men of the ship and the Eskimos, was
ready with a little bundle packed to get right over the side at a
moment's notice, after lowering the boats and throwing onto the ice the
essential supplies stowed near the ship's rail. Nobody thought of
undressing regularly; and the bathtub in my cabin might as well have
been a trunk, for all the time I dared to spend in it between Etah and
Cape Sheridan.

CHAPTER XI

CLOSE QUARTERS WITH THE ICE

That no time should be lost on the upward voyage, and also that my
Eskimos might not have too much leisure in which to consider the dangers
which constantly threatened their floating home, I kept them all busy.
The men were put to work making sledges and dog-harness, so that when we
reached Cape Sheridan--if we reached it,--we might be ready for the fall
hunting. I had on board the raw materials, and each Eskimo built a
sledge for himself, putting his best work into it. This pride of the
Eskimo in personal achievement has been of great service to me, and has
been encouraged by special prizes and special praise.

The Eskimo women were put to work on our winter garments as soon as
possible after leaving Etah, so that, in the event of our losing the
ship, every man would have a comfortable outfit. In the North we wear
practically the same clothing as the Eskimos, including the fur
stockings with the fur on the inside. Otherwise we should have frozen
feet often instead of only occasionally. A man who could not live
without silk stockings would not be likely to attempt the North Pole. As
we had altogether, including the Eskimos, sixty-nine persons on board
the ship--men, women, and children--it will be seen that there was
considerable sewing to be done. Old garments had to be overhauled and
mended, and new ones made.

The worst of the ice fighting did not begin immediately, and the new
members of the expedition, MacMillan, Borup, and Dr. Goodsell, were at
first much interested in watching the Eskimo women at their sewing. They
sit on anything that is convenient, a chair, a platform, or the floor.
In their own quarters they remove their footgear, put up one foot, and
hold one end of the fabric between their toes, sewing a seam over and
over from them, instead of toward them, as our women do. The foot of an
Eskimo woman is a sort of third hand, and the work is gripped between
the great toe and the second toe.

The Eskimo women have great confidence in their own skill at
garment-mak