The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1909-09-11


of the conquest, our spirits began to
descend on the following day after
all the observations had been taken
with careful study of the local con
ditions, a sense OF intense loneliness
came with the further scrutiny of the
horizon.
What a cherries spot to have
aroused the ambition Of man for so
nany ages!
An endless field of purple SHOWS.
No life. No land. No spot to relieve
the monotony of frost. We were the
only pulsating creatures in a dead
world of ice.
We turned our backs to the pole on
April %, and began the long return
march. Counting on continued east
Their west.
Crucial Stage of Campaign.
With fair weather, good ice, and the
inspiration of the hons run, long dis
tances were at first quickly covered.
Below the eighty seventh parallel the
character Of the ice changed very
much, and it became evident that the
season was advancing rapidly.
With a. good deal of anxiety we
watched the daily reduction of the
food supply. It now became evident
that the crucial stage of the campaign
was to be transferred from the taking
Of the pole to final battle for life
against famine and frost.
The clear blue of the skies changed
to steady, dismal gray. Several days
Of icy despair followed each other in
rapid succession.
There were some violent gales, but
usually the wind did not rise to the
full force of a storm. With starvation
as the alternative, we could not wait
for better weather.
Some advance was made nearly ev-
cry day, but the cost of the desperate
effort pressed to the verge of extinc-
ton. On May "a, the sky cleared long
enough to give us a set of observa-
lions. We had reached the eighty
fourth parallel, near the ninety seventh
meridian. The ice was much broken,
and drifted eastward, leaving many
open spaces of water.
There remained on our sIeds scarcely
enough food to reach our caches on
Nansen Sound, unless we averaged if
teen miles daily. With the disrupted
Lalack' and reduced strength we
were hardly equal to the fifteen miles
daily.
Saved from Famine.
Trying to make the best of our hard
lot, a straight course was set for the
musk OK lands of the inner crossing.
At the eighty third parallel we found
ourselves to the west of a large track,
extending southwark. The ice changed
to small fields. The~temperature rose
to zero, and a persistent mist obscured
the heavens. The events of the follow
ing day were pressed into desperate
action. With few lines on paper to
register the life of suffering, the food
for man and dog was reduced to three
quarter rations, while the difficulties
of ice travel rose to disheartening
heights.
At the end of a struggle of twenty
days through thick fog the sky cleared
and we found ourselves far down in
Crown Prince Gustav Sea, with open
water and impossible small ice as
barrier between us and Heiberg Island.
In the next few days bears came
along as life savers. The empty stom-
achs were spread and the horizon for
time was cleared of trouble. With
the return to Annootok rendered diff
hcult by the unfortunate westerly drift.
we now sought to follow the ice move
ment south to Lancaster Sound, where
we hoped TO reach a Scottish whaler.
Early in July further southwark
progress became impossible. and in
quest OF food we crossed the Firth of
Devon into Jones Sound.
Greeted by Friends.
The dogs were here given the free
dom of their propensities, and by fold
ing boat and sled we tried to reach
Baffin S Bay. With but an occasional
bird to eat and long line of misfor-
tune we pushed eastward until the frost
OF early September stopped progress.
With neither food, fuel nor ammuni-
ton we were forced to wrest winter
supplies from what seemed at first like
a lifeless desert.
Pressed by hunger. new implements
were shaped and Cape Sparbo was
picked as likely place to find life.
Game was located with the bow
and arrow, the line, the lance and the
knife. The musk OK, bear and wolves
yielded meat, skins and fat. An I'M
foreground den was prepared and in it
we remained until sunrise of 1909.
On February IS the start was made
for Annootok. With newly prenared
equipment the Greenland shores were
reached on April Is Here we were
greeted by Harry Whitney and an
anxious group of Eskimo friends.
To facilitate an early return I
moved southwark to the Danish set