Anxious Fears for the Inland Ice-party—A “Red-Letter” Day—Return of the Supporting-party with Good News—First Flowers—Job’s Comforters among the Huskies—An Attack of Homesickness—The Snow disappearing—My Confidante, the Brook—The Eider-ducks return—I stand my Watch with the Others—Matt crippled by a Frosted Heel—We are reduced to a Seal Diet—A July Snow-storm—Influx of Natives—Open Water reaches Redcliffe—Matt overhears a Native Plot to kill us.
Monday, May 30. We had a great excitement about 8.30 this evening. A black spot was seen out in the sound beyond an iceberg, over two miles away. With the aid of the glass we could see it was moving in our direction, and we thought it was Annowkah coming back from the other bay. Kyo, who was watching constantly, all at once became very much excited, declaring it was not an Innuit, and he could not tell what it was. Then, suddenly throwing down the glass, his eyes almost starting from his head, he exclaimed, “Nahnook, nahnook, boo mut toy-hoy, car, car, toy-hoy” (a bear! a bear!—the rifle, quick, hurry, hurry, quick). Matt and I rushed into the house for our rifles and ammunition, but by the time we came out the object was behind the berg, lost to view. It soon reappeared, however, and we then saw that it was a dog. Kyo, who had been watching it closely, immediately recognized it as one of Mr. Peary’s pack, and said that it was in a starving condition. The poor animal was hardly able to get along, and had evidently had nothing to eat for a week or ten days. He is very weak, especially in his hind legs, and he has a cut from his left eye down to his mouth. The dog is the one which we had designated the “devil dog,” and was in charge of the supporting-party. Can it be that the supporting-party has met with mishap, or are they returning by way of Smith Sound? The incident brings up unpleasant forebodings, but I am utterly powerless in my position.
FRAGMENTS FROM THE HEILPRIN GLACIER—HEAD OF INGLEFIELD GULF.
Thursday, June 2. Three more days of increasing suspense, and still no news. It is now twenty-seven days since Gibson left us to rejoin the party, and at that time Mr. Peary wrote, “We go over the ice-cap to-night,” and he thought that the supporting-party would be back in ten days, or at most in two weeks. Spring is now rapidly coming to us, and the mercury, in the sun, has risen well into the seventies.
Friday, June 3. My nightmare is over; the boys have returned, and they bring good news of my husband. I cannot describe how I felt when the doctor, on shaking hands with me, told me he had left Mr. Peary and Astrup both in good health and spirits, and doing good traveling. Both boys look exceedingly well, although their faces, and noses particularly, are much burned and blistered by the sun and wind, and Gibson complains of his eyes. I got them something hot to drink, made them chocolate, and then retired to my room to read my letter. Gibson weighs 173¼ pounds net, against 176¼ when he left; the doctor weighs 153 pounds net, as against 146¼.
A Corner of my Room.
Saturday, June 11. The past week has been almost entirely without incident. Dr. Cook has assumed command of our establishment, and I am therefore free of responsibility beyond that of taking care of myself. My thoughts wander constantly to the members of the inland ice-party, and I often wonder if they will return in time for us to go south still this summer. The doctor and Gibson do not expect them before the 1st of September, while our Eskimo friends cheerfully assure us that they will never return. My instinct revolts against this judgment, but it makes an impression upon me, nevertheless. To-day I walked over to the Quarter-Mile Valley, and sat by the stream which there rushes down from the cliffs and tumbles over the icy hummocks, cutting its way through the snow that fills its bed and over the ice-foot into the bay. The little snow-buntings were chirping and flitting about me, and great patches of purple flowers, the first of which I observed just one week ago, were to be seen wherever the snow had melted sufficiently for them to peep through; these were the earliest flowers of the season. I sat here and indulged in a fit of homesickness. Never in my life have I felt so utterly alone and forsaken, with no possible chance of knowing how and where my dear ones are. It surely must end some time.
Sunday, June 12. The snow is disappearing rapidly, and just as soon as a patch of ground is laid bare it is covered with flowers, usually the purple ones, although I have seen a few tiny white and yellow ones as well. The west wall of our entrance is covered with green shoots. The doctor and Gibson are preparing for a ten days’ hunting-trip up the bay, and they have made up the following list of provisions and accessories: 140 crackers (seven per man per day), 10 pounds sugar, 4 pounds meal, 8 pounds hominy, 5 cans milk, 1 three-pound can of tongue, 2 cans corned beef, 3 cans tomatoes, 3 cans corn, 2 cans soup, 4 cakes pea-soup, 4 pounds bacon, 1 package cornstarch, 1 can Mosqueros food, flavoring extract, salt, 4 pounds coffee, ½ pound of tea, 15 pounds dog-meat for two dogs, 2 cans alcohol, 2 alcohol-stoves, 2 boxes wind-matches and 1 box blueheads, 1 box of cartridges, and a number of shells. They expect to leave this evening. The condition of Matt’s frozen heel has been steadily growing worse, and, poor fellow! he is beginning to suffer acutely. He is threatened with a chronic running sore.