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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



The going was even better and there 

 was scarcely any snow on the hard, 

 granular, last summer's surface of the 

 old floes dotted with the sapphire ice of 

 the previous summer's lakes. 



A rise in temperature to 15 be- 

 low reduced the friction of the sledges 

 and gave the dogs the appearance of 

 having caught the spirit of the party. 

 The more sprightly ones, as they went 

 along with tightly-curled tails, frequently 

 tossed their heads, with short, sharp 

 barks and yelps. 



In twelve hours we made 40 miles. 

 There was not a sign of a lead in the 

 march. 



I had now made my five marches, and 

 was in time for a hasty noon observation 

 through a temporary break in the clouds, 

 which indicated our position as 89.57. 

 I quote an entry from my journal some 

 hours later : 



"The pole at last ! The prize of three 

 centuries. My dream and goal for 

 twenty years ! Mine at last ! I cannot 

 bring myself to realize it. It all seems 

 so simple and commonplace. As Bart- 

 lett said when turning back, when speak- 

 ing of his being in these exclusive re- 

 gions which no mortal has ever pene- 

 trated before, 'It's just like every day.' " 



Of course I had my sensations that 

 made sleep impossible for hours, despite 

 my utter fatigue — the sensations of a 

 lifetime ; but I have no room for them 

 here. 



The first thirty hours at the pole were 

 spent in taking observations ; in going 

 some ten miles beyond our camp, and 

 some eight miles to the right of it ; in 

 taking photographs, planting my flags, 

 depositing my records, studying the hori- 

 zon with my telescope for possible land, 

 and searching for a practicable place to 

 make a sounding. 



Ten hours after our arrival, the clouds 

 cleared before a slight breeze from our 

 left, and from that time until our de- 

 parture in the afternoon of April 7, the 

 weather was cloudless and flawless. The 

 minimum temperature during the thirty 

 hours was 33 below, the maximum 12. 



We had reached the goal, but the re- 



turn was still before us. It was essen- j 

 tial that we reach the land before the 

 next spring tide, and we must strain 

 every nerve to do this. 



I had a brief talk with my men. From 

 now on, it was to be a big travel, little 

 sleep, and a hustle every minute. We 

 would try, I told them, to double march 

 on the return — that is, to start and cover 

 one of our northward marches, make 

 tea and eat our luncheon in the igloos, 

 then cover another march, eat and sleep 

 a few hours, and repeat this daily. 



As a matter of fact, we nearly did 

 this, covering regularly on our return 

 journey five outward marches in three 

 return marches. Just as long as we could 

 hold the trail we could double our speed, 

 and we need waste no time in building 

 new igloos. 



Every day that we gained on the re- 

 turn lessened the chances of a gale de- 

 stroying the track. Just above the 87th 

 parallel was a region fifty miles wide, 

 which caused me considerable uneasi- 

 ness. Twelve hours of strong easterly, 

 westerly or northerly wind would make 

 this region an open sea. 



In the afternoon of the 7th we started 

 on our return, having double-fed the 

 dogs, repaired the sledges for the last 

 time, and discarded all our spare cloth- 

 ing to lighten the loads. 



Five miles from the pole a narrow 

 crack filled with recent ice, through which 

 we were able to work a hole with a pick- 

 axe, enabled me to make a sounding. All ' 

 my wire, 1,500 fathoms, was sent down, 

 but there was no bottom. In pulling up 

 the wire parted a few fathoms from the 

 surface, and lead and wire went to the 

 bottom. Off went the reel and handle, 

 lightening the sledges still further. We 

 had no more use for them now. 



Three marches brought us back to the 

 igloos where the Captain turned back. 

 The last march was in the wild sweep of 

 a northerly gale, with drifting snow and 

 the ice rocking under us as we dashed 

 over it. 



South of where Marvin had turned 

 back we came to where his party had 

 built several igloos while delayed by open 



