66 
WALRUS-TACKLE. 
born to toil and necessity and peril; stern hunter as lie 
already is, the lines of his face are still soft and child¬ 
like. I think we understand one another better than 
our incongruities would imply. He has fallen asleep 
in a deer-skin at my feet. 
“March 11, Sunday.—The sick are not as bright as 
this relief ought to make them. The truth is, they are 
fearfully down. Neither poor Wilson nor Riley could 
bear the meat, and they both suffered excessive pain 
with fever from a meal that was very limited in quan¬ 
tity. Even the stoutest could hardly bear their once 
solicited allowance of raw meat. I dispensed it cau¬ 
tiously, for I knew the hazards; but I am sure it is to 
be the salvation of all of us. It gives a respite at any 
rate, and we could not in reason ask for more. 
“Hans is making a walrus-harpoon and line; and, 
as soon as he and Myouk have freshened a little, I 
shall send them back to Anoatok in search of water- 
cracks. I am hard-worked, getting little rest, yet 
gratefully employed, for my people seem to thank 
me. My cookery unfortunately shows itself on the 
smeared pages of my journal. 
“March 12, Monday.—The new tackle is finished. 
Myouk had lost his ussuk-line upon the iceberg, but vie 
supplied its place with a light Manilla cord. Huns 
made the boneworlc of his naligeit from the reindeer- 
antlers which are abundant about the hills. They 
both rest to-night, and make an early start in the 
morning for their working-ground. 
“The less severe cases on our sick-list are beginning 
