is not long in
+acquiring the knowledge of this fact from experience. The trousers
+are made of the same material, as are also the stockings that complete
+his inner attire, or, so to speak, his suit of underclothing. This
+inner suit--with the addition of a pair of seal or reindeer skin
+slippers, with the hair outside, and a pair of seal-skin boots from
+which the hair has been removed, with soles of walrus or okejook skin,
+and drawing-strings which fasten them just below the knee--comprises
+his spring, summer, and fall costume. The boots have also an additional
+string passing through loops on the side, over the instep and behind
+the heel, which makes them fit comfortably to the ankle.
+
+In winter seal-skin is entirely discarded by the native Esquimaux as
+too cold, and boots of reindeer skin, called mit-co-lee-lee', from the
+leg of the animal, are substituted, and snow-shoes of the same sort of
+skin, with the hair inside, and a false sole of skin from the face of
+the buck, with the hair outside, complete the covering of his feet.
+This hairy sole not only deadens the sound of his footsteps upon the
+hard snow, but makes his feet much warmer, as it has the same effect as
+if he were walking upon a carpet of furs instead of upon the naked
+snow. In cold or windy weather, when out of doors, the native puts on
+another coat, called a koo'-lee-tar, which is made of skin with heavier
+fur, from the animal killed in the fall.
+
+The winter skins, with the heaviest and longest fur, are seldom used
+for clothing if a sufficient supply of the fall and summer skins has
+been secured. They are principally used for making what might be called
+the mattress of the bed. Sometimes, however, in the severest weather, a
+coat made of the heavy skin is worn when the hunter has to sit by a
+seal's blow-hole for hours at a time, without the least motion, waiting
+for the animal to come up and blow. In cold weather, when out of doors,
+he also wears an outside pair of trousers, called see'-ler-par, which
+are worn with the hair outside (all trousers are called kok'-e-lee, the
+outside see'-ler-par, and the inside ones e'-loo-par). The inside coat
+is called an ar-tee'-gee, and is made like a sack, with a tail
+attached, and a hood which can be pulled up over the head at pleasure.
+The kok'-e-lee are both made with a drawing-string at the waist, and
+only reach a short distance below the knee. They are very wide there,
+so that when the wearer sits down his bare knee is exposed. This is not
+as disagreeable to the wearer, even in that climate, as one would
+naturally suppose, but is really more unpleasant for the spectator, for
+he not only sees the bare knee but the film of dirt that incases it.
+The coats are very loose also, and expose the bare skin of the stomach
+when the wearer reaches his hands above his head.
+
+The coats of the women differ from those of the men only in having a
+short tail in front, and a much longer one behind. They also have a
+loose bag on each shoulder, and the hood is much longer than the men
+wear. The women's outside coats are always made of the short hair, the
+same as are their ar-tee'-gee. Their trousers reach further below the
+knee, fit closer to the leg, and are worn with the hairy side out.
+Women never wear but the one pair in any weather. Their stockings and
+boots are made with a sort of wing extension at the ankle, and, coming
+up over the bottom of the trousers, have a long strip, by which they
+are fastened to the belt that also sustains their trousers at the
+waist.
+
+To secure the necessary amount of skins for his family taxes the skill
+of the best hunter, for they must be secured in the summer and fall.
+Each adult requires six skins for his outfit, besides the number for
+the bedding. Take, then, an average family of a hunter, two wives and
+three children, and he must have for the adults eighteen skins, eleven
+for the children, three for his blanket--one blanket is enough for the
+entire family to sleep under--and about five for the mattress--a total
+of thirty-seven skins. This is more than many of them can secure during
+the short season of good fur; but others may kill many more, now that
+they are supplied with fire-arms, and those who have a surplus will
+always supply the actual needs of the more unfortunate; but often much
+suffering occurs before their wants are met.
+
+When a hunter kills a reindeer, the first thing he does is to skin it;
+then he eats some of the warm, quivering flesh. This is a very
+important part of his task. He cuts it open and removes the entrails,
+and, making a sack of the reticulated stomach, fills it with the blood
+that is found in the cavity of the body. He then regales himself with
+some of the spinach-like contents of the paunch, and, by way of filling
+in the time and the little crinkles in his stomach, cuts off and eats
+such little portions of fat as are exposed in the process of
+butchering. He then looks around for a stony place and deposits the
+carcass conveniently near it, together with the entrails and the bag of
+blood. Before cutting the body open it is turned back up, and the strip
+of muscles along each side of the backbone is removed, together with
+the sinew that covers it. Over this also lies the layer of tallow
+(tood-noo) when the animal is fat, as is usually the case in the summer
+and fall. The head is then severed from the body and placed on top of
+the rest of the meat, so that when the entire mass is covered with
+about a ton weight of large stones it is considered secure from the
+ravages of foxes and wolves. Not so, however, from the wolverine and
+bear--they can open any newly made cache; but after the snows have
+fallen, and the stones and meat are frozen in one compact mass, it
+requires the ingenuity of man to remove it. This is done by loosening
+as large a stone as possible with the foot, and with this stone as a
+battering-ram another and larger one is loosened, which in turn serves
+as the battering-ram to loosen the others. Often it is found necessary
+to use a narrow, wedge-like stone as a lever, or to force the other
+stones apart. The cache is always made more conspicuous by leaving the
+antlers to protrude above the stones.
+
+After his meat has been secured and he has refreshed himself with a
+pipe, the hunter makes a bundle of the skin and the meat attached to
+the sinew and tallow, and wends his way to his tupic, where his wife or
+wives await him. His favorite wife takes the meat (oo-le-oo-she-nee)
+and strips the sinew (oo-le-oo-tic) from it by holding the meat in her
+teeth while she cuts the sinew from it with her knife, which is shaped
+like a currier's knife. She then chews off the meat that still adheres
+to the sinew until it is perfectly clean, and hangs it up to dry, when
+it is separated into its fibres and becomes thread (ever-loo). In the
+meantime the other wife, with her teeth, cleans the fleshy side of the
+skin of the meat and fat that may still adhere to it, and if the sun is
+still shining stretches the skin upon the ground to dry, holding it in
+place by small stones placed around the edge. At night the skins are
+brought into the tent to keep them away from the dogs, and they are
+again put out in the sun every day until thoroughly dried. They should
+be dried as soon after killing as possible, in order that they may be
+in the best condition to preserve the fur.
+
+According to the old traditions and customs--the Mosaic law of the
+Esquimaux, so to speak--no work of any kind, except the drying of them,
+can be done upon new skins until the ice has formed sufficiently
+thickly upon the salt water to permit the hunter to seek the seal at
+his agloo or blow-hole. Until that time they are put carefully away in
+the tent, and have to be carried from point to point in their nomadic
+mode of life, or cached away where they will be presumably secure from
+the ravages of dogs and wild animals. When the season for making the
+new clothing arrives, that is, when the winter styles come out, then
+the work begins. The skins are dressed by the men, because it is hard
+work and beyond the power of most women, if they are required to be
+nicely dressed. Only one skin is prepared at a time. There is generally
+an old man at the head of each family of sons, or sons-in-law, or young
+men whom he has brought up and taught to hunt. The entire stock of the
+family is then spread out upon the ground some fine day, without regard
+to individual claims as having secured them, and are apportioned out by
+the patriarch--these for this son's outfit, these for his wife and
+children, those for the other hunter and his family, and these extra
+fine ones for the patriarch's own use and for his wives.
+
+The clothing for the men must be made first, for they are the lords,
+and then they need them first as they must go out hunting, and should
+be made as comfortable as possible. The two skins that are to become
+his inside coat, and the one for his inner trousers--his dress suit,
+as it were--are selected, and the women dampen the fleshy side with
+water that is warmed in their mouths and squirted on the skin, to be
+spread evenly over the surface with their hands. They are then folded
+over, with the damp side in, and put aside where they will not freeze
+until the next day. After arising in the morning, and a breakfast of
+raw meat, followed by a pipe, he removes his coat, and, with nothing on
+from his waist up but the usual dirt, he sits upon his bed, and with a
+bone scraper, called a suk-koo, goes over every particle of the skin
+upon the fleshy side, breaking it thoroughly and stretching it. Then
+comes the woman's first part of the work. It is not considered best to
+dry the skin over a lamp, because it has a tendency to harden it
+somewhat. It should be dried gradually, and by the heat of the body, so
+the woman wraps it around the upper part of her body, next to her skin,
+and sits at work until it is thoroughly dried. One who has never had
+the experience of exhausting his caloric for the purpose of drying a
+wet blanket can have but a vague idea of the exquisite torture of
+sitting in a temperature far below zero with no covering upon his
+shoulders but a damp reindeer skin. It may not be unhealthy, and
+perhaps a physician of the water-cure practice might recommend it for
+certain ailments, but it would never become popular as a pleasurable
+pastime. At night the other two skins are put in the bed, one beneath
+and the other over the sleepers, and by morning are dry. But it seems
+almost a miracle that the occupants escape a severe attack of
+inflammatory rheumatism. In the morning the man again peels for work,
+and with a suk-koo of stone, that has a sharp edge, scrapes off every
+particle of the fleshy membrane until the skin becomes soft and pliant,
+and assumes a delicate cream-like color.
+
+Only the skins of the does are used for clothing or the sleeping
+blanket. Buck skins, which are much less pliable compose the
+underlayers of the bed, and these are not scraped, but merely stretched
+on a frame while drying. The skin of a young buck is, however,
+sometimes used for making the trousers, and is nearly as fine in
+texture as the skin of the doe. The skins are now nearly ready for
+cutting out and sewing, but first have to be chewed, which is also
+women's work.
+
+A man can scrape two skins in a day, and some of the women--many
+of them are, indeed, very skillful with their crude, home-made
+needles--can make a coat in two days, and a pair of trousers in one
+day. Some of the young men, whose wives are good tailors, affect
+considerable ornamentation upon the inside coat; but this is usually
+seen in the trimming that surrounds the lower edge and the border of
+the hood. Successive narrow strips of white and black fur, with very
+short hair, compose this trimming, and the lower edge is finished with
+fringe made of thin skin, which is quite ornamental in effect. It also
+aids in keeping out the wind, and is, therefore, useful as well. The
+outside coat is sometimes surrounded with a border of white fur, with
+the fringe attached of longer hair than that upon the inner coat. Some
+of the belles, and indeed some of the women whose beauty is a thing of
+the past, wear a breastplate of beadwork, which is further decorated
+with a fringe of reindeer teeth that has a most ghastly effect--they
+look so much like human teeth. The style of costume differs but little
+among the various tribes of North America; but in any part of the
+country the labor of producing the clothing is the same, and if a man
+would dress well he must work hard--he cannot order his suit from a
+confiding tailor. It has its advantages and disadvantages. He has no
+tailor's bills to avoid the payment of, but he must depend upon himself
+and a loving and skilful wife.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+OVER MELTING SNOWS.
+
+
+We were now on the march from Cape Felix. Lieutenant Schwatka had kept
+about a mile east of Frank and Henry, who walked along the coast, and I
+about a mile and a half east of Lieutenant Schwatka. When about a mile
+and a half above our old camp at Wall Bay, he found a cairn very
+similar in construction to the one he found inland from Cape Felix. The
+top had been taken down, but in the first course of stones, covered and
+protected by those thrown from the top, he found a piece of paper with
+a carefully drawn hand upon it, the index finger pointing at the time
+in a southerly direction. The bottom part of the paper, on which rested
+the stone that held it in place, had completely rotted off, so that if
+there had ever been any writing upon it, that, too, had disappeared. He
+called Frank to his assistance, and they spent several hours in
+carefully examining the vicinity, without discovering anything else. It
+would seem, however, that whatever memorandum or guide it was intended
+for was only temporary, and was probably put there by some surveying or
+hunting party from the ships.
+
+We encamped on a point below Cape Maria Louisa, after our next march,
+and after erecting the tent Owanork found a cache on the flats
+containing a wooden canteen, barrel-shaped, marked on one side
+
+    NO. 3,
+
+and on the other,
+
+    G. B.,
+
+under the Queen's broad arrow. There were also the staves of another
+canteen, a small keg, a tin powder can, several red cans marked
+
+    GOLDNER'S PATENT,
+
+a narrow-bladed axe, several broken porter and wine bottles stamped
+
+    BRISTOL GLASS-WORKS.
+
+and a few barrel staves. The cache was one evidently made by Netchillik
+Inuits, who had found the things along the coast. In fact, one of those
+we had interviewed mentioned having cached just such articles somewhere
+along the coast, and had afterward forgotten the place. This is worthy
+of consideration, as indicating that our search was sufficiently
+comprehensive to have discovered anything that had been cached away by
+the crews of the ships between Cape Felix and Collinson Inlet within
+five or six miles of the coast.
+
+The following day Lieutenant Schwatka and I took Toolooah with us
+inland, and sent Frank and Henry down the coast toward Victory Point.
+From the top of a high hill, about six miles south-east from camp, we
+had an uninterrupted view for many miles in every direction, and swept
+the entire field with a spy-glass--but saw nothing like a cache or
+cairn. It was all a barren waste, with many ponds and lakes, some still
+covered with ice, and others, being more shallow, were entirely clear,
+as was the case with most of those near the coast. A few patches of
+snow could be seen here and there on the hill-sides. We had to cross
+one deep snowbank before reaching the crest of the hill, and upon our
+descent came upon a depression in the snow, which Toolooah recognized
+as a bear's igloo. A few patches of white wool near the entrance
+confirmed his opinion. I crawled in as far as I could, to see in what
+sort of a house the polar bear hibernated, and found it very much in
+size and shape like those of the Inuits. The only difference, as far as
+I could see, was that this was dug out of a snowbank, instead of being
+built upon the surface and afterward buried by the drift.
+
+The country over which we travelled this day was like all the rest we
+had seen in King William Land--broken and jagged clay stone, with
+intervening marshes. Little patches of brown and green moss, covered
+with delicate purple flowerets, peep up occasionally from among the
+piles of dry stones, though there is apparently no vestige of earth or
+mould to sustain their delicate lives. These flowers appear as soon as
+the snow melts from off the moss, and are most welcome to the eye of
+the traveller in this desolate country. How glad we will be to see the
+grass and trees of the temperate zone once more, after living so long
+in this void! To-day, for the first, time I saw a few delicate little
+daisies, and the sight of them carried me in imagination to the woods
+and fields of New Jersey. I forgot the salt marshes and red "Jersey
+mud;" but even the marshes there would look like flower-gardens after
+the clay-stone deserts of King William Land.
+
+[Illustration: CURIOUS FORMATION OF CLAY-STONE.]
+
+We left Irving Bay on the 13th of July, after erecting a monument over
+the grave of Lieutenant Irving, and marking a stone to indicate the
+object of the cairn. We also buried a copy of the McClintock-Crozier
+record, together with the record of our work to date, ten feet north of
+the cairn, marking the fact on the tombstone. On our way back to
+Franklin Point we buried the skull found on our way up, but found no
+further bones until we reached Point Le Vesconte. We saw tenting
+places, both of white men and natives, at different points along the
+coast, and one cairn that had been torn down and contained nothing. We
+found an empty grave on a hill where we encamped, about four miles
+below this point, and a skull about a quarter of a mile distant from
+it, evidently having been dragged there by wild beasts. The only things
+found in the tomb were a large brass buckle and a percussion cap. Near
+by were traces of native tenting places. In fact, wherever we found
+graves we always found evidences that natives had encamped in the
+vicinity, like vultures.
+
+From this camp we marched, to our first camping place on Erebus Bay,
+and from there had the most dismal day's work of the entire journey. In
+order to pass Erebus Bay on the land, we had to go a long distance
+inland to find a place where we could ford a wide and deep river that
+empties into it. Throughout the entire length of the river, on both
+sides, we had to wade through deep marshes, and at last crossed it
+through a swift current, the water reaching to our waists. A dense fog
+obscured the sun and hid the bay from view. It was impossible to
+ascertain our direction, and we were compelled to follow all the
+windings of the river and coast until the fog lifted. In the meantime
+we had no idea where the sled was, and as Toolooah had been told that
+we would make our usual ten miles' march, he might have gone that far
+before looking for us, and we have still a tedious tramp before us
+after reaching the bay. At last we heard the dogs, and finally saw the
+sled, still at a great distance on the ice. The gale that had been
+blowing all day long, and driving the damp, cold mist into our faces,
+making it intensely cold and disagreeable, had subsided, and we
+signalled Toolooah to join us.
+
+[Illustration: CLAY-STONE MOUNDS.]
+
+It was a joyful sight to see the sled once more alongside the shore,
+for, few as were the comforts it contained, it was our only home, and
+it meant the shelter and rest of our sleeping bags. We ate our dinner a
+little after midnight, and soon forgot our troubles in sleep. While
+Henry was cooking the last of our meat, he had occasion to leave the
+fire a few moments, when the dogs, seeing an opportunity for a raid,
+broke from their fastenings and poured down upon the culinary
+department like an army of devouring fiends. We were all in bed at the
+time except Henry; but Toolooah, well knowing the state of our larder,
+slipped out under the end of the tent, stark naked, from his sleeping
+bag, and poured such a shower of stones upon the dogs as to send them
+away howling. Fortunately they got nothing but some blubber, of which
+we have a good supply, and which is chiefly used to hasten the fire.
+
+The next day the fog and gale recommenced with great fury; but as we
+were entirely without food, Toolooah went hunting, and came in about
+half-past nine in the evening with parts of three reindeer that he had
+succeeded in killing; so we had a good warm meal about midnight, and
+turned in out of the bitter cold. Though not in exactly the position to
+be epicurean in our tastes, we could not fail to remark with great
+satisfaction that the reindeer were getting fat, and the quality of the
+meat improving thereby. A little later in the season they were
+exceedingly fat, the tallow, or tud-noo, as the Inuits call it, lying
+in great flakes, from half an inch to two and a half inches thick,
+along the back and over the rump. This tallow has a most delicious
+flavor, and is eaten with the meat, either cooked or raw. The
+intestines are also incased in lace-work of tallow, which constitutes a
+palatable dish. Indeed there is no part of any animal used for food but
+what is eaten by the Esquimaux, and which we have partaken of with
+great relish. The ribs of fat reindeer are also an especial delicacy. A
+dish made of the contents of the paunch, mixed with seal oil, looks
+like ice-cream, and is the Esquimau substitute for that confection. It
+has none of the flavor, however, of ice-cream, but, as Lieutenant
+Schwatka says, may be more likened to "locust sawdust and wild honey."
+The first time I partook of this dainty I had unfortunately seen it in
+course of preparation, which somewhat marred the relish with which I
+might otherwise have eaten it. The confectioner was a toothless old
+hag, who mixed the ingredients in a wooden dish dirtier than anything I
+ever saw before, and filled with reindeer hairs, which, however, were
+not conspicuous when well mingled with the half-churned grass and moss.
+She extracted the oil from the blubber by crunching it between her old
+gums, and spat it into the dish, stirring it with her fingers until the
+entire mass became white, and of about the consistency of cottage
+cheese. I ate some, merely to say I had eaten it, and not to offend my
+entertainers, but I cannot say I enjoyed it.
+
+We left camp at a quarter past one o'clock the following day, our
+starting having to conform somewhat to the state of the tide, as at
+high tide we cannot reach the ice. The sledging was simply awful, and
+poor Toolooah was having a hard time of it and without a murmur or
+discontented look. I expected he would urge us to abridge our search,
+as there seemed to be imminent danger of the ice breaking up. But he
+constantly told us to go on and search as much as we thought necessary,
+and leave the sledging to him; he would do the best he could. It was a
+pleasure to see him do it so cheerfully. There is something reassuring
+even in the tone in which he addresses the dogs. Many a time we have
+started to go through a place that seemed absolutely impassable until I
+heard that cheery cry, "Why-ah-woo-ha-hu-ah!" and saw him bend his own
+shoulder to the task. It seemed all right then. Even the dogs were more
+hopeful, and pulled with renewed energy.
+
+We found the coast on the south side of Erebus Bay cut into long,
+narrow points, separated by deep inlets, that made the work of
+searching much greater. All along the shore at the bottom of the
+inlets, we found pieces of navy blue cloth, which seemed to have been
+washed up by high tides. Quantities of driftwood also were seen; but we
+already had as much on the sled as, in the present condition of the
+ice, we could carry. At the bottom of one of the deepest inlets or
+bays, the men found the wreck of a ship's boat strewn along the beach,
+together with pieces of cloth, iron, canvas, and human bones. We
+gathered together portions of four skeletons, a number of buttons, some
+fish lines, copper and iron bolts and rivets, the drag rope of a sled,
+some sheet-lead, some shot, bullets, and wire cartridges, pieces of
+clothing, broken medicine bottles, the charger of a powder-flask, an
+iron lantern, and a quantity of miscellaneous articles that would
+naturally form part of the outfit of such an expedition. The bones were
+prepared for burial, and the relics gathered together in a pile, from
+which to select a few to take away with us. The prow and stern-post of
+the boat were in good condition, and a few clinkered boards still hung
+together, which measured twenty-eight feet and six inches to where they
+were broken off at each end, showing it to have been a very large boat.
+
+We spent several hours here, gathering together the various articles,
+in a thick fog and strong north-west wind that came down across the
+heavy ice-fields of Victoria Strait and Melville Sound, and was
+intensely cold. We then went to the next point south of us at eleven
+o'clock, and for four long weary hours walked up and down waiting for
+the sled to come up, while new ice was rapidly forming in the margin of
+the salt water as the tide went down. When Toolooah at last arrived, we
+found he had been compelled to abandon the stoves and firewood as it
+was impossible to handle so heavy a sled during the present wretched
+condition of the ice. It was after four o'clock when we got to bed, our
+blankets and sleeping bags all wet, as it was impossible to keep them
+out of the water that everywhere covers the ice.
+
+The next day we remained in camp to bury the remains found at the boat
+place, and during the evening I went hunting with Toolooah, who killed
+two fine bucks. We got back to camp, tired and sleepy, at half-past two
+in the morning The sky was clear and the sunset supreme. It was nothing
+unusual for one from the temperate zone to see a magnificent sunset,
+but to see a grand combination of sunset and sunrise in one continuous
+representation was glorious beyond description. The next day Toolooah
+returned to the island off the mouth of the little bay, and brought on
+the things he had abandoned there; while we searched the vicinity with
+the hope of finding the second boat place, which the natives mentioned
+as being about a quarter of a mile from the one seen by McClintock. If
+this is the boat seen by him, it is certainly a long way from the
+position represented on the maps. We found no trace of a second boat
+place anywhere in the neighborhood, though we made an extensive search
+for it. We found a deep inlet entering near Point Little, too wide and
+deep to cross.
+
+At a quarter past five the next morning, Lieutenant Schwatka and I
+started on our search along the coast, leaving the men to assist
+Toolooah in loading the sled and making a selection of what to abandon,
+if anything had to be left, and to follow later. We had not got more
+than a mile on our way when we heard a gun fired from camp, and,
+turning around, saw Frank running after us. We waited for him, and were
+surprised to hear that the tide, instead of falling, was actually
+rising, and that it would be impossible to load the sled. We therefore
+had to return to camp. In the meantime it commenced raining, and when
+we reached the tent we found the water nearly up to the door, though it
+was the hour for low tide. About two hours afterward Lieutenant
+Schwatka went outside the hut, and almost immediately called for his
+glasses, saying he thought the ice was breaking up. We all went out and
+saw the ice coming in from the Straits, and piling up in great masses.
+Already the sled was crowded high up in the air, and one of the stoves
+occupied a lofty position poised on the pinnacle of a hummock Toolooah
+at once got upon a loose cake of ice, and pulled himself out to the
+edge of the floe and brought the sled and stove down to where, when the
+ice came in closer, they could be pulled ashore, and were thus rescued
+from then imminent peril.
+
+[Illustration: THE BREAKING UP OF THE ICE.]
+
+It was now quite evident that our sledging was over for the season, and
+we were stuck here with all our heavy stuff. All day long we could hear
+the booming of the ice in the distance, as the great fields were torn
+asunder, and we felt thankful that Toolooah had not already got started
+when the break came, or he would have been in great danger. At any rate
+we might have lost our sled, together with the dogs and all our
+baggage, which would have been a sad affair for us. We determined to
+cross the land to Terror Bay, and from there send down to Gladman
+Point, or that vicinity, all that the dogs and men could carry, while
+Lieutenant Schwatka and I waited for their return, and in the meantime
+searched the coast back from Terror Bay to the inlet near Point Little.
+
+Terror Bay was reached on the 3d of August, after a tedious journey
+across the narrow neck of land that separates it from Erebus Bay. Our
+camps were not far apart, as everything had to be carried upon our
+backs or upon the dogs. It was necessary to make two, and often three,
+trips between camps before everything was brought up, consequently only
+two of the Franklin stoves were brought along. The largest and heaviest
+of these Henry took in charge, and carried all the way overstrapped to
+his back like a knapsack. Toolooah brought the empty sled over, with
+all the dogs after removing the bone shoes from the runners.
+
+[Illustration: THE MARCH SOUTHWARD.]
+
+While at our first camp overland, Toolooah had returned to the coast
+with the dogs to bring up some firewood, and, not expecting to see any
+reindeer, had left his gun in camp. But near the coast he came upon a
+she-bear with her half-grown cub. Nothing daunted, he drove the old
+bear off into the sea with stones, and killed the cub with a handleless
+snow-knife. Henry and Frank, with all the Inuits, left us on the 6th of
+August to reach the rest of our party, whom they expected to find
+somewhere east of Gladman point. Frank and Henry remained there and
+Toolooah returned with the dogs, and moved what we could to the same
+point.
+
+Lieutenant Schwatka and I were then left alone to provide for ourselves
+until Toolooah's return, which was on the 1st of September. We kept
+half of the double tent, and one of the dogs to help us when we moved
+camp, and to carry our meat. Reindeer were plentiful, and we killed
+eight, which kept us well supplied with food. We could have killed many
+more had it been necessary. This was altogether the pleasantest part of
+our experience in the Arctic. During the time we were alone we searched
+the neighboring coast as far west as Cape Crozier, but found only one
+skeleton. The tent place spoken of by Ahlangyah and others--and which
+we confidently expected to find without much trouble, marked by
+quantities of human bones and clothing scattered far around, as at the
+company places at Irving Bay and Cape Felix, and the boat place on
+Erebus Bay--could not be found, though Lieutenant Schwatka passed over
+the spot that the natives spoke of as the site. This was a great
+disappointment to us, and seemed unaccountable until we subsequently
+learned from them that it was so close to the water that all traces of
+it had disappeared. When we again met the natives we saw one man who
+had been there not a great while ago, and said there was nothing to be
+seen where he previously saw many skeletons and other indications of
+the white men's hospital tent.
+
+In the division of labor at our lonely camps the searching devolved
+chiefly upon Lieutenant Schwatka and the cooking and hunting upon me,
+though he also killed several reindeer, and I occasionally assisted in
+the searching. Our diet was exclusively reindeer meat, eaten either raw
+or cooked, and, as the animals were very fat, there was nothing to
+complain of in that respect. The quantity that we ate was simply
+astonishing; in fact, we found it easier to adapt ourselves to that
+phase of Inuit life than any other.
+
+Our greatest discomfort arose from the lack of sufficient shoes and
+stockings. It requires women always to keep you comfortable in that
+respect. Natives never go anywhere without their women. Our shoes were
+completely worn, beyond possibility of repair, and the hair was
+entirely worn off our stockings. The consequence was that walking was
+torture. I could generally manage to patch up my shoes so that I could
+start out hunting when necessary, well knowing they would last only for
+a short distance, but trusting to my ambition in the chase to keep me
+going, and the necessity of the case to get me back to the tent.
+
+Most of the time we were confined to the tent by storms and fog, and
+only a few days were fit for the prosecution of our work.
+Unfortunately, the only thermometer we brought from Cape Herschel was
+lost, with other articles, from the sled in an ice crack near Wall Bay,
+while on our trip to Cape Felix, so we could keep no record of the
+temperature. I noticed, however, that there was scarcely a night when
+there was not a thin sheet of ice formed near the margin of the ponds.
+On the night of the 28th it froze to the depth of about three-quarters
+of an inch, and the next night about an inch and a half. It was
+sufficiently cold at any time, when the wind blew, to remind us that we
+were in the frigid zone. Our experience at this place was of interest
+in showing that white men can take care of themselves in this country,
+independently of the natives; but at the same time the presence and
+assistance of natives add much to the traveller's comfort.
+
+Several days before Toolooah's return we were anxiously looking for
+him, as he was to bring in shoes and stockings, and the time was
+rapidly passing in which we could complete our search. We had already
+finished what was required toward the west, and as far east as was
+feasible from this camp. We had therefore made up our minds to move
+slowly eastward on the 1st of September, if he did not get back on the
+last day of August. A fierce gale, with snow, kept us in camp on that
+day; but the returning party, consisting of Toolooah's family with
+Equeesik, Mitcolelee and Frank, came in notwithstanding the storm, so
+great was their anxiety concerning our safety and comfort. It is
+needless to say that we were glad to see them, and when we heard
+Toolooah shout from the other side of the hill on which our tent was
+pitched, it seemed the pleasantest sound I ever heard. The Inuits had
+never known white men to live alone in their country as we had, and
+were afraid we were very hungry; but we relieved their anxiety in that
+respect by giving them a hearty meal of cooked meat.
