1916] BACK ACROSS ELLESMERE LAND ^55 



sixteen miles of the back trail in a little over three hours, 

 trotting the whole distance. 



On May 1st we killed another magnificent specimen 

 of a polar bear. As I ran along by his side for a hundred 

 yards or more, snapping my camera, I noticed a hitherto 

 imrecorded fact — he was skiiing with his front feet on 

 every slight descent, fairly gliding through space! 



The remarks of my Eskimo boy are of interest: "He 

 has a very large spleen. He has been to sleep. If the 

 spleen is small, he is through sleeping. We always give 

 some of this to the young dogs to make them good bear- 

 dogs. The bears here are different from bears near 

 home. There the dogs easily stop them. Here they 

 seem to keep going. I think it is because of the wolves 

 here." 



Upon our arrival at Cape Southwest on the 2d we 

 found evidence of a raid upon our old camp by the 

 white wolves. The snow was covered with hair, the 

 remains of musk-ox skins we had left here upon our 

 advance. Sticking in the snow block over the igloo 

 entrance were seventeen stubs of matches, which, trans- 

 lated into the Eskimo language, informed us that Arklio 

 and E-took-a-shoo had killed as many hare. Failing 

 to find larger game, they had gone on east as I had 

 directed. 



During the evening it began to snow, with the wind 

 southeast, raising the temperature from five below zero 

 to twenty-four above. 



Here is the list of what two of us ate at that igloo, 

 evidence that we were in good health: One pound of 

 crackers, one-half pound of pemmican, the hearts and 

 livers of four hare, four pounds of meat, one quart and 

 a haK of malted milk, and one cake of army chocolate. 



