The Butler County press. [volume] (Hamilton, Ohio) 1900-1946, 1914-01-02
PLIGHT OF TWO EXPLORERS.

Their Fight Against Death by Starva-
tion and the Visions That Wore Con.
jured Up by tho Torture of the Mad
denino Pangs of Hunger.
The terrible phantom that haunts
every traveller In the desert is the pos
sibility that be will not find water
The arctic explorer rarely suffers from
thirst but another danger. equally
terrible and menacing, Is always on bis
trail starvation.
In Lost In the Arctic" Captain
Ejnar. Mikkeisen. the explorer who,
after having been given up for dead
for over two years, was picked up In
east Greenland by d sailing vessel,
gives a graphic account Of his race
against hunger. Their sledge dogs
dead. their outfits abandoned, every
horsei of food long since devoured.
lhe only hope OF Mikkelsen and his
companion was TO reach II Kilometer
Naesset where, on the fall trip. they
had left few tins of food
Every two hours we make a short
halt. but the rest is spoiled by the
of an hour that awaits as when we
start and try TO get our stiffened mus
cles into working order again. Our
feet especially are very painful; the
ankles are swollen and horribly tender
THE pangs of hunger increase every
Drf |
think OF nothing but food At FIRST my
thoughts dwell upon all sorts of dishes,
but gradually they concentrate them
selves upon andwiches- Danish sand
wiches In particular my fancy turns
upon the food that have seen given
away to beggars. and | grow furious
at the thought OF the contempt with
which these gentry often regard such
gifts.
"Gradually the thought takes posses
sion of me that | am walking In the
streets of Copenhagen. eagerly on the
lookout for sandwiches. Suddenly !
SPY what | am seeking. little white
object lying to the right of me. turn
to pick Ii up. but as stop my foot
strikes against stone, The shock
brings me back to stern reality. /
take In my belt and stagger on again.
"Iversen is In no better case. | notice
that he frequently stops and peers
through the fedgass at something on
ahead: then he lets the glass fall again,
with shake of the head. Once or
twice | ask what be is looking at, but
the answer Is always the same-ne
Thought be had discovered q case OF
provisions. but II turned out to be q
rock.
According TO our reckoning, we
ought to reach II Kilometer Naesset
by about In the evening We keep q
sharp lookout for the point and sight
something about 4 o'clock that looks
like IL Once more. however, We are
doomed TO disappointment IT is not
the point
I'VE pass many Old camping places
relics of the Denmark expedition; but
although we search long and carefully
food. we find nothing In the gather
ing darkness every point we approach
seems to us the one we seek Encour
aged by the thought of food, we re
double our efforts But when we get
close enough to see that it is not the
point our fickering fame Of energy
dies down. and we stagger sullenlJ
along with bowed heads
I'VE have no longer any idea OF oul
whereab bouts, and 1t Is indescribably
uncanny to see time after time thu
same headland with the two small bill
locks at It's foot, the ghost OF IL K1lo
meter Naesset About 10 o'clock hal
mad with hunger and exhaustion, w
give II mp and. creeping as close to
gether as possible, try to sleep Blu
the pain in Iversen's leg Is so grea
that he cannot sleep. and be is half ou
Of his mind. He wakes me at mid
night and begs me to go on
1T lis bitterly cold, and the wind ha
shifted so that 1t Is blowing In on
faces. Staggering unsteadily and fee!
Ing our way with our sticks. Off we g
Into the darkness
FINALLY. after another long march
we sight point that resembles /
Kilometer Naesset and this time 1t
no trick of the imagination. The rae
Is won. for at the point we find fue
and tins of soup and peas"