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FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

THE GEOGRAPHICAL LIBRARY

The Opening of Tibet,

"By Ptrceval London

Flashlights in the Jungle,

"By C. G. Schillings

The Passing of Korea,

By Homer B. Hulbtrt, A. M., F. R. G. S.

Fighting the Polar Ice,

"By Anthony Fiala

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Fighting the Polar Ice

By
ANTHONY FIALA

Commander of the Ziegler Polar Expedition
Author •/ " Tr$$p 'C in Strvice"

With an Introduction by

W. S. Champ, and Reports by William J. Peters, Russell W. Porter

and Oliver S. Fassig

Illuitratitms from photographs and sketches hy
the author. Also nine, from paintings in colour
bj Russell W. Porter and J. Knotvles Hare

NEW YORK

Doubleday, Page & Company
1907

A II rights reserved,

tHdudrng thai of translation into foreign languages,

including the Scandinavian

DEC 1 9 1373

7 0'n^-:^

Hast thou perceived the breadth of the earth? Declare if thou
knowest it all.

Where is the way where Light dwelleth? And as for Darkness, where
is the place thereof. Job,

OF HIM

WHO SENT THE EXPEDITION FORTH

PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION

npHE scientific records of the Ziegler Polar Expedition
and the results of the observations taken in
the Franz Josef Archipelago during the years 1903,
1904, 1905, because of their length and volume, could
not be placed within the pages of a simple narrative
and were thus excluded from "Fighting the Polar Ice."

The task of preparing the scientific data for publi-
cation was taken up by Mr. William J. Peters during
September, 1905, upon the return of the expedition.
He was unable to complete the labour personally owing
to his association on January i, 1906, with the Depart-
ment of Terrestrial Magnetism of the Carnegie Insti-
tution of Washington, when he was appointed Com-
mander of the Magnetic Survey Yacht. In his absence,
through the courtesy of Dr. L. A. Bauer, Director, the
burden of the completion, computation, editing, and,
publication of the results has been borne by Mr. J. A.
Fleming of the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism,
and acknowledgment is due to Mr. Fleming for his
masterly arrangement of the matter in hand and his
painstaking and faithful attention through the long
series of computations in securing the necessary
reductions. Acknowledgment is also due the Depart-
ment of Terrestrial Magnetism of the Carnegie Insti-
tution, through its Director, Dr. L. A. Bauer, for his
valued assistance.

The expedition is under great obligation for generous

FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

assistance received from sources other than that of its
lamented organiser and donor, Mr. William Ziegler
of New York City. Mr. Ziegler was personally-
interested in every phase of the work and in
the hope of carrying out some of his last wishes,
the executors of his estate are publishing these
records.

Acknowledgment is due Mr. William S. Champ, the
rescuer of the party, whose opportune arrival at Cape
Dillon saved both the members and records of the
expedition.

The National Geographic Society as a whole, and
through its members individually, has given encourage-
ment and assistance in many ways, both in the initia-
tion and completion of the work of the expedition. It
was to this organization that Mr. Ziegler extended
the privilege of selecting the scientific leader and it
was by the unanimous action of its Board of Managers
that Mr. Peters was commissioned in this capacity.
The scientific work accomplished conforms, in general,
with the suggestions made by the Research Committee
of this Society, of which Professor G. K. Gilbert was
chairman.

Grateful acknowledgments are due Professor Geel-
muyden. Director of the Christiania Observatory, who
loaned a Repsold circle when at the last moment it
appeared that one could not be obtained.

Mr. O. H. Tittmann, Superintendent of the United
States Coast and Geodetic Survey, on the part of him-
self and the members of his Bureau, extended every
possible help in the way of instruction and suggestion.
Through his courtesy the expedition had also the use

PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION

of the instrumental outfit necessary for the execution
of the magnetic work.

Professor Willis Moore, Chief of the United States
Weather Bureau, supplied a ntimber of instruments for
use in the meteorological observations.

General A. W. Greely, of the United States Army,
extended assistance by many valuable suggestions
as the result of his own wide experience in Polar work;
he also arranged for the loan of some meteorological
instnmients from the United States Signal Corps.

Dr. L. A. Bauer, Director of the Department of
Terrestrial Magnetism of the Carnegie Institution of
Washington, devised the plan of observation best
suited to the limited instrumental outfit and conditions
to be encountered, which plan experience proved suc-
cessful. He has further suggested the general scheme
of reduction of this portion of the observations.

The volume of Scientific Records is to be published
under the auspices of the National Geographic Magazine
of Washington, D. C, and will appear about April
I, 1907.

February, 1907. Anthony Fiala.

(Died May 24, 1905)

INTRODUCTION

The crowning desire of the late Mr. William Ziegler
was to link his name with some scientific achievement
which would be considered great when compared with
others of the 20th Century, and he thought there was
no mystery, the solution of which would be so heartily
welcomed by the world at large as the exact location
of the North Pole and accurate information as to the
conditions existing there.

In July 1901 he sent out an expedition consisting
of the America, a vessel of 466 tons burden, the
Frith jof, 270 tons, and the Belgica, under the
[command of Mr. Evelyn B. Baldwin. It has been
said, and I believe truly, that no explorer had ever
sailed under more favourable or promising conditions.
Be this as it may, in the following summer the ex-
pedition returned unsuccessful. Mr. Ziegler, although
greatly disappointed at this failure, immediately
decided to send forth another expedition, and in look-
ing over the field for a competent leader, and after
consulting with several gentlemen whose names are
familiar in Arctic history, he selected Mr. Anthony
Fiala of Brooklyn, who had served the first expedition
as photographer so well, and the high regard in which
he was held by all of the members had a decided bear-
ing on Mr. Ziegler's determining this all important
problem.

X FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

Thus it was that in the spring of 1903 Mr. Fiala left
for Norway to take personal charge of the fitting out
of the ZiEGLER Polar Expedition which sailed from
Trondhjem, Norway, June 23, 1903.

As the personal representative of the late Mr. William
Ziegler it was my duty to attend to a very large extent
to the financial and business end of both of these
expeditions, and I want to take this opportunity
to publicly acknowledge the great assistance rendered
and uniform courtesy extended by both the Nor-
wegian and Russian Governments, and also to Mr.
Johannes H. Giaever former British vice-consul at
Tromso. To the President, Officers, and Executive
committee of the National Geographic Society is
largely due the mapping out of the scientific work
which was successfully carried out by their representa-
tive, Mr. W. J. Peters, who was afforded every oppor-
tunity for his work by the leader of the expedition, who
speaks highly of his service and also of the service
rendered by the members of the scientific staff.

Though the expedition failed of its object through
an unprecedented experience of unfavourable con-
ditions linked with the loss of the ship, it did not re-
turn without results and the records of its work.
The valuable scientific instruments were dragged
hundreds of miles over ice of glaciers and channels
first in the accomplishment of duties and later to
the relief ship.

Three attempts north were made and an opportunity
was afforded for heroic and loyal devotion to the trust,
in which the small body of volunteers who stayed at
Camp Abruzzi through the second winter proved true.

INTRODUCTION ^

One died at his post. Their names are given in the
narrative by Mr. Fiala and I will not attempt to add to
his story.

It is with a great deal of pleasure that I announce
that this valuable scientific record is being published
by the Estate of William Ziegler under the direction
of Mr, Gilbert H. Grosvenor, Editor of the National
Geographic Magazine, Washington, D. C.

In conclusion permit me to introduce to the readers
of this narrative Captain J. Kjeldsen of Tromso, Nor-
way, a true Arctic hero, the man who safely navigated
the S. S. Terra Nova, which effected a timely rescue of
the members of the Ziegler Expedition. To him and
his faithful Norwegian officers and crew the writer
feeUngly tenders this acknowledgment, and publicly
expresses the heartfelt appreciation of the rescued.

William S. Champ.
New York, Aug. 14th, 1906.

CONTENTS

PAGB

Introduction by William S. Champ . • . . . » . ix

CHAPTBK . , « *

I. The Problem 3

II. Early Days of the Expedition .... 8

III. We Say Farewell to America . . 16

rV. The America Forces Her Way North . * . -25

V. ■ The Fight Up the British Channel . . . * 35

VI. Camp Abruzzi 41

VII. Adrift in the Darkness 48

VIII. The America Wrecked by the Ice Fields .52

IX. The Night of Preparation . . . . 61

X. Preliminary Sledge Work 70

XI. The First Attempt North . . . <^ . . 78

XII. The Second Effort North 84

XIII. Home Longings * . 93

XIV. The Retreat South to Cape Flora ... .99
XV. Camp Jackson 109

XVI. The Vain Wait for the Relief Ship . . .116

XVII. The Start for Camp Abruzzi . , . .126

XVIII. "He Brought Me Up Also Out of an Horrible Pit " 135

XIX. Through Darkness and Ice to Camp Abruzzi . 144

XX. The Polar Night of 1905 . . . . . 153

XXI. The Return of the Sun . . . . . 162

CONTENTS

CBAPTBR VAmi

XXII. Our Third and Last Fight with the Polar Ice .168

XXIII. From Teplitz Bay to Camp Ziegler . . .180

XXIV. Waiting for Relief in 1905 . . ... 186
XXV. Rescued! . , 193

An Afterword 199

Appendix No. I. Formation of the Sledge Parties in the
Three Attempts North, 1904-1905 . . . - . 237

Appendix No. II. Report of Scientific Work Done on the

Ziegler Polar Expedition, 1903-1904 . . .... 245

Appendix No. III. Porter's March from Cape Flora to

Camp Abruzzi r 258

Appendix No. IV. Trip to the Northeast Coast of Green-
land 282

Appendix No. V. Winds and Temperatures Recorded at
Camp Abruzzi, Rudolph Island, From September,
1903, to April, 1904 - 297

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

*'0n October 15th Our Luminary Dipped Below the
Horizon in a Glow of Scarlet Fire." (Colour
Plate) ..... Frontispiece

rAClMO PAGB

Portrait: The late Mr. William Ziegler . . IX

Portrait : Commander Anthony Fiala • • . 3

A Group of Officers of the Expedition . . 10

The Expedition's Dogs at Trono, Norway . . 13

The Initiations of Polar Explorers . . • 15
Awaiting Embarkation . .22
The S. Y. America in the Harbour of Vardo,

Norway ....... 24

" We Sailed on Our Way in a Spanking Breeze" 27

"Northward Ho!" 28

" Some of the Dogs Were Lodged on the Forecastle

Head" 28

" With every Deckspace Packed with Cargo " . 29

The Ponies' Ambitions to Eat .... 30

The Pony " Circus" Just Before His Execution . 30
View, Taken from the Atnerica's Bridge, of the

Dog Kennels on Top of the Pony Stable . 31
Hauling the Carcass of a Polar Bear Aboard

the Ship ....... 32

" The Remainder of Our Pack Were Lodged on

the Forecastle Head " . . . .32
The America Entering the Ice . . . .33

The Ice Fields in Barentz Sea .... 36
" We Could do Nothing but Wait " . . .37
*' Observations Were Made on the Floating Ice for

Longitude and for Magnetic Declination " . 38

xvi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PACING rAOK

"The Waters are Hid as with a Stone and the

Face of the Deep is Frozen" . -39

" The Great Expanse of Ice Gave Little Promise

of Opening Up" ..... 40

A Tabular Iceberg near Cape Flora ... 41
Cape Flora — ^August 12, 190 3. . . . 42

" Heavy Ice Prevented Farther Progress North" 43
The Stampede of the Ponies 44

Map — Course of the S. Y. America from Vardo,
Norway, to Teplitz Bay, Rudolph Island,
Franz Josef Archipelago .... 46

An Overturned Iceberg near Cape Dillon . . 47

"We Passed Cape Berentz, the Southeast Ex-
tremity of Northbrook Island " . . . 50
The America Fighting Her Way up the Brit-
ish Channel ...... 50

"We Made Fast Alongside the Heavy Ice of

Teplitz Bay . . . . .51

"The Ship was in Her Death Agony" (Colour

Plate) ....... 54

"The Voyage- weary Animals Wild for Liberty,

were Disembarked" ..... 56

All that Remained in 1 903 of the Winter Quarters
Occupied by the Diike of Abruzzi and His
Companions in 1 899-1 900 . . . -57

The Duke's Steel Gas Generator . . -57

The Shelter Used by the Italians for Their

Weather Instruments . . .57

Sledging the Cargo Ashore by Help of the Ponies,

Teplitz Bay 58

" We Start to Build Our Winter Quarters " . 58

" A Large Tent was Erected, and in it the Ponies

and Dogs were Sheltered" . . • - 59

Interior of Pony and Dog Tent . • • 59

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xvii

rACING PAGE

Building a House at Camp Abruzzi ... 60
Laying the Floor ...... 60

The House Completed : Front and Rear Views . 61
Our Weather Instrument Shelter . . .62

The Astronomical Observatory . . . .62

The Magnetic Observatory . . . .62

Exercising the Ponies at Camp Abruzzi . . 63

" We Mounted the Tough Little Equines " . 63

The Ponies Proved Invaluable in Sledging the

Stores from the Ship to Our Camp Site . 63
Map : Camp Site at Teplitz Bay, Rudolph Island . 66
"A Thick Gloom Settled Over the Ice of

Land and Sea" ...... 67

" We Climbed the Glacier North of the Camp " . 67
I n t he Astronomical Observatory at Camp Abruzzi 68
The America in Winter Quarters in Teplitz

Bay Early in November. 1903 ... 69
The Same Identical Spot as the Preceding

Picture, Showing Metamorphosis After the

America's Disappearance .... 69
" A Black Giant Skeleton Marooned in the Icy

Waste of Teplitz Bay " .... 70
"Printing the Christmas Edition of the

Arctic Eagle'' . . . -71

Sewing Furs . . . . -72

" Our Christmas Banquet " . -73

Constructing a Light Sectional Boat . -74

Our Lighting Plant Complete . , -75

" A Steam Boiler was Constructed " ... 75
Excavating the Great Snow Storehouse . 76

Loading the Sledges in the Shelter of the Storehouse . 7 6
A Typical Sledge Pony . . . . -77

The First Appearance of the Sun . .78

Loaded Sledges Placed in Line on the Snow . 79
A Halt on the Glacier . . . . .82

xviii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

rACING rAGK

ThePonyColumnCrossingRudolphlsland Glacier. 82
Sledge Party in the Rough Ice North of Cape

Fligely 83

A Halt in a Smooth Oasis in the Desert of Rough

Ice ........ 83

"The Poor Ponies, with Tails to the Wind and

Heads Down, Shivered in the Freezing Blast " . 84
" The Ponies were Surprising in Their Ability to

Climb and Get Over the Rough Ice " . .84
Cape Haberman ...... 85

" We Formed a Happy Camp Circle " . . 85

" We Reached Cape Auk at Midnight " . .86

The Evening SunOver the Rudolph Island Glacier . 86
"Teplitz Bay was Frozen Over with a New

Sheet of Thin Salt Ice" .... 87
Our First Camp on the Retreat of 1904 . . 87
The Retreat of 1904 ..... 88
Breaking Camp at Cape Richthofen ... 88
"We Camped near Cape Fisher, the Boldest

Headland on the Coast " . . . .89

The Halt at Cape Fisher ..... 89

The Camp at Cape Roosevelt . . . .108

" One of Our Ponies Died from Exhaustion " . 108
Cape Flora ....... 109

The Last of Our Faithful Ponies . . .109

Cape Flora . . . . . .116

The Coal Mine at Cape Flora, 600 Feet above

the Level of the Sea . . . . .116
Sixteen Walruses Were Captured at Cape Flora

During the Summer of 1904 . . .117

Map: Part of Franz Josef Archipelago . . 125
An August Day at Cape Flora in 1904 . .134
House-moving, Preparing for Winter at Cape

Flora 134

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xix

rAcntc PAGE

Cape Flora . . . . . . . 135

Camp Point ....... 135

"At last I Saw Above Me the End of a Rope"

(Colour Plate) . . . . . .136

"The Absence of Light, Making Oiu- Advance

North a March of Faith" {Colour Plate) 142

The Tomb on Sanlen's Rocky Height . .150

The Men Who Stayed at Camp Abruzzi . .151

Our Christmas Dinner at Camp Abruzzi in 1904. 154
The Appearance of the Hut on the Return of

Light in 1905 155

Busy Days in the Workshop at Camp Abruzzi , 155
Double-page Cartoon that Appeared in the Christ-
mas Edition of the Arctic Eagle Published
at Camp Abruzzi, December 26, 1904 . Page 156
"A Wind Filled with Drifting Snow Particles
Striking Our Faces and Turning Our Cheeks
and Noses White" (Co^rP/a/^) . .158
Camping After a Long Day's March . .160

The Sun with Two Mock Suns . .160

Entering the Rough Ice . . .161

We Seemed to be in an Immense River of Broken

Ice ........ 161

A Mile and a Half North in Eight Hours {Colour

Plate) 164

Soft Snow and Rough Ice .167

Sledge Teams Waiting to be Assisted Over a Snow-
covered Pressure Ridge. All of the Men but
One are Concealed Behind the Mass of Ice
and Snow .167

"Our Trail was from Ice Cake to Ice Cake" . 169
" We Were All Obliged to go Ahead of the Sled-
ges with Our Picks and Ice Axes to Labor
at Cutting the Trail and then Return and

XX LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

rACING FAGK

Assist the Teams and Sledges One by One
Over the Rough Road " . . . .169

" In Other Places We Traversed Monster Pres-
sure Ridges that Splintered and Thundered
Under Our Feet " ..... 171

"The Ice was Rough, Worse than in 1904, and

very Slow Progress was Made " . . 172

"It was Difficult to Find a Cake of Ice Large

Enough for Our Small Party to Camp On" . 174

*' We Found a Heavy Cake Surrounded with Pres-
sure Ice, the Only Flat Block in Sight, and
Here We Put Up Our Tents and Unhitched
Our Tired Dogs " . . . . .174

" We Bent Our Backs Under the Loads " . .176

" All that was Visible of the Two Years' Sledge
Efforts were Four Little Tracks in the Snow
that Could be Traced Up the Glacier Toward
the Mysterious North " . . . .176

" Mr. Porter was on Hand to Greet Me with Sea-
man Mackieman, having Reached Camp
Abruzzi on the 17th of March" . .178

Cape Trieste, on the Way to Camp Ziegler, May

1905 {Colour Plate) . . .182

The Sledge Parties for Kane Lodge and Cape

Flora Ready to Leave Camp Abruzzi . .184

"We Left the Icy Bay of Teplitz Behind Us " . 185

On the March South Engineer Hartt W^ent Ahead,
While Some Distance Behind I Followed with
the Two Teams 185

The Camp After Our First Day's March from

Teplitz Bay 185

Crossing a Lead in the Channel Ice — Hauling a

Team of Dogs Through the Water . .186

Camp Ziegler, June 1905 . . . . .186

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xxi

rAcntc PACK

" Two Little Houses Were Surrounded by Great

Embankments of Snow" . . . .187

The Entrance to the Huts at Camp Ziegler . 187
Sixteen Great Walruses were Secured by the

Party at Cape Dillon . . . .190

An Incident in a Walrus Hunt . ... .191

Hauling a Dead Walrus on the Ice Foot at

Cape Dillon . . . .192

Wellman's House at Cape Tegetthoflf . -193

William S. Champ . . . . . .196

Anthony Fiala . . . . . .196

Our Last March . . . . . 196

William S. Champ . . . -197

The S. Y. Terra Nova — Zi^ler Relief Expedition,

1905 (Colour Plate) ..... 200

The Arrival of the Relief Ship off Cape Dillon

July 30, 1905 212

Camp Jackson at Cape Flora at the Arrival of

the Relief Ship. . . . .212

Rescuers and Rescued Meet on the Ice of Abe-
dare Channel, "and a Memorable Meeting
it was" . . . . . .213

The Camp at Cape Dillon where Watch was Kept

for the Relief Ship — and for Game . .213

Our Last Sight of the Ice. . .214

The Relief Ship Arrives off Cape Flora -215

The S. Y. Terra Nova at Tromso, Norway, Au-
gust II, 1905 ...... 226

"Louise" ....... 227

"Billy" 227

"Billy" and "Louise" Passengers on the S. Y.

Terra Nova on her Homeward Voyage . 227
" A Blanket of Thick Arctic Fog Obscuring Vis-
ion" 257

XXll

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

FACING PAGE

" The Cub Wheeled and Made Straight into the
Sound, but Only a Short Way When He
Came Back, Tumbling Down with Bullets
from Both Rifle and Revolver " . . . 266

Building an Igloo . . . . .266

" It is a Case of Making Dogs Out of Ourselves " 267
The S. S. Magdalena . . . . .270

The Two Houses on Bass Rock . . .270

Captain J. Kjeldsen . . . . .271

Oliver L. Fassig . . . . . .271

Map of Franz Joseph Archipelago . . . end

2 F.J.LAND FOSTAGE »

PAC-smiLE OF STAUF PRINTED AND
ISSUED AT CAUP ABRUZZI, RUDOLF
ISLAND, IN 1905

FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

Photo by DamfJ, Brooklyn

FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

CHAPTER I

THE PROBLEM

"^JAPOLEON is quoted as having once said that if
he had three things he could conquer the world.
The first of these was money, the second more
money, and the third still more money.

If Napoleon's estimate of the power of money had
been correct, Waterloo would have been a victory
instead of a defeat, and his legions, better equipped
then than in any previous campaign, would not have
been hampered by conditions internal and external
and the great commander would not have sighed in
vain for his grand army of veterans whose bones
strewed the trail from Moscow to Paris.

The Polar explorer needs money, but he needs
other things more. While in the history of almost
every polar expedition the sad story of imperfect
preparations through lack of funds can be read, it is
also true that conditions play an important part. The
element we call Chance has much to do in the giving
of success or failure, but the human elements of en-
durance and courage are the most important of all.

4 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

In the frozen zone there is not the stimulus to effort
raised by numbers. The soldier in the excitement
of battle, sustained and cheered by onlooking thou-
sands, may become a hero; but the Polar explorer
has a hard, cold, and lonely way in which patience,
more patience, and still more patience seem to be the
cardinal requirements. There are few to encourage
him in his long fight against almost impossible con-
ditions, and the highest qualities of Christian character
in the personnel of his party are necessary to achieve
any measure of success.

Beyond the geographical and scientific value of the
discovery of the North Pole, and the solving of
questions of popular curiosity, another reason exists
to explain the ceaseless effort to reach that mystic
point: The Spirit of the Age will never be satisfied
until the command given to Adam in the beginning —
the command to subdue the earth — ^has been obeyed,
and the ends of the earth have revealed their secrets
to the eye of man.

The conquest of the North Pole has a military as
well as a scientific character. To reach 90° North
Latitude from the northern limits of Greenland or
the Franz Josef Archipelago, an expedition party
would be obliged to make a forced march of at least
one thousand miles from its base of supplies, the ex-
pedition column of men and animals subsisting upon
provisions carried along.

From Rudolph Island, the northernmost land in the
Franz Josef Archipelago, to the Pole is about five
hundred miles, over fields of rugged, moving ice that
drift continually. Allowing for pressure ridges and

THE PROBLEM 5

open water lanes, the distance of five hundred miles
would be augmented instead of diminished by the
general twist and zig-zag direction of the line of march.
Of course the return distance of five hundred miles
must be considered, for there would be little value in
reaching the Pole unless the explorer returned. The
rough character of the ice and the fact that it is mov-
ing and continually changing its form make it im-
possible to station auxiliary depots of supplies on the
ice itself. Even if the ice were stationary it would
be almost impossible to find a cache after a few days,
for the wind sometimes obliterates a well marked
trail in a few minutes, the flying drift covering every-
thing with a solid hard blanket of packed snow.

A team of nine dogs, the unit of transportation in
the north, consumes about nine pounds of food a day,
or one pound of pemmican per dog, the human driver
about three pounds, making a total of twelve pounds
a day. If ten miles a day could be averaged — though
it has never been done — in one hundred days the jour-
ney to and from the Pole could be accomplished.
At twelve pounds a day the total amount of food re-
quired by a driver and dog team would be twelve
htmdred pounds. Through experience it has been
found that the sledges go to pieces, no matter how well
built, if loaded with more than six hundred pounds,
which is the food allowance for only half the distance
There is also to be considered the necessary dead
weights of tent, sleeping bag, cooking apparatus,
extra clothing, ammunition, firearms, nautical in-
struments, and kayak — the last a light boat for use on
the return march when melting snows and ice, with

6 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

the motion of the Polar pack, open great lanes of
water across the explorer's path.

Dr. Nansen, in his record-breaking trip with but
one man and three dog teams, left his ship at the high
northing of 84 degrees and reached 86° 13' N. Lat.
But, despite the decided advantage of a start from
so high a base he was obliged on his retreat to Franz
Josef Archipelago, to feed his dogs to his dogs, and in the
end he and Johansen drew the two remaining sledges
1 to land themselves.

Capt. Cagni, with a party from the expedition led
by the Duke of the Abruzzi, broke Nansen' s record
by about twenty miles, reaching 86° 33' N. Lat. He
started from a base on Rudolph Island and succeeded
in making his splendid march by the use of supporting
parties that were detached and sent back to the base
camp as the main body advanced, each supporting
party carrying food for the advance of the entire
column and its own return. The first detachment
of three men never found its way back to camp. The
men probably starved to death while trying to cross
the rough ice that separated them from their comrades
on the Island. The rough ice was caused by the
breaking into pressure ridges of the comparatively
smooth newly frozen lanes over which the sledge
column made its northward march.

The question of food then is important. A remark
of General Grant's that " an army travels on its stom-
ach " is now a maxim in text-books on military logistics
and puts into few words a truth accepted ever since
men went to war. If it is true of an army that operates
in a cultivated or partially cvdtivated country that its

THE PROBLEM 7

progress is determined by the excellence of its com-
missary arrangements, and by the certainty and celerity
with which the food supplies reach the individual
soldier and animal, how much more true must it be
of the Polar explorer who operates in a decidedly
hostile and uncultivated territor>% where there are no
cornfields or henroosts along the line of march, but
instead an active enemy in every wind that blows from
the north, and opposition to advance in every pres-
sure ridge and water lane that crosses his path.

CHAPTER II

EARLY DAYS OF THE EXPEDITION"

TN AUGUST of 1902 the Baldwin-Ziegler Polar
-'■ Expedition returned to Norway after an ab-
sence of a year in the Franz Josef Archipelago. The
expedition ship, the steam yacht America, had win-
tered at Camp Ziegler on Alger Island, 80° 24' N
Lat. from where a large sledge party in the spring of
1902 transported about 40,000 pounds of pemmican
to Cape Auk (81° 43' N. Lat.), the southwestern end
of Rudolph Island, four miles south of the Duke of
the Abruzzi's station at Teplitz Bay.

On the return of the expedition to Norway, the late
William Ziegler, who had so liberally financed it,
resolved to send a second party in seach of the North
Pole. It was not until December of 1902 that a leader
was chosen. Mr. Ziegler then gave the command to
me with instructions to equip and sail north in the
following spring.

Only a few months remained for preparation, a
large store of provisions and an extensive equipment
had to be purchased, and many things devised and
manufactured. The steam yacht America, formerly
the Dundee whaler Esquimau, after her year in the
north, was in a condition requiring docking and
extensive repairs before she could again be headed to-
ward the ice fields of the Arctic Circle. Nothing

EARLY DAYS OF THE EXPEDITION 9

remained of the large sledge equipment of the former
expedition and only a small amount of food stores,
so small that it could not be considered. Fortunately
there were left 183 dogs, and five Siberian ponies on
the small island of Trono, some miles south of Tromso,
Norway, where they had been placed for the winter
on the return of the America in 1902.

In addition to a large pack of dogs a number of
Siberian ponies were taken on the 1 901-1902 expedi-
tion. These little creatures behaved so well and
proved of such value that I made provision to take
more of them this time. The ponies had been used
with success by Jackson and Baldwin and it seemed
to me that they could be trained during the autumn
and early spring to follow one another "in trace,"
one man in charge of several pony sledges, just as our
pack trains travel in mining districts and in the army,
for I realised that if a driver had to go with each sledge
whether it was drawn by a team of dogs or a pony,
the Polar problem must remain unsolved.

Dependence had also to be placed on a good pack
of dogs, to be fed on the ponies as the latter's sledge
loads disappeared, the ponies to serve as food on the
hoof. With the ponies came the necessity of provid-
ing tons of hay in compressed bales. Hay could be
purchased in America in bales only a quarter the size
of foreign bales and weighing twice as much, so all
the hay was transported from this side of the ocean
for the sake of economy in space. There were also
tons of oats to be purchased and transported to Tron-
dhjem, which was to be our sailing port. Com could
be bought in Russia, one of the few countries in Europe

lo FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

that produce more than enough for their own con-
sumption. Thirty-six tons of Spratt's dog-cakes were
purchased and about 10,000 pounds of tallow as sup-
plementary food for the ever hungry dogs.* The
aggregate weight of our food supplies was about ninety-
eight tons and the stores alone, exclusive of meats,
occupied 7,200 feet of space.

In addition to the commissary stores for men and
animals coal had to be provided and a large equip-
ment of sledges, harness, clothing, furs, footwear, cook-
ing apparatus, boats, explosives, tentage, lumber for
a house, and the thousand little things necessary for
the protracted stay of a large party of men and ani-
mals far from the shops and supply stations of civil-
isation. Before the numberless parts of the equip-
ment had been received for shipment, many hours were
spent in calculating the available space aboard the
America and in measuring the cargo.

In the organisation of the party the question of
personnel was a troublesome one particularly in view
of the limited time at my disposal. That the party
should be all American was the desire of the late Mr.
Ziegler and myself, but it was not until nearly all the
supplies were arranged for and the entire equipment
ordered that we succeeded in finding a native American,
Captain Edwin Coffin of Edgartown, Martha's Vine-

* It may be interesting to know what a body of 39 men need in a two
years* expedition. Allowing ij lbs. of meat a day for each man — the
U. S. Army allowance in a temperate climate — 39 men dispose of 42,705
pounds, or over 20 tons of meat. For a cold climate, of course, more has
to be allowed.

In the same period on the army plan, 39 men consume about 145 bis.
of flour, 2,600 pounds of coffee, over 8,000 pounds of sugar, and so on
down the list of vegetables and stores.

EARLY DAYS OF THE EXPEDITION ii

yard, Mass., to navigate the expedition ship. Capt.
Coffin, in turn, after much trouble, got together his
officers and crew, a number of them experienced
whalers. Because of the high price that whalebone
was bringing in the market, whaling, the last few years,
had been a lucrative business, and, as all who serve
on a whaler share in the profits of the cruise, it was
not an easy task to get able men to leave their favourite
hunting grounds for the field of exploration.

For the sake of organisation I had divided the ex-
pedition party into three departments, a Field De-
partment, a Deck Department, and an Engine Depart-
ment. Capt. Coffin, as Navigator and Master of the
vessel, was of course in charge of the Deck Depart-
ment. In charge of our Engine Department was Henry
P. Hartt, a marine engineer of sixteen years' exper-
ience aboard steam whalers, who had passed nine
winters in the Arctic and had been with the Baldwin-
Zeigler party in 1901-1902. For the Field Department
I received numerous applications, many of the American
members of the last expedition wishing to go north
again. Where possible, preference was given to them,
for, having lived and laboured with them through the
trials of an Arctic voyage, I knew them as I could not
know others.

It was odd how quickly the Arctic lost its terrors
after the return to civilisation. During the long,
dark winter of 1901-1902, every night, after the work-
ing hours of the period we called day were over, we
would huddle together for warmth around a tiny
stove in the cabin of the America and talk of warmer
countries. Two of the men avowed their intention

12 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

of going on an expedition to the island of Borneo
as soon as the America returned to Norway; two others
stated that they were going to Mexico; another ex-
pressed a wish to explore Africa, and one of the doctors
of the party said he meant to go to the equator and
never travel farther than five degrees north or south
of it the rest of his days. Yet on the eve of another
expedition these men applied to go north once
more.

The Field Department comprised the members of
the Scientific Staff and those of the expedition company
not signed on the ship's articles. Among these were
the Surgeon, Assistant Surgeon, Assistant Surgeon in
charge of the dogs, a Veterinarian, a Quartermaster,
a Commissary and a number of assistants.

William J. Peters of the U. S. Geological Survey
and representative of the National Geographic So-
ciety, was chosen as Chief Scientist and Second in
Command of the Expedition. Russell W. Porter,
First Assistant Scientist and Artist of the Expedition,
was commissioned Third in Command while in the
field. The following is a list of the members of the
expedition:

1. Anthony Fiala, Brooklyn, N. Y., Commander of

the Expedition.

2. William J. Peters, Washington, D. C, Chief

Scientist, and Second in Command of the
Expedition.

Field Department

3. Russell W. Porter, Springfield, Vermont; First A&

sistant Scientist and Artist.

EARLY DAYS OF THE EXPEDITION 13

4. R. R. Tafel, Philadelphia, Pa., Second Assistant

Scientist.

5. Francis Long, Brooklyn, N. Y., Weather Observer.

6. George Shorkley, M. D., Camden, Maine, Surgeon.

7. Charles L. Seitz, M. D., Evansville, Ind., Assistant

Surgeon.

8. J. Colin Vaughn, Medical Student, Forest Hill,

N. J., Second Assistant Surgeon in charge of
the dogs.

9. H. H. Newcomb, D. V. S., Milford, Mass., Veter-

inarian.

10. Chas. E. Rilliet, St. Louis, Mo., Quartermaster

in charge of equipment.

11. John W. Truden, Pittsfield, Mass., Commissary.

12. Jefferson F. Moulton, Sergeant Troop G, 2d

Cavalry, U. S. A., detailed by courtesy of the
War Department to serve in the Expedition.
He served as Assistant Quartermaster in care
of the ponies.

13. Spencer W. Stewart, Brooklyn, N. Y., Assistant

Commissary.

14. John Vedoe, Boston Mass., Assistant Quarter-

master.

15. Pierre LeRoyer, Three Rivers, Quebec, Canada,

Assistant in care of dogs.

Deck Department

16. Edwin Coffin, Edgartown, Mass., Master.

17. Edward Haven, Lynn, Mass., First Officer.

18. James W. Nichols, New Bedford, Second Officer.

14 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

Crew

19. Peter L. Tessem, Trondhjem, Norway, Carpenter.

20. Franklin Cowing, New Bedford, Mass.

2 1 . Allen W. Montrose, Lowell, Mass.

22. Wm. R. Myers, Boston, Mass.

23. Chas. Kunold, New York, N. Y.

24. Harry Bums (Harry Paxton), Dunkirk, N. Y.

25. D. S. Mackieman, Dorchester, Mass.

26. Alfred Beddow, London, England.

27. Elijah Perry, New Bedford, Mass.

28. Gustave Meyer, New York, N. Y.

29. William Ross, New York, N. Y.

30. John J. Duffy, Waltham, Mass.

Engine Department

31. Henry P. Hartt, Portsmouth, Va., Chief Engineer.

32. Chas. E. Hudgins, Norfolk, Va., First Assistant

Engineer.

33. Anton Vedoe, Boston, Mass., Second Assistant

Engineer.

34. George D. Butland, Brooklyn, N. Y., Fireman.

35. Augustinsen Hovlick, Trondhjem, Norway, Fire-

man.

36. Sigurd Myhre, Trondhjem, Norway, Fireman.

Steward's Department

37. Bernard E. Spencer, Boston, Mass., Steward.

38. Clarence W. Thwing, Boston, Mass., Cook.

39. James Dean, New Bedford, Mass., Cabin Boy.

The America had been left through the winter at
Tromso, a town above the Arctic Circle in the north
of Norway, a place noted as a depot of supply for many
a Polar expedition. Her American crew left New

' WE CROSSED THE ARCTIC CIRCLE, AND ALL MEMBERS OF THE EXPEDITION WHO HAD NOT
CROSSED THE PARALLEL BEFORE, WERE SEIZED BY THEIR COMRADES WHO HAD, AND
INITIATED AS POLAR EXPLORERS BY BEING THROWN OVERBOARD WHILE THE STEAMER
WAS IN MOTION, THEIR SAFETY FIRST INSURED BY A LONG UNE MADE FAST AROUND
THEIR WAISTS."

EARLY DAYS OF THE EXPEDITION 15

York for Tromso in March. 1903. As nearly all meat
and food supplies and equipment had to be shipped
from the United States, the stores were ordered early
to allow at least a month's time on freighters from
New York to Hamburg, from which point they were
forwarded to Trondhjem.

The mixing of the cargo had troubled us consider-
ably on the last expedition, and, to obviate a similar
confusion this season, I had a number of conventional
signs made into stencils, and had the cases of supplies
marked on all sides, so that a glance would reveal the
contents, no matter in what position the box might
be. For example, a red star signified that the case
contained pemmican; a red maltese cross meant pre-
served or canned meat; the crescent designated com-
missary stores; a red crescent, condensed food; a
blue crescent, breadstuff s or flour; a green crescent,
vegetables; black always denoted equipment; the
horseshoe surrounding a cross was the sign of the
Veterinary Department; and so on.

In Trondhjem, where the cases were unloaded from
the freight steamers for customs house inspection before
loading aboard the America, the Norwegian freight
handlers had no difficulty in arranging the cases ac-
cording to the signs. When the marking was com-
pleted, the boxes had a curious appearance looking
much like a number of enormous playing-cards; but
the value of being able to tell at once the contents of
a case in the dimly lighted place between decks or in
the hold of the ship, can hardly be overestimated, and
many times during the voyage we had occasion to
test and recognise the value of the signs.

CHAPTER III

WE SAY FAREWELL TO AMERICA

npHE early days of the expedition were char-
acterised by many departures and farewells.
My wish had been to have the America brought over
the ocean from Tromso to New York City to be re-
paired, and to receive her cargo on this side of the
water, but the limited time at my command would not
allow of it. So all members of the expedition, except
three men engaged in Trondhjem, were sent over the
Atlantic on the passenger steamers to Norway.

The Chief Engineer left in January 1903, for Tromso,
for which port the officers and crew sailed from New
York City on March loth. Two days later I left for
the same port, via England, Germany, and Denmark,
for the purpose of purchasing supplies in all these
countries. I reached Tromso March 31st in a snow
storm. I was glad to find that my American crew
had arrived some days before. The expedition ship
was anchored out in the fjord, her decks covered with
snow, and although a force of men had been busy
cleaning her during the spring she still had a dis-
mal, desolate air, her ice worn planking, paint
denuded sides, and ragged rigging showing the need
of much overhauling before she would be seaworthy
again. The only cheerful place was the engine room,
where I was glad to find that Engineer Hartt had put

WE SAY FAREWELL TO AMERICA 17

the engine together and was ready to turn on steam. •
A French-Canadian, Pierre LeRoyer by name, who
had acted as guide in the north Canadian woods for
Mr. Ziegler in many hunting and camping trips, and
who accompanied Mr. Champ on the ReHef Expe-
dition in 1902, had been left aboard the America as
a watchman during the winter. I had written him
to use all the heavy furs aboard, left from the previous
expedition, in the manufacture of one-man sleeping
bags and had also instructed him to make mittens
and footwear of fur. I was glad to find that he had
improved the time and could show me twenty-five
complete sleeping bags in addition to a number of
articles of wearing apparel. Furs suitable for cloth-
ing could not be purchased in Norway or Sweden.
All the garments offered to me by the fur merchants
of those countries were too heavy, being made of the
fur of the adult wild deer, useless for the purpose of a
sledge expedition on account of its weight, the hides
being too thick and the fur too long. So I was obliged
to order them from Russia and over 800 fawn skins,
of from two to five months old deer, of the domesticated
variety were purchased. I had to be content with skins
tanned in the regular commercial way, very beautiful
to look upon, but not as durable by half as the skins
tanned by the native Samoyede. To have secured the
latter it would have been necessary for me to make a
journey along the Siberian coast for the purpose of trad-
ing with the Samoyedes, and for that there was not time.
Fortunately, through Mr. Bruno Paetz, the British pro-
consul at Archangel, I was enabled to secure a num-
ber of Samoyede coats made of the skins desired.

i8 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

There was not a dry-dock in Tromso large enough
for the America, so, manned by her American crew,
with Capt. Keldjsen for pilot, she left for Trondhjem,
where she was to be repaired and loaded, and from
where she was later to sail on her voyage north.

On my return to America in April, arrangements
were made for the departure of the members of the
Field Department from New York City for Trondhjem.

[Copy of order sent to Field Dept. members of the Expedition]
ZiEGLER Polar Expedition
60 Liberty Street

New York, May 9th, 1903.
general orders no. i.
Sir:

You are hereby ordered to report at the Astor House, New York City,
on the afternoon of May 2Sth, ready for sailing the morning of the 27th
of May for Norway.

2. Accommodations have been arranged at the Astor House and you
are to report immediately upon arrival there to Mr. William J. Peters,
Second in Command, who is to conduct the expedition party to Norway.

3. Transportation is provided on the Steamship Helig Olav, sailing
from Pier, foot of 17th Street, Hoboken, N. J., May 27th. Mr. Charles E.
Rilliet, Quartermaster, will arrange for transportation and baggage.

4. Members are expected to carry all their baggage, outside of hand-
bags, etc., in two trunks— one steamer trunk to be carried aboard ex-
pedition steamer America — the other to be left in storehouse at Tromso,
with supply of clothing until return of expedition.

5. Clothing has been provided for the use of the members after August
1st, 1903, but it is advised that each man provide himself with two blue
flannel Army shirts, two pair of heavy shoes, of larger size than usually
worn, three suits of medium weight underwear, a supply of socks and
handkerchiefs, and several suits of old clothing, and a small sewing and
darning outfit.

6. Every man shotdd be careful to see that his teeth are in good con-
dition before leaving.

7. This order to be acknowledged immediately on receipt.

The Commanding Officer presents his compliments to the members of
the Field Department of the expedition, and wishes them a pleasant
trip across the ocean, regretting that necessity for an earlier departure
prevents his accompanying the party to Trondhjem.

Anthony Fiala, Commanding.

WE SAY FAREWELL TO AMERICA 19

The last shipments were made from the United States
and eleven days later I was once again at sea on my
way to Norway. On arrival at Trondhjem, I found
that the repairs on the ship were almost completed,
and she was moved to a dock to receive her coal and
stores. Leaving the America again I hurried by rail
across Norway and Sweden to Stockholm, and from
there by steamer to St. Petersburg, and then by the
slow moving Russian railroad made my way to Arch-
angel, to inspect the fiu^ that had been ordered and
to assure myself of their suitability. On return to
Trondhjem I found the storehouses and dock filled
with cases, bales, barrels, and bags. The great ship-
ment of stores from six countries had arrived and the
work was well under way. An interested crowd of
Norwegians watched us load the vessel and several
ship captains there volunteered the information that
they believed it would require two ships to transport
all our supplies. In addition to this great cargo we
purchased lumber with which to construct a house
on some Arctic shore for our winter quarters.

For the reception of the thirty ponies we were to
take along I ordered a stable built on the deck amid-
ships. The floor was raised and slatted to keep the
ponies' hoofs dry, and stalls were built so as to protect
the little animals from accident during the voyage.
On the roof of the pony stable a dog pen was constructed
as all space had to be utilised.

The America's appearance now offered a pleasing
contrast to the last view I had had of her. With rig-
ging taut, spars cleaned and painted, and a new smoke-
stack, I hardly recognised the old ship. Under the

20 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

direction of First Officer Haven the cargo was soon
stowed and the great mass of supplies and stores went
down between decks and into the hold. When at
last the decks too were laden it took quite a degree
of agility to move from one end of the ship to the other.
The members of the Field Department arrived in
Trondhjem in early June and helped the crew in the
loading of the ship. By noon of June 23 everything
was aboard. Mr. William Champ, Mr. Ziegler's secre-
tary, who was to accompany us to Archangel, came
aboard, and, at six p. m. we steamed from the dock at
Trondhjem followed by the cheers of a large company
of Norwegians who had assembled to see us depart.
We arrived at the little island of Trono early in the
morning of the 26th and took aboard 183 dogs, twenty-
five of which were pups about five months old, and
five little Siberian ponies looking the worse for their
experience on the last expedition. We then steamed
for the famous little town of Tromso on the northern
coast of Norway in whose harbour many an expedition
ship had anchored before. On our way there we crossed
the Arctic Circle, and all members of the expedition
who had not passed that parallel before, were seized
by their comrades who had, and initiated as Polar
explorers by being thrown overboard while the
steamer was in motion, their safety first insured by
a long line made fast around their waists. As they
were hauled on deck spluttering and half drowned,
Father Neptune, impersonated by one of the old tars
aboard, scrubbed down the victims with a deck broom
to the amusement of all. We stayed at Tromso only
a day to take on some supplies, then hurried our

WE SAY FAREWELL TO AMERICA 21

steamer's bow northward through the beautiful fjords
of Norway to the town of Vardo, a curious Httle place
that betrays itself ere you see it if the wind blows
your way. From Vardo we steamed down through
the White Sea toward Archangel, the metropolis of
northern Russia and Siberia, the White City on the
White Sea, We arrived off Solombal, the port of
Archangel, at 2 p. m. on July 2nd. On going ashore
I was glad to find that the twenty-five ponies ordered
from Alexander Trontheim, who purchased dogs for
Nansen, Wellman, Baldwin, and the Duke of the Ab-
ruzzi, were all on hand and ready for embarkation.
Several particularly tough looking specimens had
been brought more than 800 miles overland fom Siberia.
Stephan, one of the Russians who had been with the
previous expedition, a splendid fellow, with tears in
his eyes begged for the privilege of accompanying
us. He said he did not wish any salary but would
go for his clothing and food. But there was no
room aboard for Stephan; we were crowded without
adding to our number, so I regretfully denied his
request.

At Solombal we coaled the bunkers which were quite
empty after our long trip from Tromso. A lighter
came alongside with twenty-five dogs and twenty-
five of the most beautiful, lively Siberian ponies,
intelligent and well conditioned. I succeeded in get-
ting a moving picture as they were hauled aboard.
About sixteen tons of oats and com were taken on
as provender and, almost like the proverbial "last
straw," a boat came alongside with still another ad-
dition to the ship's load — our precious furs. Cap-

22 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

tain Coffin said to me rather grimly, " I think we will
have to carry the furs in the main top." But they
were finally placed safely under cover of the fore
hatch.

In addition to the work of cleaning and loading the
vessel we had visitors to entertain. Some very polite
and intelligent officers from a Russian hydrographic
expedition came aboard. I have to laugh when I
think of it. I wore a pair of khaki trousers and a
rough flannel shirt. Minus a hat, my hair tangled
and artistic but not neat, I had been directing the
arrangement of pony stalls and helping the men trim
ship and was hardly in a presentable condition. But
I escorted the officers around, all of them in resplen-
dent uniforms covered with decorations and gold lace,
some of them carrying jewelled short swords; one of
them wearing the famous iron cross.

We left Archangel on our northward course just
before midnight on Independence Day with the glowing
orb of the sun cut on our northern horizon. As we
steamed toward it the great, burning, red-and-golden
luminary rose, flooding us with light and giving us a
radiant pathway toward the Great White Sea. A
number of Russians cheered us as, under the impetus
of our fast revolving screw, we gained headway to-
ward the river's mouth and passed the city of Solombal,
the Russian flags politely dipping and the whistles
of many steamers blowing us their God-speed. The
Russian authorities had been most kind, remitting all
harbour and pilot charges.

Our progress to Vardo, where we were to stop for
a few hours to take on more coal before leaving civili-

WE SAY FAREWELL TO AMERICA 23

sation for the ice, was delayed by a gale that sprang
up on the seventh of July and blew "great guns" for
about forty-eight hours. It meant hard work for
those who were not seasick. Neither Mr. Champ nor
I is subject to seasickness as a rule, but while the storm
lasted we could do little but lie in our bunks and poke
fun at each other when a respite from our distressed
condition permitted. We made efforts — costly efforts!
I managed to crawl up over the cargo as far as the
ponies and dogs several times to satisfy myself as to
their condition. Everything was attended to as well
as one could expect and none of the animals or cargo
was lost.

At Vardo we bade good-bye to Mr. Champ, who had
accompanied us thus far. Before leaving I went
aboard his steamer, and in the privacy of his cabin we
talked over the affairs of the expedition and of the
Relief Ship that he was to bring up in the summer of
1904. We agreed that Cape Flora, on Northbrook
Island, would be the place of rendezvous, as a large
store of provisions was there as well as houses and
boats. I was to send a party to Cape Flora early in
the spring of 1904 with letters through which, should
the America not succeed in reaching Cape Flora
from her winter northing before the Relief Ship ar-
rived there, Mr. Champ would learn of our where-
abouts and of the success or failure of the expedition.
We discussed the probable ice conditions to be en-
countered and the personnel of the exploring party,
for I realised that the fate of the undertaking de-
pended chiefly upon the moral fibre of the men.

