232 



CONQUERING THE ARCTIC ICE 



and at once he starts a fight. The next sight is a mass of legs ; 

 we hear the snapping of teeth when the mouths shut tight over 

 some part of the enemy's body, mingled with howls of pain, the 

 cracking of the whip, or the thud of a club applied with good 

 will and strength by the two feeders. Dogs and men move to 

 and fro over the ice in a hopeless tangle, the dogs biting each 



DRYING OUR SLEEPING BAGS ON THE TENT. 



other and getting whipped, until at last the men succeed in 

 getting hold of the tails of the combatants and the fight is 

 stopped. But far away another dog licks his mouth and thinks 

 with pleasure of the nice piece of pemmican which he managed 

 to seize in the heat of the combat, and which he happily was 

 able to devour before the two fighters saw him and, forgetting 

 their own trouble, turned upon him. Fights like these occur 

 every time the dogs are fed, and there are always some bleeding 

 heads when this part of the day's work is over. When every 

 morsel of food has been disposed of, the dogs begin to look out 

 for a good place to sleep in. As a rule this also causes several 

 fights, as one dog makes up his mind that the only place worth 

 sleeping in is already engaged by a comrade. Then it is only a 

 question of who is the stronger ; the weaker will soon be running 

 away over the ice, loudly lamenting the wickedness of the world 



