304 THE CONQUEST OF THE NORTH POLE 



lashed on the top of the load. Henson followed next 

 with a sledge and trailer drawn by sixteen dogs ; and 

 Lee brought up the rear with a long sledge and trailer 

 drawn by fourteen dogs. 



When near the Petermann Fiord Basin, a storm delayed 

 them forty-eight hours. At this camp two dogs were fed 

 to the others. During the next week the long sledge 

 was abandoned, and the loads rearranged. 



An average elevation of 7670 feet had now been attained, 

 and breathing was much more rapid on increased exertion. 

 Henson and Lee frequently bled at the nose. The 

 maximum elevation was found to be 7865 feet. 



At the 400th mile one of the runners of Henson's 

 sledge broke, and the greater portion of a day was spent 

 in repairing the sledge with a runner from one of the 

 trailers. This new runner, however, only did duty for 

 12 miles, when it broke beyond repair. The sledge 

 was now converted into a three-runner one. On this 

 day the last of the walrus-meat was fed to the seventeen 

 remaining dogs. It was now a case of dog eat dog, and 

 in a few days only eleven were left. 



Peary saw that the land must be reached with all 

 speed. He therefore dismantled the three-runner sledge 

 and cached everything except a week's supplies. They 

 were now on the downward grade, and on the second day 

 they sighted land. 



They were now over 500 miles from the Lodge in a 

 direct line, and three of the eleven dogs were thoroughly 

 exhausted. Peary decided to leave Lee here with the 

 dogs, and push on with Henson in search of musk-oxen. 



Peary and Henson started out from an elevation of 

 4800 feet above sea-level. Four miles from the tent many 

 huge crevasses were passed. Peary recognised the group 

 as one he had seen in 1892. Some miles beyond these 

 large crevasses a great number of small ones were met, 



