PEARY CROSSES GREENLAND 143 



heat had grown so severe that all their outer clothing hadlo be 

 laid aside, while the snow grew so soft and sticky under the solar 

 rays as greatly to impede their speed. All this affected their spirits, 

 and Astrup, hitherto bright and cheery, and showing his genial dis- 

 position by merry singing, as he walked, grew glum and silent, his 

 compressed lips showing the strain as he aided his team in drawing 

 the heavy sleds up the steep slopes. 



On the 26th of July the eighty-second parallel of latitude was 

 reached, and now a cheering indication appeared. The coast, seen 

 in occasional glimpses, had invariably lain to the northwest, but 

 now it suddenly was seen to the northeast, trending gradually _east- 

 wardly, and finally bending to the southeast. Several glaciers also 

 were passed, all moving in a northeasterly direction. Here were 

 evidences that the island was nearly crossed and that the Atlantic 

 could not be far distant. 



At length, on July ist, the travelers saw land lying due east, 

 lofty in elevation and free from ice and snow, and through a de- 

 pression in the ridge they discovered indications of the near vicinity 

 of the ocean waters that washed Greenland's eastern coast. They 

 were apparently in the vicinity of a lofty headland which they fan- 

 cied faced the open sea. At the foot of its inner slope, as they went 

 forward, was seen a bare, stony reach. They had left the glacial 

 mass of interior Greenland behind them, and had excellent reason 

 to believe that the Atlantic lay beyond that mountain ridge. 



Eager to satisfy himself, Peary now left Astrup in camp and 

 set out alone over the broken land in front towards a depression! 

 which opened through the highlands in front. It seemed but a few 

 miles away and he felt sure that he could quickly traverse it and 

 return. But as he went forward the hills seemed constantly as far 

 away. Each elevation he climbed only revealed another eminence 

 behind it, and this continued wearisomely. The heat, the steady 

 climb, the repeated disappointments, seriously depressed his spirits, 

 while the sharp edges of the broken stones cut through his shoes 

 and made walking a torture. 