+
+We learned from them that the Inuits were all on the main-land, in the
+neighborhood of Thunder Cove, and that Joe had been, and still was,
+very sick with rheumatism. Henry remained there with them, and
+prosecuted the search of Starvation Cove, building a monument over the
+remains found there, and depositing a record that Lieutenant Schwatka
+had sent to him for that purpose. Before he got there, however, Joe and
+a party of Netchilliks had been searching the spot, and in a pile of
+stones found a small pewter medal, commemorative of the launch of the
+steamer 'Great Britain', in 1843, and among the seaweed some
+pieces of blanket and a skull. This was all that could be seen at this
+memorable spot.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+AMATEUR ESQUIMAUX.
+
+
+The prosecution of our search had been largely dependent upon our
+imitation of the life of the Esquimaux, and I should omit an important
+chapter in "Arcticology" if I did not leave on record the story of our
+exploits as amateur Esquimaux in subsisting upon the resources of the
+country through which our little exploring party passed, going and
+coming, in pursuit of its chief object. The seal was our beef and the
+walrus our mutton in this long journey.
+
+Seal-hunting varies with the time of the year and the nature of the
+ice, for the seals are seldom killed except upon or through the ice. In
+the warm, still days of spring they come up through their blow-holes in
+the ice and enjoy a roll in the snow or a quiet nap in the sun. Then
+they are killed with comparative case. The hunter gets as close as
+possible upon the smooth ice without alarming his prey, the distance
+varying from four hundred to one hundred yards. He then lies down, or,
+more correctly speaking, reclines upon a small piece of bear-skin,
+which, as he moves, is dragged along and kept under him as protection
+against the cold and wet. His weight rests chiefly on his left hip, the
+knee bent and the leg drawn up beneath him upon the bear-skin mat. As
+long as the seal is looking toward him the hunter keeps perfectly
+still, or raising his head soon drops it upon his shoulder, uttering a
+noise similar to that produced by a seal blowing.
+
+When the seal is satisfied, from a careful inspection, that no danger
+threatens, its head drops down upon the ice and it indulges in a few
+winks, but suddenly rises and gazes around if it hears the least noise
+or sees the least motion anywhere. The hunter takes advantage of the
+nap to hitch himself along by means of his right foot and left hand,
+preserving his recumbent position all the time, and if detected by the
+seal either stops suddenly and blows, or flops around like a seal
+enjoying a sun bath, as his experience suggests. In this way he can
+usually approach near enough to shoot his prey with a rifle, or strike
+it with a seal spear or oo-nar. Often, however, just as he is about to
+shoot or spear his game, it slips suddenly into the sea through its
+hole, upon the very verge of which it rests, seldom venturing further
+than a foot or two from its safe retreat. If they could only rest
+contented with a fair shot, the Inuits would probably secure more game
+than they now do, for the most of those I have seen them lose in this
+way went down after the hunter had approached within easy range--say
+twelve or fifteen yards. They are so anxious, however, to make a sure
+thing of it that they often try to get too near. I have frequently
+timed an Inuit as he started for a seal on the ice, and found it takes
+about an hour from the time he starts in pursuit until the shot is
+fired. It is amusing to watch the countenance of the seal through a
+spy-glass. They have such an intelligent and human look that you can
+almost imagine what they are thinking. For instance, you will see one
+start up suddenly and look at the hunter, who by that time is perfectly
+still, with an intense scrutiny that seems to say, "I declare I was
+almost sure I saw that move that time, but I must have been mistaken."
+Then, with a drowsy look, almost a yawn, down goes his head, and the
+hunter begins to hitch himself along again very cautiously. Suddenly up
+goes the seal's head so quickly that the hunter hasn't time to subside
+as before, but begins to roll about, blow off steam, and lift its feet
+around like a seal flapping its tail, and at a little distance it is
+really difficult to tell which is the seal and which the man. Then you
+imagine a smile on the face of the seal, as though he was saying to
+himself, "I caught him that time. What a fool I was to be frightened,
+though. I thought it was a man, and it's only an ookjook."
+
+When the hunter at last reaches the point at which he considers it safe
+to risk a shot, you hear the report of his gun and see him immediately
+spring to his feet and rush for his prey. If his bullet strikes the
+head or neck of the animal it rarely gets away, though sometimes even
+then it slips out of reach, so close do they keep to their holes. If it
+is hit anywhere else it almost invariably escapes the hunter, though it
+may not escape death. Often the hunter reaches the hole in time to
+seize his prey by the hind flipper just as it is passing down into the
+water. I remember standing and gazing mournfully down into a hole one
+day through which a seal that I had shot had just escaped, though his
+blood tinged the water and edges of the ice, and while I was lamenting
+my ill-luck I heard a splash behind me and turned in time to see the
+seal come up through another hole. He looked awfully sick, and didn't
+see me until I had him by the flipper, sprawling on his back, at a safe
+distance from the hole. This was quite good luck for me, for such an
+opportunity rarely occurs, though I have occasionally known Toolooah to
+recover a lost one in the same way.
+
+When struck with a spear they seldom escape, for the line is fastened
+to the side of the spear-head, which detaches itself from the staff and
+holds in the flesh like a harpoon. Sometimes, however, the seal will
+slip away after the spear is thrown, and, instead of striking him, it
+strikes the ice where he had been lying. This is very aggravating after
+the cold and tedious labor of working up upon it has been accomplished;
+but the Esquimau bears his misfortune with equanimity. It is seldom
+that he says more than "ma-muk'-poo now" (no good), or "mar-me an'-ner"
+(which means "angry," or is an expression used when one is angry). He
+gathers up his weapons, sits down and lights his pipe, and after a
+recuperative smoke moves on in search of another opportunity to go
+through the same process.
+
+Sometimes he is fortunate enough to find a seal absolutely asleep upon
+the ice, and then he can walk right up alongside of him and put the
+rifle barrel to his ear before firing. In some parts of the Arctic, as
+at Iwillik (Repulse Bay), there is a species called "wandering seal,"
+which in the spring are known to come upon the ice in great numbers,
+usually through a huge crack, and move quite a distance from the open
+water. This affords the natives a grand opportunity, and the entire
+village--men, women and children--repair to the spot, and by getting
+between the seals and the water, cut off their escape, so that they
+fall an easy prey to the clubs with which they are slaughtered by the
+men. In this way they sometimes kill as many as seventy-five or a
+hundred in a single day. But the haunts of the "wandering seal" are not
+found everywhere; they are favored localities. It is generally pretty
+hard work to kill a seal.
+
+During the winter months the seals do not come out upon the ice, and
+are then hunted usually with dogs that are trained for the purpose. The
+hunter, equipped with his spear-shaft in his hand, and his line, with
+the barbed spear-head attached, thrown over his shoulder, starts out,
+leading his dog, whose harness is on and the trace wound several times
+around his neck, so that but a yard or two is left to trail along the
+snow. When they reach the wide stretch of smooth ice that usually lines
+the shore in these regions, the dog is allowed to work to windward, and
+when his sensitive nostrils are saluted with the scent of a seal he
+indicates the fact by the excited manner in which he endeavors to reach
+the spot from which the odor emanates. The hunter restrains the dog's
+ardor, but follows his guidance until the spot is found at which the
+seal's blow-hole is situated. Often it is entirely covered with snow,
+but sometimes a small hole about an inch in diameter is seen. The
+blow-hole is a spot to which the seal resorts to get an occasional puff
+of fresh air, and here the hunter awaits him in order to secure him for
+the larder. When first found, the hunter merely marks the spot for a
+future visit by building around it a wall of snow blocks to cut off the
+wind, and making a seat of similar material upon which to rest while
+waiting for the blow. This is the tedious proceeding in the life of an
+Esquimau, or at least would be for a civilized person so situated.
+Sometimes the seal comes up within half an hour or an hour, but often
+the hunter stands or sits by the hole all night long, and sometimes for
+a day or two. I have heard of instances in which they sat for two days
+and a half waiting for the seal to put in an appearance. In fact, Papa
+told me that he once sat for three days at one seal hole, and then it
+did not come up. During all this time the hunter must keep perfectly
+still--that is, he must not walk around or move his feet off the ice.
+He can move his body to keep up a circulation of the blood, or move his
+feet inside his stockings if they are sufficiently loose to allow of
+such motion, but no noise must occur which would alarm the game if in
+the vicinity of the hunter.
+
+Some funny incidents occur at these prolonged sittings. I remember one
+experienced old seal-hunter who told me that when he was a young man he
+was once out all night watching a blow-hole and got very sleepy--so
+sleepy, indeed, that he could not keep his eyes open. After vainly
+endeavoring to arouse himself, he finally succumbed, and, falling
+asleep, tumbled over backward and wandered in the land of dreams.
+Suddenly awakening he saw what he supposed to be a man with hostile
+intentions standing and looking down upon him through the dim
+starlight. Every time he moved in the least, in order to get up, the
+strange man moved in a threatening sort of way, and he had to lie still
+again. At last, after getting thoroughly awakened, he discovered what
+he had taken for an enemy, and had caused him such alarm, was only his
+own leg sticking up in the air and resting against the snow-block seat
+from which he had tumbled when he fell asleep. Another hunter was
+overcome by sleep at a seal hole, and awakened by the consciousness of
+danger, saw a great white bear watching the hole, which in his
+sleepiness he had neglected. The hunter had fallen behind his snow seat
+in such a way as to be concealed from the bear, which had been
+attracted by the scent of the seal and arrived just at the moment when
+the young man awoke. To jump to his feet and fly from the vicinity of
+danger was, with the frightened Esquimau, the work of a minute, and so
+startled the bear that it also made off in the opposite direction as
+fast as feet would carry it.
+
+When the seal comes up to breathe it stays about ten minutes, which
+gives the hunter plenty of time to get his spear and line ready. He
+then must take accurate aim and make a vigorous thrust through the
+little hole, withdrawing the spear quickly and holding the line
+tightly, so as to exhaust the game as much as possible before the line
+is all run out. The end is wound tightly around his right arm, and he
+sits down, bracing himself to resist the struggles of the animal to
+free itself. It usually makes three desperate efforts to escape, and
+then the hunter begins to haul in on his line, and, breaking away the
+snow around the hole, to admit of the passage of the body, lands his
+prey on the ice.
+
+The next operation at this stage of the proceedings is to make a slit
+in the stomach of the sometimes still breathing animal, and to cut off
+some of the warm liver (ting'-yer), with a slice or two of blubber
+(oks-zook), wherewith the hunter regales himself with a hearty
+luncheon. Then the entrails are drawn out and passed through the
+fingers of the left hand to remove the contents, and are afterward
+braided and returned to the cavity of the stomach, and the slit drawn
+together and pinned with a little ivory pin (too-bit-tow'-yer) made for
+the purpose. The dog is allowed to lick the blood from the snow, but
+gets no more for his share unless an opportunity occurs to help himself
+when his master's back is turned. The trace is then attached to the
+nose of the dead seal, which is thus dragged into camp by the faithful
+dog, the hunter walking alongside urging the dog by his voice, and
+occasionally assisting him over a drift or amid hummocky ice.
+
+The seal in the early spring builds a habitation in the snow over and
+around the hole through which it breathes, and here its young are born
+and live until old enough to venture into the water. This house is
+called an oglow, and is constructed very much like an Esquimau igloo in
+shape, though it is more irregular and has ramifications that extend to
+neighboring holes. These oglows are found with the assistance of dogs,
+as previously described, or by prodding with a seal spear the hillocks
+of snow that look like seals' houses. When a hunter finds an oglow
+during the season that the young seals are living in them, he
+immediately breaks in the roof with his heel in search of the little
+one, which usually remains very quiet even when the hunter looks down
+and pokes his head through the broken roof. The young seal is then
+easily killed with the spear and dragged out on the ice, and the hunter
+waits for the mother, which is never absent a long time from its baby.
+The young seal is generally cut open as soon as killed, and its little
+stomach examined for milk, which is esteemed a great luxury by the
+Esquimaux. When young, the seal is covered with long, white hair, very
+much like coarse wool. This skin was at one time very much used in
+making clothing, but lately has not been much in vogue among the
+natives, though occasionally coats and trousers of this material may
+still be seen. The whalers esteem it highly as an adjunct to woollen
+clothing, as being sufficiently warm for those who are living on
+shipboard, yet not so warm as reindeer clothing, which becomes
+oppressive in high temperature.
+
+The older seals have short, smooth hair, of a yellowish-gray color,
+with large black spots on the back, which become smaller and less
+frequent on the sides, and disappear entirely before reaching the
+belly. The finest quality of seal-skin in the eastern North American
+waters, which are devoid of fur seal, is that of the kos-se-gear, or
+fresh-water seal, which is found at or near the mouths of nearly all
+rivers emptying into the sea. This species of seal is marked very
+much like the common seal (net-chuk), except that the spots are of a
+more positive and a glossier black, while the body color is whiter,
+making a more decided contrast. The hair is also of a much finer
+texture, and is as soft as the finest quality of velvet. These are
+only killed in the early summer, and their skins are extensively used
+for summer clothing by those Esquimaux who have not come much in contact
+with the whalers. When they have been in communication with the ships,
+they are usually, during the summer months, clad in cast-off clothing
+of the sailors--that is, the men are. And funny enough they look, with
+the curious methods they have of wearing civilized costumes. They always
+choose a shirt for the exterior garment, and wear it with the tail
+outside. The women seldom are seen with any civilized clothing, the
+only exception being, probably, a few of the natives of Cumberland Sound
+and Akkolead, near North Bay. The finest quality of kossegear skins I
+have seen were killed in Hudson's Strait. They are much superior in
+texture and color to those of the tributaries to Hudson's Bay. The next
+skin in quality is that of the ki-od-del-lik, or "jumping" seal, or, as
+it is sometimes called, "spotted" seal. This is very similar in color
+and texture to the fresh-water seal, except that the black in the back
+and sides is in great splotches that are odd, but very pretty in effect.
+Kioddelliks are seen in great numbers in Hudson's Bay and Strait, but
+are not often killed, as they generally keep pretty well out from shore.
+They are often seen by the whalers, playing like a school of porpoises,
+whose actions they simulate somewhat, except that they make a clean
+breach from the water every time they jump.
+
+The nets-che-wuk, "bladder-nosed" seal, has a skin which is a grade or
+two superior to the netchuk, and is much larger. It, however, lacks the
+fineness and gloss of the kossegear and kioddellik.
+
+The largest of the seal species is the ookjook. Its skin is thick and
+coarse, with coarse, short hair. It is not used in the manufacture of
+clothing, except for the soles of rum-nigs (boots). It is, however,
+employed to make walrus and seal lines, lashings for their sleds, and
+traces for dog harness. It is as much used for this purpose as is the
+skin of the walrus, which it much resembles. In making lines from
+ookjook or walrus skin, a piece is cut from the neck or body by making
+cross sections--that is, without slitting it down the belly, the piece
+for the line being removed from the body in a broad band. The blubber
+is then cut from the fleshy side, and the skin is soaked for a short
+time in hot water, after which the hair is readily removed with an
+ood-loo, the semicircular knife that is the one constant and only tool
+of the Esquimau woman. A line is then made by cutting this piece of skin
+into one continuous strip, half an inch wide, by following around and
+around the band. The line is then about twenty-five yards long, and
+while still green is stretched between two large rocks, where it is
+submitted to the greatest tension that the limited mechanical
+appliances of these savages can supply. While so situated the line is
+carefully trimmed with a sharp knife to remove all fatty particles, and
+to partially round off the sharp edges.
+
+It is then allowed to remain until thoroughly dry, when it is taken
+from the stretcher and coiled up in the owner's tent until he has
+leisure to finish it and render it pliable. This is accomplished by
+the slow and tedious process of chewing. Traces and lines for the seal
+spears are usually made of seal skin, and in the same way as walrus
+and ookjook lines. They also require chewing before being sufficiently
+pliable for use. Indeed, all skins require to be chewed before they
+are made into clothing. The men chew their lines, but all other skins
+are chewed by the women and young girls. It is one circumstance that
+is early remarked by the visitor in the Arctic regions, that the
+middle-aged and old people have teeth that are worn down to mere stubs
+by the constant chewing of skins. A pair of ookjook soles, before being
+submitted to the chewing process, are nearly as thick and much stiffer
+than the sole-leather of civilized commerce, and it requires the
+leisure hours of two days to reduce them to the necessary pliability
+for use. It is not only the action of the grinders that brings them to
+the proper state, but the warm breath and saliva play an effectual part
+in the process. This is usually their visiting work. When they go to
+each other's tupics or igloos to make calls, instead of taking their
+knitting, the belles of the polar circle take their chewing. It does
+not add much to the charms of female society to see them sitting before
+you gnawing and sucking a pair of ookjook soles, or twisting an entire
+seal-skin into a roll, one end of which is thrust into a capacious
+mouth to undergo the masticating and lubricating process. But it does
+increase your respect for them to see with what cheerfulness these
+women apply themselves to their exceedingly disagreeable labor.
+
+Seal-skins for making coats and trousers are dressed with the hair on,
+the fleshy membranes, or "mum'-me," being cut off with an oodloo before
+they are washed, stretched, and dried. One good warm spring day is
+sufficient to dry a seal-skin, which for this purpose is stretched over
+the ground or snow by means of long wooden pins, which keep it elevated
+two or three inches, thus allowing the air to circulate underneath it.
+Sometimes in the early spring, before the sun attains sufficient power,
+a few skins for immediate use are dried over the lamps in the igloos.
+This, however, is regarded as a slow and troublesome process, and the
+open air is preferred when available. A few seal-skins and walrus
+skins, from which the hair has been neatly removed, are left to hang in
+the wind and sun for several days, until they acquire a creamy
+whiteness, and are then used for trimming. The Kinnepatoos, who are the
+dandies of the Esquimau nation, tan nearly all their skins white. Their
+walrus and seal lines, and indeed their sled lashings and dog harness,
+are sometimes white, as well as the trimmings of their boots and
+gloves. Nearly all the varieties of seal are sometimes killed during
+the summer and fall, while swimming in the open water; but though often
+seen when the weather is calm, the Esquimaux seldom fire at them,
+because until the latter part of September they will sink to the
+bottom, though killed instantly by a shot through the head or neck.
+
+At a later period a funny incident occurred. We were at Marble Island.
+The weather was calm, so that seal heads were sprinkled plentifully
+upon the surface of the water. This inspired Lieutenant Schwatka to
+try his skill. So, fetching his rifle from the cabin and wiping his
+eye-glasses, he shot at a large head about a hundred yards from the
+vessel. The seal made a desperate effort to get down in a hurry, but
+was evidently badly hurt, and showed a good deal of blood before it
+accomplished its descent. Presently it came up again, and a boat was
+lowered to pick it up, but it managed to escape capture, though it was
+evident that it would soon die. After breakfast the next morning, when
+we went on deck, the water was still quite smooth, and presently we
+were surprised to see what appeared to be a dead seal floating in on
+the tide. There was no doubt that this was the seal that Lieutenant
+Schwatka had killed the previous night, and again the boat was lowered
+to secure it. No precautions were deemed necessary to avoid making a
+noise, and when the boat came alongside one of the men threw down his
+oar, rolled up his sleeves, and stooped down to lift the carcass on
+board. His surprise may be imagined when, after passing his arms around
+it and proceeding to lift it, he felt it suddenly begin to struggle and
+slip from his hold and dive below the surface, while a loud shout went
+up from the spectators. It was not Lieutenant Schwatka's seal, but an
+entirely well one that was sound asleep when it felt the rude embrace
+of the sailor.
+
+The seal is an exceedingly useful animal to the Esquimau, for it not
+only supplies him with food and clothing, but its blubber furnishes the
+fuel for cooking its flesh, lighting the igloo, and drying its skin
+before making into clothing. The skin also is made into dog harness and
+traces, whip lashes, boots and shoes, gun-covers, water-pails, bags for
+the storing of oil and blubber, and his boats are covered with it.
+Seal-skin bags, inflated and fastened to walrus lines, are used in
+hunting walrus and whales, and finally, the summer dwelling of the
+Esquimau is a tent made of seal-skin. A single tent, or tupic, as it
+is called by them, is composed of from five to ten skins, which are
+split--that is, the mumme is split off and dried separately from the
+skin. The rear portion of the tent is made of the skins with the hairy
+side out, while the front is made of the transparent mumme, which
+admits the light almost as freely as if made of ground glass. The skin
+portion is impervious to water, but the mumme admits the rain about as
+readily as it does the sunlight. This is no objection, in the mind of
+the Esquimau, for it is something he is thoroughly accustomed to. In the
+summer his tent is wet with rain, and in the winter, whenever the air
+in the igloo is raised to an endurable temperature, the roof melts and
+is constantly dripping ice-water down his back or upon his blankets.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+WALRUS DIET.
+
+
+The staple food of the Esquimaux of North Hudson's Bay and Melville
+Peninsula is "ivick" (walrus). The season for killing the walrus
+lasts nearly all the year--that is, all the time when the natives are
+not inland hunting reindeer, in order to secure sufficient skins to
+make their winter clothing and sleeping blankets. The Kinnepatoos, who
+inhabit the shore of Hudson's Bay in the vicinity of Chesterfield Inlet
+and its tributaries, are the only tribe I know of who live almost
+exclusively upon the reindeer. Indeed, they only kill a sufficient
+number of walrus and seal to provide them with shoes and gloves for
+summer wear. The Netchillik and Ookjoolik tribes live mostly by
+sealing, and as they are not provided with fire-arms, find it almost
+impossible to kill reindeer when the snow is on the ground. The
+Ooquesiksillik people, who live on Back's Great Fish River and its
+tributary, Hayes River, live almost exclusively on fish. The Iwillik
+tribe, that inhabits the coast of Hudson's Bay from near the mouth of
+Chesterfield Inlet to Repulse Bay, the Igloolik, Amitigoke, Sekoselar,
+Akkolear, and, indeed, all the various tribes along the northern shore
+of Hudson's Strait, Fox Channel, and Southampton Island, rely chiefly
+upon walrus meat for their food. The walrus is one of the largest
+animals that inhabits these waters, and when one is killed it supplies
+a quantity of food. An average-sized walrus weighs about a thousand or
+twelve hundred pounds, and when it is remembered that every particle is
+eaten except the hardest bones, the reader will see that it is a
+valuable prize for the captors. The blood, blubber, intestines, even
+the hide, the undigested contents of the stomach, and the softer bones,
+as well as the oesophagus and windpipe, are all eaten, raw or cooked.
+If my experience might be mentioned, I would say that all of these
+enumerated delicacies I have eaten and relished. Walruses are usually
+found resting upon the ice near the edge of the floe or the shore
+piece, unless there is much loose ice near it, in which case they will
+most always be found on the larger cakes of loose ice.
+
+There they are hunted in boats, or when the wind is from such a
+direction as to keep the pack on to the floe they can be successfully
+hunted on foot. The method of hunting is precisely the same as that
+already described in reference to hunting seal, except that the spear
+is generally used in preference to the rifle to secure the walrus, and
+the rifle is preferred to the spear in seal-hunting. Usually there are
+two hunters who approach the walrus, one hiding behind the other, so
+that the two appear but as one. When the spear is thrown, both hold
+on to the line, which is wound around their arms so as to cause as
+much friction as possible, in order to exhaust the animal speedily.
+The spear-head is of walrus tusk, and is about three inches long and
+three-quarters of an inch thick, with an iron barb that is kept very
+sharp. The line is attached to the middle of the spear-head, the near
+end being slanted, so that when the line is tightened it lies cross-wise
+in the wound, like a harpoon, and it is almost impossible for it to draw
+out after once passing through the tough hide of the animal. When the
+line is nearly run out, the end of the spear-shaft is passed through a
+loop in the end of the line and held firmly by digging a little hole in
+the ice for the end of the spear to rest in, the foot resting upon the
+line and against the spear to steady it. This gives the hunter an
+immense advantage over his powerful game, and if he is fortunate enough
+to secure this hold, there is no escape for the walrus except that the
+line may cut on the edge of the sharp ice, or the thin ice break off,
+and hunter, line, and all be precipitated into the water--a not unusual
+experience in walrus hunting. Another cause of misfortune is for the
+line to become entangled around the arm of the hunter, so that he
+cannot cast it off, in which case he is most assuredly drawn into the
+sea, and in nine cases out of ten drowned, for his knife is seldom at
+hand for an emergency, and no amount of experience will ever induce an
+Inuit to provide against danger.
+
+Sometimes the hunter is alone when he strikes a walrus, and in that
+case it requires considerable dexterity to secure the spear hold in the
+ice; or if he fails to get that he may sit down and brace his feet
+against a small hummock, when it comes to a sheer contest of muscle
+between the hunter and the walrus. In these contests victory generally
+perches upon the banner of the walrus, though the Inuit will never give
+up until the last extremity is reached. Often he is dragged to the very
+edge of the ice before he finds a protuberance against which to brace
+his feet, and often he is drawn down under the ice before he will
+relinquish his hold. He is very tenacious under such circumstances, for
+he knows that when he loses the walrus he loses his line and harpoon
+also.
+
+Occasionally a dead walrus is found with a harpoon and line fastened to
+him, in which case the walrus and line belong to the finder. I remember
+a curious incident of this kind that occurred at Depot Island. Toolooah
+and Ebierbing (Esquimau Joe) were hunting together and Toolooah struck
+a fine young bull walrus, and got the spear hold against the ice for
+Joe to hold. It is a powerful hold, and a child could hold a whale in
+that way if the line did not break. But poor unfortunate Joe, for some
+unaccountable reason, raised the spear, and, of course, the line was
+drawn from under his foot, and both walrus and line were lost,
+notwithstanding Toolooah and Sebeucktolee (familiarly "Blacksmith")
+caught the running line and held until their hands were cut to the
+bone. They did not know at this time that another walrus had been
+killed a mile or two further along the edge of the floe. The loss of
+the line was also a sad misfortune. Joe felt so badly about it that he
+was ashamed to come in, and walked several miles farther along the ice
+with an Inuit companion, in the hope of killing a seal with his rifle;
+but Toolooah, who had taken no rifle, inasmuch as he had taken a spear
+and line instead, returned to camp and came into the igloo which he and
+I occupied in common, looking very much dejected in consequence of the
+loss of his walrus and line, the circumstances of which he explained to
+me, showing his terribly lacerated hands. The fact that another walrus
+had been killed was a relief to him, but did not dissipate his grief
+for the lost line, which was the last we had.
+
+About half-past ten o'clock that night, while we were eating some
+boiled walrus meat and entrails (about the fifth meal since four
+o'clock on the afternoon, when the meat arrived), some one came to the
+entrance of the igloo and handed in Toolooah's walrus line, saying Joe
+and Blucher had found the walrus dead upon the ice near where it was
+struck, the animal having crawled out and died after the hunters had
+left. Now for the first time Toolooah's face brightened up, and he was
+so impatient to hear the circumstances of the recovery of the lost game
+that, late as it was, he went to Joe's igloo to inquire. He soon
+returned with an exceedingly woebegone expression, for which I failed
+to elicit an explanation until the morning, when I found out from Joe
+that, according to the laws and customs of the Inuits the walrus
+belonged to him because he found it.
+
+"What interest has Toolooah in it?" said I.
+
+"None," was Joe's reply. "All over here country same way. Man he
+strikee walrus; let he go again; somebody else findee; he walrus."
+
+"Well, Joe, suppose the somebody else lets the walrus go, how is it
+then?"
+
+"All same way."
+
+"So Toolooah has no interest in that walrus he killed and that you let
+go again?"
+
+"Yes, all same way here country. But I give'm back he line last night.
+Line my, all same; I findee."
+
+"That was certainly noble in you, Joe, I am sure."
+
+"Oh, yes; Toolooah my friend."
+
+And so, I noticed, always was the case whenever there was any doubt
+about a point; "custom here country" always managed to give Joe the
+best of it, and I came to the conclusion that he had become pretty
+thoroughly civilized during his residence in the United States.
+
+Sometimes an inflated seal-skin, called an ah-wah-tah, is attached to
+the end of the line, that buoys it up and soon exhausts the wounded
+walrus. This is a very good plan, but is not considered advantageous
+when working in loose ice unless hunting from a boat, for the wounded
+animal is apt to get beyond the reach of the hunter. After the ice
+disappears walruses are then killed on the small islands, to which they
+resort to sleep, and are sometimes found in great numbers.
