November 3d.
MR. JENSEN.
The travelers are off at last, and at ten o'clock this evening they disappoint me by not returning. Since it is evident that they have gone around Cape Ohlsen, which I had some reason to doubt, I see no cause why they should not reach their destination. They will have, however, cracks which have been opened by the recent gales, and doubtless heavily hummocked ice, to contend with; and I hardly know how Jensen will get on with this sort of traveling. Bad enough for those who are accustomed to it, it will be a sore trial to him. He is a splendid whip, and drives his dogs superbly when the ice is reasonably smooth, and the sledge glides glibly over it with the dogs at a gallop; but this floundering through hummocks and deep snow-drifts, where the sledge has to be lifted and is often capsized, where the dogs are continually getting into a snarl,—their traces tangled, their tempers ruffled, and a general fight resulting,—is a very different sort of business, and is what he is not used to. To get through with it one requires an almost superhuman stock of enduring patience; and if Jensen returns from this journey with a good record, I shall have no fears for him in the future. He is a very strong and able-bodied man, standing six feet in his shoes, and is of powerful muscular build. The knowledge acquired by some eight years' residence in Greenland, of hunting, and of the Esquimau language, which he speaks like a native, and of the English which he has picked up from the British whale-ships, makes him one of the most useful members of my party.
DOMESTIC FELICITY.
The men have been busy sewing up seal-skins into coats, pantaloons, and boots, to complete their winter wardrobe. They have tried very hard to get Mrs. Hans to do this work for them, but the indolent creature persistently refuses to sew a stitch. She is the most obstinate of her sex; feels perfectly independent of every thing and of everybody; pouts fiercely when she is not pleased, and gets the sulks about once a fortnight, when she declares most positively that she will abandon Hans and the white men forever, and go back to her own people. She once tried the experiment, and started off at a rapid rate, with her baby on her back, towards Cape Alexander. There had evidently been a domestic spat. Hans came out of his tent as if nothing had happened, and stood at the window leisurely smoking his pipe, and watching her in the most unconcerned manner in the world. As she tripped off south I called his attention to her.
"Yes—me see."
"Where is she going, Hans?"
"She no go. She come back—all right."
"But she will freeze, Hans?"
"She no freeze. She come back by by,—you see."