XI 



ADRIFT ON THE ICE 



IN the period of the Arctic night one can never 

 tell when one may travel. Light and weather 

 conditions can never be depended upon to coin- 

 cide. Without sufficient light to see the game, gen- 

 erally efforts to hunt walrus are not only futile, but 

 on treacherous ice floes extremely dangerous, and 

 even the reckless Eskimos will hardly venture upon 

 the attempt, unless driven to do so by dire necessity. 

 The moonlight was still faint when our expedition 

 made ready to leave Annootok, but on that very day 

 a strong north gale arose, so strong that traveling 

 was made impossible while it lasted. Day after day 

 it blew with terrible velocity, and all of us were held 

 prisoners at Annootok. The weather at the same 

 time grew so cold that none dared venture far from 

 shelter. We were short of fresh meat, and I had 

 hoped to kill some hares, but never a lull came, and 

 hunting was out of the question. 



The cold was so intense that even the Eskimos 

 kept close within their igloos, and when they did 

 come out of necessity they apparently felt the cold 

 more than at any time during the winter. Kulu- 

 tinguah, while cutting ice to melt for tea, froze both 



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