Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-10-25

year, when I climbed the ice cap, hat
been met by furious storms. but eventual,
everything had turned out we'll, and 20
accepted this a. good omen. Twice agair
we climbed the bluff, the dogs falling to m,
on one trip and. my big dog sledge on tn
next, the boys bringing up the remainds
Of the load. Carrying everything to thi
gorge, the sledges were loaded there, ant
we began the transportation from the gorgt
| to Cache camp, at the edge Of the ice, three
miles from camp and 2,525 feet above se,
| level.
Hard job for Two Days.
Several steep slopes in the gorge and OF
the plateau above required all the dogs and
| our best efforts on each of the larger
sledges. Two days were consumed IN bring.
ing up to the Cache camp. where Matt and
Gibson had built . snow igloo, and where
we cooked our meals in . fireplace among
the rocks of the Nunatak, close BY.
During ali this time there were signs Of
coming atmospheric disturbances of more
tnan usual intensity. A precipitation Of
fine frost crystals intermitted with tran
sient snow squalls; exquisite cloud effects
formed and vanished In and over McCor-
mick Bay, while over the inland ice wicked
looking white oumuli grew against dark,
lead-colored sky. The night temperatures
at this time were degree and 8 degrees be-
low zero. At Cache camp our supplies and
to the different sledges, and here
began our serious trouble with
our wild wolves, called by courtesy dogs
Restless under their new masters, and
fighting constantly among themselves, these
brutes gave us not . moments peace.
Hardly an hour passed when not ut work
that one or two did not manage to break
their harness or eat off their traces, free
themselves, and sometimes four or five
would be loose at once. To capture and re-
secure one of them was always Work OF
time and of more or less ingenuity, and
frequently resulted in general muster for
repairs at the drivers hands
Attempt to Make the Next stage.
On the Sth I attempted to make the next
stage from Cache camp up the lower slopes
of ice, but q strong wind, blowing down
from the interior and driving the loose
snow in the face of my dogs, discouraged
them so completely that we could do moth
ing with them, and 20 we were Obliged to
await the pleasure of the weather. Finally
we got under way and succeeded in advanc-
ing a short stage round the north side of the
first big hummock.
With no sleep for GA hours I think I
must have fallen asleep the moment tum-
bled into the igloo. Twelve hours later I
awoke to hear the rush Of the wind over
our shelter and the hiss Of the dri fling
snow against its side. This continued for
"a hours, when could stand 1t no longer,
and Gibson and I started for the upper
igloo. The igloo was almost completely
buried in the snow. Its occupants had
not been able to expose themselves
to the wind. The dogs, restless as slway::
chewed at their harness and traces till half
OF them were loose and running at will
about the sledges and provisions. The
rest of the dogs were half buried in q huge
drift which hads formed about them, and as
I got nearer I saw that three out of the 20
were victims of the dread piblukto, or dog
disease, and were already nearly dead.
Hard Battling Against the Wind.
As the wind was still blowing with such
force that it was impossible to do anything,
Gibson and myself crouched in the lee Of
the igloo, and while waiting for the storm
to cease learned from Dr.. Cook that they
had been unable to get out of their shelter,
and, in fact, had had all they could do to
save it from destruction BY the resistless
sandblast of the driving snow; that several
tins of provisions, set in motion by the
dogs, had been swept down the steep slope
into the glacier below, and that the dogs
had eaten or destroyed everything left that
they could get at. Fortunately, the latter
item was not large, as all of my stores were
in substantial tins.
So the work went on, much to my dis
with double banking and
utter disregard of hours of rest, until the
10Th. had been led to believe, as the re-
suit of the reconnaissance made the previous
fall, that after the first slope had been sur
nearly level route could be
found. 1t seems that the deceptive light Of
the autumn days had misled Astrup and
Gibson, and found that must draw my
sledges and their loads up one snow slope
and down another for distance of about 15
miles before reaching the easy, gradual
slope of the true inland ice. AT last, how
ever, Oh the 14th, having ratified merrily
down the northern slope of Dome Mountain,
I found myself looking up at that long,
easy, white slope which I knew so well,
and in regard to which there could be no
mistake, and the next day our march upon
the true inland ice may be said to have
Men Taking the Place of the Dogs.
At this time had but 16 dogs out of my
dog disease. As q result, We all Of us set
tied into the traces and did our share of
hauling. Two short marches of five and
seven miles brought us to an elevation of
!, 900 feet. and early in the third march, the
highest SUBMITS of the Whale Sound land
disappeared, and found, to my surprise,
that we were descending, having already
passed over the divide between Whale
Sound and Kane Basin. and being already
On the descent toward the basin of the
Humboldt glacier. The blue-black sky
with angry, lead-colored clouds massing be-
meath it, the CHASTITY whiteness of the ice |
blink, and the raw, cutting southeast wind,
could not be misunderstood, and before our |
gloo was complete everything was blotted |
out by the driving snow.
Poor Gibson! 1 pitied him that night, |
for it was his turn to do the costume act, - |
we called it; In other words, 1t wss his turn |
10 sleep fully dressed and outside, so that |
be could attend instantly to loose dog be- |
fore he had done any damage. Our dogs
we're always bad enough in wind and storm,
but this time, as the storm continued they |
seemed as If possessed of devils, bowling, /
lighting and tearing themselves loose from |
he stakes to which they were fastened, and |
when finally Gibson, weary with his efforts
It recapturing them, fell asleep for few
leaning against the entrance Of |
he igloo, one of them ate the bottom of |
his sleeping bag, while another bolted
lbout six pounds, nearly halt my entire
tock, of cranberry jam.
A Storm Fortnight Hours Long.
Forty-eight hours of incessant wind and |
now, and then the storm passed over into
Kane basin and left us in peace. Az we
,rawled out of our igloo into the brilliant
unshine that Sunday morning, and looked