I hoped to reach Crown Prince Rudolph Island with

24 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

the ship and winter in some safe harbour near there,
or, the ice permitting, cast anchor at Coburg Island.
From that point, in the spring of 1904, a march north
with a large column of men, dogs, ponies, and sledges,
would be made, the ponies to serve as dog food as the
loads on their sledges were reduced. The sledge party-
was to be composed of a number of supporting parties
that were to be detached as the main column advanced
and sent back to the base camp, the final advance
party to consist of four or five men, who would strike
for Cape Flora on their return should they be carried
toward the west by the drift.

I told Mr. Champ that the America would start for
Cape Flora just as soon as she could get free in the
summer of 1904 and not to wait for the sledge parties
should they still be in the field; that I would leave
food along the British Channel on my advance north
with the ship and, if necessary, on her return to Cape
Flora where she would await the sledge parties and
the Relief Ship.

Mr. Champ left at midnight. The Norwegian
steamer, upon whose deck he stood, passed close to the
America, the steamers saluting each other by the dip-
ping of flags and the shrieking of the steam sirens
while the men of the expedition party cheered loudly.

The following day, Friday, the tenth of July, after
fresh water and about fifty tons of coal had been taken
aboard, we raised anchor and at six in the evening left
the harbour with our bow pointed north. A fresh breeze
was blowing from the southwest and, to save our pie-
cious coal, steam was shut off, and with all canvas set
we sailed on our way in a spanking breeze.

CHAPTER IV

THE "AMERICA" FORCES HER WAY NORTH

/^N THE afternoon of July 13th, we met the ice at
" Longitude 38° 37' E. and Latitude 74° 51'
N., and there our progress north was barred by the
close-packed, crystal fields. We steamed easterly
in hope of finding an open water lekd, but without
success. On the i8th we sighted 'Nova Zembla and
continued on our easterly and southerly course along
the edge of the ice in an endeavour to find an opening
near the land. But we were disappointed. Capt.
Coffin suggested that it would be best to turn the ship
around and return to Longitude 49° where the ice
seemed loosest and then force our way north, to which
suggestion I agreed as the only thing to do. So we
steamed to where the ice appeared to make in to the
north, and there we spoke a little Norwegian sealing
schooner. Captain Coffin and I boarded her, taking
with us an interpreter, our Norse carpenter, Tessem ;
we also carried a bag of mail, our last letters home.
The sealers told it was a very bad year for ice, the
worst they had ever experienced, and predicted that
we could not reach Franz Josef Land, a prophecy
which the cheerful spirit that prevailed then aboard
the America would not endorse.

The ice in the Barentz Sea is on the approach of
simimer broken into fields by the action of winds and

26 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

sea. A southerly wind is most effective as it brings
with it the roll of the great open ocean southward,
smashing the ice-fields. A northern wind then separates
the floes and allows the swell of the sea to penetrate
further. Thus before the end of summer the whole
sea of ice is often broken into comparatively small
floes between which it is usually possible to pick a way
north to Franz Josef Land.

We seemed to have struck a late season. The
ice was then about breaking, but the great lanes of
water that should have given us a passage between
the floes to our destination were not to be found. We
steamed slowly along the edge of floe after floe of
field ice, some of the floes from thirty to sixty miles
long with never a break. Time and time again we
were obliged to steam in great circles, miles out of
our course, to work around the vast white mass.
Under favourable conditions the voyage from Vardo,
Norway, to Cape Flora, in the Franz Josef Archipelago,
can be made in less than six days. But day after day
passed without any appreciable progress north,
and the impatient American spirit chafed under the
delay, and many a young member of the expedition
received his first lesson in Arctic exploration — the
lesson of patience.

Possibly nowhere on earth was there just such a situa-
tion or quite such a community as existed aboard our
ship. The America flew the burgee of the New York
Yacht Club and had a commission as a pleasure yacht
from the Treasury Department of the United States
Government. But she was an3rthing but a pleasure
yacht. Crowded with thirty-nine men, 218 dogs, and

"AMERICA" FORCES HER WAY NORTH 27

thirty ponies, and with every available deck space
packed with cargo, she had more the appearance of an
overloaded freighter or cattle steamer. Hard manual
labour was the portion of all alike. In addition to the
regtdar work of the ship the animals had to be cared
for, and with the crowded condition of the decks it
was a difficult matter to fill the bunkers, and all hands,
Field Department members as well as crew, were
obliged to take part in the dirty work of passing coal.

We carried a heavy deck-load of cases, compressed
hay, and coal. Amidships the ponies were stalled in
a structure of timber. This rough stable was floored
and roofed, and upon the roof, surrounded by a bul-
wark of thin boards, a ntunber of the dogs were chained ;
the remainder of our pack were lodged on the fore-
castle head, where they passed the time away barking
and howling in unison with their comrades on top of
the pony stable, varying the monotony of their chained
imprisonment by innumerable fights. Any dog with-
in reach of another would improve the slightest oppor-
tunity for a quarrel, and with the savage snarling of
the combatants the whole pack would yelp and bark
encouragement, the result being general disorder.
The noise generally brought Dr. Vaughn, who was in
charge of the dogs, and Pierre LeRoyer, his assistant,
who, with the aid of whips, speedily restored order.
Even the ponies seemed possessed of the spirit of com-
bativeness and bit each others necks when they were
not engaged in chewing up the lumber of which the
stable was constructed.

There was not room enough for all the ponies in
the stable and five were tied up alongside the ship's

28 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

rail. These had to be watched constantly as they
endeavoured to eat all the rope within reach, be-
sides chewing up the rail and eating out places in the
deck made soft by the constant wash of the sea- water.

All of July passed with little distance to our credit.
Again and again we were forced to tie up to the
ice, the ship's yards and rigging glittering with ice,
while a blanket of thick, damp, Arctic fog obscured
the vision. At other times, the sky above our northern,
eastern, and western horizons was white with the
reflection of ice, the ominous "ice blink" that proved
the absence of open water.

With the floes under pressure, we could do nothing
but wait until a change in the wind caused the fields
to separate. Then the America, though overloaded
and weighted down at the head, under full steam,
would squeeze her way between the floes, after charg-
ing the frozen masses, and hammer her way sturdily
northward.

" Bucking " the ice requires skill and judgment and
was always an exciting experience, particularly when
viewed from the vantage-point of the crow's nest where
the Captain, the Mate, and myself passed much of our
time. The ship would be slowly backed in the narrow
channel she had broken between the fields until there
were about a thousand yards of water space. Then,
from his position at the mast head, the Captain would
send the signal for full speed ahead. With smoke
pouring in great clouds from her funnel and mingling
with hissing live steam, the engine throbbing and
poimding under the strains of its supreme effort — Hartt,
the engineer, was forcing his pet — men lining the rig-

NOR THW AkU HO

' SOME OF THE DOGS WERE LODGED ON THE FORECASTLE HEAD '

*' AMERICA " FORCES HER WAY NORTH 29

ging to mark the advance toward the coveted stretch
of clear water, the America woiild crash into the heav}^
glassy mass and under the impetus her great hulk
would rise out of the sea and roll from side to side, as
the ice broke and splintered under her armoured fore-
foot. Dogs barked and whined in terror; ponies
stamped and stumbled as the impact of ship and floe
threw them almost off their feet. Up in the crow's
nest, where every motion was intensified, we hung on
like cherries. Sometimes, it seemed that, with her
heavy top load, the America must "turn turtle," but
the ice always broke and, at last, on an even keel, we
would gather steam to buck once more.

The ice had to be carefully watched and the course
of every little water lead traced from the crow's nest
before the ship's nose was pushed into it. In going
south, toward the open sea, almost every lane of water
can be trusted as leading toward safety, but, in forcing
a way north it is like going toward the small end of a
funnel, and, in a close season, many an opening, that
from the limited view circle of deck and rigging seemed
to stretch to the very edge of the earth, resolved itself
into what is technically termed a " blind lead " ending
in solid ice.

Captain Coffin, through the knowledge gained in
many years of Arctic whaling, kept carefully out of
these traps, which had caused the destruction of the
Jeannette, the Tegethoff, and many another Arctic
going ship, and we did very little useless steaming.
Under the influence of the winds and currents the ice
fields were either closing and under pressure, or separat-
ing and relaxing. At the times of pressure it was

30 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

useless to attempt to force a way, and we could only
stand by and wait. Every halt of the ship was ac-
cepted with impatience by some of the company who,
though it was their first experience on a Polar sea,
freely gave their opinions as to how the ship should be
managed in the ice. The Captain at first thought it
amusing, and often asked me to look down over the
edge of the crow's nest to see his "ice pilots," strung
in the rigging and on the forecastle head with their
eyes glued to the ice.

On July 30th we had stopped the ship in a little
open hole of water from which two blind leads extended,
one threading its narrow way in a northwest, the other,
in a northeasterly direction. Captain Coffin and I, in
the crow's nest, anxiously examined both through
our binoculars and with the long ship's telescope but
could find no other evidence of water, and the horizon
was white with the " ice blink. " The Captain said to
me, "We can enter either lead, but it would be foolish
for we can only steam about three miles in one, or
about four miles in the other. If we wait here, the
chances are, that one of the leads will open and the
other close; we will then be in a position to take the
one that is open and push on." I saw the wisdom of
his judgment at once and agreed that waiting was the
only thing to do. On my way down from the crow's
nest, I could see, from the lower level, one of the leads
showing water almost to the horizon and could under-
stand the critical comments made by some of my
comrades at the seemingly unnecessary delay.

So much in life depends upon the View Point, and
the higher our elevation above the earth level, and the

'THE PONIES EM>EA\t»rkKI> TO EAT l'l» ALL THE kOI'E \VITHL\ KKACH. BESIDES CHEWLNG
I HE RAIL AM) EATINCI or I I'I-\(HS IN THE DECK"

THE POXY "CIRCUS" JUST BEFORE HIS EXECUTION

' ' AMERICA ' ' FORCES HER WAY NORTH 3 1

wider our horizon, the less hypercritical and the more
just we are apt to be.

The following day, under the influence of a twenty-
five-mile-an-hour wind, one of the leads closed into a
small pressure ridge; the other opened and through
it we eventually escaped from our pool.

The early days of August were the most discouraging
of all. Our latitude was fully one hundred miles
south of Cape Flora and the great expanse of ice gave
little promise of opening up. Gloom settled over the
company and here and there an impatient or thought-
less one gave vent to his dissatisfaction in regrettable
terms. The animals showed the effect of their long
imprisonment, the dogs, craving sympathy, howled
dolefully and held up their wet cold paws. The ponies
relieved the tedium of the situation by biting each
other and doing as much damage as possible to their
stable. We were obliged to renew the wood-work of
their stalls and the flooring, that had been eaten through
in many places.

The monotony of inaction was varied by visits
from Polar bears which usually paid the price of their
curiosity with their lives. They were shot and skinned
on the ice, their pelts and carcasses being dragged to
the ship where the meat served as fresh food for men
and dogs. Thrice in the week after the evening meal,
Mr. Peters conducted a class in nautical astronomy
and, assisted by Mr. Porter and Mr. Tafel, made ob-
servations on the floating ice for magnetic declination.
Our weather observer, Sergt. Francis Long of the U. S.
Weather Bureau, was the Arctic veteran of the party.
He had been a member of the famous Greely Ex-

32 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

pedition and it was his fortunate shooting of a bear
which saved the remnant of that company from
starvation. Sergt. Long mounted his instrument shel-
ter— the "chicken coop" as it was jocularly termed
by the members of the party — on the deck over the
America's upper cabin, and his anemometer on the
bridge, and began his weather observations. He was
generally known among the explorers as "Obs," from
the signature he attached to his memorandum slips.
All sorts of jokes were cracked at his expense, but
he kept serenely and good-naturedly at his work, set-
ting many a younger man an example of diligence and
faithfulness in the performance of duty.

Gloom and disappointment gave way to joy on the
evening of August the fifth when a flood of sunshine
took the place of dull gray clouds and we discovered
a great open hole of water through which we steamed
with a fair sky and friendly winds until the following
evening, when, once again, the ice appeared and with
it the depressing fog which threw its chill, wet blanket
over everything and caused a rapid drop in the spirits
of my companions. I climbed up to the crow's nest
on the morning of August the seventh, and while there,
through a clearing in the fog, caught a glimpse of land
not far off looking very much like Cape Flora. I called
out the cheering news, but the ice was fast and under
pressure so we could do nothing but wait. It was
very tantalising to drift around in sight of land without
the power of approaching it. On the morning of the
eighth our Veterinarian, Dr. Newcomb, reported to
me that "Circus," one of the ponies that had been
sick, was infected with glanders and I was obliged to

HAULING THE CARCASS OF A POLAR BEAR ABOARD THE SHIT

'THE REMAINDER OF OUR PACK WERE LODGED ON THE FORECASTLE HEAD '

"AMERICA " FORCES HER WAY NORTH 33

order his destruction, for the disease is communicable
and deadly to man and beast. The poor little animal
was shot and thrown overboard with all his belongings
— halter, blanket, chain, and feed-bag.

We finally escaped from the pack at a point where
two enormous ice fields had crashed together. These
had parted a little, leaving a long narrow channel
choked with heavy cakes. We dislodged and shat-
tered the cakes with charges of guncotton, the crew
pushing the fragments out of the way with long poles.
Then we forced our way through, steaming between
two enormous blocks of ice, and escaping just in time, as
the fields crashed together with tremendous force
behind us.

On the afternoon of August 12 th we arrived at Cape
Flora, the historic place where Jackson spent three
years with his party and where his dramatic meeting
with Dr. Nansen took place; where Leigh Smith lived
with his crew when his vessel was crushed by the ice,
and where the Duke of the Abruzzi cached a great
store of provisions against a time of need. But our
destination was further north, and we left Cape Flora
with its relics of former expeditions in an attempt to
make a higher northern base for winter quarters.
We passed Cape Barentz, the southeast extremity
of Northbrook Island, steaming so close that we could
hear the chatter of thousands upon thousands of gulls,
guillemots, little Auks, and Loons, which make
their summer home in the crevices of the great basaltic
rock that guards the entrance to DeBruyne Sound.

The Sound was free of ice, but the British Channel,
through which the Duke of the Abruzzi's ship, the Po-

34 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

laris, had steamed so easily, was now one unbroken
line of solid ice from shore to shore. We steamed east
toward Cape Dillon to ascertain if there was an oppor-
tunity of going north through the interchannel route
by way of Camp Ziegler, where Baldwin wintered in
1 90 1 -1 902, or to the east of the Archipelago.

We could not make Cape Dillon in spite of effort.
From the crow's nest, there was naught to be seen but
ice — north, east, and south, showing that we were
simply in a water hole off Northbrook and Hooker
islands. We then turned west over the course we had
come only to find farther advance in that direction
blocked by heavy ice off Cape Grant. I then decided
to return to the British Channel and fight our way
north by that route if it took the rest of the season.

CHAPTER V

THE FIGHT UP THE BRITISH CHANNEL

^T^HE heavy ice in the British Channel gave me
-■■ reason to beHeve that we would be late in reach-
ing our base and I found it necessary to order the men
to begin to fit harness for the ponies and dogs, to put
together the sledges, and to start sewing fur garments.
Our passage up the British Channel occupied many
days, days of anxiety for the leader. The ponies and
dogs had been on the ship for almost two months and
the long wait in cramped quarters was telling on them.
Veterinarian Newcomb and Sergt. Moulton, who had
the welfare of the ponies in mind, gave the tough
creatures exercise by moving them from stall to stall,
changing their places daily. A fortunate drift of the
ice northward carried us through the channel past
Cape Murray, and then we slowly steamed and worked
our way north being obliged at times to explode heavy
mines of guncotton to assist our advance.

On the night of August 29th, we were tied up to the
ice in a bay near a little uncharted island north of
Cape Hugh Mill on Jackson Island. My diary for the
30th reads:

" Had been up all night and climbed the hill on the
island near us several times in anxious watch of the
belt of ice that separated us from the navigable water
north. I turned in about one a.m. and asked Mr.

36 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

Peters and Mr. Porter to watch the ice as they were
taking a set of angles from the top of the hill. Tired
out from many sleepless nights I fell immediately to
sleep but was awakened in half an hour by Mr. Porter
who informed me that the ice had opened. First
Officer Haven was just climbing over the side of the
ship for the purpose of going to the top of the hill and
we three went together to have our eyes gladdened
by the sight of an open lane through the ice. On
return, I climbed the hill with Captain Coffin who gave
one look then hurried back to the ship as fast as he
could go and together we climbed to the crow's nest.
On leaving the bay in which we had found refuge we
steamed north toward Charles Alexander Island, the
beautiful clear, atmosphere and glorious sunshine
revealing the fact that Leigh Smith Island did not
exist, but that what was supposed to be that island
was really the northeast end of Jackson Island, and
that instead of the channel marked as De Long Fjord,
there was really a deep bay. At Cape Helland we could
go no farther, a wide strip of ice preventing farther
progress north. We tied up to the ice to await further
developments. Second officer Nichols, Surgeon Shork-
ley, Seaman Bums, and I took the dingy and sounded
in the bay north of Cape Helland, hoping to find a
lane of separation between the ground ice and the
floe, but to no avail. We then climbed the glacier
and, from about 800 feet elevation, beheld the welcome
sight of open sea as far as Crown Prince Rudolph
Island. Returned to the ship convinced that when
we did escape it would not be through the bay but
farther out in the channel. Felt very tired on return
to ship for want of sleep. About ten o'clock in the
morning, I turned in and slept soundly until 4-30-
After supper, I climbed to the crow's nest and noticed
that the ice had opened a little. Reported it to Capt.
Coffin, and in a few minutes we were under way. The

FIGHT UP THE BRITISH CHANNEL 37

bugle then sounded the time of Sunday service and
while we were engaged in a devotional meeting, the
shaking and pounding of the ship denoted our en-
trance into the ice. At the close of the service, we
went on deck to find the America slowly forcing her
way through heavy ice. Before long we had passed
our last barrier and were steaming in the open sea.
Captain Coffin reported that when he started the
chances were slim but as the ship advanced, the ice
seemed to slacken and open. What heavy masses
of ice they were! Great, solid, green, shimmering,
tons upon tons, extending from twenty to thirty feet
under water! We steamed past Charles Alexander
Island and toward midnight passed Cape Auk, the
southwestern end of Rudolph Island, where we could
see the cache left by the Baldwin-Ziegler Party in
1902. Teplitz Bay was passed in the sunlight, the
skeleton-like remains of the framework of the tent
where in the past had lived the brave Abruzzi and
his companions standing out in plain view. Open
water extending farther north, we steamed on toward
the midnight sun. On passing Teplitz Bay, Captain
Coffin told me the good news that as far as he could
see Teplitz Bay would be safe as winter quarters
for the ship."

Early in the morning of August 31st, we made
our highest north, the open Victoria Sea allowing us
to pass beyond the 82nd degree of latitude. We
returned to Teplitz Bay by six o'clock in the morning
of a beautiful sunlit day, a female bear and her cub
paying us a visit as we made fast alongside the heavy
bay ice. Several of the men opened fire from the deck
of the America, but I was glad to see the mother and
her cub escape unhurt.

38 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

The tent where the Duke of the Abruzzi, Captain
Cagni, and their companions had wintered in 1899 and
1900, and from which they started on their record
breaking trip, had been destroyed by the storms and
all that remained were the heavy spars of the frame-
work sunk deep in the snow and the tops of the interior
tents.

A large cache of food stores was found in good
condition piled on a high rocky point where the winds
would keep it free of drifting snow, and, down near
the tide crack, a great heap of coal was imbedded in
the ice. Between the coal pile and the cache on the
rocks, numerous cases filled with food stores protruded
through the snow, a veritable bonanza to the Arctic
explorer. Not far from the coal pile was a great case
containing a ruined balloon and near it a large mili-
tary gas generator, and cases of siilphuric acid and
barrels of iron filings were scattered around. Best
of all was the discovery of two large steel tanks sunk
to their tops in the snow containing a quantity of
petroleum. Everything denoted a hurried departure.
With all this great store of food we found heaps of
glass bottles and many casks, but, though diligent
search was made, we never found a bottle containing
anything stronger than olive oil or vinegar or a cask
with anything more exhilarating than molasses. Out
on the bay ice we found the half buried stump of a
tree on which the Duke and his companions had prob-
ably practised target shooting, and its unchanged
position was an evidence to us that the ice of Teplitz
Bay had not moved since 1900.

Our voyage was now over, and I gave instructions

OBSERVATIONS WERE MADE ON THE FLOATING ICE FOR LONGITUDE AND FOR
MAGNETIC DECLINATION"

FIGHT UP THE BRITISH CHANNEL 39

to disembark the animals, unload the cargo, and pre-
pare the ship for winter quarters.

ZiBGLBR Polar Expedition

S. Y. AMERICA

Anthony Fiala, Commanding Officer

Date Sept. 6, 1903.
general orders no. 1 5

Tbplitz Bay

1. Teplitz Bay is to be our winter headquarters, and in honour of the
courageous men of Italy and their famous leader who occupied this site
before us, we shall name our winter quarters camp " Abruzzi."

2. We have reached this northern point after many difficulties and
trials in a particularly bad season of much ice — and great credit is due to
Oaptain Ooffin and Officers and crew of the America for the record she now
holds.

3. Our field work is practically in its very beginning and from the
lateness of the season we shall be obliged to toil long and suffer some be-
fore we can be comfortably arranged in Winter Quarters.

4. The unforttmate stampeding of the ponies on landing caused us
considerable labour and worry. But now we have our forces together
and our united efforts will soon effect permanent results, and hope of
victory by earning it should lead us on, with the glorious example of
the men who occupied the ground of camp "Abruzzi" before us, as an
incentive.

Signed, Anthony Fiala,

Commanding Ziegler Polar Expedition.

Sept. 6, 1903.
general orders no. 1 6
Camp "Abruzzi"

I. Members of Field Department are to report daily after breakfast
to Mr. Peters my executive officer for orders.

a. Heads of Departments are expected to carefully attend to stores
in their charge to prevent loss by drifting snow or other causes.
3 . It is necessary to impress on the minds of all members of the ex-

40 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

pedition party, that all tools and small articles should be kept under
cover before leaving camp at night, and even in working hours no article
of use should be left on the snow to be covered by the drift and lost.

4. We are in a situation where habits of carefulness in all respects may
mean the difference between success and failure.

5. Obedience to orders and cheerful compliance to required duty with
a hopeful happy uncritical spirit will leave a record for each man to be
proud of.

Anthony Fiala.

U ■£

H >

CHAPTER VI

CAMP ABRUZZI

A GANGWAY was now constructed from ship to
-^^ ice and the sea-weary animals, wild for liberty,
were disembarked. The poor beasts had been prisoners
for two months, some of them longer. The ponies
celebrated their new found freedom by rolling in the
snow and kicking each other and the open air in pure
delight, while the dogs, unchained and allowed to run
free, with tails up and grinning jaws, found relief from
the long strain in mischief and enjoyable fights. Our
camp was established on a level tract of protruding
rocks, the outcropping of a small terminal moraine,
on the edge of which, in the snow, a picket line was
stretched for the ponies. While the ponies were
being lead across the rough bay ice to the shore, a num-
ber of them, in a wild desire for freedom, broke loose
and stampeded, jumping hummocks and rocks like
kangaroos and finally disappearing out of sight across
the high glacier. Search parties were sent after them
and all were brought back except five. Of this num-
ber four were found lodged in crevasses so badly in-
jured that they had to be shot, but of the remaining
one no trace was ever discovered. Sergt. Moulton,
Assistant Scientist Tafel, and Dr. Vaughn distinguished
themselves in the search. The anxiety caused by
the stampede of the ponies was allayed, but we were

42 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

assailed by a new trouble — the rising of the wind which
broke off the ice around the ship. Every one had to
work day and night to move the cargo to land. Quite
an amount of equipment and stores, lumber, sle;^ges,
boats, etc., had been placed on the ice near the ship,
and quick work was necessary to save them from
being lost on the fast disappearing ice. The ponies
did valiant service in dragging loads varying from 800
to 1,200 pounds over the hummocks and up the long
hill to the camp. One little fellow, a survivor of the
Baldwin-Ziegler expedition and not so strong as the
others, died from exhaustion due to overwork.

After constant exertion we succeeded in getting all
the new lumber, stores, and equipment ashore, but
we lost the ship's dingy, some old lumber from the
stable, and eleven dogs that floated away on broken
ice in the gale. Thereafter I ordered the sledges
loaded directly from the ship and nothing was allowed
to be placed on the ice edge.

The violence of the wind and the breaking of the
heavy bay ice indicated to Captain Coffin the pos-
sibility that Teplitz Bay would be an unsafe harbour
for the ship. He told me on September 3d that
he would be obliged to take the America away and
look for other winter quarters, and that he would not
be responsible for her safety if she was allowed to re-
main in Teplitz Bay. To send the America away with
her crew, I would have been obliged to equip the
entire ship's company with sleeping bags, dogs, and
sledges — ^for there was the possibility of the ship's
loss no matter where she might be taken in the Archi-
pelago. Then there were the added disadvantages

CAMP ABRUZZI 43

of a divided party, the loss to the expedition of the
services of the crew, and also the sacrifice of such
facilities as were afforded by the work-shop aboard the
America. There was only one other thing to do, and
that was to add the shore party to the crew, take every-
thing— ^ponies, dogs, large tents, lumber, food, equip-
ment, and stores, and look for other winter quarters.

But the season was far advanced, and by going
farther south we would have lost the decided advan-
tage of a high base for the sledge party. After con-
sidering both sides of the question I explained to the
members of the Field Department the nature of the
risk we assimied by remaining in Teplitz Bay, and then
gave orders to Captain Coffin to winter the ship in
that neighbourhood.

A large tent twenty feet wide and eighty-eight feet
long was erected, and, in it the ponies and dogs were
stabled. In another large tent room was made for
storage of food and forage for the animals. A house
was built of lumber brought from Norway on the rocky
ridge to the west of the stock tent; our company
labouring late in the gathering twilight and ntunerous
storms to complete this winter shelter.

On September loth the greater part of the large
cache of pemmican which had been stored by the Bald-
win-Ziegler Expedition at Cape Auk four miles away
was brought north by steamer to our present camp
site.* The cache consisted of about 40,000 pounds of
pemmican besides a small quantity of bacon, lard, and

♦The moving of the Cape Auk cache to Camp Ziegler proved to be its
salvation. During the summer of 1904 an avalanche of water and rocks
descended from the high face of Oape Auk and washed what remained of
the cache into the sea, btirying the site under a mass of rocks.

44 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

sausages. Having been one of the party detailed to
make this cache in 1902, I recalled vividly the two
months of hard sledging necessary to its accomplish-
ment, and it was with a feeling of much satisfaction
that I viewed the cargo of familiar tins on the deck of
the America and realised that our labour had not been
in vain. This new cargo was added to our supplies
at Teplitz Bay, and then preparations were made to
make the America snug for the winter. I had given
Captain Coffin a little over half our entire store of pro-
visions for use aboard ship as he had the larger party.
The other half, together with the entire store of sledge
provisions, had been moved by the united efforts of
expedition members and crew to the vicinity of the
camp ; this work necessitating hard hauling in all kinds
of weather. The sledges we had put together while
coming up the channel stood the heavy loads and
hummocky ice very well, and the ponies proved in-
valuable in sledging the stores over the mile of rough
ice that intervened between ship and shore. In fact
the ponies were less troublesome and more powerful
than the dogs, the industrious little equines dragging
loads that astonished us all.

On a ridge of rocks overlooking the bay, not far
from our camp and near the cache of food left by the
Abruzzi party, our busy scientists erected an astro-
nomical observatory, inside of which the large vertical
circle loaned by the Christiana Observatory was set
up. Near the shore line, about two hundred yards
below the stable tent, Mr. Peters and his assistants
built the little hut that was to serve as a magnetic
observatory. On September 24th the house intended

CAMP ABRUZZI 45

for the home of the shore party was completed and the
fifteen members of the Field Department and the
ship's steward, who had volunteered for shore duty,
moved their belongings into it. The interior of the
house had been divided into one large living room and
a number of small rooms just large enough for two
or four bunks. A little kitchen was partitioned off
for the steward. In the living room a long table was
erected over which was hung an arc light connected
by wire with the ship more than six thousand feet
away, the America's dynamo supplying the current
for lights aship and ashore.

Toward the end of September the days grew stormy
and dark, the sun's visits became daily shorter until
on October 1 5th our luminary dipped below the horizon
in a blaze of scarlet fire, not to rise again until March
of the following year, and a thick gloom settled over
the ice of land and sea. By that time the camp had
assumed quite a business-like aspect, with a regular
routine of duties for all the members. The ponies
were stored in the stable tent, half the space of which
was shared by the dogs. The dogs were allowed
to come and go at will, none being chained except
those that were found to be incorrigible fighters. But
woe to the canines which strayed on the pony side of
the tent within reach of the heels!

A well tramped trail led over the ice of the bay
between house and ship, and in the snow along the
trail was imbedded the wire that conveyed the electric
current. On this same wire Engineer Hartt and
Electrician Vedoe had cut in three incandescent lights,
mounting them on bamboo poles stuck in the snow

46 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

about a thousand feet apart. Another electric light
burned at the gangway of the ship. On windy days,
when vision was obscured by flying drifts of snow, and
at night these lights served as guides between ship and
shore. The America's officers had been busy in the
meantime, and the after part of the ship had been
housed in with canvas and an extra door and par-
tition placed before the entrance to the forecastle.
The ship's store of provisions and her small boats were
cached on the ice within easy reach. An electrically
lighted workshop, with a stove to keep it warm, was
arranged between decks. It was clean and comfort-
able and in it the work of putting sledges together
and lashing the joints with raw-hide was carried on.
Wishing to test the dogs and equipment before the
rapidly approaching season of darkness rendered the
sledge journey impracticable, I left camp on October
15th, the last day of the sun's appearance above our
horizon, accompanied by Dr. Vaughn and Pierre
LeRoyer and two teams of dogs and sledges. We
climbed the glacier north of the camp and then directed
our way toward Cape Fligely. Old Pierre went ahead
on snowshoes, and Dr. Vaughn and I followed, each
with a team and a loaded sledge. We returned to camp
on the morning of October 21st, having been delayed
on our return from Cape Fligely by a bad storm in
which we lost our bearings. After the storm, the
twilight revealed to us that we were on the summit
of the glacier. Over a thousand feet below us stretched
the panorama of Teplitz Bay with the ship frozen in,
a thin column of smoke rising from her funnel; the
desolate shore enlivened by the houses and tents of the

COURSE OF THE S. Y. "AMERICA" FROM VARDO, NORWAY. TO TEPUTZ BAY. RUDOLF
ISLAND. FRANZ JOSEF ARCHIPELAGO

CAMP ABRUZZI 47

camp. The tittle black specks of life moving around
we knew to be our comrades. The descent into camp
from the snowy slope did not take long. We rough-
locked the runners of our sledges with ropes but even
then the speed was so swift that we had to turn a num-
ber of our dogs loose. We received a noisy welcome
from the canines at camp, a great number of them
advancing like skirmishers on our approach. The
trip was a valuable experience, proving the sledges
and equipment satisfactory and strengthening my
reliance on them for future use.

CHAPTER VII

ADRIFT IN THE DARKNESS

'T^EPLITZ BAY was a place of many storms. On Oc-
■*■ tober 2 2d a gale sprang up from the southeast
shaking the house all night with its fearful blast, the
velocity of the wind increasing until it reached a maxi-
mum of seventy-two miles an hour. At half past
nine at night the arc-light suddenly went out and we
knew that otir connection with the ship was broken.
We feared that something was wrong aboard the
America, but were helpless to assist, for in the storm
it would have been impossible to find the ship or to
return to the house again. All sense of direction is
lost in an Arctic storm. The flying snow and drift
are like a sand blast and blind anyone exposed to
their fury. During the evening of the 23d, there
was a lull in the gale and Mr. Peters and I carrying
lighted lanterns ran over the wind-swept bay ice in
the darkness toward the place where the America had
been moored. We saw no guiding light from the ship's
gangway, and, when we reached the place where the
ship had been, to our horror, we found but a wild back
sea. We ran up and down flashing our lanterns, but
our ship with over half of the expedition company
had disappeared! Fierce puffs of whistling wind
warned us of the storm's return and we hurried back

to camp fearing that our comrades aboard the ship were

ADRIFT IN THE DARKNESS 49

lost, reaching the protection of the house just as the
wind started up again in increased violence. We
flashed a number of signal lights and, to our joy,
at last detected a faint glow through the driving drift
which indicated an answering signal. However, a
sudden increase in the wind made further communi-
cation impossible. For three long days the storm
raged. On the fourth day our eyes were gladdened
in the twilight of noon by the sight 6f our good ship
steaming in from the north, her hull shining with ice,
and slowly forcing her way through the thick slush
back to her old mooring place. On going aboard we
learned that the America had broken loose during the
first night of the storm and had been drifting and steam-
ing ever since without anyone on board having any
knowledge of her whereabouts. The mooring lines
became entangled in the blades of the propellor when
she went adrift and men had to be lowered into the
propellor well during the gale in order to cut the
tangled mass from the wheel. It was a long and dif-
ficiilt operation. The temperature was low, and the
men had to be relieved frequently. The heavy port
anchor with seventy fathoms of chain first dragged
bottom, then hung vertically and, as it could not be
raised with frozen machinery, had to be sacrificed
to save the ship. It was an awful experience, and I
heard wild stories of the drift in the darkness and
wind. The gale kept the water agitated and pre-
vented its freezing, and thus allowed the America
to steam back to Teplitz Bay. She had hardly been
made fast to her old berth before the water's surface
turned into ice, and in the calm after the storm young

50 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

ice commenced to form, solidifying the floating fields
and mushy sea into a cold, still dead-looking waste.
I had been living in the house on shore as it was
more convenient for me in the work of preparation
for the sledge trip. But, after the experience of the
last storm, with the drifting away of the ship, and
the uncertain feeling of safety aboard, I felt it my
duty to take up my abode there, and moved my little
store of personal belongings to my old cabin on the
America. After all the stores were cached there was
little for the ponies to do but draw ice which was to be
melted for fresh water. For the purpose of giving
them exercise, on afternoons when the weather per-
mitted we mounted the tough little beasts and trotted
and galloped down the hill and over the trail toward
the ship and back. We had no saddles and several
of the party caused considerable merriment by using
their mittens to soften their seats on the ponies' backs.
Sergt. Moulton of the 2d U. S. Cavalry, who had been
detailed by the War Department to accompany the
expedition, acted as Guidon Sergeant of my little troop.
Some of the men rode quite well having gained their
firm seats through experience as cavalrymen or artil-
lerymen. Old Pierre had served in the Canadian North-
west Mounted Police, vSergt, Long in the 2d U. S. Cav-
alry through several Indian campaigns, and Commissary
Truden in the U. S. Artillery. Nearly all the dogs
in the pack accompanied us on our wild rides, barking
and running as if mad with excitement. We were
sorry when the days grew so dark that we could ride
no more. All we could do then to exercise the ponies
was to take them out of their stable for an hour each

" WE PASSED CAPE BARENTZ, THE SOUTHEAST EXTREMITY OF NORTHBROOK ISL.\\D"

THli " AMERICA" FIGHTING HER WAY UP THE BRITISH CHA.WKL

ADRIFT IN THE DARKNESS 51

day and tie them to a long picket line, allowing them
to kick and roll in the snow.

Oct. 29, 1903.

GENERAL ORDERS NO. 36

1 . The Commanding OflScer finds it necessary to make his Headquarters
aboard the 5. Y. America from this date and takes this opportunity to
express his appreciation of the loyal and eflFective work of the members
of the Field Department since the arrival of the America in Teplitz Bay.

2. The period of darkness is upon us and we can be thankful that we
are housed so comfortably with such good facilities for the care of animals
and opportunities for preparatory work for the Spring campaign.

3. We individually represent the American Nation in this attempt
North and the high personal privilege and responsibility of being rep-
resentative before the world is an incentive to the development of the
best in us — a spur to continued labour, so that when the time comes for
heroic indifference to hardship we shall be ready for it by the training of
the winter's work.

4. Executive Officer Wm. J. Peters is in charge of Camp Abruzzi, and
will keep record of events ashore.

5. Assistant Surgeon Chas. L. Seitz is appointed Acting Quarter-
master at Camp Abruzzi and Assistant Quartermaster J. Vedoe will
assist him in the care of equipment and Quartermaster Stores ashore.

6. The house ashore as to its sanitary condition and cleanliness is in
charge of Surgeon G. Shorkley and members of the expedition are to
cheerfully comply with any suggestions that he may make that are for
health and cleanliness and to give him assistance daily in keeping the
water barrel filled with clean ice.

7. The cutting and sledging of ice for melter in tent and water barrel in
house and the clearing of snow drifts from alley and vestibule will be
part of the regular work of the Dog and Pony Departments.

8. Great care should be exercised in the use of material and stores and
equipment and accounting made for every article used. Every member of
the expedition should consider it his duty to care for equipment and
keep everything in place and in order.

9. As the plan of the Spring work depends for its success on the good
condition of ponies and dogs at that time, every possible opportunity
to exercise and train the animals should be used and every member help
toward that end, giving all needed assistance to those in charge of the
animals.

Anthony Fiala.

CHAPTER VIII

THE "AMERICA" WRECKED BY THE ICE FIELDS

'VJOVEMBER opened clear and cold, the tempera-
•'•^ ture gradually falling. The minimum ther-
mometer registered 47 degrees (Fahrenheit) below
zero on the morning of the nth. The ship froze in
and seemed safe, every one was hopeful, and work
for the coming spring sledge journey went on rapidly.
There was a very faint twilight at noon with a low glow
in the southern sky on clear days. Thereafter, it
grew darker each day until there was little difference
between noon and midnight.

On the morning of November 1 2th I was awakened
about four o'clock by the shaking and trembling of
the ship. I lay for some minutes listening to the groan-
ing and moaning of the timbers under pressure of the
ice, and then "Moses," the Captain's dog, pushed his
way into my cabin and put his paws on me, looking
into my face with his great black eyes as if beseeching
me to rise. I learned later that after coming into my
room he went below into the Captain's cabin and
awoke him. I got up and putting on a heavy coat
went out on deck. It was so dark that I could not see
very far, but I could distinguish in the distance the
ghostly form of the ice in a jumble of confusion, and
could see the pressure ridges approaching the bow and
stem of the ship and the enormous folds in the ice off

THE "AMERICA" WRECKED 53

to starboard. It felt rather cold, though the tem-
perature had risen to 22 degrees below zero. I re-
turned to the cabin to dress. While I was putting
on my clothing, Captain Coffin knocked at my door
and told me that he had ordered all hands to be ready
to leave the ship. I agreed with him that the order
was necessary and went out on deck. The America
was shaking as if with the ague, while the ice was piling
up ahead and slowly and fearfully nearing us. En-
gineer Hartt coupled his engine and was ready to
steam in half an hour. The sledges and stock of lum-
ber were dragged out between decks and placed on
the main hatch and, as the shocks increased and the
America listed to starboard, I had the stuff lowered
down on the ice. It was a scene of wild activity with
a nerve-racking accompaniment of shrieks and groans vl/
from the protesting and resisting ship. About six
o'clock the Engineer reported tc me that the water
was above the fire-room plates nnd that he had started
to pump the ship. After all the sledges and material
had been placed on the ice, I returned to my cabin to
save some furs and records, which I placed in bags
and gave to two sailors who passed them over the side
to their shipmates on the ice. Mr. Porter came aboard
at that time. He had been working in the magnetic
observatory, and, noticing the light at so early an hour
walked over to the ship to investigate. I told him
to tell Mr. Peters that should the arc light in the house
go out he was to take it as a signal for assistance, and
come at once to the ship with the members of the
Field party and ponies and sledges.
About eight o'clock we received our worst squeeze.

54 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

The ship was thrown over to starboard and her bow
raised up on the ice. The signal was sent and, flash-
ing lanterns through the darkness, the men from camp
came to our aid. The bags and equipment piled on
the ice alongside the ship were first moved away to
a place of safety. Later, the Engineer reported that
the pump was gaining on the water and later still
that the bilges were dry. The flood was probably
caused by the bilge water running astern as the bow
of the ship was lifted up on the ice.

With the last severe pressure the ice fields became
quiet and we had an opportunity to inspect the ship.
In the darkness, carrying a lighted lantern, accom-
panied by the ship's officers I crawled over the walls
of ice blocks, timibled in massive confusion around
the America's stem, and looked for the rudder and
wheel. But we could see nothing but a wilderness of
ice, tons piled upon tons. The highest pressure ridges
were about twenty-five yards forward of the ship's
bow and about the same distance astern. Had the
America been in either place she would have been
destroyed. The edge of the heavy bay ice had been
cracked in many places, and one of the ridges nearly
reached the cache of ship's provisions. This valuable
cache, which had been separated from the shore-ice
by a great crack, was in a precarious position, so, send-
ing ashore for more ponies and sledges, all hands
worked at moving it to the shore side of the crack.
All of the coffee and some of the other stores were
sledged to the cache on land.

The ship in her new cradle of ice blocks seemed to
be safer than before and the reassured crew carried

Drawn by y. Know Us Hart

' THE SHIP WAS IN HER DEATH AGONY "

THE "AMERICA" WRECKED 55

their blankets back to the warm and cozy quarters
aboard. Days of storm and varying temperature
followed the crush of November 12 th and the nights
were made unpleasant by the grating of the ice in mo-
tion and the groaning and shaking of the ship under
pressure.

Early in the morning of Saturday, December 21st,
I was awakened by the old grinding and crunching
of the ice and the trembling of the ship. As I was
hurriedly dressing, the America began to shake as if
on the wave of a mighty earthquake; she shrieked
like a living thing in pain; every timber seemed to be
under a frightful pressure to the very limit of resistance.
The First Officer and then the Captain and Chief
Engineer came to my room where I was busy collecting
records and valuables, and told me it was best to be
ready to leave as the ice was bearing down on the
ship.

I went on deck in the darkness only to realise that
the America was in her death agony. The whole sea
of ice to starboard was in motion, sweeping down in
great lines and billows or breaking blocks that rose
and tumbled over each other like an army of giants
determined to destroy us. Huge boulders of ice came
over the starboard rail, crushing it like paper, and
frightful sounds were heard from below as if the ship
were breaking in half. The Engineer reported that the
water was coming in fast and that the pump had been
injured by the crush. However, he succeeded in get-
ting it to work and soon its uneven thumping, that
sounded like the painful motion of some wounded
creature, resounded through the ship.

56 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

With the thunder of the ice fields in our ears, all
hands worked sending equipment, clothing, bedding,
and everything of value down to the fast bay ice. A
sailor was sent ashore to the men at camp and they
came over with the little ponies and sledges to help
move our equipment to a place of safety on land.

About 7:30 Engineer Hartt came to me and, with
tears in his eyes, said that the water was entering the
ash-pits and that he could not keep up steam. Later
he announced that the water had reached the grate
bars, that the fires were out, and that he had sent his
men ashore. The water steadily rose as the ice pres-
sure ceased. With the failing steam, the electric
lights slowly faded until they merely glowed red and
dull. The donkey pump was quiet and a silence
like death crept over the darkened ship. It was
the passing of the ship's soul. By the light of a candle
I was busily engaged placing small articles of value
in bags and had just filled the last one, and had given
it to a sailor to take over the side, telling him that he
need not return, when a shout rose from the men on
the outside, "The ice is opening!" The Engineer re-
appeared to tell me that he and I were alone on the
/ ship and to say that I had better go if I did not want
a bath. A view from the ship's deserted deck con-
vinced me that if the ice fields relaxed their pressure
but a moment, her water-logged hull would go to the
bottom and that to remain aboard longer would be
both unnecessary and foolhardy, and together we
passed by the Jacob's ladder from the forecastle down
to the ice.

But fate postponed the complete destruction of the

ALL THAT REMAINED IN 1!K,8 OF THE WINTER QUARTERS OCCUPIED B^lSfeLtUKE OF
THE ABRUZZI AND HIS COMI'ANIONS IN 1««'J-1<J00

THE DUKE'S STEEL GAS GENERATOR

THE SHELTER ISKlJ UY 1 HK ITALIANS FOR THEII
WEATHER INSTRUMENTS

THE "AMERICA" WRECKED 57

America. Another pressure raised her high in the ice
crib and in that position she froze, the storms drifting
her in until she seemed immovable — a black, giant
skeleton marooned in the icy waste of Teplitz Bay.
Subsequent inspection revealed that the ship had been
forced some distance northwest, dragging with her a
1,400 pound mooring anchor, which had torn its way
through the ice. The America was terribly wrenched
and strained. The timbers on the port side were
crushed from the coal bunkers to a point thirty feet
forward and about five feet below the lower deck,
tremendous ice splinters still sticking through in places.
Most of the upright stanchioning between the main-
mast and the fore-hatch were displaced, some of it
falling into the hold. The mainmast sagged to port,
and the starboard rigging was loose and ragged. The
ship was^virtually^a^^^ttftnd it brought a lump into
my^fifoat, as we clambered over the coal heaps in the
hold or picked our way across the disordered decks,
to view the devastation wrought in that one awful
night. A lake of water in the engine room had begun
to freeze and the desolation of the scene was accentu-
ated by the incessant moaning of the wind.

The night of disaster was tinged with some flashes
of humour, stories of which reached me later. While
the crew were passing the bags over the side of the ship,
the cook, who was of an excitable nature, suddenly
appeared at the rail with a large bag which he heaved
over with all his strength. It struck the ice below with
a resounding crash ; causing several of the sailors to ex-
claim, " Hello, Cook, what was that? " " Oh that's all
right," he answered; " it's lamp chimneys and flatironsf "

58 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

But it was hardly all right, for during the winter
we were obliged to cut the bottoms out of pickle
bottles and use them in lieu of chimneys that had been
broken.

With the disablement of the ship arose the necessity
of sledging ashore all the coal possible and of dis-
mantling the interior for the wood work that would
be invaluable for enlarging our house, and all that
afternoon, in a wind registering forty-eight miles an
hour, men and ponies laboured, moving coal and
stores from the ship to camp. The galley range was
hoisted out with its 1,500 pounds or more of steel,
placed on a sledge and hauled to the house on shore,
where a little kitchen was built. The darkness and
wind added to the distress of that memorable after-
noon and evening — and at nightfall, when twenty-
four homeless men had to be given a place to sleep,
the cheapest, meanest Bowery lodging house would have
seemed a palace compared to our little hut. Men
slept on tables and underneath them, on benches, on
piles of wet baggage.

In the few intervals of calm that followed the great
storm, we made sledge journeys in the darkness over
the mile of bay ice between the America and camp.
Over two hundred bags of coal were thus sledged ashore
as well as all the interior woodwork, sails, light spars,
machine tools, dynamos, a lathe, and a small engine.
A machine shop was built by our Commissary and
Carpenter, under the shelter of which a boiler was con-
structed by the Engineer and his men, from an old gas
generating tank left by the Duke of the Abruzzi.
The boiler and engine were to serve with the dynamos

SLEDOINU THE CAKUO ASHORE BY HKLP OF THE I'OMES OVER THE ROUGH
ICE OF TEPUTZ UAY

^^^E, START TO BUILD OUR WINTER QUARTERS

'A LARGE TENT WAS ERECTED, AND IN IT THE PONIES AND DOGS WERE SHELTERED '

INTERIOR OF PONY AND DOG TENT

Photograph was taken in the summer of 1004 during the absence of the ponies on the retreat south. At no
other time was there light enough in the tent for photography.

THE "AMERICA" WRECKED 59

in the production of electric light at camp, a steam
launch to be improvised from one of the whaleboats
in the summer by use of this same machinery. The
store house in which we kept some of our food supplies
was cleared out, and in it bimks were erected and a
stove was set up, It was banked in by a snow drift
and this proved warm and comfortable. It was oc-
cupied by the crew of the lost ship, and was called " the
forecastle." The work of enlarging the house to
accomodate the entire company of thirty-nine men
began at once but it was far into December before
we were free from the noise of nailing and hammering.
Preparations for the advance north were not neglected
and on Thanksgiving Day, after divine service, I gave
to the assembled members of the expedition the fol-
lowing provisional plan for the spring sledge trip;

An outline of the Provisional Plan for the Spring Sledge Trip North is
presented herewith to the members of the Expedition. All wishing to
take part in the march North should apply to the Commanding Officer
before the end of November, 1903, and receive their allotment of skins
for clothing, with the understanding that after preparation — should a
member be unable to go on the Sledge Trip— his furs are to be turned
over to 0. O. for use on the trail.

