FINDING THE NORTH POLE ix 



The body can only supply a certain amount of natural heat. 

 These calories must be kept up by adding fuel to the human furnace ; 

 this means a larger supply of food per ration per man, all of which 

 means greater weight to be carried or hauled. The same applies 

 to dogs. The natives when possible house their dogs in winter, 

 never in the summer. Again, the health of the party must be pre- 

 served if possible. Short rations, bitter cold, tremendous labor of 

 sledge hauling, or even marching, with salt or brackish water to 

 drink, in a very few weeks would bring on scurvy. In fact, these are 

 the ideal conditions to cause scurvy, especially after some time in the 

 Arctic. 



In summer time most of these adverse conditions disappear. 

 The greatest objections are : the softer snow to travel over, the deep 

 ponds of water on the floes that are to be traversed and the snowj 

 blindness, which, however, need not trouble the travelers if they 

 will wear colored goggles on the march. Less food, less clothing 

 and freedom from frost bite are advantages, but greatest boon of 

 all is the fresh water to be obtained from the top of every conical 

 or sloping piece of ice that is covered with melting snow, for the 

 melted snow water on the floe and in the ponds is too salt to be 

 used for drinking purposes. But when the spring sun comes on 

 the temperature rises to about 32 or 34 degrees Fahrenheit. The 

 salt in the snow on the slopes of the hummocks begins to melt at 

 about 29 degrees F., this super-salted water first falls down on the 

 surface of the hummock and at each increasing fraction of a degree 

 a larger volume of the salt water flows away until the temperature 

 of 32 degrees or more is reached. When all the super-salted water 

 has thus run off on the surrounding floe, it leaves the fresh water 

 snow on the top and sloping sides of the hummocks. 



The summer traveler then gathers this soft snow into the ket- 

 tles and about three-fourths of a pint of alcohol will melt thirteen 

 pints of slushy snow and water and bring it to a boil. Then by 

 throwing in a couple of ounces of tea it supplies not only a refreshing 



