WHEN THE ESKIMOS LEFT US 257 



ing in mortal agony, or begging to be admitted. 

 Billy was sleeping. Three times I got up and passed 

 out into the tunnel, very certain that some one was 

 there. It was a night of nerve torture. I slept very 

 little and was glad indeed when day broke, and with 

 daylight the wind subsided. 



The snow continued but the lessened wind made 

 it possible to go out. The temperature had risen to 

 eight degrees above zero, and donning light clothes 

 I took a long, refreshing tramp on snow-shoes. I 

 had been out for three hours and the snow had ceased, 

 when the sun broke through a bank of mist and the 

 atmosphere became very smoky. Following this 

 change heavy black clouds appeared in the south- 

 west and in all its radiance and beauty a perfect rain- 

 bow appeared against them. For a short time the 

 rainbow rested there, but presently faded, the sky be- 

 came heavily overcast, the wind, previously from the 

 south, shifted suddenly to the north, and a fresh gale 

 was in progress with snow falling thick. In three 

 hours there was a drop of fourteen degrees in tem- 

 perature. 



A new dreariness had taken possession of the land- 

 scape. Previous to the storm, dark bare rocks lay 

 out against the white to break the dreadful monotony 

 of glare. Now every vestige of them had disap- 

 peared and everywhere nothing but snow snow 

 snow met the gaze. It ate into one's eyes and burned 

 them, even more it seemed to me in cloudy than in 

 bright weather. 



In perio'ds of inactivity during the long night I had 



