The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1910-01-05

III tue FuSu u ufifu48
snow. The crack Of the whips and
the rebound of cheering voices were
the last which we heard of the faithful
savage supporters. They had followed
not for pay, but for a real desire to
be helpful, from the dark days Of the
ending of night to the bright nights
Of the coming double days, and their
parting enforced a pang Of loneliness.
Another Sleep Before the Start:
With a snow charged blast In our
flces it was quite impossible, for rs
to start. so we withdrew to the snow
jgloo. entered our bags and slept a few
hours longer. At noon the horizon
cleared. The wind veered to the south
west and came with an endurable
force. The dogs had been doubly fed
the night before. They were not To-
be fed again for two days. The LOO
pounds Of freight were packed on our
sleds, and quickly we slipped around
deep grooves in the great poliocrysuc
foes. 4
The snow had been swept from the
ice by the force of the preceding
storms, and the speed attained by the
dogs through v rough ice was such
that It was difficult to keep far enough
ahead to get a good course. /
The crevasses and pressure lines gave
little trouble at first, but the hard ir-|
regularity Of the barred ice offered al
dangerous surface for the life Of our
sleds. passing through blue gorges
among miniature mountains Of sea
Ice. Oh a course slightly west oil
north we o o sank the bold headlandI
which raises the northern point Of
Heiberg island.
Camp Is Pitehe. Il
After a run Of twenty-s. miles we
pitched camp on a foe berg Of u%nusual|
height. There were many big huni-I
mocks about, to the lee Of which were
great banks of hardened snow. Away
from hand it is always more difficult
to find snow suitable for cutting build
Ing blocks. but here was an abundance
conveniently placed. In IT. purse OF
an hour a comfortable pala-e Of crys-
tai was erected. and into 1t we crept
out of the piercing wind. The first
days march over the ~circumpolar sea
was closed with a good, record.
The dogs curled up and went to sleep
without a call. as If they knew there
would be no food until the morrow.
My wild companions covered their
faces with their convenient long hair
and sank quietly into a comfortable
| slumber, but for me sleep was q1ite
impossible. Letters must be written.
Tie, whole problem of our campaign
must be again carefully studied and
final plans must be made not only TO
reach u ultimate destination, but for
the returning parties and; for the Sect
| rity of the things at Annootok.
Impossible TO ForstsI Return.
It was difficult at this time to even
guess at the probable line Of our re-
turn to land. Much depended upon
conditions encountered in the north
ward route. Though we had left
caches Of supplies. with the object OF
returning. along hansen sound into
Cannon ford and over Arthur Land.
I entertained grave doubts Of our abik
ity to return this way. II the Ice
drifted strongly to the east we might
not be given the choice Of working ont
our own return. In that event we
would be. carried perhaps heIplessly TO
Greenland and must seek q return
either along the east coast or the west
coast.
This drift did not offer a dangerous
hardship. for the musk oxen would
keep US alive to the west. and to the
east 1t seemed. possible to reach Shan
non island. where the Baldwin-Ziegler,
expedition had abandoned q large
cache Of supplies. 1t appeared not iw-
probable also that a large land exteh-
sion might offer a safe return much,
farther west
Franekes Instructions.
Because Of this uncertainty Francke
was instructed to wait until June g.
1908, and If weNdid not return be was
told to place Koolootingwah In charge
and go home either by the whalefs or
by the Danish ships to the south.
No relief which he could offer would
help US. and to wait for an indefinite
time alone would have inflicted a need
less hardship. This and many. ocher
instructions were prepared for Koo-,
lootingwah and Inugito to take back.
In the morning the frost in. crystals
had been swept from the air, but there
remained q humid chill which pierced
to the bones. The temperature was
minus Sc F. A light air came from.
the west, and the sun burned in q
freezing blue. nj
After a few hours march the ice
changed In character. The extensfveI
thick fields gave place to moderated
sized foes. The foes were separated
by zones of troublesome crushed Ice
thrown into high pressure lines, which,
offered serious barriers. but with the
ice ak and Eskimo ingenuity we man
aged to make fair progress.
The second run on the polar sea was
with twenty-one miles to our credit
I had expected to send the supportfngI
party back from here, but prosresa|
had not been as good as expected. Wei
could hardly spare the food to feed
their dogs, so they volunteered to push