In the morning they made their way over pretty good floes with some rubble, and reached at noon the whale-boat at Polaris Point, finding the rations in her intact. Thence, following the snow slope along the cliffs, and passing the point where Lockwood and Frederick had spent many hours the year before in a snow-hole, they passed round Cape Sumner through masses of ice in some places piled fifty feet high, and finally reached the Boat Camp on Newman Bay.
Having thus provisioned the Boat Camp, they took a survey of the routes back, and concluding that, all things considered, the one direct to Cape Beechy was the best, returned by it with the empty sledge, making rapid progress and reaching the west shore in just seven hours. Notwithstanding they had no load, the passage was by no means easy, for they had to pass over mountain-ridges, deep pits, and gullies in the rubble-ice, where the dogs could scarcely keep their footing. Lockwood was impressed, as often before, with the power and endurance of the dogs. Ellison had left the depot, but Woolly still remained, and there, also, they found Jewell, who had been up to Lincoln Bay, where he found that the foxes had eaten up a large part of the meat in cache there.
With Woolly on the sledge, they returned to the station, meeting Snyder and Whistler en route with a pup-team and sledge, going for Woolly. It was interesting and touching to witness the demonstrations and delight of these youngsters on meeting their elders, among which were the mothers of some of them.
Jewell said that, on his return to the depot, he put away his dog-harness in one of the empty tents, and that when he awoke the next morning he found nothing remaining but the bone buttons and the whip-handles, the dogs having eaten everything else. Another dog-story is recorded as follows:
“Milatook had pups the other day, and all were killed except one. It was discovered yesterday in a very unfortunate condition, with tail frozen hard and stiff, and legs in nearly the same condition. Some of the men soaked the tail in water, and eventually ‘brought it to.’ It is a sad tail.”
XIV.
RESUMING A DESPERATE STRUGGLE.
On the 19th of March, fair weather came out of the north, and not only cheered the hearts of the whole colony at the station, but fired the desire of Lieutenant Lockwood for the new campaign, which he had long been contemplating. After a consultation with Lieutenant Greely, he concluded to start on the following day, or soon after. As usual, some cold water was thrown upon his plans, one of the critics declaring that they had experienced enough of that kind of business; and another, that they had better be thinking of their coming fate. But Lockwood’s reasoning was as follows: “Before I go home, I must make another ‘strike’ on the north Greenland coast. If the conditions of the ice are no worse, I ought to be able to discover the northeast extremity of Greenland, and add several miles to my latitude, although Lieutenant Greely thinks that my present ‘farthest’ will not again be reached in our day. I say nothing about all this, however. Act first and talk afterward has always been my way.”
Lockwood was both hopeful and determined, and on the 23d he received his final orders to the effect, that, should he not be able to reach a higher latitude than he did before without undue danger, or should he or any of his men break down or become dangerously ill, he was to return forthwith. To this he replied that he knew not what might happen, but he intended, if possible, to reach the eighty-fourth parallel. In anticipation of his own birthday, and to honor the explorers with a good “send-off,” Lieutenant Greely gave a dinner on the 26th, and, thus fortified, they were prepared to move on the following day, rejoicing.
Lockwood had two fine teams of ten dogs each assigned for his use, and, as before, the faithful Brainard and Esquimaux Frederick were to accompany him. Everything passed off quietly, without the excitement or enthusiasm of the previous spring. They left the station at 8.30 A. M., the advance sledge bearing the silk flag of Mrs. Greely, with Brainard and Frederick the Esquimaux; the supporting sledge with Jewell, Ellis, and Esquimaux Jans; and then the pup-team and sledge driven by Snyder, and carrying Greely and Lockwood. On reaching Watercourse Bay, whence they were to take back a load of coal, Lieutenant Greely and team left them, after bidding God-speed, and telling them to be sure and bring back the north end of Greenland! Reaching Depot A in two and a quarter hours, they took on two small seals left there, and passing Depot B, where they obtained more provisions, they reached Cape Beechy at 4 P. M.—the dogs quite fresh, but the men much wearied.
When they resumed their journey, it was snowing and the Greenland shore invisible. They took a direct course by compass for Cape Sumner over rubble-ice until they reached the first floe, on whose hard, undulating surface they made rapid progress until they came to rubble-ice again. Brainard, with axe in hand, went ahead, clearing the way over impassable places, until the high cliff of Polaris Promontory came in sight. Finally, both Jewell and Ellis suffering from pain, when three miles from Cape Sumner they stopped for the night, after making twenty miles, and all went into bags.