132 THE NORTH POLE 



any of the furriers of civilization. They sew the skins 

 with the sinew taken from the back of the deer — the 

 jumping muscle. It is absolutely unbreakable, and 

 moisture does not rot it. For the coarser work of sewing 

 boots, canoes, and tents, they use the sinew from the 

 tail of the narwhal. The sewing is now done with the 

 steel needles I have given them; but in former years 

 they used a punch made of bone, passing the sinew 

 through the hole, as a shoemaker uses a "waxed end." 

 They do not cut the skins with shears, as that would 

 injure the fur; but with a "woman's knife," similar 

 to an old-fashioned mincemeat chopper. 



The shaggy fur trousers are invariably made from 

 the skins of the polar bear. Then there are stockings 

 of hareskin, and the kamiks, or boots, of sealskin, soled 

 with the heavier skin of the square-flipper seal. On 

 the ship, on sledge journeys, and in all the field work 

 of the winter, the regular footgear of the Eskimos 

 was worn. Add the warm fur mittens, and the winter 

 wardrobe is complete. 



It may reasonably be inquired whether the close 

 housing for so long a time of such a considerable num- 

 ber of human beings did not result in personal friction, 

 due to the inevitable accumulation of a thousand and 

 one petty irritations. To some extent it did. But the 

 principal members of the expedition were men of 

 such character that they were able to exercise an 

 admirable self-restraint that prevented any unpleasant 

 results of consequence. Practically the only trouble 

 of a personal sort that was of any importance occurred 

 between one of the sailors and an Eskimo whom we 

 called Harridan. 



