WINTER QUARTERS 151 



his boys in order to bring back a dog which Ned had given us. 

 They took some provisions which were still due to Ned, and 

 their sledges were heavy. All our new dogs were in harness, 

 and the sledges went flying down to the Point where the old 

 owners of the dogs lived, but from there and outwards it was 

 almost impossible to drive the beasts. During the night two 

 of them escaped and returned to 

 Flaxman Island and to the homes of 

 their early days. 



The preparations for the sledge 

 trip were going on and things were 

 gradually getting ready. We built a 

 large house, 10 by 14 feet, in a snow- 

 drift aft of the ship, and when we had 

 got a stove fitted into it we had a 

 splendid work-room. All the lash- 

 ings were overhauled, and Mr. 

 Storkersen had charge of that busi- 

 ness, while others weighed out pro- 

 visions in the cabin. Thuesen was 



\*> 1\ U r \^ A IN A 



making tents, and the women, of 



the Eskimo village were busy making parkeys and pants, 

 mittens, boots, and socks, while others were tanning the skins. 

 Either Mr. Lemngwell or myself went down every day to see 

 how the work progressed and whether' it was well done. 

 Douglamana acted as a kind of forewoman and Sachawachick 

 gave us good advice. Tullik had realized the folly of fighting 

 against us and was gentle and docile. She was, as I have said 

 before,_a splendid sempstress, the best we had on the island, 

 and it was consequently easy to forgive her slip with the deer- 

 skins before Christmas, the more so as we really liked her. 

 But Douglamana was our quickest sempstress, and she could 

 get through a surprising amount of work. Sukareinna was 

 making mittens and sleeping bags, and only Cropcana could 

 not be trusted to do any work whatever. 



This Kanara family is the most unsympathetic of all our 

 neighbours ; they came here in the beginning of November and 

 have not moved since. Kanara never goes out hunting, as he 

 is too lazy, and they get food in Sachawachick's house, where 

 their family of five are constant but not always welcome guests. 



