MY DRIVERS 



Julius is called Kakarsuk, which means " a little 

 mountain"; and Julius's weight was a matter of 

 concern to the dogs. When he sat down on the 

 sledge they all used to look round to see what the 

 matter was, and Johannes would laugh and say, 

 " No wonder they are surprised : they have to pull 

 a mountain now." Julius used to grin at this 

 pleasantry, and then say with a chuckle, " Yes, they 

 don't mind when you jump on, for it is only like 

 sticking a pin into the sledge " ; Johannes's name is 

 Merkorarsuk, which means "a little needle." This 

 was an endless joke on our journeys. If the dogs 

 were running slowly, it was " Get off, old mountain, 

 they can't pull you " ; and if Johannes happened to 

 feel inclined to trot alongside a little, Julius would 

 say with a chuckle, " Your weight doesn't make 

 any difference, little pin." After these passages 

 they both used to ruminate over the joke, storing 

 it up as something good to tell when they got 

 home. 



My drivers soon became firm friends. They even 

 got as far as calling one another Jonathan. "Just 

 tighten that dog's trace, Jonata." "All right, 

 Jonata." " Run in front a little way, Jonata." 

 " Ahaila (yes), Jonata," and so on. When we 

 were making our camp in the woods, Julius some- 

 times came to me and said, " Where's Jonata ? " 



" Over among those trees, I think ; he went to 

 look for water." 



Off he would go, to look for Johannes. Mean- 

 while Johannes might have wandered round and 

 reached camp from some other quarter. His first 

 question invariably was, " Where's Jonata ? " 



One night, when we were snugly fixed in our 



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