MY FIRST SLEDGE JOURNEY 



houses among the snow and rocks after our cold day's 

 travelling; and to them it was the biggest excite- 

 ment of the winter. You can imagine how they 

 would shout when they first saw our sledge ; the big 

 team of dogs and the three men on the sledge would 

 be enough to tell them at once that it was a 

 European. Presently we got within sound of their 

 shouting ; " Kablunak, Kablunak," they yelled, and 

 their outbursts came booming over the ice in the still 

 evening air. " Amalo, amalo " (another) they roared, 

 as each sledge came round the point ; and by the 

 time we reached them and looked back along the 

 track the thirteenth sledge was just in sight, with its 

 trotting little mannikin driver and its bunch of little 

 black dots of dogs, and the excitement was at fever 

 pitch. There had never been anything like this 

 before. Such a procession ! It was a sight to re- 

 member ; a long, dull streak across the clean, bright 

 snow, alive with a series of crawling dots, the nearest 

 easily distinguishable as men and dogs, shouting and 

 yelping and racing towards us, the furthest mere 

 black specks almost seeming to stand still. There 

 was no mistake about the welcome ; each sledge as 

 it came up the slope was pounced upon by a laughing, 

 gesticulating mob, who whisked it off, dogs and all, 

 towards one or other of the Eskimo houses. 



It is their way of inviting ; seize the guest and 

 take him along ; and the boys ran in front of the dogs 

 crying " Hau-hau-hau," and leading them on until 

 at the sound of "Ah" they drew up at the proper 

 door. 



As for myself, I was shaking hands with a 

 bearded, frosted man, the Hebron missionary ; and 

 a score of willing helpers were carrying my luggage 



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