Norwich bulletin. [volume] (Norwich, Conn.) 1895-2011, 1909-09-25
Eleven Heavily Loaded Sledges Start
Westward Over the Ice.
LAST LAP OF THE JOURNEY
Every Ounce of Surplus Weight Removable Cook De-
scrbes the Last Cache-Details of Equipment Car
ried Out to the Circumpoar Sea-Party Reduced to
Two Eskimos and Twenty-Six Dogs for Final Dash.

camera and films, note books and PEN
ellis.
The personal bags contained four
extra pairs of kamiks, with fur stock
ings, a woclen shirt, three pairs of
sealskin mittens, two pairs of fur nit
tens, piece of blanket, a sealskfn
coat (netsha), a repair kit for mend
ing clothing and dog harness, extra
fox tails.
On the march we wore snow Cog
giles, blue fox coats (kapitahs), bird
skin shirts, wooden drawers, bear
stockings. We fastened a band of fox
tails under the knee and about the
waist. i.
Helping the Advance.
On the morning of March Is prep
aratlons were made to divide the par
ty. The advance must be helped over
the rough ice of the pack edge, and for
this purpose Koolootingwah and
Inugito were selected. The other six
Eskimos prepared to return. One sled
was left with the cache to insure a
good vehicle for our return in case the
two sleds were badly broken en- route.
A half gale was blowing into Nam
sen Sound from the northwest, but
this did not interfere with the starting
of those home going Eskimos. With
abundant game for the return they
required little but ammunition to sup
ply their wants.
When the word was given to start
the dogs were gathered and the sleds
were spanned with jump. Soon they
disappeared in the rush of driving
snow. The crack Of the whips and the
rebound Of cheering voices was the last
which we heard of the faithful savage
supporters. They had followed not for
pay but for real desire to be helpful,
from the dark days of the ending of
night to the bright nights of the COM
ing double days, and their parting en-
forced pang or loneliness.
With a snow charged blast in our
faces it was quite impossible for us
to start. so we withdrew to the snow
igloo, entered our bags and slept a
few hours longer. At noon the hori-
zon cleared, the wind veered to the
southwest and came with an endura-
BILE force. The dogs had been doubly
fed the night before; they were not
to be fed again for two days. The
twelve hundred pounds of freight were
packed on our sleds, and quickly we
slipped around deep groves in the
great poliocrystic foes. -
The snow had been swept from the
ice by the force of the preceding
storms, and the speed att; med by the
dogs through even roughfce was such
ahead to get a good c3 Tse.
The crevasses and pressure lines
gave little trouble at first, but the
hard. irregularity of the barred ice Of
fered a dangerous surface for the life
of our sleds, passing through blue
gorges among miniature mountains of
sea ice. On course slightly west of
north we soon sank the bold headland
which raises the northern point of
Heibarg Island.
Camp Is Pitched.
After run of twenty-six miles we
pitched camp on a hoeberg of unusual
height. There were many big hum
mocks about, to the lee Of which were
great banks Of hardened snow. Away
from land it is always more difficult
to find snow suitable for cutting
building blocks, but here was an abun-
dance conveniently placed. In the
course of an hour a comfortable pal
lace of crystals was erected and into
it we crept out of the piercing wind.
The first days march over the circum-
polar sea was closed with a good rec
ord ~,
The dogs curled up and went to
sleep without a call, as if they know
there would be no food until the NOR
row. My wild companions covered
their faces with their convenient long
hair and sank quietly into comfort
able slunfber, but for me sleep was
quite impossible. Letters must be
written. The whole problem of our
campaign. must be again carefully
studied and final plans must be made
not only to reach our ultimate destina-
ton, but for the returning parties and
for the security of the things at An
nootok.
1t was difficult at this time to even
guess at the probable line of our re-
turn to land. Much depended upon
conditions encountered in the north
ward route. Though we had left
caches of supplies, with the object of
returning along hansen sound into
Cannon Fjord and over Arthur Land,
entertained grave doubts of our abil-
ity to return this way. If the ice drift
ed strongly to the east we might not
be given the choice of working out our
own return. In that event we would
be carried perhaps helplessly to
Greenland and must seek return
either along the east coast or the west
coast
This drift did not offer a dangerous
hardship for the musk oxen would
keep us alive to the west, and to the
east it seemed possible to reach Shan
non. Island, where the Baldwin-Zie
Ter expedition had abandoned a large
probable also that large land extern
sion might offer a safe return much
further west.
Francke's instructions.
Because of this uncertainty F'rancke
was instructed to wait until June 5,
1908, and if we did not return he was
told to place Koolootingwah in charge
and go home, either by the whalers or
by the Danish ships to the south.
No relief which he could offer would
help us, and to wait for an indefinite
time alone would have inflicted a need
less hardship. This and many other
were prepared for Koo-
lootingwah and Inugito to take back.
In the morning the frost in crystals
had been swept from the air, but there
remained a humid chill which pierced
to the bones The temperature was
minus Sc Fahrenheit A light air came
from the west and the sun burned in
a freezing blue
After few hours march the ice
in character The extensive
thick fields gave place to moderate
sized foes. The foes were separated
by zones Of troublesome crushed lee
into high pressure lines. which |
offered serious barriers. but with the
Ice axe and Eskimo ingenuity We man |
aged to make fair, progress
The second run on the polar sea !
was with twenty-ope miles to our |
credit II had expected to send the SUD-