Mock-turtle soup. Stew of little auk with green peas. Broiled breasts of eider-duck. Boston baked beans, corn, tomatoes. Apricot pie, plum-duff with brandy sauce. Sliced peaches. Coffee.
With the soup I served a cocktail made by Mr. Peary after a recipe of his own, and henceforth known by our little party as “Redcliffe House cocktail”; with the stew, two bottles of “Liebfrauenmilch”; and with the rest of the dinner, “Sauterne.” About five o’clock we heard the shouts of the boys, and on going out I saw them coming down the cliffs heavily laden with some bulky objects. I rushed in and reported the facts in the case to Mr. Peary, who immediately said, “They are bringing in a deer. Oh, I must get out!” So out he hobbled, and to the corner of the house, where he had a good view of the returning hunters. As soon as he saw them he said, “Get me my kodak. Quick!” and before the boys had recovered from their surprise at seeing Mr. Peary, whom they had left confined to his bed, standing on three legs at the corner of the house, the first hunting-party sent out from Redcliffe had been immortalized by the ever-present camera. The boys were jubilant over their success, and brought back appetites that did justice to the dinner which was now nearly ready. At six o’clock we all sat down at the rude table, constructed by the boys out of the rough boards left from the house, and just large enough to accommodate our party of seven. We had not yet had time to make chairs, so boxes were substituted, and we managed very nicely. We had no table-cloth, and all our dishes were of tin, yet a merrier party never sat down to a table anywhere. Three days afterward we repeated the feasting part of the day, with a variation in the bill of fare, in honor of the third anniversary of our marriage, and this time we sampled the venison, which we found so delicious that the boys were more eager than ever to lay in a stock for the winter.
The next day, August 12, Mr. Peary sent all the boys, except Matt, in one of our whale-boats, the “Faith,” to search Herbert and Northumberland Islands for an Eskimo settlement, and if possible to induce a family to move over and settle down near Redcliffe House. The man could show us the best hunting-grounds, and assist in bagging all kinds of game, while the woman could attend to making our skin boots, or kamiks, and keeping them in order. They were also instructed to visit the loomeries, as the breeding places of the birds are called, and bring back as many birds as possible.