THE FRIENDLY ARCTIC 649 



loaded into the sledges and were able to give only a partial list 

 and the opinion that the loads had been very heavy. 



They started sometime late in October and we can be sure that 

 their progress was less than ten miles per day as against the 

 twenty or thirty they had expected. On passing the Star they 

 probably replenished their provisions to the extent of taking a 

 quantity of rice, but from various evidences we suppose they took 

 little else. 



On the Gore Islands at the northwest corner of Banks Island 

 was a depot of sugar with a few items of groceries. These had 

 been left there the previous winter when I gave up the attempt 

 of relaying sugar from the Star to the Bear. I have not learned for 

 a certainty whether they visited this depot. We shall never know 

 more than the bare outline of the story, for there is no information 

 beyond what Castel was able to learn and infer. Perhaps I had 

 better tell the rest of the story from the point of view of Castel 

 and Charlie Andersen when they undertook to find out for me why 

 Thomsen had not come to Melville Island. 



Castel and Andersen separated from Storkerson's party near 

 Cape Ross, Melville Island, early in May, 1917, more than six 

 months after Bernard and Thomsen had started from Kellett 

 towards Cape Ross. Castel's party was followed a little way behind 

 by Natkusiak's party, who could not travel fast enough to keep up. 



Conditions of weather and travel were the ordinary ones of 

 early spring, good except for the prevalence of cloudy and foggy 

 weather. Castel made a direct course across Melville Sound for 

 Mercy Bay and found on the way no traces of Thomsen. At 

 Mercy Bay he found two sledges, one which he recognized as Thom- 

 sen's with which he had left us at Melville Island, the other strong 

 and new and beautiful, made in Captain Bernard's style. To 

 the handle bars of one of the sleds was tied the following note, 

 which is the only written document in the case. 



"December 22, 1916. We made a cache on the ice twenty miles NNE 

 from here. We are out of grub and our dogs are dying. Eight of the 

 dogs have died and we have ten left. We have the mail which we are 

 taking with us. 



(Signed) "Peter Bernard, 



"Charles Thomsen." 



This part of the story, then, was clear. They had reached with 

 the three sledges and full loads a point on the ice twenty miles 



