Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1909-09-14

we had passed the Norwegian record OF
S614 by hansen, and the Italian record
Of S6.34 by Cagni.
From this point Marvin turned back in
command of the third supporting party
My last words to him were, BE careful
of the leads, my boy
The party from this point comprised
nine men, seven sledges and so dogs.
The conditions at this camp and the ap-
parentlv unbrolen expanse of fairly level
ice in every direction reminded me Of
Cagnis description of his farthest north.
but I was not deceived by the apparently
favorable outlook for available conditions
never continue for any distance or any
length of time in the Arctic regions.
PECULIAR LIGHT SETTLES.
The north march was over good going,
but for the first time since leaving land
we experienced that condition-frequent
over these ice fields-Of a hazy atmo-
sphere in which the light is equal every
where. All relief is destroyed, and it is
impossible TO see for any distance.
We were obliged in this march to make
a detour around an open lead. In the
next march we encountered the heaviest
and deepest snow of the journey, through
a thick. smothering mantle lying in the
depressions of heavy rubble ice.
l came upon Bartlett and his party,
by the heart attacking work of making
a road. l knew what was the matter with
them. They were simply spoiled by the
good going on the previous marches. !
rallied them a bit. lightened their sledges,
and sent them Oh encouraged again.
During the next march we Travelled
through a thick low-lying, smoky haze
drifting over the ice before a biting air
from the northeast. At the end of the
march we came upon the captain camped
beside a wide open lead Of dense black
water from northwest, north, and north
east.
BUILT ICE-HUTs HERE.
We built our igloos and turned in, but
before l had fallen asleep, I was aroused
out by a movement of the ice and found
startling condition of affairs.
rapidly widening road of black water
ran but a few feet from our igioos,
One of my teams of dogs had escaped by
only a few feet from being dragged by
the movement of the ice into the water.
Another team had an equally narrow es-
cape from being crushed by the ice blocks
piled over them.
The ice on the north side of the lead
was moving around eastward. The small
floor on which were the captains iglocS
was drifting eastward in the open water,
and the side of our igloos threatened to
follow suit Kicking out the door of the
igloos I called to the captains men to
pack their sledges, and be ready for a
quick dash when favorable chance ar
rived.
We hurried our things on our sledges,
, hitched the dogs and moved on to q large
foe west of us. Then, leaving one man to
look out for the dogs and sledges. we
hurried over TO assist the captains party
to join US.
WATER BELCHES BLACK SMOKE.
A corner Of their raft impinged on the
ice on our side for the rest of the night
and during the next day the ice suffered
the torments of the damned, surging to-
gether. opening out. groaning and grind
Il ing while the open water belched black
smoke like a prairie fire.
| Then the motion ceased, the open water
closed. the atmosphere to the north was
cleapd, and we rushed across before the
ice should open again.
| A succession of laterally open leads
We're crossed and after them some heavy
/ old ice. Then we came to a layer of
| young ice, some of which pucSled under
| our sledges and this gave us a straight
way of six miles to the north. Then
came more heavy old foes covered with
| hard snow. This was a good long march.
( BARTLETT'S LAST Squirt.
| The next march was also a iong one.
! self out over a series OF large old foes
steadily increasing in diameter. and COW
cred with hard snow.
/ During the last few miles 1 walked
beside him or In advance.
! He was very solemn. and anxious to go
! further. but the program was for him
/ to go back from here in command of the
fourth supporting party, and there were
no supplies for an increase in the main
party.
! In this march we encountered a high
wind for the first time since the three
| days after we left Cape Columbia. 1t
| was dead on our faces, bitter and insist
1 ent, but / had no reason 70 complain.
1t was better than an easterly or
southerly wind. either OF which would
have set us adrift in open water. while
| this was closing up every read behind,
thus furnishing another advantage for
my supporting parties.
WIND SETS THEM BAD.
True, by so doing. it was pressing to
| the south the ice over which we trav-
| eled, and so robbing us of 100 miles of
advantage. We concluded we were on
or near the SSth parallel unless the north
| wind had lost us several miles. The wind
| blew all night, and all the following day.
At this camp in the morning Bartlett
| started to walk five or six miles to the
north to make sure of reaching the sSth
parallel. While he was gone / selected
| the 40 boat dogs in the outfit and nae
| them doubled, and 1 picked out five of
| the best sledges, and assigned them ex-
pressly to the captains party 1 broke
up the seventh for materIai with which
to repair the others, and set Esquimaux
( at the work.
Bartlett returned in time to take a
satisfactory observation for latitude in
clear weather, and obtained for our DO
sition Sz.4S and that showed that the
continued north wind had robbed us of
a number of miles of hard earned dis
| lance. Bartlett took the observation
here, as had Marvin five camps back.
partly to save my eyes. but largely to
give an independent record and determi-
nation of our advance.
BARTLETT ON BACK TRAIL.
The observations completed and two
copies made. one for him and the other
for me, Bartlett started on the back
trail in command of my fourth support
| ing party. with two Esquimaux, one
sledge, and IS dogs.
When he left 1 felt for a moment
! pangs of regret as he disappeared in the
I distance. but it was only momentary.
Ny work was still ahead. not in the
rear.
Bartlett had done good work, and had
been a great help to me. Circumstances
1