260 THE NORTH POLE 



I attributed it to the pressure from the closing of the 

 lead which was just ahead of us; and after satisfying 

 myself that my mittens were where I could get them 

 instantly, in an emergency, I rolled over on my bed 

 of deerskins and settled myself to sleep. I was just 

 drowsing again when I heard some one yelling excitedly 

 outside. 



Leaping to my feet and looking through the peep- 

 hole of our igloo, I was startled to see a broad lead of 

 black water between our two igloos and Bartlett's, 

 the nearer edge of water being close to our entrance; 

 and on the opposite side of the lead stood one of 

 Bartlett's men yelling and gesticulating with all the 

 abandon of an excited and thoroughly frightened 

 Eskimo. 



Awakening my men, I kicked our snow door into 

 fragments and was outside in a moment. The break 

 in the ice had occurred within a foot of the fastening 

 of one of my dog teams, the team escaping by just 

 those few inches from being dragged into the water. 

 Another team had just escaped being buried under a 

 pressure ridge, the movement of the ice having provi- 

 dentially stopped after burying the bight which held 

 their traces to the ice. Bartlett's igloo was moving 

 east on the ice raft which had broken off, and beyond 

 it, as far as the belching fog from the lead would let 

 us see, there was nothing but black water. It looked 

 as if the ice raft which carried Bartlett's division 

 would impinge against our side a little farther on, and 

 I shouted to his men to break camp and hitch up 

 their dogs in a hurry, in readiness to rush across to 

 us should the opportunity present itself. 



