CHRISTMAS 185 



As Christmas fell in the dark of the moon, all the 

 members of the expedition were on the ship, and we 

 celebrated with a special dinner, field sports, raffles, 

 prizes, and so on. It was not very cold that day, only 

 minus 23°. 



In the morning we greeted each other with the 

 "Merry Christmas" of civilization. At breakfast we 

 all had letters from home and Christmas presents, 

 which had been kept to be opened on that morning. 

 MacMillan was master of ceremonies and arranged the 

 program of sports. At two o'clock there were races 

 on the ice-foot. A seventy-five-yard course was laid 

 out, and the ship's lanterns, about fifty of them, were 

 arranged in two parallel rows, twenty feet apart. These 

 lanterns are similar to a railway brakeman's lantern, 

 only larger. It was a strange sight — that illuminated 

 race-course within seven and a half degrees of the 

 earth's end. 



The first race was for Eskimo children, the second 

 for Eskimo men, the third for Eskimo matrons with 

 babies in their hoods, the fourth for unencumbered 

 women. There were four entries for the matrons' race, 

 and no one could have guessed from watching them that 

 it was a running race. They came along four abreast, 

 dressed in furs, their eyes rolling, puffing like four 

 excited walruses, the babies in their hoods gazing 

 with wide and half-bewildered eyes at the glittering 

 lanterns. There was no question of cruelty to children, 

 as the mothers were not moving fast enough to spill 

 their babies. Then there were races for the ship's men 

 and the members of the expedition, and a tug of war 

 between the men aft and forward. 



