It
seemed almost inhuman to kill the sweet little songster, particularly
as it was the only creature I saw in the Arctic that uttered a pleasant
note. All other sounds were such as the scream of the hawk and the
gull, the quack of the duck, the yell of the wolf, the "Ooff! ooff!" of
the walrus, or the bark of the seal--all harsh and unmelodious, save
the tones of this sweet little singer. Nothing but starvation or
scientific research could justify the slaughter of one of these
innocents. I believe I shut my eyes when I pulled the trigger of my
gun, and I know my heart gave a regretful thump when I heard the thud
of its poor, bleeding body upon the ground. When we started for
Franklin Point the next day, Lieutenant Schwatka concluded to follow
Toolooah's advice, and keep upon the smooth ice near the shore, even
though it should increase the distance marched. Our experience of the
hummocks of Victoria Strait was not one that we were anxious to repeat.
We had a short stretch of similar work in crossing the mouth of an
inlet just below Franklin Point, and we were glad enough when we got
through. The thermometer registered thirty-seven degrees in the shade,
and sixty degrees in the sun. There was scarcely any wind, and coats
were a burden of which we had soon to relieve ourselves. The heat while
walking was quite as exhausting as ninety-eight degrees in the shade at
New York.
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