52 MY ARCTIC JOURNAL 



he came to me, and together we pulled the wounded animal 

 out. Then I was asked to kill her with my revolver, but I 

 could not force myself to do it, and Astrup took the weapon 

 and put her out of her misery. We placed the body on a 

 large flat rock, piled boulders on it, and left it. Both Dr. 

 Cook and I were thoroughly cold by this time, and we all 

 hurried toward camp. It was now nearing midnight, and I 

 had been away from camp since six o'clock. It was hard to 

 realize the time of day, as the sun was shining just as brightly 

 as in the early afternoon. We soon reached the river, and 

 across it the poor doctor had to make three trips : first to carry 

 the rifles over, then to come back for me, and then to go after 

 Astrup. As this last load weighed 183 pounds, and the cur- 

 rent was very swift, progress was of necessity slow. The doc- 

 tor had to feel his way, and did not dare to lift his feet from 

 the bottom. At last we were all safely over. Ikwa, who had 

 taken off his kamiks and stockings and waded the stream, was 

 lying flat on his back on a mossy bank nearly convulsed with 

 laughter at the sight of the doctor carrying Astrup. Once 

 across the river we redoubled our speed, and soon reached 

 camp, where I found Mr. Peary, with Gibson and Verhoeff, 

 anxiously awaiting me. 



The next two days the boys spent in packing their provi- 

 sions and equipment over the bluffs to the edge of the ice, 

 while I stayed in camp and cooked, and Ikwa put in his time 

 hunting. On the fourth day, Monday, September 7, right after 

 lunch, the boys left with their last load, and in spite of the 



