were enchanted.
A LL ON BOARD WERE RESTLESS, especially their leader. Stefansson knew now that the chances of the Karluk breaking free and being able to continue on her journey were slim. âIt is distressing 53 to think that the winter already has come, and here we are, unable to go either back or forth, in the poorest part of the Arctic regions,â wrote Mamen. âI am beginning to get restless and only long to go further north and then home, but . . . the chances are small, yes, infinitely small.â
The outlook was black, and at Flaxman Island, the Southern Party began to wonder where their Karluk comrades were. They knew all too well the Karluk âs shortcomings and feared she would not be able to make it through the ice. Chipman wrote about Stefansson, âHe may be 54 good âcopyâ but I wish he had paid more attention to the Expedition itself both publicly and personally.â
T HE KARLUK WAS DRIFTING now without power. She was trapped in a floe of old ice, easily half a mile wide, and suddenly found herself being carried with the current. Bartlett would not leave the crowâs nest and thought that he could see in the distance signs that the ice was loosening. But he couldnât be sure anymore, and they were held fast in the viselike grip of the shifting ice pack.
Murray had never gotten over his dislike or distrust of Stefansson and had maintained a guarded distance from the leader ever since the July showdown in Nome where the scientists had confronted their leader. Now they were all stranded in the ice, and as far as Murray was concerned, it was Stefanssonâs fault. Stefansson was, in Murrayâs opinion, nothing more than âa self-seeking adventurer 55 who deliberately intended to put the â Karluk â into the pack ice for the sake of notoriety and personal glorification.â It would be the surest way for Stefansson to get his name in the papers, to be known as the gallant leader of a lost expedition.
D AY AFTER DAY, there was no change in the ice. The ship remained a prisoner, helpless to dictate her own course or break free. Bartlett noted Stefanssonâs restlessness, as did the members of the crew and staff. Stefansson was a man who hated sitting still. On August 22 he suddenly called the scientists who were supposed to be part of the Southern Party into his cabin and announced again that he intended to send them ashore. Murray, though, was quickly eliminated from the group, because his equipment was too heavy to make the trip. Then it was decided that McKinlay could just as well do his work on the Karluk, and Wilkins would also remain for similar reasons. That left Jenness and Beuchat, who had no equipment and no purpose for being on the ship, since their work was to live with and study the Eskimos.
The plan was for Jenness and Beuchat to head over the ice to Flaxman Island to seek word of the Mary Sachs and the Alaska , and then continue over the now solid ice by foot and dogsled to Herschel Island, if it turned out the Southern Party had gone ahead. Everyone pitched in to ready the expedition, but it was impossible to locate the equipment and stores they needed for travel because nothing was where it was supposed to be.
Even though the scientists had tried to establish some sense of order, the Karluk âs stores were still a mess, without any sense of organization or supervision. Templeman always helped himself to whatever he needed from the food supplies and never bothered to document it. The expedition clothing worked in much the same way. It had never been officially issued to the men, as it should have been, upon their arrival to the ship. Instead, it had been handed out sporadically, first to some, then to others at a much later time, and anyone overlooked had to put in a request or help himself.
It was, thought McKinlay, indicative of the way the expedition was being run. The only clothing he had been issued thus far was a pair of mukluks
A LL ON BOARD WERE RESTLESS, especially their leader. Stefansson knew now that the chances of the Karluk breaking free and being able to continue on her journey were slim. âIt is distressing 53 to think that the winter already has come, and here we are, unable to go either back or forth, in the poorest part of the Arctic regions,â wrote Mamen. âI am beginning to get restless and only long to go further north and then home, but . . . the chances are small, yes, infinitely small.â
The outlook was black, and at Flaxman Island, the Southern Party began to wonder where their Karluk comrades were. They knew all too well the Karluk âs shortcomings and feared she would not be able to make it through the ice. Chipman wrote about Stefansson, âHe may be 54 good âcopyâ but I wish he had paid more attention to the Expedition itself both publicly and personally.â
T HE KARLUK WAS DRIFTING now without power. She was trapped in a floe of old ice, easily half a mile wide, and suddenly found herself being carried with the current. Bartlett would not leave the crowâs nest and thought that he could see in the distance signs that the ice was loosening. But he couldnât be sure anymore, and they were held fast in the viselike grip of the shifting ice pack.
Murray had never gotten over his dislike or distrust of Stefansson and had maintained a guarded distance from the leader ever since the July showdown in Nome where the scientists had confronted their leader. Now they were all stranded in the ice, and as far as Murray was concerned, it was Stefanssonâs fault. Stefansson was, in Murrayâs opinion, nothing more than âa self-seeking adventurer 55 who deliberately intended to put the â Karluk â into the pack ice for the sake of notoriety and personal glorification.â It would be the surest way for Stefansson to get his name in the papers, to be known as the gallant leader of a lost expedition.
D AY AFTER DAY, there was no change in the ice. The ship remained a prisoner, helpless to dictate her own course or break free. Bartlett noted Stefanssonâs restlessness, as did the members of the crew and staff. Stefansson was a man who hated sitting still. On August 22 he suddenly called the scientists who were supposed to be part of the Southern Party into his cabin and announced again that he intended to send them ashore. Murray, though, was quickly eliminated from the group, because his equipment was too heavy to make the trip. Then it was decided that McKinlay could just as well do his work on the Karluk, and Wilkins would also remain for similar reasons. That left Jenness and Beuchat, who had no equipment and no purpose for being on the ship, since their work was to live with and study the Eskimos.
The plan was for Jenness and Beuchat to head over the ice to Flaxman Island to seek word of the Mary Sachs and the Alaska , and then continue over the now solid ice by foot and dogsled to Herschel Island, if it turned out the Southern Party had gone ahead. Everyone pitched in to ready the expedition, but it was impossible to locate the equipment and stores they needed for travel because nothing was where it was supposed to be.
Even though the scientists had tried to establish some sense of order, the Karluk âs stores were still a mess, without any sense of organization or supervision. Templeman always helped himself to whatever he needed from the food supplies and never bothered to document it. The expedition clothing worked in much the same way. It had never been officially issued to the men, as it should have been, upon their arrival to the ship. Instead, it had been handed out sporadically, first to some, then to others at a much later time, and anyone overlooked had to put in a request or help himself.
It was, thought McKinlay, indicative of the way the expedition was being run. The only clothing he had been issued thus far was a pair of mukluks
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