THE DISCOVERY OF THE POLE 



893 



The gloom of the long night was re- 

 lieved by only a few hours of daylight. 

 The chill of winter was felt at its worst. 



As we crossed the heights of Ellesmere 

 Sound to the Pacific slope the tempera- 

 ture rank to 83 degrees below zero 

 Fahrenheit. Several dogs were frozen, 

 .and the men suffered severely, but we 

 soon found game trails along which an 

 •easy way was forced through Nansen 

 Sound to the land's end. 



In this march were procured 101 musk 

 ■oxen, 7 bears, and 335 hares, and then 

 we pushed out into the polar sea from 

 the southern point of Heiberg Island. 



On March 17 six Eskimos returned 

 from here, with four men and forty-six 

 ■dogs, moving supplies for eighty days. 



The crossing of the circumpolar pack 

 was begun three days later. Two other 

 Eskimos, forming the last supporting 

 party, returned. The trains had now 

 been reduced by the survival of the fit- 

 test. Etukishook and Ahwelah, the 

 two best men, and twenty-six dogs were 

 picked for the final dash. There was 

 before us an unknown line of 460 miles 

 to our goal. 



The first days prevented long marches, 

 and with encouraging progress the big 

 lead which separated the land ice from 

 ■the central pack was crossed with little 

 delay. 



Low temperature and persistent winds 

 made life a torture, but, cooped in snow 

 liouses, eating dried beef and tallow and 

 ■drinking hot tea, some animal comforts 

 Tvere occasionally to be gained. 



For several days after the sight of 

 known land was lost the overcast skies 

 -prevented an accurate determination of 

 ■our positions. 



On March 30 the horizon was partly 

 •cleared of its smoky agitation, and over 

 the western mist was discovered a new 

 land. 



The observations gave our position lati- 

 tude 84 deg. 17 min., longitude 86 deg. 36 

 min. 



The urgent need of rapid advance on 

 -our main mission did not permit a detour 

 lo explore the coast. 



Here were seen the last signs of solid 



earth. Beyond there was nothing stable, 

 and even on scaling nothing was noted to 

 mark the terrestial polar solidity. 



We advanced steadily over the monot- 

 ony of a moving sea of ice. 



We now found ourselves beyond the 

 range of all life. Neither the footprints 

 of bears nor the blowholes of seals were 

 detected. Even the microscopic creatures 

 of the deep were no longer under us. 



The maddening influence of the shift- 

 ing desert of frost became almost unen- 

 durable in the daily routine. The surface 

 of the pack offered less and less trouble. 

 The weather improved, but still there re- 

 mained a light life-sapping wind, which 

 drove despair to its lowest recess. 



Under the lash of duty, however, in- 

 terest was forced, while the merciless 

 drive of extreme cold enforced physical 

 action. 



Thus, day after day, the weary legs 

 were spread over big distances. 



The incidents and the positions were 

 recorded, but the adventure was promptly 

 forgotten in the mental bleach of the 

 next day's effort. 



The night of April 7 was made notable 

 by the swing of the sun at midnight over 

 the northern ice. 



Sunburns and frost-bites were now re- 

 corded on the same day, but the double 

 days of glitter infused quite an incentive 

 into our life of shivers. 



Observations on April 8 placed our 

 camp at latitude 86 deg. 36 sec, longitude 

 94 deg. 2 sec. 



In spite of what seemed like long 

 marches, we had advanced but a little 

 more than 100 miles in nine days. 



Much of our hard work was lost in cir- 

 cuitous twists around troublesome pres- 

 sure lines and high, irregular fields of 

 very old ice. 



The drift, too, was driving eastward 

 with sufficient force to give some anx- 

 iety, though we were still equal to about 

 fifteen miles daily. 



The extended marches and the long 

 hours of travel with which fortune had 

 favored us earlier were no longer pos- 

 sible. 



We were now about 200 miles from 



