i 9 2 THE SIEGE OF THE NORTH POLE 



narrow gorge bounded on either side by towering mountains, 

 and finally reached a narrow valley 1000 feet lower down. 

 Passing along this valley, and still rapidly descending, 

 they reached the head of a fiord where the water was 

 salt. This was named " Greely Fiord. - ''' Proceeding 

 about 26 miles down the fiord, they reached their farthest 

 on 13th May, and camped in a heavy snowstorm. By 

 fasting nineteen hours, they were enabled to remain here 

 until the storm abated. 



The return journey had to be made on short rations. 

 This party travelled 437 miles during their month's 

 absence. 



The work of exploration was now practically completed, 

 and preparations for the contingency of a retreat south- 

 ward began to receive serious attention. Greely had 

 already established a large depot of provisions at Cape 

 Baird, on the south side of Archer Fiord, and 12 miles 

 from Conger. This work was begun as early as the 1st 

 February. Dr. Pavy protested against the work as 

 entailing unnecessary exposure, and some warm words 

 evidently passed between the doctor and Greely. The 

 latter makes the charge that this was the first of a series 

 by which Dr. Pavy opposed all the work initiated during 

 1883. The doctor's objection was no doubt to the work 

 being done during the coldest month of the year. Greely 

 takes great credit for establishing this depot 12 miles from 

 the station, but it is only just to the doctor to state that 

 Lockwood in his diary mentions the fact that as early as 

 March 1883 Dr. Pavy and two others of the party were 

 in favour of abandoning all further explorations, and 

 applying their efforts to depositing provisions down the 

 straits to secure their safe retreat in boats in August and 

 September. No mention of this fact is made by Greely. 

 He states that the correspondence between them formed 

 part of his official report, but has no place in his book. 



