say, none of the Eskimos was attacked with _piblokto_ because
of their fright, and I learned that one of the women, Ahtetah, had
remained quietly sewing in the Eskimo quarters during the whole
disturbance. After this experience, however, some of the Eskimo families
took up their winter residence in the box houses and in snow igloos
ashore.

The winter winds of the Far North are almost unimaginable by any one who
has never experienced them. Our winter at Cape Sheridan this last time
was less severe than the winter of 1905-06, but we had several storms
that reminded us of old times. The north and northwest winds sweeping
down along the coast are the coldest; but for absolutely insane fury the
winds from the south and the southwest, falling off the highland of the
coast with almost the impact of a wall of water, are unsurpassed
anywhere else in the arctic regions.

Sometimes these storms come on gradually, the wind from the northwest
steadily increasing in force and swinging through the west to the
southwest, gathering fury with every hour, until the snow is picked up
bodily from the land and the ice-foot and carried in blinding,
horizontal sheets across the ship. On deck it is impossible to stand or
move, except in the shelter of the rail, and so blinding is the cataract
of snow that the lamps, powerful as are their reflectors, are absolutely
indistinguishable ten feet away.

When a party in the field is overtaken by a storm, they have to stay in
the snow igloo until the fury is over. If there is no igloo near them,
they build one just as quickly as they can when they see the storm
approaching, or, if there is not time for that, they have to make a
dugout in a snow bank.

Thursday, the 26th of November, was proclaimed to be Thanksgiving Day in
Grant Land. For dinner we had soup, macaroni and cheese, and mince pie
made of musk-ox meat. During the December moon Captain Bartlett, with
two Eskimos, two sledges, and twelve dogs, went out to scour the region
between the ship and Lake Hazen for game. Henson, with similar
equipment, went to Clements Markham Inlet. Borup, with seven Eskimos,
seven sledges, and forty-two dogs, set out for Cape Colan and Cape
Columbia. Dr. Goodsell started at the same time with three Eskimos, two
sledges, and twelve dogs, to hunt in the region from Black Cliffs Bay to
James Ross Bay. The parties were to use the regular arctic ration of
tea, pemmican, and biscuit, unless they found game, in which