58 BY ESKIMO DOG-SLED 



were in such a hurry that they tried to take 

 short cuts of their own, leaping over great 

 snowdrifts and frantically straining to climb 

 huge hummocks of ice, and we might easily 

 have lost some of them, or at least have had 

 some broken harness, if it had not been for 

 the willing help of our army of spectators. 

 That dash between the hummocks to the sea 

 ice was like a nightmare : the flickering 

 lantern, darting hither and thither ; the dim 

 shapes of men and boys rushing about, chasing 

 the unruly dogs ; the yelping and shouting, 

 with the pad-pad of footsteps and the grind 

 of the runners the whole scene comes back 

 to me as I write. And all the while the people 

 were sticking to the sled like flies, sitting, 

 standing, kneeling, clinging, getting a ride 

 somehow, all in a great good humour, and 

 dropping off one by one when we reached the 

 sea ice. 



So I got my first send-off. 



We were fairly on the way ; and Julius 

 struck a match and lit his pipe. In the flicker 

 I got a glimpse of his face, all glittering with 

 frost ; his stubby beard was decorated with 

 icicles, and his eyebrows were crusted with 

 frozen snow ; and when I passed a hand over 

 my own face, I found that I was in the same 

 plight. Julius was on the watch : he leaned 



