e been impassable,
but the _Roosevelt_ was built for this kind of work, and her worth and
ability had been proven on the voyage of 1905. The constant jolting,
bumping, and jarring against the ice-packs, forwards and backwards, the
sudden stops and starts and the frequent storms made work and comfort
aboard ship all but impossible.

Had it been possible to be ashore at some point of vantage, to witness
the struggles of our little ship against her giant adversaries would
have been an impressive sight.

I will not dwell on the trying hours and days of her successful battle,
the six days of watching and waiting for a chance to get out of our
dangerous predicament in Lincoln Bay, the rounding of the different
capes en route, or the horrible jams in Lady Franklin Bay. The good ship
kept at the fight and won by sheer bulldogged tenacity and pluck. Life
aboard her during those twenty-one days was not one sweet song, but we
did not suffer unusually, and a great deal of necessary work was done on
our equipments. The Esquimo women sewed diligently on the fur clothing
we were to wear during the coming winter and I worked on the sledges
that were to be used. Provisions were packed in compact shape and every
one was busy. Two caches of provisions were made ashore in the event of
an overland retreat, and the small boats were fully provisioned as a
precaution against the loss of the ship. We did not dwell on the thought
of losing it, but we took no chances.

Meeting with continual rebuffs, but persistently forging ahead and
gaining deliberately day by day, the _Roosevelt_ pushed steadily
northward through the ice-encumbered waters of Kane Basin, Kennedy and
Robeson Channels, and around the northeast corner of Grant Land to the
shelter of Cape Sheridan, which was reached early in the afternoon of
September 5, 1908.

CHAPTER IV

PREPARING FOR WINTER AT CAPE SHERIDAN--THE ARCTIC LIBRARY

Now that we had reached Cape Sheridan in the ship, every one's spirits
seemed to soar. It was still daylight, with the sun above the horizon,
and although two parties had been landed for hunting, no one seemed to
be in any particular hurry. The weather was cold but calm, and even in
the rush of unloading the ship I often heard the hum of songs, and had
it not been for the fur-jacketed men who were doing the work, it would
not have been difficult for me to imagine myself in a much warmer
climate.

Of course! in accordance with my agreement