The Caldwell watchman. (Columbia, La.) 1885-1946, 1911-08-04

bergen, which has had a permanent
population Of $4,000 souls, lies 300
miles farther north than this un-
charted coast which Philip Cayley saw
before him.
But the great Ice cap which covers
the top of the world is irregular in
shape, and just here, northward from
Alaska, it juts its impenetrable bar.
rier far down into the Arctic sea.
Rogers, Collinson and the Inflated De-
Long-they all had tried to penetrate
this barrier, and had been turned
back.
Cayley wheeled sharply up into the
wind, and scared aloft to height Of,
perhaps, a quarter of a mile. Then,
with a long, flashing, shimmering
sweep, he descended, in the arc of a
great circle, and hung, poised, over
the land itself and behind the jutting
shoulder Of the mountain.
The land was narrow-necked Pc
ninsula. Mountain and cliff prevented
him from seeing the immediate coast
on the other side Of it; but out a little
way to sea he was amazed to discover
open water, and the smoke-like vapor
that he raw rising over the cliffhead
made 1t evident that the opening ex-
tended nearly, II not quite, to the
very lands edge. 1t was utterly un.
expected, for the. side of the PENN.
sula which he had approached was
ice-locked for miles.
He would have lowered again
above the rocky ridge which shut of
his view, and gone to investigate this
| phenomenon at closer range, had
he not, just then, got the shock Of an
other surprise, greater than the dis
covery Of land itself.
The little valley which he hung
poised above was sheltered by a second
ridge of rocky, ice-capped hills to the
north, and, except for streaks, denot.
Ing crevices, here and there, was quite
free from ice and snow. There were
bright patches Of green upon 1t, ev.
identity some bit Of Towering northern
grass, and 1t was fecked here and
there with bright bits of color, yellow
poppy, he Judged 1t to be, and saxi.
frage. Hugging the base of the noun
tain on the opposite side Of the valley
then notching the cliff and grinding
down to sea at the other side of II
was a great white glacier, all the
whittier, and colder, and more dazzling
| for its contrast with the brown noun
tain.side and the green-clad valley.
| Up above the glacier, on the farth
er side, were great broad yellow
patches, which be would have thought
were poppy field. but for the impos
sibility Of their growing in such 6
place. No vegetable growth was pos
sible, he would have thought, against
that clean-cut, almost vertical, rocky
face. And yet, what else could have
given 1t that blazing yellow, color
Some day he was to learn the answer
to that question.
But the thing that caught his ey,
now, that made him start and draw IL
little involuntary gasp Of wonder
was the sight of little clump o
black dots moving slowly, almost i'm
perceptibly from this distance, across
the face Of the glacier. He blinked hi
eyes, as II he suspected them of play
ing him false. Unless they had playe,
him false, these tiny dots were men.
All Of the party, but one man, wer
dressed exactly alike, in hooded bear
skin shirts and breeches, and boot
of what he guessed was walrus hide
They moved along with the peculia
, wary shuttle of men accustomed, b
long habit, to the footing and to tn
| heavy combining garb they wore S
far as he could see they were III
armed.
II The other nan was strikingly di
ferent. He appeared to be clad niue
: as Cayley was himself, in leather
} rather than in untanned hide. H
! seemed slighter. sprightlier, and l