THE WHITE WORLD 



to us through the first Arctic night, and it was with genuine 

 regret that we turned from its cheery prospect to tempt the 

 mysteries of the frozen sea. We had already experienced 

 the desolation and nipping frost of Thank God Harbor 

 and Newman Bay, and we could not but regretfully com- 

 pare them to the more inviting field which we were to leave 

 behind. 



The house was cozily hemmed in on the north, south and 

 west, by mountain peaks — the most conspicuous being the 

 Hogback, so named from the sloping tendency of its summit; 

 the coast to the westward for many miles consisted of inac- 

 cessible cliffs, with a height in many places of nearly two 

 thousand feet; and to the eastward the level monotony of 

 Robeson Channel was broken by the steep-ascending and 

 repellent mountains of the Greenland coast. Everything 

 that we were to leave, indeed, was pleasing and homelike; 

 everything before us was desolate, formidable, and un- 

 known. 



At 6.30 P. M. April 3, 1882, as Lieutenant Lockwood's 

 second in command, I left Fort Conger with the supporting 

 party, under instructions from that officer to proceed to 

 the snow house at Cape Beechey, twenty-five miles distant, 

 where a depot of provisions had been established during 

 the preceding autumn, and there to prepare field rations 

 for transportation across Robeson Channel to the Green- 

 land coast. 



Before our departure, Lieutenant Greely called the mem- 

 bers of the advance party together and delivered a short 

 but impressive address, in which he informed them of the 

 importance of the venture on which they were about to 

 embark, the dangers involved, the necessity of observing 

 all possible precautions, and of his earnest hope for the 

 successful termination of the enterprise. A hand-shaking 

 followed Lieutenant Greely's remarks, and the four sledges 

 of the supporting party moved toward the shore. Here we 

 found evidence that those of our comrades to be left 

 behind had arranged to give us a soldierly farewell. As 

 we climbed down the ice foot to the floe, three hearty 

 cheers rang out, followed by a tiger, and every flag and 

 every gun in the company were utilized to give appropriate 

 emphasis to the kindly feelings of the unlucky ones who 

 had not been designated to take the field. 

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