ON HERSCHEL AND FLAXMAN ISLANDS 331 



Mr. Leffingwell gave them something to eat until they could 

 begin to catch seal. 



He had spent some tiresome days waiting for me to return ; 

 then anxiety had taken the place of irksomeness, and during the 

 last week of our absence he had almost given up all hope. The 

 natives to a certain extent had helped him to pass the day, but 

 the long evenings and nights, full of anxiety and unrest, were 

 not pleasant, especially as he could do nothing to ascertain 

 our fate, but only hope for the best. Spring and autumn, when 

 we could use neither boat nor sledge, as a rule were the most 

 tiresome part of the year in those regions, as we were then 

 confined to our house, or at least to our island. 



But now we had more than enough to occupy our minds, and 

 once more we began to talk things over. To all intents and 

 purposes the arguments were the same which we had used 

 before, when I had returned from Herschel Island, but the 

 question had now developed a new phase in the person of 

 Axel Anderson. 



Mr. Lemngwell maintained his former standpoint ; he could 

 very well carry on his surveying work without my assistance, 

 especially now that he had Axel, and he thought it would be 

 impossible to do anything new on the ice, at least not with 

 a party of two. I had long ago made up my mind that Axel 

 was not the man to take out on a sledge trip, and this opinion 

 was shared by Mr. Lemngwell, who thought he would be an 

 abler helper on shore, but quite useless in cases where the 

 lives of a party were at stake, as it would be, during a trip 

 over the moving pack ice of Beaufort Sea. 



The result of several days' consultation was that I admitted 

 the truth of Mr. Lemngwell's arguments, as corresponding 

 with my own views, and I commenced to prepare for my three 

 thousand miles walk. Some of the women of the village took 

 upon themselves the task of making new clothing for me, and 

 on October 15 the sledge was packed, my clothes were ready, 

 and I was to start the following day if the weather permitted. 

 As we needed some sugar and other small articles, of which we 

 had plenty at Point Barrow, and as I also wished to take some 

 of the dogs which Captain Leavett had landed for us at that 

 place, while Mr. Lemngwell wanted the rest, it was decided 

 that I was to go there first, take Axel and Hipana with 



