278 THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE KARLUK 
ice nearer shore was unbroken, so that the open 
water beyond seemed as black as coal-tar, shining 
against the white. We went down the other side 
of the ridge at a terrific rate, the dogs running free 
and the sledge, with the brake-pole grinding hard, 
careening from side to side in a way that almost 
took a man’s breath away. 
It was at seven o’clock on the morning of May 
16 that we reached Emma Harbor and the home of 
Baron Kleist. We had been six days coming from 
East Cape and two months had gone by since I 
had parted from the men on Icy Spit, Wrangell 
Island. If all went well I should be back for them 
in two months more and I hoped they were holding 
out all right and would be in good shape when I 
reached them again. Their suspense, I knew, 
would be acute until they were sure that I had suc¬ 
ceeded in crossing Long Strait to Siberia and get¬ 
ting over to Alaska. 
Baron Kleist had a fine house at Emma Harbor. 
It was well built of heavy timbers, the materials 
having been brought from Yladivostock five years 
before. It cost about fifteen thousand dollars, I 
believe, and was warm and comfortable. The 
baron had an excellent chef and we enjoyed a sub¬ 
stantial breakfast, which in almost no time after 
our arrival had been prepared for us. Then the 
baron’s own physician, Doctor Golovkoff, who had 