ORGANIZATION OP THE SLBDOB PARTY

34 Men 30 Pony Sledges la Dog Sledges

Sledge Party to be divided into three Divisions as follows :

No. 1. No. 2. No. 3.

First Support Second Support Final Advance

First Support. Five Pony Sledges — One Dog Sledge — Carrying Seven
Days* Rations for entire column, and Ten Days' Rations for the return of
Ten Men. Return Transport — One Pony Sledge — Two Dog Sledges —
Five Dogs to Team — Four Ponies to be used for dog food.

Second Support. Ten Pony Sledges — Five Dog Sledges — Carrying
Rations for entire colvmin for Twenty-seven Days' advance after the return

6o FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

of the First Support, and forty-nine Days* Rations for return of Eight
Men. Return Transport — One Pony Sledge — Five Dog Sledges — Nine
Ponies to be used for Dog food when sledge loads are consumed and Nine
Sledges to be abandoned in the advance by Second Support.

Final Advance. Six Men — Five Pony Sledges — Six Dog Sledges —
Rations for Six Men for ninety-two days. — The Five Ponies to be used
for Dog food when Sledge loads are consumed and Sledges abandoned
and Dogs to be killed off as Sledge loads become lighter. Transportation
facilities provided for One hundred and Twenty-five days from Camp.
Dogs to be killed not figured in calculation as Rations, but will serve as
an extra food allowance.

In the choice of men for the different detachments the Commanding
Officer reserves decision until in the field and all members of Field,
Deck, Engine, and Steward Departments taking part in the Sledge
Trip may feel that they have a chance for the highest honours, and that
the choice will only be made after experience has proved each member
of the Sledge Party.

The evident fact that only the few can go on the Final Advance, will
necessitate the return of many possibly well qualified to continue to
the end. As the success of the Sledge Trip will depend upon the suc-
cessful work of the Supports, and on the efficiency, endurance, and loyalty
of those forming the Supports as well as in the Final Advance — every
man who takes part in the Sledge work should be prepared to take his
place in any detachment, heroically accepting anything that may be
expected of him that may help toward the ultimate attainment of the
object of the Expedition.

Equipment should be completed and sledges loaded by February First,
1904.

Preliminary training in practice marches of entire column to start with
the return of light, and sledge party to be under marching orders Feb-
ruary 8th, 1904, every Man and Team ready to start at one hour's notice
on the march North.

Each man will be provided with one sleeping bag, a pair of sleeping
socks and will be allowed to carry in the sleeping bag one blanket not to
weigh over seven pounds.

Each man will be allowed about twenty-five pounds of baggage to
consist of spare clothing, the clothing in each case to be on the list and
weight finally decided upon, and exactly the same for each member of
the party. No extra weights to be allowed.

Each two men to be provided with a silk pyramid tent that is to contain
the two sleeping bags and an allowance of hay as bedding, the weight of
hay to be decided later and to be the same for each tent.

Anthony Fiala.

ULILDING A HOUSE AT CAMP ABRl'ZZI

LAYING THE FLOOR

Rear view, showing warehouse

"OX sErr. ^4rH, the house was comi'leted"

Front of our new home with view of the storage and stable tent. The two were connected later by a long covered passage.

CHAPTER IX

THE NIGHT OF PREPARATION

"pvECEMBER was a dark month, there being no
"■-^ difference between day and night. We missed
the cheerful illumination of the electric arc and under
the light of numerous little oil lamps we laboured
making harness and sewing our fur clothing for the
sledge trip. Because of our limited space I found it
necessary to divide the workers into a day and a night
force. In the carpenter shop, improvised from part
of our storehouse, Quartermaster Rilliet, who had the
assembling of the sledges in charge, toiled with the
members of the crew. A light sectional boat was
constructed and over a thousand rations weighed and
packed for the trip north. In addition to the hard
task of providing food for so large a party, Steward
Spencer baked over six hundred pounds of pork and
bean biscuit for use on the trail. It proved to be one
of our most valued foods and was preferred on the
trail to anything else.

The Christmas and the New Year holidays passed
happily. We celebrated them with banquets, to
which our hard working steward contributed many
delicacies. A Christmas edition of the Arctic Eagle
our camp newspaper, was printed, Assistant Com'
missary Stewart making up the forms and running
the press, and Seaman Montrose, who had once been

62 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

a printer, acting as compositor. Nearly all the mem-
bers of the party contributed to its columns and much
amusement at its quips and personals was the re-
sult.*

Storms were frequent and drifts fierce, and it be-
came quite a problem how to preserve the large num-
ber of sledges intended for the advance north from
being buried under the snow. I finally had a large
store house dug in the deep drift near the house and
covered it with spars of the ship and old topsails, and
under its grateful shelter the twenty-nine sledges were
loaded as fast as the rations and stores were weighed
out.

I had planned to shelter the party when in the field
in little two- and three-man tents of pongee silk with
a floor of khaki or light canvas upon which to place
a layer of hay; each man to have a separate sleeping
bag, the hay to act as a non-conducting mattress,
to prevent the absorbtion of heat from the sleeper by
the cold surface of the ice or snow, when out on the
floating Polar pack. The hay was also to serve as food
for the ponies, while fresh hay was to be had on the
trail from the bales carried as forage. The hay
proved very useful as camp bedding and the second
year, when there were no ponies in the column, I had
some of the sleeping bags covered with a bag of pongee

*0n Sunday evenings the men were called together for a short devo-
tional service, and a chapter or two read from the Scriptures out of an
old Bible that had been the property of the Captain of the yacht Amer-
ica during her victorious cruise in the International races of 185 1. Little
packages of sweet milk chocolate were distributed every Sunday, and
after the meeting a number of the men would gather around the long
table in the living room and play poker for the little disks of chocolate!

Ol'K WcATHEK INSTKUNLtN I" SHELTER
The Astronomical Obseoatory is seca on the brow ol the hill in the right centre o( the vitw

THE ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATORY

THE MAGNETIC OBSERVATORY

EXERCISING THE PONTES AT CAMP ABRUZZl

" WE MOUNTED THE TOUGH LITTLE EQUINES'

THE PONTES PROVED INVALUABLE IN SI.KI k ; I \( i IHE STORES FROxM
THE SHIP TO OUR CAMP SITE

Photographed in the waning light of the sun only a few degrees above the horizon

THE NIGHT OF PREPARATION 63

silk and senne grass or hay stuif ed in between bag and
cover, thus keeping the hay or grass clean.

Storms were many and the members of the Scientific
Staff, in their walks to and from the observatories,
often had to face winds of high velocity with driving
snow and low temperature. Observer Long was often
obliged to crawl on his hands and knees through the
drifted passage from the hut, and in the whirling
blast of frigid, wind-driven snow particles find his way
to the " chicken coop " where he kept his thermometers.
No matter how bad the storm, every evening he brought
me the little slip of paper signed "Obs.," containing
the weather instrument reading for the day.

In going to the Magnetic Observatory it was gen-
erally necessary for an observer to carry a shovel and
dig his way into the hut so as to free the man he re-
lieved on watch.

At midnight of December nth Mr. Peters and John
Vedoe went down to the magnetic hut together in a
52-mile-an-hour wind to dig out Mr. Tafel who was on
observation duty. They were forced to walk back-
ward the entire distance, guided by the electric wire.
At half-past one I became worried about them and
was getting ready to go out and show a light to guide
them back, when they came in covered with snow and
ice. I helped Mr. Peters out of his frozen garments
while others assisted Tafel and Vedoe. The snow
had penetrated through their boots to their stockings
and through their jackets and sweaters, which were
worn under heavy wind coats.

A full moon on the evening of January 2d, without
a wind, gave me a long wished for opportunity to

64 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

photograph the wreck of the America, and with camera^
tripod, and lantern, I made my way over the wind
furrowed surface of the frozen bay. Winds of high
velocity had cut the snowy surface into ridges that
looked as if a giant harrow had been dragged across
them. The edges of the furrows were turned over
where the eddies had tunnelled underneath, and they
snapped under foot in the low temperature of 30 de-
grees below zero with a sharp tinkle like breaking glass.
The great pressure ridge which had caused the loss
of the ship was drifted over with a concealing mask
of snow and the winds had eddied around the America's
massive hulk leaving a deep hole — down to the origi-
nal level — on the port side toward the direction of the
prevailing winds. After setting up the camera and
opening the lens I went back to camp, returning to the
ship again in about an hour and a half to end the ex-
posure. On my way over I witnessed one of the most
beautiful auroras of the year. It started in a bank of
clouds on the southern horizon with a faint golden
glow. Then the cirrus clouds that were floating in the
sky seemed to become electrified and stretched in long
parallel rays across the zenith from the cloud bank
in the south to the north where the brilliant star
Arcturus was shining. A corona of swift moving lacy
folds, highly coloured in pinks and greens, actively
scintillated directly overhead, and from it shot a long
snake-like ribbon of auroral fire terminating in a hook
in the clear western sky. The stars gleamed bright
through the luminous veil, but the moon, at full, was
shining at the time and with its own light obscured
some of the glory of the radiant northern fire. Later

THE NIGHT OF PREPARATION 65

the clouds moved slowly toward the zenith, spreading
out and crossing the moon, the aurora changing in
form and playing across the grating of light filaments
at right angles, forming curves within curves from the
corona to the west, and then moving in rapid darts
toward the east, a subsidiary smaller band forming
parallel further north. The display was over at nine
p. M., on my return to the hut, so I did not get an oppor-
tunity of recording it permanently by means of
sketches.

I made many attempts to photograph the aurora
on the Baldwin-Zi^ler Expedition, but always failed.
By long exposure, I could get some small effect of the
light with that of the stars on the sensitive plate,
valueless however as a matter of record, for the swift
moving aurora, to be correctly depicted, would have
to be photographed instantaneously, and, for that
purpose, it does not give enough light.

In connection with Mr. Peters's work in the Mag-
netic Observatory I made a number of sketches of the
auroras using for that purpose a board upon which
was a compass for orienting, and a number of black
sheets of paper upon the surface of which I had drawn
a circle representing the horizon. The sheets were
so placed together, and pinned at the comers, that
they could be torn off as the sketches were completed.
A pin at the centre represented the zenith point. Op-
portunities were few for its use on account of the pre-
valent bad weather, and sketching in the open air when
the temperature was from 30 to 40 degrees below zero
was anything but pleasant. However, some interest-
ing sketches were secured.

66 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

January was a wild month, noted for its variable
and high temperature. The maximum thermometer
registered 31 degrees above zero on the 21st, during
a storm in which the wind reached a hurricane veloc-
ity. This storm continued until the morning of the
23d, when we found that the bay ice had been broken
up. The great frozen mass, the accumulation of years
which we thought nothing could move had been crushed
and blown away, and we could see where monster
waves had washed on the shore almost to the rocks
of the ridge on which our house was built. We
thought at first of a tidal wave, but in the dim glow of
noon-time — for the sun was on its return to us — ^we
discovered that the glacier had calved for miles along
its face. In the bay near us we could see the ghostly
forms of the icebergs that had been bom during the
wild hurricane. At our feet lapped the inky waters
of the bay in which floated a number of small ice fields.
We could not see far enough, on account of the dark-
ness, to know whether the ship was in the bay or not.
Several of the party explored the questionable harbour
by jumping from cake to cake, but no sign of the ship
\ or the provision cache could be found, not even a case,
\ barrel, or spar. The America had disappeared in the
I darkness of the Arctic night, and shrouded her doom
lin mystery! Whether she went to the bottom under
I the blast of that awful gale or whether she was blown
(toward the northern axis of the earth, where now she
poats in unheralded victory, no man knows.
** By January 23d our little lighting plant was com-
plete and our Engineer ready to illuminate the camp
with electricity, but with the disappearance of the

A THICK GLOOM SETTLED OVER THE ICE OF LAND AND SEA'

'WE CUMBED THE GLACIER NORTH OF THE CAxMP"

THE NIGHT OF PREPARATION 67

America vanished the large store of coal in her hold,
and we could not afford to keep up steam by using the
coal pile ashore. So we economically continued our
work under the light of oil lamps and candles.

January was a busy month. Rations for men,
ponies, and dogs were weighed and packed and pre-
parations made for an early start; but the month of
February, with its dimly lighted and very short days,
was a period of storms and our departure was delayed.
The returning light revealed a vast body of open sea
to the west and northwest of the island, which made
it imperative for me to plan to leave from the north-
east, at Cape Fligely.

ZiBOLBR Polar Bxpbdition

CAMP "ABRUZZI"

G. o. NO. 3s. Thiinday, Jan. 14, 1904.

I. The consolidation of the entire Expedition party ashore since the
twenty-first of November, 1903, consequent U|X)n the loss of ship, re-
sulted in considerable extra labour for the members of the Expedition,
in the necessary hauling, sledging, excavating, and constructing to provide
larger quarters.

3. Since the America experienced the crush in the ice, a brief summary
of work accomplished is as follows : —

3. Cache of ship's provisions moved from line of ice pressure to place of
safety.

4. Ship dismantled for lumber, and storehouse at camp converted into
sleeping quarters for crew, kitchen bviilt, galley stove brought from ship
and set up, and house enlarged.

5. New storehouse for Quartermaster stores excavated and constructed.

6. New storehouse for Commissary stores excavated and constructed.

7. Sledges brought ashore and completed in workshop improvised from
part of storehouse.

8. Two himdred and twenty-two bags of coal filled aboard ship and
sledged to camp, and ship's boats sledged ashore.

9. Magnetometer completed.

10. New magnetic hut erected.

11. Silk tents completed for sledge trip.

68 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

12. Machine shop constructed, and dynamo engine and generators with
machine stores brought ashore. Lathe set up and machine work started.

13. Seal boots completed for sledge party.

14. Pony blankets completed for sledge party.

15. Forage for ponies weighed out and packed ready for trail.

16. Storehouse for sledges 65 x 15 excavated and constructed from
sails and spars.

17. Dogs arranged in teams and teams assigned.

18. First section of sectional boat framed.

19. Over 600 lbs. of pork and bean biscuit baked for sledge trip.

20. F\ir clothing nearing completion.

21. Weighing and packing of dog rations now in progress.

22. We have not forgotten to celebrate the festivals of Christmas and
New Year with enjoyable banquets and perpetuated the memory of the
time by the publication of a six page newspaper.

23. The Commanding Officer takes this opportunity to compliment
officers and men of all departments, on the splendid results achieved thus
far under the difficult conditions of darkness and cold, in an Arctic night
of unprecedented record for high and continued wind storms.

24. The contemplated training of dogs and ponies during the past
period of moonlight has been unavoidably delayed. Those who have
their dogs can be prepared for the next opportunity by daily practice
with their teams, two men taking a team at a time. This is very im-
portant. The dogs require considerable training and members must
become acquainted with them.

25. Members of expedition who are to remain at camp should render
assistance at every opportunity to their comrades intending to go north,
remembering that the success of the expedition depends upon the triumph
of the sledge trip.

26. The storehouse is now in use as a place to pack sledge rations.
Loose dogs must be kept out. Doors are to be kept closed.

27. Clothing bags issued for trail use should be filled with the following
articles of clothing : — combination suit, Jaegersuit, sweater, guernsey, knit-
ted drawers, three pairs Jaeger socks, two pairs long stockings, three pairs
woolen mittens, one pair seal mittens, silk overalls, one pair seal boots,
one pair moccasins, one pair fur boots (to be issued later), Jaeger camel's
hair cap covered with silk. Icelander can replace sweater if desired.

28. Instructions in detail for sledge party will be issued later.

29. Camp routine until further orders: —

Reveille 7.30 A.M. Luncheon i P.M.

First call for breakfast 7 . 50 First call for dinner 5 . 50

Breakfast 8 Dinner 6

First call for luncheon 12 . 50 P. M. Call to quarters 10

Taps 10.30 P. M.

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2 35

THE "AMERICA" IN WINTER QUARTERS IN TEPLITZ BAY EARLY IN NOVEMBER, 1903

Photographed by moonlight

THIS PHOTOGRAPH WAS TAKEN BY MOONTIGHT AFTER THE "AMERICA'S" DISAPPEARANCE
IN JANUARY, 1904. IT IS THE SAME SPOT AS PHOTOGRAPHED IN THE UPPER PICTURE

THE NIGHT OF PREPARATION 69

Coffee served at i z A. M. and at 3 P. M. Chocolate at i o P. M. Coffee
for night force at 6 A. M.

30. Members of the Expedition not on night duty are expected to be
in their quarters after tap>s.

31. As work is proceeding day and night, a consideration for those who
are obliged to sleep while others are aw£ike, will tend to prevent unnecessary
noise.

32. The sun is on its way toward us and soon darkness will give place
to light. Let us salute the return of the sun with a spirit of enthusiastic
activity, ready for the task that is before us, rejoicing in the opportunity
to attempt the discovery of that which has been sought for centuries.

Anthony Fiala,
Commanding Expedition.

CHAPTER X

PRELIMINARY SLEDGE WORK

"DY early February the preparations for the
-*-' sledge trip were complete, and twenty-five
sledges, loaded with rations all carefully weighed, were
ready under the shelter of the great snow storehouse.
With the return of the twilight the men started to
train their dog teams and ponies — running a trail from
the camp over the glacier to Cape Saulen and back.
The ponies had their advocates and the dogs had
theirs. Old Pierre contended that since the dogs could
eat the ponies and the ponies could not eat the dogs,
the dogs were naturally the key to the situation. I
planned for a party of twenty-six men, sixteen ponies
and sledges, and nine dog teams and sledges. The
column was to be divided into three supporting
parties and one advance. Each supporting party
was to carry provisions for the support and advance
march of the whole column for a certain number of
days, and food for its own return to Camp Abruzzi.
The sledges were all numbered and coloured according
to the detachment in which they belonged, as were
also the rations. The choice of the men to be made
in the field, the weaker ones to be placed in the sup-
ports first to be detached and sent back to land. The
First Support of four men, one pony sledge, and one

dog sledge, was to carry two days* rations for the ad-

'A BLACK, GIANT SKELETON MAROONEU IN THi: ICV WASTE OF TEPLITZ HAY'
Photograph by moonlight. January 2, 11^4 — ij hours' exposure

PRELIMINARY SLEDGE WORK 71

vance march of the entire column of men, dogs, and
ponies, and, five days* rations for their own return to
the land.

A Second Support of eight men, four pony sledges,
and one dog sledge, carried food for the advance of
the column six days more, and rations for ten days'
return march of the support to Rudolph Island. Two
of the ponies of this support were to be used on the
outward march as food for the dogs. The Third Sup-
port, consisting of eight men, six pony sledges and
five dog sledges, was to continue on the march north
sixteen days longer and provide food for the entire
column from the time the Second Support left on its
rettun march. The six ponies were to be considered
as dog food on the advance. This supporting de-
tachment was provided with twenty-six days' rations,
packed on their five dog sledges, for their return to
Camp Abruzzi.

On the departure of the Third Support the final
party (the "Advance") of six men was to continue
on the march provided with eighty-two days' rations
on six dog sledges and five pony sledges. The dogs
were not considered as food in the calculations, and
would have (in the latter part of the journey) meant
so many extra rations.

With the transportation facilities of the column,
there was ample food to allow the Advance party
to stay in the field 135 days — and if about seven
miles a day could be averaged, the pole could be reached
and the party brought safely back. It was expected
that the supporting parties would return at least part
of the way back to camp over a made trail, but there

72 . FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

were the possibilities of delay from storms and bad
ice, and to insure a sufficient food supply, and as an
allowance for delay, each detachment was provided
with several days' extra rations.

During the winter and spring we found the pre-
vailing winds to be from the southeast and east. They
broke up the ice and caused a great hole of water to
extend off the western and northwestern shores of
Rudolph Island, sometimes stretching so far north that
from the top of the glacier, which commanded a view
of about thirty miles, we could see nothing but open
sea. When the wind ceased, the water would freeze
over and sometimes stay smooth for several days.
Then a pressure would come in from the west, and
what had been a fairly smooth road — became an im-
passable mass of ridges of young, thin ice, mixed with
great cakes that came in from the west, and numerous
water holes. It was on such smooth ice lanes that
Captain Cagni made his best marches north, and it
1 explains his rapid run from the island, so rapid that,
\ before the first detachment was sent back, they had
• reached something like forty miles from land.

To me the loss of the first detachment seems due

to their inability to find any of these smooth lanes on

r their return. While they were marching north, the

I pressure must have come in from the west and destroyed

I them all, the men starving to death, struggling over

1 impossible ice. The safe return of the second detach-

\ ment was helped by the southeast winds which in

\ early summer clear out all that broken ice, the

heavy ice then coming in from the north thus helping

the second detachment on their homeward march.

PRELIMINARY SLEDGE WORK 73

When they reached the edge of the pack they were
close in to the island, and coxild send a man ashore in
a kayak to communicate with their comrades on land.

Winds and storms! Only three hours of calm were
recorded on the self-registering instrument during the
month of February. On the twelfth we had the first
let up from wind and Mr. Peters utilised the few hours
of light that day by going over the glacier to Cape Auk
where he erected a signal pole to serve as a meridian
mark for the astronomical observatory at camp. He
was accompanied by Assistant Engineer Vedoe and
Assistant Surgeon Seitz, with two dog sledges and
camping outfit. We communicated with him with
prearranged signals of red and white lights and the
marking of the meridian by the firing "of a rocket. A
storm raged all of the 13th and the 14th, the party not
returning to camp until the afternoon of the 15th.
Mr. Peters reported a very cold experience, the tem-
perature falling so low that the cooking oil froze to the
consistency of cream and became full of clots. The
temperature at Camp Abruzzi went down to 44 degrees
below zero and it must have been lower still on the
glacier at the elevation where, exposed to the violence
of the storm, the party was encamped. The prevailing
southeasterly winds kept an open channel of water off
the western and northwestern coast and I early realised
that our descent to the sea ice would have to be made
from Cape Fligely, the northeastern extremity of the
island, to accomplish which, we would be obliged to
cross the high wind-swept glacier.

For the purpose of marking a safe trail, on February
25th, I sent Dr. Vaughn in charge of an advance

74 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

party with dogs and sledges to cross the glacier. He
was provided with signal flags on bamboo poles to
mark a trail free from crevasses on which the column
was to follow later. He was also to cache some food
at Cape Fligely. The party returned two days later,
Dr. Vaughn reporting that they could not reach their
destination on account of bad weather. Three flags
had been placed and the provisions and forage cached
on the glacier at the third flag, which was about half
the distance to the Cape.

On return of this unsuccessful party Mr. Peters
volunteered to make the journey. On the morning
of March 2d, accompanied by Steward Spencer with
his dog team and sledge, he left camp. I was anxious
to leave soon on the poleward quest and before Mr.
Peters left I gave him instructions not to remain away
from camp longer than three days, but to return should
storms delay his progress. On the morning of the day
after their start Mr. Peters and Spencer returned,
having reached a point on the glacier near the third
flag planted by the previous party. A storm had
arisen and Peters had returned in obedience to his
instructions.

The continuance of the bad weather gave me the
impression that most of it was local and that if we
could get away from the influence of the ice-capped
islands and open bodies of water we would be com-
paratively free from storms and squalls.

At noon on March 3d our eyes were gladdened by
the first appearance of His Majesty the Sun breaking
through a bank of clouds to the south, bringing new
life in his shining rays. On the morning of the 5th of

BY JANUARY 23D, OUR LITTLE LIGHTING PLANT WAS COMPLETE AND OUR ENGINEER
WAS READY TO ILLUMINATE THE CAMP WITH ELECTRICITY

Electrician and Asst. Eng. A. Vedoe
Asst. Eng. C. Hudgins Fireman Hovlick

Seaman Perry

Engineer H. P. Hartt

A STEAM BOILER WAS CONSTRUCTED OUT OF THE STEEL OF THE DUKE'S GAS GENERA-
TORS BY OUR ENTERPRISING ENGINEER AND HIS ASSISTANTS

PRELIMINARY SLEDGE WORK 75

March I had all the loaded sledges dragged out of the
storehouse and placed in line on the snow, and ordered
the men to lash on the toploads of tents, sleeping bags,
clothing bags, and extras. The interior of the hut
that day presented a busy scene. The men getting
ready for the sledge trip taking out their sets of dog
harness, clothing, and ration bags, and packing their
little silk tents with sleeping bags and hay. Ten
pounds of hay were allowed each tent for bedding, and
on this the sleeping bags were placed, the small space
in the interior of the house not allowing more than one
tent to be packed and lashed at a time. At last all
was ready. But that moment, as if called forth by
the Imp of the Perverse, a wind began to blow with
great violence and we were obliged to tmlash the top-
loads as a protective measure against bears and dogs
and place them under the shelter of the storehouse
roof. The following day, Sunday, was still stormy
but, dreading a further delay, I resolved to b^in the
march and gave my last instructions to Commissary
Truden whom I left in charge of Camp Abruzzi to
await my return from the ice. I also gave instructions
to Captain Coffin who, after the return of the support-
ing detachments from the field, was to conduct the
party south to Cape Flora where the Relief Ship was
expected in the coming summer. Three bears visited
us that day, causing great excitement in camp, the
men with guns in hand falling over each other in their
anxiety to get out of the house through the long dark
passage to the exterior. One bear was killed out on
the bay ice and triumphantly dragged to camp. In
the evening a bear chased the Steward and Cook up

FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

to the house. They had fired all their ammunition
away, and on nearing the camp they called lustily for
help. Assistant Commissary Stewart came to their
rescue and made bruin retreat under heavy fire.

I wrote my last letters on the evening of the 6th.
It was Sunday. After the usual divine service I
gave instructions to the men in regard to the care of
themselves and the animals when in the field, and told
them that I and my party would begin the journey
north the next day.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR SLEDGE PARTY NORTH

CAMP "abruzzi," Feb. i6, 1904.

1. Follow the trail, unless ordered to leave it.

2. You may think some other way an easier one but it is your duty to
follow the trail and to train your teams to obey you in that particular.

3. Be careful and do not allow your team to run up on the sledge in
front of you.

4. Do not fall behind; train your team to keep the required distance
from team ahead.

5. Do not leave the last man too far behind, particularly in rough ice
and thick weather. Pass word to front of column when some one is missing.

6. Keep snow out of interior of tent. Take off overalls when turning
in and all damp clothing. You will be more comfortable by doing so.

7. To take care of the feet is of the utmost importance. Wear a pair
of wool socks that can be changed when dirty and one or two pair of long
Jaeger stockings over them. Take ofiE the outside stocking and put it
in the sleeping bag at night to dry and put your feet in sleeping socks.
Sleeping socks should not be used to walk out in snow with. Feet should
not be bound tightly; they should have room to move in shoe or boot.

8. Snow should be brushed from felt boots and the boots put under or
in sleeping bag at night to dry out; one on each side of the head would be
advised.

9. Hot utensils containing food should not be placed on sleeping bags;
remember that water and moisture make the sleeping bag anything but
comfortable. Wet spots tear easily, the hair falling out, and burned
spots break oflE. Repair any holes at first opportunity.

10. When fur boots or moccasins are worn with senne grass, take the
grass out at night, pulling it apart and spreading it to allow moisture to
escape and solidify. The frost crystals can be shaken out in the morning.

EXCAVATING THE GREAT SNOW STOREHOUSE

LOADING THE SLEDGES IN' THE SHELTER OF THE STOREHOUSE

PRELIMINARY SLEDGE WORK 77

11. There is no provision of spare articles of any description to allow
for carelessness in the sledge column, so if you lose parts of your equipment
you will be obliged to go without.

12. Take care of your team, being particular at camping to consider the
comfort and well being of your ponies or dogs before turning into your
sleeping bag.

13. Any part of harness broken should be repaired at night before
turning in so that the column will not be delayed by one team's disability.

14. It is advised in the matter of clothing to wear just as little as possible
while working, so that perspiration will not be induced ; if too warm take
off coat and simply travel in shirt and wind coat. A man cannot keep
warm in damp clothing no matter how much he puts on, and skins are
easily ruined when they become wet. Be particular and keep your skin
coat dry to keep you warm at halts.

15. Should an accident occur and a sledge or pony break through the
ice keep your place in line unless in position to assist and be sure your own
team is not in danger.

16. Reveille will be sounded in the morning from the cook tent and
breakfast will be served about ten minutes later. On the sounding of the
assembly tents will be taken down, sledges loaded with camp equipage, and
teams harnessed ready for the advance.

17. Each man before leaving Camp Abruzzi will receive 7 days tent
rations of bread, butter, pemmican and sugar, and two weeks' rations of
milk. No issue of tent rations will be made for seven days, so use accord-
ingly.

18. Do not shout unauthorized orders to any member of party, but be
helpful and considerate, ready to assist a comrade when in need.

1 9. No riding on sledges to be allowed without permission.

Anthony Fiala.

CHAPTER XI

THE FIRST ATTEMPT NORTH

TN a twenty-mile wind, on the morning of March
7th, we left Camp Abruzzi. The party com-
prised twenty-six men, sixteen pony sledges, and
thirteen dog sledges. We reached the summit of the
glacier the same afternoon, after a hard pull up the
steep slope in the face of the drift and wind. Here
we were obliged to camp since everything ahead was
obscured by the flying drift. On the order to camp
the ponies were unharnessed and blanketed and chained
to the picket line out on the face of the cold wind-
swept glacier. The dogs were also unharnessed and
attached to the steel ropes that each man carried —
ropes just long enough for the nine dogs of a single
team. Tents were raised after the animals were at-
tended to.

The camp was an interesting place, though the howl-
ing wind and flying drift brought discomfort in their
train. There were eleven silk pyramid tents flapping
in the wind, each one numbered in flaming red on all
sides of its peak; the cook tent with its bold insignia,
"Cook Tent No. i," breathing the vapour of the
evening's pemmican stew; the sixteen ponies huddled
together in a line overlooking the impenetrable mist-
enshrouded distance of glacier and sea. Meanwhile
the dogs barked and fought as the men went about

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THE FIRST ATTEMPT NORTH 79

their duties in their white silk wind-coats, looking like
so many Bedouins or Crusaders.

The cook tent was a great convenience. It was
attached permanently to the sledge with cookers,
food, and oil inside. On camping the tent had only
to be set up and everything necessary was found with-
in. Cooking in a low temperature is one of the trouble-
some features of Polar work. Moisture collects on
everything under cover and forms a coating of thick
hoar frost, which rapidly increases the weight of tent
and clothing. Thus, by having a separate place in
which to prepare food, the tents occupied by the men
were kept comparatively free from moisture, and in
consequence were lighter and warmer. My intention
had been to have the men take daily turns in the cook
tent, but I found that economy would result if two
of the party only undertook the task. Accordingly
Steward Spencer and myself did the cooking on all
the sledge trips in which we took part.

The wind went down during the night and in the
early morning we broke camp and marched for Cape
Fligely.

We reached there the same afternoon in a drifting
wind, one man disabled by a rupture from over exertion,
another with a strained back, and three others not in
condition to go forward. While getting supper two
of the cookers gave out, and in the fierce gale it was a
difficult and unpleasant task to provide for twenty-
six men with a disabled apparatus. The wind in-
creased in velocity the following day and the flapping
tents made a sound like many machine guns of heavy
calibre in close action, and to be heard by a companion

8o FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

in a tent it was necessary to shout. Our last cooking
machine gave out just as we were preparing breakfast.
I spent several hours in an attempt to solder the joints
of the oil- tanks that had opened, but the grease and
cold for a time precluded success. Ultimately they
were made air and oil tight by the use of some cement
I had taken along for the purpose of repairing kayaks,
and with joy we completed the meal for the hungry
party of storm-bound men.

The storm raged all of the ninth and the tenth,
drifting over the sledges and partially burying the
small tents. We were held prisoners with a tempera-
ture outside of 38 degrees below zero. The injured
men suffered considerably, and their condition caused
me much anxiety. The only comfortable ones were
the dogs, they curled themselves into little fur balls,
and, covering up their noses with their tails, were soon
blanketed over with the snow, and slept through all
the raging storm. But the poor ponies, with tails to
the wind and heads down, shivered in the freezing
blast. As long as the wind blew it was impossible to
give them hay to eat and even the nose bags of oats
were blown away unless closely watched.

The poor condition of five men, the leaky cookers,
and the fact that one man had torn his sleeping bag
and that two others complained that theirs were too
small, decided me to return to camp, to refit and to
reduce the number of men for another attempt
North.

The wind subsided the morning of March nth, and
after digging our sledges and tents out of the snow
drifts, with one man lashed in his sleeping bag on the

THE FIRST ATTEMPT NORTH 8l

top of a sledge, we tramped back over the glacier —
reaching the camp at 4 p. m. the same day.

On the return to camp and after the cold experience
on the glacier there was much disappointment expressed,
some of the men criticising the dogs, the equipment,
and the ponies, stating that the last named were not
adapted for Polar work and would fail us when we
reached rough ice. The enthusiasm which before the
short journey had blazed so warm, dropped to the cold
of an Arctic night.

The discussions were many, the men of the Field
Department talking as they worked at night sitting
around the stove in the large living room. Many a
revelation of character was made during our sojourn
in the land of ice. To really know a man you must
live with him away from the distractions and conven-
iences of civilisation; live with him in a house where
there are no other houses; have him for a neighbour
where there are no other neighbours. And then if
you obey the divine command and love him as yourself,
and if the love is returned in the same spirit, your com-
panionship is a happy, helpful one.

I entered into some of the discussions and will never
forget a little talk with several of the members. Cour-
age was the topic. In illustration, I told an incident
of the Civil War of 1861-65. During the battle of
Chancellorsville the nth Corps, which had occupied
the plank road in front of Hazel Grove was in full re-
treat, and General Jackson's Division was coming
through the woods in pursuit. If something were
not done, and at once, the Army of the Potomac was
doomed. General Pleasonton, Chief of Artillery of

82 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

the Union Army, surveyed the scene of disaster, and
attempted to place a line of guns on the plank road to
stay the advance of the victorious host. To do it he
must have fifteen minutes. General Jackson's Division
must be stopped. A squadron of cavalry was there
in the saddle which had not joined in with the rush to
the rear of the panic-stricken Eleventh Corps. General
Pleasonton galloped up to Major Keenan, in command
of the squadron, and ordered him to charge the woods
with his handful of men, and engage the Confederate
army just long enough for him to get his guns in posi-
tion. It was a more perilous charge than that of the
Light Brigade at Balaclava. But — to their glory —
they went. They were, of course, routed, and many
saddles were emptied. — But the charge made Jackson
halt and form his line to receive cavalry, and that halt
saved the army of the Potomac.

I said to my men, "Would you not have done the
same? Would you not have obeyed the order and
followed the flag, risking your lives for the ultimate
good, and for a principle?" One of them answered —
"The h — ^1 we would! Self preservation is the first
law of nature. As for me I would follow any old rag
as long as there was something in it for me! " And I
realised that the spirit of " Graft " had penetrated even
to the regions of ice and snow. Some of the men
though were anxious for another attempt to capture
the Pole and Assistant Scientist Porter made my
heart glad with his enthusiastic expressions of belief
in victory on our next march North. The Chief
Engineer, though he could not accompany me, also
cheered me with his strong words of hope and belief

^.::y^

THE FIRST ATTEMPT NORTH 83

in success. A number of the men came to me wishing
to be added to the next sledge force, the members of
the crew evincing a strong desire to take part and do
their best.

CHAPTER XII

THE SECOND EFFORT NORTH

^npHERE was much to do before we coiild start again.
"■- The cookers, which through faulty workmanship
had failed us, were taken apart by our Engineer and his
assistants and thoroughly overhauled. Important
joints, which the manufacturer had carelessly neglected,
were brazed and the tanks were made tight.

With the necessary preparations and the revising
of weights and equipment, with the reloading of
the sledges, and with the delay caused by storms,
it was not until March 25 th that we could leave Camp
Abruzzi.

On the morning of that date we left, climbing the
glacier once 'again, a party of fourteen men, nine dog
sledges, and seven pony sledges. The weather was
cold and beautiful and we ascended the steep slope of
the glacier with little trouble. Cape Fligely was reached
the same evening and, after supper, Mr. Peters and I
descended to the sea ice for the purpose of picking out
a path for the sledge column down the slope. The sea
ice itself was in very bad condition, nothing but a
rubble of ice cakes in one confused mass, piled, ridge
upon ridge, as far as the eye could see from the highest
point of the Cape.

The following morning, after an early breakfast, the

sledge party descended the glacier and forced a way

THE POOR PONTES, WTTH TAILS TO THE WIVD ANT> HEADS DOWN. SHIVERED IN THE

FREEZING BLAST "

■■

■1

' '^^^^^3

^x^^i

^^S

^1 ^^^^^r ' ^S V

^BB^"l- .

THE PONTES WERE SURPRISING IN THEIR ABILITY TO CLIMB ANT) GET OVER ROUGH ICE"

THE SECOND EFFORT NORTH 85

north about one and a half miles over very bad ice,
until progress was barred by a partially frozen lead
over which the ponies could not travel. The ice
seemed to be of very recent formation and was in
slight motion, a mass of jagged, broken pieces on end,
covered with salt crystals and almost bare of snow.
It was difficult to discover sufficient snow for a halting
place where our numerous animals might find the means
of quenching their thirst. I was obliged to keep from
six to eight men in the advance with picks and axes
to clear a path for the party. The dogs were in splendid
condition and the ponies were surprising in their ability
to climb and get over rough ice. At no time was it
necessary to extricate a pony from a hole in the ice.
There was a man to drive each dog team, and in get-
ting over the worst places two, three, and, sometimes
four men were necessary to one sledge. Four men
took care of the seven pony sledges ; the ponies exert-
ing their strength when most needed. The greatest
difficulty was caused by the continual capsizing of the
unattended sledges, the ponies dragging them (in their
frantic efforts to keep up with the column) until the
sledges were solidly wedged in ice, requiring the united
efforts of their drivers and others to extricate them.

That day's experience convinced me that the ponies
were valuable auxiliaries to Arctic work, but that the
sledges would have to be built with five or more runners
around a central load, with swivel bar in front, the loads
to be placed inside the sledges from the rear. The
ponies would then hardly require attendance. They
did not need urging like the dogs; on the contrary,
they exerted their utmost to keep up with the column.

86 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

As the sun was sinking and the temperature falling
I decided to halt at the lead until the semi-frozen mass
should become solid. Should it not be possible to
advance the ponies I resolved to continue the march
with the dogs, the sledge loads having been arranged
to provide for that contingency. On inspection of the
column during the halt I found that the sledges were
in a deplorable condition. Bows were smashed,
top-rails broken, and the front curves of the runners
splintered and divided in two. Practically, all the
injuries were in the forward ends of the sledges for,
unfortunately, they had been loaded too heavily in the
forward ends.

With the sad realisation that there was not even the
possibility of breaking the record under the conditions,
and wishing to save the equipment, for another assault
I gave orders to return. It was too late to think of
making another march north that year. I could only
plan for another winter in the Arctic and another
sledge journey toward the Pole in the spring of 1905.
I would have abundant opportunity to strengthen the
dog sledges and to build new pony sledges after a
model described before.

To my men the set-back should prove a valuable
experience — a help in future work. It was the test
through which all who had the real fibre of the ex-
plorer would pass triumphant to belief in and effort
toward ultimate success. I felt that the true American
spirit would answer the check with the words of John
Paul Jones — " I have not begun to fight yet! "

Previous to beginning the second march north I
had arranged for Mr. Porter to conduct one of the sup-

WL>

Ai- .

i^^.

c? ^

t: B

■9

THE SECOND EFFORT NORTH 87

porting parties back to camp and on his return to
Camp Abnizzi to head a small party south on an ex-
ploring and mapping expedition in the direction of Cape
Flora. Before our return to Cape Fligely, from which
point we had but lately made our second attempt
north, he had asked leave to attempt a passage toward
White Land in company with Assistant Engineer
Anton Vedoe. I was pleased at his request and gave
him the required permission but told him if the ice
did not improve to go south toward Kane Lodge, to
visit the boat cache at the southern entrance of Col-
linson's channel, and^ if time allowed, to return by the
way of Cape Hugh Mill examining ice conditions
toward the British Channel and bringing a full report
of what he discovered. This I thought would be of
value to me in preparing for the retreat of a party to
Cape Flora. I said I would expect him at Camp
Abruzzi by April 20th, or at the latest by April 30th,
1904. Porter's sledge was one of the few that had es-
caped injury, and as it was already loaded with sup-
plies for two men for thirty days and one dog team for
twenty-five days it was only necessary to provide dog
food for Vedoe' s team from the sledges in the column.

We said "auf wiedersehen" to the adventurers out
on the ice and struck tents for the march back to Cape
Fligely. We returned to land over our outward bound
trail climbing the glacier slope and camping on the
summit of the cape. The slope was steep and it was
midnight before the last sledge reached the top. On
the following morning the sledge loads were rear-
ranged and one loaded sledge with broken runners was
left at Cape Fligely to be sent for later. Camp Abruzzi,

FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

the home site, was reached at six p. m. March the 27th,
from which place but two days before we had begun
a march which I hoped would advance America's
prestige in the field of exploration.

The returning column travelled against a cold, drift-
ing wind that increased in violence through the after-
noon and made the trip one to be remembered. It
soon destroyed the trail we had made on our outward
journey, but we could see the sun, a very indistinct
disk, shining at times through a shower of cold snow
particles that cut our faces like a sand blast, and it
served as a guiding light. The red signal flags that had
been placed on the glacier to mark the trail were spots
of joy that afternoon, for they indicated to us that we
were travelling in the right direction. Before evening
we arrived at Camp Abruzzi filled with the pain of a
second failure, the only balm the thought of the future
and the hope that through the bitter lesson just ex-
perienced Victory might yet be wrested from Defeat.

After the failure of the second sledge journey many
of the men lost interest in the northern campaign and
openly expressed their deep felt desire to go home. I
called for volunteers to stay with me for another at-
tempt in 1905. Quite a large party offered at first,
but as the time of leaving drew near a number weakened
and the little band of true explorers grew smaller and
smaller.

I now set about preparations for a sledge journey to
Cape Flora where the Relief Ship was expected to ar-
rive in July or August of that year — 1904.

There were two routes by which Cape Flora might
be reached. The shorter one led across the glacier to

THE SECOND EFFORT NORTH 89

the east of Cape Brorak, where I believed a descent
could be made to channel ice, thence down between
Alexander and Rainer islands through the channel to
the east of Jackson Island and around Cape McClintock
to the British Channel, down which we might make
our way to Cape Flora. The other route was by way
of Kane Lodge, Collinson's Fjord, and Camp Zi^ler,
through Young Sound or along the ice foot to the south
of Hooker Island to Cape Barentz and then west to
Cape Flora. This route was considerably longer and
the first was to be preferred if the British Channel was
closed. I was daily expecting Porter and Vedoe with
information of the condition of the channel.

On April 19th I placed Dr. Vaughn in charge of a
party with instructions to go to Coburg Island, upon
which food had been cached by the Baldwin-Ziegler
Expedition in 1902, and to place there a cache of pony
forage for the use of the party going south. Signal
poles were furnished and he was instructed to mark
a safe trail across the glacier and to bring me informa-
tion about the condition of ice south of Rudolph Island
and also to look for signs of Porter and Vedoe.

The party returned three days later, Dr. Vaughn
reporting that they had been to the summit of Cape
Auk but, having found a descent from the glacier im-
possible, had abandoned further progress toward Coburg
Island. The Doctor added that while they were en-
camped on the glacier a storm arose and the comer
of their tent was ripped by the violence of the wind.

And so they came back.

Disappointed at the failure of the party and anxious
for news of Porter and Vedoe, confronted also with the

90 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

necessity of finding a safe route across the glacier
for the party soon to retreat south, early next morn-
ing, I sent Quartermaster Rilliet with John Vedoe (a
brother to Porter's companion) and Seaman Duffy
with two dog sledges and a boat, with instructions to
go to Cape Fligely and look for signs of the absent
ones, camping there if sea was open to render assis-
tance with the boat. At the same time I left camp
with a dog team and sledge accompanied by Steward
Spencer, who had been one of Dr. Vaughn's party,
and who expressed himself as very anxious to go with
me.

We climbed the glacier to its summit, finding a
place to descend on the east shore between capes Rath
and Habermann, and then set our faces down the
Newmeyer Channel toward Coburg Island. The chan-
nel ice was fairly smooth and we hurried on only stop-
ping for an hour at the western end of Hohenlohe Island
(the place where Payer, discoverer of the archipelago,
probably camped in 1876) for the refreshment of a
cup of tea. We reached Coburg Islet (the most north-
em of the Coburg islands) at 10,15 p. m., and there we
put up our tent. After a meal we turned into our sleep-
ing bags, tired after a thirteen-hour march. The loud
barking of the dogs awakened us at five o'clock next
morning. Under the impression that a bear must be
approaching, I hastily reached for my rifle and started
to crawl out of my sleeping bag — ^when Mr. Porter
put his face through the flap of our tent and wished us
good morning! Mr. Vedoe appeared a few minutes
later. It was a very happy reunion and to me one of
the most pleasant experiences of the expedition. There

THE SECOND EFFORT NORTH 91

was no more sleep for us that morning. We formed
a happy camp circle breakfasting together, while
Porter and Vedoe recited the incidents of their travels
since they had parted from us out on the Polar Ocean
north of Rudolph Island. They had found the frozen
sea very rough while attempting to go toward White
Land. It would have taken longer than their supplies
would allow, so they went south, as I had directed,
toward Kane Lodge on Greely Island, returning by
the way of Cape Hugh Mill and Coburg Island. They
had camped the night before at Houen Island and
were marching to Rudolph Island when they spied our
little tent. Mr. Porter gave an interesting report of
condition of caches and ice in the channels. While
we were talking together the sharp angry bark of our
dogs denoted the approach of a bear. Pulling out
their stake chains, Vedoe's team made off over the ice
after the bear, while the other dogs tugged and pulled^
and whined and howled in their desire to join in the fun.
The bear started to retreat as soon as he saw his pur-
suers. But they soon caught up with him and en-
gaged him at close range. The dogs, chained to-
gether, were at a disadvantage. Fearing for their
safety Vedoe dispatched the bear. As it was, one of
the best of the team came back from the fight with a
piece of skin hanging from a cut in his side, where it
had been ripped by the bear's claws. It called for a
surgical operation on the part of his owner, and Vedoe
sewed the raw flesh together disregarding the yelps
of pain, stating, when it was finished, that his dog was
"as good as new."
Latitude sights were taken at noon. Afterward,

92 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

remembering that it was the Lord's Day, I read to my
comrades the 107th Psalm. At one p. m. we folded
our tents and directed our way toward Rudolph Island,
reaching Cape Auk at midnight. We rounded Cape
Brorak by cutting our way through the rough pressure
ice piled on the southwestern coast of Rudolph Island
as far as Cape Auk. We came that way as I was anx-
ious to ascertain if it was possible to reach Camp Ab-
ruzzi by the way of Cape Auk. We approached to
within sight of the camp, but could not ascend the
west slope of the glacier at the Cape as the snow had
melted off and it was a shining surface of slippery glare
ice. We ascended several hundred feet with the as-
sistance of our ice axes, and, from that point, Teplitz
Bay beneath us seemed black with the dark waters of
an iceless sea. It was necessary to return to the south-
em slope where we ascended to a point of rocks and
encamped at 1.30 a. m., April 25th. It was stormy
all of the 25th, but at midnight the wind lost some of
its force and we broke camp and climbed the southern
slope of the glacier to the summit of Cape Auk, reach-
ing the top a little after 4 o'clock in the morning, the
steepness of the ascent making it necessary to hitch
two teams of dogs at a time to a sledge. The wind
calmed as we mounted the summit, over a thousand
feet high, and in a mist which rendered sight ahead
difficult we crossed the glacier and descended toward
Camp Abruzzi, reaching that point at 6.10 a. m.

CHAPTER XIII

HOME LONGINGS

¥ FOUND, on my arrival at camp, that the Cape
'^ Fligely party had returned in safety and that
in my absence Teplitz Bay had frozen over siifficiently
to bear the weight of men, animals, and sledges, and
so the high glacier need not be crossed when the re-
treating party went south. The time was now draw-
ing near when the homeseekers were to start for Cape
Flora to meet the long desired Relief Ship. The zest
with which they packed their kits and discussed the
prospect of mingling in the great world once more, had
its enticing effect upon the weak and undecided. The
politicians in the retreating body used their influence
and persuasiveness to enlarge their own party —
until those to whom "Northward!" had become a
shibboleth, became, like Gideon's band, fewer and
fewer.

