On leaving Etah I had not decided whether I should go north from Conger via Cape Hecla, or take the route along the northwest coast of Greenland. Now I decided upon the latter. The lateness of the season and the condition of the dogs might militate against a very long journey; and if I chose the Hecla route and failed of my utmost aims, the result would be complete failure. If, on the other hand, I chose the Greenland route and found it impossible to proceed northward over the pack, I still had an unknown coast to exploit and the opportunity of doing valuable work. Later developments showed my decision to be a fortunate one.
I planned to start from Conger the 9th of April, but stormy weather delayed the departure until the 11th, when I got away with seven sledges.
At the first camp beyond Conger my best Eskimo was taken sick, and the following day I brought him back to Conger, leaving the rest of the party to cross the channel to the Greenland side, where I would overtake them. This I did two or three days later, and we began our journey up the northwest Greenland coast. As far as Cape Sumner we had almost continuous road-making through very rough ice. Before reaching Cape Sumner we could see a dark water sky, lying beyond Cape Brevoort, and knew that we should find open water there.
From Cape Sumner to Polaris Boat Camp, in Newman Bay, we cut a continuous road. Here we were stalled until the 21st by continued and severe winds. Getting started again in the tail end of the storm, we advanced as far as the open water, a few miles east of Cape Brevoort, and camped. This open water, about three miles wide at the Greenland end, extended clear across the mouth of Robeson Channel to the Grinnell Land coast, where it reached from Lincoln Bay to Cape Rawson. Beyond it, to the north and northwest, as far as could be seen, were numerous lanes and pools. The next day was devoted to hewing a trail along the ice-foot to Repulse Harbour, and on the 23d, in a violent gale, accompanied by drift, I pushed on to the “Drift Point” of Beaumont (and later Lockwood), a short distance west of Black Horn Cliffs.
The ice-foot as far as Repulse Harbour, in spite of the road-making of the previous day, was very trying to sledges, dogs, and men. The slippery side slopes, steep ascents, and precipitous descents wrenched and strained the men, and capsized, broke, and ripped shoes from the sledges.
I was not surprised to see from the “Drift Point” igloo that the Black Horn Cliffs were fronted by open water. The pack was in motion here, and had only recently been crushing against the ice-foot, where we built our igloo. I thought I had broken my feet in pretty thoroughly on the journey from Etah to Conger; but this day’s work of handling a sledge along the ice-foot made me think they had never encountered any serious work before. A blinding snowstorm on the 24th kept us inactive. The next day I made a reconnoissance to the Cliffs, and the next set the entire party to work hewing a road along the ice-foot. That night the temperature fell to –25°F., forming a film of young ice upon the water. The next day I moved up close to the Cliffs, and then with three Eskimos reconnoitred the young ice. I found that by proceeding with extreme care it would in most places support a man.
With experienced Ahsayoo ahead, constantly testing the ice with his seal spear, myself next, and two Eskimos following, all with feet wide apart, and sliding instead of walking, we crept past the cliffs. Returning we brushed the thin film of newly fallen snow off the ice with our feet, for a width of some four feet, to give the cold free access to it.
I quote from my diary for the 27th:
“At last we are past the barrier which has been looming before me for the last ten days—the open water at the Black Horn Cliffs. Sent two of my men, whose nerves are disturbed by the prospect ahead, back to Conger. This leaves me with Henson and three Eskimos. My supplies can now be carried on the remaining sledges. Still further stiffened by the continuous low temperature of the previous night, the main sheet of new ice in front of the cliffs was not hazardous, as long as the sledges keep a few hundred feet apart, did not stop, and their drivers keep some yards away to one side. Beyond the limit of my previous day’s reconnoissance there were areas of much younger ice, which caused me considerable apprehension, as it buckled to a very disquieting extent beneath dogs and sledges, and from the motion of the outside pack, was crushed up in places, while narrow cracks opened up in others. Finally, to my relief, we reached the ice-foot beyond the cliffs and camped.”
The next day there was a continuous lane of water, 100 feet wide, along the ice-foot by our camp, and the space in front of the cliffs was again open water. We crossed just in time.