334 FOUR YEARS IN THE WHITE NORTH 



the coast of Ellesmere Land, only two small fjords 

 opening out upon Fridtjof Nansen Sound. The route 

 would be about 1,200 miles in length; with favorable 

 sledging conditions and no accidents of consequence, 

 the time required to complete the work should be about 

 three months. 



Later in the winter, MacMillan changed the plans 

 so that I should go alone with two Eskimo companions 

 to Lake Hazen by the route originally proposed, while 

 Tank would sledge up along the east coast of Ellesmere 

 Land to meet me at Lake Hazen. For a month or so 

 MacMillan considered having me stay with my Eskimos 

 on the shores of Lake Hazen through the summer, to 

 make an exliaustive investigation of the interior of 

 Grant Land about the head of Greely Fjord and about 

 the lake; but because he felt sure that a ship would 

 come for us some time that summer he finally decided 

 that such a course would not be best. As events after- 

 ward shaped themselves with the freezing in of our relief- 

 ship on the Greenland coast, I could have stayed there 

 throughout the year, accomplished a whole season's 

 exploration and research, and come back when the 

 ice formed, without causing any worry, trouble, or 

 delay. 



My preparations for the trip began early. Except 

 that MacMillan outlined roughly the route that he 

 wished me to follow and stated in general the purposes 

 of my journey, he gave me only a few explicit instruc- 

 tions; he left nearly all the details of the plans and 

 preparations to my own discretion. He provided me 

 the best equipment available, to that end placing at 

 my disposal the resources of the expedition and turning 

 over to me his own team of dogs, one of the best, if not 



