The night proved very thick, with small snow, and as disagreeable and dangerous for people adrift upon floating ice as can well be imagined.  If the women, however, gave their husbands a thought, or spoke of them to us, it was only to express a very sincere hope that some good news might shortly arrive of their success.  Our singing party had not long been broken up, when it was suddenly announced by one of the children, the usual heralds on such occasions, that the men had killed something on the ice.  The only two men who were at home instantly scrambled on their outer jackets, harnessed their dogs, and set off to assist their companions in bringing home the game, while the women remained for an hour in anxious suspense as to the extent of their husbands’ success.  At length one of the men arrived with the positive intelligence of two walruses having been taken, and brought with him a portion of these animals as large as he could drag over the snow.  If the women were only cheerful before, they were now absolutely frantic.  A general shout of joy instantly re-echoed through the village; they ran into each other’s huts to communicate the welcome intelligence, and actually hugged one another in an ecstasy of delight by way of congratulation.  One of them, Arnal=o=o~a, a pretty young woman of nineteen or twenty, knowing that a dog belonging to her husband was still at the huts, and that there was no man to take him down on the ice, ran out instantly to perform that office; and, with a hardihood not to be surpassed by any of the men, returned, after two hours’ absence, with her load of walrus flesh, and without even the hood thrown over her head to shelter her from the inclemency of the weather.

When the first burst of joy had at length subsided, the women crept, one by one, into the apartment where the first portion of the seahorses had been conveyed, which is always that of one of the men immediately concerned in the killing of them.  Here they obtained blubber enough to set all their lamps alight, besides a few scraps of meat for their children and themselves.  From this time, which was nine o’clock, till past midnight, fresh cargoes were continually arriving; the principal part being brought in by the dogs, and the rest by the men, who, tying the thong which held it round their waist, dragged in each his separate portion.  Before the whole was brought in, however, some of them went out three times to the scene of action, though the distance was a mile and a half.

Every lamp now swimming with oil, the huts exhibited a blaze of light, and never was there a scene of more joyous festivity than while the operation of cutting up the walruses continued.  I took the opportunity, which their present good-humour afforded, to obtain a perfect head and tusks of one of these animals, which we had not been able to do before; and, indeed, so much were their hearts opened by the scene of abundance before them, that I believe they would have given us anything we asked for.  This disposition was considerably increased also by their taking into their heads that their success was in some way or other connected with, or even owing to, our having taken up our night’s lodging at the huts.