1914] THE RETURN FROM THE POLAR SEA 87 



the only man who had ever been here, we knew it was 

 his, described as being on the "low foreshore" beneath 

 the cape. Although we had walked now for thirty 

 miles, I felt that we must take advantage of the good 

 weather by ascending the hill to secure Peary's record. 

 No one knows what the morrow will bring in the Arctic. 

 I shall remember that walk for some time to come. 

 The Admiral wanted the man who secured that record 

 to work for it, and we did, breaking through a heavy 

 crust at every step until we reached the very top. 

 There are three summits to the cape, situated at dif- 

 ferent heights. The first we passed, expecting the rec- 

 ord to be on the second. To our disappointment, there 

 was no sign of a cairn. Could it be possible that Peary 

 climbed that next high hill after walking from Cape 

 Sheridan, a distance of four hundred miles.? We pulled 

 ourselves together wearily and started down into the 

 hollow which divided the two hills. We climbed ever- 

 succeeding crests, but, finally, the last was mounted, 

 revealing, outlined against the blue sky, a large well- 

 built cairn enveloped in a blanket of snow. There was 

 a short stick projecting from the top, and at the base 

 was a cocoa-tin containing a piece of the American flag 

 and the very brief record, "Peary, June 28, 1906." We 

 replaced this with a small silk flag and a record, also a 

 duplicate of the Peary record. 



We now turned eagerly to an examination of the 

 Polar Sea. Peary stood here in June, 1906, and from 

 this very spot he saw what resembled land lying to the 

 northwest, 120 miles distant. The day was exception- 

 ally clear, not a cloud or trace of mist; if land could be 

 seen, now was our time. Yes, there it was! It could 

 even be seen without a glass, extending from southwest 



