162 FOUR YEARS IN THE WHITE NORTH [Mat 



Kennedy Channel, where he would meet Ekblaw and 

 return with him south to Etah. His frozen feet and the 

 subsequent amputation of two big toes had compelled 

 him to give up all thoughts of spring work and had 

 kept him closely confined to the house. Green now was 

 in fair shape and was willing to undertake the trip. 

 On the 23d he got away, accompanied by two of our 

 best Eskimos, Arklio and Oo-bloo-ya, with instructions 

 to proceed to Fort Conger, to furnish Ekblaw with dogs 

 to relieve him of whatever skins he might have collected, 

 and then to return south to Etah. 



During May and June we were very busy adding to 

 our collection of bird skins and eggs, and we were es- 

 pecially fortunate in securing one fine set of the eggs 

 of the white gyrfalcon (Falco islandus), very difficult to 

 obtain in this north country, as the bird builds its nest 

 high up on the face of the inaccessible cliffs. 



On Thursday, May 23d, we placed five letters inclosed 

 in bottles on the surface of a big berg off Sunrise Point; 

 one to the New York Tribune, one to President Osborn 

 of the American Museum, and three "To the Finder." 

 Now that our wireless had failed, we would try one of 

 the oldest methods of communication by trusting our 

 mail to the ocean currents. 



A bottle with note which I dropped in Baffin Bay in 

 1909 made its way in six months to the Old Kinsale Life- 

 saving Station on the coast of Ireland. It was picked 

 up by the patrol and returned to me with the informa- 

 tion requested as to the locality and time found, to- 

 gether with the friendly words: "I would like to drink 

 to the health of Commander Peary and his gallant crew. 

 In joyful anticipation I thank you." Another, thrown 

 into the waters off Cape Cod, was returned in two 



