THE START FOR HOME 
floes, at the mercy of the wind* The gale 
continued until the evening of the 20th. The 
constant surging back and forth of the chan- 
nel-pack, with the spring tides and the several 
huge masses of ice, which repeatedly crashed 
against the ship's sides, caused a delay of 
twelve days in Robeson Channel opposite Lin- 
coln Bay. Throughout the width of the entire 
channel nothing could be seen but small pools 
of open water; two seals were seen sporting 
in one of these pools, and one of the Esquimos 
attempted to kill them, but his aim proved 
false. 
It was not until the 25th that the ship was 
able to move of her own free will, small leads 
having opened in close proximity to her. 
Ootah shot a seal in one of the leads, and also 
harpooned a narwhal, but he did not succeed 
in securing either. His brother Egingwah on 
the following day shot two seals and harpooned 
a narwhal, and he secured all three of his prizes. 
The Esquimos had a grand feast off the skin 
of the narwhal, which they esteem as a great 
delicacy. 
By the 27th the Roosevelt had drifted as far 
south as Wrangell Bay, and it was here that 
162 
