Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1909-09-24

the slight altitude OF the sun had
made 1t not worth while to waste time
In observations.
On the next two marches the going
improved. and we covered good dis
tances. In one OF these marches a lead
delayed US a few hours. We finally
ferried across ON the ice cakes.
The next day Bartlett let himself
out. evidently for record. and reeled
off plump twenty miles. Here Mar
vim obtained satisfactory sight on
latitude. which gave the position as
S6.3S. or beyond the farthest north OF
Nansen aud Abruzzi. and showed that
we had covered fifty minutes OF lati-
tude III three marches. In these three
marches we had passed the Norwegian
record OF S61i by Nansen and the Ital-
ian record Of 1894 by Cagni
From this point Marvin turned back
In command OF the third supporting
party My last words to him were.
BE careful OF the leads, my boy"
The party from this point comprised
o men. c sledges and 90 dogs.
The north march was over good go-
ing. but for the first time since leaving
land we experienced that condition,
frequent over these ice fields. OF
hazy atmosphere In which the light IL
equal everywhere. All relief Is de-
stroyed. and II is impossible to see for
any distance.
In the next march we encountered
the heaviest and deepest snow OF the
Journey. through thick. smothering
mantle lying in the depressions OF
..,,l,l l.. L., n
lett and his party. tagged out and
temporarily discouraged by the heart
racking work OF making a road.
rallied them bit, lightened their
sledges and sent them on, encouraged
again.
Narrow Escape.
During the next march we travelled
through a thick. low lying. smoky haze
drifting over the ice before biting air
from the northeast. At the end OF the
march we came upon the captain
camped beside wide open lead. with
dense black water sky northwest. north
and northeast. We built our igioos and
turned I'm. but before had fallen
asleep was reused out by movement
OF the ice and found a startling cOndi-
ton of affairs. A rapidly widening
road OF black water ran but a few feet
from our igloos. One OF my teams Of
dogs had escaped by only a few feet
from being dragged by the movement
OF the ice into the water.
Another team had an equally mar
row escape from being crushed by ths
ice blocks piled over them. The ice
on the north side of the lead was NOV
Ing around eastward. The small floor
on which were the captains igioos
was drifting eastward In the open
water. and the sides OF our igloos
! threatened to follow suit.
Kicking out the doors OF the igloos.
l called to the captains men to pack
their sledges and he ready for a quick
dash when Il favorable chance arrived.
We hurried our things on our sledges.
| hitched the dogs and moved on tn a
large foe west OF us. Then. leaving
one man TO look out for the dogs and
sledges, we hurried over 10 assist the
captains party To join us.
\ corner OF their raft impinged on
the Ice on our side. For the rest of
the night and during the next day
the Ice suffered the torrents OF the
damned. surging together. opening out.
grooming and grinding. while the open
water bclched black smoke like a
prairie fire. Then the motion ceased.
the open water closed, the atmosphere
to the north was cleared. and wa
rushed across before the Ice should
open again.
A succession OF laterally open leads
L err a..
heavy old ice. and then we came to a
layer OF young Ice, some OF which
buckled under our sledges, and this
gave us straight way OF six miles to
the north. Then came more heavy old
Hoes covered with hard snow.
This was good long march The
| next march was also long one. 1t
was Bartlett's last hit. He let him
self out over a series OF large old foes
steadily increasing in diameter and
covered with hard snow,
During the last few miles 1 walked
beside him or In advance. He was
very solemn and anxious to 20 farther,
but the program was for him to 20
back from here In command OF the
fourth supporting party. and there
Were no supplies for an Increase In
the main party.
Ia this march we encountered high
wind for the first time since the three
days after we left Gaze Columbia. Ii
was dead on our faces. bitter aud in-
sistent, but l had no reason to com.
pain. IL was better than an easterly
or southerly wind, either Of which
would have set US adrift In open wa
ter, while this was closing up every
lead behind. This furnished another
advantage OF my supporting parties.
True, by so doing II was pressing to
the south the Ice over which we trav-
eled and so rObbing us OF a hundred
miles OF advantage.
Bartistt's Far North.
We concluded we were on or near the
eighty-eighth parallel unless the north
wind had lost US several miles. The
wind blew all night and all the fol-
lowing day. At this camp In the
morning Bartlett started to walk ave
or six miles to the north to make sure
or reaching the eighty-eighth parallel.
Bartlett returned In time to take a
satisfactory observation for latitude
IN clear weather and obtained for our
position SI.4S. and that showed that
the continued north wind had robbed
us OF number OF miles OF hard earned
distance
Bartlett took the observations here.
as had Marvin five camps back. partly
10 save my eyes. but largely to give
an independent record and daSarmiaa