260 HUNTING WITH THE ESKIMOS 



filled with drift. It was a long, tedious job to bur- 

 row our way out. When this was accomplished I 

 discovered that a mighty drift had formed against 

 the north side of the camp and this it was that prob- 

 ably preserved the shack from destruction. I was 

 quite certain that had I ventured at this time even a 

 few yards from the mouth of the tunnel I could never 

 have found my way back. 



By the morning of the second day of the storm 

 holes had been eaten through the snow blocks piled 

 on the south side of the shack, and snow began to 

 drift in between the boxes. I repaired the damage 

 as best I could in the little while that it was possible 

 to remain outside. Before the gale began, the ground 

 surrounding the camp had been covered with three 

 or four feet of snow as hard as ice. Now upon 

 emerging to attempt repairs to the snow-block pro- 

 tection, I discovered that the wind had eaten the ice- 

 like snow away and swept the rocks bare. 



Our coal was nearly gone and I set up my oil stoves 

 and brought a case of oil into camp. To economize 

 fuel we spent the greater part of our time in sleep- 

 ing-bags. It was the only way to keep comfortable. 

 While lying there I was profoundly thankful I had 

 not gone on a musk-ox or walrus hunt. 



On the fourth night of the storm a section 01 our 

 tunnel was carried away. Little could be done then 

 to repair the damage, but during the next night the 

 wind subsided, and when morning broke the sun shone 

 clear and bright. The broken section of the tunnel 

 had scarcely been rebuilt, and weakened sections on 



