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Etah (88) if one came at all. Landed our stuff at once and at high tide "Inger Pis" was run over to a place on the beach where she could be sheathed at low tide. Mac gave me my choice of rooms aside from his - Jot has been in the other front room for three years and has fixed up workbench etc, hence I did not want to disturb him. Et's room faces southeast and is lights and sunny now, but is cold and windy. By Et's advice as well as Mac's I took Dr. Hunt's old room in the northwest corner, as being much the warmest sleeping room in the house. Mi-mi has been living in it, but she is clean and she moved out to a topic during the day. Went over foxskin matter again and Mac finally admitted that the first skins which he got were not obtained for "specimens", not being able to deny that he had left mi- structions with Jot, when he left for Crocker Land in February, 1914, to send them to Freeport. I called Mac's attention to the fact that he had the written instructions applied to all the foxskins. He said that later he realized that this position was untenable, although he had traded for them with his own material [the boys however say that he used expedition stuff too] and that there were not more than 30 or 40 skins then anyhow [this does not seem to agree with Allen's statements of greater num- ber, and he sealed up the boxes]. I wanted to go through the boxes to-day or tomorrow and select the fifty skins that I have proposed to keep for the museum and then turn the remainder over to Mr. Rasmussen, but Mac refuses to have anything more to do with foxskins, saying that he has done his level best to get together a fine series of them and now I am upsetting the whole business [See pp. 60-63 of this book]
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my correspondence with K. R. at Thule (90 gives the details of the understanding regarding the fox skins. This afternoon Mr. Rasmmussen and I had a talk in Mayak's topic in which it was amicably agreed upon that he had no objection to my securing this coming year such foxskins as the Expedition needs for the kahpetaks still to be made and as may be desired for Museum spea- mens. Any surplus (to be decided upon at the Museum) is to go to Mr. Rasmussen on his own terms; like those now here. At a conference in the afternoon between Mac, Jot and myself, Jot finally agreed to stay north the coming year, if no ship comes, on the old contract that he is to be free to go away, hunting etc., occasionally as he may desire. ("Wherever you like", in Mac's words). But he is to cook not less than one-half the time. Jot said that he would not trust Mac under the old contract but that he would trust and take orders from me. I said of course that such an arrangement would not work, since there could not be two bosses in the house. On account of the expense and our (only) needing him here, I did not wish to send him out by sledge and steamer via South Greenland and Denmark. Etc had gotten together what he needed for going south; K. R. received some tobacco and three of the larger boxes of dog biscuit here, and at about 8 "Inger Lis" started from in front of a house where we filled the boats tanks with 80 gallons of kerosene to replace oil consumed on up-ward trip, gave K. R. 120 gal. kerosene on account ($9.60) and 5 gal alcohol ($7.50) and 2 1/2 Kg Tobacco, the last to be replaced on his return from Tasiunasak this fall - gave
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our with the dory and beached that above (93 the motorboat, turning it bottom up and securing it for the winter. 14 September. Thursday. max 31°; min 19.9° Temp. min 22°; 8a. 26½°; 12 m. 28½°; 4p. 30½°; 8 p. 37½°; 21.8° Overcast a.m. N. 2-3; noon S.W. 2; 4p. after N.E. 2. Sunshine afternoon till about 6 o'clock. Snowed considerably during the night & the land scape is wintry to-day. Mac went out in his kayak and got eleven ducks beyond Provision Point. Job went out in his and get a seal. The start up the glacier was made by the Eskimos today and I heard the dogs howl - Long distance all night. Mac, Capt- tain Corne, and I had quite a talk via "Cluett" Matters. Mac reports that Ed stated that Captain Pickels said that I was the one who stopped the schooner at North Star Bay last fall, whereas the understanding then I left on the "map his" letter was that the "Cluett" was to follow the motor boat if he came and I left with him a line drawn a chart drawn by Captain Pickels under Peter's direction showing the route that the motor boat would follow to Etah and back. 15 September. Friday. max 23°; min 16.5° Temp. min 16½°; 8a. 21°; 12 m. 23°; 4p. 20°; 8 p. 20°; 20.8° E.S.E. Wind N. 2-3 all day. Less cloudy in afternoon and more or less sunshine. Second birthday in Etah! I surely thought that I should be at home by this time. No ship has come yet and I wonder where the "Cluett" is. For the sake of the crew, it is to be hoped that she is out of the ice by this time. The day has been signalized by Mac's giving
