he
mosquitoes, the engagement perhaps being a trifle hotter than usual,
for they swarmed down the companion way every time the "mosquito
door," of netting on a light frame hinged to the hatch house, was
opened, in brigades and divisions and finally by whole army corps,
till we were forced to retreat to our bunks, drive out the intruding
hosts, which paid no respect whatever to our limited 6x3x3 private
apartments, by energetically waving and slapping a towel around, then
quickly shutting the door of netting, also on a tightly fitting frame,
and devoting an hour or two at our leisure to demolishing the few
stragglers that remained within; or possibly the whole night, if an
unknown breach had been found by the wily mosquito somewhere in our
carefully made defenses. A few bones were taken from the Eskimo graves
that abound on the island, but the mosquitoes seriously interfered
with such work and the party soon returned to the vessel. The
absolutely calm night allowed the mosquitoes to reach us and stay; and
in spite of its brevity and the utter stillness of the vast solitude
about us, broken only now and then by a noise from the little Halifax
trader whose acquaintance we here made for the first time, and of whom
we saw so much on our return voyage across the gulf, or by the howling
of wolves and Eskimo dogs in the distance, we were glad when it was
over and a morning breeze chased from our decks the invading hosts.

A short stop at Rigolette, to send about fifty letters ashore, a two
days' delay in a cold, easterly storm at Turner Cove, on the south
side of the inlet, when the icy winds, in contrast to the warm weather
we had lately enjoyed, made us put on our heavy clothes and, even
then, shiver--a delay, however, that we did not grudge, for we were in
a land of fish, game and labradorite--this of a poor quality, as we
afterward learned--and where the doctor had more patients than he
could easily attend to. At last a pleasant Sunday's run to Indian
Harbor got us clear of Hamilton Inlet. There we found the usual
complement of fish and fishing apparatus, but with the addition of a
few Yankee vessels and a church service.

The latter we were quite surprised to find, and several went, out of
curiosity, and had the satisfaction of finding a small room, packed
with about fifty human beings, with no ventilation whatever, and of
sitting on seats about four inches wide with no backs. The people were
earnest and respectful, but