their entire length and had
to be repaired, and the going had been such that we could not cover any
distance. We had a good long rest at the Big Lead for over six days, but
at the end of this, my first day's pioneering, I was as tired out as I
have ever been. It should be understood that while I was pioneering I
was carrying the full-loaded sledges with about 550 pounds, while the
other parties that were in the lead never carried but half of the
regular load, which made our progress much slower.

March 15: Bright, clear, and I am sure as cold as the record-breaking
cold of the day previous. We made an early start, with hopes high; but
the first two hours' traveling was simply a repetition of the going of
the day before. But after that, and to the end of the day's march, the
surface of the ice over which we traveled was most remarkably smooth.
The fallen snow had packed solid into the areas of rough ice and on the
edges of the large floes. The dogs, with tails up and heads out, stamped
off mile after mile in rapid succession, and when we camped I
conservatively made the estimate fifteen miles. It has to be good going
to make such a distance with loaded sledges, but we made it and I was
satisfied.

March 16: We started going over ice conditions similar to the good part
of the day before, but our hopes were soon shattered when the ice
changed completely and, from being stationary, a distinct motion become
observable. The movement of the ice increased, and the rumbling and
roaring, as it raftered, was deafening. A dense fog, the sure indication
of open water, overhung us, and in due time we came to the open lead,
over which small broken floes were scattered, interspersed with thin
young ice. These floes were hardly thick enough to hold a dog safely,
but, there being no other way, we were obliged to cross on them. We set
out with jaws squared by anxiety. A false step by any one would mean the
end. With the utmost care, the sledges were placed on the most solid
floes, and, with Ootah, the most experienced, in the lead, we followed
in single file. Once started, there was no stopping; but push on with
the utmost care and even pressure. You know that we got across, but
there were instants during the crossing when I had my strongest doubts.
After crossing the lead, the ice condition became horrible. Almost at
the same time, three of the sledges broke, one sledge being completely
smashed to pieces. We were forced to camp and star