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me the silk flag which E.L.H. in '94 trusted to him and which he took with him to "Crocker Land" and Finlay Land, a total of not less than 3000 miles of sledging. Mac did not think of the anniversary when he handed me the flag, but I could not have re- ceived anything to-day as a gift that would have pleased me more. I told him so later, when it occurred to him that this was my birthday. Have been collecting Ctenophores today and have gotten at least six forms, all beautiful. Am trying to preserve them but without good success yet. Alcoholine is of no good. Picric acid shrinks them up too much in strengths used to-day. The Eskimos call them itpiasuk meaning "bag". Also got a lot of the little pteropod(?) called the awk or walrus in account of its appearance. There seems to be much Plankton in the bay. Worey! All the tupics came down today and the Eskimos now have moved into their igloos. Parikpa has built an igloo from the smaller dog biscuit boxes about 50 yards east of the house, while Atkua- tiashaq has the big stone igloo close to the house on the west. Jot, Parikpa and Oodie went up to Littleton Island and vicinity today on a hunting trip, the first two in their kayaks and the last in the "flatty". Kahda and Megipsu were keen assist- ants to me to-day. When they saw what I was after they went along the bank and their sharp little eyes would descrie the jelly fish before my slower vision could got to work. Megipsu brought me several in her hands, carrying them very carefully.
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16 September - Saturday . Max 26.7° (95°) Min 19.6° Temp. min 20°; 8a. 24°; 12m. 25°; 4p. 25°; 8p. 23°; 23°. Overcast or cloudy all day. Moderate northly breeze in the morning. Calm afternoon. Captain finished fixing up windows and all double windows are in place except those in main room, which will not be put on till the weather is much colder because they reduce the light considerably, and we need all the light that we can get. Mac went up the fjord in his kayak and visited Lake to take soundings but the ice there was too thin to support him and he could not make them. WiWi is doing our cooking, in Jots absence. Put some of my stenophores into 10% formalin solution to-day. 17 September Sunday, Max 24°; min 16.9° Temp. min 19°; 8a. 22°; 12m. 23½°; 4p. 21°; 8p. 18°; 12h 16.9 Cloudy morning but clearing toward noon. Cloudless afternoon. Moderate N², wind in morning increasing to strong breeze (5-6) by noon and after. Beautiful day though the wind is keen. Went up gorge where Captain Comer gets our water and walked along hill - Etah is a bad place for land walking. Chringka took her trypic down today. Mac says that many of the Estreinos consider her to be the handsomest woman of the tribe. He thinks that Ivahch takes the prize, while I think that Almadrush is the best looking of those whom I have seen. Wi-Wi finished papering the upper part of my room with newspapers, making it dark and more cheerful. She cut the captain's hair to-day, giving him a regular frise fighter's clip, though somewhat ridged.
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18 September, Monday. 12, 19° [illegible] 96 Temp. 8a. 17°; 12m. 16½°; 4p. 18½°; 8p. 18° max. 20° Here begin true minimums for the calendar day. But began Nearly cloudless in morning, but began to cloud up soon after noon and by 4 p.m. was mostly overcast. Snowing at 8p. Strong East wind (6) at 8 a.m. N.E. 4 at noon and N. 2 at 6 p. and later. Tried to get more Bervè' s but saw only 2 . They were fairly large but one was in bad condition and I had to throw it away. Real ice-foot began to form last night, Ice first incrusts the stones and bottom in upper part of tidal zone and then grows seaward & downward until its thickness is nearly equal to the average range of the tide. Climbed up nearly to top of Thermometer Hill (1200 ft.) About 700 ft. above the sea - the Gneiss gives place to Sandstone and quartzite. Many ripple marked layers in the SS. Above Provision Point there is a consid- erable area of the Gneiss which is well smoothed, grooved and striated by old glacial action, -- its first good example of this work that I have seen. From the high land I could see much floe ice northwestward toward Pin Island but there is none to the West, SW & S and not many bergs. There is nothing up this way yet to hinder the coming and going of a vessel. about 6 p.m. got Danika and Oodie came in from their hunting trip. They saw very few ducks, a few haws and no caribou. Lots of walrus from Sunrise Point north- ward. Snowing thickly about 8 o'clock if this keeps up so much slush will form that the food will freeze over.
