My Attainment of the Pole

ry of t

to the south of us glowed with marvelous, subdued sunset hues. By this time our work had gone ahead by progressive stages. Furs, to protect us from the cold of the uttermost North on my prospective trip, h

the twilight days pursuing bear, caribou, fox, hare and other game far beyond the usual Eskimo haunts. Before the dawn of the sun's afterglow, on the morning of October 26

ld barely see the outlines of my companions in the gloom, and it was difficult, i

as given. My compan

k!" (Go! Go!)

ponded in le

ide-made shelf of the ice-foot. The sledges dodged stones and ice-blocks, edged along dangerous precipices, in the depths of which I heard the swish of water, and glided miraculously over crevices and along deep gorges. Jumping about the sledges, guiding

nd there, all in the light of the kindling sky, aglow with purple and blue. To the far west I saw the dim outline of Ellesmere, my promised land, over which I hoped to force a new route to the Pole; upon its snowy highlands was poured a soft creamy light from encouragin

tform, a folding top of strong canvas was fastened, and spread between two bars of hickory from each end. The entrance was in front. Inside was a space eight feet long and three and one-half feet wide, with a round whaleback top. Inside this a supplementary wall was constructed of light blankets, offering an air space of an inch between the outer wall

thing separately, required about two hours. As I considered eating outside with any degree of comfort impossible, my companions were invited to crowd inside the tent. The vapor of their breath and that of the cooking soon condensed into snow, and a miniature snowstorm covered everything

at and blubber; two hours later, they made a fire in a tin can, with moss and blubber as fuel, and over this prepared a pot of parboiled meat. A crescent-shaped wall of snow was built to break the wind; in the shelter of this they sat, grinning delightedly, and eating savagely, with much smacking of

for the first time the new winter clothing with which I and all my companions were dressed. Our shirts were made of bird skins. Over these were coats of blue fox or caribou

for an early start. It seemed that I had hardly settled co

the dark. The Eskimos, having eaten their fill of fat and frozen meat, to whic

utting slant of the winds. We passed the perpendicular walls of Cape Seiper at dawn. We ran along the long, straight coast into Banc

the temperature lower. The wind steadily increased and veered northward. We made several efforts to cro

b highway, where otherwise sledge travel

n low hills, which offered grazing for caribou and hare. The preceding glimmer of the ne

arted to seek our luck in the chase. In the course of an hour my companions returned with four hares whic

e wind came with a howl that brought to mind the despairing cries of the dying explorers whose bleached bones were strewn along the shore. Th

or twenty-eight hours. But this tent sled sheltered Koo-loo-ting-wah and myself. When the rush of the storm had abated we began digging our way out. In this effort we dug up men and dogs like potatoes from a patch. The northern s

rspiration which rolled off and froze in lines of ice on our furs. We were none the worse as a r

track. Rested and hungry, they were in condition for a desperate chase. Their sharp noses pointed keenly int

and swirled about slopes of ice, gripping sledges violently. Now we were thrown to one side, again to the oth

oward the northwest. We cut the fleetest dogs loose from each team. Freed, they rushed over the snow like race-horses. But the bear had an advantage. As the first dog nipped his haunches he plunged into the blac

og or man and equally fatal to a boat, as ice, in the intense co

For miles about, the men sought fruitlessly for a way to cr

d a cold wind came from Humboldt Glacier, which at this time was located by a slight darkening of the sky. Many grounded

from berg to berg. The Eskimos inferred from their

pidly to Brook's Island. This was rather high, with a plateau and sharp cliffs. Bonsall Island near by

the coming of the moon, as is their custom, but the howls changed to tones of increasing excitement. We went out to inquire,

nquisitive turn of mind, deliberately advanced upon us. "Taokoo! taokoo! igloo dia oo-ah-tonie!" (Look! look! beyond the iceberg!) said the Eskimos. Neither the iceberg nor the bear was visible. After a cold and exciting wait,

he largest team. We jumped crevasses,

oked in the darkness like nebulous shadows. The dogs,

ery out of which the noise came. To-ti-o took the lead. As we neared the noise, all but two dogs of his sledge were cut loose. T

steps when To-ti-o fired. Koo-loo-ting-wah, noting

he folding lantern. The smokeless powder had broken the new gun. To-ti-o had

with rushing dogs in advance. To-ti-o dashed forward and delivered the lance under the bear's shoulder. The bear was his. He thereby not only gained the prize fo

ORTHERNMOST M

e been permanent. He danced with the romantic joy of a young lover. We drove the dogs off from the victim with lashes, and fell to and skinned and dre

USK OX ALONG

IVE H

'S PROSPE

st as we left the ice. The party scattered among numerous old bergs of the glacier. Koo-loo-ting-wah ac

about one thousand feet. We peeped over the crest. Below us were two reindeer digging under the snow for food. The light was good, and they were in gun range. An Eskimo,

skins, which we needed badly for sleeping bags. With pocket knives, the natives skin

he surface of stormy seas, perfectly free of snow, with many crevasses. An odd purplish-blue light upon it was reflected to the skies, resembling to some exten

including Brook's, had at one time been under its grinding influence. As a picture it was a charming study in pu

y rest we cut off slices of caribou tallow. I was surprised to find that I had acquired a taste for a new delicacy. At camp we found the natives, all in good humor, awaiting us beside heaps of meat and skins. All

Drawing heavy loads, the dogs gladly leaped forward. The twilight flush already suffused the sky with incandescence. Against the southeastern sky, glowing with rose, the gre

rches, we ran behind the sledges to save dog energy as much as possible. The cold enforced vigorous exercise. But, weighted down by furs, the comfort of the sledges was often soug

rple thickened. Soon new celestial torches lighted the changing sheen of the snows. Into the dome of heaven swam stars of burning intensity, each of which riva

rseman must have felt when the glory of Valhalla burst upon him. For a long time I was unconscious of the fatigue which was growing upon me. Finally, overcome by the long forced march, I sank on my sled. The Eskimos, chanting songs, loomed ahead, their fo

rkling pinnacles of the Greenland glaciers. Below, the lovely planet-deflected images formed rainbow curves like rubied necklaces about her

a,[8] that unseen and intangible thing of flame, who comes from her mysterious throne to smile upon a benighted world, began to touch the sky with glittering, quivering lines of glowing silver. With skeins of running, liquid fire she

deal to which I had set myself. I exulted in the thrill of an indomitable determination, that determination of human beings to essay great things-that human purpose which, throughout history,

t camp late

HT QUEST OF

OUS RACE IS MADE OVER FROZEN SEAS AND ICY MOUNTAINS TO THE WALRUS GROUNDS-TERRIFIC EXPLOSION OF THE ICE ON WHICH