CHAPTER XI 
FIGHTING UP THE POLAR SEA — HELD UP BY 
THE "big lead" 
COLLOWING the trail made by Captain 
•■■ Bartlett, we pushed off, every man at the 
upstander of his sledge to urge his team by 
whip and voice. It was only when we had per- 
fect going over sheets of young ice that we 
were able to steal a ride on the sledges. 
The trail led us over the glacial fringe for 
a quarter of a mile, and the going was fairly 
easy, but, after leaving the land ice-foot, the 
trail plunged into ice so rough that we had to 
use pickaxes to make a pathway. It took only 
about one mile of such going, and my sledge 
spHt. 
"Number one," said I to myself, and I came 
to a halt. The gale was still blowing, but I 
started to work on the necessary repairs. I 
have practically built one sledge out of two 
broken ones, while out on the ice and in weather 
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