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19 September, Tuesday Temp. 8a. 14°; 12m. 20°; 4p. 20°; 8p. 19°; 12mid. 19° Min 12½° Cloudless. N.E. wind 2-3. Cloudy p.m. Max 20.6° About 2" light feathery snow fell last night. Narrow band of pan ice has drifted down across entrance to fjord and southern side of fjord is skimmed over with ice this morning. Collected a few more stenophores in the freezing water. They are scarce now. Captain has been putting some more boxboard sheathing on the wall of the shed. This evening the fjord and bay are nearly covered with thin film of young ice. 20 September. Wednesday. Max 20.2° Temp. 8a. 16½°; 12m. 20°; 4p. 19° & p. 18° 12mid. 19° Min 16° Some high stratus clouds in morning followed by cloudless afternoon. Wind strong (5-6) from N.E. most of day. Fjord and bay are nearly clear of ice and it is almost gone from outside. The way in is clear, but no ship comes. It has been a beautiful day aside from the wind. Smooths of snow is driving off from the ice cap. Captain closed opening in shed roof in front of door except for small lookout hole. I am discussing with Mac the feasibility erect- ing the seismograph. We are going to try to set it up in the meat room at the corner of the house. Clock ran for all of first year or those tho' Fitz said it was no good and that I knew it was no good when I sent it up. Ab- surd! The clock was in perfect order when it left the Museum. Fitz simply "lay down" on his job. Probably did not know how to set up the seismograph.
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hood. Six foxes were brought in today and Oodie got four Laps. Mae reported (99 about six inches thickness of ice on the lake at the foot of the glacier. He got a depth of 82 1/2 feet in the middle of the lake. Kahdah and Megipsie came into my room this evening and were interested in watching my game of solitaire. They are nice interesting children and I wish that I could talk with them. 23 September. Saturday. Temp. 8a. 15°; 12m. 18 1/2°; 4p. 17°; 8p. 13 1/2°; 12h. 13° max 18.6° C, N. 3; C, N. 4; B, N. 5; B, N. 5; B, N. E. 5 min 12° This morning went over to gneiss ledges above Provision Point and a mile or more beyond, photographing the effects of glacial action. Another beautiful day, aside from the wind, which was much stronger and icier out there than at the house. Play had his house at Pro- vision Point and found the wind extre- my trying. It is much colder there than where the C.L.E. house stands. 24 September. Sunday max 15.1° Temp. 8a. 11.8°; 12m. 13.3°; 4p. 14.8°; 8p. 15.10°; 12h. 17.8° min 11° C N E. 5; C N. 5; O, N. 5; O, N. 5; S. N. E. 5 The fjord will surely freeze over when this wind dies down, though everything is clear now. This evening read Schley's accounts of the res- cue of the survivors of the Greeley expedition - a thrilling chapter to one knowing something of conditions up here. Accomplished 22 June, 1884, very early in the season but not a day too soon for the men would probably have all been dead in another 48 hours. Oodie, Kahda and Megipsie made pretty group, gathered around lamp on floor, looking at pictures. How much do they comprehend.
