168 HUNTERS OF THE GREAT NORTH 



with us, for the dog-whipping habit had come in from the 

 Indians to the south enough so that some Eskimos now 

 owned whips although few used them. Kanirk and the 

 boy were ahead with Roxy's team and I followed with 

 Sten's. Finally the dogs became so nearly unmanage- 

 able that Kanirk took hold of their leading dog, dragging 

 the team ahead and bothering no more with their eyes. 

 The going along the beach was so rough that the sleds 

 were upsetting continually. The boy tended the forward 

 sled in this respect and I managed the rear one. 



We struggled along this way until my sled got a bad 

 upset, or rather fell off a ledge into a low, soft place. I 

 shouted to the men ahead but, of course, they could not 

 hear me against the wind and they disappeared in a 

 moment into the swirling snow. Eventually I got my 

 sled righted but long before that my dogs had all been 

 curled up snugly and now the drifting snow had nearly 

 covered them from sight. I got hold of the leading dog 

 and jerked on the harness until I had the team on their 

 feet. While the other sled had been just in front of us 

 they had struggled ahead bravely, but now when nothing 

 was in sight the story was different. I got them started 

 but neither they nor I could see the trail of the other 

 sled which had been completely covered up by the drift, 

 and I could not see ahead enough to guide them. I now 

 tried to walk ahead, dragging the leading dog, but then 

 the sled upset right away. At first I felt sure the Eski- 

 mos would come back to help me and I struggled on for 

 perhaps an hour during which time I do not think I made 

 more than one or two hundred yards between the up- 

 settings of the sled and the refusal of the dogs to work 

 because of being blinded by the snow. 



When I realized the Eskimos were not coming back I 



