MUSK-OXEN AT LAST
On the next march we had gone only some six or seven miles when,
rounding a point on the eastern shore of the Inlet, we saw black dots on
a distant hillside.
"_Oomingmuksue!_" said Ooblooyah, excitedly, and I nodded to him, well
pleased.
To the experienced hunter, with one or two dogs, seeing musk-oxen should
be equivalent to securing them. There may be traveling over the roughest
kind of rough country, with wind in the face and cold in the blood; but
the end should always be the trophies of hides, horns, and juicy meat.
For myself, I never associate the idea of sport with musk-oxen--too
often in the years gone by the sighting of those black forms has meant
the difference between life and death. In 1896, in Independence Bay, the
finding of a herd of musk-oxen saved the lives of my entire party. On my
way back from 87° 6´, in 1906, if we had not found musk-oxen on Nares
Land, the bones of my party might now be bleaching up there in the great
white waste.
When we saw the significant black dots in the distance, we headed for
them. There were five close together, and another a little way off. When
we got within less than a mile, two of the dogs were loosed. They were
wild with excitement, for they also had seen the black dots and knew
what they meant; and as soon as the traces were unfastened they were
off--straight as the flight of a homing bee.
We followed, at our leisure, knowing that when we arrived the herd would
be rounded up, ready for our rifles. A single musk-ox, when he sees the
dogs, will make for the nearest cliff and get his back against it; but a
herd of them will round up in the middle of a plain with tails together
and heads toward the enemy. Then the bull leader of the herd will take
his place outside the round-up, and charge the dogs. When the leader is
shot, another takes his place, and so on.
A few minutes later I stood again, as I had stood on previous
expeditions, with that bunch of shaggy black forms, gleaming eyes and
pointed horns before me--only this time it did not mean life or death.
[Illustration: HEAD OF BULL MUSK-OX KILLED ON PARRY PENINSULA]
Yet, as I raised my rifle, again I felt clutching at my heart that
terrible sensation of life hanging on the accuracy of my aim; again in
my bones I felt that gnawing hunger of the past; that aching lust for
red, warm, dripping meat--the feeling that the wolf has when he pulls
down his quarry. He who has ever been really hungry, either in the
Arctic or elsewhere, will understand this feeling. Sometimes the memory
of it rushes over me in unexpected places. I have felt it after a hearty
dinner, in the streets of a great city, when a lean-faced beggar has
held out his hand for alms.
I pulled the trigger, and the bull leader of the herd fell on his
haunches. The bullet had found the vulnerable spot under the fore
shoulder, where one should always shoot a musk-ox. To aim at the head
is a waste of ammunition.
As the bull went down, out from the herd came a cow, and a second shot
accounted for her. The others, a second cow and two yearlings, were the
work of a few moments; then I left Ooblooyah and Koolatoonah to skin and
cut them up, while Egingwah and I started for the single animal, a
couple of miles away.
As the dogs approached this fellow, he launched up the hill and
disappeared over a nearby crest. The light surface snow along the path
he had taken was brushed away by the long, matted hair of his sides and
belly, which hung down to the ground.
The dogs had disappeared after the musk-ox, but Egingwah and myself were
guided by their wild barking. Our quarry had taken refuge among the huge
rocks in the bottom of a stream-bed, where his rear and both sides were
protected, and there he stood at bay with the yelping dogs before him.
One shot was enough; and leaving Egingwah to skin and cut up the animal,
I started to walk back to the other two men, as it had been decided to
camp at the place where they were cutting up the five musk-oxen. But as
I emerged from the mouth of the cañon, I saw up the valley still another
of the big, black shaggy forms. Quickly I retraced my steps, and
gathering in two of the dogs, secured this fellow as easily as the
others.
This last specimen was, however, of peculiar interest, as the white hair
of the legs, just above the hoofs, was dashed with a bright red--a
marking which I had never before seen in any of these arctic animals.
Taking the dogs with me and leaving the musk-ox, I went on to the place
selected for a camp. Ooblooyah and Koolatoonah were just finishing
cutting up the fifth musk-ox, and were immediately sent off with a
sledge and team of dogs, to help Egingwah with the two big bulls.
When they were gone, I set up the tent myself and began to prepare the
tea for our supper. As soon as the voices of the Eskimos were audible in
the distance, I put on the musk-ox steaks to broil and in a few minutes
we were enjoying the reward of our labor. Surely this was living on the
fat of the land indeed, deer steak the second night, bear steak last
night, to-night the luscious meat of the musk-ox!
[Illustration: HERD OF MUSK-OXEN ROUNDED UP]
In the morning we continued our course, and during the day three more
musk-oxen were gathered in, the meat being cached as before. That night
we camped at the head of the hitherto unexplored inlet, and I had the
satisfaction of knowing that one more stretch of previously unknown
territory had been added to the world's map.
