Having thus provisioned the Boat Camp, they took a survey of the routes back, and concluding that, all things considered, the one direct to Cape Beechy was the best, returned by it with the empty sledge, making rapid progress and reaching the west shore in just seven hours. Notwithstanding they had no load, the passage was by no means easy, for they had to pass over mountain-ridges, deep pits, and gullies in the rubble-ice, where the dogs could scarcely keep their footing. Lockwood was impressed, as often before, with the power and endurance of the dogs. Ellison had left the depot, but Woolly still remained, and there, also, they found Jewell, who had been up to Lincoln Bay, where he found that the foxes had eaten up a large part of the meat in _cache_ there. With Woolly on the sledge, they returned to the station, meeting Snyder and Whistler _en route_ with a pup-team and sledge, going for Woolly. It was interesting and touching to witness the demonstrations and delight of these youngsters on meeting their elders, among which were the mothers of some of them. Jewell said that, on his return to the depot, he put away his dog-harness in one of the empty tents, and that when he awoke the next morning he found nothing remaining but the bone buttons and the whip-handles, the dogs having eaten everything else. Another dog-story is recorded as follows: “Milatook had pups the other day, and all were killed except one. It was discovered yesterday in a very unfortunate condition, with tail frozen hard and stiff, and legs in nearly the same condition. Some of the men soaked the tail in water, and eventually ‘brought it to.’ It is a sad tail.” XIV. RESUMING A DESPERATE STRUGGLE. On the 19th of March, fair weather came out of the north, and not only cheered the hearts of the whole colony at the station, but fired the desire of Lieutenant Lockwood for the new campaign, which he had long been contemplating. After a consultation with Lieutenant Greely, he concluded to start on the following day, or soon after. As usual, some cold water was thrown upon his plans, one of the critics declaring that they had experienced enough of that kind of business; and another, that they had better be thinking of their coming fate. But Lockwood’s reasoning was as follows: “Before I go home, I must make another ‘strike’ on the north Greenland coast. If the conditions of the ice are no worse, I ought to be able to discover the northeast extremity of Greenland, and add several miles to my latitude, although Lieutenant Greely thinks that my present ‘farthest’ will not again be reached in our day. I say nothing about all this, however. _Act_ first and talk afterward has always been my way.”