292 CONQUERING THE ARCTIC ICE 



work to do and had thus no time to go out on trips. We had 

 also much to do in order to make the house as comfortable as 

 possible for the coming winter, and we wanted to get as much 

 work done as we could while we yet had the crew. 



However, it was far from being plain sailing. During the 

 latter part of June and the beginning of July the men grew 

 homesick and wanted to leave. Storkersen was the only one 

 I thought I could rely upon, but now and then I heard 

 rumours to the effect that he also wanted to go home. When 

 I asked, him, he denied the truth of these rumours and even 

 signed a contract to stay for another year. We wanted 

 Fiedler to stay also, as he was a good fellow and a splendid 

 man on the trail, but although he at first agreed to stay, he 

 refused to fulfil his promise later on. 



The question what we were to do with the men occupied us 

 more and more as the days went by. At first we had thought 

 of taking them down to Barter Island and sending them home 

 on a whaler, but of course there was the chance that the 

 whalers might not come so far east that year, any more than 

 they had last year, and, furthermore, it might blow so hard that 

 we could not launch the boats if a vessel should pass us 

 westward bound. I talked it over with Dr. Howe and Mr. 

 Stefansson, and we agreed to take them out to Point Barrow 

 instead of going to Barter Island, as we should certainly find 

 a ship there. 



When we had made up our minds to this plan, Fiedler 

 and I went out to Sachawachick, who had camped on a sand- 

 spit about nine miles to the west of our camp, in order to try 

 to induce him to go with us as a guide and also to lend us his 

 large umiak. Sachawachick was willing to go, if Douglamana 

 would let him, and she eventually consented, though it took me 

 several hours to persuade her. When everything was settled 

 in a satisfactory manner, Fiedler and I started back for the 

 house, towing the boat along the sand-spits. 



Our boats would be rather heavily loaded, for, besides the 

 men and provisions for fifteen days, we had to take some of the 

 men's personal belongings, and every one wanted to take as 

 much as possible. In a few days, however, we had everything 

 packed in a satisfactory manner, and left our house in one 

 umiak and one boat. Joe Carrol wanted to go on board a 



