210 



ARCTIC RESEARCH EXPEDITION. 



around his feet and legs, he took his position, spear in hand, over 

 the seal-hole. This hole was buried in two feet of snow, and had 

 been first detected by the keen sagacity of one of the dogs with 

 him. Ebierbing, while watching, first thrust the spindle shank 

 of the spear a score of times down through the snow, until he 

 finally hit the small aperture leading through the ice. It was a 

 dark night, and this made it the more difficult, for, in* striking at 

 a seal, it will not do to miss the exact spot where the animal comes 

 to breathe — no, not by a quarter of an inch. But, to make sure of 

 being right when aiming, Ebierbing put some dark tuktoo hair 

 directly over it, and thus, after patiently watching the whole night 

 long, he was rewarded in the early morning by hearing the seal 

 blow. In a moment more he captured it by a well-directed aim 

 of his spear. 



The next morning, January 26th, the Innuits Ugarng, Ebier- 

 bing, and Jack all separated for some place where they hoped to 

 get seals. I supplied them as liberally as I could with my pro- 

 visions, and then myself remained behind to proceed with certain 

 observations I daily made in reference to determining positions, 

 and otherwise noting down particulars concerning the locality 

 around me. 



The rations sent me from the ship were examined and placed 

 in safety from the dogs, but not from the truly honest Innuits, 

 for such precaution was not needed ; and then I tried to go on 

 with some work. But it was colder than we had yet experienced, 

 the thermometer being that night (the seventeenth of my igloo 

 life) 75° below the freezing point ! Eemembering that our sealers 

 were out on the ice, and, as they had said, would each be watch- 

 ing for a prize, I shuddered, fully expecting they must be frozen 

 to death ; but what was my surprise and pleasure in the after- 

 noon to see Jack and Ebierbing return, each with a seal — the one 

 captured about midnight, the other early in the morning. 



Ebierbing admitted that he had felt the cold very much while 

 watching, and, though well wrapped in furs tied around him, 

 could hardly prevent his feet from freezing. As to his nose, that 

 did get touched by the frost, but he soon remedied it by smoking 

 a Yankee clay pipe "loaded" with Yirginia tobacco. 



Ugarng returned in the evening unsuccessful. 



Another "seal-feast" was of course made, and on this occasion 

 I supped on seal soup, with about two yards of frozen seal's en- 

 trails (very good eating) as a finish to the affair. 



