164 THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE KARLUK 
could have a full day’s march and make a reconnais¬ 
sance into the interior. About dark he returned 
and reported that he had seen no traces of caribou, 
reindeer or hare and very few signs of foxes. 
Later on, however, he thought ptarmigan would 
visit the island. He had seen one bear track, 
which he thought was about three days old, proba¬ 
bly of the bear whose tracks he had seen on the 
previous day. 
The story is told of a student who, when asked 
to name five Arctic animals, replied, “Three polar 
bears and two seal.” If these varieties were to 
be all we should find on Wrangell Island, we 
should still be able to sustain life, if only we could 
get enough of them. I should have liked, however, 
to know that caribou and reindeer, too, could be 
had for the shooting. 
We now made a snow shelter and started in on 
the fourteenth to dry out our boots and stockings; 
we had plenty of firewood. Keruk looked after 
this work. Maurer’s and Malloch’s feet still 
troubled them and Mamen’s knee was a constant 
cause of suffering, so that I was glad that they 
could now have an opportunity to rest. From the 
moment of our departure from Shipwreck Camp 
we had been constantly on the move during every 
minute of the daylight. The weather, though cold, 
had been exceptionally fine and clear; in fact we 