+
+In the fall of 1878 I went with a party of Inuit hunters to a small
+rocky island opposite Daly Bay, where we found a herd of from
+seventy-five to a hundred, most of them asleep; but some were
+complaining and grunting, and punching their bed-fellows with their
+long tusks. Our approach was made cautiously up the slippery side of
+a wet rock until within range, when at the suggestion of my Inuit
+companions I fired at a fine young bull, being instructed to hit him
+just behind the ear. I did so, and sent a 320-grain slug from my
+Sharp's rifle through his skull. His head dropped to the ground and he
+never moved a muscle. At the same time another shot was fired by one of
+the Inuits; but the hunter's foot slipped at the same moment, and the
+bullet whistled harmlessly over the heads of the herd. A grand rush was
+then made by all the hunters, and the walruses were wriggling and
+sliding down the slimy rocks into the sea. One of the Inuits darted his
+harpoon into what he took to be a sleeping walrus, but it proved to be
+the one I had already killed. I followed into the midst of the herd and
+put a bullet through the head of another bull before they had all left
+the rock. Had Oxeomadiddlee not struck a dead walrus we might have had
+three, for an ahwahtah was attached to his line, so that we could have
+regained it at any time with the boat. The walrus never appeared to me
+the dangerous animal I have known him to be represented. If wounded and
+brought to bay he will certainly turn upon his assailants, and many
+Inuits have been killed in these encounters, while others still bear
+scars received from the tusks of those which they were hunting. But as
+long as there appears to be a chance to escape by flight the walrus
+usually will seek safety in that way.
+
+One of my companions in this hunt--Toogoolar, or Oxeomadiddlee, as he
+is usually called--is a famous walrus hunter, and his success is
+probably largely due to his immense physical strength. He is a perfect
+Esquimau Samson, and when he is on one end of a line, with his feet
+braced against a hummock, the walrus at the other end has no advantage.
+Indeed, the odds are in favor of Oxeomadiddlee. His singular name is
+self-imposed, and is an Inuit expression of greeting, or rather when
+one unexpectedly arrives, as the clown says, "Here we are again," and
+occurred in this way. Several years ago he was hunting walrus in the
+pack-ice, when the wind changed and blew the ice away from shore. This
+is a contingency to which the hunters are constantly liable, and is the
+greatest danger to which they are subjected in their pursuit. Many are
+thus carried away, sometimes out to sea, and are never heard from
+again; while others have been drifted a long distance from their homes
+before the drift again touched the shore-ice and allowed them to find
+their way back, if possible. Sometimes they starve to death before the
+ice again lands, though occasionally they are quite comfortable under
+such circumstances, as, for instance, were four who were carried off
+just before we started on our trip to King William Land a year ago last
+spring. Equeesik and his brother Owanork, who were to accompany us, and
+Nanook and Blucher were thus carried off from Depot Island, with one of
+our sleds and a dead walrus which they were cutting up at the time.
+They did not get back for four or five days, but suffered scarcely at
+all while away. They built an igloo on the largest cake they could
+reach, and of course had plenty to eat. They made a lamp of walrus
+hide, and burned the blubber to heat their house. When the ice touched
+the shore below Chesterfield Inlet they jumped on the sled and drove
+home. There is always more or less risk attending these adventures
+under all circumstances.
+
+The time of which I was speaking that Toogoolar was carried away, he
+was gone a long time, until, indeed, his tribe had given up all hope
+of his returning. But one morning during a severe snow-storm he arrived
+in camp, and no one had noticed his approach until, crawling through
+the door of an igloo, he stood amid his friends and exclaimed,
+"Ox'-e-o-ma-did'-dle-e" (Good-morning. Here we are again). He had been
+carried from Repulse Bay to the vicinity of Whale Point, when an
+easterly wind drove the pack on shore and he escaped, but had to make
+his way on foot from there back home again. He had his walrus line and
+spear with him, and had killed a walrus while in the pack; but the
+piece that held his food was broken off and floated away from him, so
+that he was for many days without anything to eat. Inuits are somewhat
+accustomed to such experiences, and can be deprived of food for a long
+time without starving. When a walrus is killed it takes some time to
+cut it up and prepare it for removal to camp. There are usually several
+helpers in the vicinity of any one who carries a line and spear. Others
+walk along the edge of the pack until they find some one working up to
+a walrus, or a party engaged in cutting it up.
+
+According to Inuit custom, all who arrive while the walrus is being cut
+up, no matter how many, are entitled to a share of it. The man who
+strikes it, however, has the first pick, which, if there are four of
+them, is one of the hind quarters; if there are only two or three, he
+has both hind flippers if he prefer them, and is always entitled to the
+head, which contains some of the choicest morsels either for cooking or
+eating raw. I know of nothing more palatable in that climate during
+winter and spring than raw frozen walrus head and tongue. It is not an
+inviting-looking dish, but is most enjoyable. The meat is hard, but not
+particularly tough--for walrus--and consists of alternate layers of
+lean and fat. It is eaten with the addition of more blubber, and is
+generally the occasion of a common feast for all the men in the camp.
+If there is any left the women can eat it if they want to, but the
+women never eat with the men, and if the tupic or igloo where the feast
+is being held is small, even the women that dwell there are banished
+until the feast is over. An ookjook, when killed, is divided up in the
+same way as a walrus, all the bystanders receiving a share. In making
+the division of the carcass the portions are kept in a bag made by
+lacing the edges of the skin that holds the share with a line made of a
+strip of the raw hide. In this bag are also deposited such portions of
+the entrails, liver, etc., as fall to the share of each. In hunting on
+foot the men usually take one or two dogs apiece to drag home their
+dividends. When encamped upon a hill, such as Depot Island, which
+commands a view of an extensive tract of ice, the natives seldom go
+walrus hunting unless they first see one on the ice, in which case one
+of the best hunters starts immediately with his weapons, and the
+"bummers" follow later with a sled and dogs. The arrival of a sled-load
+of walrus meat into a hungry camp is one of the most cheerful sights
+that it ever falls to the lot of a traveller to witness, and I have
+noticed that his interest is seldom diminished by the fact that his own
+is one of the hungry stomachs to be fed from this plenty. The women see
+the sled coming, while still at a great distance, and then the big
+stone lamps are lit, and snow put into the kettles to melt, so that no
+time need be wasted after the meat gets there. The cooking is seldom
+done in each dwelling separately; but he who has the largest kettle or
+the biggest heart, when his own meal is ready, goes to the door of his
+igloo or tupic and calls out, "O-yook, O-yook," which means warm food,
+and all the men and boys gather in, each with a knife in his hand, and
+without further ceremony they fall to and devour what is set before
+them. The largest part of an Inuit's food is, however, eaten raw. These
+o-yooks are merely festal occasions, though they occur several times a
+day, and may happen at any hour of the day or night when the natives
+are assembled in villages and have plenty of food on hand. It is then
+that they recompense themselves for starvings in the past or in
+prospect.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+THE RETURN.
+
+
+We reached our permanent camp on our return from King William Land on
+September 19th. It was about six miles south-east of Gladman Point, and
+at the foot of a high hill, which Toolooah remarked would make a good
+look-out tower for deer-hunting. All along this part of the coast,
+where Simpson Strait is narrowest, would soon swarm with reindeer
+waiting for the salt water to freeze, so they could continue their
+navigation southward. It is for this reason that we selected it as our
+permanent camp while we also awaited the freezing of the strait, so
+that we could cross with our heavy sleds. When Henry and Frank went
+down the coast they found reindeer everywhere else but at Gladman Point
+and that neighborhood, and were there for three days without food. In
+the meantime Toolooah crossed the strait in a kyack and found the
+natives. On his return he killed a reindeer on the main-land and
+relieved their distress. Long before we reached the spot the meadows
+and ponds were frozen, so that we could cross them with perfect
+impunity. In many places the ice was so clear that it required
+considerable moral courage to step upon it, it looked so exactly like
+still water.
+
+[Illustration: SCHWATKA'S PERMANENT CAMP.]
+
+Henry came up to see us the next day, his camp being about seven miles
+below. The Inuits crossed to the King William Land side on the 17th. It
+was a picturesque sight to see the whole of Joe's and Ishnark's
+families, with Henry and a number of dogs, upon a raft made by lashing
+together four kyacks. They had to choose a still day for the crossing,
+and keep very quiet while upon the raft. Lieutenant Schwatka paid a
+visit to the other camp on the 22d, and the day following Toolooah and
+I moved our camp about two miles farther east, to a large lake, where
+we at once set to work, the ice being already eight inches thick, to
+build an ice igloo of large slabs three feet by six, which standing on
+end and so placed as to support each other, formed the walls, which
+afterward were covered with the tent, and made a much warmer house than
+the tent alone, as it is a complete shelter against the wind.
+
+[Illustration: HENRY KLUTSCHAK'S CAMP.]
+
+Reindeer were now seen daily in immense herds. The day we moved camp we
+ran upon a herd of about fifty, and Toolooah killed seven before they
+could get away, following them up, running and dropping on his knee to
+fire. So rapid and effective was his delivery with his Winchester
+repeating carbine, that this unequalled achievement was accomplished in
+less than ten minutes; and, well knowing that it was to his splendid
+weapon that the credit largely belonged, this undemonstrative savage
+held up his rifle and kissed it while he was talking to me about the
+affair. On the 30th Toolooah killed twelve reindeer, Joe eight, and
+Equeesik and I each three, making a grand total of twenty-six by our
+party alone in one day.
+
+We ate quantities of reindeer tallow with our meat, probably about half
+our daily food. Breakfast is eaten raw and frozen, but we generally
+have a warm meal in the evening. Fuel is hard to obtain, and consists
+entirely of a vine-like moss called ik-shoot-ik. Reindeer tallow is
+also used for a light. A small flat stone serves for a candlestick, on
+which a lump of tallow is placed, close to a piece of fibrous moss
+called mun-ne, which is used for a wick. The tallow melting runs down
+upon the stone and is immediately absorbed by the moss. This makes a
+very cheerful and pleasant light, but is most exasperating to a hungry
+man, as it smells exactly like frying meat. Eating such quantities of
+tallow is a great benefit in this climate, and we can easily see the
+effect of it in the comfort with which we meet the cold. The mean
+temperature for the month of September was 22.1 degrees Fahr., and the
+lowest 5 degrees, and yet though we wore only our woollen clothes,
+except a fur koo-li-tar, or overcoat, when away from home, the cold is
+not annoying. During October the mean temperature was -0 degree, and
+the lowest -38 degrees.
+
+On the afternoon of the 27th of September a heavy snow-storm set in,
+and the next morning the snow was knee-deep on the level ice. The storm
+continued until during the night of the 29th. The snow was very deep,
+but the winter winds soon blew it around and packed it down so as to be
+almost solid. By the 14th of October the sledging was sufficiently good
+for Toolooah to go to Cape Herschel and Terror Bay for the sled and
+other articles that were left there during the summer for the want of
+transportation. As his little boy would suffer with the cold, Toolooah
+exchanged wives with Joe for the trip, a very usual and convenient
+custom among the Esquimaux.
+
+The ice was sufficiently strong for the reindeer to commence crossing
+to the main-land about the 1st of October, and in a few days their
+numbers had very perceptibly diminished. After the 14th we saw none at
+all; they seemed to have entirely disappeared. The Inuits had been very
+busy making up fur clothing for the winter trip, and we had fixed upon
+the 1st of November as the day for starting, by which time everything
+would be ready. Toolooah got back on the 23d. He killed three bears the
+day he reached Terror Bay. All of them got into the water, and he had
+to go to the edge of the new ice, using a pole to stand upon while
+fishing them out. He killed one reindeer at Cape Herschel, which was
+all he saw while away.
+
+Joe came up and built an igloo adjoining ours on the 3d of October. He
+wanted to get away from the vicinity of Ogzeuckjeuwock, the Netchillik
+Arn-ket-ko, or medicine-man, of whom he was apparently very much
+afraid. He alleged that the medicine-man was constantly advising his
+people to kill some of our party. Joe said that he had sak-ki-yon to
+that effect--that is, during one of his inspirations exhorted them to
+that end. There is no doubt but they would be very glad to kill us all,
+and get our guns and knives, but they were thoroughly afraid to
+undertake it. After Toolooah's return he and Joe gathered in the meat
+we had cached in the vicinity, preparatory to starting on the 1st of
+the next month.
+
+Lieutenant Schwatka decided that he and I would take Toolooah's sled,
+with Joe to assist, and go by the way of Smith and Grant Points, and
+through the big inlet spoken of by the natives as putting in from
+Wilmot Bay, and meet the other sleds which, in charge of Henry, would
+go by the way of Richardson Point and Back's River, meeting at the bend
+of the river above the Dangerous Rapids, where we would find the
+Ooqueesiksillik natives and take on board a supply of fish to last us
+until we reached the reindeer country once more. As the other sleds had
+the shorter route, they would start a day or two later and wait for us
+at the appointed rendezvous, unless they were getting short of food, in
+which case they would push on into the reindeer country. Narleyow, the
+Ooqueesiksillik guide, would accompany them. We started on the 1st, as
+proposed, but did not succeed in getting farther than the shore of the
+strait, about three miles from camp, owing to the heavy sleds and the
+dogs being so fat that they were lazy. We took Ishnark's sled to help
+us for the first day, as we had such a quantity of meat--one sled
+loaded entirely with it and the other with about half a load. We had to
+keep the extra sled the following day also, as we wanted to get well
+over the salt-water ice.
+
+We had fondly hoped to be at the Dangerous Rapids by the 10th or 15th
+of November, but we only reached the native camp near the mouth of
+Kigmuktoo (Sherman Inlet) on the 12th, owing to our heavily loaded sled
+and the much bad weather, fogs, and wind that would blow the snow
+around so that we could not see our course. There was quite a large
+camp of Netchillik and Ookwolik Esquimaux on a big lake near the mouth
+of Sherman Inlet, the largest camp we had yet seen. The sled was
+pulling heavily and slowly across the lake, and I went ahead toward the
+igloos. All the men were standing outside awaiting our arrival, and
+among them were some Netchilliks we had met during the spring. As soon
+as they recognized me they set up a great shout of "Many-tu-me!" which
+is their salutation of welcome, and means smooth. They seemed very glad
+that we were coming among them again, and hurried me into a big, warm
+igloo, while most of the men ran out and helped the sled in. They built
+our igloo in short order, and during the time we were with them did
+everything in their power to contribute to our comfort. It seemed as if
+some one was on the roof of our igloo all the time patching up holes,
+and they changed the direction of the doorway every time the wind
+changed, and that kept them busy nearly all the time.
+
+We found but few interesting relics among them. Only a piece of the
+boat found in Wilmot Bay after the big ship sunk, and part of the block
+branded either "10" or "O R," with part of the R obliterated. If the
+ship's blocks were branded with the name of the vessel to which they
+were attached, this would be important as establishing the identity of
+the ship that drifted down as the 'Terror'. As an instance of the
+perversity of fate, I mention that we found among them a piece of wax
+candle that they had preserved all these years, while every scrap of
+paper had perished. We saw here a Netchillik, named Issebluet, who with
+his family had nearly starved to death during the summer. He was
+separated from the rest of his tribe, as it is customary for them to
+scatter during the summer, and though not lacking in skill or energy,
+had simply been unfortunate and unable to procure food. He was still
+very thin and weak when we saw him, and when he went abroad had to take
+a couple of dogs, whose traces, tied around his waist, helped him
+along. Joe was very much frightened all the time we were here, for
+Netchillik Toolooah was here also--the man who it was said wanted to
+kill some of our party--and Joe said they intended to kill all our
+party except the women, and obtain possession of the baggage and the
+two women. He said their apparent kindness was only a blind, and the
+day we left them he made me prance around with my pistol in my belt
+while the sled was being loaded. Toolooah, though not so nervous as
+Joe, had his rifle handy and kept his eye upon it closely. I noticed
+that the men all stood around, but never offered to assist in loading
+the sled. Toolooah said they could not very well without exposing a
+fact that he had noticed--that they all had their knives in their
+sleeves. But if they had, they took good care not to use them. Two of
+them accompanied us a part of the way to show us the easiest route over
+the heavy hill we had to cross before reaching the salt-water ice, and
+kindly put their shoulders to the load whenever the sled pulled hard. I
+saw nothing in the conduct of any of them to complain of, but
+everything to praise. I noticed that most of the men in this camp had
+their hair cut close to their heads, the style that at home is
+profanely called "a Reilly cut." This I ascertained was not for
+personal adornment, but for convenience in hunting, where fine-tooth
+combs are unknown, but could be put to good use.
+
+We met a sled with a few natives coming from Kigmuktoo to join the rest
+of the tribe on the lake, and with them was an aged crone named
+Toolooah, who had seen white men in Boothia Isthmus, when a young
+woman, and had also been with the party who found the boat and
+skeletons in Starvation Cove, near Richardson Point. She confirmed the
+testimony previously obtained in every essential particular. We gave
+her a few needles and a spoon, for which she was very grateful,
+especially to her namesake, our Toolooah, to whom she gave her
+walking-stick and two locks of her hair, which he severed with a
+snow-knife as she knelt beside the sled. This was a charm to protect
+him from evil until he got home. Besides this old woman there were three
+other women on the sled. One I noticed particularly, because she looked
+so much like the Goddess of Liberty. Her hood was over her head and hung
+with the same jaunty air as a liberty cap, and her artiger, cut loose in
+the throat, looked not unlike the classic toga. Though not quite so
+large as the statue on the dome of the Capitol at Washington, she was
+immense, and had arms like a gymnast. Modesty, either natural or
+assumed, and fear of the strange white men made her keep on the
+opposite side of the sled from us, though, as Lieutenant Schwatka
+remarked, she could have handled both of us if she wanted to.
+
+We marched in a south-east direction in the inlet five days, during
+which we travelled upon it about forty-five miles, and when we left it
+could still see it running in a southerly direction for about ten or
+fifteen miles farther. It is bottle-shaped, not more than a mile wide
+at its mouth, and for a considerable distance, when it gradually widens
+out to five or six miles, and is about twenty miles wide at its head.
+Nearly every night we were able to find water in some lake on the land,
+but had to carry it from two to four miles into camp. This duty
+Lieutenant Schwatka and I took upon ourselves, while the Inuits were
+building and preparing the igloo.
+
+The sun was so low now that we had either sunrise or sunset during the
+whole time it was above the horizon. At noon it was not more than four
+degrees high. We were gradually moving southward, or we would have been
+left with nothing but this light during the daytime. In fact, several
+days before we left Back's River, the sun only showed his diameter
+above the hills along the shore, where it lazily rolled for a few
+minutes and left us the long twilight in which to build our igloos,
+which were scarely ever finished before the utter darkness came upon
+us. Short days, together with our heavy sleds, and dogs not more than
+half fed, kept us back most provokingly. The snow on the land was soft,
+not having got thoroughly packed as yet, while the intense cold covered
+its surface with minute particles of ice that impeded the sled like so
+much sand. In many places the river and lakes were entirely denuded of
+snow, and the bare ice would take the ice from our runners as if we
+were moving over rocks. As long as the river ice was bare this made no
+difference; the sled would slip along merrily, the dogs on a run, but
+this seldom lasted for more than half a mile, when we would again run
+upon snow and have all the more laborious drag as a consequence. Our
+usual marches at this time were from five to ten miles, instead of from
+ten to twenty, as on our way north.
+
+The most unpleasant feature of winter travelling is the waiting for an
+igloo to be built. To those at work even this time can be made to pass
+pleasantly, and there is plenty that even the white men of a party can
+do that would keep them busy, and consequently comfortable. When
+travelling overland the halt is made, if possible, on some lake where a
+water hole may be dug. This, through average ice--that is, about six or
+seven feet--will take about an hour and a half, though an expert native
+will do it in perhaps half that time. It is a blessing to get water at
+this time, and a great shout goes up from the well-digger, as the
+delicious fluid comes bubbling up through the narrow well, that is
+echoed by the igloo builders and spreads throughout the camp. Then the
+women repair with tin dippers and cups cut from musk-ox horn, and after
+refreshing themselves carry a drink to their husbands. One can drink
+enormously at this time, especially after working; but it will be well
+to keep up pretty violent exercise for some time afterward, as filling
+the stomach with such a quantity of ice-cold water will soon produce a
+shiver.
+
+Another task that the white men can interest themselves in is the
+unloading of the sled and beating the snow and ice out of the fur
+bed-clothing. The Esquimaux do not use sleeping bags for themselves,
+but instead have a blanket which they spread over them, while under them
+are several skins, not only to keep the body away from the snow, but
+also to prevent the body from thawing the snow couch and thus making a
+hole that would soon wet the skins. While on the march the skins for
+the bed are usually spread over the top of the loaded sledge, and then
+the whole is securely lashed down with seal-skin thongs. It is the
+invariable custom to turn the fur-side of the skins up, because it is
+easy enough to beat the snow from the hair, while it might thaw and
+make the skin-side wet. You often, therefore, find that water has
+fallen upon the skin that makes your bed, and formed a great patch of
+ice, which has to be beaten off with a wooden club.
+
+Until experience has taught you it makes you shudder to think that soon
+your naked body is to rest upon the place where now you see that patch
+of ice. But continued pounding will remove every vestige of it without
+disturbing the fur, if the weather is sufficiently cold. Therefore
+exposure is the best treatment for bedding, though it certainly gives
+the skins a degree of cold that can scarcely be appreciated until
+experienced. It is astonishing, however, how soon the bed becomes warm
+from the heat of the body. For, perhaps, from five to ten minutes you
+may lie there and shiver, when gradually a genial warmth begins to
+pervade the whole body, the shiver subsides, and you are as
+comfortable, as far as cold is concerned, in bed in an igloo in the
+Arctic, as you would be in a civilized mansion in the temperate zone.
+
+The Esquimaux are not acquainted with the qualities of the magnetic
+needle, and, it is needless to say, do not travel by the compass. Like
+all savage tribes they have, however, methods for keeping their
+direction while making long voyages. These are usually made on the
+salt-water ice, and they follow the land; but when travelling over
+land, either in summer or winter, they can generally distinguish north
+from south, at least approximately. In summer the running vines point
+to the salt water, they say, which, in going around Hudson's Bay, would
+indicate the south. And then there are certain species of moss that are
+only found in the vicinity of salt water. In winter they notice the
+ridges of snow along the ice, or the land spots on the highlands, and
+can keep their course by them with surprising accuracy.
+
+The Esquimaux, however, are not a people given to exploration. They are
+not curious concerning unknown territory. What they are chiefly
+interested in is, "what they shall eat and drink, and wherewithal they
+shall be clothed." Certain districts within their knowledge furnish the
+different kinds of game, and these they visit at the accustomed
+seasons. Occasionally they will visit neighboring tribes, and sometimes
+settle down in the new country, depending upon their skill in the chase
+for the support of their families. But this country, new to them, is
+well known to those whom they visit, and they have the benefit of
+competent guides until such time as they are sufficiently acquainted
+with the country themselves. Though they are constantly moving in
+summer and winter, their journeys are seldom extended. They will
+sometimes go from the mouth of Chesterfield Inlet to the Wager River or
+Repulse Bay, and occasionally to the tribes at the north part of
+Melville Peninsula, but generally spend one year at least at some
+intermediate point. The tribes they pass through on these journeys are
+so connected by marriage as to be almost like one large tribe, so that
+they are all the time in the land of their friends.
+
+Twice since leaving the Inuit camp in Wilmot Bay the dogs had an
+interval of eight days between meals, and were in no condition for hard
+work. That they could live and do any work at all seemed marvellous. I
+am constrained to believe that the Esquimau dog will do more work, and
+with less food, than any other draught animal existing. On the night of
+the 20th Lieutenant Schwatka observed a meridian culmination of the
+moon, which showed in latitude 67 deg. 32 min. 42 sec. north, only
+three miles from our reckoning. It is a difficult task to make
+astronomical observations with a sextant in a temperature thirty-eight
+degrees below zero, or seventy below the freezing-point, as it was this
+night. It is not pleasant to sit still for any length of time in such
+weather. A thin skim of ice over the surface of the kerosene oil used
+for an artificial horizon has to be constantly removed by the warm
+breath of an assistant. The sextant glasses become obscure from the
+freezing upon them of the breath of the observer, and can only be
+cleaned with the warm fingers, which they blister in return for such
+kindness. These are some of the obstacles to determining one's position
+astronomically in an Arctic winter; while in summer, there being no
+night, one is dependent upon the sun alone. The mean temperature for
+November was -23.3 degrees and the lowest noted -49 degrees.
+
+We ran upon a narrow strip of salt water, apparently an inlet from
+Cockburn Bay, on the 28th. We had to halt the next day for Toolooah to
+rest, as he was completely prostrated with the hard work of the last
+four days. We moved, however, on the 30th, Joe driving and Toolooah
+strolling along at his ease. We emerged upon Cockburn Bay soon after
+starting, and crossed to the southern shore by noontime, a distance of
+about nine miles, our rapid moving being entirely owing to the
+superiority of the sledging on salt-water ice.
+
+We crossed the narrow neck of land between Cockburn Bay and the
+fresh-water portion of the river between the two great bends in three
+days' travel, and emerged about eight miles above the Dangerous Rapids
+on the 5th of December, where we had hoped to be by the 15th of
+November. Our igloos were made on the southern bank, and we were greatly
+surprised that we saw no sled tracks in crossing the river. We had
+supposed that they, with the shorter route and smooth salt-water ice
+nearly all the way, would have been ahead of us, and either waiting or
+forced to move into the reindeer country for food. Our first object,
+therefore, was to find the natives, who live here all the year round,
+as Narleyow, one of the tribe, who was with Henry, constantly assured
+us was the case. From these people we expected to get information
+concerning the other sleds, and also to get a large quantity of fish for
+food for man and beast. We found some fish caches near our camp, and
+some sled tracks and footprints about one mile and a half farther down
+the river, which Joe said led a long distance. The day after our arrival
+we appropriated one large cache to feed our starving dogs, and then
+started the next day for their camp to pay for the fish and buy more.
+But shortly after all the men started, one of the women ran out and
+called us back, saying that Inuits were coming to the igloo. We hastened
+back and found three young men of the Ooqueesiksillik tribe, who had
+found their cache robbed and traced the tracks to our igloo. Joe
+explained the case to them, and said we had knives to pay for the fish
+and to buy more, which they said would be gladly accepted, and they
+would tell their people to bring us more fish that night. We were
+astonished when they said they had neither seen nor heard of any others
+of our party.
+
+That night, after the igloo was closed and we were eating our evening
+meal, we heard a sled drive up to the door and supposed our fish had
+arrived; but what was our joy when we recognized Koumania's voice
+driving the dogs, and then heard Henry at the door of our igloo. We
+then learned that they had reached the Dangerous Rapids only that
+afternoon, and while building the igloos the three young men we had
+seen in the morning returned and reported having seen us up the river.
+As soon as Henry heard this he had the load dumped from one of the
+sleds, and took Koumania to drive and an Ooqueesiksillik native as
+guide, and came at once to report. He said it had been very difficult
+to get his party of natives away from the camps that they met daily,
+and that they had moved by portages, which doubled the distance. He had
+bought dog food of the natives all along the route, and his dogs were,
+consequently, in good order. They would remain in camp where they were
+a day or two to feed up the dogs and get what fish they wanted for his
+two sleds, and then join us on the 10th.
+
+About five miles inland from Starvation Cove the natives had found
+during the summer the skeleton of a white man which no one had ever
+seen before. On the way down, Henry visited the place and erected a
+monument over the remains. The pieces of clothing found indicated that
+deceased was a sailor, not an officer. The finding of this grave is
+worthy of notice, as showing that the natives were thoroughly aroused
+by our visit and its object. We had promised them liberal rewards for
+everything of importance found, and for valuable information--that is,
+anything new--and were always particular to keep our promises. The
+consequence was that they had greatly aided us by searching everywhere
+within reach of their camps or hunting grounds. In approaching the
+Dangerous Rapids from Cockburn Bay, Henry had found an island where on
+the Admiralty chart is marked a point of the mainland. In fact, there
+is a delta at the mouth of the river. Narleyow led them to a place in
+the branch of the river flowing to the westward of this island, where
+he said a rocky ridge froze to the bottom, making a pocket which held
+fish. They dug four holes within an area of ten feet, and in one day
+caught fifty-seven of the immense salmon for which this river is
+famous. He cooked one for us, which was the largest I ever saw. Joe
+measured the cross-section of one he saw in the native igloos below our
+camp that measured over one foot. I asked him how much over, but he
+couldn't tell, he said, as his pocket measure was "only a foot long".
+
+[Illustration: VIEW ON BACK'S RIVER.]
+
+The largest number of fish caught here are what the natives call
+"cow-e-sil-lik," and are peculiar to these waters. They are something
+like very large herring, and the flesh much coarser than salmon or
+trout. All the fish here are quite fat, the salmon especially. We bought
+several bags of salmon oil from the natives, which we used, so long as
+it lasted, as a substitute for reindeer tallow, which is all gone now.
+The weather is intensely cold -62 degrees Fahrenheit on the 10th, the
+day the remainder of our party rejoined us at this camp. There was
+scarcely any wind, and it did not seem so cold as at -10 degrees or -20
+degrees, with the wind blowing in one's face, as it was the last few
+days of our travelling, with the thermometer at -46 degrees and -48
+degrees. Yet we were so well fortified against the cold by the
+quantities of fat we had eaten that we did not mind it. The prospect
+was that now we were out of fat we would suffer a great deal with the
+intense cold that we might expect in going across land from Back's
+River to Hudson's Bay.
