388 HUNTING WITH THE ESKIMOS 



sistance. With his help at the oar we barely suc- 

 ceeded in shaving the pan without striking it. None 

 of the Eskimos could swim a stroke, no man could 

 have withstood the low temperature of the water for 

 long even under the most favorable circumstances, 

 and had we struck that pan of ice all hands would 

 have been lost. 



We were at length within reach of shore, and for- 

 tunately approaching at a point where the rocks 

 sloped gently down into the sea with a flat surface. 

 Here I drove the boat. We struck with considerable 

 force, and before we could tumble out upon the rocks 

 a big wave broke over us, but the landing was made 

 in safety, though all were thoroughly soaked. 



I was never more glad of anything in my life than 

 when I felt the good old land under my feet again, 

 and I offered up a sincere prayer of thanks for our 

 deliverance. With active work all of our outfit was 

 saved, and the boat, little the worse for her experience, 

 hauled to a safe place. This happened only a few 

 hundred yards from the place where the Polaris was 

 wrecked several years before. 



The excitement through which I had passed was so 

 great that for a long while I could not sleep, and I 

 sat in my open tent and watched the sea, as wild and 

 rough as the farthest flights of imagination could 

 picture. Innumerable blocks of ponderous ice rode 

 the crests of waves and in every direction lay mighty 

 icebergs. As the sea dashed against the bergs, spurts 

 of spray shot high in the air, reflecting all the colors 

 of the rainbow. One is seldom privileged to witness 



