38 CONQUERING THE ARCTIC ICE 



to fifty dogs, so there was plenty of choice. The trading pro- 

 gressed rather slowly at first, and it was about an hour and a 

 half before the first dog had changed hands. By sad experience 

 the natives had become experts in the art of trading; the 

 whalers have been doing business with this people for a long 

 time, and they have gradually acquired a very fair idea of the 

 value and quality of things. Bargaining between white men 

 and Eskimos is a proceeding not always creditable to the 

 former ; we are often obliged, for instance, to make a sack of 

 sugar go considerably further than it ought to do, according to 

 the actual amount of pounds it contains. The Eskimos know 

 very well that something is called I Ib. of sugar, but have no 

 idea of the amount implied by a pound, and are as likely to ask 

 for fifty as for twenty pounds. We have to praise our wares 

 even if we know that their value is not very great, and try to 

 find faults in the dog in order to make the price as low as 

 possible, while on the other hand the Eskimo talks himself 

 warm over the mostly imaginary good qualities of the dog 

 he wants to sell. We had a small selection of our different 

 articles on deck, and when we had found a dog we liked we 

 began to haggle with the owner about the price. He wanted 

 everything in sight, and it took a long while to satisfy 

 him, and even when the bargain was supposed to be closed 

 he would try to get something extra, or tell us that he had 

 changed his mind about one of the articles which he shortly 

 before was anxious to secure, and .that he wanted something 

 else instead. 



If we had had only one party to deal with, our task would 

 have been easier, but every one on board offered suggestions and 

 advice, and seeing that the seller usually stopped to discuss 

 each suggestion with the proposer of it, it was evident that 

 every bargain must take a very long time. 



However, when we got accustomed to their way of trading, 

 we found that it worked much better to say exactly how 

 much we would give instead of asking the seller what he 

 wanted, and in most cases we had only to add some odds 

 and ends by way of presents and encouragement to clinch 

 the bargain. 



The following will serve as an example of what a dog is 

 considered worth by the natives in summertime : 



