Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-10-09

building and repairing sleds. making dog
harness and shaping new winter clothing.
kept up lively interest while the great
crust which was to hold down the un-
ru1y deep for so many months thickened
| and closed.
Last Glimpse of Dying Day.
| During the last days of brief sunshine
the weather cleared, and at noon on Octo-
| Der "a everybody sought the freedom of
the open for last glimpse of the dying
! day. There was a charm of color and
glitter. but no one seemed quite happy as
| the sun sank under the southern ice. for
it was not to rise again for 11S days.
The Eskimos took this as signal to
enter a trance Of sadness. in which the
bereavement of each family and the dis
comfort of the year are enacted in dra-
matte chants or dances.
But to us the sunset of 1907 was inspira-
| ton for the final work in directing the
| shaping of the outfit with which to begin
the conquest Of the pole at sunrise of
1908. Most expeditions have had the ad-
vantage of the liberal hand of a govern
| ment or of an ample private fund. We
were denied both favors.
But we were not incumbered with a
cargo Of insists devised by home dream
| ers. nor was the project handicapped by
| the usual army of novices. for white men
at best must be regarded as amateurs
compared with the expert efficiency of the
| Eskimo in his own environment. Our
| food supply contained only the prime fac
| tors Of primitive nourishment. Special
foods and laboratory connections did not
| fill an important space in our larder.
| Nor had we balloons, automobiles,
motor sleds or other freak devices. We
did, however, have an abundance OF the
| best hickory, suitable metal and all the
raw material for the sled and it's Access
sories which was henceforth to be linked
with our destiny.
nv, -lnl 1,n IF
careful study and local environ
ment and Of the anticipated surface north
| ward. We did not copy the McClintock
sled, with it's wide runners, which has
| been used by most explorers for fifty
years Nor did we abandon the old-fash-
| Toned iron shoes for German silver strips.
What a Polar Sled Should Be.
The conditions which a polar sled must
meet are too complex to outline here.
| In a broad sense it seemed that the best
qualities of the best wood Yukon sled
! could be combined with local fitness of
the Eskimo craft, with tough hickory
fiber and sealskin lashings to make elastic
| joints. With plenty of native ingenuity
| to foresee and provide for the train of
adaptability and endurance the pos
sibilities of our sled factory were very
good.
For dog harness the Eskimo pattern
| that when ratiens are reduced to work.
able limits the leather strips disappear
as food. To overcome this disaster the
shoulder straps were made of folds of
strong canvas, while the traces were cut
| from cotton log line.
A boat is an important adjunct to every
sledge base of operation. 1t Is a matter
| of necessity, even when following the
new coast line. as is shown by the mis-,
| hap of Myths Erickson: for If he had had
| boat he would himself have returned
| to tell the story of the Danish expedi-
| ton to East Greenland.
! Need for a boat comes with the changed
conditions of the advancing season.
Things must be carried for several
months for a chance use in the last
stages of the return. Rut since food sup
plies are necessarily limited delay Is
fatal. Therefore, when open water pre-
nature of life preserver.
Foolish indeed is the explorer who
ignores this detail of the problem. Trans
! port of boat. however. offers many
the kayak and most explorers have since
adopted the device. The Eskimo canoe
serves the purpose very we'll, but to
carry it for three months without hope
| less destruction requires an amount of
energy which stamps the polar venture
with failure.
! Selecting a Boat.
Sectional boats, aluminium boats, skin
floats and other devices have been tried
| but to all there is the same fatal. objec-
ton Of impossible transportation. 1t
seems rather odd that the ordinary fold.
ing canvas boat has not been pressed into
this service.
| We found it to fit the situation exactly.
selecting a twelve-foot Eureka shaped
boat with wooden frame. The Stats,
spreaders and floor pieces were utilized
as parts of sleds. The canvas cover
served as a floor cloth for our sleeping
l,bags. Thus the boat did useful service
for hundred days and was never in
evidence as a cumbersome device.
When at last the craft was spread and
covered in it we carried the sled. in 1t
we camped, in it we sought game, the
meat of which took the place OF exhaust
ed supplies. Without it we, too. would
not have returned.
Preparation of the staple food supply
is even of greater Importance than means
of locomotion. To the success of pro-
longed arctic enterprise in transit sue
cessive experience is bound to dictate
wise choice of equipment, but it does not
often educate the stomach.
From the published accounts of arctic
travellers it is impossible to select salts
factory menu for future explorers, and l
hasten to add that perhaps our expert
ence will be equally unsatisfactory to
subsequent victims