ely lost our way, and
ended up at the foot of some steep cliffs which we had climbed down,
thinking that our destination lay at their feet. The storm of the day
had broken the sea ice from the land, and we could not get round the
base of the cliffs, though we could see the village lights twinkling
away, only a mile or two across the bay. Climbing steep hills through
dense woods in deep snow in the dark calls for some endurance,
especially as a white snow-bank looks like an open space through the
dark trees. I have actually stuck my face into a perpendicular bluff,
thinking that I was just coming out into the open. Oddly enough, when
after much struggling we had mounted the hill, we heard voices, and
suddenly met two men, who had also been astray all day, but now knew
the way home. They were "all in" for want of food, and preferred
camping for the night. A good fire and some chunks of sweet cake so
greatly restored them, however, that we got under way again in a
couple of hours, further stimulated to do so by the bitter cold,
against which, in the dark, we could not make adequate shelter.
Moreover, we had perspired with the violent exercise and our clothes
were freezing from the inside out.

[Illustration: A Hilly Trail
A KOMATIK JOURNEY]

[Illustration: Crossing a Brook
A KOMATIK JOURNEY]

You must always carry an axe, not only for firewood, but for getting
water--unless you wish to boil snow, which is a slow process, and apt
to burn your kettle. Also when you have either lost the trail or there
is none, you must have an axe to clear a track as you march ahead of
your dogs. Then there is, of course, the unfortunate question of food.
Buns baked with chopped pork in them give one fine energy-producing
material, and do not freeze. A sweet hard biscuit is made on the coast
which is excellent in one's pocket. Cocoa, cooked pork fat, stick
chocolate, are all good to have. Our sealers carry dry oatmeal and
sugar in their "nonny bags," which, mixed with snow, assuage their
thirst and hunger as well. Pork and beans in tins are good, but they
freeze badly. I have boiled a tin in our kettle for fifteen minutes,
and then found a lump of ice in the middle of the substance when it
was turned out into the dish.

Winter travelling on this coast oftentimes involves considerable
hardships, as when once our doctor lost the track and he and his men
had to spend several nights in the woods. They were so reduced by
hunger