Next day we started north along the west side of the inlet. We had been
traveling for hours and were just looking for a suitable place to camp,
being then at the foot of a steep bluff some fifty feet in height, when
suddenly the dogs made a break for the shore and attempted to climb the
bluff. Of course they could not do this on account of the sledges; but
we knew what their wild action meant--more musk-oxen.
[Illustration: WESHARKOOPSI AND MUSK-OX CALF]
In a moment Egingwah and I, with rifles in our hands, were climbing the
bluff. Peering over the top we saw a herd of five. It was nearly dark
now, the arctic twilight being so dense that we could simply make out
five dark spots. We waited for a moment to catch our breath, then I
motioned to Ooblooyah to bring two of the dogs, leaving Koolatoonah with
the others at the sledges. Notwithstanding the uncertain light, we made
short work of this herd.
Again I pitched the tent and prepared supper, while my brown friends
paid their final respects to the musk-oxen on the bluff. It is necessary
to eviscerate these animals as soon as they are killed, otherwise the
excessive heat of the great shaggy bodies will cause the meat to become
tainted. When the three Eskimos came down to the tent the darkness was
already upon us--a promise of the long black night to come.
The next day we completed the circuit of the western shore of the Inlet,
then started on a bee line for Sail Harbor, making this a forced march.
At Sail Harbor we found a note from Bartlett, showing that he had passed
there the previous day on his way back from Cape Columbia to the ship.
There we camped again; and in the morning, while the men were breaking
camp and lashing up the sledges, I started with the very first rays of
the morning light across the peninsula towards James Ross Bay. As I
crested the divide, I saw--down on the shore of the Bay--a group of dark
spots which were clearly recognized as a camp; and a little later I sang
out to the party, which comprised the divisions of Bartlett, Goodsell,
and Borup.
By the time the sleepy-eyed, stiff figures of the three men--who, as I
soon learned, had been asleep only an hour or so--emerged from the
tents, my sledges and Eskimos were close at my heels. I can see now the
bulging eyes of the men, and particularly of young Borup, when they saw
the sledge loads of shaggy skins. On the top of the leading sledge was
the magnificent snowy pelt of the polar bear, with the head forward;
behind this was the deerskin with its wide-antlered head, and more
musk-ox heads than they had had time to count.
"Oh, gee!" exclaimed Borup, when his open-mouthed astonishment would
permit of articulation.
I had no time for visiting, as I wanted to reach the ship on that march;
and after a few words left the men to finish their interrupted sleep. It
was long after dark when we reached the _Roosevelt_. We had been absent
seven sleeps, had traveled over two hundred miles, had accomplished the
exploration of Clements Markham Inlet, had made a rough map of it, and
incidentally had obtained magnificent specimens of the three great
animals of the arctic regions, thus adding a few thousand pounds of
fresh meat to our winter supply. So, with a feeling of entire
satisfaction, I had a hot bath in my cabin bathroom on the _Roosevelt_,
and then turned in to my bunk for a long and refreshing sleep.
[Illustration: BEAR KILLED IN CLEMENTS MARKHAM INLET]
Throughout the month of October the work of transporting supplies and of
hunting went on. The captain made two round trips from the ship to Cape
Columbia; but he was working backward and forward all the time along the
route. In the course of this work he obtained four musk-oxen.
[Illustration: MUSK-OX HEADS IN THE RIGGING OF THE ROOSEVELT]
[Illustration: CARIBOU HEADS IN THE RIGGING OF THE ROOSEVELT]
(From Photographs taken on the Return Voyage)
MacMillan recovered from his attack of grip, and on the 14th of October
was sent with two sledges, two Eskimos, and twenty dogs to make a survey
of Clements Markham Inlet and obtain musk-oxen and deer. He bagged five
of the former. The last of the month the doctor also had an attack of
grip, which kept him in bed for a week or two. Many small parties were
sent out on short hunting trips and there was hardly a day during the
fall when the men were all on the ship at one time.
While, from the time of our arrival at Cape Sheridan early in September
to the date of our departure from land for the Pole on March 1, every
member of the expedition was almost constantly engaged in work that had
for its object the completing of preparations for the final sledge
journey in the spring, no small part of this work was educational in
purpose and result. That is to say, it was intended to inure the
"tenderfeet" of the party to the hardships of long journeys over rough
going and through low temperatures, snow and wind. It taught them how to
take care of themselves under difficult conditions, how to defend
themselves against the ever-present peril of frost-bite, how to get the
greatest comfort and protection from their fur clothing, how to handle
their valuable dogs and how to manage their Eskimo helpers so as to get
the best results from their efforts.
An entry in Dr. Goodsell's journal is so typical of the chief troubles
of any arctic sledging journey that it is worth repeating here.
