STEFANSSON-ANDERSON EXPEDITION 105 
for going so far, for the whaling ships which I hoped to meet might pass 
Flaxman before I got there, and the police at Herschel had heard rumors to 
the effect that Mr. Leffingwell had gone west to Point Barrow in the spring 
to meet the whaling ships there. I therefore camped at Flanders Point 
on Herschel Island (the southeast corner of the island, some five miles from 
the whalemen’s harbor) where we have since then been catching about 
sufficient fish for the dogs and ourselves. 
“But we have waited in vain for the ships. ‘The ice conditions, so far 
as can be learnt from here, are the worst in years. A native family that has 
just come in from about forty miles west along the coast, reports big ice 
everywhere so far to seaward as they could see from the highest hills. People 
here (five policemen, one of whom has been here some seven years; two 
sailors, one of whom has been whaling around Herschel since 1889, and all 
the natives) have about given up hope of ships coming in this year. Of 
course nobody knows; they may be less than twenty miles away as I write 
this. * * * * * * * * 
2 
“At present we have on hand supplies as follows: 2 of a sack of flour 
(about 35 Ibs.), five pounds of rice, five pounds of tea, one pound of salt and 
about fifty pounds of dried fish. The fish we have caught have been con- 
sumed from day to day, and literally nothing in the line of food, tobacco, 
etc., can be bought, of course, at any price. Here at the Island some two 
hundred Eskimos are waiting in the hope of ships with which to trade for 
furs, and scarce a family of them has enough food for itself. ‘Two families 
of Eskimos have attached themselves to our fortunes, so it is evident that our 
party of eight persons and twenty dogs will leave here for whatever journey 
is undertaken with rather scant rations in prospect for the first few days till 
we get to some favorable hunting and fishing location. 
“Evidently we have made a mistake in relying at all on whalers, but in 
an ordinary season not to make use of them would be an equally grave 
mistake. Now, however, we have not even a month’s supply of matches. 
Tea, tobacco and matches are considered the three essentials in this country. 
OK KR OK OK OK OK Ok Ok 
“In going west our plan, in general, is about as follows: We shall not 
attempt to take the route inside the reefs, tho’ it is safer, but shall keep 
outside for the purpose of meeting any ship that may chance to be coming 
eastward. At Flaxman Island or near there we expect to leave some of our 
party and most of our dogs (counting those owned by the natives, we have 
20 now) and keep on going for Point Barrow where I expect Leffingwell is 
now and whither the whaling ships and revenue cutter are almost sure to 
have penetrated. At that place we may be able to get some supplies, — at 
least we should be able to get matches and tobacco. 
