FROM FLAXMAN ISLAND TO ICY CAPE 361 



I had intended to start the next day, but my kind host would 

 not let me go, and I promised to stay one day more. My stay 

 at Icy Cape, however, became longer than any of us had 

 expected, for during the day a furious gale sprang up, which 

 lasted three days longer. It blew at times as much as fifty 





HOMEWARD BOUND. 



miles an hour, and I was glad and thankful to be in so 

 substantial a shelter as the Government school-house afforded. 



One of my dogs had broken down on the trail and was 

 perfectly useless ; his four paws were bleeding and almost raw 

 underneath. The poor beast suffered agonies when walking, 

 and I traded my only rifle for a dog. The animal I got was 

 the best to be had, which is, however, not saying very much, 

 and it caused me much trouble later on. 



About a hundred natives were living at Icy Cape, and about 

 thirty-five persons attended the school. As everywhere in those 

 parts, the pupils were of all ages, and it is not an uncommon 

 sight to see father and son sitting on the same bench learning 

 to read or write, and it is almost invariably the case that the 

 son is the cleverer of the two and has to help his father out of 

 school hours. There are no missionaries at Icy Cape, and the 

 natives themselves hold a sort of service every Sunday. They 

 sing some hymns, a prayer is said, and it often happens that 

 some of the more advanced among them deliver a sermon. 



A young man, Oojooaktok, wanted to go down the coast, and 

 we soon agreed that he and I should travel together. He was 

 a nice fellow, and I never had any reason to regret our associa- 

 tion, as he was not only clever, but also helpful and willing. 



