WE MEET THE CHURCHES 
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ill-smelling, and filled with smoke from the Rus¬ 
sian pipes which the Chukches used, pipes with little 
bowls and long stems, good for only a few puffs. 
When they were not drinking tea they were smok¬ 
ing Russian tobacco. All the time, with hardly a 
moment’s cessation, they were coughing violently; 
tuberculosis had them in its grip. When they lay 
down to sleep they left the lamps burning. There 
was no ventilation; the coughing continued and 
the air was if anything worse and worse as the 
night wore on. Some time between two and three 
in the morning I woke up; I had been awake at 
intervals ever since turning in but now I was fully 
aroused. The air was indescribably bad. The 
lamps had gone out and when I struck a match it 
would not light. The Chukches were all appar¬ 
ently broad awake, coughing incessantly. I felt 
around for the curtain and when I found it held it 
open. This was evidently a new experience for 
them; they were clearly afraid of draughts. I was 
a guest, however, and they politely refrained from 
outward objections. 
My diary for the next day, April 6, begins: 
“Anniversary of the discovery of the North Pole. 
No doubt in New York the Explorers’ Club is en¬ 
tertaining Peary.” 
All day the wind blew hard from the northwest, 
with blinding snowdrifts. Had we been ever so 