Unfortunately, I was obliged to lead the retreating
party to Cape Flora in person, returning to Campf
Abruzzi before winter; a plan that had the effect off
increasing the number of those who were anxious tol
march south, and leave the field of exploration. I did!
not wish any one to remain on Rudolph Island to
await my return — and march north with me the fol-
lowing year — unless he was anxious to stay, and I
gave orders for all who wished to go to Cape Flora and

94 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

await the Relief Ship for home to prepare for the
march south.

Each member of the retreating party was allowed
forty-two pounds of personal baggage, the same to
consist of thirty-five pounds of clothing and a pair of
sea boots weighing seven pounds, sufficient clothing
to provide for a stay at Cape Flora should the Relief
Ship be unsuccessful in reaching the station. Each
man was also allowed a sleeping bag and blanket, the
limit of weight being twenty-five pounds for both, and
members of the Field Department and Officers of the
ship's company were furnished either a rifle or shot
gun and ammunition. Nine silk tents were taken for
the accomodation of the party. Food for thirty-
eight days on the march was provided for men and
beasts, and was to be hauled on sixteen pony sledges,
the ponies to be used as dog food as their loads dis-
appeared. Two months' food for use of the party at
Cape Flora in addition to the thirty-eight days'
rations was carried on eight dog sledges with the camp-
ing equipment and personal baggage of the party. In
addition to full rations for three and a third months
for the men, an extra load of 240 pounds of pemmican
was distributed on the sledges in the column. When
packed, the loads on the pony sledges averaged from
620 to 700 pounds, those on the dog sledges from 546
to 628 pounds including the weights of the sledges.
In addition to seven dog teams that were chained up
awaiting my return to Camp Abruzzi I wished to
reserve some of the best ponies for use on the sledge
trip north in 1905. Dr. Newcomb, the Veterinarian,
had reported glanders among the ponies from time to

HOME LONGINGS 95

time and had been obliged to shoot five of them. On
the eve of departure, he notified me that it would be
best to send all the ponies south as there were indi-
cations of the spread of the disease, which might
menace the lives of the men. So I was obliged to
order all the ponies hitched up to drag the sledges
south, and all I could depend upon for success in 1905
were the few dog teams reserved to remain behind.
It is true that there was the alternative of keeping
all the dog teams at Camp Abruzzi, the men who were
leaving hauling extra loads; but there was the pos-
sibility of the non-arrival of the Relief Ship and the
need of clothing and equipment for a winter at Cape
Flora — which necessitated loads too heavy for the
men to haul.

After arriving at Cape Flora I intended to return
with a few men in the fall to my Northern Station,
Relief Ship or no Relief Ship. But it would be al-
most impossible for that large party to make the re-
turn trip to Camp Abruzzi after the good sledging of
early spring was over. So when the men left Teplitz
Bay it was for good and meant the loss of service to the
expedition of nearly all of them, and they could not be
considered in any other light than as a care and source
of anxiety to the leader until they were aboard the
Relief Ship.

ZiBGLER Polar Expedition

Camp "Abruzzi," Teplitz Bay, 0. P. R. I.

April 30th, 1904.
To THE Members of the Ziegler Polar Expedition:

During my absence from Camp "Abruzzi" Mr. Wm. J. Peters, repre-
senting me as Commanding Officer, will be in command of Expedition
party and in charge of all Expedition property at this point.

96 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

Members of the Expedition at Camp "Abruzzi" will observe any rules
Mr. Peters may make for the government of party.

Let no question of who shall be this or that distract your attention.
Remember that he that serves most is he that deserves most, and that
the poorer man he is and the further removed from a gentlemen the
more he expects — the louder his expressed self-conceit.

I appreciate the spirit of loyalty that prompts you to stay and I realise
that you know the hard work that will be necessary before we can go
home with honour.

Be particular in regard to care of the dogs and in moving stock, sledges,
boats, etc. No boat of any character is to be taken from camp without
permission of Mr. Peters or the man he may appoint to command should
he leave before my return, and no one is to leave camp without permission.

Members of the Expedition advance post! You are to help the cause
of the Expedition in the future by habits of carefulness in the present,
and a gentlemanly, considerate conduct toward each other that will
make your stay at this northern latitude a happy and successful one.

Necessity takes me south, but my thoughts will be up here and at the
first possible opportunity I intend to return. As the party is a small
one each member is particularly valuable and sickness of one or two would
be extra work for the others, so be particularly careful in regard to health
and take no unnecessary risks.

Ammunition should not be wasted and bears should not be shot away
from camp.

Should Mr. Peters leave camp before my return, the member that he
will place in command will be responsible to me for conduct of affairs at
camp and members will recognise him as representing the Commanding
Officer in his absence.

With deep felt desire that a good Providence will bring a new reign of
peace and prosperity over the affairs of the Expedition, I am

Yours truly,

Anthony Fiala,

Commanding.

ZiEGLER Polar Expedition
Gamp "Abruzzi" Crown Prince Rudolf Island

April 30, 1904.
Mr.Wm.J. Peters, Chief Scientist.

Dear Sir:

In leaving camp, you as my representative will be in complete charge of
party and equipment at Camp "Abruzzi," and I will leave to your judg-
ment the management of affairs. Mr. R. W. Porter, Mr. Chas. E. Rilliet,
and Mr. Anton Vedoe are to leave in about ten days on an exploring and
surve3dng trip and before their departure Mr. Rilliet will assist you in

HOME LONGINGS 97

taking care of eqtiipment and rearranging quarters, matters that we have
discussed together. As understood you are to leave Camp ' ' Abruzzi ' ' with
Mr. R. R. Tafel, Mr. J. Vedoe, and Steward Spencer for Oape Flora toward
the end of July, 1904 with the Indian canoe, tent, and two sledges and
teams. There is a small sledge at Cape Auk, and another could be con-
structed so that the whole party could occupy the Indian canoe if nec-
essary to cross open water. Mr. Porter will give you a list of caches on
the way down.

Before leaving you will place the man who in your judgment is most
able and loyal in charge of camp, giving him written instructions.

Should Relief Ship appear early I shall attempt to return before you
leave.

I am anxious that the men should not leave camp without your per-
mission and that they should take pcirticular care of their health.

One MannHcher rifle is to be kept in rack for general use and a Henry
or Remington, and men are to be cautioned about use of ammunition.
No one must be allowed to take boat from camp without your permission
or to cross ice crack after bears.

Allow me to express to you before leaving my deep feeling of appre-
ciation of your valued assistance and loyal help through the trying times
of the last ten months.

Yours respectfully,

Anthony Fiala.

Commanding.

ZiEGLBR Polar Expedition
Oamp "Abruzzi," Crown Prince Rudolf Island

April 30, 1904.
Mr. Russell W. Porter, Artist and Asst. Scientist.

Dear Sir: —

In approval of your report on sledge journey from which you and Mr-
A. Vedoe have just rettimed it gives me much pleasure to compliment
you on the excellent work done and on the conscientious and able manner
in which you have carried out my instructions, and the good condition in
which the entire equipment returned to Camp Abruzzi. I am pleased
to know of the good work done by your companion Mr. A. Vedoe.

As already discussed between us, you are to leave in a week or ten days
on a sledge trip for the purpose of exploration and survey, to report at
Oape Flora by July 15th, 1904.

You will be accompanied by Quartermaster Chas. E. Rilliet and Mr.
A. Vedoe, and be equipped with two sledges, two kayaks, and two teams
of dogs, with camp equipment and provisions as already provided for.
The details of the work we have already talked over several times and you

98 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

know of my desire for more definite knowledge of Graham Bell Land, and
of the unexplored country in Zichy Land.

In compliance with an expressed wish of Mr. William Ziegler you will
simply letter or number newly discovered islands or lands.
Wishing you Godspeed, I am

Respectfully yours,

Anthony Fiala,

Commanding.

CHAPTER XIV

THE RETREAT SOUTH TO CAPE FLORA

f\^ THE evening of April 30th, after the column
^^ was formed on the snow in front of our quarters,
I called together the little band who were to stay at
the Northern Station, and told them that I would re-
turn in the summer or fall, and that I would bring
with me letters from home expected on the Relief
Ship that year — and possibly new men and dogs. We
shook hands all around, and then I gave the signal to
start our backward march. At 7.45 p. m. we left, a
party of twenty-five men, sixteen pony sledges, and
eight dog teams and sledges. Teplitz Bay was frozen
over with a new sheet of thin salt ice upon which the
sledge runners dragged hard. We found the ice
around Cape Auk piled up in confused masses of great
blocks and we had considerable difficulty in helping
the ponies and dogs up a steep slope of ice on to the
rough siu-face of the heavy floe. Little "Rabbit,"
a pony veteran of the Baldwin trip, created laughter
and surprise by hauling his heavy load up the steep
grade and walking over all sorts of obstacles alone and
seemingly without much effort, leaving his driver
some distance behind. From Cape Auk to Cape
Brorak we found the ice in ridges and broken floes
through which we forced our way all night only halt-
ing for an hour at 1.30 in the morning when the cook

loo FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

and myself prepared tea for the troop of thirsty men.
The ice grew better as we neared Cape Brorak where
the rough surface was drifted over with hard packed
snow. I had hoped to make Coburg Island the first
march, but the hard work of rounding Cape Auk told on
some of the men, and about 5.30 a. m., on the smooth
channel ice, near a berg from which we could get ice
for fresh water, I ordered the column to halt and camp.
The sun was shining brilliantly, and the assemblage
of tents backed by the high, towering, basaltic slope
of Brorak made a very effective picture. The long
picket line was stretched in the snow by Sergeant Moul-
ton and two of the sailors, and then the little ponies
were taken out of their harness and picketed in a row
to the line and given a feed of hay. In the meantime
the dog drivers unharnessed their noisy charges, and
made them secure for the hours of rest, the dogs
promptly starting to dig holes in the snow with their
paws, from which occupation they did not desist
until the odour of pemmican filled the air. When the
yelps and fights which accompanied the evening meal
were over, and when even the most vigilant eye in the
pack could find not a morsel more, they crawled into
their holes and were soon asleep.

I chose the night to travel in for our course was
toward the south, and there was less possibility of
snow-blindness with the sun at our backs. Though
the season was too far advanced for very cold weather,
and the thermometer in May very seldom dropped
lower than 20 degrees below zero, still the warmer rays
of the sun shining on our tents at the time of its great-
est altitude conduced to sleep, and our numerous

THE RETREAT TO CAPE FLORA loi

animals luxuriated in the sunshine. A further advan-
tage was in the fact that the surface of the snow was
harder and afforded better going, when our luminary
was low and in the north, during the time we ar-
bitrarily termed night.

Little Jimmy, our English cabin boy, who could
blow the bugle, and who sounded the "reveille" every
morning, was often obliged to shake the ice out of his
instrument, and warm the mouthpiece before placing
it to his lips. As on our marches north, we found the
cook tent to be a great convenience, and it meant be-
sides economy in fuel, food, and weight. The tent was
held up by a single pole and the walls stretched out by
guy ropes made fast to pins pushed into the hard snow
or tied to other sledges if the surface was too soft or
too hard. On entering our canvas domicile, Cook
Thwing and I took down our sleeping bags from where
they had been placed on top of cookers and food and
stowed them in a comer of the tent, and then, while
Thwing went to some convenient berg or glacier face
for ice, I lighted the cookers. They contained large
Khotal burners, an American improvement on the
Primus burner used by Doctor Nansen and the Duke
of the Abruzzi. They worked very well — giving a large
hot flame on a small expenditure of oil — but had a
tendency to get easily out of order, through poor con-
struction of valves and oil containers. This neces-
sitated careful manipulation and a supply of tools al-
ways within convenient reach. In very low temper-
atures the Primus is undoubtedly the best form of
burner as it is the simplest and so light in weight that
several can be carried against the possibility of one's

I02 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

giving out. For a large party the four and a half inch
Khotal burners were very effective, and many times
I halted the column after a four or five hours' march
and prepared hot coffee, and in one hour from halting
we were on the march again, each one of the twenty-
five men having received two cups of the steaming
beverage and all the water he wished to drink; quick
time when it is considered that all the water had to be
melted from ice at the temperature of the air. The
regular meals of the day, of course, required more
time. Daily, each man received a bread ration of one
pound of army bread and three pork and bean biscuits.
Once in seven days the Commissary distributed to
each man the weekly ration of a pound can of con-
densed milk, twenty-one ounces of sugar, and one
pound of butter. Sweet chocolate was also furnished,
about three ounces a day per man. The ration used
was the same as that put up for the sledge march
north, and the packages prepared during the winter
for use on the floating ice fields served excellently in
the retreat south. About fourteen ounces of meat
a day were allowed each man. Pemmican constituted
the larger proportion of our meat allowance, but
corned beef, Mortedello sausage, beef tongue, smoked
beef, and Vienna sausage helped to add variety to
the menu. A daily allowance of three and a half
ounces of either the U. S. Army Emergency Ration of
cracked wheat and beef, or Erbswurst (peameal) —
to be alternated with the Blue and Red Bovril Rations
of beef and potatoes and peameal — was carried, besides
commeal and oatmeal. Two meals were cooked each
day in addition to the coffee prepared at the mid-

THE RETREAT TO CAPE FLORA 103

night halts. One was distributed to the men imme-
diately after the sounding of the "reveille" before the
march, the other after the tents were pitched for the
hours of rest. The menu consisted of coffee or tea,
bread, butter, cold meats, and a stew. It was upon
this stew that the Cook and I bent our energies in the
hope of producing something appetising and new each
day. The Erbswurst stew seemed to be a favourite
with the party, and when filled with little pieces of
Vienna sausage and seasoned with onions it was a
pleasure to hear the comments of approbation wafted
through our canvas walls from the other tents.
Bovril beef and potatoes was also liked, and several
times we took the pork and bean biscuits, baked by
our industrious Steward during the winter, and made
a stew from them. Mixed with a little Erbswurst it
was thought to be delicious. The pemmican stew
that was so relished in all our sledge journeys in very
low temperatures was not in favour on the retreat,
particularly when the summer drew on and the tem-
perature gradually rose toward the zero point. Be-
sides the cook tent there were eight small pyramidal
tents of pongee silk. When a meal was ready one
man from each tent came to the Cook with a mess tin
for the share of food allowed his tent, his comrades
meanwhile turning into their sleeping bags. On his
return, sitting in the pleasant warmth of the bag of
deerskin, they partook of the hot food, and smoked
their pipes of peace. Nothing so delights a sailor's
heart, as a smoke after a warm meal, and a chance to
swap stories with his mates before he falls off at last
into restful sleep.

I04 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

From Cape Brorak we marched toward the eastern
end of Alexander Island, stopping at Coburg Island
for a hot drink. The cache of pemmican left there by
Baldwin in 1902 was found to be in good condition,
though there were indications that Polar bears had
visited the place. I wished to add some pemmican
and sugar to the loads at this point, but could not find
a man in the column whose sledge load seemed light
enough to justify it. At our second camp near the
glacier face of Alexander Island, we killed our first
pony for dog food. " Rabbit, " who had done so much
hard work in 1902, had swollen legs and was condemned
to be shot. From the second camp our course was
changed to southwest and we made our way through
a fog travelling in this new country by compass.

When the sun broke through the clouds we found
that our course was correct and before long we entered
the Italian Channel, a short cut to Cecil Rhodes
Fjord.

In this march to Cape Flora over the frozen channels
of the Archipelago, a distance of about 160 miles, we
were favoured with good weather generally, and many
long stretches of smooth ice and hard packed snow
where the men had only to walk beside their sledges.
I was quite pleased with the progress we made as the
days went by, though our rate of marching was of
necessity slow, being always determined by the speed
of the slowest man in the column. There were many
places where the ponies could have been put to a trot,
but some of the men would then have been obliged to
ride on the sledges and that was never permitted save
in cases of sickness or emergency, for the loads were

THE RETREAT TO CAPE FLORA 105

heavy enough without adding the weight of a man.
We arrived at Cape McCUntock, the northwest ex-
tremity of SaUsbury Island, just before midnight of
May 5th. There had been some complaint in regard
to the weight of the loads, and to lighten the sledges
I cached 240 pounds of pemmican at the Cape, near
a great needle of basalt that would always stand out
as a prominent landmark, the cache to serve as a depot
in future sledge operations.

We were glad to find the British Channel solidly
frozen, with a comparatively smooth ice, and no dark
clouds on the horizon indicative of water holes. In
the channel we were assailed at times by rather cold
winds of which I was always glad, as the column would
then travel much faster. On those days the halts were
few in number, and the distance covered greater. We
camped at Cape Fisher, the boldest headland on the
coast, and then pitched our tents at Cape Richtofen,
from where, on the 8th of May, we reached Point
Arthur, the northern end of Koettlitz Island, where
we camped. And then our troubles began! Our
progress was obstructed by rough ice jammed in be-
tween Cape Murray and Prince George Island and
Koettlitz Island. We had been favoured with com-
paratively smooth road up to that point. The wider
part of the channel, opening at its northern end into
the Victoria Sea, had undoubtedly, been cleared of its
broken ice in the fall by the many southeast winds
and then frozen over evenly during the winter. The
same winds that opened the upper waters forced the ice
in the lower channel, in a great jam of broken cakes,
into the narrow space we were about to enter. After

io6 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

supper on May 8th I climbed the cliff of Koettlitz
Island and walked down toward its southern end,
reaching the place of its greatest height. It had been
foggy but just as I reached the elevation the sun broke
through the clouds and illuminated the channel, show-
ing me the ice in inconceivable roughness piled against
the western shore of Koettlitz Island, with just a
short streak (about a mile) of smooth ice inshore in a
little bay. It was fortunate I could see the great
towering ridges that closed the southern end of the bay
and surrrounded it to the west — a veritable "cul de
sac" — for it saved me from leading the column into
a place from which there was no escape, except by
retracing our steps.

Farther out toward the centre of the channel the
ice was in smaller cakes. There were no high pres-
sure ridges, but instead a confusion of rough ice,
mingled with thin smooth streaks. A large tabular
iceberg, that bore W. S. W. by compass, marked a
seemingly smooth course to the south, a swathe that
it had probably cut in its drift north, and I resolved
that our next march would be to the south of that ice-
berg. Just as I got its bearing the fog descended and
nothing was visible but the smooth streak inshore
and the circle of rough ice to the west through which
we would have to force our way toward the channel's
centre.

I went on my long walk back to the camp, and as
I reached the overshadowing bluff, I stopped to gaze
at the picturesque grouping of tents containing my
sleeping comrades, the little black spots— each spot a
sleeping dog— and the long line of ponies their heads

THE RETREAT TO CAPE FLORA 107

dropped in slumber. I met the Captain and Mate
who had just climbed the hill, and were looking anx-
iously toward the channel whose broken fields of ice
were so rapidly disappearing under a thick veil of fog
that hardly anything remained visible but the decep-
tive streak of bay ice inshore.

The following day I led the party toward the channel
centre. Though rough going it was considerably bet-
ter ice than I expected. We camped south of the
berg I had sighted the day before. Some of the wise
ones in the column wondered in grieved tones why
we did not take the smooth strip that they had seen
from the camp before we started, while others, troubled
by the roughness of the ice, became critical of the route
chosen. I had come to realise that much of the criti-
cism emanated from fatigue and empty stomachs.
Judgments were more just after a rest and a good meal.
Contrary to the generally accepted theory regarding
a sailor on foot, the members of the crew of the lost
America proved particularly good travellers, and were
cheerful and helpful during the entire march. Sea-
man Montrose accompanied me in the lead through
the rough ice, and with an axe helped me clear a track
for the caravan. Sergt. Moulton, who had the leading
pony sledge, was also always ready with his axe to
clear a way. I found that the ice was broken in some-
what regular lines extending from the southeast to the
northwest, and that cutting through the ridges directly
at right angles to the breaking line, was the shortest
way of crossing these rough places.

We usually were able to go quite a distance south-
east down the line of lifted ice cakes between ridge?

io8 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

until we would run into a V formed by a junction with
another ridge, which necessitated another cut at right
angles. So our trail took the form of the teeth of a
gigantic saw, but led us on slowly but surely toward
our destination. Fog added its depressing influence
and delayed us some, and, inopportunely, just before
we entered the worst ice, one of our ponies died from
exhaustion, and his load had to be distributed among
the other sledges. The dogs were not in immediate
need of a meal, having been fed the evening before,
and we could not afford to drag the extra weight. So
we left his carcass behind us as food for the Polar bears
that once in a while we sighted in our rear. The bears,
however, came into camp when we reached Cape Flora
later on, and we killed and ate them, and so our faith-
ful pony undoubtedly returned to us.

THE CAMP AT CAPE ROOSEVFLT— MAY 4, I'.kM

'ONE OF OUR PONIES DIED FROM EXHAUSTTOV ANT) HTS LOAD HAD TO BE DISTRIBUTED

AMONG THE OTHER SLEDOES "

CHAPTER XV

CAMP JACKSON

A T NINE o'clock on the morning of May i6th, six-
-^^ teen days after leaving Teplitz Bay, we rounded
the sea front of Cape Flora, and ascended the height
of land upon which were situated the houses of the
Jackson-Harmsworth Expedition of 1894-97. As we
reached the top of the raised beach all eyes were turned
south in hope of beholding an open ocean. But dis-
appointment was ours. A vast sheet of glistening
white, the Barentz Sea, from horizon to horizon, lay
silent and dead in the grasp of the Ice King. The
column reached its destination in splendid condition,
men and animals and stores. The twenty-five mem-
bers of the party were in excellent health, and the dogs
and ponies vied with each other in hauling the sledges
up the slope to the camp site we were to occupy.
Three of the ponies had been shot for dog food on the
march and one died from exhaustion, leaving twelve
in harness. There were sixty-four dogs in the eight
teams, and twenty sledges with their loads.

Our tents were raised on the historic snow-covered
rocks of Cape Flora where Jackson spent three years
with his comrades, and where his dramatic meeting
with Doctor Nansen took place; where Leigh Smith
and twenty-five men passed a winter existing on walruses

and Polar bears, and where the Duke of the Abruzzi

109

no FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

had stored eight months' provisions for twenty men —
stores of incalculable value to us, as was proved
later.

Our arrival at Cape Flora was marked by an event,
which to me was one of the saddest of the two years.
The ponies which had served us so faithfully for many
months and, as their last hard task, had dragged down
from Teplitz Bay the heavily loaded sledges, were
reported to be infected with glanders and condemned
to be shot.

In my plans for the future I had arranged to embark
all the dogs and about six of the best ponies on the Re-
lief Ship, when she arrived, and, with a few of the old
party and some volunteers from the newcomers, have
Mr. Champ, whom I expected to be in charge of the
Relief, land us at Camp Ziegler, from where, just as
soon as the channels froze over, we would make a
rapid march to Camp Abruzzi. I thought it more
than probable that the ship could make the trip, for
Cape Flora was isolated from the rest of the Archipel-
ago by water ways that often remained open all fall
and winter and according to observations made by
Jackson in the spring as well. The Relief Ship could
then return to Cape Flora, take on the large party
there, and steam home.

When I asked Veterinarian Newcomb to choose out
four of the ponies in best condition, he told me that
all were infected with glanders and farcy except two,
one a balking, badly broken pony we had named
"Happy Hooligan"; the other, the slowest moving
animal in the column. This equine had been dubbed
" Windy " in honour of one of the doctors of the party,

CAMP JACKSON m

who had received that sobriquet because of his ever
ready and overflowing fountain of speech. After the
Veterinarian's verdict, all the ponies save the two
just mentioned were led off to the slaughter. " Happy ' '
and "Windy" throve and grew sleek and fat on the
vegetation found underneath the snow and on the
wind swept flats at Cape Flora. The dead ponies
served as food for our hungry dogs.

The Relief Ship was expected to arrive in July or
early August, a long wait, to provide for which, we had
on our sledges over two months' food supply for the
twenty-five men, in addition to about four hundred
pounds of sledge rations and several hundred pounds
of pemmican that had been brought along as dog food,
but which would serve admirably for the men in case
of need. In addition to the supplies we had brought
with us, were the great cache placed there by the Duke
of the Abruzzi and the food supplies left by Jackson
and the Andr^e Relief Expedition.

As there is nothing certain above the ice line in the
Arctic, it was necessary to extend our preparations
at once to provide for a stay through the winter should
the Relief Ship not arrive. The officers and crew of
the lost America therefore laboured industriously to
remove from their icy envelopes the barrels and cases
of food deposited by other explorers. The larger
proportion of the food thus obtained was secured from
the cache of the Italian Duke. A quantity of good
bread, meat, coffee, tea, etc., was found which had been
left by Jackson while the smaller cache of food of the
Andr6e Relief Expedition provided us with sugar,
coffee, butter, medicines, and clothing. The Duke's

112 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

stores were found packed in a ten-sided portable house.
This place was cleared of its stores and the eight mem-
bers of the Field Department were quartered there.

An abandoned cooking range was found out in the
snow and repaired, Fireman Hovlick manufacturing
a stove pipe from old petroleum tanks, doing this work
on an anvil improvised from a packing case and an
iron grate bar. After the food stores had all been
tallied they were placed in the building that was origin-
ally the stable used by Jackson for his ponies.

"Elmwood," Jackson's house, which he had thought
crowded with his party of eight, was cleared of its
accumulations of years and in it bunks were built
to accomodate seventeen men.

By May 24th, the entire party "was housed and the
tents were taken down and stored away.

In the early days of June, thousands of gulls, loons,
and guillemots came in from the south and the high
rocks of the cape resounded with ceaseless chatter of
innumerable birds. The sun circled above our horizon
day and night, melting the great snow drifts and ex-
posing the rocks. Beautiful little Arctic poppies
lifted their white and gold cups to the King of the Sky,
and green mosses and coloured lichens gave relief to
the eye after the constant glare of snow and ice.

Next to the absorbing occupation of scanning the
horizon for signs of the Relief Ship — was the anxious
watch for Polar bears which constituted the major
part of our supply of fresh meat. Hunting these
creatures was the most exciting sport at Cape Flora,
or "Camp Jackson," as it was named. The sailors
in "Elmwood" vied with the Field Department in

CAMP JACKSON 113

the roundhouse (Little Italy, they named it) in the
hunt for Ursus Polaris. The man who first sighted the
bear was privileged to track the game assisted by his
comrades, and this rule was generally observed. Some-
times a bear was sighted on the ice off shore by the
men of both houses at the same time and this usually
resulted in a race, a hunting party from each house
setting out. The one to first cross the tide crack
below camp, and set foot on the sea ice had the honour
of chasing the bear. From that moment the hunt was
a question of legs, for the Polar bear is an arrant coward
and generally makes off at the least indication of dan-
ger. Exceeding in intensity the hunting fever dis-
played by the men was the wild excitement among
the dogs on the advent of a bear. Their sense of vision
was not keen enough to sight game that was as far as
a mile off shore, but they seemed to read the actions
of the men, and when a party left the camp with guns
every individual canine would appear yelping with
delight and running as if mad in the thirst for blood.
Out on the ice they would spread, like a battalion of
skirmishers in advance of the hunters. The height
of the ice blocks and the dogs' low stature prevented
them from seeing their prey at a distance, and they
woiild extend their line in every direction in an aim-
less search for the bear. At last one would sight him
from the top of an ice cake, and with a sharp bark,
and like a projectile from a gun, he would fly on the
track of the retreating beast, every dog in the pack
within hearing of that signal, running and leaping
with new vigour over the rough ice, several of the
wise ones making flank movements to get around in

^14 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

front of the enemy. Before long the pack surrounded
him, their united yelps indicating the place and pro-
gress of the fight, the bear answering the cry of the pack
with low heavy growls of anger and moans of fear.
What must the Monarch of the Ice have thought of
these strange creatures, who showed no fear of him,
who evaded his sharp claws and teeth so easily, and
had the temerity to attack his sacred person! While
he chased five dogs, ten of them would crowd his rear
and draw blood. With a frightful roar he would
wheel to crush them, but presto! they had jumped
back, and he faced a circle of open jaws. At last, in
desperation, with powerful leaps, he would make for
the open sea and safety. But these new enemies —
they were neither seal nor walrus, they could outrun
him, and sink their wicked fangs into his muscles and
make him stop to fight for his life. Just as he was
exhausted after his long effort, and at bay within the
ever narrowing circle of his pursuers, a new enemy draws
near, the sight of whom is Fear itself, and Death.
With one supreme effort he frees himself from the
imprisoning teeth and makes a dash for liberty. A
flash and a roar — a torturing pain — a world gone red!
Of what avail his long, hard fight? Victory is on the
side of the heaviest artillery!

During the summer our party secured seventeen
bears, and we luxuriated in bear steaks fried in butter.
Most of the men enjoyed the meat which was not un-
like beef when carefully prepared by cutting away all
fat before frying. The fat gave the meat a rancid
taste.

In the nesting time of the gulls and loons, several

CAMP JACKSON 115

of the sailors went up the talus daily dragging with
them a long ladder that they had constructed and,
at the risk of their lives, clambered up the precipitous
side of the great rock and robbed the nests. Many
of the eggs were fresh and when fried with the ham
we had found in the Diike's cache gave us a breakfast
not to be despised.

Eight brant and several hundred loons were shot
and added to our larder, and sixteen great walruses and
about the same number of seals. Walrus liver was
considered a delicacy but the meat proper was rather
tough and made one think he was dining on auto-
mobile tires.

Two men who had elected to remain at Camp Ab-
ruzzi, surprised us by their arrival at Cape Flora, on
the evening of July 5th. They made no secret of the
fact that they had grown discouraged with the outlook.
Annexing themselves to Mr. Porter's exploring party
they accompanied it as far as the northern extremity
of Northbrook Island. When Porter stopped there
to make observations, they proceeded to "Elmwood."
Porter and his party joined us two days later. He
had run a traverse and mapped the islands from Camp
Abruzzi down to Cape Flora by the way of Kane Lodge
and Camp Ziegler, and, in compliance with my in-
structions, had attempted to enter the unknown coun-
try named by Payer, Zichy Land, but in this he was
unsuccessful.

He reported the fact that his party had shot a num-
ber of ptarmigan, interesting as the first recorded
appearance of these birds in the Archipelago.

CHAPTER XVI

THE VAIN WAIT FOR THE RELIEF SHIP

^T^HE days of waiting palled. It was now mid-
-■- summer and as yet there was no sign of the
vessel that was to carry the homesick sojourners back
to their native land. The men spent many anxious
hours straining their eyes to glimpse a sail and often
we were called out of our huts by a cry — "the ship!
the ship!" But it was invariably a false alarm and
the "ship" proved to be a distant iceberg with its
shadow side turned toward us, or a column of vapour
rising out of a water hole near the horizon giving the
appearance of a steamer's smoke.

As late as the end of July, a closed sea stretched to
meet the sky — a sullen sheet of rugged ice.

Thinking that there might be an open sea to the east
beyond our view circle in which a ship could reach the
land, and feeling the necessity for action, I made a
sledge trip to Cape Barentz accompanied by Seaman
Duffy. We carried a canoe lashed to our sledge in
which we placed our tent and equipment. The high
and numerous pressure ridges piled up against the
glacier face of Northbrook Island obliged us to trend
several miles seaward. The going there was better
but we were troubled with open holes and moving ice
cakes — and although, as the crow flies, Cape Barentz
was barely twenty miles from Cape Flora, we did not

xi6

SIXTEEN WALRUSES WERE CAPTURED AT CAPE FLORA DURING THE SUMMER Ol l.t(»4

THE WAIT FOR THE RELIEF SHIP 117

reach the former rocky promontory for two days.
When we gained the summit of the cape we were dis-
appointed to find nothing but ice off to the horizon,
the only open water, the hole over which we had
paddled our canoe to reach the shore. We erected a
signal pole on the highest point and cached a message
at its foot in a cairn of rocks. We turned our faces in
the direction of Cape Flora with very little hope in
our hearts that relief would reach us that year. The
ice bound condition of the sea at that late date pre-
cluding the possibility of a ship's arrival.

When we were not engaged together in hauling the
sledge out of a water hole or in helping the dogs drag
it across a high ridge, I ran ahead to pick out a way
and Duffy followed with the dogs and sledge often
singing some popular song. His favourite was "My
Sweetheart Lives in Tennessee." Near Cape Barentz
we found a number of loons swimming in a water
hole and with four shots from my Mannlicher carbine
I knocked over nine of the birds, Duffy launching the
canoe and picking them up, killing the wounded ones
with his paddle. In attempting to cross a water lane,
I leaped for what I took to be a cake of ice floating in
its centre, intending to jump from that on to the solid
ice beyond. It promptly let me through as it was only
a mass of snow. The dogs, close behind, seeing my
plight, jumped for what looked like a solid cake off
to my right, and the whole team went in. The ice on
each side of the lane was high and rounded off on the
edges by the action of sun and water and I could not
grasp its slippery surface. The dogs incumbered by
their harness floundered around in danger of drowning.

ii8 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

Duffy made a flying leap and succeeded in getting upon
solid ice. He helped me out and together we got the
team on to the floe. Poor dogs! They had been in
the water so much on the trip that we could not
blame them for refusing to cross when we reached the
next water hole, and we were obliged to drag them
through the freezing sea. I will never forget how they
trembled with fear, when we embarked on a small
cake of ice — Diiffy, myself, the sledge, and the team
of dogs. It was a heavy load on a cranky craft with
the sea awash, but we ferried across the lead in safety.

The dog food gave out on our return. Two bears
crossed our path several days before, but we did not
need the meat then, and our load was heavy enough
for our little team.

Two dogs had followed us from camp running loose.
It was one of these free rovers. Monkey by name, who
came to our help in this hour of need. His keen eye
sighted a bear and he immediately gave chase. One
wee dog seemed but a good mouthful and bruin stopped
to make a meal. But by this time Monkey had re-
inforcements— his late comrade and a man with a
gun. When I came up* Ursus Polaris was circling
about in a water hole growling and hissing at the two
dogs which prevented his getting out on the ice. He
would draw himself half way out and drive at the dogs
with his claws only to be forced back into the pool.
A bullet from the Mannlicher ended the contest. A
cold drizzle was falling and I felt for Duffy holding the
team and waiting for me somewhere out on the ice.
It was sometime later that together we trudged be-
side an empty sledge to where the dead bear lay. The

THE WAIT FOR THE RELIEF SHIP 119

team knew what was in store for them and pulled
like mad. If the road had been smooth we could have
sat upon the sledge and have enjoyed a ride. The
bear was heavy and it was all we could do to haul him
to the tent. While we were removing the pelt and cut-
ting up the carcass two bears approached to within
twenty yards of us and watched proceedings. For-
tunately the team was chained or there would have
been a chase pell mell over water holes and ridges.

I succeeded at last in driving the beasts away with-
out harming them. Believing in the preservation of
game, especially in a barren land where little food
is I had early instructed the members of the ex-
pedition that, except in defence, no bear must be killed
unless needed for food.

The temperature on the trip varied between twenty-
six and 41 degrees Fahrenheit. Our clothing was
soaked at times by rains, and we did not enjoy
the luxury of a dry pair of stockings until our return
to "Elmwood."

Pressure ridges were high, the pools of water many
and treacherous, the snow deep and troublesome, but,
notwithstanding, the trip was to me a sort of pleasure
excursion. After the toil of the day we raised the
tent and prepared our simple meal of pemmican stew
and tea. While the pot was steaming we sat on our
sleeping bags, Duffy contentedly puffing his pipe and
telling me sailor yams in a rich brogue. He always
enjoyed his meals and complimented the cook. He
was good company and I was sorry when our week's
outing came to an end.

On my return to camp, Assistant Engineer Vedoe

I20 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

showed me samples of coal that he had found in a
vein about 600 feet up the talus not far from " Elm-
wood." The coal burned freely and its discovery
relieved us from much anxiety, as the failure of the
Relief Ship to appear indicated that the larger part
of the party would have to remain for the winter at
Cape Flora. Only a small amount of coal remained
from the supply left by Jackson and the Duke of the
Abruzzi but over twenty tons of it were mined out of
the frozen clay and carried down the steep talus on
the backs of the men. Thus the problem of keeping
warm during the winter of 1904-05 was solved for
the Cape Flora party.

Chief Scientist Peters joined us on the last day of
August^ accompanied by Assistant Scientist Tafel and
John Vedoe. The party had left Camp Abruzzi July
8th, in a canoe, and arrived at Eaton Island August
4th after a trying passage down the British Channel
by water and ice. Scientific instruments and records
weighing about 200 pounds were brought down to
Eaton Island where they were cached. Mr. Peters's
party found DeBruyne Sound filled with broken field
ice in motion, and they waited at Eaton Island for the
sound to clear, subsisting on a cache of food that I had
placed there in 1903. The ice remaining fast, and the
sound showing no signs of clearing, Mr. Peters and
his companions pushed their loaded canoe over the
rough surface to Camp Point, the passage occupying
five days. There the canoe and camp outfit were
cached and they proceeded in a fog over the glacier of
Northbrook Island to our camp.

Mr. Peters brought the sad news that the Nor-

THE WAIT FOR THE RELIEF SHIP 121

wegian Fireman, Sigurd Myhre, had died at Camp
Abruzzi on May i6th, after an illness of several weeks.
He had been laid to rest in a frozen grave on the sum-
mit of the rocky plateau toward Cape Saulen, the most
northern tomb, I believe, in the world.

The birds left us in the latter part of August and we
missed their cheerful chatter. As the sun sank lower
the temperature fell and cold freezing winds and driv-
ing flurries of snow assailed us.

Our brief summer was over all too soon and the
darkness and frigidity of another winter drew on apace.

Duffy, said to me, "Shure this is a great counthry!
The summer commences on the 26th day of July at
noon, and, begob, at half pasht one of the same day,
we are in the middle of winter!"

In the early days of September fierce winds and
storms broke the solid sea ice into huge blocks and we
saw open water southward for the first time.

With the failure of the Relief Ship to arrive by
September loth, I made preparations to winter the
large party remaining there and to return myself to
the men at Teplitz Bay, to engage once again in the
work of the expedition at its Northern Station.

I could no longer depend upon the Relief Ship to
assist me in my march north or lift from my shoulders
the care of the body of men at Cape Flora whose stay
would mean a tax on our resources.

Autumn is the worst time of the year in which to
travel. The channels freeze over in thin sheets of
salt ice that hold the sledge runners like glue, and which
without warning, break up under influence of the winds
into impassable currents of churning water and broken

122 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

ice. The sun disappears below the horizon, and land
and sea are wrapped in the blackness of Arctic
Night.

Under the hard conditions of sledge work in the fall
I could only hope to take a small party of chosen men
with me, and about twenty -five men would be ob-
liged to remain at Cape Flora for the winter.

Thanks to the large caches of the Duke of the Ab-
ruzzi and Jackson, in addition to our own supplies and
the game, there was sufficient food at Cape Flora for
the party remaining there during the winter.

The two ponies left over from the slaughter of spring,
were shot for food, and thousands of pounds of walrus
meat were hauled to the camp from the caches that
had been made along the shore and placed out of reach
of the dogs, to augment the winter supply of meat and
blubber.

During the summer the party had secured seventeen
bears, sixteen walruses, eight brant, about 250 birds'
eggs, and about sixteen seals. The large supply of
fresh meat placed the men in splendid condition phy-
sically and also prevented the exhaustive use of the
canned provisions in the caches. I had hopes from
the experience of Jackson that the party would be
able to secure bears during the winter. I instructed
the party, as soon as the sun should reappear in Feb-
ruary, to send men and sledges to Camp Ziegler on
Alger Island, eighty miles distant, to where a large
supply of provisions had been cached in 1902.

The distance from camp Abruzzi (from which place I
was to make the third start north) to Camp Ziegler was
about 140 miles, or nearly twice the distance

THE WAIT FOR THE RELIEF SHIP 123

intervening between Camp Ziegler and Cape Flora
where the men were awaiting the ReHef Ship.
Notwithstanding this fact I promised that just as soon
as my supporting parties should return from accom-
panying me part of the way north they should carry
♦supplies from Camp Abruzzi to Camp Ziegler, and keep
at it (in the field) all summer until the dissolution of
the ice rendered sledge work impossible.

In the meantime the Cape Flora party could work
continuously at hauling supplies from the Camp
Ziegler cache to their camp at the Cape. Thus an
abundance of food was assured. To assist the Cape
Flora party in the work of hauling supplies I gave
them about twenty-five dogs.

Northbrook Island is isolated from the rest of the
group by DeBruyne Sound, and as long as that water-
way remained open, it offered a serious obstacle to
the advance north. The temperature was too
changeable in early September for me to think of leav-
ing Cape Flora.

The canoe and kayaks that I would be obliged to
take along to insure the safety of my party formed
such a large part of the total weight we were able to
carry that not more than twenty days' rations could
be taken on the sledges for men and dogs, and a delay
at any point on the march might prove serious. On
the other hand, there was the fast approaching
season of darkness and the danger of its overtaking us
on the way if we delayed our departure too long. The
men I had chosen to accompany me north could hardly
wait for a cold snap to lock up the waters, and wished
for an early start.

124 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

Mr. Peters was anxious for an early return to his
scientific work at Camp Abruzzi, and so I instructed
him to prepare to leave as soon as he thought prac-
ticable. I gave him two good men, Assistant Engineer
Vedoe and Seaman Mackieman, and two fine teams
of dogs with sledges, a tent, and twenty days' rations.
For a boat, on his arrival at Camp Point, he intended
to pick up the canoe he had cached there in August.
There was a cold snap on the night of the i8th and on
the morning of the following day Peters and his party
left for Camp Abruzzi. Those days of September were
troublesome ones for me. The spirit of the men who
were to remain at the Cape bent under the disappoint-
ment. None of the anticipations of success of the
first winter had been realised; there was no word
from home; no hope of escape until the cold, six
months' night had passed — ^no relief from the deaden-
ing monotony of camp life. All these things had com-
bined to discourage them and hard words were often
used to bewail their sad lot. Almost every assembly
of men has its Epicureans and its Stoics. There were
representatives of each class at Cape Flora.

I learned in those days the saddening truth that a
large proportion of humanity is governed by fear and
selfishness and that many a man's actions are inspired
by the thought of self- aggrandisement rather than by
the sense of principle or the love of his neighbour.

The unlettered and uncultured man is coarse in his
selfishness, while the man of education has learned to
conceal his baser instincts under a mask of seeming
modesty and virtue; but in the end it is a toss up as
to which is the worse.

l^ionfg M>* £*.•«>

THE WAIT FOR THE RELIEF SHIP 125

On one of those days of reflection and sadness I
wrote in my diary:

" Sometimes, I think I would like to write just as I
feel, but the thought comes to me that in the changing
atmosphere of Time there is much that would be put
down in unchanging black and white for which some
one would suffer later on, whose spirit by that time
had passed through trials and become chastened and
humble. So much I could write at times in bitterness
of spirit, but I know all shall be well and that Time
shall be the great proofreader and correct the careless
work and thoughtless haste, and bring harmony out of
this orchestra at last, though there seem to be a few
who play as if they had no soul for music."

CHAPTER XVII

THE START FOR CAMP ABRUZZI

"C^IGHT days after the departure of Peters and his
■*^ companions for the north I bade good-bye to
the men at Cape Flora. Before leaving I placed good,
faithful Francis Long in charge of the party in the
Roundhouse and all expedition property, and Captain
Coffin in charge of the ship's company in "Elmwood."
I turned over to each house one of the two whaleboats
for use the following summer in the securing of game,
and also assigned a team of dogs to each party to be
employed when the light returned in 1905 in the haul-
ing of food from Camp Ziegler.

On the morning of September 27th, accompanied
by Assistant Scientist Porter, Assistant Surgeon Seitz,
Steward Spencer, Quartermaster Rilliet, Seaman Duffy,
and Cabin Boy Dean, I left Camp Jackson on the
march north to Camp Abruzzi.

We carried our camping equipment and seventeen
days' food for men and dogs on four sledges drawn by
thirty-two dogs. A canoe was also carried and two
canvas kayaks. We arrived at Camp Point, the north-
em extremity of Northbrook Island, the same evening
and camped in the darkness. A heavy storm from
the southwest arose at night and continued through
the following day. The wind was so violent that we

were obliged to take the pole out of the tent and tie

126

THE START FOR CAMP ABRUZZI 127

the collapsed fabric together in a great knot to pre-
vent its being torn to pieces. We spent an uncom-
fortable time in the restricted space in our sleeping
bags, the drifting snow walling us in.

At Camp Point a message was found from Mr. Peters
stating that he had been delayed by the impassable
condition of the channel, but that he had left to cross
DeBruyne Sound the morning of the 27th, the day
we arrived at the Point. The storm gave me reason
to be anxious for his safety. DeBruyne Sound had
been opened in a number of places by the high wind
of the 28th. On the morning of the 29th, we at-
tempted to cross the sound but were forced to return
to land by a wide stream of broken ice and mush in
a rapid current — impassable either by boats or sledges.

Two other attempts were made to cross the sound,
one on September 30th, the other on October nth,
but we were obliged to return both times to Camp
Point. Each attempt to cross was followed by a rise
in temperature and high southerly winds, accom-
panied by the breaking up of the ice and the opening
of the Sound.

As the days passed by our food stores dwindled,
and the poor dogs chained out in the snow gave vent
to their craving for food in long drawn howls.

We built two little igloos of snow blocks in the side
of the glacier. They were connected by a passage
and for a time all of us lived together in the "Tombs,"
as the igloos were called, but later the Steward and I
preferred to live in the tent, considering our chances to
be better there in an outlook for game. On Sunday,
October 9th, we held a service in the "Tombs" where

128 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

I read from the Sixth Chapter of Matthew the words
which at the time seemed to be particularly suited to
us: "Take no thought of the morrow, of what ye
shall eat or drink."

The Steward and I had just returned to our tent when,
sitting together in the cold, I expressed the wish for
a bear, as it would mean food and fuel. At that moment
a quick, short bark sounded outside, followed by a
chorus of savage, frantic yelps from all our chained
canines. Looking through the flap of the tent, the
Steward exclaimed, "A bear! A bear!" We both
ran out to behold a bear making up the glacier. Our
best bear dog, Little Wyckoff , was loose and worried
Bruin by biting his heels, so delaying the beast that
I was enabled to get within about 150 yards. With an
anxiety that cannot be expressed, I fired, bringing
down the animal. He was sledged in triumph to the
"Tombs," and that day, and many days after, we had
the luxury of fried bear steak. Our hungry dogs, too,
got a full meal of fresh meat. As the bear was very
fat, all the blubber was carefully cut and preserved
for cooking fuel.

To wait often takes more courage, more effort of
soul, than to perform. As the days went by and the
period of light shortened some of my good comrades
became restless. The active, little Steward would
look over toward Hooker Island and wistfully say,
"If we were only there! All our troubles would be
over, for then we could proceed easily over the frozen
channels to Camp Ziegler and from there to Teplitz
Bay. This awful channel! This horrible island! "

As I looked at the dark water clouds hanging over

THE START FOR CAMP ABRUZZI 129

the glacier on that island which indicated to me that
the channels beyond were open, I was filled with
anxiety for the safety of Mr. Peters and his party and
for our own escape.

The sun was rapidly sinking. After considering
the rough and treacherous character qjf the ice in De-
Bruyne Sound, I realised the impossibility of crossing
the wide channel in one march, and saw that at least
one of the long October nights would have to be spent
on the ice in the sound. With every storm, the ice
would break up and drift, and as storms came often
and without warning we would have to be prepared
to take to the boats in an emergency. The frail kayaks
could not be depended upon in the current of the chan-
nel when it was filled with grinding ice fragments.
The canoe alone was deemed reliable. But as the
canoe was not large enough to hold the entire party,
I determined to send two members back to Cape Flora
with one sledge to obtain a supply of provisions stif-
ficient for us to reach Camp Ziegler where we could
replenish. The poor dogs had been living on quarter
and half rations, but for them I could ask no food,
their salvation depending upon our reaching Camp
Ziegler in time, for I did not intend to return to Cape
Flora no matter what came.

On the 17 th Mr. Porter expressed his willingness
to return to Cape Flora with one man to stay there
through the winter. On the return of the light in
the following spring (1905) he would make a sledge
trip to Camp Abruzzi to accompany me on my final
march north.

So I gave him instructions to return to Cape Flora,

I30 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

placing him as Third in Command of the expedition
and in charge of the party at Cape Flora and in com-
mand of the whole expedition should I and Mr. Peters,
my Second in Command, both be lost. I detailed
Jimmy Dean, our cabin boy, to accompany him.
Jimmy almost wept in his disappointment. He wanted
to stay with my party and share our adventures in the
march north. I gave Mr. Porter five of our best dogs,
a sledge, and a kayak and he and Jimmy set out for
Cape Flora. They were accompanied by Steward
Spencer and Seaman Duffy, with a dog team and
sledge, who were to return to me with a small supply
of food.

