NORTH POLE OF THE WINDS 



bread, Belknap and Herz went out on a reconnais- 

 sance to find a high point on the ice at which to 

 erect a bamboo pole for use in measuring the rate 

 of ice flow, and further for the purpose of getting 

 an outlook ahead for the trek of the next day. 

 They came back and reported that the ice appeared 

 even rougher out in advance. The second day on 

 the ice-cap was cloudy, so that snow spectacles 

 were not needed, and with only a light wind blow- 

 ing down the ice slope. After a very arduous day 

 we found we had advanced again less than a mile. 

 We had risen 210 feet against 550 feet the day be- 

 fore in making about the same advance. Once more 

 we smoothed off with our axes an area just big 

 enough to pitch the tent. Church suggested that 

 he camp on a mound of ice near the tent where he 

 could take his meteorological observations every 

 three hours without disturbing us by crawling over 

 us as he got out of the tent. We agreed in chorus 

 and with his caribou skin sleeping robe and tar- 

 paulin he made himself comfortable since there 

 were here no longer insects to pester us. 



It begins to look as though we should not get 

 in far over the ice unless conditions should im- 

 prove. It is today the 20th of August, and with 

 the probable date of arrival of the Disho at Hol- 

 stensborg in our minds I had instructed the Eski- 



172 



