WE WALK ACROSS in 



In the first place, we had already crossed twice a 

 river which must be of considerable size as it made 

 away to the east and south. What river was this, 

 and where did it debouch ? Neither of these questions 

 could we answer then, though later on we knew it for 

 the Pesanka. 



The Baroshika indeed was, according to the chart, a 

 biggish river. What if we got down into those plains 

 which we saw and found this river wide, deep, and with 

 many horse-shoe windings? And then Hyland, and his 

 sufferings from cold, was always in my mind. Drift- 

 wood, drift-wood, at any price it seemed, was the first 

 aim before us. 



And so this day I went a point more easterly, aiming 

 for where a beacon on the sands had been indicated on 

 our chart. 



My little pocket-compass was rather a worry. Not 

 only was I obliged to put away my gun each time I con- 

 sulted it, which was pretty often, but unfortunately the 

 needle had a habit of sticking ; and this, unless you were 

 very careful, would escape notice. 



But I found the sun exceedingly useful as a means of 

 checking our course, by what I may call the ' shadoiv 

 method ' — which expression, I take it, explains itself. 



I have found it almost impossible to make those 

 friends here at home who have not been to these parts 

 realise that there is a real and very beautiful sunwner in 

 the Arctic Regions. The cold fogs and frosts we had 



