rk. To some extent the
dogs were a hindrance rather than a help, especially when passing over
broken fragments, for they were always tumbling into holes and cracks,
out of which they had to be dragged, and were much given to venting
their ill-humour on each other, sometimes going in for a free fight, in
the course of which they tied their traces into indescribable knots, and
drove their Eskimo masters furious. On such occasions the whips--both
lash and handle--were applied with unsparing vigour until the creatures
were cowed.

Danger, also, as well as toil, was encountered during the journey. On
the evening of the second day the sledge driven by Oolichuk diverged a
little from the line of march towards what seemed an easier passage over
the hummocks. They had just gained the top of an ice-block, which,
unknown to the driver, overhung its base. When the dogs reached the
edge of the mass, it suddenly gave way. Down went the team with a
united howl of despair. Their weight jerked the sledge forward, another
mass of the ice gave way, and over went the whole affair. In the fall
the lashings broke, and Oolichuk, with several of his kindred, including
poor little Oblooria, went down in a shower of skins, packages, bags,
and Eskimo cooking utensils.

Fortunately, they dropped on a slope of ice which broke their fall, and,
as it were, shunted them all safely, though violently, to the lower
level of the pack.

Beyond a few scratches and bruises, no evil resulted from this accident
to these hardy natives of the north.

That night they all encamped, as on the previous night, in the midst of
the pack, spreading their skins and furs on the flattest ice they could
find, and keeping as far from overhanging lumps as possible.

"What does Blackbeard mean by coming here?" asked Chingatok of Anders,
as they lay side by side, gazing up at the blue sky awaiting sleep. "We
cannot swim over the sea, and we have no boats."

"I don't know," answered the interpreter. "Our chief is a wonderful
man. He does things that seem to be all wrong, but they turn out mostly
to be all right."

"Does he ever speak of a Great Spirit?" asked the giant in a solemn
tone.

"Not to me," replied the other, "but I hear him sometimes speaking to
his little boy about his God."

"Then he must know his God," returned Chingatok. "Has he seen him--
spoken to him?"

Anders was a good deal surprised as well as puzzled by the questions put
by his new