THE WHITE WORLD 



Island, we could have gone twenty-five or thirty miles 

 farther up the coast, and more than likely settled for all 

 time the vexed question of the northern extremity of Green- 

 land, which has since been solved by the courage and per- 

 sistence of Lieutenant Peary. It was believed by some of 

 the best authorities on Arctic matters that from Cape Wash- 

 ington the coast would be found trending to the southeast, 

 in the direction Cape Bismarck, the most northerly known 

 land ever attained on the east coast of Greenland. The 

 settlement of this important question would have been a 

 fitting close to our discoveries. 



We built a cairn on a narrow shelf directly under the 

 frowning face of the massive cape, which fronted the north. 

 It was constructed on a substantial and large scale, com- 

 mensurate with its importance, and in it were placed a 

 record of our journey and a minimum thermometer. A 

 small collection of rocks and vegetation was then made, 

 but it was difficult to obtain good samples, as they had to 

 be chopped with a hatchet from the frozen soil. The vege- 

 tation, consisting of lichens, grasses, and flowering plants, 

 was abundant considering the latitude. Numerous traces, 

 all recent, of foxes, lemming, hare, ptarmigan, and snow- 

 bunting were observed. 



In my travels over the United States, and especially 

 through the unfrequented portion of the Rocky Mountains, 

 I had never found a spot so remote or inaccessible that it 

 had not previously been visited by the roadside artists who 

 had inscribed their gaudy advertisements of Plantation 

 Bitters or other nostrum on every conspicuous rock and 

 cliff. Here at last I found a place beyond their reach, 

 and it seemed almost lonesome not to be greeted by the 

 familiar notices; so taking a file from the sledge I walked 

 to the cliff and there wrote with the sharp steel point the 

 magic characters, " S. T. i860 X." When I informed 

 Lockwood of what I had done he laughingly said he was 

 convinced that I was in the employ of the firm and that I 

 expected to receive payment in bitters for mv work. He 

 suggested that an advertisement of soap would have pro- 

 duced a more substantial and useful dividend. 



At 2 P. M., May 15, the last necessary observation was 

 obtained, and our position was found to be in latitude 



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