JOHANNES IN A STORM 



and had found the boulder after the crossing, only 

 we had tried to pass on the landward side of it, where 

 the wind had swept a path clear of snow and strewn 

 with the beach pebbles. I wondered how we had 

 managed to hit it at all ; but as we passed it that 

 morning in the clear winter sunshine Johannes gave 

 a shrug, and said " I got on the wrong side of that ! " 



Partly, I suppose, his remark was an expression 

 of the scrupulous exactness of the Eskimo mind 

 the same exactness that is seen in the little models of 

 sledges and canoes that the men make in their spare 

 time : every bit of the innermost working, however 

 hidden it may be from sight, is an exact reproduction 

 of the real thing ; the natural tendency of the 

 Eskimo is to be thorough. 



Partly it showed Johannes's simple faith in his 

 own gifts as a guide no brag ; utter simplicity. 



No one is more careful than an Eskimo sledge- 

 driver, and the quiet watchfulness to avoid every 

 hindrance, and to steer clear of every danger, is part of 

 his nature. No wonder that the driver is always on the 

 move. No chance droppings from the dogs must 

 soil the bright runners, or the sledge will run heavily, 

 so off the driver jumps and heaves the big sledge 

 around ; every crevice must be crossed squarely, so 

 that there is no risk of the runners slipping down ; 

 there must be no needless bumping over hummocks 

 or frozen waves of snow, and when there must needs 

 be bumps the men use their strength to let the sledge 

 fall gently ; and so it comes about that sledge travel- 

 ling with Eskimo drivers is as safe as sledge travelling 

 can be. 



On the way home from one of our journeys in 

 the springtime, we found that the tides had played 



190 



