178 FOUR YEARS IN THE WHITE NORTH [Aug. 



Ah-now-ka and I have had a good talk to-night. He tells me that 

 a long time ago Ak-pood-a-shah-o was an Angekok. He gained this 

 reputation by prophesying the arrival of a ship the day before. He 

 has lost that power now, consequently his fame. There is only one 

 prophet in the tribe now, Tau-chee-ah. His reputation is based upon 

 the power of naming, unseen, whatever object may be touched. 

 "Years ago," continued Ah-now-ka, "a woman ran away from her 

 husband and from every one. She went up that glacier over there. 

 She became a 'kevig-tok,' what you were asking us about yesterday. 

 She never came back. She hung herself by her hood on a point of 

 rock. She choked. Another woman, Ah-dah-ned-doo, ran away 

 for the same reason — her husband was cross and beat her. She 

 drove up the Cape Alexander Glacier. A few days later the dogs 

 returned, but no one has ever seen her. Some say she was taken up 

 into the sky and has gone far away." 



August 16-17th, Monday and Tuesday. — We left Hayes Harbor at 

 four o'clock yesterday afternoon, working along toward Sutherland 

 Island, where we stopped for two hours and shot a few eider ducks. 

 Getting under way, we came around the cape with a strong, fair 

 wind, capsizing one kayak and with diflficulty keeping them all 

 right side up. We arrived at Etah at eleven o'clock, finding the 

 boys anxious for news from the south. The Eskimos are beginning 

 to arrive from Anoritok in anticipation of the ship. Others are 

 coming as soon as they can get here. 



Tank's kayak is done. He is thoroughly enjoying himself now on 

 every calm day. 



* 



It was now August IStli, and we felt some appre- 

 hension as to the non-arrival of the relief-ship which 

 the American Museum had agreed to send at the end 

 of two years and which I had requested by the mail 

 sledged south to Upernavik by Tanquary. My men, 

 longing for the time of departure, had watched the 

 southern horizon from early morning until late at 

 night. Their interests were in the homeland, and 

 rightly so. Two years is a long, long time in the Arctic 

 regions unless a man is enthusiastic over that strangely 

 desolate but peculiarly attractive country. Religiously 

 and faithfully the days on our calendar had been heav- 



