The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1894-11-29

could only travel like the ice birdl
With venisOn stew at 2, venis0n steak at
s, more stew at 9, some hearts, tongues
and brains in superf1ne broth at 10 and
q divine tenderloin at II, we 60 to sleep on
the gravel as happy as mice in acheesebox.
JUNE ia perfect day in Junel We
bask in the sunshine, take our baths in the
open air and listen to the birds singing on
the cliff which hangs over our camp.
The temperature is 35 degrees in the shade,
but the warmth of the sun is almost trop-
ical. The luxury of a bath in warm, fresh
water, standing by the side of q snowdrift,
is enjoyed by all, or nearly all, in the camp.
After breakfast the men are called to-
gether, and announcement is made of the
programme of the expedition. The main
party is to continue on the route already
planned as soon as the state of the ice or
water will permit The Kane is to be
sent back to Captain Bottelfsen's camp at
Walden island as soon as it can be made
ready, with 20 days rations for four men,
and the men chosen for this party are Mate
Sandbu, who is in charge; Mr.. Heyerdahl,
Mr.. Winship and the sailor Iversen. 1t is
with regret we part company with these
gallant fellows, every one of whom has
proved very useful to us. The Kane is our
smallest and lightest boat, weighing only
$50 pounds, and the men will not have to
carry sledge, for the boat will hold all
their equipment. We fit them out with
20 days rations, though there is little
probability that they will be more than
ten or twelve days in reaching their desti-
nation. 1t is needless to say that all the
men are sorry to 60 back. Every one of
them would like to go on and share the for
tunes of the expedition, be they good or i'll.
Professor French has made some obser-
vations here and finds the charts of this
coast very inaccurate. The cape on which
we are camped, which is four or five miles
farther east that the charts show, we have
named Cape Gresham.
JUNE 1.-THE men were all busy this
morning writing letters to send back by
the Kane, in hopes that they will reach
Norway by the hands of Captain Bottelf-
sen. The Kane party left us at 2 this aft
ernoon after hearty goodbys between men
who have learned to value one another's
friendship and round of cheers for our
departing comrades. Half dozen of our
men accompanied the Kane for several
miles, and the party of ten made the little
boat fairly dance along the smooth snow
of the shore.
A Mountain Climb.
Today we climbed the mountain side for
a good look at the sea to the north. 1t was
not an easy ascent. With all activity of
80 degrees sharpness covered with thick
layer of soft snow with hard crust, moth
ing but skillful use of ski stick saved
us from sliding backward. In order to get
a toe hold, it was necessary to dig in with
the foot with all ones weight. Here and
there was series of stones protruding
from the snow, and these would have ia
cilitated the ascent had some of the stones
not been loose, making it extremely dan
gerous to touch them, for if large stone
should start from its resting place it might
carry an avalanche of other pieces with it,
overwhelming the climbers. Frequently
a large stone came sliding down the steep
hill with frightful rapidity, and once we
stepped aside just in time to avert being
hurled to the bottom. Notwithstanding
these discouragements, we continued until
a height of perhaps 1000 feet had been
reached, where the crust was found so
hard that it was almost impossible to OBJ
tain a foothoid, and farther progress meant
slide toward the bottom and head
crushed against some intervening rock.
AucAC VIC oCOppcl huu Iurucu W cuJOy
the scene. 1t was well worth the labor and
danger Of the ascent. AS far as the eye
could reach to the north was the great sea
of ice, seemingly smooth and easy to travel,
but as we knew only too we'll full of hum
mocks and ridges and an infinite variety
of roughness and mushy pools, wholly i'm
practicable as a road. The sunshine and
shadows played games of hide and seek
ho
horizon with a yellowish streak and then
making it brown and blue. Ice, nothing
but ice, could be seen, the infinite, end
less, contrary ice that has plagued so many
travellers before us and will doubtless
plague to the end of time The ducks on
the cliffs about us clattered with an inces-
SAINT cackling, and many of them in their
fearlessness flew so close to us that we
could almost touch them with a ski
stick. A thousand feet below us our
camp, with the stars and stripes flying,
gave Il dash of human life to the otherwise
wild picture. With incredible audibility
the voices OF the men came up to us, and
we could hear even their ordinary con-
versation when the birds CHANGED to be
little more quiet than usual. We over
heard one of the men say, ''He was very
foolish to go up there words whose sig
nifcance we did not appreciate until we
started on the descent.
1t had been difficult enough to climb
the hill, but it was 90 times as onerous a
task to get down again. For rods together
it was necessary to dig a hole in the crust
of snow with ski pole and plant therein
a heel, then using the pole to steady ones
self to the next ledge constructed in the
same manner. Thus step by step we picked
our way down. now and then finding it
necessary to slide in the most ungraceful
manner Imaginable an inch or two at a
time, holding on with the finger nails
while carefully moving the ski stick down
for another hold. In ~ hours we had
safely reached the bottom of the mountain,
though most of the men in the camp were
surprised that we did not come down like
a house out Of a cyclone, a heap of ruins.
After supper, which was given dis
tinctive American flavor by the presence
of some fine buckwheat cakes baked by
Mr. Dodge Oh an iron shovel a fine deer
walked almost into our camp to be shot
Professor French accommodated him with
the first crack of his winchester Our