The Rice belt journal. (Welsh, Calcasieu Parish, La.) 1900-19??, 1909-09-17

|
sledge left It,
We stopped IN sight Of the eighty
ninth parallel in a temperature Of I
degrees below. Again scant slet
and we were on our way once MOI
and across the eighty-ntnth parallel.
THIS march duplicated the previou
one as to weather and going. The La
few hours it was on young ice and ot
casionaIIy the dogs were EaliOping.
We made twenty-five miles or NOR
the air. the sky. and the bitter win
| burning the face till it cracked. 1t wa
| like the great interior lee gap q
Greenland. Even the natives com
/ planned Of the bitter air It was a
! keen as frozen steel
A little longer sleep than the previ
| Gus one had to be taken here, as W
were all in need Of it. Then on again
! Up to this time, with each successiv
march, our fear of an impossible lea
had increased At every inequality Q
the Ice | found myself hurrying breath
lessly forward, fearing that it marked
lead, and when / arrived at the SUNNI
would calrh my breath with relief-0HI!
to lind myself hmrrying on in the SANE
way at the next one.
r
shift Of feeling, this fear fell from m.
completely The weather was thick, bui
it gave me no uneasiness.
Before ] turned in ! took an observa.
ton which indicated our position as IS
degrees - minutes.
A dense, lifeless pail hung overhead.
The horizon was black and the Ice IL
meath was a ghastly, chalky white, With
n fri Inc CT fn 10 oil
mering. sunlit fields Of it over which we
had been travelling for the previous four
days.
Weather Becomes Mider.
The going was even better. and there
was scarcely any snow on the hard,
granular. last summers surface OF the
old foes, dotted with the sapphire ice
of the previoL' summers lakes
rise In temperature TO 10 degrees be-
low reduced the friction Of the sledges
and gave the dogs the appearance OF
having caught the spirits of the party
Tie more sprightiy ones, as they went
along with tightly curled tails. frequent
ly tossed their heads, with short, sharp
barlls and yelps.
In J. hours we had made 40 miles.
There was no sign of a lead In the
march.
Arrival at the Pole.
| had now made my five marches, and
was in time for hasty noon observation
through temporary break in the clouds
which indicated our position as S957.
quote an entry from my journal some
hours later:
The pole at last. The prize Of three
centuries. my dream and goal for 20
years, mine at last. / cannot bring nv
self 10 realize II.
1t all seems so simple and common
place. AS Bartlett said when turning
back, when speaking of his being in
these exclusive regions. which no mortal
has ever penetrated before: 1T is lust
like every day"
or course | had my sensations that
made sleep impossible for hours, despjte
my utter fatgue-the sensations Of a life
time. but | have no room for them here
The first 80 hours at the pole were
spent In taking observations: in going
some ten miles beyond our camp and
some eight miles TO the right Of #; in
ahlhS photographs. planting my flags,
'tpoSltlng my records. studying the hOri-
ION with my telescope for possible land,
ma searching for practicable place to
make sounding
Plan for Return Trip.
Ten hours after our arrival the ctouds
feared before a light breeze from orr
eft and from that time until our depar
uFe IN the afternoon Of April the |
Weather was cloudless and fawless,
me minimum temperature during tho
hours was 50 below, the maximum p I
we had reached the goal, but the re- |
urn was still before US. 1t was essential
nat we reach the land before the next
prl1'g TIDE. and We must strain every
erve to do this.
hao brief talk with my men. From
." on II was to be big travel. little
'eep and hustle every minute.
we would try, I told them to double
'alcn on the return-that Is. 10 start
'u cover one of our northward
'ar'hes' make tea and eat our luncheon
the lsioos. then cover another march
d. ana sleep few hours, and reneat
lis daily. pe"'
Speed Nearly Doubled.
Az matter OF fact. we nearly did
us covering regularly on our return
'urney five outward marches in tbr..
.turn marches.
Just as long as we could hold the
all we could double our speed ard
need waste no time in buildinp
t" isioos every day, so that the time
e gained on the return lessened 10
lahces or gale destroying the tracL
JUST above the eighty-seventh noraI-
, was region some fifty miles wide
n'Vh caused me considerable unaasi-
WE'VE hours of strong easterly
esteriy, or nOrtherly wind wo,,ia
d re TINS region an open sea.
IN the afternoon Of the 18th we sto-.
vi our return. having double fed
e uosS' repaired the sledges for tba
>. tl'ne. and discarded all our spare
o'hlhs 10 Tighten the loads.
Tries to Sound Sea.
FIVE miles from the pole a ,.
ack filled with recent ice thra,s
men we were able to wor. .s
I'm pfckax. enabled me to m.,, o'e s
undlng. All my wire. 400 fatho
IS sent down. but there was ~ nl {
m. "o DOT ,
In pulling up the wire nartea a
thoms from the surface and Iaaa lew I
re went to the bottom. on want Gnu q
handle, tightening the sledsa. a ,eei
rther We had no more use -. . pun
w. ' AoT thsm
4 heee marches brought us back ~ a
lgloos whore the captain tnn, ~ y
OK The last march was IN 49, nea =
eep OF northerly gale, with tr;rt
snow sho" and the ice rocking unde, -. h
dashed over 1t. 0ef as
NOT Delayed by Leads.
o oS, IN, OF where Marvin had turnsd J
~ scam came to where his party had v
an i s.sefal igioos while delayed nv n
-, M 'e Gao stu further south wy n