Iron County register., 1896-10-22


what, as I did not wish TO gain its vi
cinity until nearly midnight. For five
hours we had been traversing the
frozen deep, and now, at II p. m, I de-
termined TO descend and make a trial
observation to find our latitude. The
gearing was changed and we descended
upon somewhat elevated ice plateau.
The suns upper limb alone was visible,
though the horizon was sufficiently
sharply defined for all practical pur-
poses. After corrections for semi-di-
ameter, dip, parallax and refraction,
computed the suns altitude, and from
it, by an indirect method sometimes
used by navigators, I determined our
longitude to be 90 degrees 80 minutes
west, which proved that we had gone
eastward of true northerly course
Having thus fixed the meridian and
the local time / proceeded to take the
latitude, which I found to be SO degrees
~ minutes, or only IS minutes or a
little over 20 miles from the pole. NY
only course now was to pass over this
intervening distance by dead reckon
ing, dependent upon the speed of the
vessel. AS there was still half an hour
to midnight we took lunch and COM
forted ourselves around the stove.
At five minutes before midnight we
were again rising over the ice-fields,
and steering straight for the eastern
limb of the low, red sun. l allowed
seven minutes and half for covering
the 25 miles. at full speed. and two de-
grees of right ascension for the suns
travel during that time; and, taking
this latter element into consideration
in the steering. as the cbrorometer
marked the time. l signed to Auchin-
Gloss 10 reverse the gearing. when we
slowly dropped upon the desolate
scene. a blank landscape of barren
desolation stretched on every side to
the limits of the horizon, and the weird
crimson beams of an impotent sun
shed a CHASTITY light upon this frozen
sea. No land, no soil, no vegetation, no
animal life, no still or flowing water
acted as a relief to the death-like ma
ture of the picture. It seemed as if the
dead inertia of the planet at this point
had transferred itself to everything
around. The stiffness of death pre-
vailed, and a deep horror came over me
as 1 stood upon this mysterious spot
hitherto trod-at least, within the
period of our physical history = by
none of the human race. Beside me
stood Auchincloss, looking, in his Es-
kimo suit, very different to the en-
gineer in blue overalls and jumper who
had left the ranch on the Stanislaus
river 10 hours previously.
Here we are, jim" said I, "as near
as we can go. l don't think we're more
than mile out, but in what direction,
Idon't know. 1t twouldrequire fresh OBJ
servation to determine everything with
perfect accuracy, and that 1 don't feel
disposed to make. And now to signal
ize the accomplishment of the fact.
How are subsequent explorers to tell
that anyone has been here before them?
1 confess / am at a loss; but my mind
was so taken up with the sudden re-
quirements of the trip that this thing
completely escaped my notice"
"Make yourself easy, boss" said
Auchincloss, as he jumped back into
the vessel. 81 thought of that very thing
while you were gone in the wagon to
Knights Ferry. I knew very well
there was no pole here, so made one.
Here it is" and, suiting the action to
the word, he proceeded to pull out
from beneath the center of the vessel
a roughly planed piece of timber which
had escaped my notice, as it hung sup
ported by rope nooses beneath the
length of the boat.
How will that do, boss?" he ex-
claimed, as he pulled it from its fasten-
ings.. 81 rove block and tackle to it,
and took that union flag of yours that
was tucked up on the top shelf of the
shanty, and busted it, and brought it
along. Likewise, / took a couple of
yards of our calico awning and slapped
the red, vertical cross of st. George
over the blue diagonal cross of ST.
Andrew, thereby making a union jack,
and here they are;" and he brought ou.
a couple of extremely ordinary-looking
flags. Now" continued he, II charred
the end of this pole, and after that I |
tarred it. Now, if you'll take the pick |
and crow-bar and put hole in this ice, |
1 have no doubt we can leave a pole |
here, even If we didn't find one"
In IS minutes our pole was securely |
imbedded in the ice, surmounted by the |
twin banners of the stars and stripes /
and union jack, which would have |
foated to the breeze had there been /
any. As it was, our black pole stood /
out in bold relief against the inter- /
minable icy white which surrounded it /
on every side, and afforded sufficient |
landmark and guarantee to future eX-
ploTers that they had not been the first /
to acquaint themselves with the virgin
position of the planets axis. OF half /
a dozen bottles of champagne, which /
had been brought along. three had been
drunk, two had burst through expan-
sion as they froze. and but one had re-
tanned it's liquid condition, having
been kept beneath the stove. This last
was shivered against our rough mast
which Auchincloss christened North
Pole" while 1 stood sponsor.
ForInalities having been expended,
and our mission accomplished, we re-
turned TO our vessel, again speeding
southwark under a continuous sun.
passing over pretty nearly the same
country as we had done on our north
ward voyage. Suffice it to say that we I
arrived at our ranch on the banks of
the Stanislaus river by seven p. m. or a
little after sundown, of the day subse-
quent to that on which we started, hav-
ing completed the trip to the north
pole and back in somewhat less than
IS hours.-San Francisco Argonaut.
A RestfuI Trip.