372 THE FRIENDLY ARCTIC 



where Storkerson and Thomsen had a chance to talk with their 

 wives they began to see what was involved. Both Mrs. Storkerson 

 and Mrs. Thomsen believed that Kullak would certainly look upon 

 me as a murderer if either his wife or the child were to die and 

 that he would undoubtedly be greatly displeased, though both were 

 to live, if the sex turned out to be female. Mrs. Thomsen, who 

 was the more old-fashioned of the two, was even herself of the opin- 

 ion that I could control the sex of the child if I wanted to, and that 

 I should have no excuse if I did not. 



Apart from the occasion of the slippers, the visit to this Eskimo 

 family had relieved our minds. We now felt sure Wilkins had not 

 been prevented by the early breakup of the ice from reaching the 

 base of the southern section of the expedition. The Star might be 

 expected at Kellett any day. We also knew that everything was 

 going on well at the base camp. As the Eskimo report was that our 

 people were short of meat except for the geese, I shot four caribou 

 about twelve miles northeast of the base and asked the men to skin 

 them and to bring home their dog packs loaded with meat, leaving 

 all our other belongings at the deer kill. We would later send back 

 from the camp to fetch them. 



Then I hurried on and arrived at the Kellett base camp on 

 August 9th, one day ahead of the estimate we had made in Mel- 

 ville Island. Levi was there alone. I give here my diary entry 

 summarizing the information which he gave me on my arrival: 



"Monday, August 9: NEWS: All has gone well in general. 

 Nine Eskimos were around for several days the latter part of July 

 and gave us several hundred geese. Levi and Bernard together 

 killed one caribou and Bernard two caribou and one bear. They 

 had also secured numbers of hares, ducks and ptarmigan. They 

 once set a fish net but a seal carried it off. A new sod house has 

 been built one hundred yards west of the old one and there we 

 intend to winter. They (Captain Bernard and Levi) had concluded 

 (because of our being, in their estimation overdue) that if we were 

 not dead we were on Prince Patrick Island unable to cross and might 

 come home after the ice formed in the fall, but not before. Con- 

 siderable driftwood has been found on the beach and piled up near 

 Cape Kellett. Bernard has made a wagon and has gone with Mrs. 

 Storkerson and Mrs. Thomsen to fetch our dory (from Storkerson's 

 trapping camp thirty miles north). A considerable ethnological 

 collection has been made by purchase from the Eskimos. All our 

 provisions are in good order and there is enough, except of con- 

 densed sled rations, for our real needs if no (whaling) ship comes. 



