stefansson-wrangel-09-31-041v

48 THE ADVENTURE OF WRANGEL ISLAND

I think it was February 4th or 5th that the sleds
returned to camp with the news that they had left the
Mate’s party on the ice with about three miles of open
water between them and Herald Island. They had one
sled, three sled-loads of provisions and no dogs. The feet
of one of the four were badly frozen already. I thought
this a bad position for the Mate’s party to be in, for if
the ice started to crush, which in all probability it would
do, it was all off with his outfit. They might save them-
selves but they wouldn’t save much of their gear.

[After describing how, through differences of opinion
as to methods between Captain Bartlett and the surgeon,
Dr. Mackay, it was decided that the dissenters should
be allowed to separate from the main party, Hadley goes
on:]

There was great excitement in camp that evening. The
Doctor’s party were planning to start out on their own
account. The next day they got ready and packed their
sled with fifty days’ rations for four men. The Captain
told them they could have anything they wanted
(except dogs—these would all remain with the main
party).

I think it was the third morning after this that the
Captain sent two or three sleds with loads of provisions
to Herald Island with the intention to join the Mate’s
party. About the 10th of February the sleds returned
with the news that when they arrived at Herald Island
they found the ice had done considerable crushing. They
could discover no sign of the Mate’s party. They seemed
to have disappeared off the face of the earth. The search
party camped about three miles from Herald Island for
they could not get ashore because of water and slush ice.
Next day they hunted again for signs of people living or