Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1909-09-17


imum T. We had reached the goal, but
the return was still before us. 1t was es-
sential that we reach the land before the
.ext spring tide and we must strain ev-
cry nerve to do this.
/ had lief talk with my men. From
now OH It was e be a big travel. little
sleep and Il hustle every minute. We
would try 2 TOLD them. TO double march
on the Ieturn-that is, to start and cover
one Of our northWard marches. mike tea
and eat our luncheon la tie igloos. then
cover smother march, eat and sleep few
hours, and repeat this daily. AS u mat
Ter of tact we nearly did this, covering
egularly on our return journey FIVE out
ward marches In three return marches.
Jlst as long as we could hold the trail
we could" double Our speed and we need
waste no time in building new igloos.
Every day that We gsined on the return
lessened the chances OF a gale destroying
the track. just above the S7th parallel
was a region some 80 miles wide which
caused re considerable uneasiness.
Twelve hours of strong easterly. westerly
Or northerly wind would make this region
an open sea. In the afternoon of the
It'll we started on our return, having
double-fed the dogs. repaired the sledges
for the last time and discarded all our
spare clothing to tighten the loads.
Five miles from the pole a narrow crack
filed with recent ice through which we
were able to work hole with a pickaxe,
enabled me to make a sounding. All my
wire. LOO fathoms, was sent down, but
there was no bottom. In pulling up, the
wire parted a few fathons from the sur
face, and lead and wire went TO the bot
tom. or went reel and handle, tightening
the sledges still further. We had no more
use for them now. Three marches brought
us back to the igloos where the captain
turned back. The last march was in the
Wild sweep of northerly gale, with drift
ing snow and the ice rocking under US as
we dashed over IT,
South of where Marvin had turned back
We came to where his party had built sew
eral igloos while delayed by open leads.
Still farther south We found where tho
captain had been 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 Captain Marvin, and, as / found
out later. Borup, had been delayed by
open leads, we seemed to bear a potent
charm and at no single time were we de-
layed more than a couple of hours
Sometimes the ice was fast and firm
enough TO carry US across, sometimes a
the lead to close, and sometimes an i'm
provised ferry on an ice cake kept the
trail without difficulty down to the tenth
outward march. Igioos there disappeared
completely and the entire region was un-
recognizable. Where on the outward
Journey had been narrow cracks, there
were now broad leads, one of them over
five miles in width, caught over with
young ice. Here again fortune favored
M of fha
ice having taken place since the captain
passed, we had his tran 10 follow. We
picked up the old trail again north of the
seventh igloo, followed it beyond the fifth,
and at the big lead lost it finally. From
here we followed the captains trail and
on April % our sledges passed up the ver-
teal edge of the glacier fringe, a little
west of Cape Columbia. When the last
sledge came up though my Esquimaux
had gone carry. They yelled and called
and danced themselves helpless. As
Ootah sat down on his sledge he remarked
In Esquimaux:
1.-The devil is asleep, or having trouble
with his wife. or we never should have
come back so early
GLORIOUS SLEEP COMES AT LAST
A few hours later we arrived at Crane
City under the bluffs of Cape Columbia
and after putting four pounds of pemmi-
can into each OF the faithful dogs TO keep
them quiet, we had at last our chance to
sleep. Never shall 1 forget that sleep at
Cape Columbia. II was sleep, sleep.
then turn over and 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 new
er a nightmare more of binding head
ache. Cold water to a parched throat is
nothing compared with sleep to a numb
ed, fatigued brain and body. Two days
we spent here in sleeping and drying our
clothes. Then for the ship. Our logs,
lie ourselves. had not been hungry when
we arrived but simply lifeless with ia
tigue. They were different animals now,
and the better ones among them slept on
with tightly surled tails and uplifted
heads, and their hind legs treadtng the
snow with piston-like regularity. We
reached Heclain in one march and the
Roosevelt in another. When we got to
the Roosevelt was staggered by the
news of the fatal nishap to Marvin. Ho
had either been less cautious or less for
tunate than the rest of us, and his death
emphasized the risk to which we had all
been subjected, for there was not one Of
us but had been in the sledge at some
time during the journey. .s.
The big lead. cheated OF its prey three
years before, had at last gained its hui
man victim. The rest can be quickly
told. Mcmillan and Borup started for
the Greenland coast to deposit caches
fer me. Before I arrived a flying
Esquimau courier from me overlook
them with instructions that the caches
were no longer needed and that they were
to concentrate their energies on tislal OBJ
servations, and C. and Cape Norris K
Jesup and north from there. These In
structions were carried out and after
their return in the latter part OF May,
Mcmillan made some further tidal OBJ
servations at otner points. The supplies
remaining at the various caches were
brought in and on July TX the Roosev cit
left her winter quarters and was driven
out ipto the channel pack Of Cape Of
Union. She fought her way south IN the
center of the channel and passed Cape
Sabine on August s. or 80 days earlier
than In 1905 and 80 days earlier than the
British expedition in 1876. We picked
up Whitney and his party and the stores
at Etah. We killed 20 odd walrus for my
Fsquirnaux, whom / landed at their
homes. We met the Jeanie of Saunders
island and took over hel coal and clear
ed from Cape York on August %, one
month earlier than in 1905. On Septem-
her we arrived at India, Harbor.
whence the message.
Stars and stripes nailed to north pore,
was sent vibrating southwark through