ICE FORMATIONS IN MARSHES 103 



thick sheet that rests on the flats at low tide and 

 bridges the deeper channel, and at high tide 

 floats at the level of the marsh. 



As one walks at low tide in the icy depths of 

 these creeks, careful to avoid stepping on a loose 

 cake that may conceal a deep hole in the channel 

 below, one might be in the arctic regions, miles 

 and ages removed from the veneer of civiliza- 

 tion. No sign of human handwork is to be seen ; 

 no smoke curling from chimneys; no bushes or 

 trees or other evidences of the temperate zone. 

 Each turn of the creek opens up new and strange 

 visions of icy grandeur and beauty; overhead, 

 the blue vault of the sky; underfoot, and all 

 about, ice, ice — nothing but ice. Like a primi- 

 tive man, one is dependent on wits and vigor. 

 The illusion is strengthened if one wears Eskimo 

 clothing, sealskin boots, sealskin mittens and 

 fur koolatuk. Dressed in these, one may defy 

 the cold and sit in comfort on an ice cake with 

 the thermometer 10° F., below zero. My koola- 

 tuk is of caribou fur and was made by Labrador 

 Eskimos. It goes on over the head like 

 a jumper and is provided with a hood. As 



