ade. The sun was above the horizon the whole twenty-four
hours of the day, and accordingly there was no darkness. Either the
first or second party was always traveling, and progress was hourly
made.

March 21: Captain Bartlett got away early, leaving me in camp to await
the arrival of Commander Peary and Marvin, with their party; and it was
eight A. M. when they arrived. 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 Esquimo boys joined in the
good-natured raillery.

The meal did not detain us long, and soon we were pushing on again as
quickly as possible over the level ice, fearing that if we delayed the
condition of the ice would change, for changes come suddenly, and
frequently without warning. At nine P. M. we camped, the Captain having
been on the go for fifteen hours, and I for thirteen; and we estimated
that we had a good fourteen miles to our credit.

March 22 was the finest day we had, and it was a day of unusual
clearness and calm; practically no wind and a cloudless sky. The fields
of ice and snow sparkled and glistened and the daylight lasted for the
full twenty-four hours. It was six A. M. when Egingwah, the Commander's
Esquimo courier, reached our camp, with the note of command and
encouragement; and immediately the Captain and I left camp.

Stretching to the northward was a brilliantly illuminated, level, and
slightly drifted snow-plain, our imperial highway, presenting a
spectacle grand and sublime; and we were truly grateful and inwardly
prayed that this condition would last indefinitely. Without incident or
accident, we marched on for fifteen hours, pacing off mile after mile in
our steady northing, and at nine P. M. we halted. It was then we
realized how u