446 CONQUERING THE ARCTIC ICE 



1 have also ordered a pocket magnifier ; I lost my other in the mountains. 

 Please send about 20 Ibs. assorted nails, eightpenny and smaller. 

 I ] have to pull old ones out of boxes now, and have to hunt at 

 that, every time I want to put up a shelf. Also two school slates and 

 pencils. If Montague cannot furnish the boat, I must have a whaleboat 

 and sail. Have ordered some more films and photo holders from Chicago. 

 You'll get the bill. 



I was very busy getting off my mail last August, and forgot to thank you for 

 the popcorn and maple sugar. The latter will come in opportunely, now that 

 we are soon to be without sugar. The cold affects a watch or chronometer, 

 and I have difficulty in looking at the watch, holding the light and pointing 

 the instrument all at once. By having a sounder to beat seconds, I can 

 hear and count them, thus getting very accurate time upon an instrument 

 protected from the cold. This is especially true when timing occultations, 

 upon which the longitude will depend. 1 simply cannot do exact work with 

 a watch, for I must get the time to ^V second if possible. There is no 

 accurate longitude upon the coast, though perhaps Lieut. Ray's Expedition 

 got one ; anyhow, I need a good position for this place, on which to base my 

 surveys. I have the latitude within 4', about 40 feet. The longitude, by 

 our ship chronometer, may be two miles off, or more. I have one occultation, 

 which, if successful, may give the longitude within one second, or 500 feet, 

 at this latitude. I am ambitious to locate this spot with all the accuracy 

 possible, in order that it shall be the basis for future surveys. Just think, 

 no one knows where the United States and Canada line is, which depends 

 upon 141 degrees longitude. That is uncertain, within three or four miles, 

 along the coast. I can locate it within at least 500 feet, if the position 

 of the starting point here is known exactly. 



I am getting along pretty well in the Eskimo languagenow,but it is so unlike 

 ours that 1 find it difficult to express myself. Besides, there is a whaler jargon , 

 which they persist in using. I learne d it first, and fall back on it when I cannot 

 express myself correctly. The language is highly inflected, and nearly all 

 nouns and verbs, hardly any adjectives. A noun has perhaps a couple of 

 pages of inflections, and a verb might take up a whole book. Maybe you 

 do not think that these people have a scientific grammar. It is far beyond 

 ours. I can't get over the lack of adjectives and adverbs. Somehow they 

 get it all into the verb. The nearest I can come to saying " I want a good 

 big strong dog" is, "I want him, the dog is big, he is strong." Last 

 year I was out so much that I had little opportunity of learning. The next 

 two years will see me constantly with them, and I ought to know the language 

 pretty well. 



Captain Mikkelsen says the report was sent out by the Mounted Police 

 that we were lost on the ice. He had Stefansson go out overland to see you 

 at your expense. You are best judge of the value of the information. Any- 

 how, rest easy on my account now, for I shall be with natives all the time, and 

 where they can live by hunting I can get along. As for dogs, we are well 

 off, and, if we get those at Point Barrow, shall have as fine a team as could 

 be wished. 



