ACROSS PACIFIC OCEAN AND BEHRING SEA 53 



did not want to carry the two discontented men along with us 

 much further, and I asked Captain Hamlet whether he could let 

 us have some of his men. Volunteers were called upon, and 

 three of the men offered to go. They all seemed fine fellows, 

 and Captain Hamlet gave them a good testimonial. The only 

 drawback was the salary. The men who were to be discharged 

 had $25 and $35 a month, while the men we could get from 

 the Thetis would not go for less than $40, the wages they had 

 on board. As it was absolutely necessary to get some new men, 

 we had no choice, but signed them on the Duchess of Bedford. 

 They were the Scotchman, William Hicky, the Englishman, 

 J. Allister, and a German, Max Fiedler. Thuesen took over the 

 cooking and did it fairly well, being one of those who could do 

 almost anything. 



The two men who were to go were rather depressed at the 

 prospect of being dumped on a coast like Point Hope, which 

 was not as good as the promised land, Alaska, but Captain 

 Hamlet and myself thought that it would be a good lesson for 

 them to stay there until the Revenue Cutter came back. They 

 looked very dejected when they were landed on the beach, and 

 the white men there were not anxious to assist them, though 

 they had promised us to give them anything they absolutely 

 needed and to find them a cabin to sleep in. 



The gale kept on blowing, and we felt rather worried, partly 

 because we were afraid that this north-easterly wind might set 

 the ice hard on Point Barrow, and partly because it was getting 

 late in the season. The S.S. William Bailis and Mount Ray had 

 left several days before we came, and the Thetis left on July 28 

 with a very strong head-wind. 



At 4.30 P.M. on Sunday, July 29, we passed Point Hope with 

 so little wind that we could hardly steer, and were almost 

 drifted on the Point itself by the current. But we just shot 

 clear with a few fathoms to spare, and could square off for a 

 fair but light wind, northward bound. 



Just as we passed the Point the dogs ashore smelt our dogs 

 on board, and an awful concert was the result. A dog ashore 

 commenced howling, and was almost immediately joined by 

 others. A couple of dogs on board answered, and each minute 

 more and more joined on both sides, till at last all our 

 twenty-two dogs were sitting down on their haunches with 



