1 82 NEAREST THE POLE 



and I secured five (one bull, two cows, one two-year- 

 old heifer, and a two-year-old bull) with five shots. 

 One bull had separated from the rest before we 

 arrived, and I did not go after him. 



These cows had whiter backs than the bulls, and a 

 pronounced white spot between the horns. We skinned 

 the animals, cut them up, fed the dogs on the refuse, 

 and brought the meat and skins out to where I had 

 killed the single bull. Then we had a grand feed. 

 Numerous hare, sandpipers, snow-buntings, and blue- 

 bottle flies, also several caterpillars were seen here. 

 We camped on the bare dry gravel near the musk-ox 

 and found it a great relief from the blinding glare of the 

 ice. Plenty of water nearby. 



Again I quote from my Journal: 



Cape Nares, June Sth. —To-day has seen the accom- 

 plishment of what I planned last fall, almost as soon as 

 the Roosevelt reached Cape Sheridan : the building of a 

 cairn, the display of the Stars and Stripes and the placing 

 of my record and a piece of the flag, on the summit of 

 Cape Columbia, the northern extremity of North America. 



Caching the meat and getting the musk-ox skins 

 stretched to dry in the sun took some time, and we did 

 not get under way till 10:30 p. m. of the 7th, the fine 

 weather continuing, though a fresh breeze from the 

 west, heavy clouds over the land to the southwest and 

 a bank of clouds to the north threatened a change. 



At 12:30 this morning, I stopped the sledges at the 

 foot of the northern twin peak of Columbia, and began 

 the ascent with two Eskimos, leaving one to look after 

 the dogs. 



