ESKIMOS LOSE NERVE 231 



dition has sometimes other things to contend with 

 than the natural conditions of ice and weather. 



On the 9th or 10th we might possibly have crossed 

 the lead on the young ice, by taking desperate chances ; 

 but, considering our experience of 1906, when we had 

 nearly lost our lives while recrossing the "Big Lead" on 

 the undulating ice, and also considering that Marvin 

 must be somewhere near by this time, I waited these 

 two more days to give him a chance to catch up. 



MacMillan was invaluable to me during this period. 

 Seeing the restlessness of the Eskimos, and without 

 waiting for any suggestion from me, he gave himself 

 absolutely to the problem of keeping them occupied 

 and interested in games and athletic "stunts" of one 

 kind and another. This was one of those opportunities 

 which circumstances give a man silently to prove the 

 mettle of which he is made. 



On the evening of March 10, the lead being nearly 

 closed, I gave orders to get under way the next morning. 

 The delay had become unendurable, and I decided to 

 take the chance of Marvin's overtaking us with the oil 

 and alcohol. 



Of course there was the alternative of my going 

 back to see what was the trouble. But that idea was 

 dismissed. There was little attraction in ninety miles 

 of extra travel, to say nothing of the psychological 

 effect on the members of the expedition. 



I had no anxiety about the men themselves. Borup, 

 I felt sure, had reached the land without delay. Mar- 

 vin, if he had been held up temporarily by the opening 

 of the shore lead, had the load which had been thrown 

 off by Kudlooktoo when his sledge was smashed, and 



