make out.
From the direction they had been travelling, we concluded that they werebound to some place on the north side of the bay for the purpose ofspending the summer there. We tried to make them understand that ifthey would turn back and carry us to some place where we should findEuropeans, we would give them our rifles, and anything else in ourpower. After holding a consultation, during which they lookedfrequently at the sky, they agreed to my proposal. Two of the party,unloading one of the smaller sledges, made signs that Ewen should getupon it. They then packed some provisions they had brought, togetherwith some of our loads and rifles, and signified that they were ready toset off.
Having rubbed noses with their friends, who continued their route to thenorthward, we started in the opposite direction.
CHAPTER NINE.
Having no load to carry, I was able to keep up with the Esquimaux andtheir dog-sledge till it was time to encamp, when Ewen, who hadrecovered his strength more rapidly than I could have supposed possible,offered to assist me in building a snow-hut. We tried in vain to learnfrom the Esquimaux whether they had seen Sandy and his party, but theyfailed to understand our signs as we did theirs. They were merryfellows, though not pleasant companions in a snow-hut in one sense.Notwithstanding this, we spent the night with a feeling of greatersecurity than we had enjoyed for some time.
The following day we were passing close to an iceberg which, from itsappearance, I should have supposed could have withstood the fury of themost violent storms. I was admiring its fantastic form, when one of theEsquimaux seized my arm, while the other urged on the dogs at redoubledspeed. We had got a hundred yards from it, when without any warning itsuddenly capsized, and shivered into fragments, which glided along theice towards us. In an instant we were surrounded by pieces of ice,pools of water and fissures, into which it required the greatest care toavoid falling. We pushed on without stopping to look behind us, untilwe were at a considerable distance from the spot. The Esquimaux did notappear to think the occurrence at all unusual; but after this they keptat a respectful distance from other icebergs of similar appearance. Itwas a sign to us that the sun was gaining strength, and we could nothelp fearing that the whole field of ice might before long break up.
At length we approached the shore, the cliffs which had hitherto fringedthe coast running back some distance inland before they again appearedto the southward.
The Esquimaux pointed to the land towards which they directed thesledge.
We could, however, see no signs of dwellings, though we discovered someobjects moving about, which we supposed were human beings. Onapproaching we saw a number of dogs in front of a snow-hut which rosejust above the ground.
On seeing our canine friends they rushed forward, barking a welcome,though I am not certain how they would have treated us had not ourEsquimaux guides driven them off. Directly afterwards a number of men,women, and children came out of their huts in the neighbourhood, andappeared to be enquiring who we were and what had brought us to theirsettlement.
The replies seemed to be satisfactory, for they began forthwith to rubnoses with us and then led us up to their dwellings.
We tried to make them understand that it was our object to proceedfurther south, where we could meet with our countrymen and otherEuropeans. The cunning fellows, however, did not, as far as we couldmake out, wish to go to the southward, but gave us to understand that wewere welcome to remain with them as long as we liked.
Our guides having delivered us over to their friends, immediately setoff to rejoin the party we had met proceeding northward. This made usbelieve that they expected the ice would soon break up, and that theobject of their journey was to secure summer quarters, when the restwould rejoin them in their kayaks.
Our new friends at once set to work to build for us an igloo, or hut ofice, each block being about six inches in thickness, and a couple offeet in length, cemented by snow. The domed roof was made of snow, thekey piece at the top being a large square slab. Our dwelling was aboutsixteen feet in diameter and seven in height, with a passage of abouttwenty feet, of sufficient height to allow a person to creep in on hisknees, having a small chamber at the end.
While four of the men were engaged in building our hut, two others setoff into the interior, and soon returned with a large piece offresh-water transparent ice which was placed over the door to serve as awindow.
The whole was completed within an hour, and a very comfortable abode itwas when lined with skins of bears and deer. We judged from theadvancing temperature, however, that it would not last very long.
