. Arctic explorations: the second Grinnell expedition in search of Sir John Franklin, 1853, '54, '55. hadgiven orders to detain them for a parting interviewwith myself. It resulted in a treaty, brief in its terms,that it might be certainly remembered, and mutuallybeneficial, that it might possibly be kept. I tried tomake them understand what a powerful Prospero theyhad had for a host, and how beneficent he would provehimself so long as they did his bidding. And, as anearnest of my favor, I bought all the walrus-meat theyhad to spare, and four of their dogs, enriching them inreturn with needles
. Arctic explorations: the second Grinnell expedition in search of Sir John Franklin, 1853, '54, '55. hadgiven orders to detain them for a parting interviewwith myself. It resulted in a treaty, brief in its terms,that it might be certainly remembered, and mutuallybeneficial, that it might possibly be kept. I tried tomake them understand what a powerful Prospero theyhad had for a host, and how beneficent he would provehimself so long as they did his bidding. And, as anearnest of my favor, I bought all the walrus-meat theyhad to spare, and four of their dogs, enriching them inreturn with needles and beads and a treasure of oldcask-staves. In the fulness of their gratitude, they pledged them-selves emphatically to return in a few days with moremeat, and to allow me to use their dogs and sledges for Vol. I —11 210 THE FAREWELL. my excursions to the north. I then gave them leaveto go. They yoked in their dogs in less than twominutes, got on their sledges, cracked their two-fathom-and-a-half-long seal-skin whips, and were off down theice to the southwest at a rate of seven knots an WILD DOG TEAM. They did not return: I had read enough of treaty-makings not to expect them too confidently. But thenext day came a party of five, on foot; two old men,one of middle age, and a couple of gawky Ijoys. Wehad missed a number of articles soon after the firstparty left us, an axe, a saw, and some knives. Wefound afterward that our storehouse at Butler Islandhad been entered: we were too short-handed to guard THE SEQUEL. 211 it by a special watch. Besides all this, reconnoitringstealthily beyond Sylvia Head, we discovered a trainof sledges drawn up behind the hummocks. There was cause for apprehension in all this; but Ifelt that I could not afford to break with the had it in their power to molest us seriously inour sledge-travel; they could make our hunts aroundthe harbor dangerous; and my best chance of obtain-ing an abundant supply of fresh meat, our great desi-d
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