1 



' I 



ON THE THRESHOLD OF THE LONG NIGHT 



I WAS too tired that night to begin repairs. The 

 stove would not draw, but after much effort we 

 succeeded in getting sufficient fire to cook our 

 supper ; then, stiff with cold, I took refuge in my bed, 

 to awake in the morning lying under a heavy blanket 

 of snow that had fallen and covered me during the 

 night. 



It was cold work now rebuilding the house. With 

 a fire in the stove within the roofless enclosure, I would 

 drive a few nails and then run in and warm my half 

 frozen fingers over the stove. But at length the sides 

 were made snug again and covered with canvas, the 

 roof was on, and a stone tunnel built, leading to the 

 door. Without this tunnel it was found impossible 

 to keep snow out of the place. The stonework, cov- 

 ered with drift, was of great advantage, also, in as- 

 sisting to keep the heat confined and the house warm. 

 The weather was so cold that all the Eskimos of 

 the settlement moved now into their winter homes 

 in stone igloos. These igloos, covered with snow- 

 drift, were very snug and warm. A low tunnel, some 

 fifty feet in length, led to them, and to enter an igloo 

 one was compelled, by the low roof of the tunnel, to 



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