﻿AT 
  THE 
  NORTH 
  POLE 
  — 
  ELLSWORTH 
  323 
  

  

  prospect 
  of 
  the 
  warm 
  sleeping 
  bag, 
  with 
  the 
  10 
  malted 
  milk 
  tablets 
  

   to 
  munch 
  contentedly 
  as 
  we 
  dozed 
  off 
  to 
  sleep 
  and 
  forget 
  fulness, 
  that 
  

   of 
  heaven 
  itself 
  after 
  the 
  wretchedness 
  of 
  our 
  waking 
  hours 
  ? 
  I 
  never 
  

   knew 
  the 
  real 
  feelings 
  of 
  my 
  companions, 
  for 
  whatever 
  conversation 
  

   there 
  was, 
  was 
  mostly 
  in 
  Norwegian 
  as 
  we 
  sat 
  over 
  our 
  chocolate 
  ; 
  but 
  

   I 
  learned 
  to 
  accept 
  what 
  each 
  day 
  offered. 
  Spitzbergen 
  was 
  but 
  eight 
  

   hours 
  away 
  ; 
  maybe 
  to-morrow 
  we 
  would 
  be 
  on 
  the 
  way 
  ! 
  Thus 
  

   passed 
  our 
  24 
  ice-bound 
  days, 
  but 
  on 
  the 
  twenty-fifth 
  — 
  the 
  day 
  we 
  had 
  

   actually 
  set, 
  two 
  weeks 
  previously, 
  to 
  start 
  on 
  foot 
  for 
  the 
  Greenland 
  

   coast, 
  400 
  miles 
  away, 
  which 
  we 
  knew 
  we 
  could 
  not 
  reach 
  — 
  our 
  efforts 
  

   to 
  free 
  the 
  planes 
  from 
  the 
  ice 
  w^ere 
  rewarded, 
  and 
  one 
  plane 
  with 
  six 
  

   men 
  in 
  it 
  rose 
  and 
  left 
  that 
  hell, 
  forever. 
  

  

  Yet 
  even 
  after 
  such 
  an 
  experience, 
  we 
  had 
  not 
  had 
  enough. 
  Our 
  

   work 
  was 
  not 
  yet 
  finished. 
  Beyond 
  — 
  to 
  the 
  northward 
  — 
  still 
  

   stretched 
  the 
  unknown. 
  Between 
  the 
  pole 
  and 
  Alaska 
  lay 
  what? 
  

   Mystery 
  — 
  a 
  mystery 
  as 
  luminous 
  and 
  yet 
  as 
  impenetrable 
  as 
  its 
  own 
  

   mirage 
  — 
  enveloped 
  an 
  area, 
  on 
  the 
  Alaska 
  side 
  of 
  the 
  pole, 
  twice 
  that 
  

   of 
  the 
  United 
  States 
  east 
  of 
  the 
  Mississippi 
  River. 
  

  

  For 
  our 
  next 
  venture 
  we 
  decided 
  to 
  try 
  an 
  airship, 
  knowing 
  that 
  

   Mussolini 
  had 
  one 
  which 
  appeared 
  to 
  fit 
  both 
  our 
  needs 
  and 
  the 
  size 
  

   of 
  our 
  purse. 
  This 
  was 
  the 
  N-1^ 
  built 
  to 
  the 
  designs 
  of 
  Col. 
  Umberto 
  

   Nobile 
  in 
  the 
  Italian 
  State 
  Airship 
  Factory, 
  and 
  christened 
  by 
  us 
  the 
  

   Norge^ 
  of 
  semirigid 
  construction, 
  348 
  feet 
  long, 
  with 
  a 
  displacement 
  

   of 
  20 
  tons. 
  Her 
  fuel 
  capacity 
  of 
  7 
  tons, 
  with 
  which 
  to 
  run 
  her 
  three 
  

   250-horsepower 
  Maybach 
  motors, 
  gave 
  her 
  a 
  range 
  of 
  3,500 
  miles 
  

   without 
  refilling, 
  or 
  about 
  70 
  hours, 
  at 
  a 
  speed 
  of 
  50 
  miles 
  per 
  hour. 
  

   The 
  Norge 
  was 
  equipped 
  with 
  a 
  Marconi 
  wireless 
  direction 
  finder, 
  the 
  

   tuning 
  circuit 
  for 
  which 
  was 
  designed 
  to 
  cover 
  a 
  wide 
  band 
  of 
  wave 
  

   lengths; 
  those 
  used 
  ranged 
  from 
  900 
  to 
  1,400 
  meters. 
  The 
  energy 
  

   for 
  the 
  specially 
  constructed 
  valve 
  transmitter 
  was 
  delivered 
  from 
  a 
  

   windmill-driven 
  generator 
  supplying 
  3,000 
  volts. 
  

  

  There 
  was 
  a 
  delay 
  of 
  several 
  days 
  after 
  the 
  Marge's 
  long 
  flight 
  from 
  

   Italy 
  to 
  Spitzbergen, 
  before 
  she 
  was 
  able 
  to 
  proceed 
  on 
  her 
  journey 
  

   across 
  the 
  Polar 
  Sea. 
  Favorable 
  weather 
  conditions 
  were 
  essential. 
  

   We 
  needed 
  a 
  clear 
  sky 
  with 
  good 
  visibility, 
  and 
  a 
  favorable 
  wind; 
  

   also 
  a 
  high 
  barometric 
  pressure 
  and 
  a 
  low 
  temperature. 
  These 
  last 
  

   two 
  elements 
  influenced 
  greatly 
  the 
  lifting 
  capacity 
  of 
  the 
  dirigible. 
  

   For 
  each 
  degree 
  Fahrenheit 
  that 
  the 
  temperature 
  went 
  down, 
  the 
  

   airship 
  gained 
  80 
  pounds 
  in 
  lifting 
  capacity, 
  which 
  was 
  increased 
  

   with 
  140 
  pounds 
  for 
  each 
  tenth 
  of 
  an 
  inch 
  added 
  to 
  the 
  barometric 
  

   pressure. 
  

  

  The 
  keel 
  of 
  the 
  Norge 
  looked 
  like 
  a 
  flying 
  storehouse 
  when 
  all 
  was 
  

   ready 
  for 
  the 
  start 
  at 
  8.55 
  on 
  the 
  morning 
  of 
  May 
  11, 
  1926. 
  The 
  

   equipment 
  included 
  tents, 
  sleeping 
  bags, 
  skiis, 
  snowshoes 
  for 
  those 
  

   who 
  could 
  not 
  ski, 
  rifles, 
  shotguns, 
  ammunition, 
  a 
  hand 
  sledge 
  — 
  ^the 
  

  

  