FROM ICY CAPE BACK TO CIVILIZATION 369 



left ; they did not look pleased, but brought forth a tiny bit 

 of seal meat, cooked it, and gave it to us. What we left was 

 given to the children, who were loudly clamouring for food, and 

 after that we turned in, hoping that the gale would spend itself 

 during the night. 



But morning came, and the gale was blowing as hard as 

 ever. And, what was still worse, the natives had no food left, 

 as they had given us their last piece of meat on the night 

 before. The first day our food consisted of horrid flapjacks, 

 made of flour and water ; then even that gave out, and we only 

 had one meal all day long. After that we resorted to some 

 fish, which had been kept for dog-feed and was putrid but 

 eatable. Another dog was killed to feed my team, which lay 

 curled up in the alley leading to the house in which I stayed, 

 so as to be out of the wind. 



We stayed in the village until December 4 ; then, although 

 the wind blew almost as hard as ever, and the natives attempted 

 to dissuade me, I hitched up my dogs and started. All went 

 well for the first couple of miles, and I began to think that it 

 was not so bad after all. We were swept along, falling and 

 sliding, but we knew that if we could pass the point we should 

 be safe and should be able to reach Point Hope. Ahead of us, 

 a quarter of a mile distant, was the most windy spot, and 

 alongside of us the mountains rose perpendicularly almost to 

 700 feet. We could hear the thundering of the wind as 

 it came roaring over the top, loosening large stones and 

 hurling them out over the ice. Then we were caught in a 

 whirlwind. I, who was ahead of the team, was blown over and 

 slid along the ice for several hundred feet, until I was brought 

 to a standstill by a piece of ice not 10 feet from an open lane. 

 I anchored myself securely and turned round to see how 

 Oojooaktok was faring. He also had been caught in the whirl- 

 wind and rolled over with sledge and dogs. The sledge had 

 been lifted and hurled against a piece of ice, a runner was 

 broken in two, again and again the sledge was lifted up, blown 

 along, and hurled against some iceblocks until nothing but 

 kindling wood was left. Then the furious whirlwind continued 

 on its way over the ocean, contented with the havoc it had 

 done, and in the comparatively calm spell which followed 

 I crawled back to the wreck. Our gear was scattered all over 



A.I. B B 



