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[verso]
Thurs.
Apr. 26.
6.a.m.

Too busy yesterday to write. Am just
about to leave and can leave as far
as regards my ship and people with an
easy mind. Bye bye dear home
folks.

Satur.
Apr. 28.
Was ever so tormented, bedevilled and
body torn man, angel, or devil. I'm back
again after [an utter failure to get beyond the great glacier] 58 hours absence. The whole
of which time - except four hours sleep in
the open air - was one continued bear
hunt. The exposure has been precious.
Had I been told that I could have stood
it there would have been to me no rational
clue by which to sustain [such] a fact. We have
been to the great glacier and back, making
detours for bear at every group of ice bergs
and ranging an ice surface whose rectili-
near diameter cannot be less than 200 miles
our estimated distance travelled being [could not be]
about [less than] 450 miles.

My party consisted of Kalutak,
Shang-hu, and [?]. The two first
with six dogs each the last with only four.
Hans armed with the Marston rifle was
my only companion from our ship's company.

We stood at first by my own
[?] due N. and recognoitred the
ice from a berg about 15 miles from the
vessel. The ice ahead looked uncheering
[?] [?] piled up this fall in
the outside tide channel. My Esquimaux
never the less acceeded to my will to
attempt the passage of this ice and I
think would have been as good as their
words but for an unfortunate bear who
drew them from their route and rendered
them perfectly dead to every thought
but their hunt. This instinct of

[recto]
chase converted them into unmanageable savages
They seemed blind to every thing but the
passion of pursuit. Off they sped with
incredible speed, clinging to their sledges
and cheering their dogs, a mad wild
chase, wilder than German legend. The
dogs wolves, the drivers devils.

We halted but once and then took four
hours sleep upon the naked ice. They had
now tracked a second bear to a large berg
off Cape Fredrick where the beast had
caught and partially devoured a large
seal. The dogs had gorged themselves
upon this carcass and would not move
so we rested that they might sleep and
desist for the morrow. In reply to my
remonstrances and urgent entreaties for
them to resume their promised route they
said as was indeed true that to cross
here was impossible and I remembering
the two poor fellows in their graves - at
this very passage - could not urge it.
Kalutak said that the bear were valuable
to themselves and families and Nalagak
had no right to make him unable to pro-
vide for them. It was [?] clear that all
hopes of using his dogs for exploration were
to be abandoned, but having still a chance
of obtaining four from Mitek I stipulated
for the earliest return to the brig.

On rising from a sleep in open air [?] [?]
twelve below zero - the hunt was resumed
and continued until I saw that my
last remaining hope with Mitek would
be endangered, whereupon I forced them
to return. By this time we were
abreast of the great glacier - of which I ob-
tained sextant angles and sketched
worn out dogs [and] men reached the ship
next day.

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