I90 MY ARCTIC JOURNAL 



of the shore were rich with the warm hues of summer. Late 

 in the afternoon a favoring wind came up from the west, and 

 with foresail hoisted we moved merrily along before it. Re- 

 lieved thus from their labors, our crew lounged contentedly 

 upon the seats, and fell into a conversational mood. Mr. Peary 

 learned from them that many years ago Mekhtoshay had shot 

 an " amarok," or wolf, at Netchiolumy, and that Panikpah had 

 killed one at Nerki ; Koomenahpik and Mekhtoshay, who are 

 brothers, also related that years ago they had both seen 

 " oomingmuk " (musk-oxen), " awahne, awahne, Etah " (far 

 beyond Etah). 



At half-past six in the evening we reached Karnah, a small 

 Eskimo settlement on the north shore of the sound, some 

 twenty miles from Cape Cleveland. Here the low, flat shore 

 ends, and a line of towering gray cliffs begins. We pitched 

 our tent on a level bit of grass among the stones, and after 

 our evening meal was completed we crossed the noisy glacial 

 stream flowing near the village, climbed the hill just west of 

 it, and then followed the shore westward till we came to the 

 stone igloos of Karnah the deserted. Four houses form this 

 village, which lies in the center of a beautiful grassy meadow, 

 stretching back from the shore to the foot of the brown moun- 

 tains. The luxuriance of the grass here was w^onderful. All 

 across the meadow we waded through it, literally knee-deep, 

 and in one or two places immediately about the igloos it was 

 so rank that as I stooped to gather some sprays for pressing 

 I was almost hidden. Returning to our tent, we were soon 



