The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1909-09-15


charm and with no single lead were
we delayed more than a couple OF
hours Sometimes the ice was fast
and firm enough to carry us across;
sometimes short detour, sometimes
brief halt for the lead to close
sometimes an improvised ferry on an
ice cake. kept the trail without diff
Guilty down to the tenth outward
march,
| MEET SLIGHT HANDICAP.
| IgloOs there disappeared completely
and the entire region was unrecogniz
able. 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 us, and
no 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
1t beyond the fifth, and at the big lead
lost it finally.
JOY OF THE EsKIMOs.
From here we followed the captains
trail. and on April 23 our sledges
passed up the vertical edge of the
glacier fringe, little west of Cape
Columbia.
When the last sledge came up I
thought my Eskimos had gone crazy.
They yelled and called and danced
themselves helpless. As Ootah sat
down on his sledge he remarked, in
Eskimo:
THE devil is asleep or having
trouble 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 last, our chance to sleep.
AT CAPE COLUMBIA.
Never shall forget that sleep at
Cape Columbia. 1t 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 never a night more of blind
ing headache.
Cold water to parehed throat is
nothing compared with sleep to
numbed, fatigued brain and body.
Two days we spent here in sleeping
and drying our clothes. Then for the
ship. Our dogs. like ourselves, had not
been hungry when we arrived, but sim.
ply lifeless with fatigue. They were
different animals now, and the better
ones among them slept on with tightly
curled tails and uplifted heads and
their hind legs treading the snow with
pistonlike regularity.
HEARS OF MARvIN's DEATH.
We reached Hecla in one march and
the Roosevelt in another. When we
got to the Roosevelt was staggered
by the news Of the fatal mishap to
Marvin. He had either been less eau.
ton or less fortunate than the rest of
us, and his death emphasized the ris,,
to which we all had been subjected
for there was not one of US but had
been In the sledge at some time during
the journey.
The big lead, cheated of its prev
three years before. had at last gained
its human victim
The rest can be told quickly. McMil.
ian and Borup had started for the
Greenland coast to deposit caches for
me. Before / arrived flying Eskimo
courier from me overlook them with
instructions that the caches were no
longer needed and they were to con.
centrate their energies on the ideal OBJ.
serVations, ETC., at Cape Morris X.
Jesup and north from there.
ROOSEVELT STARTS HoMEwARn
These instructions were carried ont
and after their return in the Latter
part of May Mcmillan made some f,,r.
ther tidal observations at other points
Inc supplies remaining at the various |
caches were brought in and on Julv 10
the Roosevelt left its winter quarters
and was driven out into the channel
back of Cape Mon.
II fought its way south in the center
Oh the channel and passed Cane Co
bine ON August s. or 80 days earlier
than in 1908, and 80 days earlier than
the British expedition in 1876
We picked up Whitney and bis nor
Iy and stores at Etah. We kii,as
seventy odd walrus for nv Esli,noa
whom landed at their homes W.
met the Jeanne off Saunders is,o.s
and took over its coal and cleoraa
from Cape York on August o. onu
month earlier than in 1906. WIG
FIRST MESSAGE TO WORLD
On September s We arrived Of T.
1ian Harbor, whence the messoan
Stars and stripes nailed to 80
POLE" was sent vibrating soutbm o,. 81
through the crisp Labrador air warn
The elimination of long exnr,o t
thorough knowledge of the co n' t
ions OF the problem gained in the e' ion.
expedition = these. together u, wiz iast
lew type of sledge which reducas 49,.
work of both dogs and driver a ,ne Q
lew type of camp cooler which a anu q