270 HUNTING WITH THE ESKIMOS 



Dr. Cook was much astonished to learn that I had 

 remained in this God-forsaken land through the 

 Arctic night for no other purpose than to hunt, and 

 when I explained to him that the hope of getting 

 musk-ox trophies had been the chief reason for my 

 stay he marked upon an old chart which I had, sec- 

 tions where he had encountered large herds of musk- 

 oxen in his journey across Ellesmere Land, informa- 

 tion which I later utilized. 



Dr. Cook remained a few days at Annootok to re- 

 cuperate, and then with Kulutinguah began his long 

 sledging trip to the Danish settlement at Upernavik, 

 where he hoped to connect with a steamer for civili- 

 zation. I accompanied them to Etah. Here there 

 was great excitement among the Eskimos when they 

 learned of Dr. Cook's return. He remained two days 

 at Etah and then with Kulutinguah left for the south. 



During the previous autumn Captain Bernier of 

 the Canadian steamship Arctic had left some supplies 

 near Etah for Dr. Cook. The contents of the boxes 

 were wrapped in New York and Washington news- 

 papers, and although the news was several months old 

 I seized upon the papers and read them eagerly. 



The Eskimos had all gone to Nockme, and for 

 several days I was entirely alone at Etah after Dr. 

 Cook and Kulutinguah left me. I amused myself 

 when in camp with culinary experiments and suc- 

 ceeded in making some excellent pop-overs and muf- 

 fins, but an effort to make gingersnaps proved a dis- 

 mal failure. 



Finally, when hunting hares one day I espied two 



