288 CONQUERING THE ARCTIC ICE 



much more wildly than the women, who stand in one place 

 and beat time to the music with their feet, moving their arms 

 about, and swaying their bodies to and fro. 



Sometimes they dance together, two men or a man and a 

 woman, now and then even four or five at a time. Then the 

 men do all the work, and never stop until they are perfectly 



DANCING NATIVES. 



exhausted, all the time uttering most fearful howls, while the 

 music, slow and monotonous, drones over the company. Their 

 dances all have some meaning, and they represent the hunting 

 of different animals, a courtship, a disaster, etc., each dance 

 being always accompanied by a peculiar tune. 



Now and then a woman who had something to give me 

 danced about for a while in front of me, waving her gift in her 

 hand, until at last she stopped short, threw- her gift at me, and 

 made room for the next. 



Some crackers and other things which we had brought as 

 our contribution to the festival were eaten during a pause, but 

 apart from that, the natives kept up the dancing all night and 

 slept during the day. The next evening they came down to 

 our house, where the dancing and feasting commenced afresh. 

 A white man's dance, which a couple of the men danced with 



