STEFANSSON-ANDERSON ARCTIC EXPEDITION 137 
sled loads of gear, and a thirty-three-and-one-half foot skin “umiak’’ within 
a few miles of the Colville delta before water overflowing the sea ice put an 
end to sled travel on June 14. Launched this boat on June 23 and have 
spent the time since then moving eastward, paddling, sailing or tracking. 
I have spent all available time in collecting, and have taken a fair series of 
egos and nests, including whistling swan, black brant, black-billed and 
American golden plovers, turnstone sp., red-backed pectoral, Hutchins goose 
and semipalmated sandpipers, northern and red phalarope, snowflake, 
Lapland longspur, parasitic Jaeger, red-throated loon, willow ptarmigan 
and others, all from the vicinity of Colville delta. * * * * Near Flaxman 
Island, we found several Herschel Island boats at the trading rendezvous 
to meet the Cape Smythe traders, and Ningakshuk, owner of a small sloop, 
kindly brought me, with several dogs and several hundred pounds of speci- 
mens, as far as Herschel Island. * * * * 
CaMP NEAR TOKER Pornt, 
Arctic Coast, October 16, 1909. 
“05 
* * %& = Since my last letter, dated Herschel Island, we have progressed 
thus far eastward. My party sailed from Herschel Island at 3:30 a4. M., 
August 25, with two whaleboats and one sloop — one boat belonging to us, 
the other to a young native named Pikalo, who, with his father, had agreed 
to come with our party and assist us, on consideration of being free to trap 
on his own account during the winter. The sloop belonged to Ningakshuk, 
who wished to go some distance eastward, as an independent venture. He 
aided us materially by carrying seven dogs and several hundred pounds of 
baggage through the Mackenzie delta. 
We were often delayed by bad weather and head winds. It was neces- 
sary to stop for several days east of Shingle Point, as it is unsafe to cross the 
shoals on the western side of the delta, unless the wind is light and fairly 
S. W. Just east of Tent Island we were stopped again by head winds and 
foggy weather; then we cruised through a network of channels south of 
Langley Island, and after several days of tedious tacking and grounding, 
reached the mainland opposite the south end of Richard Island (Tananodk). 
At this point, our friend Ningakshuk decided that he dare not risk his sloop 
outside of the river, fearing heavy September gales in the shoal water outside. 
We were consequently compelled to transfer our baggage from the sloop 
to the two whaleboats. ‘This loaded them down heavily, without the seven 
people and eleven dogs which we were carrying. ‘lhe channel east of 
Richard Island is very wide, but is shoal in many places, and a N. or N. E. 
wind raises a rough sea quickly. Entered the harbor at Nittigarynit Sep- 
tember 26. Several Eskimo families were camped here, and were revelling 
