For days after this, when it was clear, AH-NI-GHI´-TO could see no water; nothing but what looked like snow. It seemed to her as if the “Windward” would certainly be stopped by some of the heavy sheets of snow-covered ice. But the bright sun had been shining on it day and night for months, and it was not nearly so strong as it looked to be. When the ship struck it a sharp blow it shivered to pieces and the old “Windward” shoved them aside and pushed on. The sunlight on these great fields of snow-covered ice was so blinding that AH-NI-GHI´-TO was obliged to wear the darkest smoked-glass goggles all the time.

Even if the progress was slow AH-NI-GHI´-TO knew that every night when she lay down to sleep she was one day nearer her father’s camp, where she hoped to meet “dear old Dad,” whom she had not seen for over two years.

The ever dreaded Melville Bay, full of icebergs and large sheets of ice, was crossed at last. Captain Sam expected the north water to be free from the large pans of ice. He did not fear the great white icebergs, for the sun shone during the twenty-four hours without setting, and he could keep out of their way. Sometimes he would run the old ship right alongside of one of these “palaces of the Ice King” and fill the water tanks with pure cold water which formed in pools where the ice had been melted by the hot rays of the sun.

Sometimes AH-NI-GHI´-TO saw these large masses of ice turn “somersaults,” as she called it. This was caused by the water washing against the sides of the berg until the part in the water was lighter than that above the water, and the berg became top-heavy and tumbled over. At first there was a low rumbling noise, then as it gained headway it grew to a roar, like the increasing sound of an approaching train. This was followed by the boiling and foaming of the water (filled with pieces of ice which had broken off) as far as the eye could see, until at the shore the waves dashed high.

The poor old “ice palace” would roll over and over and rock and sway and totter until at last it regained its balance. But now the part which before had been under water was above it and glistened like polished silver, with lots of little rainbow colours in between, where the sun glinted from drops of sea water.

Here it would stay until some other time when it again became top-heavy by the washing of the waves, and the same thing would happen to it. Each time it would become smaller, until at last it was only a lump of ice floating idly about on the water. Such pieces are liked by the seals and walrus to crawl upon out of the cold water into the warm sunshine, and there take their sun-bath.

AH-NI-GHI´-TO thought it must be a very cold bed, but these animals all have such a thick blanket of fat wrapped entirely around them, just under the skin, that it does not seem cold to them.

One morning about four o’clock AH-NI-GHI´-TO’S mother came on deck to look around, when just alongside, on quite a large cake of ice she saw a beautiful snow-white bear. He had been swimming about in the hope of finding a seal or two for his breakfast, and coming to this cake of ice, thought he would get up on it, stretch his legs, and get a nice drink of water.

The man on the “lookout” had been looking at ice and water in the glaring sunshine for so long that he had failed to notice the bear who was just the colour of the ice on which it stood, and so it was that AH-NI-GHI´-TO’S mother was the first one to see it, and call the Captain.

Captain Sam never undressed when he went to bed while the ship was in motion, and so it was only a few moments before he appeared with his rifle. The poor bear did not seem to know that he was in danger for he stood quite still, with his head up sniffing the air, and watching the ship slowly nearing him. The Captain fired, and the bear jumped into the water and began to swim away. The Captain fired again, and though the poor brute did not stop, the water about him turned red and we knew he had been hit. Another shot and his head drooped and his body floated on the water. He was dead. A boat was lowered and the animal hoisted on board, where he was hung in the rigging to dry before being skinned and cut up.

AH-NI-GHI´-TO was very much excited. Her heart bled for the bear, and she hoped all the while the shooting was going on that he would get away. Her mother told her it was necessary to kill these animals for her father, who needed the meat to feed his dogs and his Eskimos, and the skin to make into clothing to help keep him warm during the long, cold winter. But AH-NI-GHI´-TO still grieved for the bear.