THE POLAR SEA 
break his sledge, and there was some more tall 
talking" when the Commander caught up with 
us and left us there mending it. A little far- 
ther on, and the amiable Kudlooktoo, who was 
in my party at the time, busted his sledge. 
You would have thought that Kudlooktoo was 
the last person in Commander Peary's estima- 
tion, when he got through talking to him and 
telling him what he thought of him. The 
sledge was so badly broken it had to be aban- 
doned. The load was left on the spot where 
the accident happened, and Kudlooktoo, much 
chastened and crestfallen, drove his team of 
dogs back to the land for a new sledge. 
We did not wait for him, but kept on for 
about two hours longer, when we reached the 
Captain's first igloo, twelve miles out ; a small 
day's traveling, but we were almost dead-beat, 
from having battled all day with the wind, 
which had blown a full-sized gale. 'No other 
but a Peary party would have attempted to 
travel in such weather. Our breath was frozen 
to our hoods of fur and our cheeks and noses 
frozen. Spreading our furs upon the snow, 
we dropped down and endeavored to sleep, but 
sound sleep was impossible. It was a night 
80 
