stefansson-wrangel-09-30-007-011

11

So, on the following day, April 16th, I had our camp and equipment
transferred to a point three miles east, centrally located for the young-
ice hunting grounds. That afternoon, as the effect of pressure, a lead
opened up which gave us our first chance to hunt. We took advantage of
it and at night we returned to camp, having killed five seals which gave
us approximately 450 pounds of meat and fat, a fine addition to our stock
of provisions.

From this on the men spent most of their time in hunting to obtain
food for ourselves and our dogs while I attended to the scientific part
of the work, which consisted in keeping a diary of everything worthy of
note, taking astronomical observations whenever conditions were favorable,
to keep track of our drift and to be able to place our soundings correct-
ly on the chart. Martin Kilian was detailed to keep a meterological
record which was strictly and continually supervised by myself.

After our first day's hunt at our new camp (which we did not have
occasion to leave in the months that we spent drifting) hunting was done
whenever a chance offered. Days in succession the ice would closed up
tight, no water could be seen anywhere and on these days there was no
hunting. But whenever pressure occurred from a change of wind or other
causes, leads would open here and there, thus giving us open water in
which to seal. Our stock of meat and seal fat at times ran low. Re-
peatedly, in fact, we were down to our last meal. But always before it
was gone we had a chance to hunt and so replenish. By the middle of June
we had added to our original supply of provisions (brought from shore )
42 seals and 4 polar bears, about three tons of clear, boneless meat.
This gave us and our dogs all the meat we needed for daily use, and also
a sufficient supply to last through the middle of summer when hunting is
difficult.