WHITE MAN'S IGLOO.— THE STORM. 



509 



dog for my feet-warmer, another for my pillow, while a third was 

 arched at my back. Henry was also comfortably provided for. 

 My diary for that dajr, written in the igloo of a white man's in- 

 vention, concludes as follows : 



"Now within a few minutes of midnight. Hark! a singular 

 noise strikes the ear. Perhaps it is a polar bear! We listen. 

 Again the same alarming noise. Another sound, and we determ- 

 ine its source. It is the snoring of one of the dogs ! So good- 

 night to all the sleeping world. Heaven bless all those who need 

 it ; none needs it more than myself." 



The next morning, April 13th, I arose from my snowy couch 

 at five o'clock, knocked my head against the snow door, made my 

 way over its ruins on all-fours, then stood erect and looked 

 around. The heavens seemed to indicate the dawn of a beautiful 

 day. I called up Henry, and soon the dogs were harnessed, when 

 we proceeded toward the head of this narrow bay — Newton's 

 Fiord,* as I named it — which we reached at 7 A.M. The termi- 

 nation I found to consist of a broken narrow plain, walled by a 

 line of mountains on either side. 



Before we reached this spot the snow commenced falling, 

 .though the fall was accompanied by no wind, and the weather 

 was very thick. Soon after seven we started on our return jour- 

 ney to our encampment, and at nine o'clock we were abreast of 

 the place where we had passed the previous night. At that time 

 the wind was freshening, and it was snowing hard. Our passage 

 thence to the place of our encampment was very difficult. Not 

 only had we to encounter a severe northwest gale, charged with 

 cold at 32° below the freezing-point, accompanied by drift-snow 

 rilling the air so thickly that often no objects at three fathoms' dis- 

 tance could be seen, but the dogs became perfectly exhausted from 

 being overworked, and from going long without food. On mak- 

 ing inquiries of Henry Smith, I learned that Sharkey and Koojesse 

 had been feeding their own dogs and neglecting my " Greenland- 

 ers," which were now just on the point of giving out. Two of 

 them were so knocked up before reaching home that they could 

 not pull a pound; one was so fatigued that he repeatedly fell 

 down. I was obliged to lead the way for several miles by the 

 compass, it being impossible to see the land, though the fiord was 

 only from half a mile to two miles wide. 



* Named after O. E. Newton, M.D., of Cincinnati, Ohio. The termination of 

 Newton's Fiord is in lat. 63° 22' N., long. 66° 05'' W. 



