Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-10-09
withered faces lined map of hardships

withered faces lined map of hardships
en- route.
We were curious looking savages. The
perpetual glitter inclined squint which
distorted the face in remarkable man
ner. The strong light reflected from the
crystal surface threw the muscles about
the eye into a state of chronic contrac-
ton. The iris was reduced to a mere
pinhole. At all times the ice on the brows
and lashes interfered with the decorative
effect.
The strong winds and drifting SHOWS en-
| couraged the habit of peeping out of the
to keep the ball from hardening flushed it
at all times with blood. There was no
end of trouble at hand in endeavoring to
keep the windows of the soul open. and
all of the effect was run together in a
set expression of hardship and wrinkles
which should be called the boreal squint.
Nearing the Pole.
This boreal Squint is a part of the rus
set bronze physiognomy which falls to
the lot o. every arctic explorer. The
early winds, with a piercing temperature,
start a flush of scarlet, while frequent
frostbites leave figures in black, later
the burning sun browns the skin, subse-
quently strong winds sop the moisture.
! harden the skin and leave open assures.
The hard work and reduced nourish.
and leave the skin to shrivel up in folds
| The imprint of the goggles, the set ex-
preston of hard times and the mental
blank of the environment have removed
all spiritual animation. We have the
color and the lines Of old russell apples
and would easily pass for prehistoric pro-
genitors of man.
In the enforced effort to spread out the
stlnened legs over the last reaches there
\
| ing times to erect a snow shelter The
silk tent was then pressed into use.
Though the temperature was still very
low when the sun was high. its congenial
rays pierced the silk abric and rested
| softly on our closed broWS in heavy slu,n-
| Der. In strong winds it was still neces-
| sary to erect a sheltering wall to shield
the tent, but altogether the change proved
| quite agreeable. 1t encouraged a more
| careful scrutiny Of the strange world into
| men.
| Optical Illusions.
| Signs of land were still seen every day.
| but they were deceptive optical illusions,
and mere verdict Of fancy 1t seemed
that something must happen, some line
must cross our horizon to mark the i'm
portant area into which we were press
| ing.
When the sun was low the eye ran over
moving plains in brilliant waves of color
| to dancing horizons. The mirages turned
| things topsy turvy. Inverted lands and
queer objects ever rose and fell in shrouds
of mystery, but all of this was due to
| the atmospheric magic of the midnight
| sun.
| With a lucky series of daily astronomi-
cal observations our position was now &C
| curately fixed for each stage of progress
AS we neared the pole the imagination
| quickened, and restless, almost hysteric
excitement came over us. the boys fam
cied they saw beaver and seals, and ] had
| a new land under observation frequently,
| but with a change in the direction of light
| or an altered trend in our temperament
| the horizon cleared and we became eager
| only to push further into the mystery.
| From the eighty eighth to the eighty
ninth the ice was in very large fields and
| the surface was less irregular but in
other respects 1t was about the same as
below the eighty-seventh. We noticed
here also an extension of the range of