FROM "BIG LEAD" TO 87° 6' N. LAT. 131 



The first march of ten hours, myself in the lead with 

 the compass, sometimes on a dog-trot, the sledges 

 following in Indian file with drivers running beside or 

 behind, placed us thirty miles to the good; my Eskimos 

 said forty. 



At the end of the march I was a tired man. Had 

 raised blisters on the bottom of both my feet, and soft 

 as I was after the days in camp, was sore in every 

 bone with the rapid pace, which was not less than three 

 miles an hour. My Eskimos insisted it was nearer four. 



The next day the wind was blowing a half gale from 

 west southwest (true) with a great deal of drift. But 

 we had no time to waste in camp, when possible to 

 travel at all. 



Four and one-half hours after starting, we came 

 upon Henson camped beside a closed lead where he had 

 been for some twenty hours. He and his men claimed, 

 that it had closed just before I arrived. As I passed 

 they hitched up and fell in behind my hurrying party. 

 We travelled ten hours, then camped in very thick 

 weather. During the march we traversed several 

 large level old floes, which my Eskimos at once re- 

 marked, looked as if they did not move even in summer. 

 We also crossed eleven leads during the march which 

 however gave us no very serious trouble, a short detour 

 one way or the other always giving us an opportunity 

 to cross. Several berg-like pieces of ice discoloured 

 with sand were noted during the march, my Eskimos 

 saying that these looked as if we were near land. We 

 travelled at a good pace again during this march, 

 and I felt that we had covered thirty miles more. 

 I hoped that it was more than this even. 



