WINTER QUARTERS 



127 



way of putting the louse out of harm's way for ever by 

 swallowing it ! 



To the credit of the Eskimos in these parts, I must say that 

 with the exception of one other family these people were the 

 dirtiest I ever met. 



On November 13 we had secured our skins and started down 



THE OLDEST COUPLE SUKAREINNA AND UJARAK. 



the river. The whole aspect of the country had changed. 

 Where before we had deep, soft snow, we had now large 

 expanses of glare ice over which the sledges (Topsia followed 

 us down to the coast) were skimming as fast as the dogs could 

 run, before a fair wind, with two of us riding while the third 

 was running ahead, skipping and sliding over the smooth ice. 

 On November 15 we reached the coast, having covered in two 

 days the distance which it had taken us five days to travel when 

 going up. 



The Battle Creek food, as mentioned above, was also used 

 on this trip, but not exclusively, pemmican being used besides. 

 Kreeseek thought that it was rather queer stuff, and when I told 

 him that the contents of a certain can of bromose were equal 



