268 THE NORTH POLE 



wind shelter already described, and Bartlett took a 

 latitude observation, getting 87° 46' 49". 



Bartlett was naturally much disappointed to 

 find that even with his five-mile northward march of 

 the morning he was still short of the 88th parallel. 

 Our latitude was the direct result of the northerly 

 wind of the last two days, which had crowded the ice 

 southward as we traveled over it northward. We 

 had traveled fully twelve miles more than his obser- 

 vation showed in the last five marches, but had lost 

 them by the crushing up of the young ice in our rear 

 and the closing of the leads. 



Bartlett took the observations here, as had Marvin 

 five camps back partly to save my eyes and partly to 

 have independent observations by different members 

 of the expedition. When the calculations were com- 

 pleted, two copies were made, one for Bartlett and one 

 for me, and he got ready to start south on the back 

 trail in command of my fourth supporting party, 

 with his two Eskimos, one sledge, and eighteen dogs. 



I felt a keen regret as I saw the captain's broad 

 shoulders grow smaUer in the distance and finally dis- 

 appear behind the ice hummocks of the white and 

 glittering expanse toward the south. But it was no 

 time for reverie, and I turned abruptly away and gave 

 my attention to the work which was before me. I had 

 no anxiety about Bartlett. I knew that I should see 

 him again at the ship. My work was still ahead, not 

 in the rear. Bartlett had been invaluable to me, 

 and circumstances had thrust upon him the brunt of 

 the pioneering instead of its being divided among 

 several, as I had originally planned. 



