My Attainment of the Pole

its of Nort

withal so sad. Pursuing our course through Melville Bay, I felt the fatal magic of it enthralling my very soul. For hours I stood on deck alone, the midnight sun, like some monstrous perpe

erhaps it is the human desire to excel others, to prove, because of the innate egotism of the human unit, that one possesses qualities of brain and mus

this mysterious, yea, fruitless quest. I remembered reading the thrilling tales of those who returned-tales which had flushed me with excitement and inspired me with the same mad ambition. I thought of the noble, indefatigable efforts of these men, of the heart-sickening f

the hungry frozen sea. It is said by some that souls live only after death by the energy of great emotions, great loves, or great ambitions generated throughout life. It seemed to me, in those hours of intoxication, that I could feel the implacable, unsatisfied desire of these disembodied things, who had vibrated with one aim and still yearned in the spirit for what now they wer

he intangible lure of the thing exhilarating, buoying me gladsomely, beating in my heart with a singing rhythm. I recall it now with marveling, and am fille

uthern winds had carried such great masses of ice against the coast that it was impossible to make a near approach, and as a strong wind conti

t had vanished, and we saw clearly the steep slopes and warm color of crimson cliffs rising precipitously out of the water. The coast line is about two thousand feet high, evidently the remains of an old tableland which exten

n guidepost for the navigator. Continuing, we caught sight of the long ice wall of Petowik Glacier, and behind this, exten

alls of Melville Bay on the southward, the stupendous cliffs of Humboldt Glacier on the north, a

is the seal, the walrus, the narwhal, and the white whale. There is the white bear, monarch of the Polar wilds, who roams in every direction over his kingdom. The principal reason why the population rema

hundred miles of latitude it presents in reality a sea line of about four thousand miles when the gr

y upon the waters, almost entirely hiding the innumerable icebergs, and makin

lstenholm Sound and turned our prow tow

nasmuch as I knew most of them personally, I felt a singular thrill of pleasure in seeing them. Years before, I learned their simple-hearted faithfulness. Knud R

eaching her. This was done at high tide when the propeller, which had been bent-the principal damage to the ship-was straightened.

isit was made to the village of Oomanooi. It could hardly be called a village, for it consisted merely of seven triangular sealskin tents, co

our feet, ten. All had broad, fat faces, heavy bodies and well-rounded limbs. Their skin was slightly bronzed; both

been in a civilized region. We conversed as to whether or not all of us had been well, of deaths, marriages and births. Then we talked of the luck of the chase, which meant prosperity or need of food. Even had it been a civilized community, there

to acquire a few more dogs, was probably the most important single item of information conveyed. I

women is not so humble as this custom might seem to indicate, for they themselves are permitted, not infrequently, to choose new partners. These exceedingly primitive ideas work out surprisingly well in practice in these isolated regions, for such exchang

ontrol their own destinies with a comfortable degree of success, although they are wit

ver children for each family, the youngest as a rule picturesquely resting in a pocket on the mother's ba

n which blubber is burned, with moss as a wick. Over this is a drying rack, also a few sticks, but there is no other furniture.

in exchange for guns, knives and needles. Every seaman, from cabin boy to captain,

r a beautiful fox skin, of less use to a native than a dog pelt, h

lars, for a red pocket handkerchief with which she w

fat youth with a fatuous smile displayed with glee two bright tin cups, one for himself and one for his prospective

even keel from the makeshift dry-dock on the beach. She was then

ider-ducks. On grassy shores were sealskin tents, about which fur-clad women and children vied with wolf-dogs for favorite positions to see the queer doings of white men. A remarkable landmark made the place conspicuous. A great table-topped rock rose suddenly out

reflected the surroundings in many shades of blue and brown, relieved by strong contrasts of white and black. On the western sky line were the chiseled walls of Acponie and other is

eddy, and upon them were herds of walruses. We did not see them, but their shrill voices rang through the icy air like a

for just such an encounter. Covered with a folding whale-back top entirely paint

For ages the Eskimos had rested secure in the belief that the kayak was the fastest thing afloat. They had been beaten by big ships, of course, but these had spiritual wings and did not count in the race of man's craft. This littl

walruses were about three miles to the southwest. At a slower speed we advanced two miles more. In the meantime Mr. Bradley cleared the deck for action. The direction of the hunting tactics was now t

one another in efforts for favorable positions. Some were asleep, others basked in the sun with heads turning lazily from side to side. Now and then, they uttered sleep

ful moments sweep the horizon. But its horizon is very narrow. Only the nose and the ear sense the distant alarm. We advanced very slowly and cautiously, and that only when all heads were down. Our boat slowly got within three hundred yards of the herd. Preparing their implements to strike, the Eskimos had advanced to within fifty feet. The moment was tense. Of a s

