QG6 FOUR YEARS IN THE WHITE NORTH [July 



Harbor, which we reached a few hours later. Five shots 

 were fired before it dawned upon us that these geese 

 could not fly — they were molting their feathers. As 

 tickled as school-boys, we drove the hissing birds before 

 us over the hills, picking out the plumpest for our eve- 

 ning meal. 

 My field journal for the next day reaas: 



July IJithy Friday. — The devil took a holiday yesterday to plan 

 for our destruction to-day. When sailing up from Snug Harbor 

 with a good southerly breeze — well, I should have known that 

 nothing good comes out of the South. We were led on, innocents 

 as we were, to the end of the cape, and there we ran into trouble. 

 Arklio was steering with boom on port side, wind almost east, run- 

 ning along near the shore. As we approached the point the wind 

 hauled more southerly. We couldn't tack; we couldn't jibe; we 

 couldn't lower the sail; for if we did, the boom would drop into 

 the water and perhaps capsize the boat. 



Fortunately, there were no shrouds on the dory, which enabled 

 me to let out sheet enough to swing the boom well for'ard over 

 the bow. In this way we managed to work around the cape and 

 into a niche in the cliff, where we took in a double reef for the run 

 to Etah, ten miles away. We hadn't left the place ten minutes 

 when I realized that we were in for it. It blew so hard that the 

 water was lifted in sheets and in whorls like dust in the street. 



Heavily loaded, with only about a foot freeboard and with two 

 kayaks in tow, naturally we shipped several seas. If we continued 

 to do so, I had decided to throw overboard all our personal equip- 

 ment and provisions, such as oil and biscuit. 



Within fifteen minutes the lacing on the gaff broke and the peak 

 of the sail slatted loose. In vain I tried to hoist the boom higher to 

 prevent it catching in a sea and capsizing us. I reaHzed that in 

 lowering it and stopping headway there was danger of a sea rolling 

 over the stern and fiUing the boat, but it had to be done. Telling 

 the boys to keep headway with the oars, I quickly lowered it, re- 

 paired the lacing, and hoisted it again. 



The water was now well up over the floor, and we were wet through 

 and through with ice-water. There was such a heavy sea that 

 twice we ran the how of the dory under when riding before a sea. 

 The two kayaks, lashed together, were jumping, twisting, pulling, 

 and jerking. Time and time again riding on a sea, they ran their 



