Sometimes he would be walking along over snow as level as a floor, then suddenly the level would drop ten or fifteen feet, and, walking right on in the dark, he would land on the back of his head with such force that he saw stars which do not appear in any scientific celestial map.
At one point in the journey they struck going so rough that it was impossible to push ahead and drive the dogs without light.

They had no lantern, but Bartlett took a sugar tin, cut holes in the sides, and put a candle in it.

With this makeshift beacon he was able to keep somewhere near the trail.

But there was considerable wind, and he declared that he used enough matches in relighting the candle on that march to keep an Eskimo family cheerful throughout a whole winter.
The failure of these parties to obtain game was a serious matter.

In order to save food I had still further to reduce the number of dogs.