"Have been utilizing the time," wrote Dr. Goodsell, "in trying to dry
out stockings and boots. It is extremely difficult to dry out stockings
because of the cold and the necessity of economizing fuel. The general
procedure is to discard footgear when it is nearly saturated with
moisture. As long as the footgear is dry there is little danger of
frosting the feet, if ordinary precautions are taken. With wet footgear
one is in constant danger of freezing the feet. The oil-stove with the
three-inch burner is barely sufficient to dry the gloves, of which two
pairs are worn, an outer pair of bearskin, and an inner pair of
deerskin." Another journal entry deals with a different kind of peril:
"Toxingwa and Weesockasee were overcome by the lack of oxygen and the
fumes of alcohol while MacMillan was preparing tea. Weesockasee fell
back as though asleep. Toxingwa was twisting around, as though to get
his arm free from one sleeve of his jacket. He too, finally fell back.
MacMillan surmised the cause and kicked the door to one side. In about
fifteen or twenty minutes they came around all right. The Commander on
another of his expeditions nearly had a similar experience when he saw
his Eskimos acting strangely, and quickly kicked out the side of the
igloo."
Still another peril that is omnipresent in sledge journeys over a polar
sea is that of falling through thin ice and getting thoroughly wet.
Perhaps it is not necessary to enlarge upon the gravity of this danger,
since it was precisely such an accident that cost Professor Marvin his
life. Even if the victim of such an accident should be able to drag
himself out of the water, he would in all probability speedily freeze to
death. Death by freezing comes speedily to a water-soaked man when
temperatures are ranging anywhere from 20 to 60 degrees below zero.
"Just finished changing my boots for a dry pair," writes the doctor.
"Crossing a lead covered with thin ice and fissured in the center, my
left leg went in to the knee. Fortunately my right foot was forward on
firm ice and I threw myself ahead, going down on my left knee on the
edge of firm ice and drawing my leg out of the water. At another lead
the ice gave way as I sprang from its surface. My right foot dipped into
the water to the ankle. I do not understand why I did not go down bodily
into the water. Had I gone in to my waist there would have been a
serious result, for the sledges were some distance away and the
temperature was 47° below zero. In the absence of an igloo and a change
of clothes near at hand, a ducking in this temperature would certainly
have a serious termination."
Trying conditions these--yet the thing had its irresistible fascination,
and now and then came reflective moments like the one on February 25,
when the doctor, encamped on the way from the _Roosevelt_ to Cape
Columbia, wrote as follows:
"When I was nearing Point Good, insensibly I paused time and again to
view the scene. I could see Cape Hecla to the rear and the Parry
Peninsula. In advance the twin peaks of Cape Columbia beckoned us on to
the second point of departure in the Commander's northward march. To the
north as we progressed, beyond the comparatively smooth glacial fringe
loomed the floes and pinnacles of rough ice which will try us all to the
utmost for weeks to come. To the south the circumference of the horizon
was bounded by the sharp, jagged, serrated mountain ranges, mostly
parallel to the coast. Every day we have a glorious dawn lasting for
hours. A golden gleam is radiated from parallel ranges of serrated
mountains. Individual peaks reflect the light of the sun, which will
illuminate them with its direct rays in a few days. There is a cornea of
golden glow, crimson and yellow, with strata of darker clouds floating
parallel to the coast ranges--Turner effects for hours each day and for
days in succession, the effect increasing from day to day. I am writing
under difficulties, Inighito (an Eskimo) holding the candle. My hands
are so cold that I can scarcely guide my pencil, as I recline on the bed
platform of the igloo."
But all this anticipates. On the 12th of October the sun had bidden us
good-by for the year, and the rapidly darkening twilight increased the
difficulties of the field work. Our photographs grew daily less
satisfactory. We had not been able to take snapshots since about the
middle of September; for, when the sun is near the horizon, though the
light is apparently as brilliant as in summer, it seems to have no
actinic power. Our first time-exposures were five seconds; our last, on
the 28th of October, were ninety minutes. The temperature also was
gradually getting lower, and on the 29th of October it was 26° below
zero.
The fall work ended with the return of Bartlett and his party from Cape
Columbia, on November 5th, the other men having all returned before. By
that time the light had disappeared, and it would be necessary to wait
for the recurring moons of the long winter night before we could do any
more work.
We had gone up there in the arctic noon, had worked and hunted through
the arctic twilight, and now the night was upon us--the long arctic
night which seems like the valley of the shadow of death. With nearly
all the supplies for the spring sledge journey already at Cape Columbia,
with a good store of fresh meat for the winter, and our party all in
good health, we entered the Great Dark with fairly contented hearts. Our
ship was apparently safe; we were well housed and well fed; and if
sometimes the terrible melancholy of the dark clutched for a moment at
the hearts of the men, they bravely kept the secret from each other and
from me.