+
+The rapids on Back's River are all marked by open water, and are
+recognizable at a long distance by the column of black smoke arising
+from them like steam from a boiling caldron. The ice in the vicinity is
+dangerous to travel upon, there often being thin places, where the
+moving water has nearly, but not quite, cut through, and not
+distinguishable from the surrounding ice, which may be four or five
+feet thick. The natives test it, before going upon it, with a knife or
+stick, and know from the sound whether or not it is safe to travel
+upon. In some of the many open water places that we found in our
+journey up the river we could walk boldly up to the very edge and lie
+down and quench our thirst from the rushing torrent, while in other
+places it was not safe to go within several hundred yards of the open
+water. On the 20th we passed open rapids about half a mile long, where
+we had to take the land. From the top of the hill it was a grand
+spectacle to look down upon the seething torrent and see the great
+cakes of ice broken off above and crushed to atoms as they passed
+through and under the ice below.
+
+[Illustration: THE DANGEROUS RAPIDS, BACK'S RIVER.]
+
+We had hoped to have Narleyow go with us to Depot Island, as he had
+previously been up Back's River and knew a route overland by which in
+three days we could reach a river where some Kinnepatoos were encamped
+all the year round. Here we could refit with meat and clothing and
+follow the river, which flows into Chesterfield Inlet, and then keep
+upon the salt-water ice to Depot Island. But with true Inuit
+perverseness he decided at the last minute not to go. He, however, gave
+Toolooah minute directions for finding the place where to leave Back's
+River, which is nearly as far west as Lake McDougal, and the route
+overland, where we would find sledge tracks and footprints to guide us
+to the camp.
+
+We found the travelling on Back's River much more tedious than we had
+anticipated, owing to the bare ice in the vicinity of the open-water
+rapids and the intense cold which kept the air filled with minute
+particles of ice from the freezing of the steam of the open water.
+These little particles of ice would fall upon the hard snow, which
+otherwise would have been good sledging, and remain separated from each
+other so that you could brush them up like sand, and were, in fact,
+nearly as hard as sand, so that it was almost impossible to drag the
+sledges along. The thermometer would frequently register -50 degrees
+and -60 degrees when we were moving with a strong wind blowing directly
+in our faces. Such travelling as this is simply terrible, and it is
+astonishing that we were able to do it without encountering any severe
+frost-bites. Indeed, we travelled one day with the thermometer -69
+degrees, and, a gale blowing at this time, both white men and Inuits
+were more or less frost-bitten, but merely the little nippings of nose,
+cheeks, and wrists that one soon gets accustomed to in this country. As
+Lieutenant Schwatka says, it is like almost all other dangers that you
+hear and read about, they seem to dwindle when you meet them boldly
+face to face. A battle always seems more terrible to those in the rear
+than to those in the front lines.
+
+It was a noticeable fact that our course up the river was considerably
+east of south, instead of west, as mapped upon the Admiralty chart.
+There could be no mistake in regard to this when we could daily see the
+sun rise and set on the right of our general line of travel. It was
+near the end of December before we reached the vicinity of Mount
+Meadowbank, though we had hoped to be far beyond it by that time.
+Storms had kept us in camp several days during the journey up the
+river, and our provisions were nearly all exhausted, so that we had to
+lie over to hunt for game. The hunters could find nothing near the
+river, and were obliged to go with a sled one day's march to the east,
+build an igloo, and hunt from there. It was terribly cold for them,
+sleeping in an igloo, without fire or blankets, merely a shelter from
+the wind, and forced, as they were, to sleep in their clothes. I have
+had such experience and know what it is. In such cases one suffers more
+from cold feet than anything else. They would be intensely cold with
+dry stockings, but one's stockings are always wet from perspiration
+after walking, and when compelled to wear them at night cause great
+suffering.
+
+Equeesik killed four reindeer, and we had to wait for them to be
+brought in. At this time this was all the food we had, and before more
+was obtained we were upon short rations. The dogs were beginning to
+feel the effect of hard work, cold weather, and low diet, and already
+we had lost two fine young dogs that died in consequence of privation.
+Before we had reached Depot Island we lost twenty-seven dogs, all but
+four of which died from the hardships incident to the journey. All
+hands were in harness whenever we marched, and the work was too hard to
+admit of feeling the cold as the greatest discomfort we had to
+encounter.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+FAMINE.
+
+
+The last day we travelled on the river, December 28th, the thermometer
+had registered during the day -69 degrees in the morning, -64 degrees
+at noon, and -68 degrees at five o'clock in the evening; the lowest,
+101 degrees below the freezing-point. Toolooah, Joe, and Ishnark went
+hunting the next day, but were unfortunate in not being able to secure
+any game, though they saw a small herd of reindeer. Toolooah reported
+the land sledging in good condition toward the south-east, much better
+than upon the river, and said there appeared to be plenty of game a
+day's march from the river in that direction. Lieutenant Schwatka,
+therefore, decided to abandon the river at once and strike directly for
+Depot Island, which had the advantage of being a straighter route than
+the one by the unsurveyed river proposed by Narleyow. With a guide that
+would have been feasible; but it would be running much risk to attempt
+to find our way by the longer route in a country whose game we knew
+nothing of, with a large party dependent upon the very difficult
+hunting for support.
+
+It is a difficult matter to keep guns in working order in the intensely
+cold weather we were experiencing. At sixty and seventy degrees below
+zero everything freezes. Even the iron and wood are affected. Strong
+oak and hickory will break almost like icicles, and when guns were
+brought into the warmer temperature of an igloo to clean, they would
+gather moisture, which had to be removed from every portion of the lock
+and working parts before again meeting the cold, or they would be
+worthless as weapons. They must also be kept free from oil or any kind
+of grease, as all lubricants of that sort will harden and prevent the
+working of the lock. It is but fair to state in this connection that
+our fire-arms, in which all the best American manufacturers were
+represented, worked admirably under these trying circumstances, and I
+feel justified in saying that it was their superiority in rapid and
+accurate delivery, in the hands of good hunters, that carried us
+through this ordeal. It is a matter of great difficulty to get near
+enough to such wary game as the reindeer, in winter, when the sound of
+the hunter's footsteps, though the soles of his shoes are covered with
+fur, is carried on the wind and can be distinctly heard more than a
+mile away. I have frequently heard the crunching of the sled runners on
+the brittle snow--a ringing sound like striking bars of steel--a
+distance of over two miles. It was one advantage in travelling against
+a head wind, to counterbalance the discomfort, that it carried the
+sound of the sleds away from game we might be approaching. After the
+first day's march from Back's River we were never compelled to lie in
+camp for the purposes of hunting game, for when we did come upon a herd
+the breech-loaders and magazine-guns did their work so effectively that
+we could lay in a stock of meat for a day or two ahead.
+
+We left Back's River behind on the last day of the year, and made about
+seven miles in a south-east direction, and encamped and stopped to
+hunt, the last halt we made for that purpose. The mean temperature for
+December was -50.4 degrees Fahrenheit, the lowest -69 degrees, and the
+highest -26 degrees. January 3d the thermometer reached the lowest
+point that we saw during our sojourn in this climate--in the morning
+-70 degrees, at noon -69 degrees, and at five o'clock in the afternoon
+the extraordinary mark of -71 degrees. Equeesik moved his igloo about
+ten miles ahead this day, but the other two igloos were compelled to
+wait for their hunters to come in. The day, notwithstanding the
+intensity of the cold, was very pleasant. There was scarcely a breath
+of wind, and our igloo door was open the entire day. In fact, it was a
+far pleasanter day to be out of doors than with 50 degrees warmer and
+the wind blowing. January proved a very stormy month; indeed, there
+were but eleven days in which we could travel, and we only accomplished
+ninety-one miles toward our destination during that time. One day, the
+19th, we lay over to follow up some musk-ox tracks we had seen the day
+previous. The weather was fine, notwithstanding a pretty strong wind
+and a temperature of -65 degrees.
+
+[Illustration: THE MARCH IN EXTREME COLD WEATHER.]
+
+We followed the tracks about twenty-five miles, and only desisted when
+we found that wolves were ahead of us and had already frightened the
+game away. The country is filled with reindeer, and on every hill-side
+their breath can be seen rising like clouds of steam. A herd that was
+frightened by the dogs, which were following the musk-ox tracks,
+scampered off in every direction, and it looked as if a lot of
+locomotives had been let loose over the country, the smoke coming from
+their lungs in great puffs as they ran, and streaming along behind
+them. When the sledges are moving during a clear cold day, the position
+of any one of them is known to the team, though they may be widely
+separated. Sometimes, for the advantage of hunting to be obtained
+thereby, our igloos have been separated by a day's march of about ten
+miles, and at that distance the condensed breath of the dogs and people
+could be distinctly seen and the position of the igloos located.
+
+January proved the coldest month of our experience, with a mean
+thermometer of -53.2 degrees, lowest -71 degrees, and the highest -23
+degrees Fahrenheit. We experienced one storm of thirteen days' duration
+during the latter part of January and early part of February, and found
+but thirteen days during which we could travel in the latter month.
+
+It was almost our daily experience now to lose one or more dogs. They
+got plenty of reindeer meat, but it was usually fed frozen, and has but
+little nourishment in it in that state for cold weather, when fat and
+warming food is required. A seal-skinful of blubber each week would
+have saved many of our dogs; but we had none to spare for them, as we
+were reduced to the point when we had to save it exclusively for
+lighting the igloos at night. We could not use it to warm our igloos or
+to cook with. Our meat had to be eaten cold--that is, frozen so solid
+that it had to be sawed, and then broken into convenient-sized lumps,
+which when first put into the mouth were like stones--or cooked with
+moss gathered from the hill-sides and the snow beaten off with a stick.
+Meat will freeze in a temperature a little below the freezing-point,
+but it is then in a very different condition from the freezing it gets
+at from sixty to seventy degrees below zero. Then every piece of meat
+you put in your mouth has first to be breathed upon to thaw the
+surface, or it will stick to your tongue and sides of your mouth and
+lips like frosty iron, and with the same disagreeable results. The
+luxury of a cooked meal could only be indulged in on the days when we
+were lying over in camp, as to gather the moss and cook the meal would
+take from three to four hours.
+
+The country began to swarm with wolves now, as well as with reindeer,
+and we would meet them daily. Often they would come close to the
+igloos, and one night Toolooah shot one of three that were eating the
+meat he had thrown out for food for our dogs.
+
+They killed and ate four of Equeesik's dogs, and attacked him when he
+went out of the igloo to drive them off. He killed two of his
+assailants with his rifle, and two others by the most infernal traps
+ever devised. He set two keenly sharpened knife-blades in the ice and
+covered them with blood, which the wolves licked, at the same time
+slicing their tongues, the cold keeping them from feeling the wounds at
+the time, and their own warm blood tempting them to continue until
+their tongues were so scarified that death was inevitable. He also
+prepared some pills by rolling up long strips of whalebone, bound with
+sinew and hidden in meat, which freezing would hold together until it
+had passed into the animal's intestines, when the meat having thawed,
+and the sinew digested, the whalebone would open out and produce an
+agonizing death. If anything were bad enough treatment for wolves,
+these devices of Equeesik's might be so classed.
+
+Toolooah was out hunting on the 23d of February, when a pack of about
+twenty wolves attacked him. He jumped upon a big rock, which was soon
+surrounded, and there he fought the savage beasts off with the butt of
+his gun until he got a sure shot, when he killed one, and while the
+others fought over and devoured the carcass, he made the best of the
+opportunity to get back into camp. It was a most fortunate escape, as
+he fully realized.
+
+On the 25th we were detained in camp by a storm, which Toolooah took
+advantage of for hunting. He saw a reindeer not far from camp, and was
+soon astonished to see another Inuit following the same animal. The
+stranger, when he saw Toolooah, ran back to his igloo; but Toolooah let
+the reindeer go and followed the man, whom he found to be a Kinnepatoo
+acquaintance named Tsedluk. From him he learned that Depot Island was
+only two igloos, or three days off, with long marches and light
+sledges. We moved up to Tsedluk's igloo the following day, and bought
+some meat from him, as game was scarce beyond. Here we cached all our
+heavy stuff, and with light sleds and forced marches reached Depot
+Island on the 4th day of March, by way of Connery River, which we came
+upon on the 2d. The mean temperature for the past month had been -44.8
+degrees, and the coldest recorded -69 degrees Fahrenheit.
+
+We found open water at the rapids where Connery River empties into its
+estuary, and the ice four feet above water-line. It was with
+considerable difficulty that a safe passage was found for the sledges,
+but once on the salt-water ice we moved along rapidly. The prospect of
+reaching home the next day was very exhilarating, and the dogs seemed
+to catch the infection from their masters. The poor, jaded beasts
+coiled their tails over their backs and ran along barking until we
+halted for the night, within about twenty miles of our destination. We
+still knew nothing concerning Hudson's Bay since we left a year before,
+Tsedluk having seen no one since he came to the camp where we found
+him. The great question with us was, "Were any ships in the bay?" If
+there were, the prospect was that there would be some news from home
+and letters from our friends. We hoped that there were ships, and
+believed that they would be wintering at Depot Island, as it was the
+unanimous opinion of the officers of the fleet at Marble Island the
+previous year that Depot Island was a far preferable place to winter
+at, on account of the difficulty of getting fresh meat for the crews at
+the other harbor.
+
+[Illustration: VIEW ON CONNERY RIVER.]
+
+At any rate, we felt sure of finding our hard bread, pork, and
+molasses, together with some other provisions that Captain Barry said
+he could spare and leave with Armow, the native who had charge of our
+stuff at Depot Island, and the prospect of again eating some civilized
+food was most cheering. The natives exhibited an unwonted degree of
+activity, and we got under way at seven o'clock the next morning,
+moving off at the rate of three miles and a half an hour. We soon
+arrived in sight of Depot Island, and looked anxiously for sledge
+tracks, which we felt sure would be abundant here if the ships were
+near by. We saw no tracks for so long a time that we soon began to
+doubt that there were even any natives there.
+
+About noon we were within four or five miles of the island, and saw
+some natives on the ice in the dim distance. Then all was excitement in
+our party, and it increased as the distance diminished. I never
+expected to feel so agitated as I did when I found myself running and
+shouting with the natives. Toolooah fired a signal-gun, then jumped on
+the sled and waved a deer-skin, which had been agreed between him and
+Armow as announcing our identity on our return.
+
+At last the sleds drew near enough to recognize Armow, who was
+hastening up to us ahead of the others. When they halted he grasped
+Lieutenant Schwatka by the hand and shook it long and heartily, saying,
+"Ma-muk-poo am-a-suet suk-o" ("Plenty good to see"), and then he
+came to me, and I noticed, as he held my hand, the tears, warm from
+his dear old heart, were coursing down his cheeks. I was moved, as
+I scarcely anticipated, at the tenderness and earnest warmth of
+our reception. There were Eeglee-leock, Nanook, Seb-euck-to-lee,
+Shok-pe-nark, Con-we-chiergk (Toolooah's brother), Koo-pah, Eve-loo,
+and a host of boys, while Petulark, Ter-re-ah-ne-ak, and others came
+in later from the direction of Camp Daly.
+
+From Armow we learned that there was only one ship in the bay, and that
+it was at Marble Island; and furthermore, that there were no provisions
+for us at Depot Island. This seemed utterly incomprehensible to us, as
+Captain Barry had about a thousand pounds of hard bread on board the
+'Eothen' that belonged to us, besides some other provisions, and
+had promised to leave them with Armow, at Depot Island, for us, well
+knowing that we would need them there.
+
+Armow said he had a piece of paper with some writing on, that he
+thought was from Captain Fisher; but we supposed it must be some
+explanation of this extraordinary circumstance. We therefore hastened
+with our Inuit friends to their igloos, which were on the ice about
+three miles from Depot Island, and found the note to be from Captain
+Fisher, giving some excuse for not leaving some things that he had
+expected to. The inevitable conclusion was then forced upon us that
+Barry had absolutely gone away with the food from us without a word of
+explanation, though he had landed at Depot Island and taken off the
+casks that held our bread when we came ashore. It is usually considered
+that those who encounter the perils of Arctic travel have enough to
+contend with from the very nature of the undertaking, and not only
+their own countrymen but all civilized nations have hastened to help
+them when opportunity afforded. Even the savages with whom they come in
+contact have pity for them.
+
+Before resuming our march there was a painful scene at the sledges.
+Toolooah heard of the death of his mother, in whose charge he had left
+his little daughter when starting on the expedition, and a group of
+relatives and friends stooped around the sledge weeping, the women
+giving vent to their feelings in prolonged wails and moaning. This
+lasted for about ten minutes, during which I learned from the other
+natives that they had a very severe winter and much suffering for lack
+of food. Several deaths had occurred in the tribes since we left. A
+large portion was now at Wager River, but would be down in the spring
+or early in the summer. We afterward learned that they, too, had
+suffered for food. After shaking hands with other old friends at the
+camp we went into Armow's igloo and ate some frozen walrus meat and
+blubber that tasted delicious to us, the blubber especially, it having
+been so long since we had eaten fat food, though so much requiring it.
+They had but a short supply of meat on hand when we arrived, and the
+advent of twenty-two hungry travellers and nineteen starving dogs soon
+reduced their stores, so that, a storm at once setting in from the
+north-west, making it a useless task to hunt walrus, there was a famine
+in camp before the end of a week.
+
+They can only hunt walrus successfully at Depot Island with a southerly
+wind to hold the ice-pack to the floe. Seals are hunted with dogs to
+find the blow-hole of amog-low, or seal igloo, which, often covered
+with loose snow, is hidden from the hunter. When found, a wall of snow
+is built as a protection against the wind, while the hunter waits for
+hours, and sometimes for days, until the seal comes up to blow, when he
+is struck through the hole in the ice with a spear and held by a line
+attached to the boat. It is necessary for this style of hunting that
+the weather should be such that one can see at a short distance, or on
+the trackless waste of smooth ice the hunter is apt to get lost. Most
+of the time we were here it was blowing so that land could not be seen
+at one hundred yards' distance. It might be well to explain here that,
+when the wind blows, the dry snow fills the air so that it is thicker
+than the severest snow-storm in the temperate zone. The Inuits call
+this condition of affairs "pairk-se-uk-too", and one can witness
+it almost daily during the winter.
+
+It was the eighth day after our arrival before the storm abated
+sufficiently to let the hunters out with any prospect of success.
+The wind was still from the north, and it was very provoking that
+they could see plenty of walrus and seal on the pack, but far beyond
+their reach. Affairs were getting desperate now. In the last five days
+we had but one meal a day, composed at first of about a quarter of a
+pound of walrus or seal meat, but lately of "kow"--that is, the thick
+hide of the walrus, with a thin cover of short hair on it, such as is
+seen on the old fashioned seal-skin trunks. As the hunters got nothing,
+we were without even our "kow" the next day, with the prospect of
+remaining without food until Eeglee-leock and Nanook got back from
+Marble Island, where they went for relief from the natives there three
+days ago. Lieutenant Schwatka went with them in order to try to get
+some food for us from the ship. All they had to eat on the way down was
+walrus blubber, and so great was their anxiety for us that Lieutenant
+Schwatka and Eeglee-leock left the sled behind at Chesterfield Inlet
+with Nanook, and walked one day and night without resting, reaching
+Marble Island at six o'clock in the morning, after a walk of about
+seventy-five miles.
+
+One of the women in our camp died this day, her death hastened by
+privation. She was the wife of Te-wort, or "Papa," as he is universally
+called, not only by the white visitors to Hudson's Bay, but by his own
+people. The benignant Inuit custom that allows a plurality of wives to
+those that desire it, leaves him not altogether comfortless in his old
+age; but "Cockeye" was his first favorite wife, and the mother of the
+great majority of his children. The funeral ceremonies covered four
+days, and the morning of the fifth "Papa" visited the grave, and after
+his return there was nothing to prevent the usual course of events
+which the burial and mourning customs had interrupted. Even the dogs
+could be fed if there was anything to give them to eat.
+
+It was a mournful camp after the hunters got in, Friday night, the
+12th of the month, empty handed. They all felt the danger that again
+threatened them, as it had done twice before during the winter, when
+they had to kill and eat some of their starving dogs. People spoke
+to each other in whispers, and everything was quiet, save for the
+never-ceasing and piteous cries of the hungry children, begging for
+food which their parents could not give them. Most of the time I stayed
+in bed, trying to keep warm and to avoid exercise that would only make
+me all the more hungry. It was impossible to keep warm this night, and
+my aching limbs drove sleep from my eyes.
+
+The closing ceremony was a most touching one. After "Papa" had returned
+from the grave, Armow went out of doors and brought in a piece of
+frozen something that it is not polite to specify further than that the
+dogs had entirely done with it, and with it he touched every block of
+snow in a level with the beds of the igloo. The article was then taken
+out of doors and tossed up in the air to fall at his feet, and by the
+manner in which it fell he could joyfully announce that there was no
+liability of further deaths in camp for some time to come.
+
+The wind was from the east Saturday, and a little better for hunting,
+so the men were off bright and early. About noon there was a joyful
+sound in camp. The women and children ran into our igloo shouting
+"Iviek seleko" (walrus killed), and fairly jumped up and down in
+their joy. I think the veriest stoic would have at least smiled. I know
+I laughed and said "good," though I tried to look dignified and
+unconcerned. Thank God, the danger was over, for the present at least,
+and I should be able to start for Marble Island in a day or two. It was
+not until the 17th, however, that I got away at last, as no sledges
+could move or the dogs be fed during the four days succeeding the death
+of "Papa's" wife. According to the Inuit belief, an infringement of
+this custom would cause a fearful mortality that I did not care to
+become responsible for, and had to wait patiently until the gods of the
+walrus and seal were satisfied that due respect had been paid to the
+memory of the departed.
+
+The first day of my march to Marble Island I met Ikomar coming with
+relief for our camp, and took from his sled one of two boxes containing
+hard bread and some pork, molasses, and tobacco, sending another box
+and the remainder of the food to Henry and Frank, who would come down
+to Marble Island when Ikomar returned. I found a note from Lieutenant
+Schwatka, in which I read that a bottle of whiskey was among the stores
+sent; but in the excitement of the occasion and my interest in some
+papers of 1879, I forgot to look for it. My surprise and disappointment
+can therefore be imagined that night, when Toolooah dragged the bottle
+forth from the bottom of the bread box, and asked what it was. We each
+drank some of the contents, and I noticed, on pouring it into a tin
+cup, that it was of the consistency of thick syrup, and the cup
+absolutely froze to my lips, at the same time burning them as if with a
+red-hot knitting-needle. I had often before heard of a bottle of
+whiskey freezing to a person's lips, but until that moment I had
+regarded the assertion as a base effort to deceive and to divert the
+mind from the actual cause of a too prolonged hold of the bottle. I
+found the whiskey a great comfort on the trip to Marble Island, and
+could not help feeling that our long winter journey would have been
+made much more comfortable by some form of ardent spirits, probably
+diluted alcohol, to be partaken of in small quantities each night on
+arriving in camp, or after unusually fatiguing work and exposure.
+
+I reached the ship 'George and Mary' at midnight of Saturday the
+21st, and found every one in bed, except Captain Baker, who received
+me very kindly, and at once impressed me as a straightforward,
+generous-spirited man. The cabin of his vessel is exceedingly small
+and inconvenient, but the officers submitted to much discomfort in
+our behalf. I found that the crew had been entirely free from scurvy,
+which had so seriously afflicted the crews of the fleet at Marble
+Island the previous winter. The entire freedom from this disease seems
+to be attributable to Captain Baker's excellent management, and the
+constant feeding of fresh reindeer, walrus, or seal meat to the crew,
+as well as to those in the cabin.
+
+He had, however, lost one man, George Vernoi, a Canadian, who died of
+consumption, with which he was suffering when he shipped at New
+Bedford, and one officer, Mr. Charles A. Lathe, of Swansea, Mass.,
+first mate, who froze to death while on a hunting expedition to the
+main-land during the previous fall. He, together with Mr. Gilbert, the
+third officer of the vessel, and some Kinnepatoo Inuits, went ashore on
+the 1st of October to secure fresh meat for the crew. In five days they
+had killed seven reindeer, and started to return to the ship; but a
+gale prevented their working to windward, and, their sail torn from the
+mast, they drifted during the night to a small barren island, where in
+the morning their boat was broken and their provisions washed away.
+They were suffering extremely from thirst, having neglected to bring
+water with them from the shore, and found none on the island. A day was
+spent in endeavoring to repair the boat, and after another bitter night
+on the island, without water, they got away at nearly nightfall of the
+day following and reached another island where they found water and
+spent the night.
+
+Mr. Lathe had already suffered extremely with the cold, as well as with
+hunger and thirst, and next day, after walking in a snow-storm about
+twenty miles toward the Kinnepatoo village, on the main-land, he gave
+up entirely and lay down to die. Mr. Gilbert urged his companion to
+make another effort, but to no purpose, and had finally to abandon him,
+though still alive, for the Inuits were nearly out of sight, and as
+they would not wait for him his own life depended on keeping them in
+view. Arrived at the Kinnepatoo camp, which was about ten miles from
+where his companion fell, Mr. Gilbert was much exhausted. The natives
+then treated him very kindly and supplied him with dry clothing, but no
+persuasion or promises of reward could induce any of them to go back
+and look after Mr. Lathe, whom they said would be dead before they
+found him. Mr. Gilbert remained here for more than two months, when the
+arrival of some of the tribe from the north brought the joyful news
+that the ice bridge had formed between Marble Island and the main-land,
+and then they were willing to conduct him to the ship, where he arrived
+on the 23d of December, long after all on board had given them both up
+as dead.
+
+During the year that we were absent from the verge of civilization, as
+the winter harbor of the whalers may be considered, we had travelled
+2,819 geographical, or 3,251 statute miles, most of which was entirely
+over unexplored territory, constituting the longest sledge journey ever
+made, both as to time and distance, and the only extended sledge
+journey ever accomplished in the Arctic, except such as have been made
+through countries well known and over routes almost as thoroughly
+established as post-roads. Our sledge journey stands conspicuous as the
+only one ever made through the entire course of an Arctic winter, and
+one regarded by the natives as exceptionally cold, as the amount of
+suffering encountered by those remaining at Depot Island attested, and
+further confirmed, as we afterward learned, by the experience of those
+who wintered at Wager River, where many deaths occurred, attributable
+to the unusual severity of the season. The party successfully withstood
+the lowest temperature ever experienced by white men in the field,
+recording one observation of -71 degrees Fahrenheit, sixteen days whose
+average was 100 degrees below the freezing-point, and twenty-seven
+which registered below -60 degrees Fahrenheit, during most of which the
+party travelled. In fact, the expedition never took cold into
+consideration, or halted a single day on that account.
+
+During the entire journey its reliance for food, both for man and
+beast, may be said to have been solely upon the resources of the
+country, as the expedition started with less than one month's rations,
+and it is the first in which the white men of an expedition voluntarily
+lived exclusively upon the same fare as its Esquimau assistants, thus
+showing that white men can safely adapt themselves to the climate and
+life of the Esquimaux, and prosecute their journeys in any season or
+under such circumstances as would the natives of the country
+themselves. The expedition was the first to make a summer search over
+the route of the lost crews of the 'Erebus' and 'Terror', and
+while so doing buried the remains of every member of that fated party
+above ground, so that no longer the bleached bones of those unfortunate
+explorers whiten the coasts of King William Land and Adelaide Peninsula
+as an eternal rebuke to civilization, but all have, for the time being
+at least, received decent and respectful interment.
+
+The most important direct result of the labors of the expedition will
+undoubtedly be considered the establishing of the loss of the Franklin
+records at the boat place in Starvation Cove; and as ever since Dr.
+Rae's expedition of 1854, which ascertained the fate of the party, the
+recovery of the records has been the main object of subsequent
+exploring in this direction, the history of the Franklin expedition may
+now be considered as closed. As ascertaining the fate of the party was
+not so gratifying as would have been their rescue or the relief of any
+member thereof, so is it in establishing the fate of the record of
+their labors. Next in importance to their recovery must be considered
+the knowledge of their irrecoverable loss.
+
+It may be needless to say here that to Lieutenant Schwatka's thorough
+fitness for his position as commander of such an expedition may be
+attributed its successful conduct through all the various stages of its
+experience. The thinking public will place the credit where it so well
+belongs, and he will soon find the reward of success in the approval
+not only of his countrymen, but of all interested in the extension of
+geographical knowledge and scientific research. It is not too much to
+say that no man ever entered the field of Arctic labors better fitted
+for the task, physically or by education and habits of life and mental
+training, than Lieutenant Schwatka. He is endowed by nature with robust
+health and a powerful frame, to which fatigue seems a stranger. A
+cheerful disposition that finds amusement in the passing trifle, and
+powers of concentration that entirely abstract him from his
+surroundings, keep him free from "ennui" that is not the least
+disagreeable feature of life in this wilderness. And he possesses a
+very important adjunct, though to the uninitiated it may seem trifling,
+a stomach that can relish and digest fat. The habit of command gives
+him a power over our Inuit allies that is not to be disregarded.
+"Esquimau Joe" says he never knew them to mind any one so strictly and
+readily as they do Lieutenant Schwatka. With all these qualifications
+for a leader, and the prestige of success following close upon his
+heels, it would not be too much to predict for him a brilliant Arctic
+career in the near future.
