THE FRIENDLY ARCTIC 551 



"September 16: Started 8:30 A. M. and followed the coast 

 about S X W twelve miles. Then saw caribou six miles to the SSW 

 and went after them. When within half a mile of five I had first 

 seen, I started three others out of a ravine where they had been 

 hidden till they heard me. These were in long range but I did 

 not fire so as not to scare the other five. I had fine cover but it was 

 a clear, frosty day and they heard me at five hundred yards or 

 over, and when I came out of the ravine they were a mile away. 

 They ran WNW and did not stop for at least eight miles (as I 

 could see through my field glasses). The other three caribou 

 had run north. I did not follow either band as their trails led 

 back or inland and killing them would delay us too much. Walked 

 south after giving up these caribou and found the coast trending 

 westerly. Went down to the coast and six or eight miles back 

 along the shore to where I found the camp, which is eighteen miles 

 from yesterday's camp. Vegetation sparse the first ten miles to-day, 

 then abundant for five miles, then practically none down to the 

 coast. Much sand and mud blown out on the ice (from the coast 

 hills). 



"September 17: Started 10:30 A. M. and followed the trail 

 of the caribou seen yesterday, as the probable westward trend of 

 the coast made it seem likely I might find them not so very far 

 inland. The team followed the coast, Noice sketching it. Found 

 the caribou trail averaged west in direction. I caught up to them 

 in very thick fog at 2:30 P. M., shot one only as I thought it 

 probable we should find it too far to fetch the meat. These cari- 

 bou seem very nervous — they are probably much chased by wolves. 

 A wolf came to within three hundred yards to get my wind and 

 was going to run off when I shot him — a fine male in medium 

 flesh and nearly uniform yellowish-white, weight doubtless over 

 one hundred pounds. 



"I carried fifty pounds of caribou meat and traveled south 

 from 4:15 to 5:20, three and one-half miles through thick fog. The 

 fog lifted then and I saw the coast to the SSW and WSW. Walked 

 SW X W six miles to the beach. I then went out on the ice a 

 quarter of a mile but saw no trail. As I expected the sled to travel 

 close inshore, I concluded the team had not reached this point, 

 so walked east five miles when I suddenly came down to a bight 

 where I found the trail, which there for a few hundred yards was 

 near the beach. This was at 9:30 P. M. Followed the trail west 

 till 11 P. M. when it got too dark to see it (on account of the sky 

 clouding up). Thereafter followed the coast and found a deep 



