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

surface of Grant Land under the inf1u-
| ence of optical Illusions gave us consid-
| cradle entertainment
| AT every breathing spell the heads
| turned to the land and every look gave
| a new prospect. From belching volcanoes
| to smoking cities of modern hustle the
mirage gave suggestive bits of scenes.
but a more desoate line Of coast could
| not be imagined.
| Low wind-swept and ice-polished noun
| tains were separated by valleys filled
with great depths of snow and Ice. This
| interior accumulation moved slowly to
| the sea, where 1t formed a low ice walk
a glacier of the Inalaspina type but Its
| appearance was more like that of heavy
| sea ice; hence the name of the frag-
ments from this observation-disclosures which.
! seen in Lincoln sea and resembling old
| foes, were supposed to be the product of
| the upbuilding of the ice Of the North
| Polar sea.
! Late in the afternoon the land suddenly
settled as if by an earthquake. The
pearly glitter which raised 1t darkened
| and a purple fabric was drawn over the
lighter purple blue of the upper skies. We
| saw the land, however, repeatedly for
several days whenever the atmosphere
| was in the right condition to elevate the
| terrestrial contour lineE.
Eli Conditions Favorable.
| Everything was in our favor in this
march, The wind was not strong and
struck at an angle, making it possible
to guard the nose by pushing the mitten
under the hood or by raising the fur
clad hand. The snow was hard, and the
ice. in fairly large foes separated by
pressure lines, offered little trouble. At
the end of a forced effort of fourteen
hours the register indicated Twenty-Five
miles.
Too tired to begin the construction of
house at once, we threw ourselves down
~y- Al.;,,
and fell asleep. Awakened about an
hour later by strong wind, we fastened
to seek shelter. The heavy foe upon
which we rested had several large hum
these was found suitable snow for
camp. Lines of snowy vapor were rush.
ing over the pack and the wind came
with rapidly increasing force.
But the dome was erected before we
suffered severely from the blast, and
under 1t we crept out of the coming
storms into warm furs.
1t blew fiercely that night, but in the
draught. with a temperature of 80 de-
grees below. At noon we emerged. The
snow grays had been swept from the
frtgid dome, but to the north there re-
cloud which gave us much uneasiness.
| 1t was a narrow belt Of water-sky and
indicated open water or very thin ice at
no great distance.
| Inc upper Surface OF Grant Lana was
a mere line. but play of land clouds
over it fixed the eyes on the last known
rocks Of solid earth. In this march we
felt keenly the piercing cold of the Polar
sea: The temperature gradually rose to
46 below in the afternoon. but the chill
of the shadows increased with the swing
Of the SUMS glitter.
A Life-sapping Wind.
1t still blew that light, life-sapping
| a pcpI,t xryhf oh olod he
ed the nose. We had hoped that this
would soften with the midday sun. but
instead it came with sharper edge. Our
course was slightly west of north, the
wind was slightly north OF west: it struck
us at a painful anglo and brought tears.
| The moistened lashes quickly froze to-
gether in winking, and we were forced
to halt frequently to unseal the eyes
| with the warmth Of the uncovered hand.
In the meantime we found the nose tipped
with a white skin, and 1t also required
nursing. The entire face was surrounded
| with ice.
This experience brought warm language,
but there was no redress. If we aimed to
| succeed the face must be barred to the
| cut of the elements
About o'clock, as the sun crossed the
| west, we had reached a. line of high
| pressure ridges. Beyond the ice was cut
| into smaller foes and thrown together in
| ugly Irregularities; an active pack and
| troubled seas could not be far away. &C
| cordfng to our surmises. The water-sky
widened, but became less sharply defined.
We managed to pick a. way among hum
! mocks and pressure lines which seemed
| impossible from a distance, and in few
| hours We saw from an unusual uplift of
the packs-a tremendous cut several miles
| wide, which seemed at the time to bar
| all further progress. We had folding
canvas boat on the sleds, but in tenn
/ NJ Ha
craft could be lowered into water with
out fatal results. All of the ice about
was firmly cemented together. and over it
a way was forged to the shore Of the
| great lead.
Camp Beside the Lead.
Camp was made in a secure old field,
and over its huge ice cliffs the crack
seemed like long river winding between
palisades of blue crystal. A thin sheet
of yellow ice had already spread over the
mysterious deep, and a profusion of fan
tastic frost crystals was arranged in
punches resembling flowers. Through this
young ice dark vapors rose like steam
through a screen OF porous fabrics, and
fell in feathers of dust along the SPAR
king shores. Etukhishook went east and
went west to examine the lead for
safe crossing.
There were several narrow places, while
here and there foes had been adrift IN
the lead and were now fixed by the young
ice. Ahwelah remained to make our
snowhouse comfortable.
In exploring the shore line a partially
bridged place was found, about a mile
from camp, but the young ice was too
elastic for a safe track The tempera-
ture. however, fell rapidly with the set
ting sun. and the wind was Just strong
enough to sweep off the heated vapors.
A better atmospheric condition could not
be afforded to quickly thicken the young
ice.
The grooming ice and the ca gerness to
reach the opposite shores kept US awake
for long time. With the ear resting on the
frozen sea, the vibrations and noises Of
the moving pack were not unlike those of
an earthquake.
Breakfast was served early and soon