THE BIG LEAD 
errors, and after that there is nothing for them 
to do but wait. Captain Bartlett describes it 
as "Hell on Earth" ; the Commander has noth- 
ing to say, and I agree with him. Dr. Good- 
sell reads from his Httle books, studies Esquimo 
language, writes in his diary and talks to me 
and the rest of the party, and waits. 
Professor JMacMillan, with his eye ever to 
the south, and an occasional glance at his 
frozen heel, cracks a joke and bids us be cheer- 
ful. He is one man^ and has surely made 
good. His first trip to this forsaken region, 
yet he wakes up from his sleep with a smile on 
his face and a question as to how a nice, large, 
juicy steak would go about now. This is no 
place for jokes, yet his jokes are cheering and 
make us all feel more light-hearted. He is 
the "life of the funeral" and by his cheerful- 
ness has kept our spirits from sinking to a 
dead level, and when the Esquimos commenced 
to get cranky, by his diplomacy he brought 
them to think of other subjects than going 
back to the ship. 
He has started to kid us along by institu- 
ting a series of competitions in athletic en- 
deavors, and the Esquimos fall for it like the 
89 
