270 THE SIEGE OF THE NORTH POLE 



formed all around. One of the sledges broke through 

 the ice, and was dragged out with difficulty. 



It was part of the scheme of the expedition to gradually 

 kill a certain number of the dogs in order to assist in 

 feeding the others. At first none of the dogs cared to 

 eat the flesh ; later the few which ate it waited till it was 

 frozen ; but ultimately the whole of the survivors devoured 

 it with even more greediness than pemmican, and while it 

 was still warm. 



On the 7th April the latitude was found to be 83° 54'. 

 This was near the latitude calculated by Cagni, so that 

 the drift to the south had almost ceased. The recent 

 tracks of two bears were seen on this date. On the 8th 

 April channels were crossed by means of bridges built of 

 large blocks of ice detached from the hummocks. 



Cagni was still suffering greatly from his frost-bitten 

 forefinger, which the doctor had generously promised to 

 amputate when Cagni returned to Teplitz Bay. On the 

 12th April a huge pressure-ridge, which Cagni esti- 

 mated to be from 36 to 45 feet in height, was seen 

 to form about 100 yards from the camp. On this 

 day they travelled a distance estimated at 22 miles. 

 Next day one of the guides suddenly broke through the 

 ice, and would have been lost but for the assistance of 

 his companion. Cagni took half a bath shortly afterwards, 

 and the second guide slipped into the water with one leg. 

 In spite of these difficulties, the day's march was reckoned 

 at 13 miles. These two days, however, greatly exhausted 

 the dogs, and on the following day only 5 miles were 

 covered. 



On the 15th April a snowstorm confined them to the 

 tent. Cagni's finger had kept him awake two nights, and 

 he took advantage of the delay to unbandage it and 

 remove with forceps some of the dead flesh. On this day 

 a hole was burnt through one of the two saucepans. This 



