Sometimes, as has been seen, these odd people are rather difficult to manage; and if Bartlett or any other member of the expedition did not like a certain Eskimo, or had trouble in managing him, I would take that Eskimo into my own division, giving the other party one of my Eskimos, because I could get along with any of them.

In other words, I gave the other men their preferences, taking myself the men who were left.

Of course, when I came to make up my division for the final dash, I took my favorites among the most efficient of the Eskimos.
At the next camp Marvin made a sounding and to our surprise reached bottom at only three hundred and ten fathoms, but in the process of reeling up the wire it separated, and the lead and some of the wire were lost.
Soon after midnight we got under way, Marvin taking a sledge, and after a short march--only some ten miles--we reached Bartlett's camp.

He had been delayed by the breaking of one of his sledges, and I found one of his men and Henson's party still there repairing the sledge.

Bartlett himself had gone on, and Henson and the other men got away soon after our arrival.
Marvin made another sounding of seven hundred fathoms and no bottom, unfortunately losing two pickaxes (which had been used in place of a lead) and more of the wire in hauling it up.