204 HUNTING WITH THE ESKIMOS 



or edge of the sledge, bare their breasts, and feed 

 the youngsters. And very frequently, too, the little 

 one, when taken from the bag on the mother's back, 

 is scarcely clothed at all. I never could understand 

 how they did this without freezing, but whenever I 

 asked the women, as I often did, if they were not 

 cold, they invariably answered "No." 



We remained in bed for many hours, until the 

 wind abated somewhat. Then Oxpuddinguah arose 

 and started a fire in the stove, and presently, as the 

 camp warmed, I came out of my sleeping-bag. 

 Teddylinguah brought in a large piece of walrus 

 meat, frozen as hard as a rock, and off this the Eski- 

 mos chopped liberal slices, upon which they break- 

 fasted, while I made tea and cooked something for 

 myself. 



Thus we passed the time, sleeping and eating, wait- 

 ing for two days, when at last the wind shifted to the 

 south. We made ready at once to resume our jour- 

 ney to Annootok. A light snow was falling when we 

 pulled out of Etah, and the thermometer registered 

 twenty degrees below zero. By the time we had 

 rounded Cape Olhsen the snow was falling heavily 

 and the wind rising rapidly. 



At Littleton Island, which is about eight miles 

 from Etah, the drivers left the ice foot and headed 

 in a northwesterly direction off-shore. This ap- 

 peared to me a peculiar movement. In all my jour- 

 neys up and down the coast between Etah and 

 Annootok during the winter we had never taken this 

 route, and the men with whom I had traveled were 



