The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1909-09-14
allure during the so hours was 50 be-
low, the maximum IL.
The Return Journey.

Tho Return tourney.
We had reached the goal, but the
return was still before US. It was es-
sential that we reach the and before
the next spring tide. and We must
strain every nerve to do this.
I had a brief talk with my men.
From now on it was to be a blS
travel. little sleep, and a hustle every
minute. We would try, I told them, to
double march on the return-that is.
to start and cover one of our north
ward marches. Just as long as We
could hold the trail we could double
our speed, and we need waste 10
time in building new igloos.
Every day that we gained on the
return lessened the chances Of a gale
destroying the track. Just above the
some SO miles wide which caused
me considerable uneasiness. Twelve
hours Of strong easterly, westerly, or
northerly wind would make this re-
gion an open sea.
In the afternoon OF the 18th we
started on our return. having double
fed the dogs, repaired the sledges for
the last time, and discarded all Il
spare clothing. to tighten the loads.
Found No Bottom Near the Pole.
Five miles from the pole a narrow
crack, filled with recent ice. through
which we were able to work a hole
with a pickaxe, enabled me to make
a sounding. All my wire, 1900 faith
oms, was sen down, but there was
no bottom. In pulling up the wire it
parted a few fathoms from the sur
face, and LEAD and wire went to the
bottom. Off went reel and handle,
tightening the sledges still further.
We had no more use for them now.
Three marches brought us back to
the ig1oos where the captain turned
back. The last march was in the
wild sweep Of a n%ortherly gale, with
drifting snow and the ice rocking I'M
der US as we dashed over it.
Trace Of Marvin Found.
South Of where Marvin had turned
back we came to where his party
had built several igloos while delayed
by open leads. Still farther south we
held up by an open lead and obliged
to camp. Fortunately. the movement
Of these leads was simply open and
shut, and it took considerable water
motion to fault the trail seriously.
While the captain, Marvin, and, as
I found out later, Borup had been
delayed by open leads. we seemed to
bear a patent charm. and at no sin
gle lead were we delayed more than
a. SodpI VI lI1C
ice was fast and firm enough to carry
us across; sometimes a short detour,
sometimes q brief halt for the lead to
close, sometimes an imprOvised ferry
on an ice cake, kept the trail with
out difficulty down to the tenth out
ward march.
Trail Lost and Found Again.
Igloos there disappeared COM
pletely, and the entire region was un-
ECONOMICALLY VNhnro Nv thn o,,+vrn I'd
journey had been narrow cracks there
were now broad leads, one of them
over 5 miles in width, caught over
with young ice.
Here again fortune favored us, and
40 pronounced movement of the ice
having taken place since the captain
passed. we had his trail to follow. We
picked up the old trail again north
Of the seventh igloos, followed it be-
yond the fifth, and at the big lead
lost it finally.
From here we followed the cap
tain's trial, and on April % our sledges
passed up the vertical edge of the
glacier fringe, a little west Of Cape
Columbia. When the last sledge came
up / thought my Eskimos had gone
crazy. They yelled and called and
danced themselves helpless.
"Devil Must Be Asleep"
AS Ootah sat down on his sledge,
he remarked, in Eskimo:
"The Levitt is asleep or having trou-
BILE with his wife, or we never should
have come back SO easily"
A few hours later we arrived at
Crane City, under the bluffs of Cape
Columbia, and, after putting four
pounds of pemmican into each Of the
faithful dogs, to keep them quiet, we
had at las our chance to sleep.
-A-11 ~a-ol ~
Cape Columbia. It was sleep, sleep,
then turn over the sleep again. We
slept gloriously, with never a thought
Of the morrow or OF having to walk,
and, too, with no thought that there
was to be never a night more of blind
ing headache. Cold water to a
parched throat is nothing compared