TREACHEROUS WALKING. 157 



We had no boat by which we could row the short distance now 

 separating us from the house to which we were going. The tide was 

 dead low. On we went, the stones and corners of the rocks hurting 

 our feet — for we wore the dogskin boots of the Esquimaux, — 

 while the huge cakes of broken ice often caused us to stumble in 

 quite a hopeless manner. Again, in spite of the low tide, the 

 cliffs came almost down to the water, and we were frequently 

 obliged to wade in the water up to our knees and much above the 

 top of our boots, or climb over most dangerous places at the risk 

 of slipping down into the water beneath. To add to the dis- 

 agreeableness of our situation the darkness now became so dense 

 that we could scarcely see a couple of rods ahead ; and this was 

 what we termed luck being on our side against walking over the 

 tops of the high hills before mentioned ; but we stood it man- 

 fully, and at last reached the little basin just before the bend that 

 would bring us to the shore. Here the ice was quite fresh, being 

 formed from a little brook that runs into this natural or perhaps 

 artificial hollow. It was here so slippery that we could hardly 

 stand upon it, while the broken cakes made the walking almost 

 impossible. We stumbled and fell, then tried to climb up the 

 slippery inclines only to fall quite back again. I think that that 

 little distance of scarce a mile and a half, from the head of the 

 bay to the house to which we were going, cost me more severe 

 travelling and labor to attain, than any other similar trip that 

 I ever remember of taking in my life ; but we reached it at last. 



It seems to me almost as if I could recollect each individual 

 step of the way, and sitting in a cosey chair by a large snapping 

 fire, I wondered how I had the strength to go through with it 

 after the twelve steady miles that I had already tramped since 

 morning, — and of such tramping ! To give an idea of how lit- 

 tle these strong, robust fellows think of such travelling, one of the 

 two men who had just come with us insisted upon returning after 

 tea with a young fellow whom we met here and who was going 

 that way. Seven o'clock at night and so dark that one could 

 hardly see a rod ahead ! over slippery ice on which one could 



