294 CONQUERING THE ARCTIC ICE 



whaler at Barter Island, and he stayed behind in order to go 



down there with Ekajuak in Ned's umiak. 



We stopped at Sachawachick's place on the sand-spit to 



transfer our things to his boat, and on Sunday, July 14, in 



splendid weather and with 

 a fair wind, we started for 

 Point Barrow. 



In the boats were Dr. 

 Howe, Fiedler, Hicky, and 

 Thuesen, who had all had 

 enough of the Arctic and 

 wanted to go home, Sacha- 

 wachick, Storkersen, Mr. 

 Stefansson, and myself. Mr. 

 Stefansson expected some 

 important letters at Point 

 Barrow which might oblige 

 him to go home, but if 



DR. HOWE AND STEFANSSON. ^ ** "<* the h<S ^ 



going to stay another year. 



Storkersen and myself were to go east with one of the whalers 

 which we knew we would meet at Point Barrow, in order to 

 take some soundings off the Mackenzie River, and, if the ice 

 would permit, we also intended to take a line of soundings from 

 the west coast of Banks Land. 



The first day we made about thirty miles, and we had intended 

 to keep on all night, but the fog was so thick that we could not 

 see our way, and camped about 9.30 P.M. The next morning 

 the wind, which had been easterly for the last three weeks, 

 had changed to the north, and the fog was still hanging over 

 the water ; it was only a thin layer, but more than enough to 

 make us feel uncomfortable. We lost our bearings among 

 some mudflats off the Sakovanuktok River and had to camp, 

 as the wind hauled still more to the west and the sea was high. 

 Mr. Stefansson, Sachawachick, and myself walked some distance 

 along the coast and found a large Eskimo family living in tents 

 on one of the numerous islets in the mouth of the river. An 

 old fellow, Peteralegook, lived there with all his family two 

 wives, his three sons, and two of their wives. These natives 

 had lived in the mountains all the winter, and had not heard 



