It was near the middle of April now and the sun's rays, reflected by
the snow, were growing dazzlingly bright and beginning to affect their
eyes. Goggles should have been worn as a protection against this glare
but they had none and did not trouble to make them until one night
Matuk found that he was overtaken by a slight attack of
snow-blindness. This is an extremely painful affliction which does not
permit the sufferer to approach the light or, in fact, so much as open
his eyes without experiencing agony. The sensation is that of having
innumerable splinters driven into the eyeballs with the lids when
opened and closed grating over the splinters.
While they were waiting for Matuk to recover his eyesight Akonuk and
Bob removed one of the wooden cross-bars from the komatik and with
their knives cut from it three pieces each long enough to fit over the
eyes for a pair of goggles. These were rounded to fit the face and a
place whittled out for the nose to fit into. Then hollow places were
cut large enough to permit the eyelids to open and close in them, and
opposite each eye hollow a narrow slit for the wearer to look through.
Then the interior of the eye places were blackened with smoke from the
stone lamp, and a thong of sealskin was fastened to each end of the
goggles with which to tie them in place upon the head.
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