On the 17 th the temperature was 31 degrees F.
above zero, five degrees above the freezing point of
sea water. The Sound was filled with an impassable
mass of ice fragments grinding their way in a rapid
current out to sea. The roofs of our igloos had been
dripping during the long siege of abnormally high
temperature and we were obliged to prop them up to
prevent their caving in. Our sleeping bags were
soaked with water. It looked as if the cold weather
would never come, and as if we would be imprisoned
by darkness without an opportunity to cross the
eighteen miles that separated us from Hooker Island.
But after Porter's departure the column of the ther-
mometer slowly dropped until on the night of the
2ist it reached one degree below zero.

Spencer and Duffy returned on the 21st, and on the
2 2d, the day the sun disappeared for the winter, we
made our fourth attempt to cross the channel.

The party comprised Asst. Surgeon Seitz, Quarter-

THE START FOR CAMP ABRUZZI 131

master Rilliet, Steward Spencer, and Seaman Duffy
with three dog teams of .nine dogs each and three
sledges, a canoe, and a two-man kayak.

We left land at nine o'clock in the morning in a very
dim twilight and made our way over much rough ice.
I directed the path of the coltmin toward the north
as I noted that there was a pressure on the ice fields
from that direction and reasoned that the ice would
jam in the narrow part of the sound between Old
Depot on Hooker Island and Camp Point on North-
brook Island, but would open into lanes and drift sea-
ward south of these two points. So instead of direct-
ing otir way in as nearly straight a line as we could,
across the Sound to Old Depot (our objective), our
trail curved up the channel, above the danger zone of
opening leads, and fast moving fields. We crossed
one open lead by means of canoe and kayak at the cost
of an hour and one dog. While picking a path through
moving ice cakes, I climbed to the top of a small pres-
sure ridge which suddenly gave way beneath me. I was
in the water some minutes surrounded by a muddle
of small ice fragments which prevented my reaching
the heavy floe before my absence was noted. Then I
had the rather unpleasant experience of disrobing on
an ice cake to put on a complete change of dry clothing.
Fortunately the temperature was not low — only 4
degrees below zero!

After crossing much broken ice, mixed with rubble
and thin sheets, we reached a large old cake that seemed
to be fixed. As it was difficult to see ahead in the
gathering darkness, and being uncertain of reaching
another large cake before night, I gave orders to en-

132 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

camp. The following day we reached Old Depot on
Hooker Island, crossing rough places and wide stretches
of young salt ice just thick enough to bear the men
and sledges, the moving caravan causing the thin
stratum to roll in waves and move under the feet like
jelly, one sledge — the one bearing the heavy canoe —
breaking partially through. We helped the dogs drag
the heavy sledges up the slope of the glacier on Hooker
Island to a level spot near some protruding rocks, and
then turned our eyes toward DeBruyne Sound. In
the gloom we could see great black stretches of water
in which floated dark looking masses of ice, and open
lanes steaming in the cold air. The rising moon il-
luminated the scene and intensified the gloom of the
shadowy Stygian expanse. Our hearts beat thank-
fully in the realisation that we had crossed just in
time, and that after the long wait of twenty-six days
we were able at last to proceed.

Storms and rolling clouds of the past werer forgotten
as, above the massed vapours of the waters, we hap-
pily raised our tents, a full moon giving us light, and
revealing in glittering splendour the mountainous
glacier above us, whose cold, high crest was to be our
next battlefield.

Dr. Seitz, Rilliet, and Dtiffy occupied one tent and
Steward Spencer and myself the other. While we
cooked our evening meal above the hum of the blaz-
ing khotals in both tents, I could hear Duffy sing-
ing and catch snatches of the animated conver-
sation of the others, denoting their happy condition.
In our own little tepee Spencer fairly beamed with
happiness, and talked enthusiastically of next year's

THE START FOR CAMP ABRUZZI 133

opportunities north, expressing the hope that we
would break the record. Camp Abruzzi seemed near
to us that night and Camp Ziegler only a short way off.

The temperature dropped to 12 degrees below zero
while we slept and, in the gloom of the returning twi-
light of another day, it was cold work harnessing dogs
and breaking camp. But we were glad that the tem-
perature was low for it meant as a rule good weather
and a long march.

Before leaving me at Camp Point, Porter had told
me that on his spring trip he had been obliged to cross
the Hooker Island glacier — that he had found a high
glacier face on the north shore of the island and that
there was only one little place where it was possible
for a sledge to leave the island with safety. Rilliet
had accompanied Porter on his trip and stated to me
that he knew the trail across the ice-capped island and
the place of descent mentioned by Porter where the
glacier sloped down to the level of Young Sound.

So I asked Rilliet to act as guide while I helped
Duffy with his heavily loaded sledge in otu* long haul
up the slope. After surmounting the dome, over 1,400
feet high, we made a rapid descent down a steep de-
clivity at the bottom of which our guide expected to
find a short cut to the sea level. But distances are
deceptive on a glacier and five hours were spent in a
reconnoitre, which was made possible by moonlight.
We were stormbound the following day. The tem-
perature rose to 6 degrees above zero, dropping to 19
below on the morning of the 26th. This colder weather
generally meant a respite from the howling winds.
It calmed near noon and we lashed our icy tents and

134 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

sleeping bags and stirred up the protesting dogs from
the holes they had dug in the snow drifts, and put on
their stiff harness. We could not afford to feed them
the night before, but they seemed to have accepted
the situation stoically. Poor things! they may have
wondered but could not know what it meant xiis
continual hauling and suffering. Despite their snarl-
ing and fighting they were hard workers and faithful
helpers, and I often thought we did not appreciate
their worth as we should.

There was a haze in the air that obscured vision.
Under foot, fortunately, the wind had packed the deep
snow so that the sledges did not haul as badly as we
expected. I did not like the looks 'of the glacier and
suggested to Rilliet that we rope together and go ahead,
thinking particularly of his safety as he was to be the
guide. He told me the precaution was unnecessary
as he had gone all over the place and did not believe
there were any crevasses in it.

S 'I

< «

< T=

o
X

PKi

CHAPTER XVIII

"he brought me ,up also out of an hor-
rible PIT." — Psalms

'IXT'E HAD travelled on the glaciers so often that
we had grown free of care in regard to the hid-
den danger of crevasses. These deep chasms were
arched over by the drifting snows and levelled with the
surrounding surface of the glacier, and it was impossible
to detect them. On the Rudolph Island glacier I had
broken through on three or four different occasions,
but had always been successful in scrambling out, not
having fallen deeper than to my armpits. Frequent
halts delayed our progress. Because of the thick
weather I often went ahead to assist Rilliet in pick-
ing out the shadowy nunatucks that guided us toward
the slope where we wished to go from our present ele-
vation to Yoimg Sound.

It was at one of these halts that I walked out ahead
of the sledges when the snow gave way beneath my
feet and I hung over a deep crevasse. Steward Spen-
cer ran from his sledge in an attempt to help me. He
had but just touched my hand with his fingers when
I began a frightful descent and knew no more. In the
semiconscious state which followed, came a chill of hor-
ror, for I thought I had been buried alive. But return-
ing memory helped me to realise that I was entombed in
ice. I found myself wedged between two curves in the

13s

136 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

walls of the crevasse, the convex surfaces near enough
together to hold me between my breast and back,
my left arm bent over my breast and jamming having
prevented me from falling through the neck of the
funnel. Beneath me was a great black void in which
I could move my legs without touching the walls, and
to my right a cavern that made me think of the bot-
tomless pit.

The darkness was intense. Away above me shone
a luminous spot, a faint halo of blue iridescence
which showed where I had broken through, and a few
straight pencil-like rays of light penetrated the chasm
exposing the black surface of the walls of ice and also
revealing the fact that had I fallen but a little farther
to the right I would have gone to depths beyond the
reach of human aid.

I heard voices calling from above and I answered,
asking for a rope, and requesting haste, as I thought
I would slip through. Up to that time I was not aware
that Spencer was in the chasm. While the rope was
being lowered, I heard most awful groans beneath me
in the crevasse. My first thought was that a team of
dogs had fallen in with me. Soon the noise became
articulate speech, and I realised with horror that
another man was in that prison, and like myself was
wedged in between walls of ice. It was the Steward
who in trying to save me had fallen in too. I could
not see him in that black pit, but thought that his
voice, with its awful echoes came from somewhere
beneath me. He called out, " Commander, are you in
this place too?" He was lying on his side and felt
the unspeakable torture of his position and begged me

"AT LAST I SAW ABOVE ME THE END OF A ROPE

Prawn by y. KitowlcM Hart

"OUT OF AN HORRIBLE PIT" 137

to save him. "What an awful place to die! " he said
again and again.

I told him to trust in God and we would get out,
but I must confess, at that moment of shock and pain,
help seemed very far away.

To add to our discomfort, pieces of ice became
detached from above and thundered down the abyss,
the sound reaching us until it was annihilated by the
awful depth. It need not be told what would have
happened if either Spencer or myself had been in the
path of the falling fragments.

At last I saw above me the end of a rope which
gradually neared as I shouted directions to those out
of sight above who were lowering the line, our only
hope of escape.

My right arm was free, and at last the precious line
was in my hand. I painfully made a bowline in the
end of the rope, the fingers of my left hand being for-
tunately free. Slipping the noose over my right foot,
I called to those above to haul away. Soon I was
swinging like a pendulimi in free space. I called to
them to move the rope to the right and then lower me.
I swung around in the black chasm and felt the icy
walls but could not discover the Steward.

In desperation, as I felt myself growing weaker, I
called to him, ** Look up and try to see me against the
light above!" He obeyed, saw my suspended form
and directed my movements. In answer to my shouts
the men above moved the rope along the edge of the
crevasse and lowered me to where I could reach the
Steward, though I could not rescue him on account of
a projection of ice that interfered. But I could pass

138 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

him a foot and a hand, and lift him from his prone
position, and help him to stand on the cake of ice that
had broken off when he fell and had jammed, saving
him from death. Unable to give the Steward further help,
I told him it would be best for the men to haul me up
and send the rope down for him. He agreed and I was
drawn to the surface — just in time, as I fainted on reach-
ing the top. The Steward was hauled up next. A tent
was erected and within its shelter Doctor Seitz examin-
ed us. No bones were broken, but a cut in the Steward's
face required several stitches. We were helped into
our sleeping bags as the temperature had fallen to 27
degrees below zero.

On measuring the rope Seaman Duffy found we had
fallen into the crevasse to the depth of seventy feet.
It was a providential escape. If we had fallen but a
little to either side where the crevasse widened, we
would have descended beyond the reach of help.

While swinging in the dense darkness of that sheol
like abyss, a thin line only held me to life — a cotton
cord with braided covering, only three-eighths of an
inch in diameter! I thought of a place on that same
line where, only that morning, I had noticed, while
lavShing a sledge load, that all the inner fibres had
parted.

It was a dangerous but concealed break, and at the
time I mentally resolved to have it cut out and the
line spliced at our next camp.

"Had the break been noticed!" The horror of the
question troubled me.

In a conversation with Diiffy after the accident I
learned that he had gone over every inch of the rope,

"OUT OF AN HORRIBLE PIT" 139

and that the weak spot had been discovered — and
the rope repaired.

The Steward suffered all night, and indeed there was
little sleep for either of us. The other members of the
party had worked hard to save us and despite our
pains we were a happy party.

Camp was established near the crevasse, and the
following morning the Steward, still in his sleeping bag,
was lashed to his sledge. We then left the glacier
descending to the level of the Sound. At every halt
Spencer would call to me and ask if we were still on
the glacier, and how long before we would reach the
channel ice. Poor fellow! he had had enough of the
glacier and preferred the known perils of the sea to the
unknown dangers that lurked in the hidden depths
of the mountain of ice.

On the last slope of the glacial ice, just before it
joins the salt waters of the sound, we were electrified
by the discovery of sledge tracks which made us hope
for the safety of Peters and his party. The surface of the
Sound, a chaotic mixture of ice boulders of all sizes,
mixed brash, and thin salt ice just thick enough to bear
our sledge runners, offered anything but good travel-
ling. We broke through in places and were all troubled
with water soaked footwear before the day's work was
over.

Duffy was the strongest man in the party, so I gave
him the Steward's sledge, knowing that the warm-
hearted sailor would save Spencer many a btmip on
the ice, and I took Duffy's sledge and his well trained
team of dogs. I tried at first to lead the party through
the bad ice but found that I was still suffering from

I40 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

the effects of the fall in the crevasse the day before,
and had difficulty in seeing ahead, often falling over
ice cakes, and deviating from the correct course. So
I asked Rilliet, as he did not have a team or sledge, to
act as guide again, while I took the rear of the column.
I shall never forget that day's march! The sledge
with its heavy load of canoe, tent, equipment, and
stores was often overturned on the rough road and it
took every ounce of strength I possessed to lift it back
on to its runners, the chief strain coming on my chest
which had been bruised by the jamming between the
ice walls of the crevasse, giving me the impression that
my ribs were broken.

Our course was toward Cape Beresford, about thirty
miles away, which point we reached after two days
of travel over a hard trail of rough ice and deep snow,
alternating with stretches of young ice covered with
a wet salty efflorescence that held our sledge runners
fast. We were also troubled with fog and mist.

Early on the morning of the 29th (October) the air
cleared with a temperature of 23 degrees below zero,
and the waning moon lit up the towering glaciers and
frozen channels. The pain in my chest kept me awake
and I lay watching the curious effect of the moonlight
shining on the silk of the tent, and talking to the Stew-
ard at times, for he too slept but little. At half -past
three, I heard Duffy, always an early riser, outside
discoursing on the beauty of the scene. I called out
to the men to get ready to move. The order was
obeyed with alacrity. Before long the khotals were
singing merrily, melting the ice for our breakfast of
tea and stew. With the moon for our only illuminant,

"OUT OF AN HORRIBLE PIT" 141

we left the Cape and made good time over a compara-
tively smooth course, reaching the West Camp on Alger
Island an hour after noon, the twilight allowing us to
see otir way when the moon left us. This place was
the site of Baldwin's first station in 1901, and he had
placed there coal and provisions.

We found traces of Peters's party in the sledge marks
crossing the tide crack and saw their canoe carefully
cached, and a fresh trail leading in the direction of
Camp Ziegler. We hurriedly set up a tent into which
the Steward was carried and while I made tea for the
party the men dug out of the snow two barrels of coal
and a case of emergency rations, and put them on a
sledge in place of the canoe which we cached along-
side the one we found there.

I knew that there were provisions in the two houses
at Camp Ziegler, but was not sure that we would find
coal there and so provided for that contingency. The
canoe I did not expect to use in continuing my march
north, for it was then the last of October and I trusted
that the temperature would remain low and that the
channels wotdd be frozen between Alger Island and
Teplitz Bay.

It was seven days since the sun dropped below the
horizon for the winter, and the periods of twilight were
daily growing shorter. At 3.15 p. m., when we left
West Camp, the gloom of night was upon us, clouds
helping to darken the air. But our dogs smelling the
fresh tracks in the snow were all excitement and fol-
lowed the trail at a rapid trot. We passed over the
six miles that separated us from Baldwin's old head-
quarters in less than an hour and a half reaching the

142 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

huts in the darkness. Our arrival was heralded by a
number of dogs that came out in the gloom, and greeted
us and our teams with joyful yelps. We could just
distinguish a heap of snow out of which protruded the
tops of the houses and a chimney from which a cheerful
smoke was escaping. Through a hole in the snow, a
dim light was shining and against it stood the form of
Mr. Peters. We shook hands, and, after our sledges
were arranged and the dogs set free from their harness,
we went down into the warm interior where I was glad
to see Vedoe and Mackieman. Mr. Peters told me
that he had been delayed on Hooker Island by open
water in Young Sound and had arrived at Camp Ziegler
only four days before. He gave an account of a narrow
escape from being carried to sea on the ice in DeBruyne
Sound, drifting in the storm from near Eaton Island
to a point near Old Depot, and escaping with his party
and equipment by a rush over moving ice to Hooker
Island. He was preparing to winter at Camp Ziegler
as Seaman Mackieman had several toes on both feet
frost bitten and could not travel. ^

That night the wind howled and for five days the
storm kept us fast indoors. We utilised the time in
thawing and drying out our sleeping bags and tents
and clothing, and in preparing for the march to Camp
Abruzzi. There was not any pemmican at Camp
Ziegler that we coiild use for dog food, but we found
some tallow which we melted and mixed while hot with
emergency ration (U. S. Army ration of cracked wheat
and beef). We poured the mass into pans and when
it was cool, cut it into one pound blocks. The mixture
made a very good ration and the dogs liked it. Dr.

"OUT OF AN HORRIBLE PIT" 143

Seitz reporting to me that there was no danger to be
apprehended in regard to Mackieman's frost-bitten
toes, though he would be unable to travel and needed
rest, and Spencer having recovered from the effects
of the fall into the crevasse sufficiently to march with
us north, I requested RiUiet and Mackieman to re-
main in Camp Ziegler for the winter — ^placing the for-
mer in charge of the station — and provided the two
men with a team of five dogs, rifle, and a shotgun.
Ammunition and food in plenty were stored at Camp
Ziegler.

I told Rilliet to spend the winter in digging out all
the provisions he could find, so that when the party
came from Cape Flora in the early spring they could
load their sledges without trouble, and also instructed
him to clean out both houses and make them habit-
able. On the arrival of the men from Cape Flora he
was to let them have one of the houses as a comfort-
able place in which to rest after their journey and in
which to dry out their sleeping bags and clothing.
But no unnecessary time was to be spent in the house
during the good sledging season, for it would require
continuous effort to transport the provisions required
to Cape Flora.

I instructed him to help Mr. Porter on his way north,
when he arrived, in every way possible. I also told
him that in the spring and simimer I would send down
provisions from the north, and that Camp Ziegler
would be the station at which the members of the Camp
Abruzzi party would await the Relief Ship in 1905.

CHAPTER XIX

THROUGH DARKNESS AND ICE TO CAMP ABRUZZI

l^<7"i

'fIT'E WERE stormbound at Camp Ziegler until

^ November 5th. It was the worst time of the
year to travel and the trip was one that none of us who
took part in it will ever forget. The party was com-
posed of six men, Peters, Vedoe, Seitz, Spencer, Diiffy,
and myself. We had four dog teams and sledges
and one kayak. The channels seemed at last to be
firmly frozen and I left the two heavy canoes behind,
as we would have to travel fast, for the periods
of twilight were very short and each day there was
less light.

We camped the first night at Cape Trieste and then
directed our way toward Kane Lodge on Greely
Island. It was almost midway between Camp Ziegler
and our destination, and we looked forward to it as
a sort of "half-way house" and a shelter from the
dark, windy autumn days.

While nearing Weiner Neustadt Island, a little after
noon on November 6th, we were treated to a diversion
that we hardly expected. Grey, one of our dogs, who
had got loose and was running far enough ahead to be
out of catching distance, stirred up a bear. There was
charge and counter charge between them, the bear
chasing " Grey " to within a few feet of the leading team.

The harnessed canines were almost ungovernable

144

THROUGH DARKNESS AND ICE 145

in their desire to participate in the fray and, indeed,
several of the teams.did help in the chase which drove
the bear to the top of a ridge. From that safe vantage
point he tantalised the teams until it was next to
impossible to hold them in a line. Every dog in the
column undoubtedly believed that it would be consider-
ably more fun to follow up the chase than to haul the
heavy loads. But at last, to save the loads and prevent
complete demoralisation, I fired a shot and frightened
the bear away. We could not spare the time to kill
and skin him and, as I have mentioned before, I ob-
jected to the unnecessary slaughter of game.

As we neared the entrance of CoUinson Channel I
anxiously watched ahead for the dark clouds that de-
noted the presence of water. In March and April of
1902, on the previous expedition, we had seen there
a great open hole of water, the rapid current from
Rhodes Channel joining with the great water of
Austria Sound and keeping the place open in the cold-
est time of the year.

In May 1902 the water hole was so large that on
account of it the sledge column was obliged to cross
a steep spur of the glacier on Weiner Neustadt Island,
and I had reason to fear trouble. On arriving there,
as expected, we found the place open — a great steaming
black void sending up columns of dark vapour in the
cold air. We rounded its fearsome edge, like the en-
trance to Inferno, in an almost lightless night, our sled
runners only a few yards from the water, and gained
the solid ice of Collinson Channel, camping that night
on land far from the uncertain crystal covering of the
sea. On November 7 th we reached the shelter of

146 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

Kane Lodge where we found some pemmican to aug-
ment our supply of dog food, and where the hearts of
my comrades were made glad by the discovery of a
bag of tobacco. On leaving Kane Lodge our troubles
increased on account of water holes, rough ice, and the
darkness. Among those islands the scenery was a
strange medley of uncertain shadows in a ghostly group-
ing. The high hills in their icy coats cut sharp enough
in dark purple relief against the dim yellow of the
southern sky; black water pools sent up columns of
slowly rising vapour that stratified into streaky still
clouds against the background of shadows, the whole
looking like a Dore conception of the regions of pur-
gatory. As the twilight passed into the gloom of
approaching night the scene took on the frightful
aspect of Dante's idea of the lowest circle of hell — a
hell of ice.

West of Kane Lodge our progress north was barred
by a large, open, inky lake whose farther shore was
lost in clouds of steam. Upon its bosom floated ghostly
icebergs whose crests were lost in the darkness and
mist. On one side the high face of the glacier on
Greely Island forbade advance; the other shore was
locked by a wall of precipitous rock. We retraced
our steps and rounded the southern end of an island
in the channel that we called "Coal Mine Island"
on account of the find Porter made there the previous
spring. We passed another large and dark body of
water on a narrow thin ice foot just wide enough for
our teams and sledge-runners, passing the point of the
island where the waters washed the steep shore on a rock-
ing bridge of ice that fortunately happened to be there.

THROUGH DARKNESS AND ICE 147

On November 9th we camped at the northern ex-
tremity of Kiihn Island and the next day, after a short
march, reached StoUczka Island. From there to
Rainer Island was a distance of about 18 miles, over
a wide sound connecting with the Victoria Sea by
Back Channel, There was danger of finding the Sound
open, washed by the seas from the Channel. We could
see only a few yards ahead for in addition to the dark-
ness a mist covered the face of the ice — the vapour
itself an indication of some nearby body of water. As
it was nearly eleven o'clock in the morning we could
expect only about two hours more of very poor twi-
light and under the best conditions of ice could not
hope to reach Rainer Island that day. We would have
to camp on young autumn ice that a storm might
destroy.

I discussed the situation with the men and said if
they were willing to take the risk of camping on the
uncertain Sound we would go on; if not, we would
camp on StoUczka Island until the following day when
a clearer air might allow us to choose a smooth trail.
Doctor Seitz stated that they all wished to go ahead
and take chances, Mr. Peters adding that if we met
rough ice we could return.

We then took to the ice like so many shadows, feel-
ing our way through a maze of pressure ridges, the
absence of light making our advance a march of faith.
Mr. Peters and I went ahead and a few feet behind us
came the dog teams and their drivers in Indian file.
Time and time again men and dogs would fall into
crevices between the massive blocks, and sledges were
overturned on obstructions that could not be seen.

148 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

The darkness was so impenetrable that we who were
in the lead would stumble over monster blocks of ice
and into holes and actually walk into icebergs without
seeing them. We felt our way with long poles and
travelled by compass. Sometimes we came to places
where the floor loomed up black and forbidding, and
the horror of the thought of the open sea troubled us,
but on touching the surface with our poles we found it
to be young ice but heavy enough to bear the caravan.
We made good time over these recently frozen level
openings though the men had hard hauling in assisting
the dogs to drag the sleds over the sticky surface.

For three days we forced our way across that awful
space. Peters went ahead to lay the course at times,
and I followed with an ice axe at the head of the dog
teams trying to avoid the worst places. Trying to
lead the column away from the holes that Peters fell
into I often tumbled into worse ones myself with a
dog team to keep me company. We were like two
blind men groping their way. We fell continually.
The cursing of the dog drivers, the howling of the dogs,
and the darkness — the awful darkness! made the
journey like a passage through the regions of torment.
Viewed through the lapse of time what was then a
horrible reality seems like a wild, bad dream. On
crossing two particularly high pressure ridges, that
I had hoped marked the shores of Rainer Island, we
struck better ice but then the wind which had not
ceased to blow from the east increased its force and
we were obliged to camp. During the night the east
wind subsided and a light breeze came down from the
north, and our weather indicator, the thermometer.

THROUGH DARKNESS AND ICE 149

prophesied fair weather by dropping to 22 degrees
below zero. Sunday, November 13th, dawned beau-
tiful, the clear light from a starry sky revealing the
fact that we were in the channel between Rainer and
Alexander Islands.

We reached Houen Island that day and on the next
camped on Hohenlohe Island where we were storm-
bound five days with temperatures ranging from 23
above (7 a. m. Nov. 15) to 26 degrees below zero
(8 p. M. Nov. 19) and a driving wind that seemed to
penetrate the fabric of our tents.

The condensation, the drifting snow, and the varying
temperature had played havoc with our sleeping bags,
clothing, and tents. Everything was either water
soaked or frozen, the warmth of our bodies thawing
pools of water in our sleeping bags which did not con-
duce to comfort as the temperature dropped. Dur-
ing a lull in the storm, while breakfast was being pre-
pared and the hum of the cookers gave a certain sense
of cheerfulness, we heard Duffy singing in the other
tent, "Shure Oive found McCarty's whiskers in the
stew ! " It raised a laugh all around for at that moment
we were engaged in removing from our coffee and stew
the deer hairs from our worn sleeping bags.

While the storm kept us prisoners in our sleeping
bags the last glow of faint twilight at noon left us and
we were in total darkness. Our salvation depended
upon the moon which appeared when the storm ceased
on the evening of November 19th. In her light we
folded our tents and lashed the loads on our sledges,
the dogs wagging their tails as anxious as we were to
march again. During that November advance, as

ISO FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

we were nearing Rudolph Island, we saw a light north
of us, just above the level of the snow, burning in
brilliant red, then flaming into yellow. It was
Jupiter — the planet whose light I had watched year
after year; the planet I thought I knew better than
any of the glittering lights that move in the firmament.

We cut our way through great ridges of ice at Cape
Brorak to Rudolph Island whose glacier we crossed
in a misty moonlight, reaching the hut at Camp Abruzzi
at 3.10 o'clock Sunday morning, November 20th,
a ship's light that was kept burning on the roof of the
house in hopes of our return guiding us down the
steep descent from the glacier.

Our advent caused great excitement among the dogs
at camp. Like ground scouts of an advancing cavalry
attack, they came rushing up the side of the glacier,
barking and yelping with joy, for they recognised their
old comrades in harness, who seemed as wild with de-
light as themselves.

Seaman Meyer met me outside and then came Stewart
and Tessem and Perry and lastly Engineer Hartt.
We found the party all in good health but without
Fireman Myhre of whose death I have already spoken.

OUR LAST BATTLES WITH THE
POLAR ICE

1904— 1905

Out of whose womb came the ice? And the hoary frost of heaven,

who hath gendered it?

The waters are hid as with a stone, and the face of the deep is

frozen. ^

Job.

CHAPTER XX

THE POLAR NIGHT OF I905

TT SEEMED very cozy in the hut after our fifty-
four days on the trail. Carpenter Tessem pre-
pared a breakfast of hot waffles and commeal mush
with delicious coffee. It was good to sit at the table
with my united band of happy men and to hear the
good news that there was an abundance of everjrthing
needful.

They told me that the past summer had been a
wonderfully warm one at camp, and the whole of Tep-
litz Bay had cleared of ice. The snow had melted off
the rocks and around the Duke's tent, making it pos-
sible to find tools, etc., lost during the previous season,
also uncovering a mass of coal left by the Italian. The
melting was accelerated by the industry of the small
body of men who directed streams of water through
the frozen caches, and cleared the camp site by hy-
draulic means.

The coal and stores had been put under cover and
thoughtful provision made for the winter.

While at the table we heard the story of the long
wait of Meyer and Perry at Hohenlohe Island, of how
they camped there and kept a lamp burning from Octo-
ber 5th to November ist, watching for our arrival in
the hope that they would be able to succor us, and
also of their attempt to reach Kane Lodge from the

153

154 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

north — ^futile because of an open sea south of Hohenloh
Island.

Mr. Hartt recited his experiences while trying to
reach Cape Flora where he hoped to be of assistance to
me. On July 19th, accompanied by Seaman Perry,
he set out in a steam launch he had constructed.
While in the British Channel he almost lost the boat
and had to throw the boiler overboard to save the
launch. This accident necessitated their return, and
on August 1 8th they reached the place from which
they had started a month before.

Assistant Commissary Stewart, Carpenter Tessem,
and Seaman Meyer were the last men at the post, and
they laboured hard hauling the coal and supplies and
preparing the house and shelters, including the great
stock tent in which the bags of clothing and equip-
ment were stored.

After our arrival at Camp Abruzzi the party was
allowed about a week's rest. Then work was started
for the contemplated sledge journey in the early spring
of 1905.

November 24th we celebrated as Thanksgiving Day
with a true feeling of gratefulness. Instead of the
time-honoured turkey we were treated to a ptarmigan
fricassee by our capable Steward. Four of these birds
had been shot at camp during the previous summer
and saved for this special occasion.

The smallness of my party, the lack of ponies, and
the few dogs at my command, together with the neces-
sity of providing a number of dogs to be used by my
Camp Abruzzi party in transporting food supplies to
Camp Ziegler, rendered it impossible for me to arrange

2 &

< e

0. C3

Q o
_: o
2<

THE APPEARANCE OF THE HUT ON THE RETURN OF LIGHT IN 1905

BUSY DAYS IN THE WORKSHOP AT CAMP ABRUZZI
Preparing for the last struggle to reach the pole

THE POLAR NIGHT OF 1905 155

for supporting parties to accompany me except for
a short distance from land.

After much thought I decided to leave early in
March 1905, with one companion and three dog teams
and sledges in an effort to reach the Pole, a supporting
column of three small detachments to accompany me.

The first support included two men and was to have
a lightly loaded sledge drawn by such dogs as were
left after the other teams were chosen, and was to go
only one day forward.

The Second Support of two men and one dog team and
sledge was to return two days later, while the Third Sup-
port, comprising four men, two dog teams, and sledges,
was to accompany me seven days' march north.

I made plans for a light canoe for two men to be
constructed at camp. Six sledges needed strengthening —
the ligntun vitae under-runners which caused us trouble
in 1904 were taken off and hickory substituted. The
dog harness required repairing, picket lines for dogs
were manufactured from light steel rope, and tents
were constructed on an improved model providing
a low wall and an adjustable opening at the top to allow
the exit of vapour generated by cooking.

With such a small party it would be impracticable
to carry the extra cook tent, so four little cookers were
manufactured, one for each tent. The kayaks demanded
repairing and painting and more pork and bean biscuit
had to be baked. In addition, the men had their
sleeping bags to repair and their personal equipment
and clothing to make ready. The faithful and efficient
work done by the small party at Camp Abruzzi during
my absence in placing stores, coal, and supplies under

156 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

cover and in putting the storage tent and warehouses
in repair, reHeved the party of much outdoor work
during the winter of 1904-05 and allowed opportunity
for recreation — as well as for preparation for the sledge
trip.

The days of the winter were among the pleasantest
experienced on the expedition. The party was con-
genial and the hut warm and comfortable. We were
all very busy. It was pleasant to hear the whirl of
the lathe and the sound of hammering in our little
shop, interspersed at times with the singing of the men.

After the evening meal, in the periods of moonlight,
in parties of twos and threes we would walk over to-
ward Cape Saulen and view from its height the vast
expanse of water or dark young ice to the west and
northwest, the rapid changes in temperature and the
numerous storms keeping the sea open. The dogs
seemed anxious for human companionship and ac-
companied us on these walks — a noisy, romping, mis-
chievous crew.

During the storms, which were many, and when the
clouds obscured the feeble light of the stars and abso-
lute darkness kept us imprisoned, the men made use
of the excellent library after the hours of labour, and
played chess or cards — ^usually listening at the same
time to the strains of music from a Regina music box
or a phonograph. After December 21st we were glad
with the thought that the sun had turned in its journey
away from us and that each day brought us nearer to
the time when we should see his face again — when
light would take the place of darkness and the winter
of night would be over.

Q
hi"

•8

THE POLAR NIGHT OF 1905 157

Christmas time was celebrated as the year before
by a banquet at which Polar bear steak was the " piece
de resistance" and a special edition of the Arctic
Eagle was printed.

Before leaving Tromso in 1903 I had received a
daily calendar from home upon the leaves of which
friends had written greetings and thoughts, each leaf
a message. The calendar ended in September 1904,
but I had carefully preserved the leaves and it was
doing service for another year. It had always been a
source of much pleasure to me, but at this holiday
time its pages were read with more than usual interest.
In my diary, I wrote:

" I have been thinking in these days of holiday cheer
of home and friends, and my heart is full, so full! I
look over my calendar leaves with their expressions of
friendship and love and think of those who have writ-
ten them. Another year before the possibility of an
opportunity to see once again the home land or the
faces of those who make it a home land ! And I think

of one ^What will be her experiences and what

mine before we meet?"

From a maximum temperature of 13 degrees above
zero, reached diu-ing a storm on December 13th, the
temperature fell slowly until on Christmas night the
minimum thermometer registered 53 degrees below zero.
On the night of January 5th, our weather observer
at Camp Abruzzi, Mr. Stewart, came into the hut
from his regular evening observation and excitedly
asked Mr. Peters and me to go out with him and wit-
ness the low temperature recorded on the minimtim
thermometer in the instrument shelter. Under the

158 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

light of Stewart's lantern, we saw that the alcohol
column with its little glass index had reached the low
record of 60.2 degrees below zero. It was a beautiful,
calm night with a faint aurora playing overhead.
As it was the experience of cold was keen; with a
wind, it would have been unbearable. We \/ere glad
to have a warm house to go into.

We were fortunate in the latter part of December
and in early January in having a number of periods
of starlight. Almost every clear cold night the fires
of aurora played in the sky. A rapidly moving lum-
inous veil often of many colours through which the
stars gleamed bright generally started like a little
cloud of light near the horizon, throwing long streamers
toward the zenith, the streamers ending in a beautiful
circle of light, the corona, which quivered directly
overhead. Other long curves of fire shot over the
sky toward that part of the horizon directly opposite
to the side from which the aurora had started. The
display usually ended in a dull yellow luminous vapour
near the horizon.

On the afternoon of January 17 th one of the mem-
bers came to my room to tell me that he had seen what
he believed to be a signal on Cape Auk to the south.
We expected a party from Cape Flora in the early
spring and we ran out to look, though we wondered
how a signal could be placed there in the darkness.
Surely it was a beautiful sight — a flaming red spot
that changed colour and seemed to move — an effect
of refraction. I knew it could not be a signal and in-
stantly thought of Venus, whose coming denoted that
before long the sun would light our southern sky. While

I S

v.- t/5

^ w
•? o

^ 9

w
w

K
U

aJ
E>

THE POLAR NIGHT OF 1905 159

we watched the Hght left the side of the mountain,
gradually rising and moving eastward. Daily she
arose becoming more beautiful to the eye, shining with
dazzling brilliancy.

In addition to being objects of beauty the stars were
our dependence for time when the sun was not visible,
and many long cold hours were spent by Mr. Peters
at the transit in the astronomical observatory on the
hill. When the temperature dropped lower than 30
degrees below zero observing was a trying occupation.
The small tangent screws cotild not be managed with
the fingers in mittens, and to expose the hand to the
frigid air for only a few seconds was painful. While
looking through the eye-piece of a transit or a theodolite
the observer could not breathe with freedom for every
exhalation had to be directed away from the instru-
ment or the lenses, divisions, and the verniers would
become coated with ice. , While preparing for the
spring sledge work I spent much time in the open air
with a small theodolite and had reason to tinderstand
the troubles of an observer.

Cold weather during the Christmas holidays and in
the early part of January gave me reason to hope for
a colder spring than that of 1904. During a period
of moonlight we observed a sheet of smooth young
ice which gave promise of a good road north. But
the southeast wind — that ever present wind — de-
stroyed all visions of an easy path. By January i8th
the temperature had risen to 10 degrees above zero
and the howling gales had blown the ice from the
land and opened the sea. On January 24, 1905,
I wrote:

i6o FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

"The wind is howling without as if pandemonium
were let loose and the house is shaking under the blast.
Darkness covers this part of the earth, for the sun is
still below the horizon. It is near noon, but our only-
illumination is a number of oil lamps that bum day
and night in a feeble attempt to apologise for the
absence of His Majesty the Sun. It is true that,
monthly, Madame Moon has visited us and shed over
the landscape and ice her luminous rays of cold re-
flected light. But she has done so only when old
Boreas has been asleep and he has slept little this
winter.

" I have just come in from taking a look outside.
In the entrance way to our castle I was set upon by
about twenty dogs, all frantic to show me how pleased
they were to see me and the light I carried. When
the elements war without the dogs crowd into the en-
trance ways and storage tents, curl themselves into fur
balls as close together as possible, and sleep out the
periods of storm. But just as soon as the storm is
over they hold high carnival that generally ends in a
free-for-all fight, and often in the death of a dog unless
we are quick to find the murderous creatures and take
from them the dog that has incurred the antagonism
of the pack."

During the period of darkness we lost eight dogs;
three of them splendid, large animals, Nansen, Toch-
koff , and Spot, were killed by their companions. The
other five either wandered off on the young ice and were
blown away or were killed by the pack at a distance
from camp. Every dog was known by name. It is
a curious fact that when one dog has antagonised
the others the only way to save him from destruction
later on is to chain him. Then the other dogs let him
alone. Unfortunately for us the dogs that seemed to

of-

THE POLAR NIGHT OF 1905 i6i

incur the enmity of their fellows were the large, strong
animals — the biillies and fighters. There seemed to
be a degree of justice in their judgments. From close
observation, I found that the dogs generally forgave
a bite on the head or body, while an attack on the legs
seemed to be considered foul play and must be paid for
by the life of the offending canine — the whole pack
uniting in his execution.

On the departure of the party retreating south in
April, 1904, sixty-six dogs were left at Camp Abruzzi.
Twenty-three dogs were taken away by Mr. Porter's
party on May 9, leaving forty-three in camp. Of
these, eight were lost up to the date of my arrival,
leaving a total of thirty-five dogs. Of these thirty-
five, eight were pups born at camp the winter before
and too young for heavy work. From the twenty-
seven available dogs remaining two good teams could
hardly be picked out. Thirty-three dogs were brought
up by my party from Cape Flora, reaching camp
November 20th and increased the number of dogs and
pups to sixty-eight. During the winter, three good
dogs were killed by the pack and five disappeared,
reducing the total number to sixty, my dependence
for the march north. February 20, 1905, I arranged
the dogs in six teams of nine dogs each, being obliged
to use some of the pups to make up the required
number.

CHAPTER XXI

THE RETURN OF THE SUN

r\N MARCH 5th I wrote:

"February has been an awful month for
storms. There was but one fairly clear day and we
utilised it to make a sledge trip to Cape Auk, where
we replaced the meridian mark destroyed by storms
diiring the winter.

"We saw the sun for the first time March the
first, shining through a veil of fog on th^ horizon
to the south. Ever since it has been cloudy and
stormy.

" We have been busy loading the sledges lor the trip
North. If it is good weather we may be able to get off
next week. The loss of all the ponies and the small
number of dogs limit me considerably. I have de-
cided to go with one man and three dog teams — a sup-
port of men and dogs accompanying me only a few
days as it will be necessary for me to send as many
dogs as I can back for use of the party — ^who are to
transport food to Camp Ziegler.

"The man I have chosen is a strong obedient sailor,
Duffy by name, who would rather be on the trail than
in the house. We will have about loo days' food for
ourselves and about fifty days' food for the dogs.
With the limitations before mentioned I have little
hope of reaching the Pole and look forward as an
achievement to breaking the noble Captain Cagni's
record. Both Duffy and I are determined to do our
utmost. I intend to use the dogs as long as their food
lasts. Afterward we will pull the sledges ourselves."

162

THE RETURN OF THE SUN 163

Duffy had accompanied me on the trip in 1904 to
Cape Barentz and formed one of my party from Cape
Flora to Camp Abruzzi in the autumn of that year.
He had also volunteered to retiim with me from Cape
Flora in June 1904.

I arranged for Mr. Peters to accompany me north
in charge of the third supporting party and on his re-
turn to camp to remain in command of the expedition
until my return from the field. A party of men at
Camp Abruzzi were directed to leave for Camp Ziegler
after the return of the supporting column and to spend
the time from the latter part of March to the end of
June, or until the ice broke up, in sledging supplies
from Camp Abruzzi and Coburg Island to Kane Lodge
and from there to Camp Zi^ler, to provide food in the
event of the Relief Ship's not reaching that point in
the summer of 1905. The teams to be returned to
camp from the north were to be divided by Mr. Peters
so as to provide one team of dogs to each two men.

A trace of twilight in the southern sky at noon glad-
dened our eyes during the last days of January. Each
day the light became stronger and stayed with us longer.
We utilised the twilight of February 15th to make a
sledge journey to Cape Auk, where we erected a signal
pole as an azimuth mark for the astronomical obser-
vatory at camp, the one placed there the year before
having been destroyed by the storms of winter. We
fortunately chose the only day in the month free from
wind or fog. It was a beautiful period of about six
hours of twilight. A full moon almost in conjunction
with the two blazing planets, Jupiter and Venus, helped
to illuminate the scene and added to the strange, almost

i64 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

unearthly beauty of the view revealed to us from the
summit of the glacier. The afternoon of Sunday the
12 th of February the weather was clear and for the
sake of exercise I walked along the high ridge of
rocks from the astronomical observatory to Cape
Saulen. In the dim light I could see nothing but great
sheets of dark coloured young salty ice stretching out
toward the horizon north and west till it was lost in
mist. On my return I sighted a bear out on the rough
ice of Teplitz Bay. With her were what I took to be
two dogs.

All three made off toward the thin ice on the edge
of the bay. Remembering that our Steward had always
wished for the opportunity of a shot at a bear, and
just then being in need of fresh meat I ran to camp and
told Spencer of my find. He had not been feeling
well and was lying down in his bunk, but he brightened
up and seized his gun and with Seaman Perry we went
out accompanied by a pack of dogs. Their barking
soon announced that the bear was discovered. Climb-
ing over the ice cakes we found a female bear, with
two cubs, fighting the dogs. The three of them put up
a splendid fight and were so mixed up with the dogs
that it was a difficult task to shoot a bear without in-
jury to the pack. At last the old bear exposed her
head in a desperate charge and Spencer fired and killed
her. Then there was a battle royal between the dogs
and the cubs. The young bears were quite large
and active and fought surprisingly well, each engag-
ing about eight dogs, the centre of a growling, snarling,
biting, heap. Perry shot one; the other, pursued by
the pack, charged my way and I was obliged to put a
bullet through his head.

«•>'

A MILE AND A HALF NORTH IN EIGHT HOURS

SAv/ih by .iHlIu'))^ l-iaia

THE RETURN OF THE SUN 165

The next day another bear appeared and our dogs
followed him out in a fog on to the young ice, danger-
ous because the least wind from the east would break
it up and open the sea. Darkness descended before
all of them returned from the hunt. Alarmed for
their safety I fired a rocket and a number of signal
lights which on previous occasions had been effective
in attracting them to camp. The absentees came in
later, their coating of ice showing that they had been
in the water. We thawed them out beside the stove,
after which I instructed the men to chain them up.
Soon their doleful howls and yelps announced to us
their dissatisfaction, the young dogs particularly being
distressed at their loss of freedom.

As I have stated, February 1905 was noted for the
number of storms, and the return of the sun brought
no respite from the high drifting winds that continued
to blow through the early days of March. The tem-
perature see-sawed and was often above zero.

On February 21st a little auk was seen swimming
in the sea near the edge of the bay ice, and a seal was
shot. On the same day Tessem, the carpenter, shot a
seal and the Steward a guillemot. Several days later
they secured two more seals and three guillemots, while
Doctor Seitz killed a large bear. More birds were se-
cured on March the 14th. The presence of the birds
so early in the year troubled me as harbingers of an
early summer. It was unusual for them to come be-
fore June. The warmer weather of which their pre-
sence was a warning was unseasonable at this time
of the year and was usually accompanied by almost
incessant storms and winds which would have the

i66 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

effect of making our road rough and creating numerous
lanes of water in the Polar pack.

We used every interval of calm in sledge trips over
to Cape Saulen for the purpose of training our dogs,
and hardening them for the work. I waited anxiously
for Porter with his small team of powerful dogs, to
arrive with news from Camps Ziegler and Jackson (C.
Flora) . But the bad weather that prevented our depar-
ture for the north also delayed his coming to us. Our
sledges had been loaded during the first days of March
and we were only waiting for the wind to cease.

The detail of the sledge column was as follows:

First Support: Assistant Surgeon Seitz and Sea-
man Perry, one team of nine dogs (all poor dogs and
pups), one sledge, tent, camping equipment, and rations
for ten men and fifty-nine dogs for one day, and three
days' rations for two men and one dog team for return
to camp. This party was not furnished with a kayak
as they were not expected to leave the Island and be-
cause it would have increased the weight of the load
beyond the power of the team. The three days' food
was provided for the return in case of storms.

Second Support: Steward Spencer and Seaman
Meyer, one team of seven dogs, one sledge, a two man
kayak, a tent and camping outfit, two days' rations^
for the advance of eight men and fifty dogs, five days'
rations for the return of two men and seven dogs.

Third Support: Chief Scientist Peters, Assistant-
Engineer Vedoe, Assistant Commissary Stewart, and
Carpenter Tessem, two teams of eight dogs each, two
sledges, two kayaks, two tents and camping equipment,
navigation instruments, six days' rations for the ad-

THE RETURN OF THE SUN 167

vance of six men and forty-three dogs and ten days*
rations for the return of four men and two dog teams
to Camp Abruzzi.

Of course, in addition to the above, each detachment
was provided with ice picks, arms, and ammunition,
of which I give a detailed account in the appendix
to this volume.

Seaman Duffy and myself formed the Advance
Party with three teams of nine dogs each, three sledges,
one canvas canoe, one tent, camp equipment, and
instruments. We were provisioned with food for two
men for a hundred days and an allowance of dog
food for about sixty days, the dogs to be killed for food
as necessity required.

In planning the above I could not allow for more
than a week's support all told. I had to keep in mind
the need of dogs at camp and the necessity of keeping
them in as good condition as possible as, on the return
of the three supporting parties to Camp Abruzzi, the
dogs (thirty-two in number) would have to sledge
stores south to Camp Ziegler. A heavy load of food
for the dogs on the return journey was accordingly
carried on all the sledges of the supports. Then on
account of the open condition of the sea there was the
need of carrying heavy kayaks. The few dog teams
and the dead weights of kayaks, tents, equipment, and
return food, was so great that the party could not
carry enough food to permit of a longer period of sup-
port. I could depend therefore on but seven days'
help in all from my three supports. The third support
was so arranged that Peters acted as guide while
Stewart helped Duffy and me with our three sledges.

{qoi

CHAPTER XXII

OUR THIRD AND LAST FIGHT WITH THE POLAR ICE

/^N THE 15th of March the wind ceased, the tem-
^^ perature went down, and the air cleared. Next
day we hitched up our teams, and at half past ten in
the morning left Camp Abruzzi for the ice pack to the
north, climbing the glacier in the direction of Cape
Rath. Though newly formed smooth, salt ice seemed
to stretch north and northwest to the horizon, the
continual movement and breaking of the ice and the
prevalent open water to the westward decided me to
advance from the east of the island in order to insure
the safety of my supporting parties on their return.

Engineer Hartt volunteered to remain at camp alone
until the return of the First Support. Every other
man took part in the advance north. As we left
camp that cold March morning, climbing north over
the glacier, we could discern on looking back the soli-
tary figure of the Engineer. The only other sign of
life on that desolate waste in our rear was "Bruno" a
three-legged dog, barking and whining disconsolately
because he was not permitted to follow his companions
yoked in the sledge teams.

We crossed the summit and then directed our way
toward Cape Rath where Steward Spencer and I de-
scended in April 1904. When approaching the eastern

side of the island, and while going down the long slope

168

!ad -

LAST FIGHT WITH POLAR ICE 169

of the glacier nearing the sea level, we saw a bear and
two cubs slowly making their way toward Hohenlohe
Island, and in the channel near the glacier was a water
hole in which birds were swimming and over which we
could see a flock of birds flying. Just as darkness
came down we reached the edge of the glacier finding
that it had calved since 1904. About a thousand yards
of the terminal slope had broken off leaving a high
perpendictdar face of ice from the top of which a descent
was impracticable. I ordered camp for the night and
the next morning sent back the First Support. At
8 A. M., Dr. Seitz and Perry left me with their dog
team and sledge, ascending the glacier on their re-
turn to Teplitz Bay, while we directed our course
along the edge of the glacier toward Cape Habermann
where a descent to the channel was possible. We were
obliged to go a short distance eastward, to round a mass
of icebergs, and then set our faces northward (magnetic)
camping that night on heavy ice that seemed to be
fast to the land and was close to a pressure ridge that
separated us from the moving sea ice.

