NORTH POLE OF THE WINDS 



By August 1st the last of the heavy equipment 

 of the weather station was on the summit of Mount 

 Evans, though the coal for the winter was left to 

 be managed largely by the winter party using a 

 small hand-sled after the snow should be on the 

 ground. An air-tight coal-stove with a five inch 

 grate and of a type now obsolete was installed to 

 heat the observatory. 



For use on the ice-cap we have brought with us 

 a four-man tent of special construction made ac- 

 cording to my designs by Major Fiala, outfitter 

 of polar expeditions in New York City. Though 

 this tent had a water-proof floor we took along 

 four large reindeer skins for insulation. These 

 skins had not been properly cured and Abraham, 

 who fully understands the process, drafted his 

 Eskimo companions, and after first wetting the 

 skins scraped off the flesh and a portion of the 

 hide with sharp-edged stones. This reduced the 

 skins to a soft flexible condition, but they absorbed 

 moisture and they required to be dried out in the 

 sun each day. 



That part of our equipment which was to be 

 used in laying out the base line and in locating 

 bamboo stakes, we cached outside the ice margin. 

 This included an invar tape and a ten-second tran- 

 sit, both instruments kindly loaned us by the United 



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