BARTLETT REACHES 87° 47' 269 



Though he was naturally disappointed at not having 

 reached the 88th parallel, he had every reason to be 

 proud, not only of his work in general, but that he had 

 surpassed the Italian record by a degree and a quarter. 

 I had given him the post of honor in command of my 

 last supporting party for three reasons: first, because 

 of his magnificent handling of the Roosevelt; second, 

 because he had cheerfully and gladly stood between me 

 and every possible minor annoyance from the start 

 of the expedition to that day; third, because it seemed 

 to me right that, in view of the noble work of Great 

 Britain in arctic exploration, a British subject should, 

 next to an American, be able to say that he had stood 

 nearest the North Pole. 



With the departure of Bartlett, the main party 

 now consisted of my own division and Henson's. My 

 men were Egingwah and Seegloo; Henson's men were 

 Ootah and Ooqueah. We had five sledges and forty 

 dogs, the pick of one hundred and forty with which 

 we had left the ship. With these we were ready now 

 for the final lap of the journey. 



We were now one hundred and thirty-three nauti- 

 cal miles from the Pole. Pacing back and forth in 

 the lee of the pressure ridge near which our igloos 

 were built, I made out my program. Every nerve 

 must be strained to make five marches of at least 

 twenty-five miles each, crowding these marches in 

 such a way as to bring us to the end of the fifth 

 march by noon, to permit an immediate latitude 

 observation. Weather and leads permitting, I be- 

 lieved that I could do this. From the improving 

 character of the ice, and in view of the recent northerly 