The next morning we cut our way through hills of
ice, reaching an expanse of young ice broken and un-
der pressure. From that point I ordered the Second
Support to return and Steward Spencer and Seaman
Meyer left at 3.30 o'clock that afternoon, returning
over the trail we had cut going out.

An odometer brought from camp for measuring
the distance travelled was destroyed in the rough ice
on the outward march that day and abandoned.
Four more days we held our way northward, the trail
bending more to the east as we advanced. The ice

I70 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

was very rough, worse than in 1904, and very slow
progress was made, as for every few yards gained we
were obliged to go ahead of our sledges armed with
picks and ice-axes to cut the trail and then return and
assist the teams and sledges one by one over the rough
road. We seemed to be in an immense river of broken
ice that moved under the influence of the wind. Our
trail was from ice-cake to ice-cake, while we crossed
the separating water by means of ice bridges labor-
iously constructed at the narrowest points by means
of our picks. In other places we traversed monster
pressure ridges that splintered and thundered under
our feet, frightening the dogs until they whined
and whimpered in terror.

It was difficult to find a cake of ice large enough for
our small party to camp on. Deep snow and numerous
water lanes with a high temperature and attendent
fog also impeded our advance. The dogs were often
up to their bellies in the deep snow but, urged on by
the drivers, hauled our sledges over the most awful ridges
and out of deep holes where they had fallen often with
runners up in the air. At noon on March 21st I took
an altitude of the sun and was disappointed to find
that, after all our hard work, our latitude was only 81
degrees and fifty-five minutes North. On March
21, 1895, Nansen was at 85 degrees, nine minutes
North and on March 23, 1900, Captain Cagni sent
back his ill fated First Detachment from 82 degrees,
thirty-two minutes North.

The sledges were standing the hard knocks wonder-
fully well though ridge after ridge was crossed. A
rough trail was first cut then the sledges were hauled

172 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

82nd parallel of latitude but found further progress
impossible on account of a large open lead filled with
broken young ice. From the highest vantage point,
nothing was visible but a horrible jumble of ice-cakes
on end, mixed small young ice and brash, the whole in
motion. To make matters worse the temperature was
rising rapidly. At last we found a heavy cake sur-
rounded with pressure ice, the only flat block in
sight, and on its surface we put up our tents and un-
hitched our tired dogs.

That evening, Mr. Peters and I freely discussed the
outlook. I told him that I purposed pressing north
with Duffy after he (Peters) had returned to camp
with his party. Peters did not believe that anything
could be accomplished by going on, saying that it was
an impossibility to break the record in such ice. He
pointed out that if six men and five sledges could hardly
make three miles a day, two men and three sledges
would make still less, as the ice was growing worse
as we advanced. He thought our best course was to
return to Camp Abruzzi, for should the Relief Ship
not arrive that year the three teams of good dogs that
I was taking north with me would be seriously missed,
and their loss might resiilt gravely for the parties at
Cape Flora and Camp Ziegler. He also urged the
possibility of a shortage of food and a lack of game
at the southern camps. I spent the night sleeplessly
and, I may add, prayerfully, revolving in my mind the
arguments for and against continuing the advance.
It was a bitter disappointment to find retreat inevi-
table, but I was compelled to admit the cogency of
Mr. Peters' s argimients and to acknowledge the possi-

LAST FIGHT WITH POLAR ICE 171

up. Shouting at the teams, we bent our backs under
the loads, the heavy work causing the perspiration to
flow copiously in the very lowest temperature we
experienced.

As I recall that trip I wonder what Job would have
done under similar circumstances. Viewed through the
months that have since elapsed, some of the happenings
appear ludicrous, particularly those in which the dogs
took part, but at the time they were serious and ex-
asperating enough. Time and again, just as a sledge
had been laboriously hoisted and poised on a cake in
mid-air, down would rush the dogs yelping with joy
to find their loads suddenly grown so easy, leaving the
driver behind deep in a crevice between blocks of ice.
The sledge crashed down the slope of tumbled blocks,
turning over on its descent and bringing up with its
load of nearly 600 pounds suddenly against a barrier
of ice.

Then the dogs would all sit down happy over the
mishap which gave them a rest while the tired driver
chopped the ice away from his sledge and painfully
lifted it upon its runners again. I often thought that
there was more design than accident in these bursts
of energy on downward slopes.

A number of times we found the drawbars of our
sledges bent flat against a great cake by reason of the
weight of the loads and the speed on the down grade,
but the elastic hickory, on being released, always
jumped back to its form. Stewart, in admiration,
said one day, "Mr. Fiala, these sledges are made of
India rubber!"

On the afternoon of March 2 2d we reached the

174 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

I realised that we had ice and weather conditions un-
precedentedly bad, but I hoped for and beUeved in
better ice after we passed the hundred-mile limit
from land and got out of the maze of channels and
ridges.

But beyond and stronger than pain at heart in being
disappointed in my wish to go North, was the reali-
sation that the ultimate responsibility was mine and
that the right thing for me to do was to turn back and
take up the reins of government once more. In the
face of possible danger to the lives of those I had left
behind, I must not proceed.

Then if it was right to go back it was not right to go
any further north and thus chance the loss of men,
dogs, or equipment.

The next morning I ordered a return and we set
our faces toward the south.

The journey occupied ten days. Two days and three j
nights were spent on a small floating ice-cake, sur-
rounded by water and broken, melting ice impassable
to boats or sledges. The temperature meanwhile rose
to 34 degrees above zero, an abnormal condition
since, at that time of the year, it should have registered
as many degrees below. Our position was made the
more perilous by huge mountains of ice that sprang
up with the frightful sound of breaking fields and
threatened to sweep over and engulf our little camping
ground. Once the cake divided and a broad lane
opened to within a few feet of us. The following
night, with a report like that of a small cannon, a
crack appeared directly beneath one of the small tents.
Fortimately it did not split the cake asunder.

LAST FIGHT WITH POLAR ICE 173

bility of peril to the expedition party at Cape Flora if
unsuccored by the Relief Ship and deprived of the extra
dogs needed to haul supplies. Therefore, with our
equipment still in perfect condition and with men and
dogs in the best of health, I saw that I would have to
return and take up the more important duty of the
management of the expedition until the arrival of the
Relief Ship. I, personally, believed that there was
game enough in the Archipelago and that if proper
enterprise were shown food in plenty could be secured
which augmented by the supplies at the various stations
on the islands would obviate all danger of starvation.

If the Cape Flora party, obeying my instructions,
placed all their strong men in the field and spent the
entire spring and summer sledging supplies from
Camp Ziegler to Cape Flora, if they used the whale
boats in search of game, making trips to a distance for
it if necessary, they would undoubtedly be well sup-
plied for another winter — if they were doomed to an-
other winter in the Arctic. But the question arose —
"Would this energetic obedience to directions be forth-
coming?"

Many bitter thoughts came to me that night as I
lay in my sleeping bag.

We had reached only 82 degrees North Lat., but
with the food on our three sledges, if Duffy
and I could average only five miles a day, we would
at least break the record and make some return for
the large expenditure of material, supplies, time, and
money. We felt ourselves equal in strength, purpose,
and endurance to any that had ever been in the field;
our equipment was better and our dogs better trained.

'^•^^%^^^s- - '

' THE ICE WAS ROUGH, WORSE THAN IN 1

In order to extend the view angle so as to include the column of men, dogs and sledges, the pictures were taken as a rule from the summits of high
blocks of ice. The high view point had the efifect of lowering the ridges and flattening the steep places of which the above photo is an example.

NEARING 68« NORTH LATITUDE

LAST FIGHT WITH POLAR ICE 175

Of course we lost no time in moving our tent to a
more secure location.

We kept watch through the nights by tents, two
hours to each of the three tents. There were two men
in a tent and one of them, dressed in his furs, kept
watch for an hour, at the end of which time he aroused
his companion who would dress and, at the expiration
of his hour on duty, wake up a man in the next
tent.

And so a succession of vigilants kept unceasing
guard over their sleeping companions.

The dogs lying in the snow chained to picket lines
did not know what to think of the unwonted rest. A
number of them were pups only a little over a year
old and their shrill barks were a ludicrous contrast to
the hoarse croaks of the old dogs. At times the whole
pack would chorus their emotions in a strange un-
canny medley of howls and yelps that we had heard
often at camp during the long winter. It was al-
ways sung while the dogs were lying down. A music-
ally inclined one would start it by emitting a pro-
longed howl which was taken up before he ceased by
every canine within hearing. It was interesting to
trace through their utterances the pedigree of the dogs.
Those whose wolf ancestors had been the terror of the
lonely Russian Steppes howled dismally, while the
descendants of the Fox tribe brought in the treble
with their sharp, quick yelps. Each dog lent as much
volume as he could, and there was a certain dole-
ful harmony to the flood of sound. Who can say
what history of the past, what feats of the hunt, were
immortalised by the chant? It ended as suddenly

176 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

as it began, the last notes usually a few yelps given
rapidly and out of key.

The temperature dropped to 4 degrees below zero
on the 24th, and, on the morning of the 25th, we made
an attempt to cross the newly frozen brash that sur-
rounded our island; but, the temperature rising
above zero, we were obliged to retreat again reaching
our old ice-cake just in time. The ice was in motion
around us and opened into broad lanes and deep holes.
On the 26th, the thermometer indicated 10 degrees
below zero and under a shining sun we marched toward
the island whose dome of ice seemed far away. We
crossed ridge after ridge and some of the worst ice
seen thus far. The trail we had so laboriously cut
on our way out had been obliterated by crushing ice
fields, and the thunder of the forces of frozen nature
was in our ears as we bent our course south.

We came to a wide lead in which a large iceberg was
jammed and with its great solid bulk prevented the
two fields from meeting. We spent an hour chopping
an inclined plane up its face and then hauled our
sledges over its crest to the other side. The tired dogs
would lie down at every opportunity and we shouted
ourselves hoarse in urging them on. Three English
ice-axes we had brought with us were broken early in
the march north and in cutting the trail, we depended
entirely upon the formidable Collins picks. These
tools were manufactured in America for mining pros-
pectors and weighed, with their handles, from four
and a half to five pounds each. They were more
satisfactory than the Alpine axe and in two years of
hard use we never broke one.

U! U M

U U H

< < CO

si. oi^

LAST FIGHT WITH POLAR ICE 177

The dogs had fallen into the water so often while
crossing leads that they grew timid as the tempera-
ture lowered and the wind arose.

One of my dogs, Isaac by name, was continually
causing trouble by slipping his harness when we
neared a lead. Once loose he was difficult to catch.
A commotion invariably arose among the teams when
they caught sight of Ike unharnessed, for nothing
angered them so much as to see one of their number
running free while they toiled in the traces. Once,
in crossing a small lane Isaac slipped his collar and
started off, but before he got away Duffy's team gave
chase and Growler, particularly offended at Ikey's
defection, pounced upon him and held him by the
throat until I came up and secured him. He received
a severe whipping which the other dogs seemed to
thoroughly enjoy, and was tied into his harness with
a piece of rawhide. He gave no further trouble after
that.

We had been obliged to turn four dogs loose —
Robert, Grabber, Bugler, and Neddie. The first
named we shot later as absolutely useless; Grabber
and Bugler were too old and inactive to be of service
and little Neddie, a pup, was too young to pull well
and needed more training before we could use him
successfully. These dogs formed our rear guard.
They felt their inadequacy and followed respectfully
about twenty yards behind the last sledge. At night
when we halted, they came shamefaced into camp,
their arrival heralded by the barks of the other dogs
who snarled and showed their teeth and would have
nothing to do with them. We fed all three for I thought

178 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

they could be used later in hauling loads over the
smooth stretches in the channels from Teplitz Bay
south to Camp Ziegler.

The winds that blew from the 27th of March to the
end of the month were exceedingly cold. The temper-
ature steadily falling reached 45 degrees below zero on
the 3 ist, the day we reached Cape Habermann. March-
ing was really painful, a ten- or fifteen-mile-an-hour
wind, filled with drifting snow particles, striking our
faces and turning our cheeks and noses white. We
called to each other continually, " Your nose is frozen! "
or, " Your cheeks are frozen! " The dogs gave us much
trouble by their unwillingness to face the freezing
blast. We raised our tents under the shadow of the
great mass of rocks and ice discovered and named
Cape Habermann by Payer, and there we had pro-
tection from the wind.

The Polar traveller on a sledge journey is troubled
by an accumulation of ice on his tent, sleeping bag,
and clothing. On account of the low temperature
the moisture from the body, instead of escaping as
vapour, condenses in the cold clothing or sleeping bag.
When the cooker is heating the food the interior of the
tent is filled with a fog of condensation that whitens
every object under cover. Companions in a tent have
difficulty in seeing each other by reason of the fog, and
the damp atmosphere accentuates the experience of
cold. When he camps at night he is obliged to un-
fasten frozen dog harness that sticks to his fingers
pulling off the skin. He must thaw out his frozen
sleeping bag by the heat of his body and on awaking
in the morning soften his deer skin shoes, which froze

LAST FIGHT WITH POLAR TCE 179

as hard as steel during the night, by the warmth of his
hands and pull on his frozen outer garments stiffer
than an ancient warrior's suit of mail. All this, how-
ever, is gladly endured if only he may attain Success
in the end.

On April ist we crossed the glacier and descended
to Teplitz Bay and once again found ourselves at
Camp Abruzzi — the place of many hopes and dis-
appointments to me.

As I stood looking northward over the way we had
just come, all that was visible of the two years* sledge
efforts were four little tracks in the snow that could be
traced up the glacier toward the Mysterious North,
the Polar explorer's paradise, guarded by the Angels
of Cold and Darkness whose flaming swords illiunine
the skies with auroral splendour during the Polar
night.

CHAPTER XXIII

FROM TEPLITZ BAY TO CAMP ZIEGLER

¥ WAS pleased to find on reaching camp that both
* supporting parties had returned in safety, and
that Mr. Porter was on hand to greet me with Seaman
Mackieman, having arrived at Camp Abruzzi on the
17th of March, the day after I left for the north. Por-
ter's march had been a trying experience, bad weather,
with the loss of his sledge and part of his equipment in
a snow drift, delaying his progress and preventing his
reaching me in time to take part in the sledge trip.
He gave me the good news that everyone was alive
and well at Cape Flora and at Camp Ziegler and that
the winter had passed without accident. Two of the
men, Second Officer Nichols and Seaman Kunold, were
not in good health, but he thought the return of the
sun and warm weather would help them to an early
recovery.

Porter also brought me letters from Capt. Coffin and
Observer Long at Camp Jackson, and from Mr. Rilliet
at Camp Ziegler. They all told of having passed the
winter successfully and asked for tobacco and supplies.
Porter told me that the men at Camp Jackson suf-
fered considerably for want of tobacco. Accordingly
I arranged for a sledge party to leave for Cape Flora
in early April with two sledge loads of tobacco and

food. This party was to go, after delivering the stores,

180

TEPLITZ BAY TO CAMP ZIEGLER i8i

to Kane Lodge and spend the spring and early summer
hauling food and supplies from there to Camp Ziegler.
I arranged for still another party to work between
Camp Abruzzi and Kane Lodge and to move the larger
part of the cache on Cobui^ Island to the latter place.
From Kane Lodge both parties would unite in moving
the stores to Camp Ziegler.

The work of exploration and survey was not com-
pleted in 1904, and I instructed Mr. Porter to penetrate
the unmapped country known as Zichy Land from
the south and east while I rounded the islands from
the north and west, mapping as I went down later in
the season.

We had bad weather at camp until April 9th. On
the nth, Assistant Engineer Vedoe with Stewart and
Tessem left for Cape Flora. They had two heavy
sledges, each pulled by a team of seven dogs. Mr.
Vedoe carried a bag of mail for Camp Ziegler and Cape
Flora. Some postage stamps had been designed and
printed and, before the departure of the mail, the men
found pleasure in writing to their comrades at the
southern stations and in pasting on the envelopes the
expedition stamps. Porter cut a cancelling stamp on
rubber and with it the postage was marked in the
most approved and regular style.

Doctor Seitz with Seamen Duffy and Mackieman
left at the same time with three teams and sledge loads.
Their destination was Kane Lodge, where their loads
of food stores were to be deposited. The rest of the
season was to be spent by them in transporting stores
from the large cache at Cobui^ Island to Kane Lodge
while Mr. Vedoe and his party, on [their return from

1 82 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

Cape Flora, carried the stores from Kane Lodge to
Camp Ziegler. After the required amount of pem-
mican, etc., had been moved to Kane Lodge by Doctor
Seitz's party, I instructed him to join forces with
Vedoe and together transport supplies to Camp Zie-
gler, continuing at this work tintil the ice showed
signs of breaking up.

On the 17th Doctor Seitz's party returned to Camp
Abruzzi for a second load having successfully deposited
stores at Kane Lodge. They reported exciting ad-
ventures with Polar bears having killed three large ones
in self-defence, the last within a few feet of them. The
carcasses of three walruses which they had secured
for dog food undoubtedly attracted the other two
bears which made a savage attack upon the men
who escaped through a fog, having fired their last round
of ammunition away. Duffy said, " Shure everywhere
you looked, begob, you would see a bear! Shure
they were thicker than flies in the summer time!"

The same day Mr. Peters and Perry left for the
south with scientific instruments and records, and
Messrs. Porter, Spencer, and Meyer left with two sledge
loads of equipment for Camp Ziegler.

On April 20th Doctor Seitz, Duffy, and Mackier-
nan started on their last trip for Kane Lodge, leaving
Engineer Hartt and myself alone at Camp Abruzzi.
I wished to leave the Camp in good condition, and to
that end we transported a rifle, tools, ammunition,
and pieces of equipment that could not be taken south
to the observatory on the hill, reasoning that under its
shelter they could not be injured by streams of glacier
water which I feared would run through the camp in

•n —

. e

< s

5 e

c <
a. 0

TEPLITZ BAY TO CAMP ZIEGLER 183

the summer time. A kayak and sledge with fur
clothing, a tent, and camping equipment — to provide
for the possible visit of a party in years to come when
the main camp might be under snow and ice — were
also taken to the observatory.

Eleven dogs remained at camp of which Flannigan,
Jacob, Yellow, and Timmerman were good strong
sledge animals. Malcheska, a splendid dog, was limp-
ing from a wound given by a bear, while another dog
possessed only three legs, having lost the other by an
accidental shot. The others were discarded animals
and included in addition to Bugler and Neddie, of whom
I have spoken, Thor, Francis, and Grey. I found on
the trail that the poor dogs would not pull if hitched
up with good ones. They let the willing dogs do all
the work. To use the whip was to ruin the hard
workers. So I arranged them in two teams of five
dogs each, placing all the good dogs in one and all the
poor dogs in the other. I found that the indifferent
team could not, or would not, haul even so much as
150 pounds the first time I took them out. Gradually,
by the exercise of much patience and training, their
ability increased until they hauled a load of 400 pounds
without my help, Thor, who had never been known
to work before, pulling willingly and powerfully and
seeming to enjoy the exercise.

On May 26th Hartt and I left our northern station
for Camp Ziegler. We took our last look at the de-
serted settlement of Camp Abruzzi and at the icy bay
of Teplitz behind us, the most desolate of all sights —
an Arctic desolation. On the march south I had the
Engineer go ahead while at some distance behind I

i84 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

followed with the two teams. I had placed the weaker
team in the lead with its small sledge and load weigh-
ing 375 pounds; following came my good team draw-
ing a sledge load and canoe weighing 543 pounds and
an odometer weighing about eight and a half pounds.
This arrangement of teams allowed me to halt when
I wished to plot angles and read distances — ^the com-
paratively smooth ice in the channels after we left the
vicinity of the coast permitting a degree of accuracy in
measuring distances on the odometer.

We found much open water on our journey and in
rounding Cape McClintock were obliged to use the
canoe. The heavy weight of canoe, instruments,
equipment, records, etc., prevented our taking suffi-
cient dog food and I depended upon the cache at Cape
McClintock to replenish my stock of pemmican. But
on arriving at the Cape I found that the place had
been visited by a bear and the cache destroyed. We
found only four cans of pemmican. Though we were
thus prevented by lack of [dog food from threading
the new channels through Zichy Land, we yet had
glimpses of that new territory.

We camped on Ziegler and Luigi Islands and later
within a short distance of Cape Clare on Champ Island.

We arrived at Camp Ziegler on June 19th, where I
was glad to find that my instructions had been care-
fully followed, a great cache of thousands of pounds of
food having been gathered from the different stations
north by the industrious sledge parties and cached at
our summer headquarters on Alger Island.

Very little of the large amount of food left there by
Baldwin had been taken away by sledge parties from

Cape Saulen
' WE LEFT THE ICY BAY OF TEPLITZ BEHIND US.

The Odometer
ON THE MARCH SOUTH ENGINEER HARTT WENT AHEAD WHILE SOME DISTANCE
BEHIND I FOLLOWED WITH THE TWO TEAMS.

Cape Brorak.
THE CAMP AFTER OUR FIRST DAY'S MARCH FROM TEPLITZ BAY

TEPLITZ BAY TO CAMP ZIEGLER 185

Cape Flora. On inquiry I learned that in March a
party of four men, Vaughan and Moulton of the Field
Party, and Hudgins and Beddow of the crew, with two
dog teams and sledges had made two trips for food
from Cape Flora to Camp Ziegler. In April, Hudgins
and Montrose, with dog team and sledge, made an-
other journey for food for the ship's company. I
learned also that, following instructions, Vedoe and
his companions had taken the food stores and tobacco
to Cape Flora, arriving there on Easter Eve, and that
the men were very thankful for the addition to their
stores, especially for the tobacco.

The large Vertical Circle loaned to the expedition
by the Christiana Observatory, together with two
chronometers and valuable scientific instruments, were
transported in safety over the ice from Teplitz Bay to
Camp Ziegler, and two observatories were very ingen-
iously erected under the direction of Mr. Peters.

The Magnetic Observatory, in the construction of
which not a nail or a piece of iron could be used, was
built of old oars and roofing material, the rolls of ruberoid
sheeting serving as walls, the whole fabric lashed to-
gether with marline by Seaman Meyer. The astron-
omical observatory was built of cases (still full of emer-
gency rations), wire netting, and roofing material by
Mr. Porter on his return from his trip of exploration.

After the work of sledging was over both observator-
ies were in constant use in a regular routine of work.
Porter's mapping trip through Zichy Land had been
successful. He had penetrated the region through an
uncharted channel, surveying three new islands and four
channels and mapping numerous capes and headlands.

CHAPTER XXIV

WAITING FOR RELIEF IN 1905.

/^N OUR arrival at Camp Ziegler we found the
^^ two little houses there surrounded by great
embankments of snow. Much was accomplished in
the digging of drains for melting snow water, and it
was necessary to cut ice and dig constantly as the ris-
ing sun melted the hard packed masses. It was not
until the end of July that we had rest from pick
and shovel. On July 4th I sent Doctor Seitz, Stewart,
and Butland with two dog teams, a sledge and a boat
over the fast frozen channel to see if there was any
game at Cape Dillon and to report on the condition of
the ice south of the islands. The party returned July
nth. Doctor Seitz reported that game seemed plen-
tiful, and that they had secured and cached two wal-
ruses. He also gave me the cheering news that a
large body of open water which seemed to stretch to
the horizon was visible from the highest point of the
cape. A week after their return I sent the same
party to Cape Dillon with a canoe, sledges, and three
weeks' food to keep watch for the expected Relief
Ship and to hunt for game to prepare for the winter
should the ship not arrive.
On the following day I sent seamen Duffy, Perry,

and Mackiernan also to Cape Dillon to assist in the

186

THE TWO LITTLE HOUSES WERE SURROUNDED BY GREAT EMBANKMENTS OF SNOW"

THE ENTR.\NCE TO THE HUTS AT CAMP ZIEGLER

WAITING FOR RELIEF IN 1905 187

watch for the ship and hunting of game so that a con-
tinual outlook could be kept day and night.

By keeping in the field all spring and summer, the
men were in splendid condition physically, but as the
month of July drew to its close without a sign of relief
anxiety expressed itself on the countenances of my
comrades. The Steward climbed the high hill back
of the camp almost every day, taking with him a power-
ful binocular. Though the sea was twenty miles
away — too far to sight a sail — and the channel was
fast with ice, it gave him a sense of satisfaction to look
down toward the way of escape and watch for the
steamer's smoke. He was the most successful seal
hunter in the party and never was so happy as when
he secured one of these wary creatures. He would
drag himself out on the ice imitating the motions of a
seal and thus get within shooting distance before the
animal was aware of his danger. I shot one at long
range once but he had life enough left to wiggle into
his hole. I never succeeded in securing one or in ap-
proaching within killing range. A seal always lies
within a foot or two of his hole, usually situated in the
centre of a large clear space free of hummocks behind
which his great enemy, the Polar bear, can hide. The
least sound communicated to his sensitive ear through
the ice, or the sight of an unfamiliar object is enough to
make him disappear. Unless the bullet is put through
the seal's head and instant death results he will
use his last breath to sink in the water out of reach.

We lived well at Camp Ziegler on Polar bear steaks
and on walrus and seal livers, varying the diet of fresh
food with fried brant and guillemots which were

i88 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

really very palatable. At the station we found a large
store of Swedish conserves with oatmeal, rice, flour,
and emergency ration of which we made use. ^

Stewart and John Vedoe discovered thenestmg place
of a pair of brant and secured the eggs, thus provmg
that they were not hybrids or sterile as has been

After the departure of the six men for Cape Dillon
the small party at Camp Ziegler worked hard to put
the houses in repair and make things comfortable for
the winter. I instructed the industrious carpenter to
repair an old walrus boat in which I prepared to take a
load of provisions to Cape Flora just as soon as the
channel opened, for I reasoned that unless the party
at that point had been very active in the search for
game they would be short of food in the latter days

of August. ,. , , _

Gamecouldbehad though wesaw very httle at Camp

Ziegler and found it necessary to make tnps to a dis-
tance in the search for it. . , ^ . r _4.

A bear was secured at Cape Tegetthof , about forty-
five miles from camp, by three seamen, Duffy, Meyer,
and Perry. Sledge journeys for game were also made
to North Island and West Camp and later, as before
mentioned, to Cape DiUon-the party there being the
most successful, securing sixteen walruses, one lai^e

seal, and a bear. . ,

ik the last days of July a feeling of depression seemed
to possess some of the men and they were harrassed
with the fear that we would be left in the Archipelago
for another winter. The more optimistic would speak
of the dark sky south which could be seen from camp

WAITING FOR RELIEF IN 1905 189

and which indicated open water where before there
was nothing but ice. While last year the prevailing
winds were from the southeast and had a tendency to
lock up the ice in the Barentz Sea, this summer we
were favoured with both southwest and northerly
winds, the former bringing with them the roll of the
western ocean, broke up the ice, while the latter would
disperse it.

There was at heart an anxiety felt by all and evi-
denced in the longing looks that were daily sent down
Aberdare Channel.

The sun shining day and night melted the surface
snow and ice in the channel, and great lakes of fresh
water formed, spreading out as far as one could see,
and reflecting the blue of the sky. The ice under-
neath began to disintegrate and at places the sea water
came through. When a wind was not blowing a
dense fog usually covered the land and water and often
a flurry of rain would make us think of warmer climes.

About half a mile from camp there was a large pool
of water, and on Sunday afternoon, July 30th, Sea-
man Meyer and I launched our little canvas canoe
intending to take a sail around the pond. We had
dragged the canoe out on a sledge through a fog that
concealed shore and camp. Just as the bow of the
boat touched the water I heard the clear notes of the
bugle at camp sounding the "recall." Not since my
service in the cavalry in 1898 had I heard that sound.
It had an urgent meaning. We ceased our prepara-
tions for the sail and the same question was in the eyes
of both when we looked at each other — News! Was
it relief? I told Meyer to place the canoe on the sledge

I90 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

and wait and if he heard three blasts on the bugle, to
come in with the sledge and boat; if the signal was
not given, I would return. Putting on my skees I
threaded my way between the water pools to the shore
where I saw the teams, sledges, and boats of the Cape
Dillon party. Mr. Stewart was awaiting my arrival,
and with smiling face told me that the Relief Ship
Terra Nova, Captain Kjeldsen, had arrived off Cape
Dillon at 1.30 that morning with my friend Mr. Wil-
liam Champ on board and in charge.

On entering the house I found a happy party of men.
Doctor Seitz handed me a letter from Mr. Champ, my
first news from the outside world in more than two
years. Mr. Champ wrote that he was on the Terra
Nova en route to Cape Flora to rescue the men who
had wintered there. That accomplished he would
return immediately with the ship to Cape Dillon and
there await the arrival of my party, as the ice in the
channel was still too solid for the ship to force her way
through the twenty miles to Camp Ziegler. His letter
also informed me of the death of Mr. Ziegler, an in-
telligence that cast a gloom over me shadowing the
happiness I felt in the relief of my men. The experi-
ence of the two years with its numerous sledge jour-
neys had given me an insight into Arctic conditions
that I believed would be invaluable for future work,
and made me feel that with an another opportunity
this dearly bought experience might purchase victory.
And in addition to my sense of personal loss in the
death of a good friend, was the realisation that with
his departure possibly the work would cease.

The long strain at last was over! Members of the

WAITING FOR RELIEF IN 1905 191

Cape Dillon party with those at camp talked happily
over the prospect of home going. Plans were formed
for pleasure trips through Europe en route home.

Many expressed their loi^ing to possess the letters
and packages from relatives and friends awaiting
them on the Terra Nova.

The Cape Dillon party had made a splendid march
through fog and bad ice to our camp, every one of
them anxious to unburden himself of the good news.
They had tramped through miles of surface water, over
the channel ice and crossed leads, making the entire
distance — a little over twenty miles — in less than
seven hours.

While the Steward — his face wreathed in smiles —
prepared a meal for the travellers, we plied them with
questions. We were all especially amused at Duffy's
account of the ship's arrival.

I did not expect the Terra Nova to return to Cape
Dillon from Cape Flora until late the following day and
thought it unnecessary for us to hurry down the
channel.

When the sun was low, during the hours we through
force of habit called night, the surface water froze
over into thin sheets of ice that cut the dogs' feet. I
believed it would be better to leave camp near noon
and thus allow time for the midday sun and the higher
temperature to thaw these sheets, so glass-like and
sharp.

The great cache of food stores we had placed on a
sand hill was moved down to the camp, and the boxes,
barrels, and tins stored in the houses. Messrs. Peters
and Porter, with the aid of Assistant Engineer Vedoe,

192 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

packed up the large transit and magnetic instruments
and all the records, and soldered them in tin cases to
prevent injury.

A boat or kayak was placed on each of the five
sledges and instruments, tools, etc., were packed within,
as Doctor Seitz had reported much water on the ice
and at least one lead which we would need a boat in
crossing.

We had one more night's rest in our old sleeping
bags. They had served us well and were now worn
from use. On arising in the morning our eyes, nostrils,
mouths, and ears were full of deer hairs which the bag
had shed overnight.

After the houses and observatories at Camp Ziegler
had been locked up, and all provisions carefully stored,
sledges were loaded for the last time and, in a thick
fog, we started south over the ice of Aberdare Channel
on our homeward trail.

Fireman nullaml

Asst. SurgeoD Seitz

HAULING A DEAD WALRUS ON TO THE ICE FOOT AT CAPE DILLON

•c

CL,

•H

C/)

_>.

>-)

CHAPTER XXV

RESCUED

IVTEN and dogs took the water like ducks, though in
some places it was over our knees, with rotten
ice underneath that gave under the weight of the
caravan. A fog obscured the view and I went ahead
feeling the way with a skee staff — a precaution that
saved me many a bath.

After passing a point of land and changing our course
we came to a long open lead across which we were
obliged to boat the entire party of sixteen men, five
sledges, and fifty dogs.

On nearing Cape Frithjof we heard rifle shots and
— the fog lifting while we were crossing the lead — we
had a glimpse of our rescuers on the farther side.

Mr. Champ, accompanied by Surgeon Mount and
a party of Norwegian sailors from the Terra Nova and
Sergt. Moulton and Assistant Engineer Hudgins from
the Cape Flora party, had come to meet us out on the
ice. And a memorable meeting it was! It was good
to look into the face of our brave rescuer and to hear
his voice after the long months of separation. Mr.
Champ was overjoyed to learn that only one of the
large party that had set sail from Norway two years
before was missing.

After the first exuberant greetings, came anxious
queries for news of home and of the great outside

193

194 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

world. We learned, all at once, of the war between
Russia and Japan, the result of the international
yacht race in 1903, and of the many disasters on land
and water that had marked our months of exile.

But what touched every one of us most deeply was
to hear from Mr. Champ's lips the account of the death
of Mr. William Ziegler. He had died thinking of and
providing for our rescue, and his last spoken words
had been a wish that we might be found.

In this intensely commercial age it is well to pause
and consider one who though in life a prince of finance
had yet for his strongest ambition not the possession
of material wealth but a wish to enlarge the geographi-
cal borders of the world and to capture the most inac-
cessible region of the earth in the name of his native
land.

We travelled together to the Terra Nova, Mr. Champ's
party using the two dog teams and sledges I had left
at Cape Flora in 1904. A dense fog concealed the
ship until we were a very short distance from her.

The trail broken through the ice by the relief party
proved of much assistance in guiding us to where the
ship lay and over it the dogs could move faster and
without cutting their feet.

The Terra Nova was a glorious sight as she mater-
ialised out of the mist — ^her form glistening in the
sunshine as the fog lifted.

I never experienced such a sense of loss as I did on
beholding the splendid vessel; never realised so keenly
our ship- wrecked condition.

It did not take us long to go aboard and enjoy once
again the luxuries of a warm bath, clean clothing, and

RESCUED 195

fresh food, and, best of all, to receive the two years'
accumulation of mail, the letters from loved ones and
friends.

Aboard the Terra Nova we learned from Mr. Champ
of his efforts to reach us in 1904. He and Captain
Kjeldsen, one of the best ice-pilots of Norway, had
hammered away at the ice in the steamer Frithjof
until her bow-plates had loosened and fallen off.
When nearly all the coal had disappeared, a return was
made to Norway and the Frithjof s bunkers were filled.
At the end of the season still another and a more dan-
gerous effort was made to reach us, the Frithjof re-
turning only when the sea began to freeze on the ap-
proach of winter.

The ice in 1905 was bad, and at times the powerful
Terra Nova was helpless to advance against it. It
was only after weeks of patient, courageous hard work
that we were rescued in the last days of July.

Those great bags of mail contained but one letter
with sad news. It was never delivered. Fireman
Myhre, to whom it was addressed, was asleep in his
tomb on Cape Saulen's height when his wife died in
Norway.

I found all the members of the Cape Flora company
on the Terra Nova and was glad to note that their
general health seemed good. I learned later that it had
been necessary to help several of them aboard the
ship when rescued. Hardly twenty-four hours had
elapsed since their relief. Joy is a great physician!
There was not a noticeably sick man amongst the num-
ber. They had brought on board with them two
little Polar bear cubs which they had captured

196 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

at Cape Flora in the spring. The mother had been
shot the same day — May 29th — ^but "Billy" and
"Louise" were fed and kept alive at the station until the
arrival of the Terra Nova.

The ship's company was increased by still another
passenger — "Buster Brown," a cub larger than the
other two. He had been captured by the relief party
out on the ice in Barentz Sea. He was so savage a
beast and gave so much trouble that it was necessary
to confine him to the constricted space of a heavy
wooden cage.

Under Captain Kjeldsen's guidance the splendid
Terra Nova forced her way through the icy Barentz
Sea. It is always easier to leave the ice pack than to
enter it ; to go south than to go north, and, on Sunday,
August 6th, we entered the open sea and felt for the
first time the motion of the waves.

In the early morning of August 9th our eyes were
gladdened by the sight of land as the green hills of Nor-
way rose before us. Steaming through the beautiful
fjords we felt that our bond with the human race had
not been broken, that sunshine the year round would
soon be our experience, and God's Country a reality.

We had lost in our raid to the north, and had been
forced to return without our ship or the colours
of the enemy. Still hope burned in the thought that,
over the bones of our dearly bought experience, some
day an expedition might march to Discovery and
Victory.

r^;^T-

ANTHONY FIALA WM. S. CHAMP

Photographs taken directly after the meeting of the rescued and rescuer un the ice of Abedare Channel

OUR LAST MARCH

WILLIAM S. CHAMP
Commander Zicgler Relief Expedition, 1904-1905

V^d(AxJ^

AN AFTERWORD

"D ESIDES the tangible results of the Ziegler Polar Ex-
pedition in the discovery and mapping of new
lands and the recording of scientific data, the lessons
learned by the experience of two years in the ice-fields
should be of value to prospective explorers.

Outside the realm of the Arctic there are no camps
of instruction for Polar travellers ; but each expedition^ .
each reconnoissance or assault in force upon the ranks
of the Ice King brings new knowledge of his strong-
hold, new methods of attack.

Every explorer must evolve a plan, provide an
equipment, and engage his assistants, and it is to him
— the man who contemplates a venture for the Pole —
that this chapter is especially addressed.

THE PLAN

After the experiences of 1903-04-05 it appears to

me that the most feasible method of attack would be

to use a strongly built drift ship on the plan originally

suggested by Admiral Melville from observations taken

during the drift of the Jeanette and materialised

later in the successful Fram. I would advocate a

small ship as it could be more easily handled and

would be less liable to destruction. The party on such

a vessel should be no larger than absolutely necessary.

Our own expedition ship, the America, would doubt-

199

200 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

less not have been lost had she been constructed so
as to rise with the pressure and had been heavily tim-
bered to her keel.

As a result of the squeeze of November, 1903, the
ship was raised bodily until the thin skin under her
armour was reached and penetrated by the ice.
She was not strong enough to bear the enormous
weight of engine, boiler, and coal in addition to the
outside pressure of the ice-fields. The America's
bow and fore-foot were well armoured to the keel
with tough, old " greenheart, " which withstood the
strain of the fatal nip of Nov. 21, 1903, so well that
the bow was raised without injury high enough for
us to touch her fore-foot.

As is the case with most whalers of her class, the
America's heavy, wooden sheathing ended a few feet
below the water line, a short distance aft of the bow.
For forcing her way through the summer ice-fields she
was well constructed. Her thick sides stood many
a tight nip and resisted the ice in Teplitz Bay until it
caught her " below the belt " of armour.

Wood is, undoubtedly, the best material from which
to construct a drift ship as it is more elastic than metal.
However a sheathing of steel over an under armour of
greenheart would be valuable as a surface protection.

A ship such as I have described would serve as the
expedition's base and from it a small, well conditioned
sledge party with dogs and ponies could proceed north.
The vessel should be equipped with a complete ap-
paratus for wireless telegraphy. The necessity for
economy of space and weight would preclude the
possibility of carrying a transmitter with its accom-

I
I

AN AFTERWORD 201

paniment of dynamo and machinery on the sledges,
and consequently no messages could be sent from
field party to ship. A light receiver, however, could
be carried and by means of it the sledge party could be
informed of the condition and position of the ship.
This communication, sent at a specified hour each day,
would be a time signal by which the watches of the
sledge party could be corrected. Thus the exact longi-
tude of the party would be assured — another provision
for safety.

The sledge party should carry a kite for receiving
the messages. The ship should be supplied with a
captive balloon and inflating apparatus, the gas being
carried in steel cylinders and a gas compressor used to
inflate and deflate. Possibly a hot air balloon would
serve the purpose, the furnaces of the ship's boilers
providing the necessary heat.

The balloon would be valuable on calm days as
a mark for the returning sledge party, its great eleva-
tion affording also a position from which observations
of the ice could be made. Mirror signals could also
be flashed from the car of the balloon.

The drift ship should either enter the ice by way of
Bering Sea at the point advocated by the Canadian
explorer. Captain Bemier, and drift with the ice-
fields across the Polar Sea, or force a passage to Teplitz
Bay and there await the opening of the sea north of the
Franz Josef Archipelago, in September or October,
and then slowly fight her way north.

Doctor Nansen's ship, the Fram, reached her highest
latitude north of one of that group — Rudolph Island —
and in the two years we spent at Teplitz Bay both

202 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

September and October of 1903 and 1904 were char-
acterised by large stretches of open water to the north
of the islands.

Norwegian sealers and whalers speak of a great
open sea north of Spitzbergen and between that group
and the Franz Josef Archipelago in which they have
sailed during certain seasons.

With a drift ship as a base the sledge party would
have the advantage of a high latitude from which to
start polewards, and would also be favoured with bet-
ter ice conditions than they would find when leaving
a land base. They would escape too the open lanes
and pressure ridges that extend north from all Arctic
lands. Another advantage lies in the fact that should
the sledge parties find it necessary to return to the
ship the distance to travel would be materially short-
ened.

To march from a land base would require a large
party, and an expedition leader deciding on the plan
of advance from a base on terra firma could do no bet-
ter than establish his headquarters at a station about
one or two hundred miles south of the most northern
land at a place accessible to steamers and from which
a trail with fairly smooth ice conditions might be
made to the northern limit of the land.

Cape Dillon, on McClintock Island in the Franz
Josef Archipelago, is well adapted for such a
station and is connected by an interchannel route
with Rudolph Island, the highest known land on the
European side of the globe.

After landing the cargo the expedition ship should
return to civilisation where arrangements would be

AN AFTERWORD 203

made yearly for her return to the Arctic until the com-
pletion of the work.

The spring following the expedition's arrival the
leader would take a large party of men, dogs, ponies,
and sledges on a journey to the most northern land
attainable where a cache would be established and a
shelter erected. The cases of food supplies could be
made of one size and used for the walls of the house —
all covers inside.

The cache placed and shelter arranged, a return
should' then be made to headquarters. This first
journey would serve as a practice march, being
at the same time a test of men, animals, and
equipment. The fibre of the men would thus be
proved and only those fitted for the undertaking
should be kept for the work the following year,
when the real advance north would take place.
The Relief Ship arriving in the summer after the
practice march would take home all who were dis-
contented or unsuited for a cold climate, and also
reinforce the expedition with new men, animals, and
supplies.

In the sledge work on the comparatively smooth
channels between the islands there are long stretches
where a special form of alcohol or gasolene driven motor
would serve admirably to help the party to the ad-
vance camp the second season. But on the mouing
ice the use of such machines can hardly be recommended
for, even if a motor could be constructed to go over
the pressure ridges and rough ice of the Polar pack, it
would necessarily haul so slowly that from the stand-
point of economy a pony or dog team would be pref-

204 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

erable, since either could travel on a less expenditure

°*Croihig the Pole with a balloon or a flying machine
isaSedbysome. To succeed in so doing in the
preLt undeveloped state of aerial navigation would
be a miracle almost. No machine of any constructiot^
should be depended upon for use in the Arctic untd
it has been tried successfully m civilisation. Even
lenlts success in the ice-fields would be problematical^
fbelieve the only way a balloon could be used wo^d
be to construct one large enough to carry two men and
an entire sledge equipment north. So long as the
balloon or flying machine kept its northward course.
S r upants of uld depend upon its help and possiUy
a number of miles could be thus covered with little
exertion- but as soon as the wind changed a descent
should be made, the travellers continuing their ]our-

%Sh£?considered. the drift ship seenis to afford
the greatest possibility of success. But the exp orer
who takes this method should be provided with light
boats and be prepared to winter on the Polar pack
should he lose his ship.

material and machinery.

AN AFTERWORD 205

EQUIPMENT
The Pontes

The one important point in which our equipment
differed radically from that prepared for other attempts
over the Polar ice was in the use of ponies. These
tough little animals are accustomed to the very lowest
temperatures experienced on tho Steppes of Siberia —
some parts of which are considered Che coldest places
of the earth. They are also accustomed to forcing
their way through deep snows and to cross frozen
rivers whose shores are lined with broken ice and deep
drifts. They had been used first by Jackson who be-
lieved them superior to dog teams and used them in
preference to dogs on his trips of exploration and sur-
vey through the Franz Josef Archipelago.

In the record of his journey ings," A Thousand Days
in the Arctic," he states his belief that the Pole could
be reached by means of ponies. Baldwin followed
in the footsteps of Jackson and it was on his numerous
sledge journeys over the frozen channels of the Franz
Josef Archipelago in 1901 and 1902 that I became
convinced of the ponies' worth. On smooth ice the
dogs travelled faster than their rivals but just as soon
as they struck rough going the ponies out-distanced the
dogs easily, at the same time dragging heavier loads.
The men driving the dog teams were tired out at the
end of a day's march by the constant exertion in help-
ing the dogs pull their loads up grades and over ice-
blocks, but it was seldom that the ponies required
assistance.

Lucas — one of the pony drivers on the Baldwin-

2o6 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

Ziegler expedition — with five assistants made about
six trips over rough ice between Hohenlohe Island and
Cape Auk with from ten to twelve pony sledges heavily
loaded, while the dog teams made only one trip.

In my own experience the ponies proved of great
value. In the unloading of the ship, they were used
to the exclusion of the dogs, and during the retreat
from our northern base to Cape Flora in the spring of
1904 they dragged the heaviest loads, and instead of
requiring help when rough ice was encountered in the
British Channel, they often helped their drivers over
some of the bad places. The distance travelled over
the floating sea ice north of Rudolph Island on our
first two attempts north was too short to allow of a
fair estimate or criticism of the service of the ponies.
On our second sledge journey, four men attended the
seven pony sledges while there was a driver to each
dog team.

The ponies could hardly be restrained in their wild
efforts to keep constantly on the march and in
touch with the preceding sledge on the trail. The
greatest difficulty was experienced in the constant
overturning of the unattended pony sledges. The
ponies, continuing to drag their upset loads, often
wedged them between ice blocks, and so a number
of sledges were broken.

The harness we used consisted of a breast-strap
covered with sheep skin and suitable traces and shoulder
straps. A collar harness would have been better by
far but not knowing the size of the ponies until I
reached Archangel I was unable to order that style of
harness in America. The only collars procurable in

AN AFTERWORD 207

Russia were made of wood and straw-stuffed leather,
altogether too heavy and clumsy for use on the Arctic
marches where every extra pound, every ounce,
meant so much slower progress, so much more fuel
for transportation.

The ponies required each about ten pounds of food
a day in the form of hay and oats. They seemed to
prefer the hay and, undoubtedly, in their Siberian
home they had little else to eat. For their use on the
trail we carried nose-bags in which was placed their
daily allowance of oats. A leather measure was used
to proportion the daily ration.

As a protection against wind in the very cold weather
each pony was provided with a wool blanket covered
with khaki cloth with which, after a day's travel, we
always covered our little charges, thus insuring their
warm bodies from injury by the chilling blasts.

I believe ponies would work admirably in the rough
ice if provided with sledges built with five or six run-
ners around a central load with a swivel bar in front
to which the harness would be attached — the loads to
be placed in the sledges from the rear.

Of the thirty ponies, property of the expedition,
fourteen were lost up to April 30th, 1904, the day the
retreating party left Camp Abruzzi.

The losses were as follows:

Aug. 8, 1903— One pony reported by Veterinarian to be infected with

glanders. Shot i

Aug. 3 1 -Sept. 4, 1903 — Five ponies lost in stampede by falling into

crevasses on glacier 5

Sept. 3, 1903— One pony died of exhaustion from overwork i

Feb. I, 1904— One pony reported by Veterinarian to be infected

with glanders. Shot i

2o8 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

Feb. 8, 1904 — One pony reported by Veterinarian to be infected by

tuberculosis. Shot i

Feb. 21, 1904 — One pony died of catarrh of the stomach i

April 16, 1904 — One pony shot for fresh meat i

April 22, 1904 — One pony reported by Veterinarian to be infected

with glanders. Shot i

April 28, 1904 — One pony reported by Veterinarian to be infected

with glanders. Shot i

April 30, 1904 — One pony reported by Veterinarian to be infected

with glanders. Shot i

Total loss up to and including April 30, 1904 14

Sixteen ponies left Camp Abruzzi April 30, 1904, for Cape Flora. Dur-
ing the march south, three ponies were shot for dog food and one
died in harness 4

May 16, 1904 — Ten ponies reported by Veterinarian as infected

with glanders and farcy. Shot on arrival at Cape Flora 10

During September, 1904, the two remaining ponies were shot for food

for the men at Cape Flora 2

Total 30

The Dogs

The dogs gave little trouble as most of them had been
broken into harness and sledge hauling on the previous
expedition. The collars for their harness (furnished
by Abercrombie and Fitch of New York City) were
admirable, never causing abrasions of the skin or har-
ness galls.

