Page 21

[verso]
As I have slept but a few hours I cannot give
details of this wonderful journey - it did
not however advance one single iota my
wishes of another search

[?] [and] [?] were sent away
fully laden with wood and other pre-
sents and an engagement from me taken
for Mitek to come up with his four
dogs. They themselves to loan me one
dog from each team making two which
added to Mitek's would be six fast
animals. Upon the continued loan of
which I provided future payment to
all the parties. It pleased me to
find that I had earned a character
with these people at first so suspi-
cious and distrustful. They left on
board each man his dog without a shade
of doubt as to my good faith - after
which - begging me to watch the poor ani-
mals feet as the famine had nearly
exterminated their stock - they gave me
good wishes and departed for Etah to
aid me with Mitek. To understand
this act in all its courtesy and trust you
must suppose the dog a valued horse
one of about twenty [absolutely] needed for wants of
a large area of territory. lint to a
transient visitor upon the contingency of
a reward which he himself was to determine
upon a risky service in which if un-
successful in attaining his end there
had to be no payment [?] to return
the beast to his owner seventy miles
distant from your dwelling !

All doing well on board - sick

[recto]
improving but out of meat again. I have
just eaten like a glutton the last mouth-
ful. Mr. Brooks sent Godfrey down
to the huts at Petervik for a fresh
load which may be expected by Monday.
So we live earning our bread by a
wild life - totally unlike the quiet rou-
tine of our English predecessors.

This is their season for the "winter
sledge parties" with us winter has past
and spring is full upon us. The winter
in its deepest darkness saw us [groping?]
down to the walrus grounds - or seeking
reindeer on the hills. Not for five
months (nearly six) have we eaten [that] ship's
poison - salted pork and beef - we have
lived as the natives live, and shunned
no exposure. I must have journied, by
mingled walk run and ride, by sledge
during this horrible winter over [eleven hundred] eight
hundred miles. Why, the reflection comes
to me, why may not Franklin's men, at
least some of them, have done and be now
doing the same thing. We are the nearest
counterparts to poor Franklin's supposed
case [than] of any who have preceded us.
What man with his [eyes] opened by hard
experience dared say that his (Franklin's) party
are extinct.

[I am] Engaged sewing [fur clothing] for the next attempt
should [to reach the [?] in case] Mitek [should] say yes. This last ride
had torn my clothing to rags even my
seal skin trousers. there is an art in
sitting a sledge equal to that of backing
a horse. I thought until this last
wild goose chase that I had acquired it
but my conceit has been taken out of
me.