206 HUNTERS OF THE GREAT NORTH 



said to have been as convinced as the rest at Macpherson 

 that the ice party had lost their lives. 



What concerned me particularly in this situation was 

 that the story would be published on my authority, it 

 having been said at Macpherson that I had brought to 

 Herschel Island the news of the death of the three men. 

 What worried Captain Mikkelsen especially was that he 

 had an invalid mother who he feared might possibly die 

 of the shock of reading in the morning paper the definite 

 announcement of the death of her son. Captain Mikkel- 

 sen felt almost equal concern about the parents of Mr. 

 Leffingwell and about several other near relatives of the 

 three reported dead. 



Captain Mikkelsen took counsel with the whaling cap- 

 tains in the harbor and with the police at the barracks 

 but was told that there was little chance of overtaking 

 this bad news. A pursuit up the Mackenzie under a 

 month's handicap was unthinkable. The alternative was 

 a journey over the mountains to the United States Gov- 

 ernment wireless station at Eagle City. If this were tried 

 failure was considered probable by some and certain by 

 others. 



Previous to this Captain Mikkelsen and I had talked 

 a good deal about the possibility of my remaining with 

 him another year to continue the exploration north of 

 Alaska. I had considered still more definitely the pos- 

 sibility of staying with Leffingwell and helping him with 

 his geological survey of the Endicott Mountains to the 

 south of Flaxman Island. Had Leffingwell and Mik- 

 kelsen been able to agree on cooperating at either of 

 these enterprises, I should doubtless have stayed with 

 them. But as one had his heart set on the mountains 

 ! the other on the sea ice I could not please one with- 



