THE WHITE WORLD 



shore. About twenty of them were looked over and se- 

 lected as models and subjects. Coffee and ship-biscuits 

 were served to them to gain their confidence. These Es- 

 kimo were allowed to remain on board to make fur cloth- 

 ing, be measured, painted, photographed and cast. Care- 

 ful and accurate measurements were made and recorded on 

 blanks brought for the purpose. Most of them were short 

 of stature, both men and women, with very small feet and 

 hands, short arms and legs; they were rather long waisted 

 and broad shouldered. Many had well shaped figures and 

 limbs. The faces of some of the young people were good 

 looking, despite the dirt. 



Some of the men, women and children were housed be- 

 tween decks. A tent was triced up, with a couple of oil 

 stoves to warm the interior, and my work began. The 

 fog had lifted, the " Hope " was headed up the coast for 

 Whale Sound, the wind began to blow, and the ice became 

 thicker. We had to punch our way through to gain time. 



The " Hope " would thump into a mass and rise, slide 

 back some yards to get headway, then push forward again ; 

 the great ice masses grinding and crunching along her 

 sides. We would rock from side to side, sometimes upset- 

 ting articles which were not secured. Fearful squalls of 

 snow would come down the mountain side and sweep over 

 the decks, causing everything to rattle and shake. The 

 captain, up in the crow's nest, the mate, in the foretop, 

 and the boatswain, on the bridge, were passing the word, 

 "Port!" or "Starboard!" to the man at the wheel, thus 

 picking out the soft spots through the ice floes. 



I took sketches with half frozen fingers, for it is fearfully 

 cold there when the wind blows, even in summer. Mean- 

 while a couple of the crew were fishing for my plaster. 

 It appeared, damp to the core. But there was no time 

 to lose, so pail after pail was carried to the engine room 

 to dry. 



Bang! We struck a mass of ice as the ship rocked to 

 one side. I clutched my pails filled with plaster. The bar- 

 rel tried to go over the side, but a quick lashing to the 

 ship's pump saved it. My model was in waiting for me 

 during all this. 



Each man had his own affairs to look after. I had to 



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