ESTABLISHING OURSELVES 35 



home. Not being accustomed to the duties of housekeeper 

 and nurse, I was so completely tired out that I slept soundly 

 and knew nothing of the cheers and farewell salutes which 

 passed between the little party who were to remain in the far 

 North, and those on board the " Kite," who would bring our 

 friends the only tidings of us until our return in '92. Mr. 

 Peary remarked on the cheerfulness of our men. Less than 

 five minutes after the boat grated on the beach he heard the 

 sound of the hammer and the whistling of the boys. 



Three or four hours after the " Kite " left McCormick Bay 

 a furious wind and rain storm swept down upon us from the 

 cliffs back of our house. The boys continued the work on 

 the roof as long as possible, hoping to be able to get the 

 whole house under cover, but the fury of the storm was such 

 as to make it impossible for them to keep their foothold on 

 the rafters, and they were obliged to seek shelter under what 

 there was of the roof. At meal-time they all crowded in our 

 little 7 X 10 canvas tent, sitting on boxes and buckets, and 

 holding their mess-pans in their laps. These I supplied with 

 baked beans, stewed corn, stewed tomatoes, and corned beef, 

 from the respective pots in which they had been prepared. 

 The rain dashed against the tent, and the wind rocked it to 

 and fro. Every little while one of the guy-ropes would snap 

 with a sound like the report of a pistol, and one of the boys 

 would have to put his dinner on the ground and go out 

 into the storm and refasten it, for these ropes were all that 

 kept our little tent from collapsing. The meal completed. 



