A SUMMER VOYAGE TO THE ARCTIC 101 



this vicinity one of tlie ship's anchors was lost, tlie cliain hoing 

 parted l)y a movinjj; pan of ice, and awhale-hoat was injured by 

 a southeasterly gale drivin*!; it on the rocks. There is a tremen- 

 dous tidal action in Hudson strait, the rise and fall at Ashe inlet 

 being some 30 feet. On this account the strait does not freeze 

 solid in winter, but becomes filled with an enormous ice-i)ack, 

 which moves back and forth and forms an impenetrable barrier 

 to navigation the greater ])art of the 3'ear. 



On the way out of Hudson strait we had our lirst good view 

 of tlie Eskimo, although we had seen a few of the race at Turn- 

 avik, in Lal)rador. Our first warning of their approacli was a 

 peculiar slirill call, wliidi tiavels over the water long distances. 

 It was some minutes before the uninitiated could discern the dis- 

 tant specks on the water, which W(! were told were the Eskimo 

 men in their kayaks. They rai)idly approiicbcd and were taken' 

 on lioard — l)oats and all. The kayakers were soon followed by 

 an umiak, or large skin boat, filled with the remainder of the set- 

 tlement, including women, children, and dogs, as well as nearly 

 all their earthly i)ossessions. Although their wealth seemed 

 very meager, they appeared to be among the ha})piest of i»eoi)les; 

 their round, fat faces simply beamed with good nature. They 

 were very anxious to trade, the objects mo.st highly prized being 

 plugs of tobacco, knives, guns, and copper c(jins. The last men- 

 tioned they took in preference to silver, their only use for either 

 apparently l)eing to sew on to the women's blouses as ornaments. 

 They were dressed in furs, the men and women much alike, ex- 

 cept that the women's blouses had a long tail behind and a large 

 hood or sack on the back, in which the baby was carried. Their 

 peculiar appetite was shown by the relish with which they drank 

 the contents of some cans of ))ear oil which the boys had been 

 saving to grease their shoes w'ith. 



After passing out of Hudson strait, an attempt was made to 

 enter Cumberland sound, l)Ut the entrance was conipletely 

 blocked with ice, and our course was shaped for (Jreenland. In 

 crossing Davis strait we also cro.ssed the Arctic Circle. This 

 event was celebrated l)y tlie firing of camum and the hoisting of 

 flags. Neptune came aboard in the person of one of the sailors, 

 who attempted to shave the uninitiated, using a lather of engine 

 grease, and a shij^'s scraping iron for a razor. 



Our first view of the Greenland coast was obtained near mid- 

 night on August 1, the high, ice-cajiped mountains in the vicinity 

 of Holstenborg forming a beautiful scene in the Arctic twilight. 



