440 



THE POLAR WORLD. 





1, '^vi^i'^ ,- ■^}'^\t))^^'^\7iiiAf ^\0 





/ 



PREPARING BOOT SOLES. 



boot-soles, others Avere sewing, Avhile one Avas tending a cross baby. It is rare 

 to find an Innuit child who is not very quiet, but this little fellow had eaten a 

 piece of raw blubber, which had disordered him. Some of the amusing tricks 

 ])layed by these Esquimaux women are especially deserving of notice. The va- 

 I'iety of games performed by a string tied at the ends, similar to a ' cat's cra- 

 dle,' completely throws into the shade our adepts at home. I never before wit- 

 nessed such a number of intricate ways in which a simple string could be used. 

 One arrangement represented a deer; another, a whale; a third, the Avalrus; a 

 fourth, the seal ; and so on Avithout end." 



The short Arctic summer soon came to a close. On the morning of the 

 26th of September came light Avinds from the north-Avest; by noon it began to 

 snow, the Avind increasing to a gale. The Avhaling-boats all came in, and prep- 

 arations were made for bad Aveather. During the night the storm greAV hourly 

 fiercer. The " Rescue " dragged her anchor, and Avas dashed upon the rocks an 

 utter A^reck. Hall's little boat, ujwn A\hich he had so much relied, Avas torn 

 from its moorings and lost, "dooming me," says Hall, "to a AVi'eck of disap- 

 pointment in the hopes I had cherished concerning her. The ' George Hen- 

 ry' Avas also in imminent peril, but outrode the tempest; but on her next 

 voyage, eighteen months later, Avas lost at a point hardly a hundred miles dis- ^| 

 tant." H 



The " George Henry " Avas soon after laid up in Avinter-quarters, fairly blocked 

 in by ice. Hall in the mean time had made himself acquainted Avith the Es- 



