heir tails, and we
would have to come back and start them, which was always the signal for
a fight or two. We worked through the belt of rubble-ice at last, and
came up with the heavy old floes and rafters of ice-blocks, larger than
very large flag-stones and fully as thick as they were long and wide;
the fissures between them full of the drifted snow. Even with our broad
snow-shoes on, we sank knee-deep, and the dogs were in up to their
breasts, the sledges up to the floors and frequently turning over, so it
was a long time before we had covered seven miles, to be stopped by open
water. I took no chances on this lead, although afterwards I did not
hesitate at more desperate looking leads than this was. Instead of
ferrying across on a block of ice, I left one of my boys to attend the
dogs and sledges, and with Ootah I started to reconnoiter. We found that
there were two leads, and the safest way to cross the first was to go
west to a point where the young ice was strong enough to bear the weight
of the sledges. We got across and had not gone very far before the other
lead, in spite of a detour to the east, effectually blocked us. Starting
back to the sledges, Ootah said he was "_damn feel good_," and in
Esquimo gave me to understand that he was going back to the ship. I
tried to tell him different, as we walked back; and when we reached camp
we found the Commander and his party, who had just come in; and the
Commander gave Ootah to distinctly understand that he was not going back
just yet. Orders were given to camp, and while the igloos were being
built, Marvin and MacMillan took soundings. There had been more daylight
than on the day before, and the gale had subsided considerably, but it
was dark when we turned in to have our evening meal and sleep.

March 3: Right after breakfast, my party immediately started, taking the
trail I had found the day previous. Examining the ice, we went to the
westward, until we came to the almost solid new ice, and we took a
chance. The ice commenced to rafter under us, but we got across safely
with our loads, and started east again, for two miles; when we found
ourselves on an island of ice completely surrounded by the heavy
raftered ice. Here we halted and mended sledges and in the course of an
hour the whole party had caught up. The ice had begun to rafter and the
shattering reports made a noise that was almost ear-splitting, but we
pushed and pulled and managed to get out of the dange