On the 7th a new baby arrived in the Eskimo settlement, a girl, quite likely the most northerly born of all children. On the 9th the air all day was full of the groaning, roaring, grinding of the ice, though no pressure came upon the ship. This noise and commotion of the ice occurred almost continuously during the month, varying in intensity from time to time and the _Roosevelt_ was subjected to pressures of more or less force. It was a period of constant anxiety with the ice pack surging back and forth along the shore on each tide and liable to crash in upon us at any time. Every one slept in their clothes, all lanterns and portable lights were kept filled and trimmed ready for immediate use, and provision was made for the instant extinguishment of all fires. The welcome twilight of returning day steadily increased, a considerable contingent of the Eskimos from the interior returned to the ship in the January moon bringing letters from Marvin containing the report of more musk-oxen secured. On the 7th of February, with the first light of the February moon, Marvin himself came in with the balance of the Eskimos and dogs and the report of more musk-oxen killed. This closed the winter campaign. CHAPTER V SHERIDAN TO THE BIG LEAD On February 19th, Captain Bartlett left finally for Cape Hecla. Marvin and party followed the next day, Dr. Wolf and his party the next, and I two days later. When I left the _Roosevelt_ there was a lead of open water extending from Cape Joseph Henry past Capes Sheridan and Rawson. The northern part of Robeson Channel was open. There was open water along the Greenland coast as far as the Black Horn Cliffs and apparently to Cape Bryant, with numerous pools and leads in the sweep from Cape Henry to Cape Bryant. Three marches brought me to Cape Hecla, where the entire outfit was assembled. Our encampment comprised Captain Bartlett, Dr. Wolf, Marvin, Henson, Clark and Ryan, myself and twenty-one Eskimos, with 120 dogs—the personnel for one main and five or six division parties, which according to my programme I hoped would be able to advance supplies and maintain communication to a base as high as Abruzzi’s “Farthest” for my final point of departure. Point Moss, some twenty miles west of Cape Hecla, was determined upon as our point of departure from the land. Two days were spent at Cape Hecla resting the dogs, repairing sledges, harnesses and equipment, and restowing sledge loads, the expedition quartering in seven snow houses and subsisting upon four musk-oxen killed just back of Cape Hecla. On February 28th, Henson left Cape Hecla with a pioneer party of three light sledges. Captain Bartlett and his party followed the next day, then Clark and his party, then Dr. Wolf, then Marvin, Ryan and myself. During our stay at Cape Hecla there was open water along the ice foot and a large lead reaching north from the cape. I quote from my Journal: