NORTH POLE OF THE WINDS 



It has interested some people to know that this 

 occurred on Friday, the thirteenth of August, but 

 strange to say, this was not the conclusion of the 

 incident. Just two weeks later, and hence also 

 upon a Friday, Mr. Belknap and myself were mak- 

 ing a reconnaissance across the fjord fully six miles 

 away. In climbing a mountain he suddenly espied 

 the red silk of the parachute as it lay tumbled upon 

 the ground, and to our immense delight we found 

 the meteorograph of the lost balloon with the 

 records complete. When later examined the baro- 

 graph showed that before its descent had com- 

 menced the balloon had reached an altitude of 

 about 5,300 meters or nearly three miles. Thus as 

 it seemed by a miracle we obtained a record such as 

 had never before been made in Greenland and was 

 unlikely to be repeated. 



Such a piece of good fortune our wildest dreams 

 had not pictured, and to Belknap and myself the 

 opportunity seemed an excellent one for breaking 

 the news gradually to Fergusson. So when we had 

 reached the camp with our precious find I said to 

 Fergusson, "Don't you think we ought to try and 

 bring in from the coast a party of Eskimos and 

 thoroughly explore the country to the northwest 

 of us for the missing meteorograph?" My sug- 

 gestion was met with the polite ridicule which it 



56 



