Page 259

258

Satur.
Jan. 13

I am carefully feeding my few remaining dogs, but
I have no meat for them except the carcases
of their late companions [and these] which have
to be boiled as in their frozen state they act
as caustics. To famished dogs they often
prove fatal abrading the stomach and aesophagus.
One of these poor dogs [creatures] had been a
childs pet among the Esquimaux. Last night
I found her in a nearly dying state at the
mouth of our [Tossut?], whistfully eying the
crevices of the door as they emitted their forbidden
treasures of light and heat. She could
move no further, but completely subdued licked
my hand, the first time I had ever seen the
act from an Esquimaux. I carried her in among the glories of the moderate Paradise she aspired to
and cooked her a dead [dog] puppy soup. She is now
slowly gaining strength but can [still] barely stand.

My object in sustaining these few dogs
is to make another attempt to communicate with
the [?] Bay settlement I am confident we will find Esquimaux there alive, and they shall help us. I am not satisfied
with Petersen the companion of my late journey
he is too cautious for the emergency. I despise
undue venturesomeness, but this is an occasion
which calls for every risk, short of the final
one, that man can encounter. I have made up
my mind. Should wind and ice at all point
to its successful accomplishment to try the thing
with Hans. Hans is completely subject to
my will, careful and attached to me. By
temperament he is daring and adventurous.

Counting my greatest possible number
of dogs, I have but five at all dependable and
these far from being in condition for the journey
Toodlie, Jenny, now with pups, and Rhina are
my only relics of the South Greenland teams. "Little
Whitey" is the solitary Newfoundlander. A
big yellow and a feeble little black, all
that I have left of the powerful beasts of
the country. It is a fearful thing to attempt