"'Have your own way,' I said. 'I certainly shall not stain my hands with your blood, neither will I be responsible for the miserable fate that awaits you as the result of this infamous and rash undertaking. I have given you fair warning.'
"I watched them until they were out of range, and then started on my return to the ship. All the food I had, was the hardtack and bacon which I always carry in my haversack, for emergencies. I had, however, my cartridge-box with some ammunition, and I could kill game, but considering the long journey before me, and the slow progress I could make, the supply was indeed very small.
"The traveling was terrible, through water and slushy ice, often for miles at a stretch. I often had to make long detours around chasms and inaccessible elevations. When I slept it was on a melting hummock of ice. I could have killed a large number of brants for food, but I felt that it would be suicidal for me to waste my ammunition on such small game. Hence, I took my chances of finding something larger. I killed a goose occasionally, but was compelled to eat it raw, as I had no means of making a fire. But I did not fear starvation as long as my ammunition lasted.
"I had reason, however, to fear that the ice would break between me and the ship, and this came near being the case when I first started on my return. When I was only a few hundred yards from the place where the boats were launched, a large strip of the shore-line broke away behind me. But, I now think this rapid breaking up on the western border was due to a strong ocean current, that did not extend very far east. However, I was very apprehensive that I might be sent adrift into an unknown ocean on a cake of ice, and probably, for this reason, I exerted myself more than I should have done for the first few days.
"I got along tolerably well until my boots gave out, and then the ice-cold water seemed to paralyze my limbs, and my progress was correspondingly impeded.
"I often felt that I must drop in my tracks, and never make another effort to move. But I was buoyed up by the thought that every step brought me nearer the ship. At last I could catch glimpses of this ice mountain, and the sight gave me renewed strength and courage. But my ammunition had given out, and I was famishing for food. I would often fall from sheer exhaustion, but would rally again, and stagger on toward the goal of my hopes. When I came to the channel where you found me, I made an effort to spring across, but landed on the bottom. I repeatedly attempted to climb out on this side, but failed. You know the rest."