PEARY'S FARTHEST NORTH OF 1905-6 163 



ing it, and increased steadily in violence, blowing without intermis- 

 sion for six days. When it ceased an observation of the sun showed 

 that the drifting ice had borne them seventy miles to the eastward. 

 All their well-laid plans of supporting parties were destroyed and 

 twelve priceless dogs had been lost. Nothing remained for them but 

 a dash forward, with possible aid, possible obstruction, from the 

 conditions of wind, water and ice. 



There was no time to be lost. Henson was at once dispatched 

 on the forward path and two Eskimos were sent back on the trail, 

 to meet any supporting parties that might have crossed the lead and 

 bring up the cache left beside the open water. In twenty-four 

 hours they came back. They had not been able to get half way "to 

 the cache, open water and shattered ice cutting off the way. It was 

 evident that the plan of support was irretrievably damaged and 

 nothing remained to do except to dash forward as fast and far as 

 possible. 



We may quote Peary's own account of what followed the march 

 from Storm Camp, as he called their resting place after the gale : 



"At Storm Camp we abandoned everything not absolutely 

 necessary and bent every energy to setting a record pace. In the 

 legacy of retrievable damage which the storm had left us was one 

 small codicil such snow as the wind had not torn from the face 

 of the floe was beaten and banked hard, and the snow which had 

 fallen had been hammered into the areas of rough ice and the shat- 

 tered edges of the big floes so that they gave us little trouble. North 

 of Storm Camp we had no occasion for snowshoes or pickaxes. 



"The first march of ten hours in the lead with the compass, 

 sometimes on a dog trot, the sledges following in Indian file with 

 drivers running beside or behind, placed us thirty miles to the good ; 

 my Eskimos said forty. Four hours out on the second march I 

 overtook Henson in his third camp, beside a lead which was closed. 

 When I arrived he hitched up and followed behind my hurrying 

 party. I had with me now seven men and six teams, with less than 

 half a load for each. 



