e work; there was much
to do on board ship in planning for the spring, and I wished to conserve
my energies for the supreme effort.

There was no systematic training, because I do not believe in it. My
body has always been able thus far to follow my will no matter what the
demands might be, and my winter's work was largely a matter of
refinement of equipment, and of mathematical calculations of pounds of
supplies and miles of distance. It was the lack of food which had forced
us to turn back at 87 deg. 6'. Hunger, not cold, is the dragon which guards
the Rhinegold of the Arctic.

I did allow myself one break in the monotony of ship life--a trip to
Clements Markham Inlet, in October. Ever since April, 1902, when I had
looked around the angle of Cape Hecla into the unexplored depths of this
great fiord, I had had a longing to penetrate it. On the previous
expedition I had started twice with that purpose, but had been
prevented from carrying it out, partly on account of bad weather, partly
by reason of my anxiety for the _Roosevelt_, which I had left in a
precarious position. But now the _Roosevelt_ was safe; and though the
sun was circling near the horizon and the winter night would soon be
upon us, I decided to make the trip.

On the 1st of October I left the ship with three Eskimos, Egingwah,
Ooblooyah, and Koolatoonah, three sledges with teams of ten dogs each,
and supplies for two weeks only. With the sledges thus lightly loaded,
and the trail broken for us by the parties which had preceded us, we
made rapid progress, reaching Porter Bay, thirty-five miles from the
ship, for our first camp in a few hours.

Here we found two Eskimos, Onwagipsoo and Wesharkoopsi, who had been
sent out a day or two before. Onwagipsoo went back to the ship, but
Wesharkoopsi we took along with us to carry a load of supplies to Sail
Harbor, which we expected to reach on the next march; from there he also
would return to the ship.

Our camp at Porter Bay was in the permanent tent which had been erected
there by the first of the autumn parties, the canvas tent with the
sewed-in floor which has already been described. It was not very cold
that night, and we slept comfortably after a hearty supper of beans and
tea. Beans and tea! Perhaps it does not sound like a Lucullan feast, but
after a day in the field in Grant Land it tastes like one.

CHAPTER XVI

THE BIGGEST GAME IN THE ARCTIC

We slept splendidly on that banquet, and,