Hopkinsville Kentuckian., 1890-03-04
TO THE NORTH POLE
By the Slippery Route of the Es-
kimo Sledge5.
Lieutenant schwatka Reoounts Interest,".
Ing Experiences Encountered In His
Journey from Hudson's bay to
the Arctic Ocean.

the Arctic Ocean.
At the time OF our leaving Hudson
Bay in the early spring OF rs on ou
long sledge-journey of years har,
work we had forty-two very fine Eski
mo dogs to pull our three heavily-lader
sledges over the hard frozen SHOWS
Among the wild Eskimo we met or
that distant trip, so far away that only
. 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 the
journey ended with bitter cold Arcti,
winter, and the joyful sight OF our old
home in Hudson's Bay was again
brough. 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 tho spring OF
'7S we had enough good food for our
forty-two animals for number OF
days. A funny kind OF food 1t was. too
great slabs OF tough walrus hide,
nearly two inches thick and covered
with bristly hair. This we cut into
strips about foot long, and about o
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 il there be ascarcity 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.
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 1t was to give
them something that otherwise would
be lost or spoiled.
When the walrus hide gave out, as 1t
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
white) could have made the journey
and supported the forty-two hard
working dogs with their voracious ap-
petites. My sledge expedition would
have been absolutely impossible with
out the aid OF my Eskimo allies, and
shows the folly OF attempting arctic en-
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 less than
months civilized provisions and were
gone within ten days OF year; there
fore when our starting-out supply was
gone we had to live for nearly year
the same as the Eskimo; the same as
the dogs In fact, except that they
would be stinted first in times OF
scarcity.
During all this long sumner
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 ut 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 that
lonely land many years before and not
one OF whom ever returned to tell in
what dreadful way they we're lost.
As my little band carefully completed
the last sad rites for these remains i
could not help but wish that their
party too had beon much smaller in
and had added faithful
natives to it, 30 at least few could /
nave escaped along the dreary coast
whore we we're living in plenty at the
time OF year when they
we're lost.
When our summers task was done
of following the lonely line OF death
md burylng the bones, we prepared
'or our winters sledge journey home
% Hudson's Bay, whence next summer
\ ship would take US TO the United
States.
The first cold snap OF winter-and in
the Arctic regions winter sets in earlier
than in our own country by two or
three months - started the reindeer,
row fat and in nuo fur, TO migrate
southwark whore the climate would be
n little milder; 80 we had to scurry
around prctty lively to kill enough o.
hem for clothing, bedding md mcn,
Until we should overtalso .hem farther
'olth again. ,,
We were quito successful. anl curly ,
n November we started back. hoping
md expecting to reach home in
month or'two at the most -an oxpccta-
ion that was dragged out two or three
months, oven logger than that, and
'ave us a sledso journey through the
whole OF the winter, an undertaking
'efore unknown even among the Es-
iimo,
Our dogs were good and strong and
overed with fat when we started, and