PARTIES TURN BACK 
First we would reconnoiter, then we would 
hew our way and make the trail, then we would 
go back and, getting in the traces, help the 
dogs pull the sledges, which were still heavily 
loaded. This operation was repeated prac- 
tically all the day of JMarch 23, except for the 
last hour of traveling, when we zigzagged to 
the eastward, where the ice appeared less 
formidable, consisting of small floes with rub- 
ble ice between and a heavy, old floe beyond. 
There we camped. The latitude was 85° 46' 
north. 
The course from the land to the Pole was 
not direct and due north, for we followed the 
lines of least resistance, and frequently found 
ourselves going due east or west, in order to 
detour around pressure ridges, floebergs, and 
leads. 
March 24: Commander Peary reached 
camp shortly after six a. m., and after a few 
brief instructions, we started out. The go- 
ing not as heavy as the day previous; but the 
sky overcast, and a heavy drift on the surface 
made it decidedly unpleasant for the dogs. 
For the first six hours the going was over 
rough, jagged ice, covered with deep, soft 
111 
