CHAPTER XIII.
Irksome Change from a Snow House to the Ship's Cabin—Native Village on the Ice—Scurvy an Board—Best Cure for it—A Reindeer Hunt—Dogs in Chase—A Venison Feast for the Ship's Crew—Some of the sick Crew sent to live with the Natives—The Innuit King-wat-che-ung—His Kindness to White Men—One of the Sailors missing—The missing Man's Tracks; his erratic Movements; he gets confused and goes Seaward; has a Rest in the Snow; moves on again, and proceeds Miles from the Ship; his Scramble round an Iceberg—Author and his Companion exhausted—Temptation to lie down and sleep—Sledge arrives from the Ship—Search continued—Tracks lead to the Shore—Signs of a fearful Struggle—Discovery of the Body, frozen stiff—Ground too hard to dig a Grave—Cover the Corpse with Ice and Snow—Return to the Ship.
My first night (February 21st, 1861) on board the George Henry, after forty-three days away in an igloo, was a sleepless one; not from any want of comfort, but in consequence of the superabundance of it. From the pure atmosphere of a snow house to the warm, confined air of a small cabin, the change is great, and I felt it extremely while undergoing the resulting "sweating" process.
The next morning I visited the crew to see how the men were, and was sorry to find one or two cases of scurvy among them. The legs of one man, from his knees down to his feet, were almost as black as coal tar. In reply to a question put to me, I said that forty-three days in an igloo among Innuits was, in my opinion, the best cure for them. I then went on shore with Captain B.
My dogs were all well, and right glad to see me. The wreck of the Rescue still existed, though much of its materials had been used for fuel and other useful purposes.
I found, astern of the George Henry, several igloos built upon the ice, though but few of the natives remained here. Nearly all the inhabitants of both villages had gone away to Frobisher Bay, where they hoped more success would attend
