CHRISTMAS 189 



The first of the January hunting parties, Dr. Good- 

 sell's, came in on the 11th. They had had no luck, 

 though they had seen fresh tracks of musk-oxen. 

 Borup came in the next morning with eighty-three 

 hares, and an interesting story. They were right up 

 against the glacier when they came across a whole 

 colony of the little white arctic animals. He said 

 there must have been nearly a hundred of them. The 

 arctic hares are not wild ; they will come so near to the 

 hunter that he can almost grasp them with his hand. 

 They have not learned the fear of man, because in their 

 wilds man is practically unknown. Borup and the 

 Eskimos surrounded the hares, until finally they got so 

 near to them that instead of using any more ammuni- 

 tion they knocked the creatures over the heads with 

 the butts of their rifles. 



One day, during this hunting trip, Borup and his 

 Eskimos became confused and were unable to find their 

 igloo for twenty -four hours. The saw-knives, essential 

 in constructing a snow igloo, had been left behind, and 

 none of the men had even an ordinary knife which might 

 have been used as a substitute. There was a gale 

 of wind, the moon was obscured, the air was full of 

 whirling snow, and it was very cold. They spent 

 most of the time walking to and fro to keep warm. 

 At last, when they were exhausted, they turned the 

 sledges on their sides, the Eskimos worked out with 

 their feet snow blocks which reinforced the shelter, 

 and they were able to snatch a little sleep. When the 

 weather cleared, they found themselves half a mile 

 from their igloo. 



The day following Borup's return, the captain came 



