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thought he would be able to leave Herschel for Barter Island in three
or four days.

While the dogs were being hitched up in preparation for my depar-
ture he came out to see me off and bid me Godspeed and good-by till we
should meet at the beginning of the ice journey. This kindness and
consideration cost him dear, as the exposure that he subjected himself
to then, I afterwards learned, caused him a very serious relapse from
which he barely escaped with his life and which prevented him from tak-
ing part in that spring's exploratory work, making it absolutely neces-
sary for him to return to civilization for medical aid. It was not
until eighteen months later that I again met him and then it was at
Banff in the Canadian Rockies.

What had happened to the Commander I did not know before February
13th, when in camp at Demarcation Point our dog driver, the Eskimo Emiu
(Split-the-Wind), arrived from Herschel Island with letters from the
Commander which he, being unable to write, had dictated to one of the
Royal Northwest Mounted Police constables, telling me about what had
happened to him and that it was impossible for him on that account to
proceed with the work himself and so putting me in charge of the expedit-
ion's exploratory work, giving me a free hand in everything and asking
me to do the best I possibly could. This change of affairs surprised
me, but the necessity of getting the earliest possible start on the ice
journey made that surprise short-lived. I immediately commenced to get
ready for my departure to headquarters at Barter Island, where I arrived
February 19th. Five days later I had the greatest part of the supplies
on the road from Barter to Cross Island and on February 28th I left
headquarters with the last two sleds, teams and men for our point of
departure, where, owing to stormy weather, I did not arrive before
March 11th.