﻿328 
  ANNUAL, 
  REPOET 
  SMITHSONIAN" 
  INSTITUTION, 
  1927 
  

  

  had 
  to 
  nose 
  down 
  to 
  an 
  elevation 
  of 
  only 
  300 
  feet 
  before 
  we 
  could 
  see 
  

   what 
  lay 
  beneath. 
  Then 
  we 
  found 
  that 
  ice 
  again. 
  Where 
  were 
  we? 
  

   At 
  this 
  moment 
  our 
  wireless, 
  giving 
  us 
  a 
  strange 
  shock, 
  picked 
  up 
  a 
  

   strong 
  signal, 
  which 
  we 
  thought 
  might 
  be 
  Nome, 
  but 
  we 
  could 
  not 
  tell 
  

   for 
  certain, 
  because 
  it 
  was 
  a 
  communication 
  with 
  another 
  station 
  and 
  

   we 
  could 
  get 
  no 
  signature. 
  But 
  it 
  gave 
  us 
  a 
  position 
  north 
  of 
  Dio- 
  

   mede 
  Island 
  and 
  enabled 
  us 
  to 
  set 
  a 
  course 
  for 
  Cape 
  Prince 
  of 
  Wales. 
  

   Very 
  soon 
  we 
  were 
  over 
  open 
  water, 
  which 
  aroused 
  our 
  suspicions; 
  

   we 
  feared 
  that 
  we 
  might 
  be 
  on 
  the 
  outside 
  of 
  Bering 
  Strait, 
  and 
  with 
  

   our 
  course, 
  heading 
  straight 
  for 
  the 
  Aleutian 
  Islands. 
  Coming 
  out 
  

   into 
  sunshine 
  again, 
  we 
  were 
  obliged 
  to 
  take 
  our 
  observation 
  from 
  the 
  

   top 
  of 
  the 
  ship, 
  as 
  the 
  sun 
  at 
  this 
  latitude 
  was 
  so 
  high 
  that 
  it 
  was 
  

   hidden 
  by 
  the 
  envelope 
  in 
  whichever 
  direction 
  the 
  ship 
  pointed. 
  

  

  The 
  observation 
  gave 
  our 
  latitude 
  as 
  67° 
  30'. 
  We 
  then 
  went 
  down 
  

   through 
  the 
  clouds 
  and 
  found 
  ourselves 
  over 
  land, 
  having 
  passed 
  over 
  

   the 
  whole 
  of 
  Kotzebue 
  Bay, 
  driven 
  by 
  a 
  northerly 
  gale 
  of 
  more 
  than 
  

   TO 
  miles 
  an 
  hour. 
  Heading 
  west 
  to 
  get 
  to 
  the 
  sea 
  again, 
  we 
  heard 
  

   the 
  Nome 
  wireless, 
  which, 
  together 
  with 
  the 
  identification 
  of 
  the 
  

   coast 
  line, 
  gave 
  us 
  our 
  exact 
  position. 
  At 
  3.30 
  on 
  the 
  morning 
  of 
  

   May 
  14, 
  we 
  rounded 
  Cape 
  Prince 
  of 
  Wales, 
  and, 
  tired 
  but 
  happy, 
  

   brought 
  our 
  airship, 
  coated 
  with 
  a 
  ton 
  of 
  ice, 
  safely 
  to 
  rest 
  at 
  the 
  

   little 
  trading 
  post 
  of 
  Teller, 
  91 
  miles 
  northwest 
  of 
  Nome, 
  after 
  a 
  

   journey 
  of 
  3,393 
  miles, 
  lasting 
  72 
  hours, 
  aci'oss 
  the 
  Polar 
  Sea 
  from 
  

   Europe 
  to 
  America. 
  

  

  This 
  is 
  the 
  story 
  of 
  the 
  flight 
  itself 
  — 
  so 
  far 
  as 
  it 
  can 
  be 
  written. 
  

   No 
  words 
  can 
  describe 
  the 
  lure 
  of 
  that 
  far-flung, 
  strangely 
  beautiful 
  

   world 
  of 
  glittering 
  white, 
  lying 
  beyond 
  the 
  rim 
  of 
  the 
  Polar 
  Sea 
  

   over 
  W'hich 
  we 
  flew; 
  no 
  words 
  can 
  reveal 
  the 
  mystery, 
  the 
  melan- 
  

   choly, 
  and 
  the 
  charm 
  of 
  that 
  scene 
  of 
  our 
  great 
  adventure. 
  

  

  Now 
  that 
  the 
  North 
  Pole 
  has 
  been 
  reached, 
  and 
  the 
  Polar 
  Sea 
  

   itself 
  crossed, 
  it 
  may 
  appear 
  to 
  some 
  that 
  the 
  ends 
  for 
  which 
  such 
  

   explorations 
  were 
  undertaken 
  have 
  been 
  fully 
  accomplished. 
  Nothing 
  

   could 
  be 
  further 
  from 
  the 
  truth. 
  Our 
  flights 
  open 
  rather 
  than 
  close 
  

   a 
  chapter 
  of 
  discovery. 
  In 
  addition 
  to 
  the 
  purely 
  geographical 
  

   problems 
  awaiting 
  solution 
  in 
  the 
  unknown 
  Arctic, 
  a 
  study 
  of 
  the 
  

   physical 
  conditions 
  prevailing 
  there 
  is 
  of 
  vital 
  importance. 
  The 
  

   circulation 
  in 
  our 
  atmosphere 
  is 
  due 
  mainly, 
  as 
  Nansen 
  has 
  said, 
  to 
  

   the 
  heating 
  of 
  the 
  air 
  by 
  solar 
  radiation 
  in 
  the 
  warmer 
  regions 
  and 
  

   its 
  cooling 
  in 
  the 
  colder 
  ones, 
  especially 
  in 
  the 
  polar 
  area. 
  To 
  try 
  

   to 
  discover 
  the 
  laws 
  governing 
  the 
  circulation 
  of 
  our 
  atmopshere 
  

   without 
  a 
  knowledge 
  of 
  the 
  polar 
  regions 
  is 
  comparable, 
  therefore, 
  

   Nansen 
  argues, 
  to 
  the 
  action 
  of 
  a 
  man 
  attempting 
  to 
  study 
  the 
  laws 
  

   by 
  which 
  air' 
  circulates 
  in 
  the 
  heating 
  apparatus 
  in 
  a 
  house, 
  without 
  

   knowing 
  anything 
  about 
  the 
  radiators 
  that 
  emit 
  the 
  heat. 
  It 
  is 
  gen- 
  

  

  