1914] IN SEARCH OF CROCKER LAND 69 



expedition the wolves came into camp, attacked and 

 killed some of the dogs, and later, on the trail, even 

 attacked one of the men who had no other weapon 

 to defend himself with than a ski. No animal in the 

 North is so enduring, none has such a wide range, and 

 none passes an easier existence than the Arctic wolf. 

 Their food is musk-oxen, caribou, Arctic hare, lemmings, 

 and possibly foxes. There is also every evidence to be- 

 lieve that wolves prey upon seals along the ice-foot. 



Proceeding for about half an hour, we reached a well- 

 sheltered spot with southern exposure near the slain 

 musk-oxen. Here the two boys constructed a beautiful 

 igloo, with high-bed platform, gently sloping walls, and 

 an almost flat roof, the sixty blocks interlocking in a 

 rather artistic design. It is a pleasure to see an Eskimo 

 cut and handle snow. One cannot but admire the skill 

 and dexterity with which he cuts it on the surface, 

 breaks it out with his toe, lays it up on the wall, bevels 

 the edges, and thumps it into place with his hand. I 

 wonder if there are any other people in the world who 

 attempt to build an arch or dome without support. 

 Starting from the ground in a spiral from right to left, 

 the blocks mount higher and higher, ever assuming a 

 more horizontal position, until the last two or three 

 appear to hang in the air, the last block locking the 

 whole structure. This work can be done by two good 

 men in about an hour. 



Entering a newly constructed igloo seems like a 

 vision of fairy-land, the light filtering through the snow 

 a beautiful ethereal blue; everything — the bed, the two 

 side platforms, the wall — absolutely spotless. At low 

 temperatures such a retreat is so far superior to a tent 

 as to cause one to regret exceedingly that the brave 



