18 THENORTHPOLE 



have set up his sawmill, and that a series of hose lines 

 be run thence over the ice so that the outlying parties 

 struggling over the ice to the Pole could be warmed 

 and invigorated with hot soup from the central 

 station. 



Perhaps the gem of the whole collection was fur- 

 nished by an inventor who desired me to play the part 

 of the "human cannon-ball." He would not disclose 

 the details of his invention, apparently lest I should 

 steal it, but it amounted to this: If I could get the 

 machine up there, and could get it pointed in exactly 

 the right direction, and could hold on long enough, 

 it would shoot me to the Pole without fail. This was 

 surely a man of one idea. He was so intent on getting 

 me shot to the Pole that he seemed to be utterly care- 

 less of what happened to me in the process of landing 

 there or of how I should get back. 



Many friends of the expedition who could not send 

 cash sent useful articles of equipment, for the comfort 

 or amusement of the men. Among such articles were a 

 billiard table, various games, and innumerable books. 

 A member of the expedition having said to a newspaper 

 man, a short time before the Roosevelt sailed, that we 

 had not much reading matter, the ship was deluged 

 with books, magazines, and newspapers, which came 

 literally in wagon loads. They were strewn in every 

 cabin, in every locker, on the mess tables, on the deck, 

 — everywhere. But the generosity of the public was 

 very gratifying, and there was much good reading 

 among the books and magazines. 



When the time came for the Roosevelt to sail, we had 

 everything which we absolutely needed in the way of 



