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RECREATION 



Esquimaux town and I had the opportunity 

 of seeing their mode of life, their people, 

 and, better still, to meet some of the hard- 

 working-, intelligent dogs of that far North 

 country. 



They were a queer lot, those great raw- 

 honed, furry ereatures. I was almost afraid 

 of them ; to be sure, I could stand on my 

 head, speak when I wanted anything or 

 dance for a bone, and they could not. 



It was a wonderful sight to me to see 

 them harnessed ready to pull their load. 



The food they ate, great chunks of raw 

 fat and dried fish, at first seemed repulsive 

 to me, but one day an ugly, fat old woman 

 offered me a piece of the meat when I was 

 out walking with my master and he gave it 

 to me; it had a funny smell, but it tasted 

 pretty good. I guess one has to cultivate 

 the taste for it, like with strong cheese and 

 the little fish eggs my master eats on toast; 

 at any rate, I seemed to be cultivating it, 

 for one day as I lay on the deck, the breeze 

 brought me that queer, funny smell and I 

 wanted a piece of that meat the worst kind. 

 I knew I should not leave the boat, but I did 

 want to see if I could find a bit, so I thought 

 I would go just a little way. 



Once started, I forgot all about time, 

 there were so many interesting things to 

 see; you have no idea how unlike ours is an 

 Esquimaux town ; they have no electric cars 

 to be afraid of, no horses to dodge. Oh! it 

 was delightful. 



I met some of the great dogs ; we rubbed 

 noses, for I put on my very best manners 

 and took pains to let them see I greatly ad- 

 mired them. They told me, in a rather con- 

 descending way, to be sure, of their wonder- 

 ful journeys over ice and snow, of the hard- 

 ships and suffering and the bitter cold 

 winters, often on short rations, until I felt 

 so sorry for them and so glad I was only a 

 little fox terrier and didn't have to live in an 

 Esquimaux village. 



I wandered around for quite a while and 

 then started back to the ship. On the way 

 I passed the queer little house where the 

 ugly fat woman lived that gave me the meat 

 that time I was with my master. 



There she stood, as ugly as ever ; she held 

 in her hand a most delicious smelling morsel 

 and offered it to me coaxingly. 



Now, I knew I should not take it. I had 



been carefully taught never to accept any 

 overtures from a stranger, but I was hungry 

 and it did smell so good I thought I would 

 just nab it and run, but as I reached for the 

 meat the old hag reached for me and in 

 spite of my snarls and growls, before I knew 

 it I was inside that smoky, dirty hut she 

 called home, and she had very dexterously 

 slipped over my head a noose in the end of a 

 rope made of walrus skin ; there was no use 

 trying to get away, for the more I struggled 

 and pulled on that rope the tighter it got 

 about my neck, until finally I was glad to lie 

 quiet. 



Then, when it was too late, how I re- 

 pented me of my wilfulness and how I 

 longed for the clean deck of the Bear. She 

 put down by me several choice bits of the 

 meat, but my appetite was gone and it no 

 longer tempted me. The smell made me 

 sick. I lay there hour after hour. 



I wondered how things were on the ship. 

 I knew it was getting near dinner time. I 

 thought of the savory smells coming up 

 from the kitchen below. I thought of my 

 good, kind master and of all my friends on 

 the boat. I even longed for the old cat, 

 although my nose at that moment bore 

 evidence of the sharpness of her claws — but 

 I loved them all then. I was so miserable I 

 cried. 



It was getting late, I knew, by the shad- 

 ows, and the old hag dropped the hide cur- 

 tain that served her for a door and fastened 

 it securely with thongs. Then she lit a vile- 

 smelling sort of candle which she set on the 

 table and with a piece of the same meat she 

 had offered me, she lay down on a pallet of 

 skins and munched and munched with evi- 

 dently great enjoyment. After what seemed 

 to me hours, she commenced to snore, and 

 I knew my time had come, so I began to 

 gnaw at my rope. 



Once the old woman came over to see if 

 I was all right. I pretended to be asleep and 

 she gave a satisfied grunt and laid down 

 again. I waited a while and then went to 

 work harder than ever. I was afraid morn- 

 ing would come before I got through, for 

 these summer nights in the Arctic regions 

 are very short, but finally the rope yielded 

 and I knew I was free. The floor of the hut 

 was of dirt and I had no difficulty in scratch- 

 ing a hole under the walrus curtain large 



