Our sounding apparatus gave us 1500 fathoms of water with no bottom.

As the Eskimos were reeling in, the wire parted and both the lead and wire went to the bottom.

With the loss of the lead and wire, the reel became useless, and was thrown away, lightening Ooqueah's sledge by eighteen pounds.

The first camp, at 89 deg.

25', was reached in good time, and the march would have been a pleasant one for me but for my eyes burning from the strain of the continued observations of the previous hours.
After a few hours' sleep we hurried on again, Eskimos and dogs on the _qui vive_.
At this camp I began the system followed throughout the return march, of feeding the dogs according to the distance covered; that is, double rationing them when we covered two marches.