Page:Life with the Esquimaux - 1864 - Volume 1.djvu/89

68 "On landing, I replaced my clothes and trudged along, gathering many beauteous flowers by the way. Up, up the mountain—steep following steep—away we went, leaving piles of stones—three stones in each (I said in my thoughts, 'Faith, Hope, and Charity')—to mark the way on our downward path, for our route was heretofore unknown by the native or the European population. At length we came to the top of all save the last mountain, which was covered with snow. Here we found the steepness to be such that for a moment I hesitated; but, determined to try and ascend yet higher, I made the attempt. Adam looked up and shook his head, actually falling to the ground, saying he 'would not, could not accompany me for the whole world!' Therefore I had to go alone.

"The peak I was about to climb had the name of 'Woman's Hood,' and I started on my way up it with great caution, erecting piles of 'Faith, Hope, and Charity' at intervals, to guide me back. Every now and then I was obliged to desist. The sun in the northwest was pouring on my back compound rays, in addition to the dazzling glare reflected from the sea. The exertion made was immense. Frequently I had to dig out cracks between the rocks for both fingers and toes to hold on by. I dared not look around. I was unable to do anything but go on. At length I reached a lofty peak, and to my dismay beheld another beyond it, with a precipice between! For a moment I hung to the rock upon which I stood. I closed my eyes. I gradually opened them, with shaded hands. I gazed upon the awful depths below; then, glancing round, I saw one of Nature's grand and mighty scenes. Mountains upon mountains, with great breaks between, burst on my view. On one side, the lake, river, and valley below, with Davis's Straits in the distance; on the other, peak upon peak, to some five hundred, towering upward to the skies. Mount Cunningham, as the highest was called, was evidently inaccessible, and to attempt it would have been foolhardy. I therefore ended my journey here, erected a pile of stones, and then marking my name, began the descent.