+
+His excellent management secured his entire party from many of the
+usual misfortunes of those in the field, and deprived the expedition of
+the sensational character it might have assumed in less skilful hands.
+All our movements were conducted in the dull, methodical, business-like
+manner of an army on the march. Every contingency was calculated upon
+and provided for beforehand, so that personal adventures were almost
+unknown or too trival to mention.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+ESQUIMAU HOME-LIFE.
+
+
+We had, of course, had abundant opportunities to study the habits of
+the people among whom we had lived so long. The government among the
+Inuit tribes, where they have any at all, is patriarchal, consisting of
+advice from the older and more experienced, which is recognized and
+complied with by the younger. Parental authority is never strictly
+enforced, but the children readily defer to the wishes of their
+parents--not only when young, but after reaching man's estate. The old
+people are consulted upon all matters of interest. The authority of
+parents in their family, and of the chief, or ish-u-mat-tah, in his
+tribe, is enforced without fear of punishment or hope of reward.
+
+When a person offends the sentiment of a community, or inflicts injury
+upon a neighbor, the matter is talked over among those interested, and
+reparation may be demanded in the shape of payment, not in money, for
+they have none, or anything that represents it, but in goods, such as a
+knife, a sled, a dog, gun, fish-hooks, walrus line, or, indeed,
+anything that comes handy. There the matter ends; or, if the offender
+declines to settle, the case may be referred to the ish-u-mat-tah, who
+will probably insist that payment be made. And yet should the
+delinquent still prove contumacious and refuse to pay, the matter rests
+there--there is no punishment for his offence. The well-behaved will
+talk to the refractory one and say, "ma-muk-poo-now" (no good), but
+that is all. Should he be hungry or his family unprovided for, the
+others will all assist him just the same as if he did well and obeyed
+their laws and customs. He can come into their igloos and chat with
+them upon the topics of the day, or join in the meal that is under
+discussion, and the stranger would never know but that the utmost
+harmony existed among them. If you were one for whom the community had
+respect, they might privately inform you that "so and so" was "no
+good," but you would never suspect it from their actions toward him.
+
+So it is in the treatment of their children. Punishment for wrong-doing
+is almost unheard of, and as for striking a male child, all would
+recoil from such a thought with horror. The male child, and especially
+the heir, is a prince in his own family circle. Everything is deferred
+to his wishes unless he can be persuaded to surrender it. With female
+children it is different. They must submit to every act of tyranny on
+the part of their brothers at once, or feel the weight of a parent's
+hand. Nothing would seem more abhorrent to an Esquimau mind than the
+thought of striking a man or boy; but to strike a woman or girl is, on
+the contrary, quite proper, and, indeed, laudable. And when one of
+those powerful savages strikes his wife it is no gentle love tap, but a
+blow that might stagger a pugilist. I remember once seeing an Esquimau
+for whom I entertained the greatest respect, strike his gentle and
+affectionate young wife, the mother of two fine children. He struck her
+upon the head with an an-out-ah (a stick made for beating the snow off
+of fur clothing, and in form and weight like a policeman's club). Two
+blows fell in quick succession upon that devoted head, and made the
+igloo ring again. I was undressed and in my sleeping bag at the time,
+but it was with the greatest difficulty that I could restrain myself
+from jumping up and interfering to prevent the outrage. It required all
+the nerve I could muster. I thought I would never respect my friend
+again; but after a while I began to look upon it more calmly, and in
+the light of his early training and daily experience for years and
+years I thought better of him, though not of the act.
+
+They say it is a proper thing to whip women, "it makes them good," and
+they might add, "it is so perfectly safe". I have often talked with
+them about it and tried to explain that it was regarded by white people
+as cowardly to strike a defenceless creature, but this was utterly
+beyond their comprehension. They could understand that it would be
+wrong to strike a male, but a female--that was an entirely different
+thing. Their system of government in regard to both families and
+communities seems to produce good results. Children are obedient and
+attentive to their parents, either natural or adopted, and there is but
+little occasion for governmental interference in the concerns of the
+people.
+
+Whenever difference of opinion gives rise to difficulty and their
+intercourse, their usual method of settling the dispute is for those
+immediately concerned to assemble in some igloo, with several of the
+old men, and talk the matter over until some definite plan of
+settlement is reached. This usually proves effectual. I have seen
+several of these talks, and though I could not understand much of what
+was said, unless I knew beforehand about what it would be, I could see
+that the spirit of conciliation manifested itself. All seemed disposed
+to do what was right, not from fear of punishment for doing wrong, but
+simply because it was right. They are not given to ceremony on such
+occasions, or, in fact, upon any other occasion. All the women retire
+from the igloo or tupic where the talk is to be held when the men come
+in. Then some raw meat is produced, if there is any to be had, and
+after eating pipes are lighted and the subject for discussion is
+approached, conversation gradually drifting in that direction.
+Esquimaux never do anything in a hurry, and these long-winded
+roundabout chats are exceedingly congenial to their tastes. So imbued
+do they become with this idea that even "Joe," notwithstanding his long
+residence with civilized people, could not shake it off.
+
+For instance, Lieutenant Schwatka would say:--"'Joe,' I wish you would
+tell the hunters that for the present they must save the saddles of the
+reindeer they kill to go upon the sleds, and feed the remainder of the
+carcasses to the dogs." "Joe" would invariably say, "Yes, to-night we
+will all get together and talk it over." "There is no necessity for
+talking it over, 'Joe;' just tell them what I say." But, nevertheless,
+"Joe" would have his powwow, and his feed and his smoke, even upon less
+important matters than the one mentioned in illustration.
+
+The Esquimaux are polygamists, no distinction whatever being placed
+upon the number of wives a man shall have. I have never, however, known
+of any instance of one having more than two at a time. This is very
+common, however, especially among the Iwilliks and Kinnepatoos, where
+there is a surplus of women. At least half of their married men have
+two wives. Every woman is married as soon as she arrives at a
+marriageable age, and whenever a man dies his wife is taken by some one
+else, so that with them old maids and widows are unknown.
+
+Instances of polygamy are not so common among the Netchillik nation,
+for the reason, it is said by the tribes in their vicinity, that they
+have a custom that prevents the accumulation of women to be taken care
+of. Their neighbors say that they kill their female babes as soon as
+born. The first is usually allowed to live, and one other may stand
+some chance, but that ends the matter. I cannot vouch for the truth of
+the assertion from my personal knowledge. I can only say that there
+were more unmarried young men among the Netchilliks and Ookjooliks whom
+we met than in any other tribe, and but few men with two wives. Among
+the children there were plenty of boys and but few girls. I understand
+that the mothers often would be willing to rear their daughters; but
+the fathers, who have supreme control in their families, insist upon
+getting rid of useless mouths and choke their infant babes to death,
+the mothers readily acquiescing. Equeesik, one of our hunters on the
+sledge journey, who is himself a Netchillik, denies this charge of
+female Herodism. He told me that it used to be the custom with his
+people, or some of them at any rate, but that they do not do so any
+more. I know he has two daughters, one of which was born within a few
+days' march of Depot Island, on our return trip, and has no son.
+
+The custom of giving away their children is very common among all
+tribes, and a young wife who loses her first-born has seldom any
+difficulty in getting a substitute from some one better supplied.
+Infants are never weaned. I have seen children four and five years old
+playing, out doors, stop once in a while to run in to their mothers,
+and cry until they received their milk.
+
+There is very little regard for life manifested by any of the
+Esquimaux. Several instances of sudden and strange deaths occurred
+among the infant children at Depot Island and vicinity while we were
+encamped there. If it were a male child that died, it occasioned some
+regret, but if it were a female it was considered all right. Even if it
+were well known that an Inuit had murdered his child, or had killed any
+one else in cold blood, nothing would be done about it, except that the
+relatives of a murdered man would probably ask to be paid for the
+slaughter, and if the request were complied with, that would set the
+matter at rest. Should it not be complied with, the probability is that
+the sons or brothers of the victim would embrace some opportunity to
+kill the murderer and give rise for a demand of payment from the family
+of the slain murderer, and in case of non-fulfilment a vendetta be
+established, as is the case now in the tribe that dwells on the coast
+of Baffin's Bay, near the entrance to Eclipse Sound.
+
+Just before we left Depot Island, in the summer of 1880, there arrived
+several families from that section of the Arctic, who came, I as
+informed, to get rid of the vendetta. It seems that the present cause
+of trouble was a young man, quite small in stature, but very active and
+energetic, of whom the refugees were very much afraid. Some of their
+relatives had killed this young man's father, and when they refused to
+pay for it he took occasion to kill the murderer, for which, as is the
+custom, they in turn demanded payment. He refused satisfaction, and one
+night about a year ago some of these people went to his igloo while the
+family were in bed, and through a small hole that had melted through
+the snow, they pointed a rifle, and, as they supposed, killed their
+enemy, of whom they were so much afraid. Unfortunately for them they
+found they had made a mistake, as instead of killing him they had
+killed his oldest son, who lay alongside of him in bed. The father said
+nothing, but reached for his gun, which he had always convenient for an
+emergency, and shortly after the shot was fired, when the murderer
+returned to peep through the hole and see the effect of his aim, the
+father shot him dead. Then it was that the remaining members of the
+family found that this business was getting to be a nuisance and
+concluded to leave. As they told me when speaking of the matter, "So
+much shooting is no good."
+
+Their method of carrying on this sort of warfare is not at all like the
+duello of Christendom. They don't stand up and fight it out, facing
+each other; but, on the contrary, appear to be good friends all the
+time, until the aggrieved one finds what he considers to be the
+propitious moment, and acts accordingly. They never do anything on the
+spur of the moment. It takes them a long time to make up their minds,
+and whatever they do they do deliberately. The rapid and just
+retribution that followed the killing of the child alluded to in this
+illustration is the only instance of the kind I know of, though I know
+of a number where a few weeks or years intervened, the enemies
+associating like the others and eating in common.
+
+There are no wedding ceremonies among the Esquimaux, and hardly
+anything like sentiment is known. The relation of man and wife is
+purely a matter of convenience. The woman requires food, and the man
+needs some one to make his clothing and to take charge of his dwelling
+while he is hunting. Marriages are usually contracted while the
+interested parties are children. The father of the boy selects a little
+girl who is to be his daughter-in-law, and pays her father something.
+Perhaps it is a snow-knife, or a sled, or a dog, or now, that many of
+them are armed with firelocks, the price paid may be a handful of
+powder and a dozen percussion caps. The children are then affianced,
+and when arrived at a proper age they live together. The wife then has
+her face tattooed with lamp-black and is regarded as a matron in
+society. The method of tattooing is to pass a needle under the skin,
+and as soon as it is withdrawn its course is followed by a thin piece
+of pine stick dipped in oil and rubbed in the soot from the bottom of a
+kettle. The forehead is decorated with a letter V in double lines, the
+angle very acute, passing down between the eyes almost to the bridge of
+the nose, and sloping gracefully to the right and left before reaching
+the roots of the hair. Each cheek is adorned with an egg-shaped
+pattern, commencing near the wing of the nose and sloping upward toward
+the corner of the eye; these lines are also double. The most ornamented
+part, however, is the chin, which receives a gridiron pattern; the
+lines double from the edge of the lower lip, and reaching to the throat
+toward the corners of the mouth, sloping outward to the angle of the
+lower jaw. This is all that is required by custom, but some of the
+belles do not stop here. Their hands, arms, legs, feet, and in fact
+their whole bodies are covered with blue tracery that would throw
+Captain Constantinus completely in the shade. Ionic columns, Corinthian
+capitals, together with Gothic structures of every kind, are erected
+wherever there is an opportunity to place them; but I never saw any
+attempt at figure or animal drawing for personal decoration. The forms
+are generally geometrical in design and symmetrical in arrangement,
+each limb receiving the same ornamentation as its fellow. None of the
+men are tattooed.
+
+Some tribes are more profuse in this sort of decoration than others.
+The Iwillik, and Kinnepatoos are similar, and as I have described; but
+the Netchillik, Ookjoolik, and Ooqueesiksillik women have the designs
+upon their faces constructed with three lines instead of two, one of
+them being broader than the others. The pattern is the same as that of
+the Iwilliks and Kinnepatoos, with the addition of an olive branch at
+the outside corners of the eyes and mouth.
+
+Marriage with them is not the sacred institution of civilization, but
+exchanges are very common. If a man who is going on a journey has a
+wife encumbered with a child that would make travelling unpleasant, he
+exchanges wives with some friend who remains in camp and has no such
+inconvenience. Sometimes a man will want a younger wife to travel with,
+and in that case effects an exchange, and sometimes such exchanges are
+made for no especial reason, and among friends it is a usual thing to
+exchange wives for a week or two about every two months. Unmarried men
+who are going on a journey have no difficulty in borrowing a wife for
+the time being, and sometimes purchase the better half altogether.
+
+It might be supposed that in such a state of society there would be no
+romances, no marrying for love; but that would be a mistake, for there
+have been several romantic little episodes that came under my
+observation during my residence in North Hudson's Bay. There is a poor
+old man dwelling with the Iwilliks, near Depot Island, named Iteguark,
+who had two very attractive and useful wives, or Nu-lee-aug-ar, as is
+the native term. The old man had been a good hunter, but a few years
+ago met with an accident that resulted in his right knee becoming
+stiffened, and his hunting days were over. He can still hunt seals
+through the ice, but cannot work up to them on top of the ice, nor can
+he chase the reindeer and musk-ox on his native hills. Then it was that
+Oxeomadiddlee looked with envious eyes upon the youngest and fairest of
+Iteguark's wives, and induced her to come and live with him. She knew
+that her new lover was strong and active, and better able to support
+her than her old love, and listened to the voice of the tempter.
+
+Iteguark was not disposed to submit meekly to this treachery on the
+part of his friend Oxeomadiddlee, so one morning while the truant wife
+and her new husband were sleeping in their igloo, Iteguark entered and
+sought to take the life of the seducer with a hunting knife. But
+Oxeomadiddlee was on his guard, and being a man of immense strength, he
+caught his adversary by the wrist, and by the sheer force of his grip
+compelled him to drop the weapon on the floor. He then released his
+hold, and Iteguark rushed out to his own igloo and got his bow and
+quiver; but his enemy was still watchful, and took the bow and arrows
+away and destroyed them. Here ended hostilities. Oxeomadiddlee paid the
+old man for his wife, and that settled it forever. Presently another
+Inuit, named Eyerloo, fell desperately in love with poor old Iteguark's
+remaining wife, and with his arts and blandishments won her away from
+her husband. There was no fight this time. The poor old man gave up
+completely, and said the world was all wrong, and he only waited for
+his summons to leave it and mount the golden stairs.
+
+A few years ago an Igloolip Inuit named Kyack won the affections of one
+of Ikomar's wives and this brought on a duel in which Kyack came very
+near leaving Mrs. Kyack a widow. Ikomar got the head of his enemy in
+chancery, and tightened his arm around his neck until Kyack dropped
+lifeless upon the snow. He gradually recovered, and would have returned
+the stolen wife, but Ikomar refused to take her back, and demanded
+payment instead. This was tendered to him, and being appeased by the
+offer further trouble was avoided.
+
+Punnie, one of Armow's daughters, was, in her youth, affianced to
+Sebeucktelee, but when she reached a marriageable age became the wife
+of Conwechungk, her adopted brother. The pretext for this new
+arrangement was that Sebeucktelee's father had not made payment at the
+time he made the wedding contract, and that Punnie loved Conwechungk
+better anyhow, and would take advantage of the omission of the
+intended father-in-law. It made no difference that Conwechungk had
+another wife--in fact, it was all the better on that account, for he
+would have one for himself and another to loan around to his neighbors.
+When I left Depot Island I noticed that he had not only loaned his
+first wife away, but had traded his dearly beloved Punnie for
+Tockoleegeetais' wife for an indefinite period, while Sebeucktelee had
+taken to his bosom Netchuk, the discarded wife of Shockpenark. But life
+is altogether too short to allow of a complete and reliable record
+being made of the social gossip of an Esquimau village. Intermarriages
+are common, and everybody is related to every one else in the most
+intricate and astonishing manner. I once read of a man who married a
+widow, and his father, subsequently marrying the daughter of this same
+widow, was driven insane by trying to ascertain the exact relationship
+of their children. Such trifles have no effect upon the Inuit brain, or
+the entire nation would long ago have become raving maniacs.
+
+The natives of Hudson's Strait dress very much like the others, the
+difference being in the women's hoods, which, instead of being long and
+narrow, are long and wide, and provided with a drawing string. Instead
+of the long stockings, they wear a pair of leggings that reach about
+half-way up the thigh, and trousers that are much shorter than those of
+the western tribes. The Kinnepatoos are by all odds the most tasteful
+in their dress, and their clothing is made of skins more carefully
+prepared and better sewed than that of the others, except in occasional
+instances.
+
+The bedding of all these Esquimaux is made of reindeer-skins--thick
+untanned skins of the buck forming what corresponds with the
+mattresses, and a blanket to cover them is made of well-tanned
+doe-skins, sewn together so as to be wide at the top and narrowing
+into a bag at the feet. All sleep naked, winter and summer, a single
+blanket formed of three doe-skins covering a father, mother, and all
+the children.
+
+[Illustration: ESQUIMAUX BUILDING A HUT.]
+
+It would astonish a civilized spectator to see how many people can be
+stowed away to sleep in one small igloo and under one blanket; but the
+proverbial illustration of a box of sardines would almost represent a
+skirmish line in comparison. Each one is rolled up into a little ball,
+or else arms, legs and bodies are so inextricably interwoven, that it
+would be impossible for any but the owners to unravel them. And these
+bodies are like so many little ovens, so that, no matter how cold it
+be, when once within the igloo, the snow-block door put up and chinked,
+and all stowed away in bed, Jack Frost can be successfully defied.
+
+As probably many people know, an igloo is usually built of snow. The
+word, however, means house, and as their houses consist of a single
+room, it also means room. Sometimes at points that are regularly
+occupied during the winter months igloos are built of stones, and moss
+piled up around and over them, so that when covered by the winter snows
+they make very comfortable dwellings. This is the case at Igloolik,
+which means the place of igloos, and also near Tulloch Point, on King
+William Land, where the ruins of these underground houses were quite
+numerous. They had been built a great many years ago by the Ookjooliks,
+when they occupied the land before the Netchillik invasion. A long, low
+passage-way leads into each dwelling, so constructed as to exclude the
+wind from the interior, though ventilation is permitted by leaving open
+the door. This, by the way, is an Inuit custom. Even in the coldest
+weather the door is open, except when the occupants are asleep, and it
+is only closed then to keep the dogs from making a raid on the igloo.
+If the door faces the wind, a shelter is erected outside to cut off the
+wind, so that the door need not be closed. The coldest day I ever saw,
+when the thermometer was seventy-one degrees below zero, the door of
+our igloo was open all the time we were not asleep. A snow igloo is
+made of snow-blocks about three feet long by eighteen inches wide and
+five or six inches thick.
+
+[Illustration: SECTION AND PLAN OF ESQUIMAU HUT.]
+
+The snow-knife is simply a large thin-bladed knife, like a cheese-knife
+of the grocery stores, with a handle made large enough to be
+conveniently grasped with both hands. Before iron and knives became so
+plentiful as at present, snow-knives were made of bone and reindeer or
+musk-ox horn, but such knives are quite rare now. The Netchillik,
+Ookjoolik, and Ooqueesiksillik tribes are still quite deficient in iron
+weapons and implements, and many of their knives are marvels of
+ingenuity. I saw several made of a little tip of iron, perhaps an inch
+square, mounted on a handle two feet long, and so shaped that the iron
+would do most of the cutting and scratching, and the handle acted
+merely as a wedge to assist the operation. I also saw a man making a
+knife by cutting a thick piece of iron with a cold chisel, afterward to
+be pounded out flat and ground down on stones. The entire operation
+would probably take about three or four weeks with the poor tools at
+their disposal.
+
+The builder selects snow of the proper consistency by sounding a drift
+with a cane, made for the purpose, of reindeer horn, straightened by
+steaming, and worked down until about half an inch in diameter, with a
+ferule of walrus tusk or the tooth of a bear on the bottom. By
+thrusting this into the snow he can tell whether the layers deposited
+by successive winds are separated by bands of soft snow, which would
+cause the blocks to break. When the snow is selected, he digs a pit to
+the depth of eighteen inches or two feet, and about the length of the
+snow-block. He then steps down into the pit and proceeds to cut out the
+blocks by first cutting down at the ends of the pit, and then the
+bottom afterward, cutting a little channel about an inch or two deep,
+marking the thickness of the proposed block.
+
+Now comes the part that requires practice to accomplish successfully.
+The expert will, with a few thrusts of his knife in just the right
+places, split off the snow-block and lift it carefully out to await
+removal to its position on the wall. The tyro will almost inevitably
+break the block into two or three pieces, utterly unfit for the use of
+the builder. When two men are building an igloo, one cuts the blocks
+and the other erects the walls. When sufficient blocks have been cut
+out to commence work with, the builder marks with his eye, or perhaps
+draws a line with his knife describing the circumference of the
+building, usually a circle about ten or twelve feet in diameter. The
+first row of blocks is then arranged, the blocks placed so as to
+incline inward and resting against each other at the ends, thus
+affording mutual support. When this row is completed the builder cuts
+away the first and second blocks, slanting them from the ground upward,
+so that the second tier resting upon the edges of the first row can be
+continued on and around spirally, and by gradually increasing the
+inward slant a perfect dome is constructed of such strength that the
+builder can lie flat on the outside while chinking the interstices
+between the blocks. The chinking is, however, usually done by the women
+and children as the building progresses, and additional protection
+secured from the winds in very cold weather by banking up a large
+wooden snow shovel, the snow at the base often being piled to the depth
+of three or four feet. This makes the igloo perfectly impervious to the
+wind in the most tempestuous weather. When the house is completed, the
+builders are walled in. Then a small hole about two feet square is cut
+in the wall, on the side away from where the entrance is to be located,
+and is used to pass in the lamps and bedding. It is then walled up and
+the regular door cut, about two feet high, and nitched at the top. It
+would bring bad luck to carry the bedding into the igloo by the same
+door it would be taken out. Before the door is opened the bed is
+constructed, of snow-blocks, and made from one to three or four feet
+high, and occupies about three-fourths of the entire space. The higher
+the bed and the lower the door, the warmer the igloo will be.
+
+The house being built, passes into the care of the women, who arrange
+the beds and put up the lamps for lighting, warming, and cooking. The
+woman's place in the igloo is on either side of the bed, and next to
+the wall. In front of her she arranges her lamp, which is a long,
+shallow basin of soapstone, the front edge straight and the back
+describing an arc. The wick, which is composed of pulverized moss, is
+arranged along the front edge, and kept moistened by the oil that fills
+the lamp by tilting it forward--the lamp being delicately poised, with
+this end in view, upon three sticks driven into the snow beneath it.
+If there be two women, they occupy both ends of the bed, each with
+her lamp in front of her. Over each lamp is constructed a frame upon
+which to dry stockings that have become moistened by perspiration
+during the day's exercise, and from which depends the kettle for
+melting snow or ice to make water or to cook. The distinctive
+Esquimau kettle (oo-quee'-sik) is made of soapstone and is flat
+bottomed. It is made long and narrow, so as to fit the flame of the
+lamp, and to derive all the benefit possible therefrom. It has the
+advantage over the iron and copper kettles, that have come into use
+through trade with the whalemen and Hudson Bay Company's posts, of
+cooking more rapidly and of not being injured if left over the flame
+without water.
+
+[Illustration: ESQUIMAU WOMAN COOKING.]
+
+It is the duty of the women to attend constantly to the lamps, to melt
+water for drinking and cooking, and to cook the food. They also turn
+the wet shoes and stockings inside out and dry them at night. A "good
+wife" is one who sleeps but little after a hard day's march, but
+attends constantly to the articles upon the drying frame, turning them
+over and replacing the dry with wet. When one frame full of clothing
+has been dried, she places the articles under her in the bed, so that
+the heat of her body will keep them warm and dry, and replaces them
+upon the frame with other articles. She gets up long before any one
+else is awake and looks carefully over all the clothing to see what
+mending is required. Her position, when not asleep, is with her bare
+feet bent under her in Turkish fashion, and there she sits all day long
+before her fire, engaged in making clothing, cooking, or other
+household duties, and is seldom idle. When at work she lifts up her
+voice and sings. The tune lacks melody but not power. It is a relief to
+her weary soul, and few would be cruel enough to deprive her of that
+comfort, for her pleasures are not many. She is the slave of her
+children and her husband, and is treated to more abuse than affection.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+HOMEWARD.
+
+
+Notwithstanding the natural anxiety to return again to our native land
+after so long an absence, it was with genuine regret that we parted
+from our poor savage friends on Depot Island to embark upon the vessel
+that was to carry us home. Nor was the sorrow to us alone, for these
+simple children of the ice have warm hearts. Some of the old women
+embraced us tenderly, while the salt tears cut deep furrows through the
+dirt upon their faces. The younger ones exclaimed, and evidently with
+truth, "Watcheow oounga keeieyoot amasuet" (By and by me cry plenty).
+
+"Papa," Armow, and Ishnark--better known as "Jerry," or "Jelly," as
+they pronounce it--held our hands as if reluctant to let go, and gazing
+wistfully into our faces said, "Shoogarme watcheow tukko" (I hope by
+and by to see you). It is impossible to translate exactly their meaning
+in this short sentence, but it is more as if they would say, "Surely it
+seems impossible that we shall never see you again."
+
+That they were in earnest in the expression of their grief I have every
+reason to believe, for they had shown their kindly interest and
+affection at a time that if ever one's affection is put to the test
+theirs was. They had, so to speak, adopted us as their children. Not
+merely had they divided their last morsel of food, but had given to us
+and their children, and had gone without themselves. It was merely some
+walrus hide that had been saved to make soles for their shoes, but
+nevertheless it was literally their last mouthful, and when that was
+gone we all went hungry until the long-continued storm abated and an
+opportunity was afforded to kill a walrus, which appeased our hunger
+for the time being. Is it unnatural that we should absolutely love
+these kind friends, or was it a thing to be ashamed of that theirs were
+not the only tears that fell at parting? Of all savages--I was going to
+say of all people--commend me to these simple-hearted Esquimaux, with
+all their dirt and gluttony, for genuine, self-sacrificing hospitality.
+As we were being rowed out to the ship by an Inuit crew at ten o'clock
+on the night of the 1st of August, our faces were turned toward the
+land, where the sky was still brilliant with the light of a gorgeous
+sunset. Lieutenant Schwatka sat beside me in the bow of the boat, and
+neither of us had spoken since we left the shore, until he turned to me
+and said, "I was not prepared for this."
+
+"Prepared for what?" said I.
+
+"I was not prepared to feel the pain of parting from these people and
+this country as I feel it now. Even the near prospect of getting back
+to civilization, and of meeting friends and hearing news scarcely
+ameliorates the pang at this moment. But it will soon be over, I
+suppose."
+
+At last we were all on board the ship, and when the men began to weigh
+anchor, merrily singing over their work, the three boat-loads of Inuits
+put off hastily, though they paddled around the vessel and seemed loath
+to depart.
+
+"Where is Toolooah--did he bid you good-by, governor?" said I to
+Lieutenant Schwatka.
+
+"No," he replied, "but you can see him here;" and stepping up to the
+side of the ship I saw our Toolooah seated in the bow of Armow's boat,
+his head bent down and his face buried in his hands.
+
+"I can understand his feelings exactly," said the governor. "He dare
+not trust himself to go through the ordeal, poor fellow. He knew he
+would break down when it came to that, and I am glad he didn't, for I
+am afraid I should too."
+
+Until the morning that we left, it had been confidently expected that
+Toolooah and his family, consisting of his wife and two children, would
+accompany us to the United States. It had been the great ambition of
+his life to visit the wonderful white men's country, and Lieutenant
+Schwatka had promised to take him home, provided he could obtain the
+consent of the captain of the vessel in which we returned. Captain
+Baker had already given his consent, and there seemed nothing to
+interfere with their plans. Toolooah and his wife were busy in securing
+suitable clothing in which to appear abroad when occasion should arise
+for wearing it, and the faithful services he had rendered on our sledge
+journey were to be recompensed in the United States, from which he
+would take home an outfit that should last as long as he lived. But the
+last day we were on shore some of the old men came to Lieutenant
+Schwatka, and begged he would not be angry if they said that a long and
+anxious consultation had resulted in the conclusion that it would be
+running too great a risk for Toolooah to go to the United States. No
+man of their tribe had ever been to a civilized country but "Esquimau
+Joe," who, by the bye, had also made up his mind to remain in the
+Arctic a year or two longer. He had told them of the great mortality
+attending those of his people from Cumberland Sound who had gone to
+England and America, and they were afraid. I think that Toolooah,
+personally, would have willingly encountered the risk; but with these
+people, such government as they have is patriarchal, and the young men
+submit with the best grace to the decision of their elders. It was a
+matter of regret both to Lieutenant Schwatka and myself that we did not
+have an opportunity to bestow the attention upon him in our own land
+that his constant care for our safety and comfort in his country
+entitled him to at our hands.
