PEARY'S FINAL DASH 115 



"When the flag was placed Commander Peary exclaimed in English: 

 'We will plant the stars and stripes at the North Pole.' In the native lan- 

 guage I proposed three cheers, which were given in the Eskimos' own tongue. 



"Commander Peary shook hands all around and we had a more liberal 

 dinner than usual, each man eating as much as he pleased. The Eskimos 

 danced about and showed great pleasure that the pole at last was reached. 

 For years the Eskimos had been trying to reach that spot, but it was always 

 with them Tiqueigh,' which, translated, means, 'get so far and no closer.' 

 They exclaimed in a chorus, Ting neigh timah ketisher,' meaning, 'We have 

 got there at last.' " 



Henson, who reached the farthest north with Peary three years ago, said 

 that conditions were about the same at the pole as elsewhere in the Arctic 

 circle. All was a solid sea of ice with a two foot lead of open water two 

 miles from the pole. The Eskimos who went along on the final lap were 

 Ootah, Egingwah, Ouzadeeah and Sigloo, the two first named being brothers. 

 Commander Peary took photos of Henson and the Eskimos waving flags and 

 cheering. 



"We could see no open land," continued Henson. "The ice near the 

 igloos was at least ten feet high and the flags were placed on a hummock twenty 

 feet in height. The ice at the pole is about the same as on the journey up, all 

 rafted in between with small floes. Nearly all the winds we had were from 

 the northeast. Commander Peary had three thermometers, and the coldest 

 day was 57 degrees below zero Fahrenheit. I believe there is a I'ttle differ- 

 ence in the temperature at the pole from that some distance south." 



Henson learned from the Eskimos that for three days in Whale Sound 

 in August, 1909, they saw a cloud of smoke and there was an odor like 

 brimstone. The natives were greatly frightened, and Henson thought a new 

 volcano had erupted and so informed them. 



On the return the marches were continuous and Peary and the Eskimos 

 suffered greatly from fatigue. They had their first sleep at the end of the 

 eighth march from the pole in the igloos left by Bartlett. Here there was a 

 violent snowstorm. 



It was April 23 before the exhausted and excitement-fevered travelers saw 

 the land again. Then they came to Cape Columbia. The Eskimos were over- 

 joyed to see land, for, though faithful to the last in Peary's service, and full of 

 confidence in him, they had made up their minds to a terrible fate. When they 



