250 HUNTING WITH THE ESKIMOS 



been on the ice five hours, when very suddenly clouds 

 began to gather and in an indescribably short time 

 the whole heavens were as black as ink much the 

 same in appearance as when a big thunder-storm 

 gathers. Almost immediately a heavy wind rose 

 from the south. Instead of turning about, we very 

 indiscreetly continued going away from camp until 

 snow began to fall. We were on the sea ice at this 

 time and immediately land was blotted from view. 



Distances on the ice are very deceiving and hard 

 to judge under the best of conditions, and now the 

 conditions were about as bad as they could be. We 

 got into rough ice and soft snow-drifts in fighting 

 our way against the blizzard toward the shore. Hap- 

 pily, however, we did not get confused as to direction 

 and finally reached the ice foot a considerable distance 

 north of camp. 



With the full force of the storm now directly in 

 our faces we were forced frequently to rest, but at 

 length, exhausted to the last degree, reached our 

 shelter. We had started out at a quarter past nine 

 in the morning and it was twenty-five minutes before 

 nine in the evening when we returned. Billy voiced 

 the sentiments of both when he exclaimed, "No more 

 getting so far away on the ice for me without Eski- 

 mos and sledges!" 



For several days I was so ill that I became alarmed 

 at my condition. My back ached, I had a high fever, 

 was so weak I could not walk far or exercise, and 

 could not sleep. I feared that I might not be well 

 enough to go on the musk-ox hunt when Oxpuddy- 



