The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1889-01-26
TO THE NORTH POLE
By tho Slippery Route Of the Es-
kimo Sledges.
Lieutenant Schwatka Recounts Interest
ing Experiences Encountered in His
Journey from Hudson's Bay to
III the Arctic Ocean.

At the time of our leaving Hudson's
Bay in the early spring Of rs on our
long sledge-iourney of Il years hard
work we had forty-two very fine Eski-
mo dogs to pull our three heavily-laden
sledges over the hard frozen SHOWS.
Among the wild Eskimo we met on
that distant trip, SO far away that only
a very few had ever seen any white
men before, we added by purchase
eighteen more good dogs, making sixty
mall.
When the year was gone and tho
journey ended with a bitter cold Arcti,
winter. and tho joyful sight of our old
home in Hudson's Bay was again
brought before us, we had out OF the
sixty but nineteen of the faithful Great
ures left. Nearly all the rest had
starved to death during the hard part
of the trip where we had fought our
way along, almost starving ourselves
When we started in the spring of
rs we had enough good food for our
forty-two animals for a number of
days A funny kind of food it was, too
great slabs of tough walrus hide,
nearly two inches thick and covered
with bristly hair. This we cut into
strips about a foot long, and about a
dozen of the strips were given to each
dog. The animals were not fed again
for two days. That is the rule on a
Journey. however much food may be
on hand; and if there be scarcity they
may be fed only every third or even
fourth day. Singular as this seems it
appears yet more wonderful that
the dogs will keep up their strength
and spirits when doing ordinary
sledging, day in and day out, and
yet be fed only alternate days.
I have lived directly among the
Eskimo for over two years. just the
same as one of them, and | never saw
them feed their dogs oftener than
every second day, unless it was to give
them something that otherwise would
be lost or spoiled.
When the walrus hide gave out, as it
did in about three weeks. we had to re-
ly on game, principally the flesh OF the
reindeer, over five hundred of which
We killed on our years trip. Nearly
all of these were secured through the
vigilance of our Eskimo hunters. Had
we all been white men | believe we
never could have made the trip from
Hudson's Bay to the Arctic Ocean, and
my belief is founded on many years
hunting experience in the West.
feel perfectly confident that no aver
age body of white men 1--WE num-
bered seventeen in all. four being
Whitley could have made the journey
and supported the forty-two hard
working dogs with their voracious ap-
petites. My sledga expedition would
have been absolutely impossible with
ont the aid of my Eskimo allies, and
shows the folly of attempting arctic Ell
terprises without them and their means
OF life and travelling.
When we reached the Arctic Sea, we
got dried fish from the natives to feed
the dogs. and also killed a few seal on
the ocean ice. All summer we thus
kept them alive on King Williams
Land. and ourselves too Tor that mat
ter; for we could only carry loss than a
months civilized provisions and were
gone within ten days of year; there
fore when our startiug-out supply was
gone we had to live for nearly a year
the same as the Eskimo; the same as
the dogs in fact, except that they
would be stintcd first in times OF
scarcity.
During all this long summer
when the sun never went down, when
the only way we could tell midnight
from noon was by noting that the sun
was little nearer the horizon at the
former time although it was just as
light--we were burying the scattered
bones of brave British expedition OF
over hundred souls that visited thai
lonely land many years before and not
Que of whom ever returned to tell in
what n dreadful way they were lost
AS my little band carefully completed
the last sad rites for these remains
could not help but wish that theil
party too had been much smaller i,
numbers and had added faithful
natives to it, so at least q few col;ll
have escaped along the dreary" coas
where we were living in plenty at th'
correspondent" time OF year when the
we're lost.