The gold leaf., 1909-10-28

detected about the 1gloo, and peep
through the eye port gave no cause
for the disturbance. It was concluded
that the ice was cracking from the
sudden change of temperature In quite
the usual harmless manner. and we
turned over TO prolong the bag com
forts
Then there came q series Of thun-
dering noises, with which the ice quiv-
cred. Ahwelah arose and said that
the house was breaking. l turned to
rise and sank into a newly formed
>crevasse which up to that moment was
bridged by snow. A man In a bag Is a
helpless creature, and with water be-
above pressing one deeper and deeper
the case was far from humorous at
temperature OF 4S below.
Still the boys laughed heartily. Their
hands. however. were quickly occu-
pied. Ahwelah grabbed my bag and
rolled me over on snow Of doubtful
security. They then slipped into furs
with electric quickness and tossed the
things out on safe ice.
In the extreme cold the water froze
in sheets about the bag. and when the
ice was beaten of the reindeer skin
was, to my pleasure, found quite dry.
A few moments more Of sleep and we
might all have found a resting place
In the chilling deep. That experience
kept US ever watchful for the dangers
Of the spreading ice in all calms after
storms
The ice about was much disturbed
and numerous black lines of water
opened On every side from which
ooZod jets Of frosty steam. The great
difference between the temperature Of
the sea and that of the air made .
spots Of ice water appeared to be boil
ing.
Anxious to move along away from
the troubled angle Of ice the usual
breakfast was simplified. Melting some
snow, we poured down the icy liquid
as an eye opener and then began a,
the half pound bowlder of pommi an
but with cold fingers. blue lips and ne
possible shelter the stuff was unusual
~ hard.
To warm up the sleds were prepared
and under the lash the dogs iur,peI
into harness with Il bound. The penn
mican, somewhat reduced with the AK
was ground under the nlolars as we
went along. The teeth were thus
kept from chattering and the stomach
was fired with durable fuel.
AS we advanced the ice improved t.
some extent, and with little search
a safe crossing was found over ali o.
the new crcvices. though q strong west
erly wind carried Il piercing cod
Good progress was made. but we were
not allowed to forget at any time thai
we were invading the forbidden DO
mains OF polar environment.
The Bitter Cold.
In starting before the end Of tn
| winter night and camping on the ore
| ice fields in the long porthward n".<.i'
we had first accustomed our eyes to y
| frigid darkness and then TO Il perpetu
| al glitter with shivers. This proved t.
! be the coolest season of the year. We
| should have been hardened to all kinds
| Of arctic torment, but man only gains
| that advantage when the pulse ceases
| to beat.
| Far from land, far from other life
| there was nothing to arouse il warm
| ing spirit. Along the lard there had
| been calms and gales and an inspiring
| contrast, even in the dark days and
nights. but here the frigd world was
| felt at it's worst. The wind which
came persistently from the west-now
strong. now feeble. but always sharp
inflicted a pain to which we never b"
| came accustomed.
| The kind of torture most felt in thi.
wind and humid air OF an arctic pack
was picturesque mask of ice aip,u:
the face. Every bit of exhuled moiS
ture condensed and frOZe either to the
facial hair or to the line of fox tails
about the hood. 1t made comical
caricature Of us.
The frequent turns in this course
brought both sides to the wind ant:
arranged a line Of icicles from every
hair Offering convenient nucleus
These lines Of crystal offered q pleas
ing dash of light and color as we
looked at each other, but they did moi
afford much amusement to The iEdi-
yidual exhibiting them. Such hair, ~
had not been pulled from the lips and
the chin were first weighted. and then
the wind carried the breath to the long
hair with which we protected on,
heads and left Il mass of danglin.
frost
An Icy Coating.
Accumulated moisture from the ewes
coated the eyelashes and brows. The
humidity escaping about the forehead
left Il crescent of snow above, while
that escaping under the chin, combined
with falling BREATH made Il semirircle
of ice The most uncomfortable icicles
however. were those that had formed
OH the coarse hair within the nostris
IT is to free the face of this kind OF
decoration that the Eskimos pull the
facial hair out by the roots: hence the
real poverty of mustaches and boards
N UR1NG two days Of chilly blus,
ter the sleds were forced along
~ with encouraging results, and
ON the evening Of March 26
with a pedometer and other method
of dead reckoning for position. we
were placed at latitude 81 degrees
SO minutes. The western horizon re-
manned persistently undisturbed. A
brisk storm. it seemed. was gathering
but it was long time in coming
| eastward On tho ovonip~ Of th, 1t,t I,
we prepared for the blast and built the