Tactics were reversed. Instead of creeping up slowly, a sudden rush was planned. No heed was taken of noise or wind. The carburetor was opened, the spark lever of the magneto was advanced to its limit, and we

a prize to the marksmen, while the launch, at reduced speed, encircled the walrus-encumbered pan. Few escaped. There were heads and meat and skins enough to satisfy all wants for a long time to follow. But the game was too easy-the advantage of an up-to-date sportsman

rrent season. To study these interesting folk, to continue the traffic and barter, and to enjoy for a short time t

o Mr. Bradley suggested lowering the launch for a crack at ducks, or a chase at walrus or a drive at anything that happened to cut the waters. His harpoon gun was taken, as it was hoped that a whale mi

alruses was seen on a pan of drift ice far ahead. The magneto was pushed, the carburetor opened, and out we rushed after the s

vening we were glad to seek the comfort of our cosy cabi

nd her children, we had offered a large bed, with straw in it, between decks, but which, savage as she was, she had refused

ence. It came in response to a question from me as to how the world had used her, for I had known her years before. At my simple question, she burie

The heart of Ma-nee throbbed to the pleadings of one Ik-wa, a youth lithe and brave, with brawn and sinews as resilient as rubber and strong as steel, handsome, dark, with flashing eyes, yet with a heart as cruel as the relentless wind and cold sea of the North. Ma-nee married Ik-wa and bore to hi

being at the time a scarcity of marriageable women in the village, Ma-nee was soon wooed by another, an aged Eskimo, whose muscles had begun to wither, whose eyes no longer flashed as did Ik-wa's, but whose heart was kind. To him Ma-nee bore two children, those which she had with her on deck. To them, unfortunately, descended the heritage of their father's frailities; one-now eig

among the mountains of the interior. Day after day, while the gloom descended, Ma-nee, dry eyed waited. The aged father never came back. Returning hunters finally brought news that he

f only the fittest. The one child, because of its insufficient senses, the other because it was still on its mother's back and under three at the time its father died, and with no father to support them, were doomed. Kind-hearted as the Eskimos naturally are, they can at times, in the working out of that code which means continued existence, be terribly brutal. Their fierce struggle wi

ospects, Ma-nee thought of the cruel Ik-wa and determined to go to him, with the two defective children of her second husband, beg him to accept them as his own and to take her, as a secondary wife, a servant-a position of humiliation and hard labor. In this determination, which can be apprec

omised to help her, although the missi

possessed some positive wealth in the shape of several dogs, and thr

wife, who had supplanted Ma-nee, a fat, unsociable creature, appeared. Weeping, Ma-nee told of her plight and begged for shelter. The woman stolidly listened; then, without a wo

nately, found some good excuse for avoiding. Although she had violated a custom of the tribe, these people, both stern-hearted and tender, recognized the greatness of a mother-love which had braved an unwritten law of ages, and they took her in. Several

e retired early to our berths. During the night the speed of the yacht increased, and when we appea

e Sound. On a sea of gold, strewn with ice islands of ultramarine and alabaster,

njoy the superb surroundings. In the afternoon we were well into Inglefield Gulf, and near I

ing for a favorable berth in the drift off Kanga, the launch was lowered, and we sought to interview the Esk

ent on a caribou hunt, and then, with a remarkably rapid articulation and without a single question from us, plunged incessantly on through all the news of the tribe for a year. After gasping for brea

a narwhal tusk? We should be delighted, and a handful of sweets went with the bargain. Her boy brought down two ivory tusks, each eight feet in leng

a fair wind, we cut tumbling seas of ebony with a racing da

randeur under the midnight sun. The distance was twelve miles,

h a sickening thump. At Karnah we went ashore. There was not a man in town, all being absent on a distant hunting campaign. But, thou

. Skins were stretched on the grass, and a general air of thrift was evidenced about the place. Bundles of seal-skins, packages of pelts and much ivory were

their hospitality, for without the harbor there was too much wind to keep the schooner waiting. Eskimos have no salutation exce

fog soon blotted out part of the landscape, horizon and sky. It hung like a gray pal

MITS OF N

DY PLACE, WHERE SUPPLIES ARE FOUND IN ABUNDANCE-EVERYTHING AUSPICIOUS FOR DASH TO THE POL