Page:The open Polar Sea- a narrative of a voyage of discovery towards the North pole, in the schooner "United States" (IA openpolarseanarr1867haye).pdf/241



The first expedient which suggested itself was to open communication with the Esquimaux of Whale Sound, and, in the event of this being accomplished, it was fair to suppose that some animals might be obtained from them. If we could succeed in bringing the tribe to the vessel, we might readily accomplish our wish; for, during the period that their dogs would be in our service, we could, if necessity required it, furnish them all with food, either from our stores or from the hunt.

Hans was consulted concerning the Esquimaux, and from him we learned that there was a family living on Northumberland Island, several families on the south side of Whale Sound, and possibly one or more on the north side. Northumberland Island was about a hundred miles distant as we would be obliged to travel in order to reach it, and the south side of the Sound about one hundred and fifty. That we should communicate with these people at the earliest practicable moment was a matter of the first importance. If a sufficient number of the dogs should remain alive when the moon came in December, it was arranged that Sonntag should make the journey at that period, taking a single sledge, and Hans for a driver. If the dogs should all die, then I intended to go down on foot as soon as possible, and do my best to bring all of the Esquimaux to Port Foulke and Etah, use their dogs while we needed them, and feed and clothe the people in the interval. Meanwhile, however, we could only wait through the mid-December darkness, and hope that the month would end more auspiciously than it had begun.