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

us with way TO reacn the unmapped lands
to the northeast, there we hope to have an
opportunity to see what some of our crack
ski runners can do in the way of a squirt
to the far north.
We find all we'll at the camp, save that
Mr. Heyerdahl has drunk too much water
and nearly perished of dysentery. Dr..
Mohun's prompt and skillful treatment
doubtless saved his life The doctor has
also successfully treated three cases Of
snow blindness by new method of his
own devising in which cocaine is used
with admirable results.
The story of our labors from this time
onward can best be told in extracts from
my journal, given just as they were en-
tered, day by day:
June I've have breakfast at 6 this
evening, and Immediately afterward Cap
tain Pedersen Professor French and the
writer set out on skis to explore the ice to
the east We desire to go straight to the
east from here, toward the King Charles
island, but after picking our way across
many tidal cracks we find such hopeless
mass of broken up ice, alternated by wa
ter holes. that we abandon the idea of GO
ing in that direction and decide to veer to
the south toward Cape Platen, where the
ice seems smoother.
After breakfast a fine big bear walks
into the midst of our camp, moving his
shaggy head from side to side and snuff
fling, bear fashion. He evidently is after
one of our dogs, and just as he is on the
point of getting his paw on a nice pup for
his supper Captain Pedersen's rifle cracks,
and bruin drops in his track. We give
all the dogs bear feast and stop long
enough to fry a large quantity of bear
steak and to make bear stew that is as
savory, with onions and lemons judicious-
ly mixed, as anything the gor1nands back
in civilization will enjoy today. The men
are cautioned against eating too much,
for fear of i'll effects, but those who utter
the caution are themselves perhaps the
most injudicious, so tempting are the hot
mOrsels.
June AT 12 O'Clock midnight we
broke camp and started south to round the
rough ice the loads pulling very heavy
with temperature of 90 F., the snow be-
! ing soft and sticky. 1t was the hardest
work we have had so far, for in addition
to the very sticky, deep snow we had to
pick our way among large pieces Of ice
and over some exceedingly rough places
where the men sank to their thighs just
at the moment they needed their great
est strength. The boats pulled as if they
weighed couple of tons apiece, and even
. our light ski sledges required great exer-
tion on the part of an extra number of
men. To add to the encouragement the
dogs did not pull as well as usual, owing
to their sore feet. They actually left a
! Al
causing US to feel guilty of cruelty to ami
mails. But we have our own hard work,
exposure and anxieties to endure, and the
poor brutes are not bearing more than
their share of the burden. We worked
along pretty steadily until in the morn
ing, and as the men came into camp with
the last loads they fell down in the snow
to rest and gasped for water. An hour
! later every man in the party was as bright
and clipper as he ever had been in his
life after partaking of fine supper of
bear stew, biscuit, stewed apples and tea,
cooked with driftwood brought with us
from the island. AS usual when their
ice and snow ring with their song and
laughter.
| June 3.-Professor French and Captain
\
prospecting trip five miles to the south,
where they were glad to find pretty good
ice eastward toward Cape Platen. In this
! direction we shall resume our march after
sleeping We had some amusing expert
ences in trying TO cook fapjacks, which
were quite mystery to our Norwegian
contingent. The first trials proving un-
satisfactory, they seized their share of the
batter made from prepared -four and in
| sisted upon making cruel of it. The
product was termed portland cement"
/ by the men, which it very much resem-
bled. Every ounce of it was consumed
nevertheless.
! The temperature when we retired was
80 F., about ten degrees warmer than we
wished for We had breakfast of bear stew
and biscuit at 8 this evening and moved
over road alternately rough and smooth,
but nearly always too soft and sticky, for
several hours Here and there our course
lay across broken fiat pieces, and under
meath the thin covering of snow were sew
eral inches of slush which wet the feet of
every one in the party, but this was moth
ing to what we encountered little later,
when it was found necessary to wade
through slush and water up to our knees
Such a bath of ice water is not very pleas
ant when you first go in, but in few mo-
ments the sozzling feet became quite warm
and comfortable. 1t is nothing when you
get used to it.
Enormous Norwegian Appetites.
| June Ave travelled all night over Just
such ice as that which we met last even
ing, though gradually becoming smoother.
If the temperature were only lower, we
should be much happier. Some of the
Norwegians have such enormous appetites
that it is with great difficulty they come
down to the sledging ration which we now
issue-less than l u pounds per man per
day. 1t is the smallest ration ever issued
on such journey, where men are required
to work with all their strength all day, or
rather all night long. We are now expert
menting to some extent with the ration
and may find it necessary to increase it,
except when we can supplement- our stores
with bear meat. AS yet the men seem to
hold up very well, though the majority Of
them are more or less hungry all the time.
We take the position that eating large
| quantity of food is more or less habit.
In our ration Of about 90 ounces per day
| we know there Is enough nutriment to