178 THE NORTH POLE 



tinued his observations, which were of peculiar interest 

 that night; and as soon as the ice had quieted down 

 Eskimos were sent out to repair the igloo. 



Strange to say, none of the Eskimos was attacked 

 with piblokto because of their fright, and I learned that 

 one of the women, Ahtetah, had remained quietly sewing 

 in the Eskimo quarters during the whole disturbance. 

 After this experience, however, some of the Eskimo 

 families took up their winter residence in the box houses 

 and in snow igloos ashore. 



The winter winds of the Far North are almost unim- 

 aginable by any one who has never experienced them. 

 Our winter at Cape Sheridan this last time was less 

 severe than the winter of 1905-06, but we had several 

 storms that reminded us of old times. The north and 

 northwest winds sweeping down along the coast are 

 the coldest; but for absolutely insane fury the winds 

 from the south and the southwest, falling off the high- 

 land of the coast with almost the impact of a wall of 

 water, are unsurpassed anywhere else in the arctic 

 regions. 



Sometimes these storms come on gradually, the wind 

 from the northwest steadily increasing in force and 

 swinging through the west to the southwest, gathering 

 fury with every hour, until the snow is picked up bodily 

 from the land and the ice-foot and carried in blinding, 

 horizontal sheets across the ship. On deck it is impos- 

 sible to stand or move, except in the shelter of the rail, 

 and so blinding is the cataract of snow that the lamps, 

 powerful as are their reflectors, are absolutely indis- 

 tinguishable ten feet away. 



When a party in the field is overtaken by a storm, 



