INTRODUCTION 5 



and Mr. and Mrs. Feary, kindly gave substantial contribu- 

 tion when I explained our trouble, and Dr. R. A. Harris, of 

 Washington, the man who had revived the old theories and 

 added new ones to them regarding land in Beaufort Sea, 

 helped us with good advice as well as with pecuniary support. 



The Hon. Walter Rothschild answered a letter with a tele- 

 graphic money order, and both the Royal Geographical Society 

 and the American Geographical Society gave additional grants. 



But even these were inadequate for our purpose, and when 

 further assistance was needed Lord Strathcona came forward, 

 and so did the Canadian Government, from which, through the 

 Hon. W. Templeman, we received a considerable grant. At 

 the same time, Danes in Seattle, Mr. Lehman, Consul Jacobson, 

 Messrs. Thompson and Hansen, and the Scandinavian-American 

 Bank collected an additional amount, and the day before our 

 departure we were also helped by my friend Mr. Bang. 



On the eve of our departure I had to deliver a lecture in the 

 City Hall in Victoria to raise a sufficient sum to pay our debts. 

 Contributors in Victoria were Sir Henry Joli de Lobinierre, 

 Mr. Dunsmuir, Mr. Holmes, Mr. Holland, Mr. Nantes, Mr. 

 Chrease, and Mr. Campbell (drug store owner). Mr. Leffingwell 

 also came forward and gave a large additional contribution 

 beyond his original amount, and when we left we hoped that 

 all financial troubles were over. 



Some few days before we left Victoria the Rev. Mr. Campbell 

 came down to the ship with his little daughter, a dear little 

 girl aged nine. She handed me an envelope, and imagine my 

 surprise when I saw that it contained a $5 gold piece, her 

 savings for almost a year, and a letter in which she asked me 

 to receive the contribution, telling me that she was not at all sorry 

 to give it, and hoped that we could buy some clothing with it 

 and thereby keep warm during the terrible cold in the Arctic. 



However, the money did not go to buy clothing ; I kept the 

 small piece of gold as a proof of the interest our enterprise had 

 aroused, and why not admit it ? as a charm to bring luck. 

 Not till many months later, on my long march southward, was 

 I obliged to use the money to buy food for myself and for my 

 starving dogs, which I should otherwise have had to go without, 

 and my thoughts went back to Victoria and to a little figure in 

 a white dress, fondling her doll in the burning sunlight, and 



