60 HUNTERS OF THE GREAT NORTH 



turn full value for every fox skin and every slab of whale- 

 bone lost. From the point of view of the owner of the 

 ship, there is, accordingly, no motive for saving anything 

 out of a wreck. By these insurance conditions and the 

 excitement of the shipwreck, Sten explained his state- 

 ment that the Captain's cabin was full of silver fox skins 

 and other items of priceless value, while all the ship's 

 gear, including chronometers, was still on board. There 

 were even said to be gold watches hanging on the walls 

 of the cabins of the various officers. 



Sten came to me with this story, wanting me to join 

 him on the Penelope to sail east and plunder the wrecked 

 Alexander. But I was still hoping for the arrival of my 

 own ship, the Duchess of Bedford, and although plunder- 

 ing a wreck on the most remote cape of arctic Canada 

 would have been a great adventure, I felt still keener in- 

 terest in the unknown Eskimos of Victoria Island beyond, 

 especially now that I had heard from Captain Klinken- 

 berg that some of them looked like Europeans. I ac- 

 cordingly declined Sten's offer, saying I would have to 

 wait near Herschel until the actual freezing of the ocean 

 made it certain that my own ship could not come. I told 

 him I would then go with him by sled. He said that 

 would be too late, for a trapper by the name of Fritz 

 Wolki was living only about a hundred miles from Cape 

 Parry and would be sure to get to the Alexander ahead 

 of any sled party we could organize. Wolki was the only 

 white man living on the north coast of Canada that win- 

 ter, except Sten and the rest of us at Herschel Island. 



Sten told me he would try to get Eskimos enough to 

 man the Penelope. Of his success in that we shall learn 

 later. 



Th« other white man at Herschel Island was Alfred H. 



