RETURN OF THE EXPLORERS 1 85 



These noble brutes, accustomed all their lives to raw, 

 bloody meat, had been lixint;" on dry pemmican for the past 

 two months, working day after day as they had never worked 

 continuously before. No wonder they strained at their traces, 

 plunging and tugging to get loose and help themselves. As 

 quickl}- as one of the musk-oxen was skinned the body was 

 tossed within their reach, and they pounced upon it with a 

 greediness which plainly showed how much they longed for 

 the juicy meat. The explorers themselves also enjoyed the 

 fresh meat for a change, but they were glad to get back to 

 pemmican again after a few days. 



After the dogs had been fed and rested, the march across 

 the boulder-strewn country toward the coast was resumed. 

 It ended July 4th, when the party came out on a bluff on the 

 east coast, some 3800 feet high, which overlooked the great 

 unknown Arctic Ocean. Here a couple of days w'ere spent 

 in making observations for latitude and longitude, in taking 

 photographs of the surrounding country, and in building a 

 cairn in which to deposit the record of their journey, and 

 then the return march was begun. McCormick Bay was 

 reached on August 6th, after an absence of ninety-three days, 

 during which time Mr. Peary says neither he nor Astrup had 

 an ache or a pain. 



Late yesterday afternoon a brisk wind blew up that made 

 the surf i\y and prevented any of us from going ashore. As 

 Professor Heilprin was anxious to examine some of the great 

 glaciers, it was decided that the " Kite " remain at her present 



