rties to
plus forty-one in twenty-four hours. Following that atmospheric
disturbance every member of my party, and even some of the Eskimos, had
a pronounced attack of grip. It was our opinion that the germs were
brought to us by this storm, which was more than a local disturbance.

Aside from rheumatism and bronchial troubles, the Eskimos are fairly
healthy; but the adults are subject to a peculiar nervous affection
which they call _piblokto_--a form of hysteria. I have never known a
child to have _piblokto_; but some one among the adult Eskimos would
have an attack every day or two, and one day there were five cases. The
immediate cause of this affection is hard to trace, though sometimes it
seems to be the result of a brooding over absent or dead relatives, or
a fear of the future. The manifestations of this disorder are somewhat
startling.

The patient, usually a woman, begins to scream and tear off and destroy
her clothing. If on the ship, she will walk up and down the deck,
screaming and gesticulating, and generally in a state of nudity, though
the thermometer may be in the minus forties. As the intensity of the
attack increases, she will sometimes leap over the rail upon the ice,
running perhaps half a mile. The attack may last a few minutes, an hour,
or even more, and some sufferers become so wild that they would continue
running about on the ice perfectly naked until they froze to death, if
they were not forcibly brought back.

When an Eskimo is attacked with _piblokto_ indoors, nobody pays much
attention, unless the sufferer should reach for a knife or attempt to
injure some one. The attack usually ends in a fit of weeping, and when
the patient quiets down, the eyes are bloodshot, the pulse high, and the
whole body trembles for an hour or so afterward.

The well-known madness among the Eskimo dogs is also called _piblokto_.
Though it does not seem to be infectious, its manifestations are similar
to those of hydrophobia. Dogs suffering from _piblokto_ are usually
shot, but they are often eaten by the Eskimos.

The first winter moon came early in November, and on the 7th MacMillan
started for Cape Columbia for a month of tidal observations, taking with
him Jack Barnes, a sailor, Egingwah, and Inighito and their wives.
Poodloonah, Ooblooyah and Seegloo went as MacMillan's supporting party,
to carry supplies, and Wesharkoopsi and Keshungwah started for Cape
Richardson to bring back the musk-ox skins which had