90 DISCOVERY CH. 



forwards barefooted over the inland ice in the hope of 

 leaving their records where their comrades could find 

 them. Bronland was the last survivor ; he crawled the 

 last few miles to the depot, ate some of the food there, 

 wrote his last report, wrapped himself in his fur and 

 died. His report concludes : 



I perished in 79 N. lat., under the hardships of the return 

 journey over the inland ice in November. I reached this 

 place under the waning moon, and cannot go on because of my 

 frozen feet and the darkness. The bodies of the others are 

 in the middle of the fiord. Hagen died on November 15th, 

 Mylius Erichsen some ten days later. 



The records of the scientific work of these three heroes 

 were retrieved by an expedition under the leadership of 

 Einar Mikkelsen, which reached Greenland in 1909. They 

 were found in a cairn near Erichsen's summer camp. 



But the records of polar exploration contain no more 

 inspiring story than that of the way in which Captain 

 Scott and his companions of the British Antarctic 

 Expedition met their death in returning from the South 

 Pole early in 1912. Captain Scott, Dr. Wilson, Capt. 

 Gates, Lieut. Bowers and Petty Officer Evans, after 

 pulling their sledges alone for 147 miles, reached the 

 Pole on Jan. 18th, 1912. When they began the return 

 march, the season was unduly advanced, and progress 

 delayed by the sickness and subsequent death of Evans. 

 Yet, despite this and exceptionally severe weather and 

 difficulties of travel, they persisted in carrying their 

 collection of specimens, though this must have increased 

 their labours. Capt. Gates suffered severely from frost- 

 bite, and his companions delayed their progress to help 

 him. Capt. Scott wrote : 



He was a brave soul. He slept through the night, hoping not 

 to wake, but he awoke in the morning. It was blowing a 



