AT ANNOOTOK 57 



As the wind and tide drove the floes together, great 

 pans rafted one upon another, crashing together with 

 terrific noise. 



The Annootok house, with only a few finishing 

 touches to be added, was now in fairly good shape, 

 I believed, for the winter. This was a more central 

 point than Etah for hunting expeditions, and was 

 to be my winter headquarters. Further provisions 

 and supplies had to be brought up from Etah be- 

 fore Smith Sound became so choked with ice that 

 boat navigation would be rendered impossible. I had 

 still to arrange with the Eskimos to complete a win- 

 ter wardrobe for me; for in this climate the only 

 practicable clothing is skin and fur clothing such as 

 the natives wear. For instance, if one were to at- 

 tempt to wear in the low temperature of the Arctic 

 the conventional boots and shoes of civilization, 

 frozen feet would be the prompt result, for ordinary 

 leather will freeze as stiff as boards, and one's feet 

 must be dressed in pliable, though substantial, gear. 



The boatswain and Billy were to go with me to 

 Etah, and on the following day, August twenty- 

 ninth, though there was much shifting ice in the 

 Sound, the wind was fair, we launched our boat, and 

 with Eskimo aids headed south. 



It was very cold, and in the short time that had 

 elapsed since our arrival at Annootok, much young 

 ice had formed. This we found exceedingly trouble- 

 some. Once we got into a pocket an open lead of 

 water running between the ice and frozen over at 

 the one end. This delayed us considerably, as it 



