PARTIES TURN BACK 
of Commander Peary and Marvin, with their 
party ; and it was eight a. m. when they ar- 
rived. Commander Peary instructed me to 
the effect that, when I overtook the Captain, 
I should tell him to make as much speed as 
possible. 
The going was, for the first hour, over 
rough, raftered ice. Great care and caution 
had to be observed, but after that we reached 
a stretch of undulated, level ice, extending 
easily fifteen miles ; and the exhilarating effect 
made our spirits rise. The snow-covering was 
soft, but with the help of our snow-shoes we 
paced off the miles, and at noon we caught up 
with the Captain and his boys. Together we 
traveled on, and at the end of an hour's going 
we halted for our noon-meal, consisting of a 
can of tea and three biscuits per man, the dogs 
doing the hungry looking on, as dogs have 
done and do and will do forever. As we sat 
and ate, we joshed each other, and the Es- 
quimo boys joined in the good-natured rail- 
lery. 
The meal did not detain us long, and soon 
we were pushing on again as quickly as pos- 
sible over the level ice, fearing that if we de- 
108 
