Tuesday Feb. 17th A bit too close. I awoke in the night almost suffocated with smoke to find the boole-tail teg under my head all alaze, "she leg and hak-dich shar" of my sheep skin boole-tah are partly burned but no other damage. Overtook the doctor and E - in about two hours this morning. E- cannot walk on account of swollen testicles but is all smiles and wants to go on. Was astonished to overtake whole expedition here in Hayes Fiord. Hoblaw informs me that the Eskimos refuse to go on for various reasons, the chief one being that their dogs are in bad shape due to salt in kermican. Other reasons given are that it is too early, that the men are all sick or will be, that there is no