THE POLE! 
fettle, and accordingly the accomplishment of 
twenty-five miles of northward progress was 
not exceptional. With my proven ability in 
gauging distances, Commander Peary was 
ready to take the reckoning as I made it and 
he did not resort to solar observations until 
we were within a hand's grasp of the Pole. 
The memory of those last five marches, 
from the Farthest North of Captain Bartlett 
to the arrival of our party at the Pole, is a 
memory of toil, fatigue, and exhaustion, but 
we were urged on and encouraged by our re- 
lentless commander, who was himself being 
scourged by the final lashings of the dominat- 
ing influence that had controlled his life. 
From the land to 87° 48' north, Commander 
Peary had had the best of the going, for he 
had brought up the rear and had utilized the 
trail made by the preceding parties, and thus 
he had kept himself in the best of condition 
for the time when he made the spurt that 
brought him to the end of the race. From 
87° 48' north, he kept in the lead and did his 
work in such a way as to convince me that he 
was still as good a man as he had ever been. 
We marched and marched, falling down in 
129 
