486 



AKCTIC RESEARCH EXPEDITION. 



On February 25th I made another attempt to see what had 

 become of the woman who had been abandoned, and I now take 

 from my diary the history of that excursion : 



"Eight o'clock, night. Back again! the attempt to reach the 

 plains successful ; the woman found within a tomb of snow, her spir- 

 it gone to God. 



" I will now attempt to give the incidents of this day. 



" This morning Ebierbing and I were up early. While my 

 Innuit friend (who was to be my companion and auxiliary in my 

 renewed attempt to rescue the one at the plains) was engaged in 

 icing* the sledge and harnessing the dogs, I was busy bagging 

 blankets, pemmican, oil, etc. — the same articles I provided myself 

 with on Friday last, with the object of making the woman com- 

 fortable before starting to bring her back. On getting the dogs 

 together, Ebierbing found two missing. As it was essential to 

 have a full team, we spared no exertions to find them. After 

 searching all around the ship and the boats which are out on the 

 ice, and not finding them, Ebierbing indicated that they might be 

 over on the island at the deserted snow-houses of the Innuits. 

 The two harnesses in hand, I offered to go and make a trial in 

 getting them. I directed my steps to that part of the island 

 where the abandoned igloos of Ebierbing and Koodloo are. 



"Arriving there after severe struggling through the deep snow, 

 I found dog-tracks leading to the openings into the two igloos, 

 the said openings being through the dome, where the seal-entrail 

 windows had been. Looking down through these openings, and 

 searching around, I could see nothing of the dogs. I then made 

 my way laboriously along, over to the village proper, on the far- 

 ther side of Fresh- water Pond, and was unsuccessful here also. 

 As I was making my return, I determined to visit again the ig- 

 loos where I had first searched for the dogs, and on turning to 

 them I saw one of the animals in the distance. On calling to him 

 the other soon made its appearance ; but, as I was a stranger to 

 them, I had a difficulty in capturing them. They broke past me 

 and ran into the broken-down passage-way leading into Ebier- 

 bing's deserted igloo. The drift, as well as the falling in of the 

 dome, had so completely shut up this passage that I was a long 

 time in enlarging the fox-hole sufficiently to admit my contracted 

 size. By perseverance I kicked a way before me, being pros- 

 trate, and pushing along feet foremost ; but on getting the length 

 * See Chapter XXXVII. 



