600 THE VOYAGE OF THE JEANNETTE. 



moved, away went my dogs again. Reaching the ice 

 Oj^ening which had occasioned the delay at one a. m., 

 I found Melville afloat and adrift on an ice-island with 

 all boats and sleds, nothing having been got through 

 the gap. I shouted to him to start dinner, and I would 

 join him later when the dingy came up. But he man- 

 aged to get a cake of ice dragged to me, and I ferried 

 across with my dog team and mess gear. At once we 

 set to work getting floes in place as bridges, and be- 

 fore sitting down to dinner we had two sleds and a lot 

 of dog loads through the gap on to the heavy ice be- 

 yond. At 1.30 sat down to dinner, and at two Ericksen 

 and Leach arrived with the dingy. At 2.20 a. m. turned 

 to and ran the whaleboat and second cutter through 

 the gap. Then sending Melville back with the party 

 for the first cutter, Ericksen, Leach, and myself pushed 

 on two dog teams with pemmican and bread as far as 

 the flag which I left a load at yesterday. When we 

 got back to the gap the doctor and the sick were 

 adrift, the ice having opened out during our absence. 

 Dragged cakes of ice down, and made a crazy bridge 

 over which the sick walked, and then we got the med- 

 ical sled across, and after bridging, dragging, digging, 

 and filling in, by six A. M. we had everything, first cut- 

 ter included, through the gap and on the hard ice. 



Melville had to launch the first cutter and paddle her 

 part of his way, but he got her up in time to take a 

 share in the work of the rear-guard. 



At 7.30 a. m. we had supper, and a more tired and 

 hungry set of mortals could not be found. 



And so we got ready to bag, having come along about 

 a half a mile in ten hours' hard work. At nine A. m. 

 piped down. 



At six p. m. called all hands. Breakfasted at seven. 