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Paritka came in bringing the body of a hare for trade and Mac has been using him in work at Eskimo vocabulary. The smiling, pleasant old man is a welcome visitor but we are not in need of fresh meat just now though we have to buy in order not to discourage the bringing in of the stuff. 25 September. Monday. 8a. 20.6°; 12m. 21.5°; 4p. 22°; 8p. 24°; 12p. 26°, min 17.1° O, N. 2.3; O, N. 2.2; S, N. 3; S, N. 3; O, O max 26° This morning went to cairn on top of the Monet's Hill with Mac to see thermometers which he put there a week ago. min. 8.9° Max 34°. His aneroid read 1000 feet; mine 1025 ft. Open water west and south, but outlook was stormy. Moderate breeze blowing out of Foreke Fjord, but flat calm beyond the islands in bay where Hayes winter- ed in 1860-61. Top of hill is formed of old diabase cap 30-40 ft thick, a sill now lying on quartzite of Huronian age. Noted excel- lent solution forms of gravel and boulders. Collected some specimens, see Geol. Note Bk. No. 2. Flock of ducks came into our camp this evening and Paritka got one. Put box 78 out with other foxskin boxes. 26 September. Tuesday. 8a. 29.2°; 12m. 28.5°; 4p. 28.0°; 8p. 28°; 12p. 27.9° max 30° C, S. W. 3-4; C, S. 4; C, S. 4; O, S. 5; 12p. S. 5.4 min 28.4° Rather stormy, disagreeable day, looking very bad out in the Sound. The southerly wind has driven a small amount of ice including some little bergs. If the latter stay here our water problem will be well solved and just in time too, for to-day Captain Cover scooped up the last of the water in the hollow in the rocks of the gorge
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where he has been getting on (1/01 water ever since we three came up from Umanak. This morning Mac fitted shelves into the space formerly occupied by the clock in the general room. This evening we had a great discussion over the question the world is growing better or worse. Joe thinks it stationary. He also thinks that we should be miserable, discon- tented and unhappy, if we were to do only the things that are good for us and were not to yield to gratification of our mo- mentary desires and appetites. Present enjoyment offsets future suffering, the latter being more or less prob - lematical. 27 September. Wednesday 8a, 26o; 12m, 27o; 4h, 26.2o; 8h, 26.6o; 12h, 27 max 28o min 24.5o Overcast with light (2) N.E. wind all day aftl E at 8a. Good day for hunting and Mac, Joe, Parvickn and Oddie went out; the first up to Littleton Island in the flatty, the others in the fjord in their kayaks. Mac brought back a good bag - a 16 didn ducks and three sea pigens together with a box of duck eggs from the a cache at the island. Joe got a small seal and Oddie a large one. Wilma made up a pillow for me today from the eider duck feathers that she has been saving for the purpose. Oddie is 16 years old. Joe argues that everything has life and that the universe has always existed and always will exist, i.e. had no beginning and will have no end. 28 September. Thursday. 8a, 28.5o; 12m, 27.9o; 4h, 27o; 8h, 27o; 12h, 27o; min 26.1o S, N, E, 2; S, S, N, 1; S, O; S, O; S, O. max 29o Another good day for hunting though snow is somewhat disagreeable. Joe got two seals, Oddie one
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Captain succeeded in dipping up (20 another supply (14-15 gals) of water from the hollow in the gorge. He and Mac cleaned the iron tank, with Wi-Wi's help, and brought it in and set it in its place for the winter, at the end of the store; filled it with hard ice blocks from the beach. They also moved two masses of fresh water ice to the shore, hoping to keep them for the winter. Worked on "Cluett" article. 29 September. Friday. 8a, 28.2°; 12m. 29.2°; 4p. 31°; 8p. 27°; 12n. 26.5°; min 2.5°; max 32° 0,0; O,W2; C,N.E.3; B,0; O,O. Mac, Jot, Panickpa and Oodie went out walrus hunting with success except that Mac got a few ducks. Kahda and I went up the fjord in the flatby hunting seals, but saw none. Lots of Berce and Callia- nina in the water, some of the former being as large as any that I have seen here. Kahda is an interesting little companion. We had scrambled eggs for supper. 30 September Saturday. 8a, 28.7°; 12m. 28.8°; 4p. 29.4°; 8p. 41.2°; 12n. 38°; min 26.5° max 43° C, S1; C,O; C,E1; O,N.E.3; O,N.E.4. Kahda went out with me again in the flatby. We went half way (2 mi) to [illegible] Sun- rise Point, following the other men, who were walrus hunting in their kayaks. We did not go quite far enough to see any walrus, since I turned back to escape the wind which I thought was coming, too! It did not come. They saw walrus but got none. When returning Mac saw one at or within the entrance to the fjord. Jot, Pa- nickpa and Oodie each got a seal. We have five now, which pleases us - Captain Conner stenciled and stamped some October calendars for us today.
