THE FRIENDLY ARCTIC 395 



ing, the Star had arrived from the east a day or two after the 

 Polar Bear had left, and I received a brief note from Wilkins say- 

 ing that he had proceeded to Cape Kellett. Immediately upon 

 the arrival of the Gladiator we crossed to Kellett. Wilkins had left 

 there some days before and had proceeded up the west coast of 

 Banks Island, with the aim of wintering somewhere near the 

 northwest corner or on the north coast unless exceptionally favor- 

 able circumstances should enable him to cross to Prince Patrick 

 or Melville Island. 



On September 2nd Captain Lane left Kellett in the Gladiator 

 with those of the Polar Bear crew who had been either unwilling 

 to stay or unsuitable for our needs. On that day also the wind 

 changed. For weeks it had been blowing nearly continuously off 

 the land, with the west coast of Banks Island consequently open 

 to whatever ship desired to sail north. But the currents in the 

 Beaufort Sea are such that though the wind may blow steadily 

 from the east clearing all the sea south of that latitude the heavy 

 pack is never far distant. We knew immediately upon the setting 

 in of the northwest wind that it would not be more than a day or 

 two till the whole coast of Banks Island was blocked with im- 

 penetrable ice to remain while the wind remained in any westerly 

 quarter. 



Almost up to the moment of Captain Lane's sailing it had not 

 been definitely decided who would remain with us as the crew of 

 the Polar Bear. On the captain's recommendation I retained those 

 men who were in the same capacities they had before occupied. 

 My own inclination had been to make William Seymour commander 

 of the ship, for I had known him most favorably for eight years 

 and had the highest opinion of his ability. But as he had been 

 second officer with Captain Lane where Henry Gonzales was first 

 officer, I decided, upon Lane's recommendation and with Seymour's 

 consent, to leave the relative rank unaltered, making Gonzales 

 commander of the ship and Seymour first officer. Hadley was sec- 

 ond officer, Herman Kilian was chief engineer and John Jones, 

 formerly engineer of the Gladiator, was second engineer. Martin 

 Kilian, Harold Noice, James Asasela, known as Jim Fiji, and the 

 Eskimo Emiu, commonly called "Split-the-Wind," were ranked as 

 sailors. Before my purchase of the Polar Bear I had engaged 

 Noice and Emiu for the purposes of sledge travel. Levi was to be 

 transferred from the Kellett base to be steward of the Bear while 

 Lome Knight, whom I had engaged with the Polar Bear, was trans- 



