THE FRIENDLY ARCTIC 483 



during the summer. But just then a sled arrived from the north 

 with Herman Kilian and Pikalu. Herman reported that Storker- 

 son and Thomsen, Noice, Anderson, Illun, two sleds and nineteen 

 dogs were now probably at the head of Hecla Bay on the way to the 

 New Land. Herman was able to give further information, so that 

 I was able to formulate written instructions for Gonzales and save 

 the trip to the Bear. 



Herman also brought sad news. This was the story of the first 

 death on the northern section of the expedition since the Karluk 

 tragedy. John Jones had been engaged by me from the Gladiator 

 to be the second engineer of the Bear. At that stage we had no 

 means of ascertaining the physical condition of the men except by 

 their appearance and by what they told us. Jones looked the picture 

 of health and seemed well qualified for his work except that he was 

 a little too stout. He said that he hadn't had a sick day in years 

 and that he wanted a chance to work off his superfluous weight. 



Herman told me now that Jones had confided in some members 

 of the crew that he had had heart disease for years and had been 

 warned by a doctor that he might die suddenly. During the early 

 part of the winter it became talk aboard ship, from what the men 

 observed or from what Jones told them, that he could not sleep ex- 

 cept on one side. If he turned upon his other side he would awaken 

 in pain and apparently in fright. Late in December he complained 

 for a day or two of not feeling well and would lie down in bed 

 but always got up soon after to pace the floor. One evening before 

 any one went to bed he had just lain down in his bunk when he 

 gave a scream and started struggling out. Two of the men rushed 

 to him, but he was dead when they got there. This is the version 

 told me by Kilian at the time, although I have heard slightly dif- 

 ferent versions since. Jones was buried on a little hill near the 

 winter quarters of the Polar Bear. 



This was sad news to me even though it lacked the keenness 

 of the personal sorrow I might have felt had I known Jones better. 

 We had been together casually on the ship only a few days. 

 He was evidently a faithful and energetic man and was well liked 

 by those who knew him best in the Bear party. He came to us 

 from the fishing waters of British Columbia where he had been 

 engineer of the Gladiator before she was purchased by Captain 

 Wolki. We have since been unable to get much information about 

 him or to find any of his relatives, for the few papers he left gave 

 no clew of value in that respect. We were not even sure that his 

 name was John, for he signed it always "J. Jones." 



