CHAPTER XXVI 
WE ARRIVE AT EAST CAPE 
The next morning, April 19, we started off with 
the two sledges. I had our own dogs harnessed in 
the team that drew the sledge on which I rode and 
had with me the pemmican that we had left and 
other essentials, so that about all that we finally 
left behind was our sledge. I should have liked to 
keep the sledge and bring it all the way home with 
me, but the Chukches liked the looks of it and they 
would find it useful in travelling over the rough ice. 
I could get along without it, and I was beginning 
now to feel the long strain and wanted to hurry on 
by the fastest means possible. 
As we travelled, two to each sledge, one man 
would ride while the other walked. The sledges 
used by the natives, from Cape North east, are 
about sixteen feet long, two-and-a-half feet wide 
and eight inches high. The framework is light 
and rather crudely made. The runners are four 
inches wide. When the snow is hard they do not 
use steel shoes; instead they coat the runners with 
ice. They always keep a bottle of water inside 
their clothing and carry a piece of bearskin with 
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