332 CONQUERING THE ARCTIC ICE 



me, and send them back to Flaxman Island as soon as I 

 could. 



Another object in going round by Point Barrow was to have 

 a talk with Mr. Brower about the probable state of the ice 

 there ; no man was more able to give me the desired informa- 

 tion than he, who had lived in the country, and at the same 

 place, for twenty-four years. Besides, my only other road, the 

 path over the mountains, was bad, and I would have to wait 

 longer to start, as the rivers were not yet passable. Every- 

 thing considered, it was better to go to Point Barrow, although 

 the distance I had to cover would be at least a thousand miles 

 longer than if I took the shorter road over the mountains. 



We had invited all the natives down to a grand Hula-Hula, 

 a farewell festival, and they all arrived, decked out in their 

 very best splendour. Tullik, our lady of fashion, wore a new 

 and very elegant parkey, a piece of work which must have cost 

 her many hours of hard work. Douglamana, on the contrary, 

 I suppose on the strength of her position, wore her old clothes, 

 but they had all taken pains to look as presentable as possible 

 in order to leave a good impression upon my mind. 



That they have succeeded I hope I have proved already, but 

 I cannot conclude this chapter without saying that it has 

 never been my lot, to associate with so many kind, helpful, and 

 considerate people as those our neighbours on Flaxman Island. 

 Of course they have their peculiarities, which are not very 

 agreeable to civilized men, but then we must remember that 

 they are little more than savages and have not been much 

 in contact with civilization. Except Sukareinna, they were all 

 born in the neighbourhood of Point Barrow or on the west 

 shore, as far down as Kotzebue Sound, from whence they have 

 emigrated because they were not willing to tolerate the superiority 

 of the average white man, because they knew that they could 

 not hold their own if they remained where they were born, and 

 realized that their children would be still more under white 

 man's bondage than they were. This feeling of independence 

 made them leave the place of their birth. Some went along 

 the coast, some overland, and, finding the country of the 

 Kokmoliks deserted, they claimed it as their own and settled 

 there. 



On this occasion we had a great feast. A huge pot of 





