THE FRIENDLY ARCTIC 553 



to make for us can be found anywhere. By my instructions he 

 was to find a sea route, if any existed, between our land and Find- 

 lay Island and was in such case to follow the east coast of our 

 land and make a cache of certain articles we need on the south 

 shore of Borden Island. We have now traveled nearly the whole 

 south coast — we appear to be south of the Lefiingwell Crags, though 

 I have not seen them as yet — and have found neither cache nor 

 message. The only hope now is that he may have come through 

 Wilkins Strait and made the cache on the southeast corner of that 

 island. We can, of course, get along as we are, but a gallon of 

 kerosene and some new boots would be a good thing to have. I 

 fear this failure to find Castel's depot presages Natkusiak's ab- 

 sence from Cape Murray, as something must have gone wrong." 



September 18th I did not get to bed till five in the morning 

 and though time was precious, we decided to make this the occa- 

 sion of another attempt to get a meridian altitude of the sun, for 

 we had been able to get no observations since we landed on Borden 

 Island. There had been one clear day but that day I was hunting 

 inland. This day of September 18th promised well at first but it 

 clouded over before noon and we got no observation. I quote the 

 diary: 



"Started 1:30 P. M. after failure to get meridian altitude and 

 traveled northwest and then west about sixteen miles overland to 

 the sea. Found the sled had not passed and walked back six miles 

 to camp. Home at 11:30 P. M. They had traveled by reckoning 

 fifteen and a half miles, camping at 7:15. Land crossed to-day 

 chiefly barren but some grass. Hills generally slope south because 

 of underlying limestone strata which are in escarpments in the 

 Coronation Gulf fashion, with a five degree or eight degree slope 

 south and precipices or steep sides to north and northwest. This 

 form of the hills is doubtless determined in part by the greater 

 heat of the sun in the afternoon. Took some specimens of the 

 rocky outcrops — these are frequent in ravines and on hilltops when 

 you get over five miles inland. Saw one old caribou track and 

 the first ptarmigan track since the one flock we saw on Lougheed 

 Island. Several lemming tracks and holes. Noice saw a snow 

 bunting. 



"September 19: Hunted overland while others followed the 

 coast. They traveled twenty-one miles and I walked about twenty- 

 five. No tracks of animals except lemmings. Country low and 

 barren, mud the first half of the day but more vegetation and roll- 



