THE WHITE WORLD 



pulled myself back onto the solid ice, where for a time I 

 was afraid to move, for fear of falling into the big ice 

 cavern, which was covered with snow, and which I could 

 not see, except in the one spot where I had broken through 

 the crust which concealed it. 



The snow had stopped falling and it was rapidly growing 

 lighter, making it possible for me to see the outline of the 

 edge of the crevasse, which was about an inch lower than 

 the surface of the ice-cap. I started to follow it, still 

 trembling from my fright, but at last gained confidence as 

 the day advanced, and I continued along the edge for per- 

 haps two miles, when I found a place where it was narrow 

 enough to jump. 



I could see the whole of Inglefield Gulf spread out before 

 me with all its indentations, including Bowdoin Bay, where 

 the lodge was located. I knew that I was a good many 

 miles from my camp of the day before, and after my wan- 

 derings of the night in the snow storm, it was useless for 

 me to attempt to find the tent. Although I had my com- 

 pass with me, I did not know the course to follow, for I 

 had paid no attention to the way I had come. From where 

 I stood making these observations, there was a glacier that 

 appeared from my position to be what we called the East 

 glacier, which comes down into the bay on the eastern shore, 

 four or five miles from the house. The distance did not 

 appear great, and thinking that by following its course 

 down to the bay, I could reach home in about two hours, I 

 started with a vigor which I had not supposed possible 

 after the twenty-four hours of continual tramping, fasting 

 and battling against the storm. 



The journey down the surface of that glacier was about 

 the roughest tramp of all my five years' experience in 

 Greenland, and I had not traveled very far from its source 

 before I discovered that it was not the East glacier, but 

 instead the Hubbard glacier, which reaches the shore of 

 the gulf at Koin-a-soon-ny, about twenty-two miles from 

 the house. Still, I knew that the best way to avoid getting 

 lost again was to follow it to the sea, for I was familiar 

 with the entire coast, and knew that as soon as I could 

 reach the gulf, I would have smooth traveling and the 

 chance of falling in with some natives from whom I could 



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