+
+The anchor soon swung at the bow of the 'George and Mary', and her
+yards were squared for Marble Island, where we were to take on board
+water for the homeward-bound voyage. Our Inuit friends shouted their
+last farewells, and we were actually "en route" home.
+
+Fortunate was it for us that there was a kind-hearted whaler in
+Hudson's Bay, or we would have been compelled to spend at least one
+more winter in the polar regions. But Captain Baker treated us with the
+greatest consideration not only while we were his guests during the
+spring at Marble Island, but when we returned to Depot Island he gave
+us such provisions from his stores as he could spare, and without this
+assistance we would have suffered considerably, for twice again after
+our return the natives were entirely without food for several days. But
+instead of our starving with them, we were enabled to save these poor
+people much suffering by sharing our slender stock with them. We left
+the ship in her winter quarters on the 3d of May, and on the 11th
+pitched our tent on the highest rock on Depot Island. The natives soon
+came from their igloos on the ice about a mile away, and gathered
+around us. Whenever they killed a walrus or a seal they brought us some
+of the meat, for which we paid them, as usual, with powder, caps, or
+lead. But from the 22d of May, when they killed two walrus, until the
+7th of June, when the ship hove in sight from her winter quarters, the
+weather had been such that they had killed nothing but two small seals.
+The consequence was that for several days they were without food, and
+our provisions were gone the day before, so that when the ship was seen
+we were waiting patiently until the Inuits returned from the pursuit of
+some walrus that were seen on the ice, in order to break our fast. It
+was not only a joyful sight to see the ship at this time, but an
+additional pleasure to note the cloud of thick black smote that hung
+over her deck, denoting that they had killed a whale and were boiling
+out the blubber. This was good luck for the officers and crew, and
+fortunate for us, because the black skin of the whale is exceedingly
+palatable and wholesome food, and there would in all probability be
+enough of it on board to keep us and our Inuit allies from hunger for a
+long time, at least until they could secure food by hunting.
+
+We were pleased to learn that the whalers had killed the only whale
+they saw, which augured a successful season for them. It eventually
+proved, however, that the augury was delusive, for from that time
+forward they did not see another whale, though they cruised the bay
+until the 9th of August. Subsequently we learned that the whales had
+all gone out of Hudson's Bay through the strait in the early spring,
+owing to the entire absence of whale food, which had probably been
+destroyed by the intense severity of the winter. The natives living
+near North Bluff and Hudson's Strait had seen plenty of whales passing
+eastward early in the season, when the ice was still thick, or, as one
+of them told me, "when the young seal are born," which is in the latter
+part of March and early in April. They had killed three large whales
+and struck two others that escaped. We went into North Bay and found
+these Inuits encamped on the main-land, about fifteen miles from the
+mouth of the bay, and Captain Baker bought from them a head of
+whalebone, which they said was at Akkolear, which was still further up
+the bay, or strait, as it proved to be.
+
+Mr. Williams, first officer of the 'George and Mary', went with
+two boats and some Inuit guides, sailing directly up the bay toward
+the north-west until it debouched again upon Hudson's Strait, about
+fifty miles above where we were anchored, or about sixty-five miles
+north-west of North Bluff. Here he found the whalebone as described by
+the natives, and brought it on board after an absence of four days.
+
+The large island, or, in fact, two islands that are thus formed, as
+there is another passage into the sea about twenty-five miles north of
+North Bluff, are called by the natives "Kigyuektukjuar," in view of
+their insular character. Kigyuektuk means island, and especially a
+large island, King William Land being thus distinguished by them as the
+island. A "small island" is Kigyuektower, and "long island"
+Kigyuektukjuar.
+
+The land on the north and east of North Bay is called Queennah, which
+means "all right," and was given to it in view of the fact that in
+winter it is filled with reindeer, who can go no farther south in their
+migration, and spend the winter on the Meta Incognita of Queen
+Elizabeth, or the Queennah of the Esquimaux. Akkolear means a narrow
+passage or channel, where the land is visible on both sides as you pass
+through. The natives we met here are more cleanly in their persons and
+dress than any others we saw on the Arctic, but there their superiority
+ends. They are most persistent beggars, and indeed require watching, or
+they will sometimes steal, a vice to which the Esquimaux as a nation
+are little given. I saw two of their women, while sitting in our
+cabin, comb their hair without discovering a single specimen of the
+genus pediculosum; while, should any one of the other tribes we met
+have done the same thing, the result would have been most
+overwhelmingly satisfactory. But though they are dirty they will
+neither lie nor steal, except in rare instances. The natives of the
+north shore of Hudson's Strait were spoken of by the early explorers of
+the present century--Parry, Back, and Lyon--as rude, dirty, and
+unreliable, and they have not improved much since that day, except in
+regard to dirt. They are certainly more cleanly--one good trait they
+have learned from association with white people, to counterbalance many
+vices thus acquired. But never was I more confounded than when an old
+woman, who brought a pair of fine fur stockings to Captain Baker, asked
+for a pack of cards in exchange. The captain had brought her to me to
+act as interpreter for him, but though the word she used sounded
+familiar to me I could not for the life of me remember what it meant in
+English until she made motions of dealing cards and said, "Keeng,
+kevven, zhak." Then the light burst upon me, but nothing had been
+further from my mind than playing-cards as an article of trade.
+
+Three of these women wore calico skirts, but they looked as much out of
+place on them as they would on the men, and I came to the conclusion
+that it does indeed require some art to look well in a "pinned back."
+These women, when their skirts were in the way of climbing up the side
+of the vessel, either gathered them up out of the way or took them off
+and passed them up separately. Their clothing was complete without this
+civilized inconvenience, which had no more to do with their costume
+than the buttons on the back of a man's coat.
+
+The temperature in Hudson's Strait was much lower than in the bay, and
+we felt the cold intensely. I began to imagine that my acclimatization
+had not been complete, until I noticed that the Inuits who came on
+board complained of the cold as much as we did. Indeed, I believe that
+one feels the cold in an Arctic summer much more disagreeably than in
+the winter. The low temperature in the strait is in all probability
+attributable to the ice that is constantly there, either local ice or
+the pack brought down from Fox Channel by the wind and current. The
+great Grinnell Glacier, on Meta Incognita, which Captain Hall estimated
+to be one hundred miles in extent, must also have considerable effect
+upon the climate. As we passed down toward Resolution Island we could
+see this great sea of ice from the deck of the vessel in all its solemn
+grandeur, surrounded by lofty peaks clad in their ever-enduring mantles
+of snow.
+
+I did not go on shore while our vessel lay at anchor in North Bay, for
+I had no anxiety to encounter the mosquitoes which abound there, though
+not to the extent that makes life such a burden as upon the eastern
+shores of Hudson's Bay. While our water-casks were being filled at
+Marble Island in the early part of August, Captain Baker and I went in
+one of the ship's boats to the main-land, about fifteen miles to the
+south-west, to secure a lot of musk-ox skins and other articles of
+trade at a Kinnepatooan encampment there, and though we spent but one
+night on shore, I never before endured such torture from so small a
+cause as the mosquitoes occasioned us. Indeed, my hands and his for a
+month afterward, were swollen and sore from the venom of these
+abominable little pests. They are not like civilized mosquitoes, for no
+amount of brushing or fanning will keep them away. Their sociability is
+unbounded, and you have absolutely to push them off, a handful at a
+time, while their places are at once filled by others, the air teeming
+with them all the time. The natives keep their tents filled with smoke
+from a slow, smouldering fire in the doorway, which is the only plan to
+render them habitable at all; but the remedy is only one degree better
+than the disease, as Captain Baker remarked to me, with his eyes filled
+with tears. The only relief from these torments is a strong breeze from
+the water, which carries them away; but even then it is not safe to
+seek shelter in the lee of a tent, for there they swarm and are as
+vigorous in their attacks as during a calm. The men wear mosquito-net
+hoods over their heads and shoulders while in camp or hunting, and
+women and children live in the smoke of their smouldering peat fires.
+
+The shores of Hudson's Bay are low and barren, and abound in lakes of
+every size and shape. They are too low to produce glaciers, but are
+just right for the production of the finest crop of mosquitoes to be
+found in the world, as has previously been remarked by Franklin,
+Richardson, Back, and, indeed, all the explorers of this territory.
+After leaving Marble Island we sailed toward Depot Island, Cape
+Fullerton, and Whale Point, so that we might see any other ships that
+had come in this season and get some news from them. We found plenty of
+ice in Daly Bay and the entrance to Rowe's Welcome, the ice bridge
+still extending from near Whale Point to Southampton Island.
+
+On Sunday the 8th of August, while moving slowly through the ice-pack
+off Cape Fullerton, we saw a she-bear and cub asleep on a large cake of
+ice about a quarter of a mile from the ship, and one of the boats was
+lowered to go in pursuit. Lieutenant Schwatka, Mr. Williams, and I went
+in the boat, and quite enjoyed the exciting chase. Before the boat was
+lowered the bears seemed aware of the presence of danger, and took to
+the water, the old one in her motherly anxiety for the safety of her
+cub carrying it on her back most of the time. When they found the boat
+gaining upon them, and close at hand, they left the water and stood at
+bay on a cake of ice. A bullet from Lieutenant Schwatka's rifle broke
+the mother's backbone and she dropped, when Mr. Williams gave her the
+"coup de grace" with a bullet through her head at close range. We
+were quite anxious to capture the little fellow alive, but found it
+difficult to kill the mother without wounding him, as he clung to her
+poor wounded body with the most touching tenacity. It was heartrending
+to see him try to cover her body with his own little form, and lick her
+face and wounds, occasionally rising upon his hind legs and growling a
+fierce warning to his enemies. At this juncture Lieutenant Schwatka got
+out upon the ice, and, after several ineffectual attempts, at last
+succeeded in throwing a rope over the head of the cub, which put him in
+a towering passion. Nevertheless he was towed alongside the ship and
+hoisted on deck, together with the carcass of his mother, but he never
+ceased to growl and rush at every one who approached him. We would
+gladly have brought him alive to the United States, for he was a
+handsome little rascal, but the vessel was small and devoid of
+conveniences for that purpose; so the captain ordered him killed, and
+his fate was, consequently, sealed with a bullet from Mr. Williams's
+pistol.
+
+We met the whaler 'Isabella' in Fisher's Strait, and the 'Abbott
+Lawrence' near Charles Island, and from both got some later news, but no
+letters from either. We learned from them that the 'Abby Bradford' had
+gone in already, and must have passed us in Fisher's Strait the day
+before we met the 'Isabella', in a thick fog that prevailed. We were
+sorry not to have met the 'Abby Bradford' also, for we felt pretty
+certain that she must have letters for us; but it seemed scarcely worth
+while to go back in search of her. The 'Isabella' and 'Abby Bradford'
+had been in company for twenty-seven days from Resolution Island to
+Nottingham Island, surrounded by ice all the time and narrowly escaping
+destruction. The 'Isabella' was carried by the current right upon a
+large iceberg, which would most certainly have wrecked the vessel; but,
+when just about to strike, the eddy swept them around and past the berg,
+though they had entirely lost control of the ship. They were both
+"nipped" by the ice several times, and on one of these occasions the
+'Abby Bradford' suffered such a severe strain that her timbers creaked
+and groaned terribly, and her deck planks were bowed up. So imminent did
+their peril appear that the boats and provisions were got out upon the
+ice preparatory to abandoning the vessel, when, just as it seemed as if
+she must succumb, the pressure was relaxed and the crew returned to
+their ship. We had head winds before reaching Resolution Island, but
+after passing Cape Best the winds were fair, and we made a fine run of
+six days to the latitude of St. John, N. F. We saw a brig off Hamilton
+Inlet, evidently trying to beat into that harbor; but saw no more
+vessels until the 2d of September, when we saw a heavily laden bark
+some distance ahead of us making toward the west. We changed our course
+so as to endeavor to head her off, but though we gained upon her
+considerably, could not overtake her before dark. On the 3d we saw a
+number of vessels, including one steamer, all, except one large
+merchantman, bound eastward.
+
+A little humpback whale that came playing around our ship, as if trying
+to get a harpoon in him, prevented our heading off the steamer and
+getting some late papers. But as soon as a boat was lowered into the
+water the fishy representative of King Richard thought it began to look
+too much like business at this time, and hastened off to look for his
+mother. We saw quite a large school of humpbacks during the same
+afternoon, but there was too much wind, with the near prospect of a
+gale, to render it worth while to hunt them. We had some pretty heavy
+blows on our way home, and on the last day of August we were struck by
+a squall that gave us a very good idea of what a gale would be like
+should it have continued for a day or two; but within twenty minutes of
+the time it struck us it had passed off, the sun was shining brightly,
+and we were making sail again, with nothing to indicate what had just
+taken place save a few barrels of immense hailstones that still covered
+the deck like so much coarse salt and a chilliness in the atmosphere
+that made you shiver in spite of yourself. It was fearful, though,
+while it lasted; the lightning and thunder crashes were almost
+synchronous, indicating a most unpleasant proximity. Since the night of
+the 2d of September we had been cut off by southwest winds and
+enveloped with fogs of varying density. Everything on deck was as wet
+as if a heavy rain-storm had just passed over, and great drops of water
+kept dropping from the sails and rigging, making it very unpleasant to
+venture beyond the cabin.
+
+During the morning of the 7th the fog lifted a little and showed us
+three fishing-smacks anchored about a mile away, and we directed our
+course toward them, with the hope of getting some fresh fish as well as
+some fresh news. Mr. Gilbert, second officer of the 'George and
+Mary', took me in his boat on board the schooner 'Gertrude', of
+Provincetown, Mass., whose master, Captain John Dillon, extended a
+hearty welcome. In answer to our first question he told us who were the
+Presidential candidates. Captain Dillon prevailed upon me to recount
+some of the incidents of our sledge journey. He seemed very much
+interested in the recital, brief as it necessarily was, and hospitably
+pressed us to dine with him, as it was just about his dinner hour.
+Desiring to impress upon his steward the importance of his guests he
+said:--"Steward, it is a great treat to see these gentlemen. You ought
+to take a good look at them. They have had one of the toughest times
+you ever heard of. They have just come down from--where?" (aside to
+me). "King William's Land," said I, scarcely able to retain my
+composure. "King William's Land," he repeated, "and were looking for
+Franklin." The doubt in his mind as to who this mythical "Franklin" was
+seeming to add much to the interest that invested us.
+
+We had a substantial meal of fried haddock, which was particularly
+enjoyable, in the absence of fresh meat on board our ship since the
+reindeer meat was exhausted. In the laudable pursuit of information I
+felt interested in seeing how they lived on board these fishing
+schooners, and had accepted the kind invitation to dinner as much on
+that account as for the sake of the fresh fish I anticipated. I saw
+that the cabin was too small to accommodate a dining-table, but had
+four very wide bunks in it, one of which was the captain's, and the
+others occupied by two men each. There is not the same amount of
+discipline on board these vessels, which are out for so short a time,
+as upon merchantmen or whalers, and all hands eat at the same table. We
+found the feast spread in the forecastle, which was also used as the
+galley, and was consequently oppressively warm to us from the north, in
+this thick, sultry weather. On each side of the forecastle I observed
+three large bunks, each of which accommodated at least two men. This
+was their second voyage this summer, they having been fortunate enough
+to fill up before their first three months had expired. The crews are
+usually shipped for three months, and receive about $50 compensation
+for the voyage. If they get full before the time is up, that is their
+gain. Sometimes, however, they have an interest in the voyage the same
+as whalers, but usually, I understand, are paid from $40 to $75 for a
+season, which means three months unless sooner filled. The men do not
+fish from the deck of the vessel, but from little flat-bottomed dories,
+each man paddling his own boat and changing its location to suit his
+whim. When brought on board the vessel the fish are immediately
+cleaned, split open and salted right down in the hold, without the
+formality of putting them in barrels or casks. After they are landed on
+shore they are dried and assorted according to size and sold by the
+quintal of 112 pounds, though 100 pounds is estimated as a quintal from
+the hold of the smack. The 'Gertrude' had already 175 quintals on
+her second cargo the day we were on board, but the captain seemed much
+more desirous of hearing of our strange adventures than of imparting
+the information that I sought. He appeared much impressed with the
+circumstance that we were "worth looking at," as he said, and dwelt
+much upon the fact that this summer was a good season for him to see
+strange things.
+
+"On my first voyage this summer," said he, "that little dory, thirteen
+and a half feet long, in which two young men are going around the
+world, came alongside my vessel, and I gave them some water and lucky
+cake, and now I meet you gentlemen from--where?" (addressing me). "King
+William's Land," said I. "Oh, yes, King William's Land. Let me have
+some fish put into your boat before you go." And the kind-hearted
+fisherman gave us about a barrel of fine fresh cod and haddock, besides
+a fifty-fathom line and some hooks. He also gave us three late
+newspapers; and we sent him in return a copy of Hall's "Life Among the
+Esquimaux," and some other reading matter, besides a pair of sealskin
+slippers, and a fine walrus skull with the ivory tusks in it. This was
+a present from Mr. Gilbert. Just as we were about leaving I turned to
+Mr. Gilbert and said, "The Governor will be glad to hear the news."
+
+"What!" said the surprised skipper, "have you got a real Governor on
+board?" And then I had to explain that it was merely a title we had
+bestowed upon Lieutenant Schwatka in view of the faithful care he took
+of his people, though, I believe, the youngest in the party. The
+incident was only amusing as showing that the captain had heard so
+many strange things this morning that he was prepared to believe
+anything, no matter how absurd it might appear.
+
+The day following our visit to the fishing schooner was still foggy and
+without a breath of wind stirring. We therefore availed ourselves of
+the opportunity to use our fish-lines, and succeeded in securing about
+fifty fine cod and haddock, besides one huge dogfish, which snapped
+ferociously when hauled into the boat, and had to be despatched with a
+boat-hook. We experienced considerable squally weather about the middle
+of September, interspersed with head winds and calms. On the 15th there
+were several vessels in sight, and a large iron bark came so near that
+we concluded to send aboard for newspapers. The waist boat was cleared
+away and the second mate started to intercept the stranger, but
+scarcely had the boat been lowered into the water when a squall came up
+and the sea became very rugged, so that in passing to the leeward of
+the bark, though he shouted out that it was only papers that he wanted,
+the captain did not hear him, and luffed up into the wind to deaden his
+headway. But even then the bark drifted ahead so rapidly that it was
+hard work for our boat to catch it by rowing in such a heavy sea. The
+stranger then lowered his top-gallant sails and hauled his foreyards
+aback, and in about twenty-five minutes Mr. Gilbert was alongside. He
+sprang lightly up the side of the big vessel, and, standing before the
+captain, with all the characteristic politeness of the French people,
+presented Captain Baker's compliments and asked for some late papers.
+The captain of the bark was a splendid old Scotchman who had grown gray
+battling with stormy seas for many years. But when he found out that
+all we wanted was newspapers, he was so completely overpowered with
+surprise that all he could say was, "Well--I'll--be--blanked." This he
+kept repeating all the way to his cabin as he went to gather some late
+copies of the 'New York Herald'. When he again came upon deck he
+had recovered his accustomed composure, and asked where we were from
+and where bound. He said his vessel was the bark 'Selkirkshire',
+of Glasgow, from New York the night of the 12th inst., and then turning
+again to Mr. Gilbert said, "And is that all you wanted? And a fair
+wind? Why, man, you'll be home to-night. Well--I'll--be--blanked."
+Never before in all his experience had he known a vessel within two or
+three days' sail of home, with a fair wind, take so much trouble to
+stop another merely for the purpose of getting some newspapers. It was
+rather "a stunner," that is a fact, but at the same time was
+unintentional. The squall came up after our boat was lowered and
+prevented Mr. Gilbert doing what he had intended, which was merely to
+go alongside, get a few papers thrown overboard and drop back, without
+causing more than five minutes' detention, if any. But the wind
+prevented their hearing him, when he shouted to them that he only
+wanted papers, and for them to go ahead, as they missed getting close
+enough when they passed; so when he saw them taking so much trouble to
+stop he felt it his duty to pull up and explain on board. Captain
+Anderson, of the 'Selkirkshire', recovered his equanimity
+sufficiently to send his best respects to Captain Baker, with the very
+welcome papers--fresh for us, as there were some as late as the
+'Herald' of the Saturday previous. I have no doubt, though, that
+every time he recalls the episode on his voyage to England he will say
+to himself, "Well, I'll be----"
+
+Saturday, the 18th, we were becalmed on the George's Bank, about a
+quarter of a mile from another large bark, bound the same way as we
+were; and as it is so excessively monotonous at sea, especially in a
+calm, and knowing that we could not be causing any delay this time, we
+lowered a boat, and Captain Baker, Lieutenant Schwatka and I paid a
+visit to Captain Kelly, of the bark 'Thomas Cochrane', of St.
+John, N. B., fifty-seven days from Gloucester, England, bound for New
+York. We found Captain Kelly a genial, whole-souled sailor, who
+received us very cordially, and three hours slipped away most
+pleasantly in his society. He had his family on board, and said he
+would have been exceedingly comfortable had he not run short of
+provisions in such an exceptionally long voyage between the two ports.
+On the Banks of Newfoundland he had encountered a Norwegian bark loaded
+with grain, to which he sent a boat with an explanation of his
+necessities. The captain returned word that he was short himself, but
+sent a bag of wheat, which he remarked would sustain their lives for
+some time. Captain Kelly received the wheat graciously, and the next
+day met an old friend, who sent him stores sufficient to carry him
+home. Captain Baker told him he could supply him with ship's stores if
+he desired it, but he said he was all right now and did not require
+further assistance.
+
+Tuesday noon, "Land, ho!" was shouted from the masthead, and soon the
+low, white shore of Nantucket was plainly visible. A strong head wind
+kept us out until Wednesday morning, when we took on board a pilot, and
+before night were ashore in New Bedford. During the entire trip Captain
+Baker had done everything in his power to promote the comfort of his
+passengers, and earned for himself their lasting gratitude.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+THE GRAVES OF THE EXPLORERS.
+
+
+I will briefly bring this record to a conclusion. The map that
+accompanies it will give the reader an opportunity to more clearly
+understand the nature of the search conducted by Lieutenant Schwatka
+over the route of the retreating crews of the 'Erebus' and
+'Terror', and by it he can also trace the sledge journey to and
+from King William Land as well as the preliminary sledge journeys in
+the winter of 1878 and 1879. The location of each spot where skeletons
+of the brave fellows were found is marked, and everywhere cenotaphs
+were erected to their memory. Owing to the length of time that has
+elapsed since this sad event, it was not always possible to tell the
+exact number of individuals represented in a pile of bones that we
+would gather sometimes from an area of nearly a half mile. The
+skeletons were always incomplete. Sometimes nothing but a skull could
+be found in the vicinity of a grave, and, again, often the skull would
+be missing. At one place we could distinguish four right femurs, and
+could therefore be positive that at least four perished here. This was
+at the boat place marked on Erebus Bay.
+
+A number of natives whom we interviewed in the Netchillik country
+asserted most positively that there were two boat places in Erebus Bay,
+about a quarter of a mile apart; and Captain C. F. Hall obtained the
+same information while at Shepherd's Bay, in 1869. We therefore made a
+most careful search for another, after finding the first wreck of a
+boat at that portion of the coast, but without success. It seemed to us
+quite important to establish so interesting a fact, but nevertheless
+the effort was fruitless. We obtained from the natives wooden
+implements which were made from fragments of each boat, but the wood
+from one must have been entirely removed previous to our visit. Whether
+or not this is the same boat seen by McClintock is a matter that can be
+ascertained, for we have brought home the prow containing the
+inscription spoken of by him. He, however, saw portions of but two
+skeletons, while the collection of bones buried by us here were
+distinctly of four persons.
+
+North of Collinsen Inlet we found but one grave--that of Lieutenant
+Irving. We, however visited the sites of several cairns, whose
+positions are marked upon the map. Although the route to and from Cape
+Felix is marked by a single line only, it should be remembered that our
+search extended inland so as to make a broad sweep about five miles
+from the coast. The point marked as the grave of an officer, between
+Franklin Point and Erebus Bay, is one of especial interest. The care
+with which the grave had originally been made seems to indicate the
+popularity of the individual and that the survivors had not yet
+exhausted their strength to such a degree as to be the cause of
+neglect. In fact, there were no evidences anywhere that they had ever
+neglected showing marked respect to the remains of those of their
+comrades who perished by their side; but, on the contrary, it is
+probable that all who died on the march were decently interred. A very
+significant fact in this connection is recognizable in the appearance
+of a grave which had been opened by the Esquimaux near Tallock Point.
+It was made of small stones, while larger and more appropriate abounded
+in the vicinity, showing the reduced physical condition of the party at
+the time. It was, indeed, a most touching indication of their devotion
+to each other under these most adverse circumstances that the grave had
+been made at all. The graves east of this point presented the same
+general appearance. This might be considered as an evidence that the
+boat in Erebus Bay had drifted in after the breaking up of the ice
+there, while these poor fellows were on their way back to the ships in
+search of food now known to have been there. It is not likely that the
+sick or dead would have been deserted by their comrades unless in the
+direst extremity.
+
+The point marked as the location of the hospital tent is the place
+spoken of by Ahlangyah, where so many dead bodies were seen by her
+party after they had spent the summer on King William's Land in
+consequence of failing to get across Simpson Strait before the ice
+broke up. Where she met the starving explorers is also indicated. On
+the mainland the place is marked where the old Ookjoolik Esquimau saw
+the footprints of the last survivors of the 'Erebus' and
+'Terror' in the spring snows of the year 1849. Also, near by is
+where he and his friends unwittingly scuttled the Northwest Passage
+ship--the Dangerous Rapids near the mouth of Back's River, the home of
+the Ooqueesiksillik Esquimaux, and the spot where we loaded our sleds
+with provisions on our way home. The route down Back's River, as we
+found its course, is put down, while dotted lines show how it is
+mapped on the Admiralty charts. It is not discreditable to Back's
+survey that an error should be made in tracing the course of the river,
+for it is probable that bad weather hid the sun from his observation at
+that portion of the river where he could travel very swiftly; while
+upon our return trip we were moving along this river by stages of not
+more than from five to nine miles a day. Our course up the river could
+not have been toward the southwest when we saw the sun rise to the
+right of our line of march almost daily. The place where the records
+were destroyed may be seen to the west of Point Richardson.
+
+Among the most important relics of the expedition are two medals. The
+larger one, found at Lieutenant Irving's grave, is of solid silver; and
+the neat, cleanly cut edges which are as sharp to-day as if just from
+the die, indicate the value placed upon it and the care taken of it by
+its owner. It was buried with his remains at a spot about four miles
+below Victory Point, on King William's Land, and evidently remained
+undisturbed until the grave was found by Esquimaux who visited the
+vicinity some time after McClintock's search, more than twenty years
+ago. From its position when found by Lieutenant Schwatka it would
+appear that it had been taken out of the grave by the natives and laid
+upon one of the stones forming the wall of the tomb while they were
+seeking for further plunder, and was subsequently overlooked by them.
+The remains which were thus identified were sent to grateful relations
+in Scotland, and buried with due honor in a graveyard of Lieutenant
+Irving's native town.
+
+The other medal, which was found at Starvation Cove, is of pewter, and
+may be described as a token commemorative of the launch of the
+steamship 'Great Britain', by Prince Albert, in July, 1843. The
+obverse bears a portrait of His Royal Highness, around it inscribed the
+words:--
+
+    PRINCE ALBERT, BORN AUGUST 26, 1819.
+
+The inscription on the reverse reads as follows:--
+
+            THE GREAT BRITAIN.
+    LENGTH 322 ft; BREADTH 50 ft. 6 in.
+            DEPTH, 32 ft. 6 in.
+        WEIGHT OF IRON, 1,500 TONS.
+            1,000 HORSE POWER.
+            LAUNCHED, JULY 19,
+                  1843,
+        by H. R. H. PRINCE ALBERT.
+
+The vessel was built entirely of iron, and was the largest ever
+constructed at the time of the launch. On that occasion a great banquet
+was given, and one of the guests carried away the medal, which was
+destined to be found so many thousand miles away.
+
+Lieutenant Irving's remains were the only ones that could be
+sufficiently identified to warrant their removal. Had there been others
+we would have brought them away.
+
+It was a beautiful though saddening spectacle that met our eyes at the
+only grave upon King William's Land, where the dead had been buried
+beneath the surface of the ground. Near Point le Vesconte some
+scattered human bones led to the discovery of the tomb of an officer
+who had received most careful sepulture at the hands of his surviving
+friends. A little hillock of sand and gravel--a most rare occurrence
+upon that forbidding island of clay-stones--afforded an opportunity for
+Christian-like interment. The dirt had been neatly rounded up, as could
+be plainly seen, though it had been torn open and robbed by the
+sacrilegious hands of the savages; and everywhere, amid the debris and
+mould of the grave, the little wild flowers were thickly spread as if
+to hide the desecration of unfriendly hands. The fine texture of the
+cloth and linen and several gilt buttons showed the deceased to have
+been an officer, but there was nothing to be seen anywhere that would
+identify the remains to a stranger. Every stone that marked the outline
+of the tomb was closely scrutinized for a name or initials, but nothing
+was found. After reinterring the remains, which were gathered together
+from an area of a quarter of a mile, and erecting a monument,
+Lieutenant Schwatka plucked a handful of flowers, which he made into a
+little bouquet, and brought home with him as a memento.
