98 FOUR YEARS IN THE WHITE NORTH [May 



very front of the glacier, completed the day. The 

 sweeping winds and warm spring suns had removed the 

 snows and almost polished the hard, flinty surface. 

 Fearing lest our sledges, once fairly started and beyond 

 control, might plunge down the glacier and leap off 

 into space, landing below, a complete wreck, we slipped 

 all the dogs, overturned the sledges to increase friction, 

 and placed a heavy drag far in the rear. We coaxed 

 them carefully along inch by inch, and just as carefully 

 lowered them to the sea ice below. 



Hayes Sound presented very heavy going, compelling 

 us to resort to snow-shoes throughout the day. To 

 our surprise, upon reaching the site of our old cache on 

 the ice at the entrance of the Sound, there was hardly 

 a vestige of supplies left ! One hundred miles from home 

 and no promise of dog food! I had ordered it to be 

 moved to the mainland, and the order had evidently 

 been obeyed; but where was the note which should have 

 been left informing us as to the location of the new 

 cache .f^ A thorough search failed to reveal what we 

 were looking for. 



As we stood together outside of our igloo, puzzled 

 to know what course to pursue, E-took-a-shoo dis- 

 covered three sticks in alignment projecting above the 

 surface of the snow and pointing toward the land. 

 He hitched up his dogs, drove away, and in a few 

 hours was back with all our personal effects and a load 

 of pemmican. 



As we crossed Alexandra Fiord we caught our first 

 sight of the Greenland coast through and over the heavy 

 bank of mist marking open water in Smith Sound. Just 

 how far north we would be compelled to go in order to 

 cross none of us knew; E-took-a-shoo, judging by the 



