90 THE LAST CHUISE OF THE MIRANDA. 



during the service, but during the last part one or two fretted 

 with that peculiar fret which civilized mothers recognize as 

 a sign of hunger. I suppose the same was the case here, for 

 I noticed that in each case it stopped suddenly, and that baby 

 was not heard from again. 



At the close the women went out first, the men remaining 

 in their seats until all the women were out, and until we left. 

 Indeed, I did not see them come out, as we went directly to 

 our boat and returned to the ship. 



Of the many churches and congregations 1 have attended ser- 

 vices in and with, never one more interesting than this. The 

 church, the race, the quaint costumes, the service, entirely in 

 the Eskimo tongue, the music, the simple service and devout 

 attention, made a picture and left a profound impression. 



We were unable to make a start for the camp until 

 August 14. It had rained hard and continually, and the sea 

 was so high that the Eskimos would not venture forth, and 

 the governor advised us strongly to trust to their instincts. 

 In the afternoon of that day it stopped raining, and we finally 

 induced the Eskimos to make a start, though they consented 

 with evident unwillingness. We had hardly been out more 

 than an hour when the rain began again to fall in torrents, 

 and a high wind dead against us, and a high sea, made it the 

 hardest kind of work to reach again the shelter of the islands 

 in our little archipelago. For some time we seemed to be 

 running a dead heat with a large rock not far to starboard ; 

 for an hour or so we did not gain a foot, but just managed to 

 hold our own against wind and tide. The poor Eskimos 

 pulled like Trojans. I had hold of the helm, and had great 

 difficulty in keeping the boat's head to the wind and waves. 

 My hands, incased in woollen mittens, wringing wet, were so 

 numb that I could hardly keep hold of the tiller. We had an 

 uncomfortable night at camp again, but not nearly so bad as 



