o much as the great
friend of the Indian.

Of course I could not go back on my record, or resist such diplomacy;
but I saw trouble ahead, and I was not disappointed. In order to save
something, I gave to their wolfish dogs all the fish I had, which was
sufficient for my eight for several days. These the Esquimaux speedily
devoured. I made the men bring the dog harness into the camp, and with
the sleds, to save the straps and lashings, they built a little
barricade against the wind.

In addition to the food supplies for the trip, I had a bag of meat, and
another of buns, for my use when I should reach the village, where I was
going to preach and to teach. I gathered a pile of clubs, which I cut
from the driftwood on the shore, from which we had also obtained that
for our fire. Then, putting the bag of meat, which was frozen hard,
under my pillow, and giving the bag of buns to one of my Indians, with
orders to guard it carefully, I lay down and tried to go to sleep. Vain
effort indeed was it for a long time. No sooner were we down than in
upon us swarmed the dogs. They fought for the honour of cleaning, in
dog fashion, our meat kettle, and then began seeking for something more.
Over us they walked, and soon, by their gathering around my head, I
knew they had scented the meat. Up I sprang, and, vigorously using my
clubs, a number of which I sent among them, I soon drove them out into
the darkness of the lake. Then under my robes again I got, but not to
sleep. In less than ten minutes there was an _encore_, which was
repeated several times. At length my supply of clubs gave out. My only
consolation was that the dogs had received so many of them that they
acted as though they were ready to cry quits and behave themselves. As
it looked as though they were settling down to rest, I gladly did the
same. Vain hope, indeed! I went to sleep very quickly, for I was very
weary, but I woke up in the morning to find that there was not an ounce
of meat left in the bag under my head, nor a single bun left in the bag
which the Indian had orders so carefully to guard.

Our condition the next morning was not a very pleasant one. The outlook
was somewhat gloomy. Our camp was in an exposed snow-drift. We had no
roof over us. The fire was a poor one, as the drift-wood with which it
was made was wretched stuff, giving out more smoke than heat, which,
persisting in going the wrong way, often filled our eyes with blinding
t