134 FOUR YEARS IN THE WHITE NORTH [Jan. 



his pace, my dogs straining to keep up with him. As 

 he arrived at the depth of a bend, he disappeared up 

 over the top of the cape on the dead run; and then 

 came that prolonged howl of welcome from the pack 

 tethered near the houses, a howl which was a welcome, 

 a curfew, and a dinner-bell combined. 



Our tired dogs, with drooping tails and drooping ears, 

 were now rejuvenated and almost prancing as they 

 swung around the point and headed toward the lighted 

 holes in the snow. 



With as much agility as my frozen clothes would per- 

 mit, I made my way along the covered passage and 

 stuck my head up through the hole in the floor. The 

 lord and lady of the household were evidently just 

 awakened by the chorus of welcome now in full cres- 

 cendo. To the bulging, blinking eyes of the Eskimo, 

 the dirty-faced, full- whiskered object at the entrance 

 was his conception of the devil himself. He had come 

 at last! He and his fathers and forefathers had often 

 heard of him, but had never seen him. 



I have never beheld abject fear so fully depicted 

 upon the countenance of man. Before I could smile 

 (which might have finished him), his wife recognized 

 me, which is a distinct compliment to her intelligence. 

 Ek-kai-a-sha, or "Bill," was one of our Eskimos upon 

 the S.S. Roosevelt on the North Pole trip. WTien a 

 little girl she had even spent a year at Washington, 

 D. Co, with Mrs. Peary. 



The look on Mee-tak's face instantly changed to a 

 grin as he watched me struggling to remove my wet 

 bearskin pants and sealskin boots. My! but it was 

 warm and comfortable. No more shivering and shak- 

 ing on four ounces a day! 



