FIRST NIGHT IN AN IGLOO. 



197 



Presently our evening meal was ready. It consisted of Cin- 

 cinnati crackling soup, a small piece of raw salt pork for each of 

 us, half a biscuit, and coffee. Tookoolito proved herself an ex- 

 cellent cook ; and I soon felt convinced that no party should think 

 of traveling in these regions without an Innuit man and his wife, 

 for the latter, above every thing, is the " all in all," or at least the 

 "better half." 



After supper, myself and the two male Esquimaux had each a 

 pipe, and then turned in, my position being between the hot- 

 blooded Innuits Ebierbing and Koodloo. 



I slept as well as I would ever wish, and on the following morn- 

 ing, about nine o'clock, after breakfast and repacking the sledge, 

 we again started. Our proper course was due north, but, owing 

 to hummocky ice, we could not follow it. In truth, sometimes 

 we were obliged to make a retrograde movement to get out of 

 " a fix" that we were occasionally in among icebergs and hum- 

 mocks. Owing to this, we made but five miles direct toward our 

 destination during the day. 



It had been expected that we could reach Cornelius Grrinnell 

 Bay in one day from the vessel, but too many obstacles existed 

 to allow it, and thus a second night came upon us while still 

 upon the frozen sea. A storm was also gathering, and its dark- 

 ness, with the howling wind, which had changed from off the land 

 to right upon it, was foreboding. We were likewise much wea- 

 ried with the day's labors, and it was some time after we stopped 

 before a suitable place was found and our second igloo erected. 

 At length, though long after dark, we were comfortably located, 

 enjoying a hot supper beneath the snowy dome, the foundation 

 of which rested on the frozen bosom of the mighty deep. But 

 not too soon were we under shelter. The storm had burst in all 

 its fury, and we could hear the wind roaring outside as we warm- 

 ed ourselves within. 



All night long the gale continued, and the next morning — the 

 third of our journey — it was found impossible to go on. It was 

 blowing a strong gale, and continued so all day, with snow in im- 

 penetrable thickness. We were therefore obliged to keep inside 

 our shelter, wrapped in furs. 



While thus detained, I took the opportunity to have my hair 

 cut by Tookoolito. It had grown to a great length, even to my 

 shoulders, and I now found it very inconvenient. My beard, 

 whiskers, and mustache were also shorn nearly close to my face. 



