BOAT JOURNEY INTO IXGLEFIELD GULF 1 99 



tlie " Kite " a week before. Suddenl}', just as we came abreast 

 of the place where a still reniaiiiiii;^- portion of the ice-foot 

 formed an ugly overhanging shelf, under which the waves 

 broke furiousl}-, Kulutingwah's oar snapped short off, and 

 Kulutingwah himself, with a wild cry, pitched backward into 

 the bottom of the boat. In the momentary confusion which 

 followed, the boat began drifting" rapidly under the shelf, when 

 Mr. Peary seized the oar of the man nearest him and urged 

 every one to his utmost, at the same time shouting to Kulu- 

 tingwah to jump for the bow of the boat and throw the grap- 

 nel out. With understanding quickened by fear, the Eskimo 

 carried out the order almost as soon as it was uttered, and 

 with all still tugging at the oars to ease the strain upon the 

 anchor-rope, the boat settled slowly back inch by inch, until 

 finally she stopped so near the wicked blue shelf of ice that I 

 could touch it with my hand. This respite gave us a chance 

 to recover our breath, and enabled Mr. Peary to make a change 

 in the disposition of the men. In the intervals between the 

 gusts the oars slowly and painfully worked the boat ahead, 

 and before the next squall struck us the grapnel was thrown 

 over, and every one crouched low in the boat, to present as 

 little surface as possible to the wind. In this way, with the 

 woman Armah crying and screaming in the bottom of the 

 boat, and the faces of the men a dingy white, we at last 

 reached the coveted beach. So deafening was the roar of the 

 wind that we could hardly hear each other's voices. Leaving 

 Kulutingwah to watch the boat, we made our way to Redcliflfe. 



