284 CONQUERING THE ARCTIC ICE 



Mr. Leffingwell and I agreed to send everybody home except 

 two men, and he left it to me to arrange this in the most 

 advantageous manner. 



On May 17 we had the pleasure of seeing Mr. Stefansson 

 again. He had made a rapid trip to Herschel Island and 

 back, as he was only fifteen days on the trail, both going and 



ON THE DECK WERE LARGE DRIFTS OF SNOW. 



coming. On May 18 we had an exceedingly fine day, and 

 we began to realize that spring, or rather summer, is approaching 

 with leaps and bounds. With every day the snow is dis- 

 appearing fast ; all the high parts of the island are bare, green 

 grass has taken the place of the snow, the snow sparrows are 

 flying about in great numbers, and their chirping is a welcome 

 sound to our ears. Large flocks of geese and ducks are passing 

 over our island on their hurried flight to their breeding places 

 in the east, the ice is melting along the shores, and ducks are 

 swimming about in every pool, while small streams, formed by 

 the melting of the snow, are winding their way over the surface, 

 eating away the snow along their course. Spring is in the air ; 