Under Doctor Vaughn's direction, dog harness
was made and traces attached to collars after the
mode in use in Alaska. The dogs were placed in pairs,
a method that worked very well, and there was little
entangling of harness on the trail.

On the Baldwin-Ziegler expedition, we had been
much troubled by torn dog traces and chewed harness.
To obviate a repetition of these annoyances, I ordered
a nimiber of light, strong chains, canvas covered, for

AN AFTERWORD 209

use as dog traces. They proved entirely satisfactory
and on the second year's trip were used almost ex-
clusively.

Only the incorrigible fighters among the dogs were
chained. The others were allowed to run free at
camp and the exercise thus received kept them in good
condition for the sledge work in the spring. A num-
ber were lost in fights and others having wandered to
the ice off shore were carried away by the wind.

I believe the best way to keep dogs through the
Arctic winter would be to have a stable tent — such as
we had — and in addition have, connected with this
shelter tent, a large space enclosed by a high wire
fence in which, on calm days, the dogs could run free
without danger of straying.

When drifting snows raised the level within the en-
closure extra wire could be added to increase the
height of the fence, long poles or fence standards hav-
ing been planted in the b^inning to provide for such
a contingency.

Great stress should be placed upon the importance
of every man's knowing his own dogs. To effect this
the teams should be assigned the first autumn, and, if
possible, the original arrangement should stand through-
out the time spent in the Arctic.

If the pack is a large one the dogs should be watched
constantly to prevent loss by fights. The shelter tent
and fence already mentioned would make such sur-
veillance possible.

I had ordered a quantity of Spratt's dog biscuits
for food for the pack during the winter. At the sug-
gestion of Doctor Vaughn, who was engaged to take

2IO FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

charge of the dogs, some tons of tallow were also pur-
chased. A box of biscuits and a keg of tallow were
always kept open in the shelter tent. The dogs fre-
quently partook of this "free lunch" and grew sleek
and fat.

Doctor Vaughn constructed an ice melter from the
mixing tank of the gas generator left by the Italian
Duke. It was mounted within the entranceway to the
stable tent and furnished sufficient water for both dogs
and ponies throughout the long dark winter.

On the trail we fed the dogs with pemmican, a one-
pound block of the condensed meat to each animal
at the end of a day's journey. It proved sufficient
and kept the dogs in splendid condition.

The record of the dogs reads as follows:

Taken aboard S. Y. America at Trono, Norway , 15&

Large pups taken abroad same place 27

Taken aboard S. Y. America at Solombol, Russia 24

Already aboard ship i

Pups born at Camp Abruzzi (winter 1903-4) 8

Total 218

Dogs taken from Camp Abruzzi April 30, 1904, to Cape Flora 65

Dogs remaining at Camp Abruzzi April 30, 1904 66

Total 131

Total losses to April 30, 1904 87

From the 66 dogs left at Camp Abruzzi, twenty-three were taken

South (May 9, 1904) by Mr. Porter and his survey party .... 23

Losses to Nov. 20, 1904 8

Total 31

Dogs remaining in Camp 35

Dogs brought from Cape Flora to Camp Abruzzi Nov. 20, 1904 33

Total at Camp Abruzzi, Nov. 20, 1904 68

Dogs lost during winter of 1904-5 8

Number remaining for sledge trip of 1905 60

Dogs brought from Cape Flora by Mr. Porter Mar. 17, 1905 4

Total number at Camp Abru^gi ApriJ i, 1905 64

AN AFTERWORD 211

There were also about twenty-five dogs at Cape
Flora and five at Camp Ziegler. These together with the
number at Camp Abruzzi were taken aboard the
Relief Ship the following summer. The laws of Nor-
way forbade leaving them upon any Norwegian terri-
tory and the disposition of so many dogs became a
serious problem. The Norwegian members of the
party took some of their sledge dogs home, and some
of the best pups were given to sealers and whalers.
Five were brought home and presented to the Bronx
Park. But the vast majority of the animals were
too old for further use and had to be shot
and thrown overboard. I regretted the measure —
for the creatures had served us well — ^but it was
the only thing we could do.

•
Food Supplies

The food aboard ship, in camp, and on the trail was
good, and the great variety in our stores allowed much
change in the menu from time to time. Fresh bread,
pies, cakes and puddings formed part of our daily bill-
of-fare at the expedition base, thanks to the activity
and industry of Steward Spencer who had much to
contend against, particularly after the loss of the ship
when the entire party was housed in the crowded quar-
ters at Camp Abruzzi. In response to an expressed
wish of mine, the Steward experimented until he suc-
ceeded in producing a fine biscuit composed of nutri-
tious beans, pork, and flour. He cooked and baked
600 pounds of this food during the winter of 1903-04.
On the trail the men showed a decided preference for

212 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

the pork-and-beans biscuits which never grew hard,
no matter how cold the weather, and had, in addition
to a high food value, a very pleasant taste.

In the large cache left at Teplitz Bay by the Duke
of the Abruzzi many delicacies were found that
proved acceptable. We have the Duke to thank, too,
for the food stores left at Cape Flora which, on the non-
arrival of the Relief Ship in 1904, became the chief
supply of the party in retreat at that point.

Game was secured at all the camps and the meat
of the Polar bear, walrus, and seal, as well as of guil-
lemots, loons, and brant, appeared on our table.
Over 120 Polar bears were killed during our two years'
stay in the Franz Josef Archipelago. Scurvy was
unknown and the general health of the party was good.

The sledge ration used the first year was as follows
[the diagram was prepared by our Assistant Surgeon
Charles L. Seitz, M.D.]:

THE ARRIVAL OV THE RELIEF SHIP OFF CAPE DILLON JULY 80. lltor,

CAMP JACKSON AT CAPE FLORA AT THE ARRIVAL OF THE RELIEF SHIP

RESCUERS AND RESCUED MEET ON THE fCE OF ABEDARE CHANNEL "AND A MEMORABLE

MEETING IT WAS"

THE CAMP AT CAPE DILLON WHERE WATCH WAS KEPT FOR THE RELIEF SHIP— AND

FOR GAME

c«

w •*

M-^M

M "^^ CO
HI

Ui
O

O (U

S o

<2g

.2§

CJW

W
ai'i-i
« o o

<4-i m

<a<Ou

" M •^

M-^-fO

g O M

AN AFTERWORD 215

The ration was ample and gave good working energy.
It was large enough to allow of some saving from day
to day and an extra day's ration could be thus gained
in a week's time.

Through experience on many sledge trips we found
that the quantity of tea should be about double the
regular allowance. We also found that commeal and
oatmeal did not, during the cold weather, satisfy the
sense of hunger. They were consequently reduced to a
very small amount for use of the party when storm-
bound or during the warmer weather of early summer.
Smoked beef, beef tongue, and corned beef were elimi-
nated from the sledge-trip bill-of-fare.

We found the sausages valuable in many ways and
particularly good in the Erbswurst stew.

Beans when well cooked with pork and dried in an
oven to expel the water are valuable as food since they
not only furnish considerable energy but also please
the palate. I have already mentioned the pork-and-
bean biscuit. It is best when prepared in camp and'
is a food that should be carried on every Arctic sledge
trip.

We carried two kinds of pemmican, one prepared in
the United States, the other in Europe. The American
product bought of Armour and Company consisted
of the lean and fat of beef mixed with currants, the
whole made to resemble as nearly as possible the original
pemmican used by the American Indian during war
and on the chase.

The bulk of the American pemmican was sweet,
nutritious, and energy producing. It should be care-
fully watched though during its preparation. Our

2i6 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

cans were not uniformly good, some of them being
filled with meat that contained gritty particles hard to
chew and in consequence difficult to digest. It took
a longer time to cook, which meant an undue expendi-
ture of oil on a sledge journey.

The pemmican prepared abroad was nearly 30 per
cent, fat, and we used it for dog food. On account of
the one-pound blocks into which it was manufactured
it was particularly convenient for this purpose.

The food stores furnished by Beauvais of Copen-
hagen, Denmark, were particularly well canned and
the order for provisions from his firm was honestly
executed. Amongst all the stores furnished by Beau-
vais not one article was found defective.

On all our marches where there were a number of
men, a separate cook tent was used and it proved a
great convenience as well as a great economizer of oil,
food, and time. During the retreat to Cape Flora
two warm meals were cooked each day for the whole
party of twenty-five men, at which coffee or tea, and
drinking water were furnished. After the column
had marched four or five hours, a halt was usually
made and hot coffee served. On several occasions I
timed the duration of the halt and found that within
one hour from the time the signal to stop had been given
each of the twenty-five men, having received two cups
of coffee and all the water he wished to drink, was on
the march again. Within that hour, the cook tent
was unlashed and raised, the ice cut and melted, and
coffee prepared and drank without hurry. There was
also the necessary readjustment of the cook tent.

For convenience in handling, provisions and stores

AN AFTERWORD 217

should be packed as far as possible in cases not weigh-
ing over fifty or sixty pounds gross.

All tins of provisions should have paper labels re-
moved and be heavily lacquered or painted to preserve
them from rust. The cans should be stamped or
embossed with numbers as a key to their contents, all
cans containing the same food article being marked
with a similar number.

Petroleum should not be carried in barrels as it soon
evaporates through the wood. Small steel tanks
containing about ten gallons each are a convenient
form for shipment.

Clothing

The clothing to be selected for wear in the Far-
North is a most important matter. A number of Arc-
tic explorers are strong advocates of woollens; others
believe in furs.

From my own experience and from observation I
have come to the conclusion that the lightest and most
serviceable clothing is that made from the skins of
the domesticated deer — young animals from two to
five months old. The skins tanned by the native
Samoyede or Esquimaux are vastly preferable to other
varieties.

The suit should consist of a shirt rather long in the
skirt to be worn over the trousers — ^the fur side, of
course, turned in. It should be so made that the neck
opening could be extended when the wearer desired
to expose his neck or upper chest to the air.

I wore a separate fur cap because it gave more freedom

2i8 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

of movement; but a hood could be attached to the
shirt. That is a matter to be decided through personal
preference.

The shirt should not weigh more than two and a
half pounds at the outside.

The trousers, made of heavier fur, should go just
below the knee, and should be worn with the fur side
out. They wotdd be too warm otherwise.

The fur stocking should be made of the thin skin of
the two-month-old deer and worn with the fur inside.
Over it could be worn either the Lapp shoe, made of
the hard skin taken from the head or leg of the adult
deer and stuffed with senne grass, or the sealskin shoe
made after the pattern in use among the Greenland
Esquimaux.

I take this opportunity to recommend a light felt
boot as a style of footwear admirably adapted to feet
accustomed to the leather boots and shoes of civili-
sation.

I had a number of pairs made of this material for use
in sledge work.

Mr. Frederick Simpson, of Rogers, Peet and Company,
New York City, spent much time and thought in their
manufacture. They were well made and warm and
proved to be the most serviceable footwear we had.
As an instance of their durability I will quote my own
experience. I wore a pair of these felt shoes on sledge
trip over the glacier of Rudolph Island in October 1903.
The same pair did service on both attempts north in
March 1904, on the retreat south in May 1904, and on
the advance north from Cape Flora which occupied
parts of the months of September and November and

AN AFTERWORD 219

all of October 1904. I also wore the same boots
around camp at Teplitz Bay and at Cape Flora.

Two pairs of these boots were furnished every man
in the expedition.

In addition to the articles of apparel already men-
tioned, a fur coat to be worn during halts should be
added to the sledger's outfit. This coat properly con-
structed of fur not too heavy would not weigh over
five pounds and would slip easily over the fur shirt.

For protection from wind and flying snow, we wore
loose coats of Pongee silk and long trousers of the
same material. The latter were provided with tapes
at the bottom by means of which they were secured
around the ankles. Pongee silk is far better than
canvas or sheeting made from cotton or linen. It does
not absorb moistiu^e readily and if wet dries quickly.
It is in every way more desirable than canvas or the
thin cotton sail and tent material erroneously placed
upon the market under the name of silk.

On entering a tent or shelter for rest, we always
removed our silk wind coats and trousers and shook
out the snow and ice particles before placing them in
a comer of the tent where they would be at once ac-
cessible and out of the way.

A fur suit properly cared for and worn correctly is
the most comfortable garment for Arctic travel. A
good plan would be to adopt the Esquimaux fashion of
wearing the fur next the skin.

While travelling in a low temperature a large part
of the moisture given off by the body condenses
in the clothing. By removing all garments worn dur-
ing the day on entering the bag — another Esquimau

220 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

practice — ^the sleeper will be wanner and the bag will
not become charged with moisture so quickly.

Mr Porter's fur suit, which was a trifle heavier thaa
my own but might stand as a fair average, weighed as
follows :

Reindeerskin trousers 2} pounds

" shirt 2f "

" stockings and shoes 2 J "

" mittens J "

Total 8J pounds

With this fur was worn a thin wool union suit the weight
of which was a pound and a half. The silk trousers
weighed about three-quarters of a pound and the wind
coat about one and a quarter pounds.

While travelling over the Polar pack there is the
necessity for being always ready for an immediate
exit from the sleeping bag on account of the unstable
condition of the ice. So to disrobe entirely before
retiring would not be the safest thing to do. It would
be well to have a separate sleeping suit of thin fur.
The wearer would then always be ready to leave his
sleeping bag or tent if an emergency arose without
danger of freezing. I suggest that such a garment be
made in one piece — a sort of union suit — with stock-
ings attached.

Our woollens were furnished by Jaeger and by
Morley of London. We had an abundant store and
the majority of the party preferred them to the furs
for field work. Wool garments were used by all of
us when in camp as they were more easily cleaned than
furs. The close skins would have been too warm for
indoor wear.

AN AFTERWORD 221

The chief recommendations of the fur as a travelling
suit are its warmth, lightness, and simplicity, and the
ease with which it regulates the body's temperature.

The proper construction is to have the shirt loose
with an adjustable draw-string opening at the neck.
The skin being almost impervious to wind prevents
the escape of air warmed by the body. If the wearer
becomes overheated and perspires unduly, the opening
at the neck may be enlarged and the belt loosened or
taken off and strapped underneath. The larger part
of the moisture given off by the body thus escapes
through the openings instead of condensing in the
clothing as is the case when a wool suit is worn. A
man dressed in woollens on a sledge journey has his
clothing soaked with perspiration, the porous material
allowing the moisture to come to the surface of the
outermost garment where it quickly solidifies into hoar
frost. The wet clothing robs the body of heat. This
is particularly true if the sledge worker wears his damp
garments in the sleeping bag. A garment of any mater-
ial worn during the day becomes wet if slept in and
thoroughly uncomfortable.

It requires some courage and resolution to disrobe
in a temperature of from thirty to fifty degrees be-
low zero in a cold sleeping bag; but it is the safest and
most comfortable thing to do in the long run.

The worst possible order of dress in the Arctic is a
heavy wool suit under furs. The fur soon becomes
ruined by the excessive amount of moisture absorbed
from the perspiration-soaked woollens.

The first year of our sojourn in the north many of
the men wore their furs over heavy Jaeger suits. No

222 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

wonder that their fur shirts became moisture laden
and froze stiff.

It is a mistake to wear too much clothing of any sort
on a sledge trip as it induces perspiration. During
periods of labour a well-made fur suit with a silk
wind coat should be sufficient in the very coldest
temperatures. The fur coat should not be added ex-
cept during halts. As may be seen, I am an advocate
of furs and recommend their wear from the double
standpoint of comfort and economy. The fur suit I
wore on all the sledge trips of my two years' stay in the
Arctic I left at Camp Ziegler in good condition on my
departure from that point in July, 1905. A partial
list of clothing furnished to each member of the Ex-
pedition follows:

Vodmal suit, coat and trousers

One sheepskin jacket

Two suits of medium weight underwear

Two suits of heavy weight underwear, Jaeger

Two pairs of heavy knitted drawers, Jaeger

Two sweaters, Jaeger

One Jaeger woollen vest

Two pairs medium weight socks

Five pairs heavy weight socks, Jaeger

One pair long blue wads, woollen

One pair long German stockings, woollen

Three pairs long Jaeger stockings

One pair horsehide mitts

Two pairs fleece lined Jaeger mitts

Two pairs felt lined Jaeger mitts

Two pairs blue woollen mitts

Two pairs long woollen mitts

One woollen cap, Jaeger

One camelshair cap, Jaeger

One woollen comforter, Jaeger

One pair police suspenders

Web belt and knife

One suit overalls

AN AFTERWORD 223

Two gray woollen shirts

Two large camelshair blankets, Jaeger

Two pairs felt boots

One pair felt slippers, Jaeger

One pair buckskin moccasins

One pair sea boots

One pair Samoyede boots, remade

Fur clothing or fur sufficient for coat, shirt, trousers, and stockings

was issued to each man, also silk trousers and wind coats or silk

for same
A sleeping bag and pair of goatshair sleeping socks were furnished

to each man
Additional clothing was furnished to each member according to his

personal needs
Oilskins and rubber boots were furnished to those needing them

On every Polar expedition a generous supply of foot-
wear should be carried, each member being required to
bring two pairs of long hunting boots, a size larger than
those usually worn, and several pairs of shoes, for use
in summer when melting snows and running water
make wet travelling. Buckskin moccasins, Finn schu,
Esquimau winter boots, felt boots, and the Nor-
wegian "Komager" should be provided in large num-
bers in the expedition stores, for the way footwear
disappears — particularly if the men are inclined to
be careless — is most astonishing.

Cotton canvas, wool cloth — close woven like the
winter khaki furnished the U. S. Army — and Pongee
silk for manufacture into clothing should be taken
along.

To secure the native tanned deerskins — which are
preferable for Arctic work — the expedition ship would
have to visit the Esquimau settlements before en-
tering on her voyage proper.

Hand sewing machines and a plentiful supply of

224 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

pins, needles, thread, tapes, buttons, etc., should form
part of the equipment.

Sleeping Bags

No sleeping arrangement on the trail affords so
much comfort as the one-man sleeping bag made of
the skin of the adult deer. It should taper down from
the shoulders to the feet. A piece of soft skin sewed
to the edge of the opening of the bag can be drawn
close about the neck and shoulders, insuring warmth
and comfort. I found that the one-piece flap in use
on the bags when wet with escaping breath dropped
down on the head and face of the sleeper almost suffo-
cating him. To obviate this unpleasant experience,
I devised a form of fastening which I liked better than
any in use to date. I cut the overflap of my bag
down the centre and instead of one flap I had two.
To the cut edge of one I sewed a four inch strip of fur
so that one flap overlapped the other. While one piece
folded down in front of my face and neck the other
fitted over my head. This arrangement permitted the
entrance of fresh air and prevented the condensation
of the exhalations in the bag. It also made entrance
into the bag easier and saved weight, as that sort of
flap could be made smaller.

Tents

Our tents of Pongee silk were small and pyramidal
in shape and had floor coverings of khaki or light
weight canvas.

AN AFTERWORD 225

First Officer Haven, to whom I explained the tent
plan, volunteered to make the tents and constructed
twelve of them during the first winter. They
proved comfortable and strong and were used on
all the sledge trips of 1904, some of them do-
ing service until the departure for home in 1905.
They were 7^ feet high and 7^ feet square at the
base and weighed with khaki floors 8i pounds.
Those with canvas floors weighed 13 pounds. The
poles weighed 3 pounds and the pins for each tent
one pound. Sleeping bags were always carried
in the tents and rolled up with them when lashed
on a sledge — the tent serving as a protection for the
bags.

Lighter material than that needed for large tents
may be used with satisfactory results in the con-
struction of small tents and so considerable weight
may be saved.

As a rule two men only occupied each of our little
Pongee pyramids. While one of them put down or
took up the tent his comrade cared for the dogs, and
much time in pitching and breaking camp was
saved.

On his sledge journey the Duke of the Abruzzi
carried the following weights in sleeping bags and
tents:

Two 3-man tents— complete weight 66 lbs.

One 4-man tent — complete weight 46 •*

One 3-man sleeping bag and jackets 83 "

One 3-man sleeping bag and jackets 86 "

One 4-man sleeping bag and jackets 112 ♦•

Total I o men 393 lbs.

2 26 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

For the same number of men our weights were as
follows:

Five 2-man tents, with poles and pins 87 lbs.

Ten I -man sleeping bags, with blankets and sleeping

socks..... 181 "

Total 10 men 268 lbs.

This was a saving of 125 pounds. Thirty pounds
more could have been saved if we had been able to
place khaki floors in all the tents; but we had run
short of that material and were obliged to substitute
canvas.

One objection can be urged against the pyramid
tent — under the pressure of wind, its walls curve in
and constrict the interior space. To obviate this we
attached guy ropes to the comers of the tents. They
helped but there was still a loss of space on the wind-
ward side.

Profiting by the experience of 1904 the following
year I designed a new form of two-man tent. Its
base, a seven-foot square reaching three feet above
the ground, was surmounted by a rather flat pyramidal
peak. The whole structure was raised on one pole.
The floor was smaller each way by six inches than
the other tents but the increased wall space gave a
roomier interior. An adjustable opening at the peak
allowing the escape of all cooking vapours and a door
with a draw-string opening were other improvements.
The entrance to a tent is a very important feature.
Many devices were tried for closing the opening through
which we went in and out. At last I adopted the
following plan: A three foot circle was cut in the wall,

LOUISE"

"HILLY"

'BILLY" AND "LOUISE," PASSENGERS ON THE S. Y.
HOMEWARD VOYAGE

TERRA NOVA " ON HER

AN AFTERWORD 227

to the edge of which a strip of the Pongee silk about
two feet wide was sewn. A draw-string was then
run through a hem on the other side of this strip. On
entering the tent a pull at the draw-string and the
door was made fast. The ends of the cord were then
tied around the bunch of silk — a task not so delicate
but it could be performed with mittened hands — and
our door was locked and we were safe from the blasts
and snow that whirled and drifted on the other side of
our little pyramid.

Sledges

The dog sledges we used were constructed of second
growth American hickory on a modification of the
plan advised by Admiral Melville and in the two years
not one sledge broke down through fault of design. I
do not recall a single stanchion broken or a runner
turned under. The material of which the runners
were made gave way on the trip north in 1904 on ac-
count of bad ice conditions and improper placing of
loads. In loading a sledge for travel through rough
and hummocky ice care should be exercised that no
heavy weights rest on or forward of the first stan-
chion. A load so placed will deprive the sledge of
elasticity in the forward end — the part that receives
all the heavy blows, and the front bows and curves of
the runners will break — our own experience in March,
1904.

I made the mistake of shoeing the runners with
lignum vitae from observation of its splendid wear-
ing qualities on some sledges of the expedition of
1 901-2. I could not purchase the wood in strips

2 28 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

long enough for the entire length of the runners
and it had to be spliced on in two sections. This
weakened the runners. During the winter of 1904-5,
I had all the lignum vitae taken off and hick-
ory put in its place. The sledges then proved wonder-
ful in their powers of resistance and were in the field
from March to July 1905 without breaking. The
hickory of which the sledges were built was chosen in
the tree while growing on dry hilltops, as such wood
is tougher than that grown in moist low soil. T. A.
Cook of Callicoon, N. Y., built our sixty sledges during
the spring of 1903 and shipped them in sections to
the America. We put them together aboard ship and
at Camp Abruzzi, where the joints were lashed with
raw-hide.

In cold weather the wooden runners go smoothly
and are better than metal on the hard snow; but
for summer and fall work, when the surface of the
ice and snow is wet, the wooden runners drag hard.
I would suggest that the explorer carry extra runners
of phosphor bronze or aluminum bronze, the edges of
which could be turned up so as to slip over the wooden
runners when needed.

Captain Cagni and Doctor Nansen provided metal
shoes to their sledge runners and wooden underrun-
ners were lashed on. These underrunners gave trouble
when the lashings wore off and the weight of the
sledges was increased by the metal. Only a few of the
sledges can return from a long Polar dash so it is not
necessary to have them all metal shod. The special
form of sledge for use with the ponies I have already
described under another heading.

AN AFTERWORD 229

Boats

A serviceable boat is an absolute necessity on a Polar
dash, particularly so on the return journey. We had
two canoes of five sections each and a number of two-
man and one-man canvas kayaks all of which were
used. The sectional canoes weighed 250 pounds each,
entirely too much for northern sledge work. Kayaks
are easily injured and are not adapted for carrying
heavy loads. My idea of a serviceable Arctic boat is a
strong elastic frame made of many thin small ribs of
tough wood covered with canvas or thin aluminum
and silk and thickly coated with marine varnish. We
built such a craft at Camp Abruzzi in 1905. It was
covered with canvas and weighed when completed
ninety-one pounds. It was large enough for two men
and could carry a heavy load in addition. The canoe
had two covered compartments, one fore, the other aft.
The man-holes to these compartments were covered
with hinged canvas hatches that fitted tightly over
combings and were held down with one little toggle
each. I kept instruments and cooking untensils in
these covered places which proved a great convenience
on the sledge trip. A mast and sail, three paddles,
two cane seats, a pump, and two harpoons and lines
were provided for the craft. Wooden sheathing is
not advised for a light boat as it is too easily injured
in the rough ice while on the sledge and is difficult to
repair.

Cooking Apparatus

Like Doctor Nansen and Captain Cagni I found the
Primus the best form of petroleum burner for Arctic

230 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

use. We also used the Khotal burner, made and sold
as an improvement on the Primus. As long as the
temperature did not fall lower than twenty degrees
below zero, the Khotal worked well and was easily
regulated. But in extremely low temperatures the
valves would sometimes leak and we were obliged to
take the burners apart for repairs. Instead of replen-
ishing the oil in the tank permanently attached to a
Primus burner by pouring through a funnel from other
oil tanks — ^to which cold and troublesome operation
is added the danger of spilling the precious fluid —
a good plan would be to have all the petroleum tanks
carried on the sledges arranged with screw threads
so that burners and air pumps could be screwed on.
Then when the oil became exhausted in a tank it
might be thrown away, the burner and pump having
been first unscrewed and attached to a full tank.

Our cooking untensils were of pressed aluminum,,
which proved admirable for the purpose.

Arms

A modem military arm of simple construction built
for hard usage is the best weapon for a sledge journey.
We carried the Mannlicher carbine of eight mm. calibre.
It has a very simple bolt action for the breech and
can be taken apart and put together in a few minutes.
The rifle proved a strong and accurate shooter. It
loads with a clip of five cartridges. By taking one of
the cartridges out of the clip the magazine of the
weapon can be kept loaded with the barrel of the piece
empty and harmless. Each rifle was placed in a case
of canvas and leather to keep out the snow. I had a

AN AFTERWORD 231

little pocket of canvas sewed on the outside of the case
in which a full clip of ammunition was always carried.
Thus with the charges in the magazine there were nine
rounds of animunition ready for use with each rifle.
These clips could be handled with the mittened hands
— another recommendation. The rest of the am-
munition was kept packed away in one of the com-
partments of the canoe. We also carried 12-guage
double-barrelled shot guns on our sledge trips. But
it was always a question to me whether it was not a
needless weight on our sledges. I believe a very light
twenty-two calibre rifle or pistol would be more effec-
tive for killing fowls, as they are usually shot when
swimming in a pool or sitting on the rocks where they
nest. A hundred rounds of twenty-two cal. ammuni-
tion would not weigh more than a few rounds of twelve
guage and the rifle would be lighter than the shot gun
and more accurate and effective at long range.
Combined rifles and shot guns are not recommended
because of their very delicate construction.

Navigation Instruments

For determination of position a light strong theo-
dolite should be carried, so arranged that it could be
attached to the tripod before being removed from its
case. This could be accomplished by having the
instrument permanently attached to the bottom
board of the case with its levelling screws, etc., above.
After screwing the bottom board to the tripod the upper
part of the case coiild be removed leaving the instru-
ment clear and ready for use. This could all be done
with the mittened hands which would prevent many

232 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

a frost bite. A light sextant should also be carried
for use when travelling by boat. Odometers are of
very little use on the sea ice for the trail is usually so
zigzag and so many miles are made out of the required
direction that their readings would be misleading.
It would also be almost impossible to build an odom-
eter that would last longer than two or three days
on the rough ice.

Personnel

Most important of all to an explorer who essays the
leadership of an Arctic expedition, is good material
in the personnel of his party. The Arctic is a field
that will try to the utmost men's souls. Many a man
who is a " jolly good fellow "^in congenial surroundings
will become impatient, selfish, and mean when obliged
to sacrifice his comfort, curb his desires, and work
hard in what seems a losing fight. The first considera-
tion in the choice of men for a Polar campaign should
be their moral quality. Next should come mental
and physical powers. If possible a leader should take
his candidates for Polar work on a two months' journey
in the mountains the winter before leaving civilisation.
The trip should be made purposely hard. It would
be a good plan to go without food one or two days at
a time so as to thoroughly test the endurance and tem-
per of the men. The man that shows the slightest
inclination under the test to find fault or complain
should be discharged. Even after the expedition party
is complete, and the ship ready to sail, should any one
of the party (no matter how valuable he may seem at
the time!) give evidence of dissatisfaction he should

AN AFTERWORD 233

be sent home. The same disposition should be made
of any who show a tendency to question orders.

The assistants should be young, for as men grow
older they become overcautious. They should be of
good personal habits and not addicted to the use of
either tobacco or strong drink. The men should be
paid a fair salary in return for their work, and should
express themselves as perfectly satisfied with the
amount on signing to go with the expedition. A sum
of money sufficient to cover all expenses should be
placed in a bank at the disposal of the leader or his
representative on the return of the expedition.

The men should look to the leader of the expedition
for everything.

There are two methods of government. One is the
Paternal where the leader is King and keeps himself
separate from his men issuing his orders through an
Executive Officer; the other is of a rather demo-
cratic form, the leader taking the attitude of a friend
among friends, joining with them in work and play,
and depending entirely upon their sense of honour and
gentlemanly deportment for obedience and success.
To the man who believes in the Golden Rule the latter
appears not only the true Christian method but also
seems to offer the best chance of success. It is quite
possible, however, for a leader who began his campaign
in the optimistic confidence that leaden instincts
would somehow wind up in golden acts to end by tak-
ing an entirely opposite position. The Arctic is no
Utopia! Alas for human nature! In its present
unregenerate state, the "brotherly love" plan — how-
ever desirable — is apt to fail.

234 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

The leader of an expedition could do no better than
have one of two officers of known ability for assistants,
the rest of his party being forecastle hands or men oc-
cupying the same relative position toward him as the
crew to the Master of a ship, or privates in a military
organisation to their Commanding Officer.

The Executive Officer and Second in Command
should be responsible for no duty other than the exec-
utive work of the expedition. He should be a man
of action and of few words. The scientists should be
enlisted men as on the Greely Expedition and be given
special opportunities for work. A scientist interested
in his work is a valuable member of an expedition and
should be relieved as far as possible from other duties.

In Arctic research — as in all undertakings — Chris-
tian character is the chief desideratum. The Polar
field is a great testing ground. Those who pass
through winters of darkness and days of trial above
the circle of ice know better than others the weak-
nesses of human nature and their own insufficiencies.
They learn to be more tolerant of the mistakes of others
and read more understanding^ the words of the great
Master of Life.

POLAR PHOTOGRAPHY

^npHE sun shines day and night through the short
Arctic summer, revolving like the hour hand
of a great clock in the dome of the sky not far above
the circle of the horizon. With the blazing luminary
and the vast white stretches of snow and ice there
ought to be no lack of light — a veritable paradise for
the photographer.

At first sight it would seem that with all this dazzling
brilliancy, over-exposure would be the evil to guard
against and that comparatively small openings and
quick speeds would be the rule for lenses and shutters.
But no! Though the Arctic explorer may travel in
danger of snow blindness in a flood of light direct and
reflected, he soon finds that the actinic value of sun-
light is less than in lower latitudes, in fact, surprisingly
little, and he is obliged to use his very quickest lenses
and that with their widest openings use the slowest
speed consistent with the movement of the men and
animals he photographs on the crystal fields.

On my first Arctic expedition I took colour screens
but only used them or tried to use them a few times.
I soon found that, instead of giving colour and char-
acter to the views, they flattened and deadened the
pictures of ice and snow and lengthened the exposure
to hopelessly long intervals of time. The reason for

this is the low altitude of the sun and the consequent

234-a

2S4-b FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

high refraction which gives more of the yellow and red
rays than of the blues as is the case with an evening
sun in our own latitude.

With so much reflected light the pictures would
suffer for want of shadows and I soon found that to
get good values in ice pictures it was necessary to
photograph with the sun in such a position that the
long shadows cast between the ice blocks by the low
orb could be used to accentuate the high lights and
give character and contrast. To that end, it was
necessary to have the sun either at the right or left
hand, and often I exposed a film pointing the lens
directly at the sun.

The artist who attempts to photograph the ice-
fields after the time honoured custom of always having
the sun behind his back will generally be doomed to
fiat, insipid negatives and almost meaningless pictures
unless he can find shadows enough in the foreground
to give character to the view.

In regard to apparatus and material — around the
ship and hut any good camera can be used. I had
several sizes. On the first expedition I took a number
of glass plates but was unfortunate enough to break
some of my best negatives, so when I went into the
field again, I took nothing but films. On the sledge
journeys where the question of weight is of great con-
sequence the lightest form of camera is sure to be the
favourite. In my last trip over the moving Polar pack,
I found that a kodak was about the most convenient
and took with me a panoram kodak (which weighed
with its leather case only four and a half pounds)
and a small supply of films in water-tight tin tubes.

POLAR PHOTOGRAPHY 234-i:

On a sledge journey the camera and films were
always kept in the outer air, usually in a compartment
of the canoe that was lashed to one of the sledges.
During low temperatures, the interior of a tent is not
the place in which to load a camera. The little dif-
ference in temperature between the air of the shelter
and of the outside is sufficient to cause condensation of
moisture and the cold lenses and metal work of the
instrument coat with a film of ice. Often, as I stood
with my back to the sun in an endeavour to shade the
camera as much as possible with a temperature of
from 30 to 40 ° below zero, I have struggled with the
little catches of the kodak and have had my fingers
stick to the cold metal of the tin tubes containing the
films while taking out an exposed roll and reloading
the camera with a new one. Care had also to be
exercised to keep the instrument from being frosted
by the vapour from hands and body. It was always
with a feeling of thankfulness and relief that the
camera was made ready and I could slip my half-
frozen hands into mittens and by swinging the arms
and performing a sort of Indian war dance restore
circulation. On return to camp the films were all
developed in an improvised dark room with a small
alcohol lamp to keep the developer at about 60 degrees
temperature. I believe the new tank developer would
be just the thing for explorers and particularly good
for developing films exposed in the Arctic where long
development is absolutely necessary to insure good
results. Part of the outfit comprised a bioscope, a
form of moving picture camera, with which I hoped to
secure views of men, dogs, and ponies moving over

234-^ FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

the ice fields, the advance of the America through the
ice, and, if possible, a bear fight. Of all my photo-
graphic apparatus, the bioscope gave me the most
trouble, particularly in the low temperatures of spring
and early autumn. The long celluloid film upon which
the numerous little negatives were made (twenty to a
second) became very brittle under the influence of the
extreme cold and would fly to pieces when the mechan-
ism of the instmment was started and pieces of celluloid
would clog the gear wheels and jam between moving
parts. After many failures, I hit upon the plan of
warming the machine and wrapping it up in hot blan-
kets just before taking a picture. The heating and
wrapping up was done in the hut at camp. I was thus
enabled to secure some valuable films, a few of them
reaching a length of 300 feet. But always, as soon
as the instrument became cold, the films broke like
fragile glass. It was impossible to warm the bioscope
on the trail so I was limited to views near the ship
and in the vicinity of camp.

We shot a number of bears for food. A bear fighting
for his life surrounded by a biting, snarling pack of
dogs would have been a splendid subject for a motion
picture camera ; but I was never so fortunate as to have
camera and fight at the same time.

The pictures which show the ponies and dogs haul-
ing their loaded sledges over the ice bring back in
vivid reality the cold white fields and the struggling
men and animals fighting their way over the frozen
wastes.

The explorer with a camera has gone over very
nearly all the earth and has brought back as part of

POLAR PHOTOGRAPHY 234-^

his record, views of life and land in the far-off parts
of the earth. There is still land to be conquered.
And it is good to know that when these unknown
places are found and the flags of discovery are planted,
that, with the help of the sun and modem chemistry,
we will all be able to view with the explorer what had
once been forbidden and mysterious territory.

Anthony Fiala.

APPENDICES

APPENDIX NO. I.

FORMATION OF THE SLEDGE PARTIES IN THE
THREE ATTEMPTS NORTH 1904-1905

FIRST SLEDGE PARTY NORTH
March yth-iith, 1904
36 men; 16 ponies, 16 sledges; 117 dogs, 9 sledges

Main Column

Reserve ist Support 2nd Support Advance

4 men 8 men 8 men 6 men

I pony sledge 4 pony sledges 6 pony sledges 5 pony sledges

I dog sledge i dog sledge 5 dog sledges 6 dog sledges

Reserve — 4 men, i pony sledge, i dog sledge,
a Days' rations for 26 men, 16 ponies, 117 dogs. Four men to retxim
after 2 days' advance from land; 5 days' rations for return
of 4 men, i pony, 9 dogs.

First Support — 8 men, 4 pony sledges (2 ponies to be used for
food), I dog sledge (dog team to return).
6 Days' rations for 22 men, 15 ponies, 108 dogs (12 teams). Eight
men to return after 8 days' advance from land; 10 days*
rations for return of 8 men, 2 ponies, 9 dogs.

Second Support — 8 men, 6 pony sledges (ponies to be used for

food), 5 dog sledges.

16 Days' rations for advance of 1 4 men, 11 ponies, 99 dogs. Eight men

to return after 24 days' march north; 26 days' rations for

return of 8 men, 5 dog teams (provision made for return of

the ponies in place of dogs if necessary).

Advance — 6 men, 6 dog sledge teams, 5 pony sledge teams.

82 Days' rations for advance and return of 6 men. Ponies and 4 dog

teams to be used for food. (The dogs had not been figured

in as food and would mean so many extra pounds dog food.

The final party could remain out 120 days without danger.)

X06 Days

237

238 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

SECOND SLEDGE PARTY

March 2 5th-27th, 1904
14 men, 7 pony sledges, 9 dog sledges

I si Support 2nd Support jrd Support Advance

4 men 3 men 2 men 5 men

First Support — 4 men, i pony sledge "G", 2 dog sledges No.i, N0.2
4 Days' rations for 14 men, 9 dog teams, 7 ponies. Fovir men to return
after 4 days' march north; 10 days' rations for return of 4
men, 2 dog teams, i pony.

Second Support — 3 men, i pony sledge "A", i dog sledge No. 3.
4 Days' rations for advance of 10 men, 7 dog teams, 6 ponies (ponies
to be used as food as loads disappear). Three men to return
after 8 days' march north ; 14 days' rations for return of 3 men,
9 dogs.

Third Support— 2 men, 4 pony sledges "B", "C", "D", "E"
(ponies to be used for food), i dog sledge No. 9.
19 Days' rations for advance of 7 men, 6 dog teams, 5 ponies. Two men
to return after 27 days' march north; 30 days' rations for re-
turn of 2 men; 25 days' rations for return of 9 dogs.

Advance — 5 men, 5 dog teams, i pony sledge.
S3 Days' rations for advance and return of 5 men, 5 dog teams, i pony,
with the possibility, if occasion demanded, of reducing size of
party on return of 3rd support to 3 men, and increasing the
time limit.

80 Days

APPENDICES 239

THIRD SLEDGE PARTY NORTH

March i 6th- April i, 1905

First Support — 2 men, 9 dogs, i sledge "Y."
X Day's rations for 10 men and 59 dogs. Three days' rations for return
to camp of two men and one dog team.

Equipment —

Sledge 80 lbs.

Tent with equipment and two sleeping bags 60 "

I Oooker filled with oil ao "

Can of petrolevmi, s quarts 14 "

Hatchet 2 "

Clothing bag 25 "

6 Signal poles and flags 20 "

Rifle, ammunition, etc 25

Food-
Sausages, Erbswurst 9 lbs.

Emergency ration 7 '*

6 Tins of condensed coffee 6 "

I Bag of bread 15 "

6 2-lb. Cakes of p>emmican 12 '*

Meat chocolate 3 "

Compressed tea i **

1 Bag sugar 2 "

Butter 5 "

8 Squares Lazenbury's soups 2 "

246 lbs.

62 lbs.

Dog pemmican 70

Total weight 378 lbs.

Second Support — 2 men, i dog team, 7 dogs and sledge,
a Da3rs' rations for the advance of 8 men and 50 dogs. Five days'
rations for return of two men and one dog team.

Equipment —

Sledge "X", weight 78 lbs.

2 Man kayak and paddles 82

Picket chain 3

Tent, 2 sleeping bags, etc 60

Cooker and equipment 20

Rifle and ammvmition 10

Clothing 25

278 lbs.

240 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

Food, 4 bags containing each —

Pemmican 4 lbs.

Pork and bean biscuit 2 "

Bread 2 "

2 Erbswurst sausages i§ "

Cracked wheat 2 "

Sugar I "

Milk (condensed) 2 "

Butter I "

Cofifee I "

72flbs.

One bag for return of party —

Pemmican 12 lbs.

Pork and bean biscuit 4 "

Bread 6 "

6 Erbswurst sausages 5 "

4 Tins of cracked wheat 4 "

I Tin of bovril red ration i "

Sugar 2 "

Butter... 2 "

Condensed milk i "

Cofifee I "

Tea i ••

41 i lbs.

I Tin alcohol 4§ lbs.

I Tin petroleum 14 "

Dog food for advance i i3i "

" " " return 40 "

172 lbs.

Total weight 564 J lbs.

Third Support — 4 men, 2 teams of 8 dogs each, and 2 sledges.
5 Days' food for advance of 6 men and 43 dogs. Ten days' rations for
return of 4 men and 2 dog teams to Camp Abruzzi.

Sledge "A"
Equipment —

Sledge "A" 84 lbs.

2 Man kayak and paddles 82 "

Tent, 2 sleeping bags, etc 60 "

Ice pick. No. 8 4 "

Cooker and equipment 18 "

Theodolite and tripod 20 "

Clothing and repair kit 30 "

298 lbs.

APPENDICES 241

Food, 3 bags containing each —

Pemmican 8 lbs.

Pork and bean biscuit 5 "

Bread 5 "

Sausage 2 "

U. S. A. emergency ration 3 "

Erbswtirst 2 "

Bovril red ration i "

Butter 2 "

Onions J "

Borden 's<ofifee 2 "

Tea J '♦

Chocolate 2 "

Milk 2 "

115} lbs.

Tin petroleum 24 lbs.

" alcohol 4§ "

Dogfood 153 "

i8ii lbs.

Total weight 594} lbs.

Sledge "B"
Equipment —

Sledge"B" 85 lbs.

I Man kayak and paddles 65 "

Tent, sleeping bag, etc 60 '*

Oooker and eqviipment 18 "

Rifle and ammunition 10 "

Shovel (steel) 2 J "

F*icket line 3 "

■ Clothing 30 "

273 i Iba.

Food for return, 2 bags containing each — '

Pemmican 10 lbs.

Sausage 3 "

U. S. A. emergency ration 3 "

Erbswurst 3 "

Red ration 1 "

Sugar 2i "

Butter 2 "

Onions J "

Tea J "

Borden's coffee 2 "

Milk 2 "

Chocolate 2 "

88ilb&

242 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

Pork and bean biscuit 6 lbs.

Bread 6 "

Pemmican 211J "

2 23 J lbs.

Total weight 585 J lbs.

Advance —
100 Days' Rations for 2 men, 3 dog teams of 9 dogs each, 3 sledges.

Sledge No. 1

Equipment —

Sledge No. 1 86 lbs.

Icepick 4 J "

Small shovel (steel) 2 J "

Canvas cover over load and lashing 7 "

Picket line 2 J "

io2j lbs.

Food, 3 bags containing each —

Pemmican 10 lbs.

Erbswurst sausages 5 "

U. S. A. emergency ration 2 ''

Bovril red ration ij '•

Onions J '*

Tea 6 ozs.

Borden's coffee 2 lbs.

Sugar 2 "

Milk 2 "

Butter I "

*• (peanut) i "

Chocolate 2 "

88ilbs.

3 Bags pork and bean biscuit 22 J lbs.

3 " bread 19^ "

I Bag sausage 5 "

Commeal 2 "

Cranberries 2 "

Extract beef i "

Ground coffee ij "

I I Blocks pemmican 1 54 "

10 " " 150 "

I Tin petroleum 24

I *• alcohol 4i "

385! lbs.

Total weight 577 j lbs.

APPENDICES 243

Sledge No. 2
Equipment — ,

Sledge No. a 85 lbs.

Picket line 2} "

Clothing bag (belonging to 3rd support) 15 '*

Tent, sleeping bag, etc 60 "

Rifle and case 9 "

Pair snow shoes 3 "

Canvas cover for load 7 "

Ropes, etc 4 "

Ice ax 3

Harpoon i "

Thermometer, case, etc 5 J "

195 lbs.

Food—

Pemmican 175 lbs.

Erbswurst 23 J "

Pork and bean biscuit 35 "

Swedish bread 30 '*

XJ. S. A. emergency ration 10 "

Bovril red ration 5 "

Sugar 16 "

Butter 8 "

*• (peanut) 8 "

Onions (evaporated) 3 "

Flour 3 "

Commeal 3 "

Tea I J "

Borden's coffee 8 "

Chocolate 13 "

Milk a "

Horlick's malted milk a '*

Cranberries 2 '*

Extract beef a "

Sausage 5 "

Pat^defoi 5 "

Salt I "

37 2 i lbs.

Petroleum 23 J "

Total weight 590} lbs.

244 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

Equipment— Sledge No. 3

Sledge No. 3 85 lbs.

Canoe 91 "

Rifle and shot gun 17 "

Ammunition — 1 50 rounds 8 mm iij "

" 100 rounds 12 guage laj ''

Sail, harpoon, and line 4 "

Pump I "

Can Rubberine for repairing 2 "

3 paddles 7 '*

Picket line 2! "

Bag with ephemeris, etc 4 J "

Clothing 10 J "

Medicine case, barometer, compass loj "

Camera 4J "

Repair outfit and photo films iij "

Sextant and artificial horizon iij "

Cooker and fry-pan 13 "

Spare clothing 18 "

Food— 3i7ilb8.

7 Tins pemmican 140 lbs.

Bag pork and bean biscuit 21 "

2 Bags bread 27 "

Sausage 5 "

Lazenbury's soups 5 "

Emergency rations in tins 6J "

" bag 6 "

Butter 8 •'

Onions 2 "

Flour 5 "

Oatmeal 5 "

Tea 2 "

Borden's coffee 4 "

Chocolate 7 "

Cranberries 3 "

Extract beef i "

Evaporated eggs i "

Extract coffee i "

Horlick's malted milk i "

Condensed milk 3 "

Salt I '•

Sugar II "

265J lbs.

Total weight 583 i lbs.

APPENDIX NO. II.

REPORT OF SCIENTIFIC WORK DONE ON THE ZIEGLER POLAR
EXPEDITION 1903-1904.

[The following report was presented to me at Camp Abruzzi by Mr.
W. J. Peters before our third sledge journey north. Considerable work
was accomplished after that time, and the full scientific record is pub-
lished in a separate volume imder the auspicies of the National Geographic
Magazine of Washington, D. 0. Anthony Fiala.

Sir: Camp Abruzzi, Feb. 5, 1905.

The action of the National Geographic Society
selecting a representative to the Ziegler Polar Ex-
pedition was followed by the appointing of a Com-
mittee of research to consider the possibilities of scien-
tific work to be executed under the direction of its
representative. The Chairman of this committee, Prof.
G. K. Gilbert, submitted a plan of work to the Presi-
dent of the Society from which the pertinent matter
is copied as follows:

GRAVITY

" It is recommended that a determination of gravity
be made by Pendulum observations at the winter camp.
With the assistance of Mr. Hayford and other officers
of the Coast Survey Mr. Peters is now making prep-
aration for that work.

TIDES

"It is recommended that systematic tidal observa-
tions be made at the base camp, a continuous record

245

246 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

being maintained through a complete lunation and so-
much longer as may be necessary to eliminate any
irregularities occasioned by storms. For this work
Mr. Peters is receiving instructions from Doctor Har-
ris of the United States Coast Survey.

