134 MY ARCTIC JOURNAL 



difference of temperature between inside and outside. It was 

 just like going from a cellar into a temperature of 90°, and we 

 resolved that unless it was storming we would in future sleep 

 without shelter. Among our breakfast callers was the wife of 

 Koomenahpik, Nauyahleah, the most comical old soul I had 

 yet seen. She evidently felt it her duty to entertain me, and 

 began to tell me all about herself and her family ; she let me 

 know that I had already seen one of her sons at Redcliffe, 

 whose name is Tawanah, and who lives still farther up Ingle- 

 field Gulf; he had stopped at Ittiblu, she said, on his return 

 from the Peary igloo, and told her what a large koona Peary's 

 koona was, and how white her skin was, and that her hair was 

 as long as she could stretch with her arms. She followed 

 us wherever we went, and chatted incessantly — whether we 

 were taking photographs or making observations for latitude 

 and time, it made no difference to her. If we did not answer 

 her she would sing at the top of her voice for a few minutes, 

 and then chatter again. She showed us a number of graves, 

 which are nothing but mounds of stones piled on the dead 

 bodies, and told us who lay beneath the rocks. 



At eight in the evening we left Ittiblu, with four additional 

 dogs obtained from Panikpah. All night long we dashed on 

 over the smooth surface of Whale Sound, except where we 

 passed Academy Bay. Here from one cape to the other 

 the snow was soft and several inches deep. Again the sun 

 only left us for a short time, and in spite of a temperature 

 of — 35°, the ride was a delightful one. 



