SHERIDAN TO THE BIG LEAD 113 



old but dry one. The former was simply sodden while 

 I had it on, froze solid as soon as I took it off and it 

 had to be thawed out in the morning with the warmth 

 of my hands. Last night was a little more comfort- 

 able than the previous one, but not much. I got the 

 bubble out of the thermometer and when I took 

 it outside the igloo it fell so rapidly from minus 

 25° F. (the temperature of our bed platform where 

 it had been resting close to my head) that at first I 

 feared it was broken. It finally stopped at minus 

 6i>^°F. During the march it has ranged from 

 minus 55 and minus 53 to minus 50 in the sun, and yet 

 to-day has been the most comfortable one for the 

 past week (my Eskimos corroborate this). Am 

 sorry now I did not put the thermometer in com- 

 mission sooner. We must have had some record 

 temperatures. 



A dog abandoned by one of the parties ahead and 

 which I picked up yesterday, fed last night and 

 tied in the other igloo so the wind would not reach 

 him, pricked up his hitherto dejected ears at my 

 appearance and after he had eaten another piece 

 of pemmican lay down and rolled on his back like 

 any civilised dog. He is utterly useless, poor 

 thing, but has worked faithfully, no doubt, and as I 

 have pemmican to spare just now he shall not starve 

 yet. To-day he has kept on in one of the teams and 

 his hitherto hopeless eyes brighten, I fancy, when he 

 looks at me. 



Quite a bit of young ice in to-day's march and several 

 magnificent old floes with hummocks on them like 

 ranges of hills. The sun is rapidly creeping around to 



