THE FRIENDLY ARCTIC 523 



tried I was able to pick up incidentally twenty or thirty eggs in 

 a day's walk. Altogether I took fifty-nine eggs from fourteen 

 nests, the largest number of eggs found in one nest being six. We 

 shot one goose for the purpose of bringing home the skin of its 

 head and neck for more exact identification; since we were collect- 

 ing some of the eggs for specimens this was a necessary precaution. 

 Apart from the fifty-nine eggs and the one goose, we lived while 

 surveying Meighen Island on seal meat already in the sledge on 

 landing. 



By June 22nd the sun had gone as far north as it intended, and 

 so had we. But I had talked much with Peary about his Crocker 

 Land to the northwest, and for twenty-four hours in clear weather 

 Noice, Charlie and I took turns in watching from a two hundred- 

 foot elevation the skyline to the west and north. There were ap- 

 pearances on the horizon which might have been taken for land 

 had one known it to exist but there was nothing that might not 

 equally well have been fog clouds from open water. The wind 

 that day was blowing a gale from N x W and certainly it was as 

 favorable an opportunity as we could reasonably hope for in this 

 region where clouds and fog are the rule in summer. We could 

 see Heiberg Island northward to the vicinity of Cape Thomas 

 Hubbard, and the shore floe was plainly indicated both by rough 

 ice and occasional patches of water. It did not run in a straight 

 line towards Cape Thomas Hubbard but curved well in towards 

 Heiberg Island. 



I thought it necessary to explain a decision not to go farther, 

 and this was done by the diary: 



"June 23: We were at the north tip of our land and started 

 about 4 P. M. to follow the coast southeast. Following the coast 

 of this island really means that we are now turning back and that 

 the hope of further discoveries of land is renounced for yet another 

 year. As I did last year, I set down now the main reasons that 

 decided us to discontinue the advance. Though it would interest me 

 rather more to go out to the floe edge again and take soundings and 

 current observations, the week or so which this would probably 

 take would advance the season so rapidly and perhaps delay by 

 double that time our reaching Cape Murray. I have therefore 

 decided to devote the rest of the summer to two things: (1) the 

 further survey of lands already discovered; (2) preparations for 

 next year by putting up meat at Cape Murray, if that proves to 

 be a good meat district (and if we can reach it), or going to Mel- 

 ville Island to assist in putting up meat, should game prove scarce 



