64 NEAREST THE POLE 



land almost as bare as in summer, and the water 

 formed by it was more extensive than at any time 

 for a month. After all these gales, Cape Joseph 

 Henr}^ stands out in black and savage profile. Of 

 all capes fronting the Polar Sea along the coasts 

 of Greenland and Grant Land, this is the most 

 ideal. 



Soon after this, with almost the suddenness of 

 lightning from a clear sky, I faced the possibility of 

 the complete crippling of the expedition by the exter- 

 mination of my large pack of dogs. About eighty of 

 these indispensable animals died before the cause was 

 traced to poisoning from the whale meat which I had 

 taken for dog food. This meat to the amount of 

 several tons was thrown away, and I found myself 

 confronted at the beginning of the long Arctic night 

 with the proposition of subsisting my dogs and most 

 of my Eskimos upon the country. 



Without my previous familiarity with the region, 

 this would have been an absolute impossibility; even 

 as it was, it possessed elements of uncertainty, but 

 with the satisfactory start already made in obtaining 

 musk-oxen, and knowing that these animals could be 

 killed by those who knew how, even in the depths of 

 the great Arctic night, I believed there was somewhat 

 more than a fighting chance for success. 



On the 25th, portions of four hunting-parties 

 from the Lake Hazen region came in, brmging 

 reports of a bag of one hundred and forty-four 

 head of musk-oxen and deer. Following the return 

 of these parties the dogs died rapidly, the number 

 one night reaching ten. It was evident that prompt 



