216 THE LAST CRUISE OF THE MIRANDA. 



and finish their toilet. To show how the mind acts under 

 intense excitement, one man rushed to his stateroom and 

 gravely told his companion to save all the tobacco that he 

 had. The latter carefully poured from a tin box about three 

 pipe-loads of the sacred stuff and tied it up in a paper bag ; 

 then remembering the ship's condition, he rushed on deck. 



The whistle was blown and the cannon fired so as to at- 

 tract the attention of those on shore. 



After waiting some time we saw two small specks appear 

 on the crest of a wave, but in another instant they had disap- 

 peared. Now the specks would appear and disappear at short 

 intervals, and again we would lose sight of them for some time. 

 Finally they reached the side of the Miranda, and proved to 

 be kayaks. Climbing up the ladder, the first Eskimo, rush- 

 ing to the bridge where the captain stood, pointed over the 

 starboard bow, and exclaimed, in an excited tone, "~No 

 goot ! " then pointing to his mouth, he wavered as though he 

 were about to fall. The battle with the waves had completely 

 exhausted him. Water was soon brought to him, and had the 

 desired effect. 



About an hour later we were moored in the harbor of Suk- 

 kertoppen. The engineer made an examination, and found 

 that the water-ballast tank was filled with water and could 

 not be cleared. He also found two small holes, which were 

 immediately plugged. In such a condition it was impossible 

 to attempt to cross Davis Straits, so we must hunt for aid. 



We learned that several American fishing schooners were 

 anchored at Holsteinborg, about one hundred and forty miles 

 north of Sukkertoppen. The outlook was not very pleasant, 

 for if we did not get another ship we should have to winter in 

 Greenland, which meant probable death to some of us. 



Dr. Cook got up a party to go to Holsteinborg. He pro- 

 cured a boat from Governor Bistrup. It was twenty-four feet 

 long, carrying two sails, with five Eskimos to manage it. Two 



