32 FOUR YEARS IN THE WHITE NORTH [Oct. 



clothing in the Arctic. An expedition of some years 

 ago objected to furs because of the smell; others have 

 criticized their use because of the unbearable heat con- 

 sequent upon hard work. I received my training under 

 Peary, a man of twenty years of most successful work in 

 the far North, and naturally I approved and followed 

 his methods in every detail of my work. I consider 

 furs absolutely essential and indeed indispensable for 

 the hard, cold work of the early spring trips of February, 

 March, and April. "Do as the Eskimos do; dress as 

 the Eskimos dress," is a good adage to follow. 



It occurred to me, when fitting out the expedition, 

 that here would be an opportunity to experiment upon 

 the relative value of woolens and furs, by offering to 

 the men a choice between the most approved wind- 

 proof material obtained in this country and the light, 

 warm furs of the far North. The personnel of the 

 Crocker Land Expedition had the very best cold- weather 

 clothing which could be bought in New York City, and 

 yet not a man seriously thought at any time of wearing 

 the high-priced woolen suit. We deferred to the judg- 

 ment of people who have been living here at the top 

 of the earth for centuries. 



The services of the Eskimo women at Etah were in- 

 valuable. Within a few months every man was beauti- 

 fully and warmly clad in caribou-skin coats, bearskin 

 pants, and sealskin boots, and each one was ready and 

 eager for the big work of the expedition to begin — the 

 exploration of Crocker Land far out on the Polar Sea, 

 due northwest of Cape Thomas Hubbard. 



With the forming of sea ice Etah was the Mecca of 

 the North; all roads led from the south. Eskimo men, 

 women, and children, with their dog-teams, came from 



