52 SPORT, TRAVEL, AND ADVENTURE 



however, appear to know at a glance which are the 

 solid and which the undermined walls, and my com- 

 panions endeavoured to point out to me the difference ; 

 but I was never able to judge between them with cer- 

 tainty, for usually they have on the surface no apparent 

 distinguishing mark of which the novice can positively 

 be certain. One of the largest of these crevasses was 

 so wide that we were forced to follow it for upwards 

 of a mile before a safe crossing could be made. 



At length the summit of the glacier was reached, 

 and from this point it branched off into three wide 

 valleys, each reaching 1 northward to the sea as a 

 separate glacier, and each with a steep downgrade. 

 Here I was to experience one of the most thrillinig 

 incidents of my sledge travelling in the Arctic, and 

 an adventure that escaped ending in a tragedy only by 

 the barest margin. 



The side of the glacier sloping down was as smooth 

 as polished metal, naturally very slippery,, and with a 

 steep descent toward the sea. At the top of this the 

 Eskimos lined up their teams and komatiks for a race, 

 and at nearly the same moment started forward with 

 dogs at a mad run. I never knew until then how fast 

 dogs could travel. Down the steep grade, with con- 

 stantly increasing momentum, our komatiks shot, until 

 we were travelling so fast that it was all I could do to 

 hold my place when small humps or irregularities were 

 struck and the sledge swerved. It was the fastest ride 

 I ever had in my life, except, possibly, in an automobile. 

 Thus we were dropping down the steep decline, the 

 dogs barely able to keep clear of the coasting komatiks, 

 Teddylinguah and myself ahead, Oxpuddinguah directly 

 behind, and Inute on one side, when our sledge struck 



