Josephine Diebitsch Peary

“ As AH-NI-GHI ́-TO was very hungry by this time, all went on board. The steward had lighted a fire in the cabin stove and swept the water out of the cabin, but everything was still wet. Breakfast was prepared at once and soon every one was feeling better, but very tired. Getting up at five o’clock in the morning and being put out in a blinding snowstorm for five 53hours without anything to eat or drink, and without even a place where one can sit down unless it is on the snow-covered ground, is not at all pleasant. ”

“ The days grew shorter and shorter, and soon the day came when the sun did not shine in the little harbour at all, and, looking to the south, the big, round, yellow ball could not be seen on the horizon. ”

“ After father gets about twenty-five walrus on board we steam alongside of some large ice floe and all the animals are put on the ice and cut up. This saves the mess on deck. The meat and skin and blubber are kept separate, and packed away for dog food in the winter when everything is frozen. When father has seventy-five walrus cut up he says, ‘We will go back to Cape Sabine, if we can, and land the meat and start all over again.’ I hope we won’t get caught in the ice if we go. ”

“ When the boat is close enough each Eskimo throws his harpoon at a walrus, and all the walrus slide off the ice into the water. Those struck by the natives have the harpoon head fastened in their skin with a line to it. The other end of the line is fastened to a float. Now the boat follows them, and every time the walrus comes up to breathe one of the men with the rifles tries to shoot him. They are very hard to kill because the hide is so thick and tough and the fat is so thick under it. ”

“ Sometimes the great sheets of ice would hold the “Windward” in their grasp and not allow her to move an inch. Then the current would take her, together with the ice, and drift the whole southward. In this way the ship was often farther south at the end of the day than she was when she started to steam north a few hours before. At these times when the “Windward” was drifting she was perfectly motionless and AH-NI-GHI ́-TO, together with Percy and some of the Eskimos, would climb over the side of the ship onto the Hoes and there they would play and slide on the smooth ice ”

“ Sometimes if the walrus are full grown they get mad and make for the boat, which they try to upset with their ivory tusks. Even if they don’t upset the boat they often put their tusks right through it, and frighten the Eskimos very much; and I guess the white men are scared too, only they won’t say so. After a walrus is killed the float is left fastened to him and we come along in the ship and hoist him on board. He is not a pretty animal but very large, and the meat is the best food for the dogs. ”

“ When we reached the ice we saw our team of dogs running away with our sledge. But an Eskimo who was just starting for the ship kindly took me on his sledge. The Eskimos can hop off and on the sledge while the dogs are running. I tried to do it, but once I fell in the ice-cold water and got very wet, and that was enough for me.”
Another trip was made to the old winter home late in July and more meat landed.
August 1st the “Windward” anchored off Etah again, and while awaiting the coming of the ship from home AH-NI-GHI ́-TO learned to paddle about in an Eskimo kayak. ”

“ When we came on board, Captain Sam said the thermometer on deck had been at seventy-two degrees below freezing all day.”
They never went far from the ship, so that they could run on board, into the warm galley (kitchen) , where the steward, kind old Charley, was ever ready to give them a hot drink, and allow them to warm their fingers and toes, even if he did threaten to make mince meat out of them if they bothered him too much.
One day he said to AH-NI-GHI ́-TO: “Why don’t you have a party on the ice? Get the youngsters to help you fix up a house, and I will help you with the supper.” ”

“ I could laugh every time I look at them.
“Funny little bear-skin trousers”
“Achatinǵwah told me all about the sun and moon to-day. Ever so many years ago, longer than the oldest Eskimos can remember, a girl ran out of an igloo with a piece of lighted moss in her hand. Her brother ran after her with a larger piece of moss. They ran so long they ran right up into the sky, where the girl became the moon and her brother the sun. Isn’t it funny? We say there is a man in the moon; the Eskimos think it is a girl.” ”

“ The natives, too, as soon as they knew that they must spend the winter here, said they wanted to go ashore and build their own houses, for then they could keep much warmer with less fuel than on the ship. They were not used to so much room and did not feel at home in it.
Each family built their own igloo; the women working with the men. Achatinǵwah’s mother helped carry the heavy bowlders from far off for their igloo, while Achatinǵwah scraped them free of snow and helped to loosen those that were frozen down, by pounding them with smaller stones. ”

“ When Achatinǵwah and I came in from coasting to-day, we found eight sledges with Eskimos had come over from Etah, and oh, there are so many children I know we are going to have a good time.
“Three of the women have tiny babies in their hoods. One of them was brought to the mother just before she started for the ship. It is much uglier than the others. Its head wobbles back and forth against its mother’s bare shoulder. She carries it all naked, except for a little tight fur cap and a short fox-skin shirt, in a hood on her back right next her bare skin, which helps keep it warm. ”

“ When the mothers want to feed them they take the little naked things out of the hoods, without covering them—right out on deck in the cold, and the babies don’t seem to mind it at all. Then there are some little boys. I shall get Billy to wash them to-morrow so I can play with them.
“They all have black hair and big black eyes and white teeth and such little flat noses, and they wear the funniest little short trousers made of bear-skin, with tiny fur-lined boots and big fox-skin coats. ”

