BACK OVER THE GLACIERS 201 



off their feet, as the traces tightened, but never slack- 

 ening its pace. I wore the bottoms nearly off my 

 kamiks by holding my feet on the ice as we sped 

 forward, in an endeavor to retard the sledge and pre- 

 vent it running the dogs down, which constantly 

 seemed unavoidable and imminent. 



Teddylinguah and I reached the frozen ocean at 

 the foot of the incline considerably in advance of the 

 others, and here halted to rest the dogs, which were 

 panting and heated with the hard run, and to 

 straighten and unravel tangled traces. This gave 

 me opportunity to watch the others descend. It was 

 a wonderful exhibition of skill on the part of the 

 drivers. I could not understand how they prevented 

 the sledges from turning over. It made my hair 

 fairly stand on end and my heart come into my throat! 

 Down the steep incline they dashed, komatiks swing- 

 ing from side to side, dogs galloping at utmost speed, 

 until all finally joined us in safety and without fur- 

 ther mishap. 



Suddenly the whole scene and our surroundings 

 had been transformed as if by magic. Ahead of us 

 in the blue depths of the heavens stood the beautiful 

 moon. Behind us and overhead flashed with exceed- 

 ing brilliancy and constantly changing color, the au- 

 rora, so close it seemed that one might reach out 

 and thrust one's hands into the lights. Above us, 

 stretching away for many miles, rose the rugged, 

 perpendicular ice wall of Crystal Palace Glacier, a 

 mass of marvelous green, blue and purple coloring 

 a gigantic prism scintillating the rays of moon 



