The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1894-11-22

can get along at All, so the risk OF injury
to our little craft must be endured. AS
yet we notice no damage The rivets have
not even started
Discouraging Dimculties.
It must be confessed that the difficulties
which we have encountered, the loss Of
our steamer, the unfavorable nature Of the
season and the slow rate Of our travel, are
very discouraging. Our original plan of
reaching the heavy ice to the north was
frustrated first by the wide belt Of impas-
sable drift ice between the pack and the
shore. Often the pack is hard down upon
the land and comparatively smooth, af-
fording a surface on which we could have
travelled to the northeast, though perhaps
slowly, as we had originally intended.
Then came the loss of the steamer while
we were trying the experiment of sledging
to the eastward, precluding the possibility
of carrying out our alternative-thato of q
return to the ship in case the wind chang
cd and afforded an opportunity to push
northward by steam. In our journey over
the ice we have had great deal of bad
road, but in the face of all these discour-
agements we have kept to- our work, de-
termined to do all that can be prudently
done to achieve success. We now often
joke one another about the high spirits we
were in when fortune was smiling her
sweetest upon us and it seemed as if we
had found a royal road to the highest lati-
tudes. But we remind one another also
of our prediction, made at that time to
the effect that we should get our share If
hard luck before the year was over, and
that when it came we should fight it out
like men and smile and sing even in the
midst of our misfortunes. Well, that is
just what we are doing now.
AS we sit writing up our journal this
June morning at 3 a. M, with the lap for
a desk and the gunwale of a boat for
chair, the scene is one of rare beauty-a
perfectly blue sky from horizon to hori
xon, warm sun in the heavens, not
breath of air stirring, the sharp or conical
peaks of Spitzbergen and high inland ice
a hundred miles away glittering like a
city of dOmes, towers and minarets. Cape
Platen looms up dark and shadowy eight
or ten miles to the eastward of us. Thirty
miles northwest we can just see Walden
lS1dllU, vi WuOSc I'LL SuOTC Uuc hdSuNd1u
Jarl lies hopeless wreck, with Captain
Bottelfsen and his crew camped on the ice
foot near by. Absolute stiffness reigns,
or would reign save for the snoring of a
draft dog under the boat and the screech-
Ing of an arctic fowl over the heavy ice.
AS write in the journal DR.. Mohun sits
near by, with his eyes alert for bear. We
are in the bear country, sure enough, for
we see tracks every half mile, but not a
shot has the good doctor yet had.
Supper camp was made at l o'clock, the
last mile having fatigued all hands very
much, being a succession of icy hummocks
and deep pockets of snow. The meal con-
sisted of the cartridge soup, SO called,
made in two pots and giving every man
the second cupful; biscuit, two pounds of
corned beef in slices, apples and tea. Some
of the men having complained of late of
the fare, we took occasion as the first
course was served to address the party and
ask Mr.. Franklin to interpret for us, re-
minding them that no other arctic sledging
party had ever had such rich and whole
some food in the field nor SO much in nu-
triton or variety as we are having Where
other arctic expeditions had simply frozen
pemmican and tea we have our concen-
trated food in hot dishes, and fruit and tea
besides, all hot. 1t was even necessary to
remind some of the men that what they
have jokingly and perhaps in one or two
instances sneeringly called .''soup three
times day. was really only one portion
of soup per day, the other two dishes being
an Improvement upon the old style penn
mican in that it was richer in nourish
ment and always served hot. These re-
marks, when interpreted into Norsk, were
greeted with ''Madget good!" from the
Norwegian contingent.
Another dog was sacrificed tonight for
the breakfast of his mates, nearly all of
whom have learned to enjoy the cannibal-
istic feast. The men jokingly undressed
the victim and prepared him for the exc
cution by taking off his collar and har-
ness. Mr.. Dahl is our lord high execu-
toner.
Just aftJr retiring to our sleeping bags
and while all hands were smoking, a Their
mOmeter was swung for five minutes over
our heads and within the awnings To
our great surprise, it registered 20 degrees
+. The temperature outside was 33 de-
grees. About midday we were all reused
from slunber by the heat Though we
had crawled only half way into our sleep
ing bags and had raised the awning before
going to sleep, the temperature was not to
be endured. We had to get out of the
reinskins entirely and pass the remainder
of the day under the half blanket which
we use for a pillow. This evening about 5
O'Clock strong wind from the south
sprang up, and though the temperature re-
manned stationary we had as much diff
Guilty in keeping warm as we had before
in keeping cool. We breakfasted at :
O'Clock and set out on our journey at 8 in
a bowling wind which sent the snow fly
ing in hurtling, whistling clouds. 1t beat
into our faces and the eyes of the poor
dogs, making the work exceedingly I'M
comfortable. One had to work hard in or
der to keep warm, and, the road improv-
ing, we made rapid progress.
A little after IL O'Clock this evening,
when we We're within about six miles of
Cape Platen and had advanced nearly
four miles, Captain Petersen mounted a
high piece of ice, cast his eye to the north
east and took off his hat and shouted:
Hurrah! Open water!" We all clambered
up beside him, and a shout of Joy leaped
from all our threats. To the northeast, as
far as our vision could extend, was broad
belt of open water. The strong southerly
wind was giving us the onnortu itv w hicb