There was a gale of wind, the moon was
obscured, the air was full of whirling snow, and it was very cold. They
spent most of the time walking to and fro to keep warm. At last, when
they were exhausted, they turned the sledges on their sides, the Eskimos
worked out with their feet snow blocks which reinforced the shelter, and
they were able to snatch a little sleep. When the weather cleared, they
found themselves half a mile from their igloo.

The day following Borup's return, the captain came in with his men and
Marvin's supporting party of four. We were just beginning to be worried
about them, as the ice of Robeson Channel in the dark of winter is not
the safest road for a sledge party. The captain reported that they had
been only six hours in crossing the channel; but, though he had
reconnoitered the whole plain of the Polaris Promontory, he had seen no
musk-oxen.

By the end of January we could see a faint redness in the south at noon,
and the twilight was increasing. The last moon of the winter was now
circling in the sky, and I wrote in my diary: "Thank Heaven, no more
moons!" No matter how many dark winters a man may have gone through in
the Arctic, the longing for the sun does not grow less intense.

In the February moon Bartlett went to Cape Hecla, Goodsell moved more
supplies from Hecla to Cape Colan, and Borup went to Markham Inlet on
another hunting trip. Before leaving, the doctor completed a record of
the approximate mean temperatures for the season, which showed that
every month except October had been colder than three years before. For
December the mean was eight degrees lower.

Marvin was still at Cape Bryant, but the last of the February parties
came in on the 9th, and from that time on we were all busy preparing for
the great and last journey. On Sunday night, February 14, I had a brief
talk with the Eskimo men, telling them what we proposed to do, what was
expected of them, and what each man who went to the farthest point with
me would get when he returned: boat, tent, Winchester repeater, shotgun,
ammunition, box of tobacco, pipes, cartridges, numerous knives,
hatchets, et cetera.

Their fears of the "big lead" took flight at the prospect of what to
them was untold riches; and when it came to the point of making up my
sledge parties, only one Eskimo, Panikpah, would admit any fears. They
had seen me return so many times that they were ready to take their
chances with me this one time more.

B