Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1905-09-14

body knew that. Of the IS men. al
but one were safe and sound. The
dead mar did not succumb to anythin.
that he might not have died of in his
W home. 1t was a record far sur.
passing that of the other Ziegler tx.
petition.
Flala spoke modestly Of what had
happened during these past two years
saying nothing for himself. though IL
was largely due to him that he had
brought his men back all right.
Fiala didn't have much to say Of
what he had been through, but Others
told. of it. The men were in fairly
good shape, but some were SO weak
that they never could have withstood a
third winter in the Arctic.
1t was the terrible winter of 1903 and
1904 that was against them. When
storms and grinding ice crushed the
stanch America like a pasteboard box,
this ship that had w~eathered many an
Arctic winter before, Fiala did not give
up, He saved so tons of provisions
ana 10G tons of coal. which he deposit-
&c on the ice for further use. Then
ne led his men out on the ice fields,
The last wreckage of their ship disap-
peared in the fearful storm of January
%, 1904. His ship gone, Fiala did nor
give up his search for the pole. Par
ties went out east. west and north,
trying to force a passage north. There
was impossible ice everywhere. and
much open water, which forbade other
attempts. Then the provisions began
to fail. 1t meant a forced march south
or death for everybody.
1t was a long, painful and terrible
journey on foot and sledga to the
southwark. Ultimately the party
reached the caches at Cape Flora,
Cape Dillon and Cape Ziegler. The
men were distributed at these three
places. and eked out the provisions
they found by catching bear and wal
rus, or which they subsisted.
Everybody was> hopeful until the
autumn of 1904. when no relief ship
came. The party knew it was doomed
10 pass another winter in the Arctic
without any hope of rescus. Solid ice
fields stretched in every direction II
was plain that nc help could come I'M
til another season.
But at home there was one girl who
had hope. And when spring came
again. there was one man who had
made up his mind TO obey to the letter
the parting injunction of William
Ziegler, even then doomed to death:
Don't come back without Fiala
Bring him back dead or alive"
Mr.. Champ knew what that meant.
and he resolved to do 1t. While Fiala's
men were fast losing hope, the Terra
Nova was making her way %northward
almost by inches. She sailed from
Tromsoe, Norway. on June 10 last. She
encountered tremendously thick ice all
the way. She encountered rerils that
would have driven back almost any
one save an American.
From Tromsoe she shaped her course
direct for the ice fields, which she
found on June 19. Then she slipped
along eastward until June 81, wheI
she began to drive her way through
the foes. On July rs, four weeks later
the Terra Nova struck open water.
But this was only for a brief spell
On July % she again hit the ice
Champ had experienced n~aviSs.ar:
with him and they were agreed tnat
they could never reach Fiala. Some
even doubted that they could get back
themselves until next year.
Keep on" ordered Champ quietly,
and the resolute men set their faces
still to the north.
On July 2S they sighted Palmi island.
Next day, after a 24-hour battle, they
reached the island. Then they knew
they had won. There they found SIX
members of the expedition which
Fiala's foresight had left there. Then
Champ knew that his mission was
successful, for the six told him where
headquarters were at Cape Dillon, aud
that Fiala and the rest Of his men