THE SEARCH FOR HASSELL AND CRAMER 



light enough to see, a pilot balloon was sent up 

 from the field to learn the nature of the winds aloft. 

 These proved to be excellent. Light surface winds 

 were blowing from the east off the ice-cap, which 

 would make landing on an east-west runway 

 especially easy. At an altitude of a thousand 

 meters and more strong winds from the south to 

 the southwest were blowing, which would be in 

 Hassell's favor while continuing his flight to Ice- 

 land. 



Outside the observatory on Mount Evans Marius 

 was keeping watch with a pair of Mirakel binocu- 

 lars, scanning the western sky for the coming plane. 

 When it was six o'clock we looked hopefully for 

 the plane to make its appearance at any moment. 

 When no plane had appeared and it was already 

 ten o'clock we began to have doubts of Hassell's 

 making it. We now began to fear the worst, that 

 engine trouble might have developed, or that the 

 plane had gone off the course and had been lost. 

 Our anxious forebodings now oppressed us and a 

 portion of the party started back to Camp Lloyd 

 and IMount Evans. With Schneider as field radio 

 operator and Potter, photographer and general 

 utility man, I remained on the field until after 

 four o'clock in the afternoon, when we also became 

 convinced that the flyers had met with disaster. 



259 



