THE FATAL MONTH. 787 



ing (and burning) our clothes, while the cold wind ate 

 into our backs. 



And now for supper ! Nothing remained but the 

 clog. I therefore ordered him killed and dressed by 

 Iversen, and soon after a kind of stew was made of 

 such parts as could not be carried, of which everybody 

 except the doctor and myself eagerly partook. To us 

 two it was a nauseating mess and — but why go on 

 with such a disagreeable subject. I had the remainder 

 weighed, and I am quite sure we had twenty-seven 

 pounds. The animal was fat and — as he had been fed 

 on pemmican — presumably clean, but — 



Immediately upon halting I had sent off Alexey with 

 his gun toward the hut inland, to determine whether 

 that was a myth like our present one. He returned 

 about dark, certain that it was a large hut, for he had 

 been inside of it, and had found some deer meat, 

 scraps, and bones. For a moment I was tempted to 

 start everybody for it, but Alexey was by no means 

 sure he could find it in the dark, and if we lost our 

 way we should be worse off than before. We accord- 

 ingly prepared to make the best of it where we were. 



We three wet people were burning and steaming be- 

 fore the fire. Collins and Gortz had taken some alco- 

 hol, but I could not get it down. Cold, wet, with a 

 raw N. W. wind impossible to avoid or screen, our fu- 

 ture was a wretched, dreary night. Ericksen soon be- 

 came delirious, and his talking was a horrible accompa- 

 niment to the wretchedness of our surroundings. Warm 

 we could not get, and getting dry seemed out of the 

 question. Nearly everybody seemed dazed and stupe- 

 fied, and I feared that some of us would perish during 

 the night. How cold it was I do not know, for my 

 last thermometer was broken in my many falls on the 