+
+
+
+
+INDEX.
+
+A.
+
+Abbott Lawrence, The
+Adelaide, Peninsula
+Adlekok
+Admiralty, British
+Agloocar
+Ahlangyah
+Akkolear
+"Albert, Prince"
+Albert H. R. H. Prince
+America, United States of
+American Geographical Society
+Amitigoke
+Anderson, Captain
+Anookjook
+"Ansel Gibbs, The"
+Armow
+Arctic
+Asia, Northern-Eastern
+
+B.
+
+Back's River
+Back's Great Fish RiverBack, Lieut.
+Baker, Captain
+Banks of Newfoundland
+Barry, Capt. Thos. F.
+Barry's Rock
+Bay, Baffin's
+Bay, Cockburn
+Baffin's Bay
+Bay, Chesapeake
+Bay, Daly
+Bay, Erebus
+Bay, Hudson
+Bay, Irving
+Bay, North
+Bay, Pelly
+Bay, Repulse
+Bay, Shepherds
+Bay, Terror
+Bay, Wall
+Bay, Washington
+Bay, Wilmot
+Beechy Island
+Bellot Strait
+Best, Cape
+Big Lake, The
+Blucher
+Boothia, Gulf of
+Boothia, Isthmus
+"Bradford, The Abbie"
+Bristol
+Brevoort, Lake
+Brevoort, Jas. Carson
+British Admiralty
+Brooklyn
+Brown, Morrison &
+Button Island
+
+C.
+
+Camp Daly
+Camp, Kinnepatoo, The
+Cape Best
+Cape Crozier
+Cape Felix
+Cape Fullerton
+Cape Herschel
+Cape Jane Franklin
+Cape Maria Louisa
+Cape Sidney
+Channel, Fox
+Channel, Wellington
+Charles Island
+Chesapeake Bay
+Castor & Pollux, river
+Chesterfield Inlet
+"Cockeye"
+Cockburn Bay
+Collinson Inlet
+Connery River
+Connery, Thomas B.
+Constantinus, Captain
+Conwe-churgk
+Conweehungh
+Cornwallis Island
+Coston
+Cove, Starvation
+Cove, Thunder
+"Cow-e-sil-lik, Fish"
+Craycroft, Miss
+Crozier, Capt. F. M.
+Crozier McClintock
+"Crozier Record," The
+Crozier, Cape
+Cumberland
+Cumberland Sound
+
+D.
+
+Daly Bay
+Daly, Camp
+Daly, Judge, C. P.
+Daly, Mrs. Maria
+Dangerous Rapids, The
+Deadmen's Island
+Dease and Simpson
+Depot Island
+Des V----, Chas. F.
+Diggers, The
+Dillon, John, Captain
+"Doctor, The"
+Doktook (Doctor)
+"Domino"
+Duryea, Gen'l Hiram
+
+E.
+
+Ebierbing, Joseph (See "Esquimau Joe")
+Eclipse Sound
+Eeglee-leock
+Ekeeseek
+England
+Ephemeris
+Equeesik
+Eothen, The
+Erebus, The
+Erebus Bay
+Eve-too
+Eyertoo
+Esquimau Joe
+Esquimau Sampson
+Expedition, Franklin
+
+F.
+
+Felix, Cape
+Fisher, Captain
+Fisher's Straits
+Fitz-James, James, Captain
+Fletcher, The
+Fox Channel
+"Fox," The (see Melms)
+Frank
+Franklin, Jane, Cape
+Franklin, Lady
+Franklin
+Franklin Expedition
+Franklin, Sir John
+Franklin Point
+"Franklin Records," The
+Franklin Relics
+Franklin Spoon
+Franklin Arctic Search Party
+Franklin Stoves
+Fullerton, Cape
+
+G.
+
+Garvin, Capt.
+Geographical Society
+"George and Mary," The
+George's Bank
+"Gertrude," The
+Gilbert, Mr.
+Gilder, W. H.
+"Gibbs, The Ansel,"
+"Glacier," The
+Glacier, Grinnell
+Glasgow
+Gloucester
+Gladman Point
+Glen Cove
+Goldner's Patent
+Gore, Graham,
+Gore, Commander
+Grant Point
+Great Fish River
+"Great Britain," The
+Great Britain
+Greenhithe, Kent
+Greenland, Dogs
+Greenwich
+Grinnell Glacier
+
+H.
+
+Hall, Captain C. F.
+Hamilton Inlet
+Harris's River
+Hayes, R. B.
+Hayes River
+Hayes, Dr. I. I.
+Hayes, Captain
+Hazard Hills
+Henry (see Klutschak)
+"Herald, The New York"
+Herschel, Cape
+Hills, Hazard
+Hobson, William R., Lieut.
+"Houghton, The A."
+Hudson's Bay
+Hudson Bay, North
+Hudson Bay Company
+Hudson Strait
+
+I.
+
+Igloolik
+Ikianelikpatolok
+Ik-omer
+"Independence Day"
+Inlet, Chesterfield
+Inlet, Collinson
+Inlet, Hamilton
+Inlet, Sherman
+Innokpizookzook
+Institute, Smithsonian
+Inuit
+Inuits
+Inuit Camp, The
+Invich River
+Irving, Lieutenant John
+Irving Bay
+"Isabella," The
+Ishnark
+Ishnach
+"Ish-n-mat-tah," The
+Island, Beechy
+Island, Charles
+Island, Cornwallis
+Island, Depot
+Island, Marble
+Island, Matty
+Island, Montreal
+Island, Nottingham
+Island, Resolution
+Island, Southampton
+Islands, Todd
+Issebluet
+Isthmus, Boothia
+Iteguark
+Iwillie
+Iwillik, Esquimaux
+Iwillichs
+"Iviek Seleko"
+
+J.
+
+"Jerry"
+"Jim"
+"Joe, Esquimau" (see Ebierbing),
+"Joe," Natchilli
+
+K.
+
+Karleko
+Kelly, Captain
+Kendall, Cape
+Kig-muk-too
+Kigynektower
+Kigynektuk
+Kioddelliks
+King William Land
+Kinnepatoos
+Kinnepatoo Camp, The
+Kinnepatoo Village
+Klutschak, Henry (see "Henry")
+Kodlunars
+Koomana
+Koo-pah
+Koumania
+Koumawa's
+Kutcheenwark
+Kyack (Mrs).
+
+L.
+
+Lake McDougal
+Lathe, Charles A.
+"Lawrence, The Abbott"
+Le Vesconte, Point
+Little, Point
+Little Rabbit Island
+Lorillard
+Lorillard River
+Lower Savage Island
+Lower Savage Islands
+Lyon
+
+M.
+
+"Mu-muk-poo-ama-suet-suk-o" (plenty good to see)
+Maria Louisa, Cape
+Marble Island
+Massachusetts
+Matty Island
+May, H.
+McClintock-Crozier
+McClintock, Sir Leopold
+McDougall, Lake
+Mitcolelee
+Meadowbank, Mount
+Melms, Frank E. (see "Frank")
+Melville Sound
+Melville Peninsula
+Meta Incognita
+Middle Savage Island
+Mit-colelee
+"Molasses"
+"Monkey"
+Montreal Island
+Morrison & Brown
+Mount Meadowbank
+Mozier, Captain
+
+N.
+
+Nanook
+Nantucket
+Narleyow
+Neepshark
+Netchillik
+Netchilliks
+Netchillik, Arn-ket-ko, The
+Netchillik Joe
+Netchillik Women
+Netchuk
+New Bedford
+Newfoundland, Banks of
+New Jersey
+New York
+North America
+North Bay
+North Bluff
+North Hudson Bay
+North-eastern Asia
+North-west Passage
+Nottingham Island
+Nu-lee-aug-ar
+Nu-oo-tar-ro
+Nu-tar-ge-ark
+
+O.
+
+Ockarnawole
+Ogzenckjenwock
+Okbillegeok
+Ookjoolik
+Ookwolik Esquimaux
+Ooquee-sik-sillicks
+Ooping
+Owanork
+Oxeomadiddlee
+Oyle Point
+O-yook
+
+P.
+
+"Papa,"
+"Pandora," The
+Parry, Captain
+Pevwat
+Petrilark
+Petty Bay
+Picciulok
+Peninsula, Adelaide
+Peninsula, Melville
+Pfeffer River
+Point, Franklin
+Point, Grant
+Point, Gladman
+Point Le Vesconte
+Point Little
+Point, Oyle
+Point Richardson
+Point, Seaforth
+Point, Smith
+Point, Tulloch
+Point Whale
+Point, Victory
+Potter, Captain
+Pooyetah
+"Prince Albert"
+Prince Albert, H. R. H.
+Provincetown, Mass.
+Punnie
+
+Q.
+
+Queennah
+Queen Elizabeth
+
+R.
+
+Rabbit Island, Little
+Rapids, Dangerous, The
+Rae, Dr., his expedition
+"Record, Crozier, The"
+Reef, Trainor's
+Repulse Bay
+Resolution Island
+Richardson Point
+Richardson
+River, Back's
+River, Back's Great Fish
+River, Castor & Pollux
+River, Connery
+River, Great Fish
+River, Harris's
+River, Hayes's
+River, Lorrillard
+River, Pfeffer
+River, Wager
+Rock, Barry's
+"Ross, The A. J."
+Ross, Sir James
+Rowe's Welcome
+Roxy
+
+S.
+
+Saddle Rock Island
+Salisbury Islands
+"Sam"
+Schwatka, Lieut. Fred'k.
+Scotland
+Seaforth Point
+Sebeucktolee
+Seenteetuar
+Sekoselar
+"Selkirshire," The
+Shepherd's Bay
+Sherman, General
+Sherman Inlet
+Shok-pe-nark
+Sidney, Cape
+Simpson, Dease and Strait
+Sinclair, Capt.
+Sinuksook
+Swansea
+Smithsonian Institute
+Smith Point
+Smith Sound
+Sound, Cumberland
+Sound, Eclipse
+Sound, Melville
+Southampton Island
+South Street
+Spoon, Franklin
+Starvation Cove
+St. John, N. B.
+St. Johns, Newfoundland
+Strait, Bellot
+Strait, Hudson
+Strait, Simpson
+Strait, Victoria
+Straits, Fisher
+
+T.
+
+"Taylor, Alex."
+Taft, The Oray
+Terror Bay
+Terror, The
+Terre-ah-ne-ak
+Te-Wort
+"Thomas Cochrane, The"
+Thunder Cove
+Tling-yack-quark
+Tockoleegeetais
+Todd Islands
+Toekelegeto
+Tooktoocher
+Too-goo-lan
+Toolooah
+Toogoolar
+Toolooahelek
+Tos-ard-e-roak
+Trainor's Reef
+Tsedluk
+Tulloch Point
+
+U.
+
+United States
+
+V.
+
+Vernoi, George
+Victoria Strait
+Victoria Point
+Village, Esquimau
+Village, Kinnepatoo
+
+W.
+
+Wager River
+Wall Bay
+Washington Bay
+Welcome, Rowe's
+Wellington Channel
+Whale Point
+Wheatley, R.
+Wilks, H.
+Williams, Mr.
+Wilmot Bay
+Winchester Inlet
+
+
+
+
+APPENDIX.
+
+INUIT PHILOLOGY.
+
+
+Perhaps no branch of Arctic research is of more interest to the scholar
+than the language of the people who inhabit that region. A careful
+comparison of the dialect of the different tribes is of great value in
+ascertaining their history, the origin of the race and the gradual
+extension of their journeyings to the remotest point from their native
+land yet reached by them. It is generally admitted that the North
+American Esquimaux are of Mongolian extraction; that at some period the
+passage of Behring Strait was affected and the immigrants gradually
+extended their migration to the eastward and finally occupied
+Greenland, where the mighty ocean headed them off and brought their
+wanderings in that direction to an abrupt termination. During what
+period of the world's history the exodus from Asia occurred is not
+known. There are those who believe it to have taken place when what is
+now known as Behring Strait was an isthmus, the shallowness of the
+water throughout that channel indicating the physical change to have
+been of comparitively recent date. This opinion was upheld by Lutke in
+his "Voyage Autour du Monde," vol. 2, page 209, and Whymper, in his
+work upon Alaska, page 94, alludes to the shallowness of Behring Strait
+and also of the sea so named, as permitting the whalers to ride at
+anchor in their deepest parts. Peschel in "Races of Man", page 401,
+prefers to believe that the transfer was made while Behring Strait
+still held its present character.
+
+There are not wanting authorities who seek to show that the entire
+Western Continent was thus peopled by immigration from Asia, and
+similarity of feature with the Mongolian is traced even to the most
+southern tribes of South America. The close connection between the
+"medicine men" of the Indians, the arng-ke-kos of the Esquimaux, and
+the shamans of Siberia and Brazil, are also quoted to show the
+probability of one origin. It is, however, in the language of the
+hyperborean races of America and Asia that the strongest proofs of a
+like origin is found. The Tshuktshi of Northern Asia, the Esquimaux of
+America, and the Namollo, all bear a very close relationship,
+especially in linguistic characteristics.
+
+In common with all the aboriginal languages of America, the Esquimaux
+language is agglutinative, though, for the accommodation of the white
+strangers who visit their shores, they separate the words and use them
+in a single and simple form. In its purity it employs suffixes only for
+the definition and meaning, though complex sentences are often formed
+of a single word--that is, it is a polysynthetic in character. No
+philologist familiar with the whole territory has ever made a
+comparison of the dialects of the polar tribes, probably because no
+philologist is familiar with all the dialects spoken there. Everything
+therefore that would tend to throw any light upon the subject or to
+place before the scholar material by which to prosecute such
+philological studies must be regarded as of importance.
+
+The long residence of the Danes in Greenland and their intermarrying
+with the native Esquimaux, has led to a more thorough acquaintance with
+the language of the aborigines of that continent, than any other
+portion of the polar regions. In fact, as long ago as 1804 a complete
+dictionary of the Greenland tongue was published by Otho Fabricius, the
+translation being in the Danish language. With the exception of a few
+fragmentary vocabularies, this is the only work upon which the
+traveller or the student of the languages of the Polar regions can
+depend.
+
+Mr. Ivan Petroff, the Alaskan traveller, has taken some pains to
+compile a vocabulary of the various dialects of the Pacific races with
+whom he has sojourned, which, when published, will form another link in
+the chain by which the scholar may trace the spread of the Asiatic
+tribes along the northern seaboard of America. With the publication of
+the subjoined vocabulary, in continuation of the philology of the
+central or Iwillik tribes, the chain may be considered complete.
+
+With these people many of the familiar sounds of the civilized
+languages are found, as, for instance, the child's first words,
+an-an-na (mother), ah-dad-ah (father), ah-mam-mah (the mother's breast),
+ah-pa-pah (little piece of meat, either raw or cooked). Then there
+is the very natural expression for pain or sickness--ah-ah. Many
+words seem to indicate the meaning by imitating the action or sound
+to be described, as the motion of the kittewake when it swoops down
+toward you with its petulant cry, is well described by the word
+e-sow'-ook-suck'-too and the vibratory motion of a swinging pendulum
+by ow-look-a-tak'-took.
+
+The superlative degree is expressed by the suffix adelo--as amasuet
+(plenty) and amasuadelo (an immense number); also tapsummary (long ago)
+and tapsumaneadelo (a very long time ago). Examples could be
+multiplied, but are not necessary. The suffix aloo has somewhat of a
+similar meaning, or as "Esquimau Joe" translated, it signifies "a big
+thing;" thus, ivick (walrus), ivicaloo (a big walrus); shoongowyer
+(beads), shoongowyaloo (big beads), etc. Persons are named usually
+after some animate or inanimate object, and in repeating to you their
+own or some one else's name they usually affix the word aloo, as
+ishuark is a black salmon and also a man's name, but in mentioning the
+name they always say Ishuark-aloo, though such ceremony is not indulged
+in on ordinary occasions.
+
+Igeark-too signifies spectacles, and because Lieutenant Schwatka always
+wore eye-glasses he was known to the natives as Igeark-too-aloo. His
+companion, the 'Herald' correspondent, was known by a less
+dignified appellation. A similarity between his name, as they
+pronounced it, and the English word "mosquito,"--or, as they called it
+"missergeeter"--led them to distinguish him by the Innuit name for
+that little pest, keektoeyak-aloo--as "Joe" would translate it "a big
+mosquito." They make no distinction in gender, often the same name
+being applied to men and women. There were a man and a woman at Depot
+Island each named Shiksik (ground squirrel), and you had to distinguish
+which one you intended when you spoke of either.
+
+They seldom take the trouble to make explanations, and a singular
+mistake occurred once at Depot Island in that way. On one of the small
+islands, near the mainland and Hudson Bay, Lieutenant Schwatka saw, in
+the fall of 1878, a very fine looking dog, called E-luck-e-nuk, and
+asked its owner's name. He was informed that it belonged to Shiksik,
+and, as the old woman of that name was in the camp and he knew of none
+other, he offered to buy it from her for his dog team. She consented to
+the proposed transfer very readily, and said it was a very fine dog
+indeed, she had no doubt it would give entire satisfaction. Some time
+during the winter, after the hunters had all returned from the reindeer
+country, a little old man offered to sell Lieutenant Schwatka a very
+fine large dog for one pound of powder and a box of caps, and, when
+requested to produce his dog, brought in E-luck-e-nuk. The Lieutenant
+recognized the animal at once by a broken ear and a loose-jointed tail,
+and, smiling graciously, told the would-be dog seller that the dog
+already belonged to him by purchase from Shiksik for a similar price,
+to her in hand paid about six weeks prior to the present occasion. The
+old man did not seem to understand the matter very clearly and went out
+for an interpreter, whom he found in "Esquimau Joe." The latter then
+stated that the dog in question belonged to the person then present,
+and when Lieutenant Schwatka indignantly asserted that every one in
+camp declared the dog belonged to Shiksik at the time of purchase, Joe
+remarked, "At's all right; he name Shiksik, too." As an example of the
+simplicity of the Innuit character, it should be remarked that when the
+purchase was originally made, all the people looked complacently and
+admiringly on without a word of explanation, though they well knew the
+mistake, merely remarking the unexampled generosity of Igeark-too-aloo.
+Under such adverse circumstances does the barterer ply his traffic with
+the Esquimaux.
+
+It is exceedingly difficult to secure a good interpreter among these
+people. Even "Esquimau Joe," who travelled so long with Captain Hall,
+and lived so many years in the United States and England, had but an
+imperfect knowledge of the English language, though he had been
+conversant with it almost from infancy. There was, however, at Depot
+Island, a Kinnepatoo Innuit, who came there from Fort York in the fall
+of 1878, who spoke the English language like a native--that is to say,
+like an uneducated native. He would prove almost invaluable as an
+interpreter for any expedition that expected to come much in contact
+with the Esquimaux, as all their dialects were understood by him. His
+father had spoken English and was Dr. Rae's interpreter upon many of
+his Arctic journeys. This young man had also accompanied that veteran
+explorer upon his voyage up the Quoich River, and from Repulse Bay to
+Boothia, at the time he ascertained the fate of the Franklin
+expedition. In translating from the English to the Innuit language he
+usually employed the Kennepatoo, his native dialect, which at first was
+quite confusing, the accentuation of the words being so peculiar to one
+familiar with the Iwillik tongue only. From him much information
+concerning the language was derived, and through him one who would give
+careful consideration could secure much valuable matter, especially
+concerning the structure of the language.
+
+In one instance, at least, the Innuit language has an advantage
+over the French. They have a word for "home." You ask an Innuit,
+Na-moon'? or Na-moon,-oct-pick (Where are you going?) and he may
+reply, Oo-op-tee'-nar (Home--that is, to my igloo, or my tent, as
+the case may be). There is an expression that sounds familiar to ears
+accustomed to the English tongue, but which has another meaning in
+their language--Ah-me or ar-my'. This is not an exclamation of regret,
+but simply means, "I do not know."
+
+In the higher latitudes sounds are conveyed to a long distance, owing
+partially to the peculiar properties of the atmosphere, the comparative
+evenness of the surface and to the absence of other confusing sounds,
+for under other conditions they would not be transmitted to any unusual
+distance. It used to be the custom in the early summer of 1880 for
+those who had been hunting upon the mainland to come to a point on the
+shore nearest the Depot Island and to call for the boat to be sent to
+ferry them over. This nearest point was by triangulation two miles and
+a half distant. When, however, the distance would be too great for
+conversation, or the wind would be in the wrong direction, a few
+signals were used that could be distinguished a great way off. The
+signal to "come here" is given by standing with your face toward the
+party with whom you desire to communicate and then raising your right
+arm to the right and moving it up and down like a pump handle. The
+effect can be increased by holding a gun or your hat or anything that
+can be seen at a greater distance in the moving hand. The signal "yes"
+is made by turning your side to the party and bowing your body forward
+several times, forming a right angle at the waist.
+
+The Esquimaux language, though comprising but few words, is one that is
+difficult for foreigners to acquire and equally difficult to write,
+owing to the existence of sounds that are not heard in any of the
+civilized tongues and not represented by any combination of the letters
+of the English alphabet. Though somewhat gutural it is not unmusical,
+and for the sake of euphony final consonants are often omitted in
+conversation. As for instance, the Inuit name for Repulse Bay, Iwillik,
+is more frequently called, "Iwillie," a really musical sound. And so
+with all such terminations. It is not difficult for a stranger to
+acquire a sufficient knowledge of the language to enable him to
+converse with the natives who inhabit the coasts and are in the habit
+of meeting the whalers who frequent the nothern waters in the pursuit
+of their avocation. There is a kind of pigeon English in use in these
+regions that enables the strangers to communicate with the natives and
+make themselves understood, though they would understand but little of
+a conversation between two natives. As an illustration, the word
+"notimer" means "where," and "ki-yete" is used for any form of the verb
+"to come;" therefore "notimer ki-yete" would be understood by them to
+mean "Where do you come from?" Now one native addressing another would
+not use that form at all, but would say "Nuke-pe-wickt," which bears no
+resemblance to the words used in the whalers' language. Also, take the
+same word "notimer" and follow it with "owego," which is used for any
+form of the verb to go, and you have "Notimer owego," "Where are you
+going?" The native, however, would say "Namoon-ock-pict," or perhaps
+"Nelle-ock-pin" (which way are you going?). Still they would readily
+understand the expression familiar to the whalers and traders, as the
+words are really Esquimaux words, but used in a free, broad sense; as,
+for instance, the reader would understand a foreigner who used the word
+"speak" instead of the other words expressing the same thought, as
+"tell," "ask," "talk," &c. "Speak Charles come here" would convey
+intelligence to your mind and be understood as well, though not so
+readily until accustomed to it, as "Tell Charles to come here."
+
+There are also words that neither belong to the Esquimaux nor any other
+language, but are very valuable and expressive. "Sel-low" has been used
+for so long a time to express the idea "sit down," and the application
+of the latter term is so broad, that "sel-low" has been incorporated
+into the language and was understood even by the natives of the
+interior whom we met on our sledge journey and who had more of them
+never before seen a white man. As, for example, you would ask, "Emik
+sellow cattar?" (Is there any water in the pail?) and be thoroughly
+understood, though a native would say, "Cattar, emik ta-hong-elar?"
+Another useful word adopted from the unknown is "seliko," which means
+to kill, shoot, break, bend, scratch, destroy or any kindred thought.
+"Took too, seliko, ichbin?" (Did you kill any reindeer?) The old
+fashion way of putting it is, "Took too par?" But that would only be
+understood by the natives.
+
+Our interpreter, Ebierbing (Esquimau Joe), says that the language has
+undergone considerable change since the advent of white men, and even
+since his early boyhood, and sometimes would tell me of meeting
+strangers, who came into camp, from the interior who spoke "old
+fashion," as he called it. This, he said, was especially the case with
+the inhabitants of Southampton Island, called by the natives "Sedluk."
+Though situated directly in the line of travel of the whalers in Hudson
+Bay, all of whom pass directly along its rocky coast, it is an almost
+unknown territory. It is known to be inhabited, but its people are
+seldom seen. The head of the island is far from Iwillik, and the frozen
+straits that separate the two countries would afford an admirable route
+of communication. The island is said to be well stocked with game and
+the inhabitants are comparatively comfortable. While our party was in
+Hudson Bay a whaler was wrecked on the western coast of Southampton,
+north of cape Kendall, and the crew easily secured a reindeer the day
+they landed. They remained there but two days and then sought the other
+shore of Rowe's Welcome, so as to be in the course of the other whalers
+then in the bay in order that they might be picked up by them. They
+said, however, that if compelled to remain on the island they had no
+doubt of their ability to secure plenty of game to maintain them, or at
+least to keep off scurvy. Last year the captain of the wrecked vessel
+visited the island of the scene of the wreck in order to save as much
+as possible from destruction. He went in a whale boat with a crew of
+Iwillik Esquimaux, and while there met with a party of the natives. I
+subsequently had a talk with the captain's Iwillik crew and inquired
+about the people of Sedluk. They told me that their language was
+"old-fashioned" and that their arms and implements were mostly of the
+obsolete pattern of the Stone Age.
+
+Though living so near together there had been no communication between
+the nations; and only once before, about three years previous to my
+visit to Hudson Bay, when a whale had gone ashore on Sedluk, an Iwillik
+native on board the vessel that killed the whale went with the crew to
+claim the carcases and brought news of the foreign country and its
+people. I was told that the language of these people of Sedluk was
+similar to that spoken by the fathers and grandfathers of the Iwillik
+tribe. They had evidently the same origin, and while one became
+improved by intercourse with foreign nations and adopted words from
+foreign tongues, the other remained as it was in the past, unimproved
+by interchange of ideas. I have never seen anything like a full
+glossary of the Esquimaux language, and believe that at this time, when
+Arctic affairs are attracting so much attention everywhere, a list of
+the most important words used in communicating with the natives, and
+the method of uniting them, would prove quite interesting. My
+experience was that though we at first found it difficult to talk with
+the interior tribes they soon caught the idea and conversation became
+easy. Innukpizookzook, an Ooqueesiksillik woman who with her husband
+joined our party on Hayes River, learned the method of communication in
+two weeks, so that it was as easy to hold conversation with her as with
+any of those who came with us from Hudson Bay and had been accustomed
+to the peculiar language since their birth. In fact, as a general
+thing, we found the women much brighter than the men, not only in
+acquiring language but in understanding the descriptions of wonderful
+things in the white men's country.
+
+It used to be an endless source of amusement to the men, women, and
+children in the Arctic regions to look at the pictures in the
+illustrated books and journals. Colored maps were also very attractive
+to them, and the large type in advertisements apparently afforded them
+great pleasure. They were not at particular to hold the pictures right
+side up; side-wise or upside down seemed quite as satisfactory. Though
+admiring pictures exceedingly, I did not find them very proficient
+draughtsmen, and yet nothing seemed to give them more pleasure than to
+draw with a lead pencil on the margin of every book they could get hold
+of, and my Nautical Almanac and "Bowditch's Epitome" are profusely
+illustrated by them. Their favorite subjects were men and women and
+other animals, always drawn in profile and with half the usual number
+of feet and legs visible.
+
+
+
+
+GLOSSARY.
+
+
+The following glossary comprises all the words in general use in
+conversation between the natives and traders in Hudson Bay and
+Cumberland Sound, and a thorough knowledge of it would enable the
+student to make himself understood throughout the entire Arctic, with
+the assistance of a few signs which would naturally suggest themselves
+at the proper time:
+
+A.
+
+Arrow--Kok'-yoke.
+Arm--Tel'-oo.
+Another--I-pung'-er.
+All night--Kuee-en'-nah.
+Angry--Mar-me-an'-nah.
+All--Ter-mok-er-mingk.
+Autumn--Oo-ke-uk'-shark.
+Afraid--Kay-pe-en'-nah.
+A little while ago, to-day--Wateh-eur'.
+Ask--O-kow-te-vah'-vor.
+Antlers--Nug'-le-you.
+Axe--Oo'-lee-mar.
+Aurora Borealis--Ok-sel-e-ak-took, ok-shan'-ak-took.
+Air--Ar-ne-yung'-ne-uk.
+After, or last--O-puk'-too.
+After (to carry)--Ok-la-loo'-goo.
+After (to bring)--I'-vah.
+Always--E-luk-o-she'-ar.
+Alone--In-nu-tu-a-rk'.
+A game (like gambling)--Nu-glu-tar.
+A herd--Ah-mik-kok'-too.
+Act of medicine men--Suk-ki'-u.
+Apples (dried)--Poo-wow'-yak.
+Ankle--Sing-yeung'-mik.
+Arm--Ok-sek'-too.
+
+B.
+
+Bear--Nan'-nook.
+Bear (cub)--Ar-took'-tar.
+Bullet--Kok'-yoke.
+Bow--Pet-e'-chee.
+Bird--Tig'-me-ak.
+Boots--Kum'-ming.
+Blood--Owg.
+Black--Muk'-tuk.
