258 CONQUERING THE ARCTIC ICE 



Temperature 7 5'. Wind E.N.E., fifteen to twenty miles an 

 hour. Weather cloudy. 



Sunday, April 28. It was blowing very hard all day, and we 

 stayed in camp, partly on account of the wind, partly because 

 we wanted to get a latitude and longitude to determine the 

 drift during the last twenty-four hours. We got a latitude of 

 71 15' (two miles to the north of yesterday), but although we 

 were on the look out for the sun for two hours during the after- 

 noon, we could not see it clearly enough through the dense 

 storm clouds. Our spirits to-day are not of the best ; we do not 

 like going home so soon, but spring is coming considerably 

 earlier than we expected. 



"Kamalook" is still clinging to life, but there is not much left 

 in him ; he will possibly die to-day, and perhaps we ought to put 

 an end to his sufferings, only we have the very faint hope that 

 he might after all get well. 



Temperature 8 C. WindE.N.E., fifteen to twenty miles an 

 hour. Water still all round us. Took sounding, but could not 

 touch bottom at five hundred metres, and were drifting fast 

 to the W.N.W. 



Monday, April 29. Poor " Kamalook " is gone ! When we came 

 out this morning he was practically dead, had given up groaning, 

 and was kicking his hind legs in convulsions. A bullet through 

 his head ended his existence. As soon as he was dead Mr. 

 Leffingwell opened his stomach, but found nothing unusual. 

 His bowels were full, but not stuffed, and he had not eaten 

 anything injurious, so his death is not a result of devouring 

 foreign or indigestible matter. His heart was rather enlarged, 

 but that might be the result of the death-struggle, and as far as 

 we could see that was the only unusual thing. We skinned 

 him, and took the carcase along on the sledge when we started. 



Rather a disagreeable accident occurred immediately after 

 leaving the camp. In passing a lane we had to make use of some 

 small pieces of ice as intermediate stopping places, and when my 

 foot touched the last one I felt it go through, and to save myself 

 from a wetting I threw out my arms to seize the nearest solid, 

 or seemingly solid, piece of ice. The ice held, but the pickaxe 

 I had in my hand slipped out and disappeared. We have our 

 small one still, but it is not of much use in the heavy ice. 

 The next ridge we came to was high and rough, and while going 



