102 CONQUERING THE ARCTIC ICE 



take the risk of getting killed for the excitement of the thing 

 and for the costly furs that the Kokmoliks had, and which the 

 western Eskimos could again trade away to people living 

 further south, or later on to the whalers. 



But now the place is dead ! Where formerly dances were 

 held and bloody tragedies were enacted, where people lived in 

 hundreds, there is only old driftwood standing on end, showing 

 the sites of numerous houses, while skulls and other human 

 bones are scattered all over the place, a picture of utter 

 desolation. 



There were plenty of deer in the country, but they were all 

 travelling and difficult to approach. Uxra, the Doctor, and 

 myself were out every day, yet with the greatest care we got 

 only two more cariboos. 



The winter was setting in while we were out hunting. It 

 became cold, large sheets of young ice were drifting about in 

 the water, until one morning, September 30, there was no more 

 water to be seen. 



A few days later a gale broke up the ice again and packed 

 it on the windward shore, thus giving us an opportunity of 

 using the umiak for going home. We were rather tired of 

 looking for deer, and as we had been strolling about the country 

 for three days without having seen any sign of cariboo, the 

 conclusion was forced upon us that the season was now so far 

 advanced that the deer had gone into the mountains. 



The days of gale we spent in the tent with our Eskimo 

 friends. Tullik was very nice ; she made boots for us, cooked 

 our food, and taught us words and phrases of the Eskimo 

 language. She was rather a clever woman, and easily under- 

 stood what we meant as well when we said something to her in 

 plain English as when we made an attempt to explain matters 

 to her in her own tongue. 



Uxra, as usual, helped his wife in her numerous duties. When 

 the weather was too bad to hunt he played with the child, went 

 out to fetch water, found and split firewood, and was the first 

 one awake in the morning to make the fire. Most Eskimo men 

 would never have thought of doing this ; they would either have 

 made the wife do it or have taken another woman ; but Uxra 

 went about his work and that of his wife without a murmur, 

 and was always cheerful and smiling. 





