324 CANINE FEROCITY. 



man." Foolish Sancho Panza ! yet wise in thy folly ! 

 Mankind will long remember thee for thy sage reflec- 

 tion, — " Now blessings light on him that first in- 

 vented sleep." I will cover myself all over with it, 

 as thou didst ; and, if I cannot find in it " heat for the 

 cold," I will cloak with it for a few brief hours the 

 recollection of my disappointed hopes. 



April 29th. 



Back again under our last night's shelter. The 

 hummocks were much the same to-day as yesterday, 

 and we made about the same progress — with, how- 

 ever, only half our stores. The load was left buried 

 in the snow, and we returned for the balance ; but, 

 upon arriving here, the dogs were not able for the 

 second trip. So here we are under our buffaloes once 

 more in the ice-cave, seeking sleep. It is the best 

 hut that I have ever had. The temperature of the air 

 came up at noon to 4° above zero, and in the sun it 

 was 38 c . The thermometer hanging above my head 

 in the cave now shows 31°. 



April 30th. 



It was all we could do to bring up the balance of 

 our cargo to where we cached our load yesterday. I 

 must not overtax the dogs ; for, if they give out, I 

 am done for. They are much fatigued to-night and 

 must be nursed ; so I directed Jensen to make them 

 a warm supper of meat and potatoes and lard, and 

 plenty of it. Nothing could exceed their ravenous 

 hunger. The ferocity with which they tear into their 

 food exceeds any thing that I have ever seen, and 

 nothing escapes their sharp flings. They eat up their 

 harness if not closely watched, and we are obliged to 

 bring every thing made of skin inside the hut. Sev- 

 eral of the traces have disappeared down their rapa- 



