20 The Musk-ox 



vapor arising apparently from some dark objects 

 blurringly outlined against the snow about four 

 miles away ; it was the mist which arises from a 

 herd of animals where the mercury is ranging 

 between sixty and seventy degrees below zero, 

 and on a clear day may be seen five miles away. 

 Thoroughly aroused now, I got my field-glasses 

 from my sledge and searched the dark objects 

 under the mist. They were not caribou, of that 

 I was certain ; as to what they were I was equally 

 uncertain, for the forms were strange to my eye. 

 So I handed the glasses to Beniah, saying, " ethan 

 ilia." 1 Beniah took the glasses, but as it was 

 the first time he had ever looked through a pair, 

 their range and power seemed to excite him quite 

 as much as did the appearance of the game itself. 

 When he did find his tongue, he fairly shouted, 

 " ejerrir 2 I had no accurate knowledge of what 

 u ejerri" meant, but assumed we had sighted 

 musk-oxen. Instantly all was excitement. The 

 Indians set up a yell and rushed for their sledges, 

 jabbering and laughing. It seemed incredible 

 that these were the same men who so shortly 

 before had sat silent with backs to the wind, 

 dejected and indifferent. 



1 Not caribou. 2 Musk-ox. 