+Belch--Neep'-shark.
+Brother--An'-ing-er.
+Bones--Sow'-ner.
+Bag--Ik-pe-air'-re-oo.
+Book--Muk-pet-toe'-up.
+Belt--Tep'-shee.
+Blubber--E-din-yer'.
+Bashful--Kung-we-shook'-pook.
+Blue--Too-mook'-took.
+Breastbone--Sok'-e-djuck.
+Backbone--Kee-mik'-look.
+Belly--Nong'-ik.
+Brain--Kok'-i-tuk.
+Beard--Oo'-mik.
+Beads--Shoong-ow'-yah.
+Blanket--Kep'-ig.
+Break--Sel'-li-ko.
+Bark--Oo-we-uk'-too.
+Boil--Kul-ak'-pook.
+Bite--Kee'-wah, O-kum-wik'-poo.
+Breathe--Ar-nuk-ter-re'-uk.
+Build snow house--Ig-loo-le'-yook.
+Burn--Oon-ok'-took.
+Big river--Koog-ooark'.
+Brass headband--Kar'-roong.
+Butcher knife--Pee'-low.
+Before (or first)--Kee'-sah-met, Oo-tung-ne-ak'-pung-ar.
+Bring (verb)--Tik-e-u-dje'-yoo.
+Body--Kot'-e-jeuk.
+Black moss--Kee-now'-yak.
+Big lake--Tussig-see'-ark.
+Berries (like red raspberries)--Ok'-pict.
+Berries (small black)--Par-wong.
+Berries (large yellow)--Kob'-luk.
+Bill (of bird)--See'-goo.
+Button--See'-ah-cote.
+Buttonhole--See-ok-wahk'-pe-ok.
+Blubber--Oke-zook.
+Blubber (oil tried out)--Tung'-yah.
+Bitch--Ahg'-neuck.
+Ball of foot--Man-nook'-kok.
+Bend (verb)--Ne-yook'-te-pook.
+Break (verb)--E-ling-nuk'-poo, Nok'-ok-poe, Noo-week'-pook, Kow'-poo.
+Beat (as a drum, verb)--Moo'-mik-took.
+Beat (snow off of clothing, verb)--Tee-look'-took-took.
+Beat (with club, verb)--Ah-now-look-took.
+Boots (deerskin)--Ne'-u, Mit-ko'-lee-lee.
+
+C.
+
+Caps--See'-ah-dout.
+Cheek--Oo-loo'-ak.
+Codfish--Oo'-wat.
+Come here--Ki-yeet', ki-low', ki-ler-root'.
+Clothing--An'-no-wark.
+Clear weather--Nip-tark'-too.
+Cold--Ik'-kee.
+Cup--E-mu'-sik.
+Cairn--In-nook'-sook.
+Clam--Oo-wil'-loo.
+Child--Noo-ter-ark'.
+Cloud--Nu'-yer.
+Chief--Ish-u-mat'-tar.
+Cook--Coo-lip-sip'-too.
+Canoe--Ky'-ak.
+Coat (inside)--Ar-tee'-gee.
+Coat (outside)--Koo'-lee-tar.
+Cloth--Kob-loo-nark'-tee.
+Child, or little one--Mik'-ke
+  (abbreviation of mik-e-took-e-loo, little).
+Cask--Kah-tow-yer.
+Cry (verb)--Kee-yie'-yook.
+Cap, or hood--Nah'-shuk.
+Carry (verb)--Ok-lah-loo'-goo.
+Chew (verb)--Tum-wah'-wah.
+Cut (verb)--Pe-luk'-took.
+Cross-eyed--Nak-oon-i'-yook.
+Copper--Kod-noo'-yer.
+Calf (of leg)--Nuk-i-shoong'-nuk.
+Crawl (verb)--Parm'-nook-took.
+Cough (verb)--Coo-ik-suk'-took.
+Come (verb)--Tee-kee-shark'-took-too.
+Commence (verb)--Ah-too-ik-now'-ook-took.
+
+D.
+
+Dog--Ki'-mak, King'-me.
+Doe (old)--No-kal'-lee.
+Doe (young)--Nu-ki'-etoo.
+Day, or to-day--O-gloo'-me.
+Day after to-morrow--Oo-al-e-an'-nee.
+Day before yesterday--Ik-puk-shar'-nee.
+Duck--Me'-ah-tuk.
+Dangerous--Nang-e-yang-nak'-took.
+Dog harness--Ar'-no.
+Dead--Tuk'-ah-wuk.
+Dark--Tark, ta-ko'-nee.
+Down--Tow'-nau-ee.
+Dawn--Kow-luk'-poo.
+Door--Mat'-dor, par, koo-tuk.
+Daughter--Pun'-ne.
+Dress--Au-a-wark'-took.
+Drown--Ki-yar'-wuk.
+Drink--E'-mik-took.
+Dream--See-muk'-took-pook.
+Do you like?--U-mar'-ke-let-it-la?
+Dripping water--Ko-duk'-too, Kush-e-koo'-ne.
+Do (verb)--I-u-met'-u.
+Dried Salmon--Pe-ip'-se.
+Deerskin drawers--E'-loo-par.
+Deerskin trousers--See'-lah-par.
+Dive (verb)--Me'-pook.
+Dislike (verb)--Pe-u-wing-nah-lah'-yar.
+
+E.
+
+Ear--See'-a-tee.
+Eyes--E'-yah.
+Ermine--Ter'-re-ak.
+Elbow--E-quee'-sik.
+East--Tar'-wan-ne.
+Early-Oo'-blah.
+Every day--Kow'-ter-man.
+End for end--Ig-loo'-an-ar.
+Entrails--Ein'-er-loo.
+Egg--Mun'-nik.
+Eat--Ner-ee-uk'-took-too.
+Empty--E-mah'-ik-took.
+Everything or every one--Soo-too-in'-nuk.
+Every night--Ood'-nook-ter-mock'-er-mingk.
+Eye tooth--Too-loo'-ah-el'-lek.
+Enough--Te-ter'-par.
+
+F.
+
+Fox--Ter-re-ar-ne'-ak.
+Fire--Ik'-o-mar.
+Fish--Ik'-kal-uk.
+Fur--Mit'-kote.
+Foot--Is'-se-kut.
+Face-Kee'-nark.
+Finger ring--Mik-e-le-rar'-oot.
+Female--Nee-we-ak-sak.
+Far--Oon-wes'-ik-poo.
+Farewell--Tare-wow'-e-tee.
+Finished--In-nuk'-par.
+File--Ag'-e-yuk.
+Flipper--Tel'-ar-rook.
+Faster--Ok-shoot'.
+Fork--Kok-e-jerk.
+Fringe--Ne'-ge-ver.
+Feather--Soo'-look.
+Fingers--Arg'-ite.
+Finger (index)--Tee'-kee-ur.
+Finger (second)--Kig-yuck'-tluk.
+Finger (third)--Mik-ke-lak.
+Finger (little)--Ik-ik-ote.
+Full--Put-tah'-took.
+Fly--E-sow-ook-suk'-too.
+Fight--Neng-nik-par'.
+Feel--Tep-sik-ak'-took.
+Freeze--Keegk-e-yook'.
+Forget--Poo-yuk'-too.
+Find (verb)--Nin-e-va'-ha.
+Finish (verb)--In-nuk'-par, Koo-lee-war'.
+Fall (verb, neuter)--E-yook-ar'-took.
+Fall (verb, a person)--Pard'-la-took.
+Float (verb)--Pook-tah-lak'-too.
+Fetch (verb)--I-ik-sek'-took.
+Finger-nail--Kook'-ee.
+Fore arm--Ah'-goot.
+Follow (verb)--Toob-yok'-she-yook.
+Fish (verb)--On-le-ak'-took.
+Feed dogs (verb)--Kig-me-ar'-re-ook.
+Fold (verb)--Pir'-re-pook.
+Forehead--Kow'-roong.
+Frozen (or frost)--Quark.
+
+G.
+
+Gun--Suk-goo'-te-gook.
+Goose--Ne-uk'-a-luk.
+Gloves--Po'-ah-lo.
+Good--Mah-muk'-poo.
+Glad--Kuyan'-a-mik.
+Gone--Peter-hong'-a-too.
+Go--Owd-luk'-poo.
+Give me--Pel'-e-tay.
+Grave--E-le'-wah.
+Green--Too-me-ook'-took.
+Gun cover--Powk.
+Give (verb)--Na-look'-ze-yook.
+Ground squirrel--Shik'-sik.
+Gravel--Too-wah'-pook.
+Get (verb)--Shoo-mig'-le-wik.
+
+H.
+
+Here--Una, Muk'-kwar.
+Hole--Kid'-el-look.
+Handkerchief--Tuk-ke-o'-tee.
+Halo--Ka-tow'-yar.
+Hiccough (verb)--Neer-e-soo-ock'-took.
+Home--Oo-op'-te-nar.
+Hot--Oo-oo'-nah Hard (verb)--Se-se-o-ad'-elo
+Hunt (verb) reindeer--Ah-wak'-took.
+Hunt (verb) musk ox--Oo-ming-muk'-poo.
+Howl (verb)--Mee'-ook-took.
+Hang (verb)--Ne-wing-i'-yook.
+Hurry--Too-wow'-ik-took, Shoo-kul'-ly.
+Help--E-see-uk'-par.
+Herring (peculiar to King William Land and vicinity)--Cow-e-sil'-lik.
+Here (or there)--Tap'-shoo-mar.
+Hammer (of gun)--Ting-me-ok'-tar.
+Heel--King'-mik.
+Hand--Puk'-beeg.
+Hair--New'-yark.
+Hand--Ar'-gut.
+Husband--Wing'-ah.
+Hard bread--She'-bah.
+How far?--Karn'-noo-oon-wes'-ok-ik-te'-vah.
+Half--E-lar'-ko.
+Hate--Took-pah'.
+He--Una.
+How many--Kap-shay'-ne.
+Hard--See'-see-yoke.
+Hand me--Ki-jook.
+Hill--King-yar'-ko.
+Hungry--Kahk-too.
+Hear or understand--Too-shark'-po.
+Handle--E'-poo-ah.
+How--Kon'-no.
+Heart--Oo'-mut.
+
+I.
+
+Ice--Se'-ko.
+Iron--Sev'-wick.
+I, me, mine, etc.--Oo-wung'-ar.
+Ice chisel--Too'-woke.
+Instep--Ah-look.
+It is better, OR, is it better--Pe-e-uke'.
+Island--Kig-yeuck'-tuck.
+Island (small)--Kig-yuk-tow'-ar.
+Inside--E-loo-en'-ne.
+Intestines--Ein'-er-loo.
+Indian--Ik'-kil-lin.
+
+J.
+
+Jack knife--O-koo-dock'-too.
+Jump (verb)--Ob-look'-took.
+Jump--Ob-look'-took.
+Just right--Nah-muck-too.
+
+K.
+
+Kettle--Oo-quee'-zeek.
+Kidney--Tock'-too.
+Kill--To-ko-pah'-hah.
+Knee--Nub-loo'-te.
+Knuckles--Nub-we'-yan.
+Kiss (rub noses)--Coon'-e-glew.
+Kittewake--E-muk-koo-tar'-yer.
+Kill (verb, reindeer)--Took'-too-par.
+Kill (verb, bear)--Nan-noo'-me-owd.
+Keep (verb)-Pah'-pah-took.
+
+L.
+
+Little river--Koog-ah-lar'.
+Lose (verb)--I-see'-u-wuck.
+Lower jawbone--Ah-gleer'-roke.
+Like (verb)--Pe-u-we'-we-yook.
+Lungs--Poo'-wite.
+Long ago--Tap-shoo-man'-ne.
+Lead--Ok'-ke-gook.
+Lip (upper)--Kok-tu'-we-ak.
+Lip (lower)--Kok'-slu.
+Leg--Ne'-yoo.
+Loon--Kok'-saw.
+Look--Tuk'-ko.
+Large--An'-no-yoke.
+Love--Kou-yah-e'-vah-vick.
+Liver--Ting'-you.
+Lake--Tus-sig.
+Light--Ood'-luk, oo'-blook.
+Laugh--Ig-luk'-too.
+Lift--Kee'-wik-took.
+Leak--Arng-mi-yook.
+
+M.
+
+Musk-ox--Oo'-ming-munk.
+Midnight--Oo'-din-wark.
+Moon--Tuk'-luk.
+Man--Ang'-oot Mouth--Kang'-yook.
+Medicine man--Arng'-ek-ko.
+Male--Nu-kup'-e-ak.
+Much--Am-a-suet'.
+Meat--Neer'-kee.
+Meat cooked--Oo-yook'.
+My son--Ear'-ken-ear-ar.
+Marrow--Pat'-ak.
+Musquito--Keek-toe'-yak.
+Make--Mix-uk'-too.
+Moss (running)--Ik-shoot-ik.
+Moss (spongy)--Mun'-ne.
+Mix (verb)-Kar'-te-took.
+Milk--Ah-mar'-mik-took.
+Milkbag--E-we-eng'-ik.
+Match--Ik-keen'.
+
+N.
+
+Never--I-pung'-ar.
+Now--Man'-na.
+Nail--Kee'-kee-uk.
+Navel--Col-es'-ik.
+Nostrils--Shook'-loot.
+Night--Oo'-din-nook.
+Needle--Mit'-cone.
+Nose--Tling'-yak.
+Neck--Koon-wes'-ok.
+Near--Kon-e-took'-ah-loo.
+No--Nok'-er, nok-i'.
+Noon--Kig-yuk-kah'-poo-kik-ah.
+Naked--Ar-noo-wi-lee-ak'-took.
+Nest--Oo'-blood.
+Narrow--Ah-me'-too.
+
+O.
+
+Old--Oh'-to-kok.
+Outside--See-lah-tau'-ne.
+Oar--E-poot.
+Old man--Ik-tu'-ar.
+Old woman--Ah'-de-nok.
+Over there--Ti'-mar.
+Out doors--See'-lar-me.
+Observation of sun--Suk-a-nuk'-ah-yook.
+
+P.
+
+Pencil--Titch'-e-row.
+Pemmican--Poo'-din-ik.
+Pant (verb)--Arng-ni-u-ak'-took.
+Pup--King-me-ak'-yook.
+Pour (verb)--Koo'-we-yook.
+Promise--Pee-da-go-war'-ne.
+Place anything in its sheath--E-lee-wah'.
+Put down (verb)--E-leeg'-yoke.
+Place (verb)--Im'-in-ar.
+Play (verb)--Kik'-it-toon.
+Powder--Ok'-de-ur.
+Pretty--Mah-muk'-poo.
+Promise--Pe-dah-go-wah'-nah.
+Paper--Al-le-lay'-yook.
+Ptarmigan--Ok-ke-ge'-ah.
+Pan--Ah-wap'-se-lah.
+Pail--Kat'-tar.
+Pin--Too-be-tow'-yer.
+
+Q.
+
+Quickly--Shoo-kul'-ly.
+
+R.
+
+Round--Pang'-ar, Arng-mar-look'-too.
+Reside (verb)--Noo-mig'-e.
+Row (verb)--E'-poo-too.
+Runners of sled--See'-woong-nar, We-ung'-nuk.
+Roll (a bundle)-E-moo'-war.
+Rest (verb)--Noo-kung-ah'-took.
+Rot (verb)--Shoo-yook'-too, E-vood'-nok.
+Reindeer--Took'-too.
+Reindeer (big buck)--Pang'-neuck
+Reindeer (young buck)--Nu-kar-tu'-ar.
+Reindeer (fawn)--No'-kark.
+Ramrod--Kok'-dook-sook.
+Red--Owg.
+River--Koog.
+Rabbit--Oo-kae'-ut.
+Rock--We-ar'-zook.
+Rain--Mok'-uk-too.
+Raven--Too-loo'-ah.
+Rapids--E-tem-nark'-zeack.
+Ribs--Too-lee-med'-jit.
+Run--Ood-luk-too.
+Ride--Ik-e-mi'-yuk.
+Resemble--Ar-djing'-er.
+Remember--Kow-ye-mu'-wuk-er.
+
+S.
+
+Sledge--Kom'-mo-tee.
+Seal--Net'-chuk.
+Seal (large)--Ook'-jook.
+Seal (bladder nose)--Nets-che'-wuk.
+Seal (fresh water) Kosh-e-geer'.
+Seal (jumping)--Ki-o-lik.
+Snow--Ap'-poo.
+Stockings (long)--Ah-luk'-tay.
+Stockings (short)--E-king'-oo-ark, e-nook-too.
+Sun--Suk'-e-nuk.
+Star--Oo-bloo'-bleak.
+Skin--Am'-ingk.
+Swan--Coke'-jeuk.
+Sea or salt--Tar'-re-o.
+Salmon--Ek'-er-loo.
+Salmon (black)--Ish'-u-ark.
+Stone--We'-ark.
+Snow knife--Pan-an'-yoke.
+Small--Mik-e-took'-e-loo.
+Some--Tah-man'-ar-loo.
+Swim (verb)--Poo'-e-mik-took, Na-'look-took.
+Sink (verb)--Kee'-we-wook.
+Smile (verb)--Koong'-ik-kook.
+Spit (verb)--Oo-e-ak'-took.
+Stare (verb)--E e-e'-yook.
+Shake (verb)--Oo-look'-took.
+Stretch (verb)--Tesh-ik-ko'-me-yook.
+Slats of sled--Nup'-poon Screw--Kee-gee-ar'-lee.
+Snow drift or bank--O-que'-che-mik.
+Squid (whale food)--Ig-le'-yahk.
+Spyglass--King'-noot.
+Strong smell--Tee-pi'-e-took.
+Shin--Kuh'-nok.
+Shoulder--Ke-es'-ik.
+Swap (verb)--Ok-ke-la'-yook.
+Sharpen--Kee-nuk'-took, Air-e-yook'-took.
+Sing (men)--Pe'-se-uk.
+Sing (women)-Im'-nyick-took.
+Sweat--Ar-mi-yok'-took.
+Sneeze--Tug-e-yook'-took.
+Squint--Kahn-ing-noo'-yook.
+Scare--Kock-se-tek'-poong-ar, Ik'-see-book.
+Starve--Pik'-lik-took, Pig-le-rark'-pook.
+See anything coming far off--Og-le-luk'-pook.
+Spinal cord--Kitch-e'-ruk.
+Seal spear--Oo-nar'.
+Sealskin slippers--Pee'-nee-rok.
+Sealskin boots (short)--E'-keek-kuk.
+Sorry--Ah-kow'-mit-u.
+Stomach--Neer-u'-ker.
+Shot (discharge of a gun)--Suk-ko'-eet.
+Sealskin--Kis'-ingk.
+Saw--Oo'-loot'.
+Spotted--Oo-kee-leur-yere', Ar-glark'-took.
+Svuare--Se-nar'.
+Soft--Ah-kut-too-ah'-loo.
+Strong--Shung-e'-yook.
+Snake--Ne-meur'-e-ak.
+Scratch another thing (verb)--Ah-guk'-took.
+Stumble (verb)--Pard'-look-took.
+Snore (verb)--Kom-noo'-we-ook.
+Swear (verb)--O-kah-look'-took.
+Suck (verb)--Tum-woi'-yook.
+Swallow (verb)--E'-wah.
+So--Ti'-ma-nar.
+Summer--Ow'-yer.
+Shirt--Ar-tee'-gee.
+Spring--Oo-ping'-yark.
+Same--Ti'-ma-toe.
+Sister--Nur-year'-ger.
+Scraper--Suk'-koo.
+Snow stick--An-owt'-er.
+Snow-block--Ow'-ik.
+Spectacles--Ig-eark'-too.
+Spoon--Al'-lute.
+Sinew--Oo-lee-ute'-ik.
+Sick--Ah'-ah, Ar-ne-ok'-took.
+Scissors--Kib-e-ow'-te.
+Smoke--E'-shik.
+Stranger--Ahd'-lah.
+Sunrise--Suk-ah-ne-uk'-poke.
+Sunset--Ne-pe'-woke.
+Sit down--Ing-e'-tete.
+Stand up--Nik-e'-we-tete.
+Steam--Poo'-yook-took.
+Sand--See'-ah-wark.
+Snowing--Con'-nuk-too.
+Snow shovel--Po-ald'-er-it.
+Speak--O-kok'-po.
+Sleep--Sin'-nik-poo.
+Ship--Oo'-me-ak.
+Smoke (verb)--Pay-u'-let-tee.
+Scratch--Koo'-muk-took.
+See--Tak'-ko-wuk.
+Smell--Tee'-pee.
+Steal--Tig'-lee-poo.
+Show--Tuk-o-shu-ma'-uk-too.
+Sweetheart--E-veuck'-seuck.
+
+T.
+
+To-morrow--Cow'-pert, Ok'-ar-go.
+Two or three days ago--Ik'-puk-shar'-nee.
+Tallow--Tood'-noo.
+Teeth--Ke'-u-tee.
+Tongue--Oo'-guark.
+Tent--Tu'-pik Thunder--Kod'-ah-look.
+Thunderstorm--Sel'-ah-look.
+Trousers--Kok-ah-leeng'.
+There--Ta'-boir.
+Thanks--Quee-en'-nah-coo'-nee.
+These people--Ta'-ma-quar.
+Those people--Tuk'-o-quar.
+Then--Oo-bah'.
+Thread--Eve'-er-loo.
+Tusk--Too'-rok.
+Tenderloin--Oo-lee-oo-she'-ne.
+Tail--Pam'-e-oong'-gar.
+There (in the distance)--Tite'-quar.
+Track--Too'-me.
+Tired--Too-ki'-yoo.
+Thumb--Koo-bloo'.
+Thick weather--Tock-se-uk'-too.
+Thirsty--E-me-rook'-too.
+Thick--Eb-zhoo'-zhook.
+Thin--Sah'-took.
+Tatoo--Tood-ne'-uk.
+Think--Ish-u-mi'-yuk.
+Tell--Kow'-you-yor.
+Trace--Ok-zu-nar'.
+That will do--Ti'-mar-nar.
+Think--Ere-kert-sert'-ro.
+Take--Pe-e-ock-i'-re.
+Tear (verb)--Al'-ik-pook.
+Trigger--No-kok-tah.
+Toe (big)--Po'-to-wok.
+Toe (first)--Tee'-kee-ur.
+Toe (middle)--Kig-yuck'-tluck.
+Toe (third)--Mik'-e-lak.
+Toe (little)--Ik'-ik-ote.
+Thread (verb)--Noo-wing-yok'-par.
+Thigh--Kok-too'-ok.
+Throat--Too-koo-ed'-jik.
+This person--Tab'-shoor mar.
+Throw (verb)--Me-loo-e-ak'-took.
+
+U.
+
+Ugly--Pe'-ne-took.
+Understand or hear--Too-shack'-poo.
+Up or north--Tap-an'-ny.
+Upset (verb)--Koo'-e-yook.
+Upset a kyack and inmates--Poo'-she-pook.
+Undress--We-ze-tk'ook.
+
+V.
+
+Vibrate (verb)-Ow'-look-a-tak'-took.
+
+W.
+
+Will you?--E'-ben-loo.
+Why?--Shu.
+What?--Shu'-ar.
+Who, which, what?--Kee'-nar.
+What is the matter?--Kon-ah-we'-pin.
+Wolverine--Cow'-bik.
+Weak--Shung-e'-took.
+Whistle--Oo-we-nyack'-too.
+Wake up (verb)--Too-puk'-poo.
+Work (verb)--Sen-uk'-suk-too.
+Walrus--I'-vick.
+Water--E'-mik.
+Wood--Ke'-yook.
+Woman--Ah'-de-nok.
+Woman's boat--Oo'-mi-eu.
+Whale--Ok'-bik.
+White man--Kob-lu-nar.
+Wife--Nu-le-ang'-er.
+Whalebone--Shoo'-kok.
+Walrus hide--Kow.
+White gull--Now'-yer.
+Wind--An'-no-way.
+White--Kowd'-look, Kok'-uk-too
+When--Kong'-er.
+Wait--Watch'-ow.
+Where--No-ti'-mer.
+What is--Kish-oo'.
+Winter--Oke'-e-yook.
+Window--E'-o-lar.
+Warm--O'-ko.
+Wolf--Ar-mow.
+Whip--Ip-pe-row'-ter.
+What--Shoo'-ar.
+Wing--E'-sar'-ro.
+Wide--Se-lik'-too.
+Wrist--Nub-gwok.
+Walk--Pe-shook'-too.
+Write--Titch-e-ruk'-kut.
+Whisper--E-shib-zhook'-took.
+Wake up--Too-pook'-poo.
+Want--Tah-oom-ar-wung'-ar.
+Work--Sen-uk-euck'-too.
+Wink--Kob-loo-shook'-too.
+West--Tar'-wan-ne.
+
+Y.
+
+Yesterday--Ip-puk'-shur.
+Young man--Nu-ku-pe-air-we'-nee.
+Young woman--Nu-le-uk-sar-we'-nee.
+Yes--Ar'-me-lar. You--Ich'-bin.
+You and I--Oo-bah-gook'.
+Year--Ok-ar-ny.
+Yawn (verb)--I-ter'-uk-poo.
+Yell (verb)--Ko-ko-ok'-took.
+
+PHRASES.
+
+Go ahead--At-tee'.
+What is the name of--I-ting'-er.
+What are you making?--Shu-lah-vik'.
+Who is it?-Kee-now'-yer.
+Where are you going?-Nah-moon-okt'-pict.
+Where do you come from?--Nuk ke-pe'-wict.
+I have found it--Nin-e-vah'-hah.
+Is it good?--Pe-e-uke'.
+I don't know--Am-e-a'-soot.
+Shut the door--Oo'-me-yook.
+Open the door--Mock'-tere-yook.
+Do just as you please--Is-you-muk-e-yang'-ne.
+I guess--Shu'-a-me.
+Give me a light--Ik-ke-de-lung'-ar.
+Give me a drink--Im'-ing-ar
+Give me a smoke--Pay-u'-let-e-de-lung'-ar.
+I don't know anything about it--Kow-you-mum-e-mum'-me.
+Where does it come from?--Nuk-ke-nu'-nar?
+Come in--Ki-low'-it. Right here--Muk'-ko-war.
+Who is it?--Kee-now-yer.
+I am not sure--Shu'-ah-me.
+Is the meat done?--Oo-par'?
+Too much--Pee-lo-ak'-poke.
+Too little--Mik-ke-loo-ak-poke.
+Which way?--Nel-le-ung'-nook?
+A poor thing--Nug-a-leen'-ik.
+
+NUMERALS.
+
+1 (One)--An-tow' zig.
+2 (Two)--Mok'-o, Mud'-el-roc.
+3 (Three)--Ping'-ah-su-eet.
+4 (Four)--See'-tah-mut.
+5 (Five)--Ted'-el-e-mut.
+6 (Six)--Ok'-bin-uk.
+7 (Seven)--Ok'-bin-uk-mok'-o-nik.
+8 (Eight)--Ok'-bin-uk-mok'-a-sun-ik.
+9 (Nine)--Ok'-bin-uk-see'-tah-mut.
+10 (Ten)--Ko'-ling.
+20 (Twenty)--Mok'-ko-ling.
+
+They have little idea of numbers beyond the number of their fingers,
+and such as they can borrow by calling attention to their neighbors'
+fingers. Any sum that calls for more than that is to them amasuet
+(many) or amasuadelo (a great many).
+
+NO IDEA OF LENGTH OF YEARS.
+
+It is not at all singular, then, that they have no idea of their ages
+when they get beyond the number of years that the mother can keep upon
+one of the wooden or ivory buttons that hold her belt in place. It is
+impossible, therefore, to tell whether they are a long-lived race.
+There are many among them who bear the marks of advanced age, but such
+may have resulted more from hardships and exposure than from the
+accumulation of years. There is a gray-haired old dame with the Iwillik
+tribe at Depot Island who was a grown woman at the time of Sir William
+Edward Parry's visit there in 1821, and remembers the circumstances
+with all the distinctness that marks the early reminiscences of the old
+in every country. There was another woman there apparently as old, but
+there was no early event by which her age could be traced except that
+she told 'The Herald' correspondent that she remembered having
+seen Parry on board of a ship in Baffin's Bay when she was a little
+girl.
+
+
+
+
+[Transcriber's Notes:
+Some words which appear to be typos are printed
+thus in the original book. Some of these possible misprints are:
+
+Chap. II  "Boxy" ("Roxy")
+Chap. IV  case (ease)
+Chap. XIII  scarely (scarcely)
+Chap. XIV  trival (trivial)
+Chap. XVII  Collinsen Inlet (Collinson)
+
+Index:
+River, Lorrillard (Lorillard)
+Selkirshire (Selkirkshire)
+more than 10 of the Inuit names
+
+Appendix:
+comparitively (comparatively)
+gutural (guttural)
+nothern (northern)
+carcases (carcass)
+
+Glossary:
+svuare (square)
+
+The phonetic transcriptions of many Inuktitut names and terms are
+inconsistent throughout the original text and have not been changed.]
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Schwatka's Search, by William H. Gilder
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SCHWATKA'S SEARCH ***
+
+This file should be named 6594.txt or 6594.zip
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