56 AN ESKIMO VILLAGE 



eet ! " he started the dogs on their long trail north- 

 wards. The going was good ; the ice was new and 

 hard ; the sledge rumbled merrily as the dogs, all 

 fresh and frisky, trotted on ; and with the dawn 

 breaking grey upon the hills they left their island 

 behind them. 



Zakki did not ride much himself. There were 

 only seven dogs, and though, alas ! little Zakki did 

 not weigh much, there were other things clothing 

 and food and the meat for the dogs that made the 

 sledge heavy enough. 



So, like a true driver, Zakki trotted beside, 

 cheering the dogs, and now and again pulling the 

 canvas aside to speak to little Zakki. They ran 

 forty miles on the first day, and camped near a 

 snowdrift on the shore. The snow at the foot of the 

 drift was deep and hard. Zakki plunged his great 

 snow-knife in it, as far as the blade would go, and 

 judged it good hard snow for cutting blocks for 

 building. He cut and builded, and within two hours 

 he had made a tiny bee-hive hut for shelter. He 

 spread the dogs' harness on the floor, and over all 

 he laid the skins ; then he carried little Zakki in, 

 away from the keen night wind, and wrapped him 

 snug and warm. Then he built a fire of brushwood 

 in a niche of the rock and boiled the kettle. And 

 as he sat in the tiny snow house and munched his 

 simple meal, while his son, a very wan and listless 

 little Zakki, sipped the warm sweet tea, he chattered 

 on about the splendid run they had made. Forty 

 miles ! And the dogs in harness for the first time 

 since the spring ! It was fine ! The ice was safe 



