Children of the Arctic

by Josephine Diebitsch Peary; Marie Ahnighito Peary

Although this was the 30th day of August, the snow was falling so fast that the shore, a few yards away, could hardly be seen. Thither the boat was rowed, and there AH-NI-GHI´-TO with her mother and Percy landed.

AH-NI-GHI´-TO did not realize that the ship was in great danger, and so her one thought was to have a good time. Together with the Eskimo girl Achatinǵwah and Percy the maid, she snowballed and made snow forts, which were shot at with cannon-balls made of snow; when tired of this she went off to explore a little valley where Achatinǵwah told her there was a lake.

They were gone about an hour, and when they returned AH-NI-GHI´-TO was much excited and said she had seen footprints of an animal, which Achatinǵwah told her were fox-tracks. She followed them for a short distance, when they were crossed by hare-tracks. These she followed up the side of the cliff, and all at once around the corner of a big boulder peeped the hare himself. He was sitting on his hind legs, his nose twitching as he sniffed her,—a fine, large fellow, snowy white all over except the tips of his ears, which were black. AH-NI-GHI´-TO thought he was tame like the little white bunnies at home, but as soon as she came near him away he scampered much faster than the children could follow.

At ten o’clock the good ship was once more afloat and out of danger but not quite upright yet. 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 hours 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.

“A large Field of Ice had been pushed across the Entrance to the Harbour”

The poor men who had been working waist-deep in the icy water were worn out and could do no more work that day.

Two days later all needed supplies had been landed and the “Windward” was ready to start north again. Captain Sam, who had been carefully watching the ice drift past the harbour day and night, now told AH-NI-GHI´-TO’S mother that a large field of ice had been pushed across the entrance to the harbor and shut the door, so to speak, on the ship, and nothing could be done.

If this field of ice should break up then the ship would be free to go on her way; but unless the wind broke it up or blew it away from the entrance, AH-NI-GHI´-TO and her mother with all on board would be prisoners for the winter.

This was a dreadful thing to happen, for no one had taken clothing enough to last so long a time. Thanks to AH-NI-GHI´-TO’S father, there was food enough for every one, such as it was. AH-NI-GHI´-TO had learned to eat many things that she thought she could never eat, and also to do without things that she had thought were necessary.