^04 FOUR YEARS IN THE WHITE NORTH [Nov. 



Cleveland over ice so thin that, upon passing, our sledge 

 tracks were seen to soak water. 



On the shore at our left Peary was landed twenty- 

 four years before with a broken leg. He would not go 

 home. He would do what he came to do. There he 

 built his Httle home called Red Cliff House. He was 

 the first to put absolute faith in these Northern natives, 

 hitherto considered untrustworthy. He was the first 

 to win their confidence. From this point he began that 

 long march over the icy dome of Greenland to Inde- 

 pendence Bay, a bold reconnaissance for his magnificent 

 work of later years. 



Little did I dream of the surprise awaiting me among 

 the lights of the village of Kah-na, now just showing 

 far down the shore. Oo-tah, of North Pole fame, came 

 running out to meet me as I drove in. Bit by bit I 

 gleaned the latest news. First, that all my supplies 

 were at Ip-swee-shoo, which surprised and disappointed 

 me, since Doctor Hovey had promised to land them at 

 Umanak (North Star Bay). I reasoned that the ship 

 had been driven out of North Star Bay by the ice, and 

 had landed the provisions at Parker Snow Bay as she 

 passed south. He next informed me that Green was at 

 Kangerd-look-suah and was on his way back to Etah. 

 He must have thought my hearing was entirely gone 

 when I requested him to repeat this very slowly and dis- 

 tinctly three times. And then I was by no means con- 

 vinced. I had imagined Green by this time at the 

 Army and Navy Club in New York safely eating peach 

 ice-cream and chocolate frosted cake, delicacies which 

 he had talked about so many times on our first trip. 



And the men.'^" I inquired. 



Oh, they are all there," he replied. 





