s time could have been extended to sixty
days. Had any sledge and its provisions been cut off from the rest of
the division, the man with it would have had everything he needed,
except the cooking outfit. Had the sledge which carried the alcohol
stove been lost, either in a lead or otherwise, the party to which it
belonged would have had to double up with one of the other divisions.

[Illustration: TYPICAL VIEW OF THE ICE OF THE ARCTIC OCEAN, NORTH OF
GRANT LAND]

The new alcohol stove, the design of which I had perfected during the
winter, was used altogether on this northern sledge trip. We did not
carry oil-stoves at all, except some very small ones with two-inch
wicks, which we used for drying mittens.

The standard method for loading each sledge was as follows: On the
bottom was a layer of dog pemmican in red tins, covering the entire
length and width of the sledge; on this were two tins of biscuit, and
crew pemmican in blue tins; then the tins of alcohol and condensed milk,
a small skin rug for the man to sleep on at night in the igloo,
snowshoes and spare footgear, a pickax and a saw knife for cutting snow
blocks. Practically the only extra items of wearing apparel which were
carried were a few pairs of Eskimo sealskin _kamiks_ (boots), for it can
readily be imagined that several hundred miles of such walking and
stumbling over snow and ice would be rather hard on any kind of footgear
which could be made.

Compactness was the main idea in packing one of these sledges, the
center of gravity of the load being brought as low as possible in order
that the sledges might not easily overturn.

The standard daily ration for work on the final sledge journey toward
the Pole on all expeditions has been as follows:

1 lb. pemmican, 1 lb. ship's biscuit, 4 oz. condensed milk, 1/2 oz.
compressed tea, 6 oz. liquid fuel, alcohol or petroleum. A total of 2
lbs. 4-1/2 oz. of solids per man, per day.

On this ration a man can work hard and keep in good condition in the
lowest temperatures for a very long time. I believe that no other item
of food, either for heat or muscle building, is needed.

The daily ration for the dogs is one pound of pemmican per day; but so
hardy are these descendants of the arctic wolves that when there is a
scarcity of food they can work for a long time on very little to eat. I
have, however, always endeavored so to proportion provisions to the
length of time in the field, that the dogs should be