Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1909-09-17

II took considerable water motion "a
iault the trail seriously.
While the captain, Marvin, and as
round later, Borup, had been DELAYED
oy open leads. We seemed to bear a
cnarm and with no single lead were
we delayed more than a couple Of
hours. Sometimes the Ice was fast
ana nrm 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 din.
cuity down to the tenth outward
march.
MEET SLIGHT HANDICAP.
! lglUUs there disappeared completely
and the entire region was unrecognil.
able. Where on the outward journey
mad been narrow cracks. there were
now broad leads. one of them over
nVe miles in width, caught over with
young ice.
Here again fortune fay
no pronounced movement OF ~ .c.
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
II beyond the fifth. and at the big lead
lost 1t finally.
JOY OF THE EsKIMos.
From here We followed the CAPTAINS
traii' and on April go our sledges
passed up the vertical edge Of the
glacier fringe a little west Of Cape
Columbia.
When the last sledge came I'D 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
mad. 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
oil 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 parched throat is
nothing compared with sleep to a
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 Iiieless with fatigue. They were
different animals now. and the better
ones among them slept on with tightly
curled tails and upiifted heads and
their hind legs treadng the snow with
pistonlike regularity.
HEARS OF MARVTN'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 can
ton or less fortunate than the rest NJ
US, and his death emphasized the risk
TO which we all had been subjected
Tor there was not one OF Us out mad
been In the sledge at some time during
the journey
The big lead. cheated of its prey
three years before, had at last gained
It's human victim.
The rest can be told quickly McNiI.
ian and Borup had started for the
Greenland coast to deposit caches for
me. Before | arrived a flying Eskimo
courier from me overlook them with
instructions that the caches were M
longer needed and they we're to con.
centrate their energies on the IDEAL oh.
serVatlons, ETC., at Cape Morris x
Jesup and north from there.
ROOSEVELT STARTS HoMEwARp
These instructions we're carried orr
and after their return in the latter
part Of May Mcmillan made some fur.
Tier tidal observations at other points
The supplies remaining at the various
caches were brought in and on July 10
the Roosevelt left its winter quarters
ana was driven out into the channel
back of Cape Mon.
1t fought its way south in the center
OF the channel and passed Cane Ga.
Dine on August 8, or 80 DAYS earlier
than in 1908, and 80 days earlier than
the British expedition in 1876
We picked up Whitney and his par.
ty and stores at Etah. We killed
seventy odd walrus for my Eskimos,
whom ! landed at their homes. We
met the Jeanne OF Saunders island
and took over its coal and cleared
from Cape York on August 26 one
month earlier than In 1906
FIRST MESSAGE TO WORLD.
On September & We arri,.od