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1 October. Sunday. (103 8a.,29,8°;12m.33°;4h.33°;5p.32,8°;12h.28,5°. max 43 S,S.1;C,S.6;O,S.5;O,S.3;S,O. Jot was going out this morning after seals but quit it up when he saw how suddenly the barometer had dropped this morning and within an hour a heavy south wind struck us and white caps were running in our wake. We all have stayed in today. I need- ed rest after my two days rowing. Ahuingak made an anorak for me from some fine khaki that Mac had. Kahda learned to write his name today and he made some drawings for me of a man in a kayak harpooning a walrus and of two lemmatics chasing a polar bear and her cub. He is a bright boy. 2 October. Monday. 8a,29°;12m.30°;4h.26,8°;5p.28°. 12h,27°;min 25,8°,max 30 C,S.E.2;C,S.1;S,O;S,S.E.2;S,S.3. Climbed thermometer still and got readings of max 40.6°,min 21.3° for past week. Thin film of ice over the exposed rocks of the slopes, due to the alternate freezing and thawing of the past week, made rather hard walking. Saw some tracks of hares, but no hares. Oddie killed a large bull walrus in entrance to harbor. Mac and Jot were on hand and Captain Comer went out in the flats and helped tow in the carcass to shore; but when it came to dividing up the meat, Oddie and his friends got two-thirds of it although they were not really entitled to nearly so much, by account of the work done by our three men in securing and cutting up. Such is life up here. "The Kablemos have lots of things, they don't need this" is their evident opinion. Well- noblesse oblige. Ford filled up with ice this evening.
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25 October. Wednesday. B, N3; (B, N2 ?); B, N23; B/N24; B/N26 max 1° 8a, 1°; 12m ; 4h, 0°; 8h, -3.5°; 12h-3. min.-5.8° Cloudless, brilliant day without much wind. Considered a rarity at Etah. Eight Kamtiks took the whole population except Parikpa and Abuksumquwah and Nive and her two small children up to the lake at the head of the fjord. Mac, Jot, Stukashe, Nucarpingwah and I went up into the glacier and set a row of iron stakes across it. Oodie and Kakochie hunted rabbits, the former get- ting one and the latter three. Oodie got a ptarmigan too. The rest of the crowd fished through the ice 50-75 ft from the end of the glacier. Ice 23½ inches thick, water 12-13 feet deep. Rain is still flowing under the glacier for we could feel the lake ice moving under our feet coincidentally with extensive cracking sounds, and the water overflowed the ice when the holes were chopped through it. The cracking of the ice may how- ever be due to the pressure of the slow- ly moving glacier. During the winter the pressure arches up the ice near the glacier so that a person may walk into the spots or tunnel thus formed. Akputishes & his family (Ahningah, Megissu & Kahda) caught three large and two small salmon trout. Near some Mr Captain Corner who came up without any hooks. He thought that Mac had them whereas Mac had given them to him yesterday. It was hard walking on the glacier, but our Kamtiks stuck to the ice pretty well, if we kept the soles free from snow. Went into two-meal a day regime.
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26 October. Thursday. (120 B,N\u03a55; B,N\u03a53; B,N\u03a53; B,N\u03a56; O,N\u03a55 8a,-1o/12m,3o;4h,3o;8h,Oo;12h,-2o.min-4.1o max 3o Another remarkable fine day for Etah. Tho the wind seemed to me to be stronger at mid- day on the fjord than it was on the glacier yesterday. Kahda contributed the little fish which he caught and which seem- ed to be different from the ussual large ones. To day I have thawed out this and four of those brought back from the lake near the Stemboldt gla- cier and placed all five, wrapped up separately in cheese cloth, in 75% alcohol in a five gallon milk can - walked out across fjord and back, ca 2\u012f-3 miles. We have lived high to day. At oft. we had the big trout that Ahminah caught yes- terday. Joe "smothered" it a la Labrador and it was delicious. Caribou steaks, fried, for dinner at 4 p.m. Then had merely a mug up in the evening. 27 October. Friday. B,N\u03a52; B,N\u03a52; O1,N\u03a52; B,N\u03a53; B,N\u03a52 max 4.1o 8a,Oo/12m,1.5o;4h,-2.6o;8h,.6o;12h,4o;min-1.5o Etah is trying to disprove Mac's characteriza- tion of its weather. This day has been best of all. We went again to the glacier. I rode up with Nucaipingwah and back with Mac. Mac took Sammit, Nucaipingwah and Akputishao, built cairn on south wall of valley in line with stakes, measured upial base lines and angles on cairn and stakes and took angles and base line for length of lake and distance from front of glacier - I went up northern valley to build cairn in line with stakes, but found trip along