After we had been settled in our abode, our hosts invited us to comeinto one of their huts of still larger dimensions to enjoy a banquet, aswe understood by the signs they made. Not wishing to offend them weaccepted their invitation, though we would gladly have remained away.
The hut was crowded, and we could barely find sitting-room. A largemass of meat and blubber from a walrus which had just before beencaught, was placed in the centre, when our friends, seating themselves,cut off long strips of blubber, and applied the ends to their mouths.It was wonderful to see the enormous quantity they swallowed, cuttingoff with their knives the portion they were unable to engulf betweentheir teeth. With smiles they invited us to imitate their example.
Hungry as we were, it was some time before we could bring ourselves toput the horrible morsels into our mouths; but, finding that we were notlikely to get any other sort of food, we at length managed to eat a fewsmall pieces, our hosts appearing as much astonished at the smallness ofour appetites as we were at the huge quantities of the oleaginous foodthey managed to consume.
After eating a few pieces, we overcame the nausea we had at first felt,and contrived to get down a tolerable meal. For an hour or more ourhosts continued eating, when each took a draught of some greasy lookingsoup which had been boiling over the lamp in the centre of the hut. Itwas offered to us, but we preferred some plain water which had beenproduced from snow melted over their lamp.
Observing that we declined to take any more of their dainty fare, theymade signs that they intended to go to sleep, by stripping off theirouter garments and stretching themselves on the skin-covered coucheswhich surrounded the hut. We gladly took the hint, and retired to ourown abode, which, although very much colder than the one we left, had adecided advantage in being free from the horrible odour pervading theother. When our door was closed our lamp soon brought the temperatureup to a comfortable warmth, and we slept with a sense of security we hadnot for long enjoyed.
The next day we tried to induce our hosts to accompany us to the south.They could understand our signs, but had evidently made up their mindsnot to go. They were very friendly, however, and allowed us to moveabout as we pleased. We, being unwilling to become a burden to them,determined if possible to kill a bear, or a deer, or walrus should wefail to find any of the former animals. We accordingly started off withour guns, leaving our packs behind us to show that we intended toreturn.
As the country to the southward appeared less rugged than that to thenorth, we proceeded in the former direction, but found after a shorttime that we could make but slow progress, so we descended to the ice,intending to strike inland should we observe no more practicablecountry. We had not proceeded far, however, before a heavy snow-stormcame on, which not only obliterated our tracks, but shut out even theland from our sight.
"We shall be wise to turn back," observed Ewen, "for if we don't we mayeasily become bewildered."
I agreed with him, and we at once determined to retrace our steps. Wewalked on and on, supposing that we had the land on our left side. Theice was tolerably level. We fancied that we had gone far enough toreach the Esquimaux settlement. Still though we listened attentively,we could not hear the voices of the inhabitants. We had scarcely takennote of time, and we now, somewhat to our dismay, found that it wasrapidly growing dark. We hurried on, every now and then uttering ashout in the expectation of hearing a reply. No reply came, however,and we arrive
d at the alarming conclusion that we should have to spendthe night on the barren shore. To reach it we turned to the left, butafter going on some distance, we still failed to see the cliffs.
"We must stop here, for I can go no further," exclaimed Ewen. "It wouldbe better to build a hut than to wander about and at last perish withcold."
I agreed with him, and although without any instruments save the buttsof our rifles, from which we withdrew the charges, we commencedoperations. As there was by this time abundance of snow, we were notlong in forming a hut of sufficient size to hold us both, either lyingdown or sitting up. It would at all events prevent us being frozen todeath; though there was the risk, should the snow continue to fall, thatwe might be buried alive. To prevent this, we agreed that one of usshould sit up and keep open a hole by thrusting through it the barrel ofa rifle.
After I had had my sleep, Ewen roused me up. Endeavouring to keep awakeI every now and then seized my rifle and thrust the barrel through thehole, when I