IN WINTER QUARTERS 131 



teams of five or six, to stakes driven into the shore or 

 holes cut in the ice. They made a fine picture, looking 

 shoreward from the ship — nearly two hundred and 

 fifty of them — and their barking could be heard at 

 all hours. 



It must be remembered that day and night were 

 still determined only by the clock, as the ever-circling 

 sun had not yet set. By reason of the industry of all 

 hands on the upward voyage, everything was now 

 ready for the fall work. The Eskimos had built the 

 sledges and made the dog harnesses, and Matt Henson 

 had finished the "kitchen boxes," which enclosed our 

 oil stoves in the field, while the busy needles of the 

 Eskimo women had provided every man with a fur 

 outfit. 



In the North we wear the regular Eskimo garments, 

 with certain modifications. First of all, there is the 

 kooletak, a fur jacket with no buttons, which goes on 

 over the head. For summer wear the Eskimos make 

 it of sealskin, but for winter it is made of fox or 

 deerskin. 



For our own use, we had jackets made of Michigan 

 sheepskin. We took the skins up with us, and the 

 women made the garments, but when it was very cold 

 we wore the deerskin or foxskin jacket of the Eskimos. 

 Attached to this jacket is a hood, and around the face 

 is a thick roll made of fox-tails. 



The ahteah is a shirt, usually of fawn skin, with 

 the hair inside, and the Eskimos wear it even in summer. 

 In some of the photographs of natives, the skilful piecing 

 together of the skins in the shirt can be traced. The 

 Eskimo women are more adept at this work than are 



