THE ICE FIGHT GOES ON 109 



I had selected these three men from among a host 

 of applicants for membership in the expedition, because 

 of the special fitness of each one. Dr. Goodsell was 

 a solid, sturdy, self-made physician of Pennsylvania 

 stock. His specialism in microscopy I trusted might 

 give valuable results in a field not hitherto investi- 

 gated in the North. He was to make microscopic studies 

 of the germ diseases of the Eskimos. 



MacMillan, a trained athlete and physical in- 

 structor, I had known, and known about, for years. I 

 chose him because of his intense interest in the work, 

 his intense desire to be of the party, and his evident 

 mental and physical fitness for the rigorous demands 

 of the Arctic. 



Borup, the youngest member of the party, impressed 

 me with his enthusiasm and physical abilities. He had 

 a record as a Yale runner, and I took him on general 

 principles, because I liked him, satisfied that he was 

 of the right stuff for arctic work. It was a fortunate 

 selection, as the photographs brought back by the 

 expedition are due in a large measure to his expert 

 knowledge of film developing. 



I have been asked how the members of my party 

 amused themselves during the long waits, when the 

 ship was held up by the ice. The principal amusement 

 of the new members was in trying to acquire from the 

 Eskimos on board a smattering of their language. As 

 interpreter, they had Matt Henson. Sometimes, look- 

 ing down from the bridge of the ship onto the main 

 deck, I would see one of these new men surrounded by 

 a group of Eskimos, gesticulating and laughing, and I 

 knew that a language lesson was in progress. The 



