To obtain a particular size and shape of aluminum dish all in one piece, for a detail of my special alcohol field-stove, I have gone over the entire aluminum stock of New York’s great department stores, and then through the catalogues of all the manufacturers, till I found what I wanted or something that could be made to meet my requirements.
Another thing that I recall was steel sledge-shoes. It would seem a simple thing to find in any place that dealt in steel, strips of the metal two inches wide, one-eighth of an inch thick, and fifteen feet long, yet it took me two expeditions to find just what I wanted. The steel for my purpose must be soft enough so that I could drill it in the field, yet hard enough so that the constant use would not too quickly wear it through. Then the edges of the steel must be sharp, like the edges of a skate, so that the sledges would not slew heavily sidewise, with almost certain injury, and so they could be tilted on the edge of one runner, like a skater doing the outer edge, without losing grip on the ice. This is a favorite device of expert Eskimo sledge-drivers in difficult situations. All bar steel in the market had rounded edges, and not till my last expedition, when I found a cold-sheared steel with edges as sharp as a skate, did I get just the sledge-shoe that I needed.
Then there were the screws for attaching the shoes. The constant pounding to which sledge-shoes are subjected in traversing rough sea-ice soon jars off the heads of any screw that I could find in the market. After a long search I found a tough wire nail of the right diameter, which, by cutting to the necessary length, gave me what I wanted.
As a matter not of conscientious scruples, but of judgment and taste, I am neither a drinker nor a smoker, and I have always selected men for my parties who used neither tobacco nor spirits. Liquor should have no place in a polar ration either for camp or field. Yet on special occasions, as on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and birthdays, nothing gives more zest or helps to lift the day out of the even monotony of the days on each side than a glass of grog or light wine.
The liquor supply of my expeditions has always included brandy and whisky and a little wine. Neither was ever a part of the regular ration, and yet no party was ever sent out without brandy or whisky in its equipment. Brandy or whisky is a medicine as much as salts or calomel, and should be regarded and utilized as such despite the shrieks of fanatics.
DUNHAM SNOW SHOES
The center pair of shoes, five feet long, one foot wide, with raised toe and ski curve in middle, is the best shoe made
ITEMS OF SLEDGE RATIONS