BRADLEY 'S ACCOUNT OF THE COOK EXPEDITION 121 



"These Eskimos are much like monkeys. At Etah when we 

 were unloading the supplies for Dr. Cook, an Eskimo was sitting 

 in the stern % of the whale-boat and Dr. Cook was looking after the 

 engine. The Eskimo was holding a conversation with the cook,, 

 who presently turned to me and said the Eskimo wanted to know if 

 I could get him an engine like the one in the boat. When he was 

 asked with what he would run it he said there was plenty of water 

 in the ocean which he could use. He imagined the gasoline used 

 was water from the ocean. 



"They are crazy for trinkets. An Eskimo woman would rather 

 have a mirror than anything else. But they are reliable people and 

 will do anything for you. Captain Amundsen, who discovered the 

 Magnetic Pole, said to me he considered the Eskimos the most 

 reliable people he ever met. He said that one winter in the Arctic 

 an Eskimo came along with a team of dogs and a bow and arrow. 

 He said he was a Hudson Bay Eskimo. 



"He told Amundsen of two ships wintering there, and he asked 

 this native if he would take some letters down to them remember, 

 this was some hundreds of miles down the ice and for this Amund- 

 sen promised him a rifle, a cheap one, worth a few dollars. 



"He taught the native how to use the rifle. The native started 

 off and on his return shot off one of his fingers. He was advised 

 not to make the trip back to Amundsen, but he replied that he had 

 promised to return, and he did. And this over hundreds of railed 

 on the ice. 



"Mr. Peary used to promise every Eskimo who went with him 

 a gun when the party got back. Those guns cost him about $2.50 

 each, I should say. The native used to pick them to pieces and 

 come to us to find out how they worked. There were twenty-five 

 guns prepared just for the purpose of rewarding the faithful 

 Eskimos. But beyond all this there is a personal element that must 

 be considered, for the Eskimos are very fond of Dr. Cook. They 

 remembered him when he came with Peary; they recalled his other 



