THE ICE FIGHT GOES ON 107 



Before the return of Borup and the doctor the ice 

 had already begun to close in around the ship and, as 

 soon as the men were safe on board, the cable was 

 hauled in and the Roosevelt drifted south with the 

 pack. So close was the ice that night, that we had 

 to swing the boats inward on the davits to protect 

 them from the great floes, which at times crowded 

 the rail. Finally, the captain worked the ship into 

 another small lake to the southeast of our former posi- 

 tion by the great floe, and there we remained several 

 hours, steaming back and forth in order to keep the 

 pool open. 



About eleven o'clock that night, for all our efforts, 

 the ice closed in again around the Roosevelt; but I 

 observed a small lead to the southeast, which led 

 into another body of open water, and gave orders to 

 ram the vessel through, if possible. By working the 

 nose of the ship into the small opening, and then by 

 butting the ice on alternate sides, we succeeded in 

 widening the lead sufficiently to allow of our passing 

 through to the pool of open water beyond. 



At four o'clock the next morning we were again 

 under way, working northward through slack ice to a 

 point a little beyond Shelter River, where we were 

 again stopped by ice about nine o'clock in the forenoon. 

 The Roosevelt moved in near the shore and her head 

 was shoved against a big floe, to avoid her being jammed 

 or carried southward by the now swiftly running tide 

 and the ice pack. 



After supper that night, MacMillan, Borup, and 

 Dr. Goodsell, with two Eskimos, started for the shore 

 over the jammed ice, with the intention of getting 



