VIII 



TO RENSSELAER HARBOR 



THE carrying out of our plans for spring work dur- 

 ing 1915 depended largely upon the date of Tan- 

 quary's arrival and upon the condition of the purchased 

 dogs. If dogs and Eskimos could be secured, it was my 

 desire to send Ekblaw to Grant Land by way of Eureka 

 Sound, as he had planned; Tanquary to the Lake 

 Hazen region as a supporting party to Ekblaw by way 

 of Kane Basin and Kennedy Channel; Hunt to the 

 Peary Channel with Freuchen; while I would go to 

 King Christian Island far to the west. 



I considered Ekblaw's trip the most important of all, 

 and was ready and willing to sacrifice all the others, 

 if need be, in order that it might be carried out. 



On February 12th Doctor Hunt left with Oo-bloo-ya 

 in response to a hurry-up call from sick Eskimos at 

 Peteravik. An influenza of some kind or other was 

 raging up and down the coast, resulting in a few cases 

 of pneumonia, which carried off Kud-la in a few days. 

 Fright was about as harmful as the disease. The doctor 

 returned on the 15th and reported all the Eskimos much 

 better and well supplied with meat. He at once began 

 preparations for his ice-cap trip. Mene, the New York 

 Eskimo, arrived with Doctor Hunt and was very re- 



