176 HUNTERS OF THE GREAT NORTH 



clear weather. In case of clear weather Captain Leavitt 

 thought there would be no difficulty in finding the Duchess 

 of Bedford. He described Flaxman Island as being five 

 or six miles long, a mile or two wide and in few places 

 more than fifteen or twenty feet high. The masts of a 

 ship anchored behind the island would, therefore, be vis- 

 ible above it. 



Those unfamiliar with the north coast of Alaska might 

 think that distinguishing at a distance between the main- 

 land and the islands would be easy. It is difficult, 

 however, for the islands, although some of them grass- 

 covered, are little more than overgrown sandpits. Flax- 

 man Island, for instance, is only about three miles from 

 the mainland and a sledge traveler viewing it from sea- 

 ward is likely to mistake it for a low promontory rather 

 than a separate body of land. 



Our dog team was the poorest I have ever seen in the 

 Arctic, either before or since. Captain Leavitt had seen 

 nothing like it. There were only two passably good dogs 

 in it, one belonging to me and one to Cape York. 



As related before, I had purchased two dogs from Sten 

 in the fall but one of them had died under peculiar circum- 

 stances. There had been a woman and her adopted son 

 staying at Sten's house. They decided one day they 

 wanted to make a trip and, as they had only one dog to 

 pull a small sled with their bedding, I lent them the better 

 one of mine. He was a powerful and in every way a 

 good dog and had had an interesting history. 



Two years before when Captain Amundsen had been 

 wintering at King William Island to the north of Hudson 

 Bay there had been in Hudson Bay the ship Arctic, under 

 command of Inspector Moody, of the Royal Northwest 

 Mounted Police. Hearing that Amundsen was wintering 