“ The Inspector of Danish Greenland, the Governor of Godhavn, and an assistant with their families are the only white people in the “city.”
“Huts like Mounds of Grass on which the Dogs sleep”
“The mounds of turf” as AH-NI-GHI ́-TO calls them, are the native huts. They are only one story high and built of stone and turf half in and half above the ground. The turf with which the stones are chinked is allowed to grow 26until the stones can hardly be seen for grass. ”

“ Close down over each lamp she hung an oblong-shaped pot, also made of soapstone, in which the snow is melted for drinking-water. The Eskimos never use water for any other purpose. They had never heard of a bath until AH-NI-GHI ́-TO’S father and mother came among them, and the most they ever did was to wipe their faces with a greasy bird-skin.
Achatinǵwah now helped her mother bring their stock of bear, deer, and seal skins into the igloo and spread them on the platform, and the family was settled for the winter. ”

“ Some of the Eskimos brought her back from a musk-ox hunt where her mother had been killed. Charley said I might feed her when she came aboard, and then she would follow me just as she did him. I am glad she hasn’t such horns as the big Musk-oxen.
Many of the Eskimos had died since we left them last year, and all that stayed with father were in a hurry to get over to the Greenland settlements and see their friends. Before I had half time enough to visit all our old-time play-houses with Koodluk ́too and “Billy Bah,” father had everything on board and was ready to be off. ”

“ They are all white as snow and perfect beauties.
“Hard Over”
We stopped among the west side Eskimos 120at a whaling station. I didn’t like the looks of these natives at all. I am sure they are not as kind as father’s people. The babies are not nearly as pretty. Their dress looks different too. They have funny long tails to their coats, and the women wear dirty calico skirts over their fur trousers.
The carpenter had to make Daisy’s pen higher before we reached Sydney because she had grown so much. The puppies too have grown and are as playful as kittens. ”

“ AH-NI-GHI ́-TO’S father wanted to get packed away as much meat as possible, with which to feed his natives and dogs during the coming winter. AH-NI-GHI ́-TO herself tells how these huge animals were hunted.
“Dead Walrus on Ice Cake”
“For the last ten days we have been hunting walrus. The walrus is a large animal which lives in the water, but like the whale 97it cannot breathe under water. It comes to the surface and fills its lungs with air by taking deep breaths, then it closes its nose tight and goes under, where it can stay many minutes without breathing. ”

“ AH-NI-GHI ́-TO was much pleased. She wanted a playmate very much and promised to do all she was told; and father sailed away.
All through that summer AH-NI-GHI ́-TO roamed about on a farm, where everything was new to her. She had bunnies to pet; chickens to feed; nests to hunt; cows to be driven to pasture in the morning and brought back in the evening; butter to be churned ”

“ Some of the dogs belonging to the household are nearly always asleep on top of the huts, and this makes the huts look still more like mounds of grass. The Danish Governor requires the children of these natives to go to school and to church. ”

“ In the morning it was full. I jumped out of bed and found in it several pieces of money, two pieces of pink ribbon, a book, a paper doll and her dresses, and a box of chocolates. I was delighted, and could only wish father and Grossy and tante and uncle were here to see how happy I am.
While on deck a little later, playing with the Eskimo children and Billy, Maksangwah handed me a lovely card and a box of beads from Mr. Warmbath.
About two P. M. mother called to me that it was time to invite all hands down into the cabin to get their Christmas stockings. ”

“ One man brought his family close to where the ship lay, that AH-NI-GHI ́-TO might see what fine children he had. The little girl, a child of three years, had on short, white leather kamiks (boots) with long seal-skin stockings coming to the thigh, but the tops of the stockings above the boots were covered with snow-white, lace-trimmed pantalettes made of muslin. ”

“ AH-NI-GHI ́-TO, still in her berth, was quickly dressed in her warmest clothes, and after putting her own clothing on, AH-NI-GHI ́-TO’S mother gathered the important papers and as much warm clothing as possible into a bag; AH-NI-GHI ́-TO begging all the time not to leave her dolly and her kitty. When this was done Percy took the bag, and Captain Sam and the steward helped them on deck. This was not very easy, as some of you may find out if you try to crawl up a board with one end on a barrel and the other 51on the ground. ”

“ Her one wish now was to board the ship and get away, and this she really did on July 20 at Sydney, Cape Breton. That night before going to sleep she wrote in her diary.
“July 20, 1900.—Glory, glory, at last mother and I are on our way to see father. I wonder how long it will take us. I can hardly wait.
“We have such tiny rooms here that one of us must stay in bed while the other dresses. Everything is very clean and comfortable and I 16have a little kitty with which to play, and I think I will like our maid too. ”

“ One bird was marked exactly like the others. They have black heads, necks, backs, and tails. Their breasts are white. Their wings are black with a 103few white feathers in them. They have black feet and legs. The men hide among the rocks. ”

“ AH-NI-GHI ́-TO was much amused, and later wrote in her diary:
“August 10.—Came to Godhavn at two o’clock this morning. Could not go ashore. Saw some old Eskimos I had seen before. One old man was very funny. His name is Broberg. He came toward us and shook hands 28with mother and me and said, ‘Me very glad see you. You plenty big now. All you look plenty well. Me hope you find Peary all same well. Me go my house catch you kamiks. You pickaninny feet keep plenty warm in good kamiks. ”