1914] IN SEARCH OF CROCKER LAND 73 



hold-ups, would probably use up the extra six days' 

 food. 



The thirty-three days' continuous work, during which 

 they had covered 580 miles, an average of seventeen 

 and a half miles a day, had told heavily upon the dogs. 

 Strong head winds, heavy loads, and insufficient food 

 gradually wore them out, ten dropping in harness. I 

 was more convinced than ever that the salt in our 

 pemmican was responsible for the vomiting, dysentery, 

 and apparent weakness among all the dogs when feed- 

 ing upon pemmican alone. That it could not be relied 

 upon for a long trip on the Polar Sea, where it would 

 be impossible to secure fresh meat, was very evident. 

 Musk-oxen, caribou, and Arctic hares had saved the 

 day thus far. My only plan now was to fill up the dogs 

 on whatever meat we could get, musk-ox preferred, 

 double feed them with pemmican on the hard marches, 

 and do the 120 miles with a rush. 



It had been blowing so long now that I began to 

 doubt if good weather ever occurred at this Cape 

 Horn of the North. As if to dispel this belief, on the 

 morning of the 13th a golden ray of sunshine streamed 

 in through our door; a more perfect day was never 

 made — not a cloud, not a breath of air. The four 

 Eskimos started off at once scouring the hills for game, 

 while Green and I planned to reach the top of the high 

 hills in the rear of our dugout in search of Peary's record 

 and a possible view of Crocker Land far to the northwest. 



As we rounded the first point we descried an Eskimo 

 running toward the camp. An accidental discharge of 

 a rifle and a wounded or dead Eskimo were my first 

 thoughts. We quickened our pace; something had 

 surely happened. Yes, indeed — barely a few minutes 