MAGNETISM

"It is recommended that systematic observations of
the usual magnetic elements be made at the base camp.
It is important that the declination be observed if
possible at some point where a previous record has
been made, and also that the magnetic station of the
present Expedition be definitely marked and recorded
so that at any future time it may be possible to reoccupy
the station. The determination of declination will
have immediate importance in connection with the main
purpose of the Expedition, because if the Pole is ap-
proached the compass will afford the most trustworthy
means for orientation and for the determination of
the proper route to be followed in returning. Con-
versely, the traverse of the journey on the ice taken
in connection with astronomic observations, will throw
light on the position and curvature of the magnetic
meridians in the Polar region, a field of inquiry which
has heretofore been occupied only in a theoretic way.

AURORA

"In connection with systematic magnetic work it is
desirable to make systematic observation of auroras,
recording phenomena with some fulness. The ques-
tion whether the aurora is ever accompanied by sound
is one to which attention may well be given.

METEOROLOGY

"It is the opinion of Professor Moore that in the pres-
ent state of meteorologic investigation the regular

APPENDICES 247

observation at Franz Josef Land of pressure, temper-
ature, and surface wind, while desirable, is less
important than the determination of the height, drift,
and velocity of clouds. Professor Moore has under-
taken to prepare instructions for such a determination.

SEA-DEPTH

"In the judgment of Admiral Melville it is very desir-
able that soundings be made on the northward jour-
ney, especially as the results of such soundings on the
outward journey may aid in the determination of
position during the return journey. They will of
course make contribution to the general body of geo-
graphic information, and supplement the important
determinations made by Nansen. Whether it will
be practicable to carry on the sledges any apparatus
adequate to reach considerable depth is a question
which may advantageously be considered on ship-
board.

OTHER OBSERVATIONS

"It is not recommended that any special preparation
be made for observations in geology, zoology, or botany,
although the geologist will welcome samples of pre-
vailing rocks, and especially any fossils which may
be found, and the zoologist will be glad to have records
of birds and mammals seen, so far as the members of
the party may be able to identify them."

PENDULUM OBSERVATIONS

In regard to pendulum observations. The appara-
tus taken on the previous expedition was sent back
to Washington to be repaired and tested, but its
late arrival did not allow suiBcient time, so the in-
strument was not taken.

248 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

TIDES

An attempt to register tides was made in October
1903 at the ship's winter quarters, no nearer place
being available owing to the thickness of the ice. The
gale of October 2 2d and the subsequent pressure
which destroyed the ship frustrated this plan.

Observations commenced April i, 1904, at Camp
Abruzzi. These observations were taken by Mr. Long
and Mr. Stewart until April 30, when Mr. Long left
to return south. From this date to the close they were
taken by Mr. Stewart, Mr. Tafel, Mr. Vedoe, and my-
self.

• As the season advanced the disintegration of the ice
revealed a strong current close to shore which may
have produced flexure in the wire attached to the sin-
ker. I think it therefore very desirable to obtain an-
other month's observation in the coming spring with
a special view to guard against this effect.

Mr. Long was instructed to establish a gauge at
Cape Flora and there resume observations. This he
did with very satisfactory results, and was assisted by
members of the expedition of whose names I have no
record. The observations at Cape Flora extend over
several months and were discontinued upon my arrival
September i.

MAGNETISM

upon the completion of the magnetic hut September
23, 1903, which was delayed by the necessity of imme-
diately constructing living quarters for the fast ap-
proaching winter, observation for declination were made

APPENDICES 249

with but few interruptions up to my departure from
Camp Abruzzi in July 1904. The scheme arranged by
Mr. L. A. Bauer, Magnetician of the U. S. C. & G. Survey
was followed. The severe blizzards of the winter caused
several breaks in the continuity of intensity and dip
observations. The declination observations were prin-
cipally by Mr. Tafel and myself, assisted later in the
season by Mr. Vedoe. Doctor Newcomb continued
observations during the short absence of these observers
on journey north.

In the early part of July 1904 the instruments were
carefully packed in their cases and original shipping
boxes and taken south in order to observe at Cape
Flora and then ship them to Washington. Trans-
portation to Eaton Island was effected by canoe. Fur-
ther transportation being impossible the instruments
were carefully cached on the island together with the
records.

An unsuccessful attempt to reach the island again
was made on my return to Camp Abruzzi.

I cannot praise too highly the brave perseverance
of Messrs. Tafel and Vedoe in facing the blizzards
when the wind was often blowing at sixty miles or
more per hour and the drifting snow and intense dark-
ness made the walk to the hut, short as it was, quite
unsafe.

AURORA

Observations of the aurora are meagre because of
the prevailing stormy weather and because of the lack
of observers sufficient to keep a continuous series.
Some notes made in connection with the magnetic

250 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

work and sketches made by yourself are available for
publication.

METEOROLOGY

Before leaving Norway Mr. Francis Long had set up
the instrument shelter house, anemometer, and single
register aboard the steam yacht America, and imme-
diately after commenced the meterological record.
The barograph and thermograph were operating.
This has been continued without interruption to
date.

On arriving at Teplitz Bay the instruments were in-
stalled on land. The anemometer was set up on the
astronomic observatory and the wind vane erected
at the shelter house.

Mr. Long left the station April 30, 1904, to return
home. At Cape Flora he set up the thermometers,
barometer, anemometer, and wind vane, and began a
record which is to continue until the arrival of the
Relief Ship. After his departure from Camp Abruzzi
the weather observations were noted by Mr. Stewart.

It has been found impracticable to use the nepho-
scope during the winter on account of darkness and
dtiring the period of daylight on account of the lack
of clouds of definite form.

SEA-DEPTH

The suggestions regarding soundings on the north-^
ward journey have been considered. It is now im-
practicable to carry the necessary weight for such
determinations.

APPENDICES 251

ASTRONOMIC OBSERVATIONS

An observatory was built on the high land west of
the house at Camp Abruzzi soon after our arrival in
Teplitz Bay, 1903. A brick pier was erected inside on
which was mounted the vertical circle loaned by the
Christiania Observatory through the kindness of Pro-
fessor Geelmuyden. Mr. Porter made observations
for time throughout the winter of 1903-4. He made
twenty-six observations of moon culminations. Some
observations for latitude and anomalies in refraction
were made but the number was restricted by weather
conditions.

On his departure time observations were made
principally by myself until June when the instru-
ment was taken down, packed in its case and an addi-
tional covering of painted canvas was sewed over the
whole.

On my return to Camp Abruzzi in November, 1904,
the circle was again mounted on the pier and ob-
servations made for rating the chronometers.

The chronometer and watch record was kept by Mr.
Porter during his stay at Camp Abruzzi. Later it was
kept by myself until I left when the record was dis-
continued. The chronometers were wound by Mr.
Stewart until my return to Camp Abruzzi when I
commenced a new record.

The chronometers have been running since leaving
Trondhjem.

During the winter of 1904-5 I have prepared an
ephemeris of the sun for the coming summer in which
I have been ably assisted by Doctor Seitz.

252 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

OTHER OBSERVATIONS

On the way to Teplitz Bay in 1903 the limited time
at our different landings and afterward our late ar-
rival precluded any collection relating to the subjects
under this head.

During the summer of 1904 Mr. Porter verbally
reported having seen Ptarmigan and having secured
some specimens, also of having found coal.

Some of the members of the expedition have col-
lected mineralogical specimens, but nothing of scien-
tific value, except possibly the fossils collected at Cape
Flora.

RECORDS AND INSTRUMENTS

The weather records in duplicate together with the
instruments are in the custody of Mr. Long excepting
those at Camp Abruzzi.

Astronomical records are in two books labelled re-
spectively ' 'Transits 1 904' * and "Repsold Circle, descrip-
tion and constants." The Repsold circle remains
mounted on the brick pier in the observatory and is
protected from ice particles falling from the observa-
tory roof by cardboard housing.

Of the three sextants two are available for the sled
journey. The index glass of the Cary sextant which
was found to be unreliable was taken out to replace an
imperfect one in the large K. & E. sextant.

Of the fifteen watches four have defective winding
mechanism.

The magnetic records are to be found in thirty con-
secutively numbered books labelled " Mag. dec. " and

APPENDICES 253

on loose forms of the U. S. C. & G. Survey labelled
"Oscillations," "Deflections," and "Dip." All mag-
netic records are filed in a black tin box.
• The magnetometer and dip circle are securely packed
in their cases and original shipping boxes and cached
on Eaton Island.

Chronometer and watch records are in two books
labelled respectively " Chrono. errors and comparisons"
and "Watch rates."

A complete list of the instruments with their own-
ership is found in book labelled "Instruments, Ziegler
Polar Expedition 1903-4."

This book also contains the record of distribution of
instruments.

In conclusion I would say that assistance has been
cheerfully given by various members of the expedition
and I take this opportunity of making grateful acknow-
ledgments of many obligations.

Very truly,

To Mr. Anthony Fiala. W. J. Peters.

Executive Report, May i to September 30, 1904

Dear Sir:

After your departure. May i, for Cape Flora there
remained at Camp Abruzzi, besides myself, Messrs.
Porter, Tafel, Rilliet, A. Vedoe, J. Vedoe, and Stewart,
of the Field Department, Mr. Hartt, Chief Engineer,
Mr. Spencer, Steward, and five of the ship's company
— Mackieman, Tessem, Myhre, Meyer, and Perry.

Mr. Porter left Camp Abruzzi May 9th to continue

2 54 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

the survey begun in March and to connect it with the
Astronomic Station at TepHtz Bay and also with Cape
Flora. His party included Mr. Rilliet, A. Vedoe,
Spencer, and Mackieman. The last two whom you
expected to remain here, became discontented with
the prospect, and could not be persuaded to remain.

Meyer and Perry were detailed to assist Mr. Porter
in altering his outfit.

Mr. Hartt was engaged up to my departure on the
conversion of one of the whale boats into a steam
launch. In this work he was assisted at different times
by Tessem and Perry.

On May 4th Myhre and Tessem were reported sick.
Myhre had a cough. They were assigned rooms in the
main building where the remaining sailors were soon
afterward quartered.

On May 6th Myhre' s cough had disappeared but he
had not recovered sufficiently to come to table for meals.
Tessem had fully recovered by May i ith. On May 1 2th
Myhre was feeling better, but. weak, taking only liquid
nourishment in bed. Apparently he was in no trouble
and I could not get him to describe or locate any pain.

On May 13th he was assisted out near the stove
where he sat wrapped in blankets for half an hour or so,
when he returned to bed apparently better. From
this time on his mind wandered and he finally died at
1.30 p. M., May 1 6th, apparently without pain.

Tessem and Meyer immediately made a coffin and
on May i8th Myhre' s body was placed in it and taken
up to the Astronomic Observatory, where it remained
until the burial on May 20th.

Myhre' s grave consists of a large stone cairn on

APPENDICES 255

which is erected a cross bearing his name and date
of demise. It is located on the high land west of the
Astronomic Observatory overlooking Teplitz Bay.

Myhre's room was cleaned and washed and his effects
were searched for articles of either personal or intrinsic
value. These few things were taken with me on my
way south to turn over to you but on account of the
difficulties of the last stages of the journey they were
placed in the cache at Eaton Island.

During May and June the party at Camp Abruzzi was
variously employed and accomplished the following :

The old galley was renovated and turned into a
store room. A small cooking stove was set up in the
large room where bench and cupboard and shelves
were constructed for galley use. Snow was removed
from around the house and runways were dug to carry
off the water. Various articles of dress left in the
different rooms were bagged, labelled, and stored in
the tent. During this time the scientific observations
were taken by myself, Messrs. Tafel, Vedoe, and Stewart,
all of whom also cooked the meals.

As the snow disappeared stores were recovered and
promptly taken care of. Those not immediately
needed were stored in a cache near the Astronomic
Observatory. Two kayaks were repaired for imme-
diate use and a large keel was attached to the sectional
canoe so that it might be dragged over the ice with-
out injiiry.

The old storehouse adjoining the workshop and the
one adjoining the old galley were torn down and sails
which had been used for roofs were dried and stowed
away.

256 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

The Italian quarters were cleared of snow and the
ice was penetrated at two or three places to the floor
in the hope of finding coal.

The first thaw occurred May 28th, but water did
not appear in quantity until June 24th. On the
morning of this day we awoke to find the machine and
work shops flooded with a foot of water. This was
drained off by ditching in the snow. Finding water
in the horse and store tents we again resorted to ditch-
ing. In fact the whole of that day was spent in drain-
ing off the water, which persisted in avoiding the chan-
nels we had constructed at an earlier date with con-
siderable labour. On June 25 th a great stream burst
down the old horse trail which extends to Capes Saulen
and Fligely. Coming with a roar it again filled the
machine shop and old galley. This was at first led off
by a deep cut in the snow bank, that stood on the south
side of the old galley and afterward diverted above
the machine shop into ditches leading to the Italian
tent, in hopes that it would cut away the ice and dis-
close the coal.

In this our attempts were only partially successful.
It was not until later in the season, when I had left,
that the Italian quarters were fully exposed.

On July 4th preparations to take Messrs. Tafel and
Vedoe to Cape Flora were completed, but no oppor-
tunity offered until July 8th when I sailed away with
them in the portable canoe, leaving Mr. Hartt in charge.
The voyage to Eaton Island was marked by the usual
vicissitudes incident to travel by boat at this season
of the year in the Polar regions, fogs, rains, windstorms,
alternating with fine weather; long hours of utmost

'A BLANKET OF THICK. DAMP. ARCTIC FOG OBSCURING THE VISION'

APPENDICES 257

exertion in paddling or hauling over the ice following
days of enforced idleness.

On August 4th we landed at Eaton Island, where on
account of ice conditions no further progress with the
load of instruments was possible. I waited here until
August 24th for a favourable change in conditions.
This not having taken place and the food supply re-
duced to eight days* half rations, I made a cache of
instruments and records and proceeded with party to
Cape Flora, where I reported to you on Sept. ist, hav-
ing gained a day somewhere in my calendar.

Very truly

W. J. Peters.
To Mr. Anthony Fiala.

Camp Abruzzi, Feb. 5, 1905.

APPENDIX NO. III.

PORTER'S MARCH FROM CAPE FLORA TO CAMP ABRDZZI

The orders of Mr. Fiala, issued to me at " The Tombs "
in the fall of 1904, were to the effect that I join him at
Camp Abruzzi by March loth of the following year.
This early rendezvous at a station some hundred and
seventy miles away required my leaving Cape Flora by
the 20th of February and this alone is reason for two
men going forth into the night from a starvation
camp.

With considerable difficulty were my dogs carried
through the winter. "Spot" disappeared in the fall;
later "Tibus" ran foul of a bear, suffering an ugly
tear to one of his hind legs. " Ostiak" was badly bit-
ten by Bismark in January. In fact Bismark alone
came through the night skin whole. The sailors at
the log house were kind enough to allow the invalid
dogs a chance to convalesce in an empty bunk and for
the last month before starting I kept them chained up
in the snow observatory fearing to lose some of them
either in dog or bear fights.

With the hauling power reduced to four dogs but
one man could accompan}^ me. The selection was
made on the eve of our departure and fell to one of
the firemen. Duncan Butland was a native of New-
foundland, had spent a winter with the Esquimaux of
Northern Greenland, and could take care of himself

258

APPENDICES 259

in a tight place. We found the tight place later on
and Duncan did not disappoint me.

The loads came up to one hundred and twenty-five
pounds to a dog, and while we took a silk tent along,
we had experimented on building snow huts or igloos
before starting, and thought they would be much the
more comfortable to live in. We had to leave the
kayak behind.

The eighteenth of February found us saying good-by
to some of the men at the little caboose where they had
helped Duncan lash the loads and hitch up. A fresh
wind from the south enveloped us in the drift and in a
short time we were alone in the storm running along
the shore toward Peace Point, the wind at our backs,
dogs pulling well, and a keen sense of satisfaction that
at last the dull life of inaction was broken, and there
was a hard definite purpose ahead to work for.

It was a short day's run as we were late in getting
started and the twilight was only a few hours long.
The sun had not returned and remained below the
horizon even at noonday. The snow hut went up
nicely and when the capstone was finally dropped into
place, the joints between the blocks chinked up, and
the interior cleared out we went inside with our sleep-
ing bags and stove and felt at once that huge relief
that comes in getting out of the wind. It is hard for
one who has not travelled all day in those drift storms
at low temperature to realise what this sense of shelter
means. And we found that once the snow door was
set in place one could hardly tell whether a storm was
raging outside or not, so solid and tight this igloo
proved to be. Then again you felt a certain sense of

26o FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

proprietorship in your new home and caught yourself
admiring the way you made the snow blocks tip in
over the dome to the capstone, or criticised this or that
detail of its architecture. Duncan had told me that a tent
was not in it with an igloo for comfort, and the first
night's experience attested the fact. In fact the drift
held us in our first hut the next two days and we fre-
quently remarked how warm and quiet it was there
in our dry bags, the yellow candle light transforming
the snow vault into glistening marble.

The drift went down the third night, the sky cleared,
and a nearly full moon hung over the upturned shield
of Bruce Island. We were not long in starting and
found travelling by moonlight through the channel ice
a weird and uncanny thing. By breakfast time Camp
Point was rounded and we stood over "The Tombs. "
The drifts of the winter had completely blotted out
our settlement of the fall before. A bread tin only
remained to mark the spot. By sounding the surface
of the glacier the cavern below was located and a hole
knocked in the roof, through which Duncan descended
with the revolver, for we were not sure but the bears
had taken up quarters there.

Then I lowered the stove and food and fol-
lowed and we had breakfast, the cold blue light shim-
mering through the ice of the glacier, bringing up a
clear vision of our long incarceration here in the fall.
Everything was evidently just as it had been left ; the
hay strewn over the floor, the improvised tin blubber
lamps reposing in their niches in the wall. In the
next room the roof had bulged in to such an extent
that each block seemed hanging by itself.

APPENDICES 261

By one o'clock we were well out across DeBruyne
Sound and going into camp, picking out a fine hard
drift which had been formed during some big winter
storm to the leeward of a large hummock. This was
the twenty-first and we had made a good run.

Washington's Birthday we completed the run
across the Sound, finding it full of good heavy ice but
always open stretches here and there that made pro-
gress steady, though tortuous. Just before noon a
blood-red spot appeared on the southern horizon and
moved slowly toward the west. I was ahead picking
the course and shouted to Duncan, pointing to the sun.
He vouchsafed only a wave of his arm in recognition
of the event, then returned to the sled upstanders,
guiding the sled in its erratic course among the pres-
sures. I never saw him let go those upstanders once;
he seemed glued to them.

It was monotonous work relieved only by the thought
that this sound, this Rubicon of the fall before, was
being so easily crossed. Though clear overhead, fog
covered Northbrook Island, so there was constant
reference to the compass to keep us on our course.
We travelled well into the night, wishing to make the
land before camping, but were forced to camp among
the pressures with our object unattained. And so
tired were we, and so little light remained, we thought
of the advantage of just setting up the tent and turn-
ing in, instead of a weary hour and a half or two hours'
work spent in building an igloo.

It was a miserable night! It seemed as if we were
no sooner asleep than the wind awakened us, the tent
walls slatting, setting the air in the tent into violent

262 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

motion, and chilling us to the bone so that further
sleep was out of the question. The bags were already
wet with accumulated moisture. How we maligned
the fate that found us in a silk tent with the worst wind
yet ! How we longed for the cozy interior of the igloo,
with its quiet and — yes, its warmth, for we had found
that no matter what the temperature outside was,
or how hard it was blowing, the inside of a snow hut
remained up around zero and the air absolutely quiet.

We hardly waited for sufficient daylight before we
were out in the drift throwing up a hut, and felt well
repaid when it was done and we were inside beating
the snow out of our bear skin trousers. It was well
the hut was built, for the drift kept us prisoners there
for three days. When Duncan came in from feeding
the dogs the last day he said: "I broke the alpine-
stock to-night." "Well," I replied, "I can match
that. The hatchet's gone: handle broke off square
against the head."

We burned a little extra candle that night trying
to get the wood out of the hatchet head. I improved
matters by shutting my clasp knife over the end of
one of my fingers, nearly taking it off. Sometime
in the night Duncan woke me up showing me the hatchet
nicely fitted to a tent peg.

I remember that night we discussed our prospects.

"We've been out over a week now and over half
our grub's gone (but ten days' food supplies were taken
from Flora)."

"Well," Duncan inquired, "how far is it before we
can get some more?"

" I should say forty miles."

APPENDICES 263

" And how far have we come? "

"A little over thirty."

"Oh we can make that all right. It's been bad
weather."

And so it had! — six days out of the eight. Cer-
tainly no one had any business to be out in such wea-
ther as this after six months starvation diet. It was
just this weakness of the body that was worrying me
and the hundred odd miles to Rudolph Island loomed
up very big ahead of us.

The next day we pulled out with clearing weather,
a light head breeze frosting our faces and requiring
frequent applications of melting snow to the affected
parts. From this day on the temperatures were lost.
The minimum thermometer was out of service, the
column was separated and could not be united again
until we reached Camp Ziegler.

Looking over the dome of Hooker Island, as we
passed through Mellenius Sound and by the towering
rock of Rubini, past the summer camping ground of the
surveying party the year before, I hesitated a moment.
Should I cross the island over my old trail and cut off
some two or three miles or stick to the shore and go
around it, keeping on the bay ice? Perhaps the recall
of an admonition of my father's years before, as I
was just leaving for the Arctic, to "Keep off the
Glaciers" decided me to hold to the latter course. We
little imagined that there, up on the dome of the island,
in the dusk of an October afternoon the fall before
two men of our expedition had plunged into the bowels
of the glacier.

The day proved satisfactory, both overhead and

264 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

under foot, and when the short daylight was gone
found us in our snug hut perched on a snow terrace
lying against the island and giving us a clear view
down Allen Young Sound. We had done fairly well;
were still behind our schedule, but thought that bet-
ter weather was due us (it couldn't have been much
worse, only two quiet days out of the week) and the
going ought to improve.

But good weather had not arrived to stay. The
morning of the twenty-fifth was stormy, the drift comb-
ing down over the slope behind us in a veritable snow
fall. It had started in the previous night soon after
camping. After breakfast Duncan went out to free
the dogs and came in to say that he had hard work
getting down to the stake line. So we let the poor
animals come in to the igloo and they were soon busy
cleaning their coats of the snow that had driven into
them. They seemed to thoroughly appreciate the
change, putting themselves on their good behaviour
and giving us no trouble at all. These dogs had all
been with me the year before and one of them, "Bis-
mark," a powerful gray animal had been my constant
companion on the previous expedition.

It was around noon that misfortunes fell thick and
fast. The alcohol stove refused to bum. The day-
light, which filters through the walls of a snow hut,
faded rapidly. The dark line of the drift outside was
moving slowly up over the roof. "We'll wait until
it gets up to there," and I pointed to a joint on the
dome some two- thirds the way up, "then we get out."
When it reached that point we broke through the roof
and Duncan got on to my shoulders and forced his way

APPENDICES 265

throtigh the drift. I handed out the dogs and fol-
lowed. We went down among the heavy pressures
at the ice foot and by nightfall had succeeded in throw-
ing up another shelter. After that we returned to the
submerged camp. Duncan descended and handed me
everything there was in the igloo. It wasn't much,
only our bags and a small bag of food and the rifle.
While he was doing this there was an ominous slumping
sound around the hut and I told him to catch hold of
the rope and haul himself out. He said he was going
to try to break through the side of the hut by the door,
where he thought the harnesses were. After some time
there came another slump and I ordered Duncan to
come up or he would be buried. But he either did
not or would not hear me, and when he passed out
the four harnesses and came up after them, hand over
hand, through the burrow, the fact of seeing him there
alive again was one of unspeakable relief. Before
leaving the place a skee was jammed into the roof of
the hut and another, as a marker, set up farther down
the terrace, and we groped our way to the new hut,
hardly realising what had actually happened.

There was no let up through the night and returning
dawn found us criss-crossing the slope of the glacier,
vainly searching for the old site. The terrace had
disappeared. Not even the point of a skee protruded.
The snow was showering down over the glacier, giv-
ing out a sharp hissing sound. It was quite impossible
to stand up against the stronger blasts, and so, after
a minute or so, while we tried to yell to each other
that it was no use, we returned to the shelter down by
the ice foot, called the dogs in after us, closed up the

266 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

door and wanned up some tea. And while we drank
the tea we sized up the situation and took account of
stock.

"There's about four days food in this grub bag,"
I said, after counting the broken pieces of pea sausage
and estimating the amount of crumbled up hard tack
mixed in with a plentiful supply of bear and caribou
hairs.

Duncan lifted the alcohol stove and shook it.

* ' Seems to be about half f ull, ' ' he commented. * ' Good
for about two meals isn't it?" .

" Not more. " Then I let my eyes run over the rest
of our belongings — sleeping bags, a small bag contain-
ing a change of underwear and stockings, rifle, revolver,
the mail bag, and a "diddy" bag. The "diddy" bag
held our sewing kit and ammunition.

" That's all, " I said despondently. " Sled gone, man
food, dog food, fuel, skees, shovel — all gone.

Duncan ventured that I had forgotten one thing.

"What's that?" I asked.

"The dogs."

And sure enough, the old faithfuls that finally brought
us through, our biggest assets, I had ignored entirely.

" But there's no food for them, Duncan, and they
can't work long in this temperature without food."

Duncan's answer to this damper was that we had
saved our guns and it was about time a bear showed
up anyway. " And, " he went on, " If you're thinking
of turning back to that hell at Cape Flora, I'll take
chances and go on alone." He delivered this with
more energy than I thought him capable of, and it was
the first pleasant sound I had heard since the disaster.

Drawn Ay R. /#■', Porttr
"THK Cru WHKKI.KI) AM) MADF, STKAKIMT INTO THE SOUNT). BUT ONLY A SHORT WAY
WHExN HE CAME TUMBUNG DOWN WITH BULLETS FROM BOTH RIFLE AND REVOLVER"

Dravm iy R, W. Porttr

BUILDING AN IGLOO

APPENDICES 267

*' Well, Duncan, you won't lack company. I have
no desire to take the back trail. Now it looks as though
there were two other ways open to us — ^to wait here
until the drift lets up and see if we can recover the
sled. The top of that skee which I jammed into the
igloo is fifteen feet above the sled if an inch, and the
Lord knows how much more. And you can figure out
for yourself how long it will take us, using the fry pan
and that agateware plate, to dig down to it."

" But we don't even know where to dig."

"Then the only thing to do is to push on and take
our chances. There's a cache of emergency rations on
an island across Young Sound some twenty miles from
here, or was, for I saw it landed there four years ago,
but I have only a dim idea just where it was placed
and it may be, probably is, buried under the snow..
The next grub is as far again beyond there."

And so we crawled into our bags and talked the rest
of the day through, planning how we could best con-
serve our precious hoard, how the sodden, saturated
bags could be best tied up to offer the least resistance
to the snow, for they must be dragged from now on.

At dawn we were outside the hut, our gear laid out
for inspection. The wind had gone down. While
absorbed with the aggravating problem of the bags I
looked up and saw two bears coming right in among
the pressures in front of us. They were a mother
and cub, and had sneaked in on us while we weren't
looking. I jumped for my rifle and scared Duncan
speechless by exploding into his ear, " Get your revol-
ver."

Duncan even then didn't see the bears and I can

268 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

remember him, revolver in hand, eyes fairly popping
out of his head, looking up and down the shore, up
the glacier back of us, everywhere except right beside
us where they were.

Perhaps the bears took us for some animals good
to eat. Surely we looked more like beasts then men
in our bear skins, and with our long hair and grease
covered faces. At sight of these bears the savage man
rose dominant within me and in my hair and down my
spine ran an indescribable prickling sensation and I
knew why the hair on the wolf's back bristles when he
hunts.

On they came. The report of my Winchester rang
out sharp and clear in the frosty air and the old bear
fell not fifty feet away. The cub wheeled and made
straight into the Sound but only got a short way when
he came tumbling down with the bullets from both
rifle and revolver.

We didn't stop to argue on who shot that cub. As
was common between Duncan and myself when greatly
pleased at anything we gave vent to our feelings in
the Esquimau tongue; there was a hearty handshake,
and forthwith the two bears were skinned and cut up,
the meat finally reposing under the two skins among
some rocks by the shore close under the cliff.

A big slice had already been cut out of the working
day when we finally started. After much shifting,
repacking, and relashing, the cumbersome burden of
our paraphernalia was ready, the front of it bent up
like the bow of a toboggan, guns, snow knife and snow
saw dangling on top, dogs pulling from well down
under the front. Between the bags was the dogs'

APPENDICES 269

food (thirty pounds of the bear meat, we couldn't
carry more) and ours. For a hundred yards or so
after getting clear of the pressiu-e along shore, our
bundle slid along very respectably. The wind coming
off the island had blown the Sound ice free of snow.
Sharp points of rubble protruded from this ice and
soon made trouble, for, hearing a suspicious tearing
sound, the bags were overturned and found already
partly torn and wearing away.

"This will never do," we both exclaimed at once;
*' we must save the bags. "

But we could see no way of improving matters, and
started again, one of us picking out a trail that be-
came very snakey.

All of a sudden we ran into deep snow. "Good"
was our verdict this time. "The bags can stand this
sort of going indefinitely," but in fifty feet the dogs
came to a halt. We started the bundle and the dogs
pulled it perhaps twenty feet and then stopped, and
so on a few times more when they refused to pull at all.

I knew my dogs and knew they would not act this
way unless the resistance to their pulling force was
really formidable. Those bags were half submerged
in this snow that had evidently come with the last
storm, and our skees were gone.

" It is a case of making dogs out of ourselves, I guess,
Duncan. One of us will have to get into harness and
the other break a trail. We will change places from
time to time."

In this way progress became possible but that was
about all. Up to dark I don't suppose we made two
miles out in Young Sound, and when the igloo was

2 70 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

up we were very, very tired. I wrote in my diary,
" A rather discouraging day notwithstanding the bears."
This was the last day of February.

March first was one long drawn out three-mile drag,
from early dawn when Duncan would prod and harass
me into getting up and starting the stove, until night-
fall in another hut three miles farther on. The snow
had grown deeper and we were wading through it to
our knees. The dogs could hardly get along at aU
and the leaders, "Tibus" and "Porridge," were con-
tinually fighting for the chance to walk in the tracks
of the trail breaker. When we reached Jefferson
Island, a huge rock rising out of the middle of the
Sound, we were about ready to give up.

There was no drift, but it was the coldest day I ever
experienced. Probably our exhaustion made the cold
penetrate. Before the hut was done three of the
fingers of my left hand were frozen and Duncan's face
had a white patch on it as big as the palm of one's hand.
It was touch and go whether we could finish the hut.
But we did — we had to.

Our bags by this time had become so saturated that
they froze soon after we got out of them and in lashing
up the bundle it meant quick work to get the end
turned up while it was still limp. On the other hand
our work was cut out for us : getting back into them
again the next night, they were so hard and stiff. So
the next morning after breakfast we made every-
thing ready inside the hut, then Duncan went out and
harnessed the dogs, the pull rope was passed in and
tied to the bundle, I knocked two or three blocks out
of the wall to get a clear way, and off we went.

W4tJ OlK.,-»L^

..;. MAiiUALEXA"

TRIP TO THE NORTHEAST COAST OF GREENLAND

THE TWO HOUSES ON BASS ROCK

I: ^

APPENDICES 271

This camp by Jefferson Island we called Sun Camp
for on that day we saw the whole of the sun for the
first time in four months. We always named our
camps, usually the day after when the history of the
camp before had been made and some distinctive feat-
ure could be given to it. Where we lost our outfit was
" Camp Calamity, " but after the bears showed up it
was changed to " Salvation Camp" by mutual consent.

The three miles on the second were in every respect
like those of the two days just passed. Late in the
afternoon we reached the shore of the island where I
had seen food landed in 1901.

"Keep a sharp lookout now, Duncan, right along
this shore and not over a hundred feet away from it.
Imagine boxes, yellow boxes. Get that fixed in your
mind's eye and don't see anything else."

Very soon I described something yellowish sticking
up out of the snow and went over to it. A band of
strap iron crossed it. No more than three inches of an
emergency case was exposed to my view. I let out a
yell. Duncan stopped hauling and came ploughing
over. We kicked away some of the loose snow and
then gave vent to several " penkshuas." The hut was
built right there.

While Duncan was under fitting his blocks and pas-
sing them to me, he said, " Let's name this camp now."

"All right, what shall it be?"

"Thank God Camp."

As the dome rose, ready for the capstone, I asked
Duncan to go up on a neighbouring hill after a slab of
stone, for I intended to try some of the wood from the
emergency ration box for fuel. When he had gone I

272 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

proceeded as usual to chink up the joints of the igloo,
cut and fit the door. The dogs had gone inside to get
out of the wind. Then I crawled up over the dome and
started fitting the capstone, when the entire structure
collapsed inward, myself with it, on top of the dogs.

It was a sorry sight — so much hard labour all for
naught and all to be done over again. I knew it would
so depress Duncan that I had it pretty near finished
again when he returned, carrying a broad, flat slab
of red sandstone.

I felt more like changing the name to "Calamity
Camp" again when it tumbled in. But I suppose we
ought to be thankful the dogs weren't hurt.

We could not be downhearted, however, for there was
food now aplenty.

" We'll cook the rations over a wood fire, " I said.
But somehow the wood refused to bum. We opened
the vent in the roof, took the snow plugs out of the three
peep holes in the walls, even opened the door, blew the
embers until we were purple in the face: we coughed,
tears ran down our faces, all to no avail. We were
compelled to fire the whole thing out of the door.

Duncan's resourcefulness came to the rescue. He
overhauled the bear meat and managed to clean off
about a plateful of the blubber. Taking a small strip
of canvas, he rubbed it well into the grease, frayed one
edge, and applied a match. Slowly the flame ran
along the wick and the canvas placed along the edge
of the plate, the pieces of fat nearly covering the canvas.
It made a clear, hot flame five or six inches long and
cooked us a most delicious stew of the newly acquired
rations.

APPENDICES 273

"There's only enough fat left for breaMast," said
Duncan as he gazed with an envious eye on what little
remained, even after we had finished the second pot
of stew.

Before leaving "Thank God Camp" we carried
three emergency ration cases, all we could find, back
from the beach on to higher ground among some wind
swept rocks. One of the cases had been opened and in
an empty tin inside was a note from Mr. Peters dated
October of the fall before, stating that his party at that
time were all right but were having a pretty hard fight
with the young treacherous ice floes. I took up this
note, leaving a copy and left a message to whom it
might concern, telling of our mishap and that we were
trying to push through to Camp Ziegler: that my
hands and Duncan's face were badly frozen and that
we were pretty well pulled down.

The following day the going was much better and
much worse. For four miles, until we reached Cape
Charles Beresford, the ice was swept smooth and
glassy. The bags needed only one of us to guide them
between the hummocks. We felt quite elated with
this let up from the drag ropes when, on rounding the
cape, we plunged into very soft snow that was deeper
and softer than any yet encountered. We were the
entire afternoon making less than a mile and acknow-
ledged ourselves beaten.

" But there's no snow here we can use for the igloo,"
said Duncan, probing the drifts with the murderous-
looking snow saw. That saw was a savage instru-
ment. It was a home-made affair about two feet
long from a steel tank found at Flora, with teeth

2 74 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

half an inch long, like a relic of barbarous or prehis-
toric times.

So we "hiked" at the dogs and slowly worked in
toward shore again. In my exhaustion the lavender
light, that floods the snowscape in this land when the
sun returns, would suddenly strengthen to a deep pur-
ple. Through it, as in a dream, I saw the mountains
on the different islands rise and fall in perfect rhythm
with my laborious strides. We changed places
breaking trail every hundred feet and so made land.

By dint of much teasing a pot of hot water was se-
cured, burning a board from an emergency box, but
it was completed in the dark somewhere around nine
o'clock. Into the pot we crumpled pea sausages.

Duncan was doing most or the lashing and unlash-
ing now, for my left hand, now covered with blisters
from the frosting two days before, was useless. About
all I could do was to bounce on the bags as he drew the
ropes tight.

From where we had built the hut, some hundred
feet up among the rocks, Alger Island, on which Camp
Ziegler was situated, could have been seen had it been
clear weather. During the night "Tibus" freed him
self and tore down part of the door trying to join us
inside. The other dogs, jealous of his freedom, woke
us up with their infernal barking.

The next morning, the fourth, the last remaining
candle was cut up into four pieces. They were all
lighted and the pot suspended over them — our last
fuel. They looked very festive and made us think
of Christmas trees and birthday cakes. They just
about melted the snow and warmed the water. We

APPENDICES 275

literally used a part of our house for cooking. It was
so easy, just to reach over with the snow knife, and
with a twist of the wrist slice a cone of hard snow out
of the wall and drop it into the pot. And when stop-
ping in the same hut several days the walls became
honeycombed. As Duncan remarked, "we were eat-
ing ourselves out of house and home."

We had lashed up, ready to harness the dogs, when
on opening the door, the drift came pouring into the
hut like flour. There was nothing to do but unfasten
the load and crawl back into the frozen bags again.
We lay there shivering all day. The worst had come.
Stormbound and no fuel.

"Duncan," I chattered along toward evening, "if
ever I get out of this scrape alive, I'll make a bee line
for the tropics and not go ten degrees north or south
of the equator for the rest of my days."

His only answer was, "New York for mine."

Some time in the night after cudgeling my brains
in vain I said, "Duncan, are you awake?"

"Awake? how can one sleep on an empty stomach
in this temperature?"

" Can't you think of something we can use to bum? "

"We ought to have brought more boards from the
cache."

I protested at this criticism saying we couldn't have
pulled five pounds more through that deep snow if it
had been a bag of diamonds. After some time he said :

"There's your butter box."

"By Jove!" I ejaculated, "you are right. It's
just soaked with butter."

We were at once all enthusiasm at the thought of

276 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

something hot. The little box which had held my
butter "Whack" or weekly ration through the winter
at Flora was carefully chopped and whittled
into suitable pieces. Strange to say it blazed up
beautifully without suffocating us. And how good the
hot food tasted and felt, notwithstanding the bear and
deer hairs.

Some time along in the early morning Tibus woke
us up again, tearing down the door. It was drifting
as hard as ever.

" Let's let all the dogs in, Duncan, it may warm up
the place a little." We didn't need to go out to
release them. When the dogs saw the door open and
Tibus disappear inside, they gave a frantic bound, tore
up the stake chain and came at us "en masse," jam-
ming themselves in the doorway in their eagerness
to get out of the storm.

Either the temperature outside rose or the dogs gave
off an appreciable amount of heat. Certainly by after-
noon our bags began thawing out and we fell asleep,
awakening again about midnight craving food and
water, principally water. Duncan had eaten a part
of a pea sausage raw and it was very salty.

On account of my deafness Duncan usually kept
me posted as to the weather outside. He said he al-
ways knew when it was drifting by a sound that re-
sembled rustling silk; and just before dawn on the
sixth he told me he thought the storm had stopped.
It didn't take me long to remove the snow plugs and
find out. The wind had not only gone down, but it
was clear and I could see Alger Island fourteen miles
away.

APPENDICES 277

We were not long getting ready. Our thirst hounded
us on. To our great surprise and joy the Sound ice
was found swept almost clear of snow; or else packed
hard from the last storm. The bags behaved beauti-
fully. It was fortunate we had been able to keep the
dogs on nearly full rations. They needed no help and
by mom we were at the West Camp furiously tearing
up Ruberoid roofing for a fire, whereby we could melt
some snow and quench our thirst.

"Shall we try to make the East Camp, Mr. Porter?
I think we can do it if it is not over six miles. Just
think of getting inside a warm, dry room."

"If we do, Duncan, we break through the roof.
We've not strength enough to shovel the place out.
The drift around that house in spring is on a level with
the roof. I think we'll chance it."

So we put some coal into a sack, against our not find-
ing any at the house, and pushed on, finding the going
still good. It was a very anxious two hours. There
was a little drift, that raised the surface of the morning
snow about a foot. It looked like a sea of milk flow-
ing over the snow. I didn't know it at the time,
probably Duncan didn't know it, but the big toe of his
left foot was already frozen. The dogs seemed to know
we were nearing the end and maintained the pace. By
the Basalt Spires, past the huge rock called the Hay-
stack, we came up over the great flat. Far away we*
made out a pole with a flag on it. On arriving the
pole and the top of a stove pipe were all that could be
seen of the camp.

But no. There by the pole was a black hole in the
snow that seemed to lead into the bowels of the earth.

278 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

And beside the hole, lying on the snow, was a gun!
Instantly there flashed through my mind the thought
that the Relief Ship had reached this place the year
before and left here some men. We slid down through
the burrow, colliding with a dog, groped our way
through what I knew to be the stable, into the vestibule
between the two houses. Involuntarily I felt for the
latch of the door to the east, found it and pulled the
door open.

Never shall I forget what I then saw as long as I live.
Two soot begrimed faces peering at me in wonder out
of a void, made all the darker by the light of a slush
lamp sputtering against the wall. They were Quarter-
master Rilliet and Mackieman, though I did not
recognise them at first.

"Hullo, fellows, how are you?"

"How do you do. Porter? You didn't think to see
us here?"

" No, I thought you must be from a Relief Ship.
What are you doing here? What has happened?"
I felt there had been some serious accident, for finding
two men here was not in the programme.

"Mr. Fiala and the Steward fell seventy feet down
a crevasse on Hooker Island last fall."

"Is Fiala dead?"

" No; they were pulled out more dead than alive and
brought on here, where we found Mr. Peters 's party.
They all went on to Camp Abruzzi later in the night and
left us two here to hold down the grub. 'Mac' froze his
toe on the way over, and had to lay up here. It's all
right now."

APPENDICES 279

We had forgotten all about our own woes in the
thirst for news.

Then it was Rilliet's turn.

"Any deaths at Flora?"

"Strange to say, they're all alive," I answered,
"though two or three are in pretty bad shape. Two
parties will be over here later after food."

"How did you stand the trip over? Gad, look at
Smokey's face." "Smokey" was Duncan's nickname
among the sailors.

Then we told of our misfortune on Hooker Island and
our long fight to reach a place of safety.

"Hooker Island is a sure enough 'Hoodoo','' RiUiet
commented. "From your description of the place it
was not three miles from where Fiala and Spencer
fell in."

They went outside and inspected our ludicrous bun-
dle, told us to go back inside and make ourselves com-
fortable while they brought in our effects. So the
ordeal was over.

I remarked in my diary the second day at Camp
Ziegler that Duncan and I had slept hardly two hours
since arriving. We were forever prowling about with
a candle in the west house after good things to eat.
There seemed no end to our appetites and surely no
limit to our capacity. When we did finally retire it
was to sleep the clock around.

Our arrival was very timely. The next day it was
drifting again badly and I began at once getting
ready to push on. It was now the seventh of the
month and the rendezvous at Abruzzi was on the tenth.
We were away behind our schedule. For the three days

28o FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

while it was storming outside our bags were slowly
drying out over the stove. A " trailer" sled was made
ready and food put up for a few days. Duncan's toe
was very painful and when Rilliet held a candle back
of it you could see a sharp line of demarcation between
the live and affected flesh. I deemed it imprudent
for him to go on, though he was anxious to do so, " to
get on to good feed and tobacco again " as he expressed
it. So I arranged with Rilliet that Mackieman take
his place.

It was a joy to find myself travelling once again with
a sled, that the dogs could look after, to make good
time and only to have to speak to the dogs once in a
while. Mac and I walked or trotted side by side,
talking over old times and gossiping over the winter's
events at Camp Ziegler and Flora. He said a lot of
bears had been around their camp, walking over the
roofs of the stable and houses, and that they had shot
up through the roof at them to scare them away. They
hadn't killed any but the bears had killed some of their
dogs. Rilliet had been sick and the winter had been
very long. They got very tired of each other's com-
pany and would go along for days hardly speaking,
although they were always on the best of terms. He
hoped he would never have to put in another Arctic
winter with just one man.

We made Camp Abruzzi in just five marching days
which we thought pretty good considering the dis-
tance, one hundred miles, and our physical con-
dition. Mac was captivated with the igloos. At
Kane Lodge we found a new saw and iron shovel
that greatly facilitated the work of building. Our

APPENDICES 281

longest run was twenty-five or thirty miles to Kane
Lodge, where I knew I had left tobacco the summer
before. It was this that spurred us on long into the
darkness in a blinding drift storm — ^the thought of a
good smoke. Sure enough the tobacco was there
just where I had left it, though half gone, The party
the fall before had used a little, and in the box was a
note to me from Mr. Fiala, telling of their progress
to that point.

We ran across a bear at Coal Mine Island. He was
coming down the shore by a water hole following some
seals that were floating in the current. I shot him
but he slid into the water and I tried to spear him with
my ivory harpoon using the tent pole for a shaft. But
although I threw well and struck him, the line was
yanked out of my left hand, and bear, harpoon, and
tent pole went floating away beyond reach. At Cape
Auk I shot another bear.

On the morning of the seventeenth we crossed the
young ice of Teplitz Bay and arrived at the station just
one week late. The place seemed absolutely deserted.
"Gone" I thought, "we're too late, they're gone."

Soon a black dog, limping on three legs, emerged
from the snow and began barking. Then we saw-
smoke ascending from the stove pipe. I entered the
house and found one man, the chief engineer. The
main party had left only the day before for the north.

Russell W. Porter.

APPENDIX NO. IV.

TRIP TO THE NORTHEAST COAST OF GREENLAND

In order to provide for the probability of a return
of the Ziegler party by way of Greenland, Mr. Champ
organised a second relief expedition with instructions
to proceed from Norway to Shannon Island and Bass
Rock, off the northeast coast of Greenland. In 1901
a large supply of food, clothing, ammunition, and other
necessities for the maintenance of a considerable party,
was stored at this point with the hope that they might
be utilised by members of the Arctic party sent north
in the summer of that year. Shannon Island is just
off the east coast of Greenland in latitude 75^ north,
almost the extreme northern limit of the mapped por-
tion of the east coast of Greenland; Bass Rock is a
small island about twenty miles to the south of Shannon
Island.

Earlier observations, and particularly the experience

of Nansen's party in the drift of the Fram, demonstrated

the existence of a westward movement of the surface

water and the ice of the Arctic across the group of

islands known as Franz Josef Land and to the north

of the Spitsbergen group, toward the northeast coast

of Greenland, the drift chaining to a well-defined

southwest current along the Greenland coast. Had

the Ziegler party attained a very high latitude and con-

282

APPENDICES 283

eluded to take advantage of the westward drift in re-
turning, there would have been a very good chance of
their reaching Shannon Island and Bass Rock, where they
could have relied upon finding everything necessary for
the comfort of the party for a considerable time. There
was sufficient probability of the return of the Arctic
explorers by the Greenland route to warrant the fitting
out of the second relief expedition, especially in view
of the fact that no word had been received from
them for two years, and the urgency of relief was in-
creasing.

The vessel chosen for the Greenland journey was
the Magdalena, a Norwegian sealer of about 350 tons,
a good sailer, but rather slow steamer, strongly built,
and comfortably fitted up for a small party. The
officers and crew of eighteen men were Norwegians,
and most of them were familiar with the North Atlan-
tic waters. Captain K. Tandberg had made many
trips into the ice-field off the coast of Greenland, and had
twenty-five years' experience as a sealer and whaler in
the North Atlantic. The writer accompanied the
expedition at the request of Professor Willis L. Moore,
Chief of the U. S. Weather Bureau, and President of
the National Geographic Society, and of Mr. W. S.
Champ, representing the Ziegler Estate.

The purpose of the expedition being primarily one
of rescue the instructions were to proceed from San-
def jord, Norway, directly to Shannon Island and Bass
Rock for the relief of any member of the Ziegler party
who might have reached those points; and, after in-
specting the condition of the supplies laid down in 1901 ,
to return to Norway. Incidentally, opportunities

284 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

would probably be afforded for gathering observations
of some value concerning the meteorological and ice
conditions in the North Atlantic, especially in the
little known ice-fields off the northeast coast of Green-
land. In the original contract between Mr. Champ
and the owner of the vessel, the writer was to accom-
pany the captain and crew on a sealing trip in the
North Atlantic waters during the month of June, and
at the close of the catch, early in July, when the
chances of open water were likely to be very good, to
proceed northward through the ice-field to the base
of supplies before mentioned. An unusual opportun-
ity would thus be afforded for a study at close range of
the modem methods of seal and whale catching. A
change in the plans, however, became necessary at the
last moment and but little opportunity was afforded
during the journey for observation along these lines.
However, a daily record of conditions of the weather
and ice, and of temperature of the water was main-
tained, wi.th some additional notes of a miscellaneous
character which may prove to be of interest.

The Magdalena left the port of Sandef jord, Norway,
with the writer aboard on the 2 2d of June, 1905,
about a week after the departure of the Terra Nova
from Tromso with the main relief party under the
direction of Mr. W. S. Champ. After leaving Sande-
f jord, we proceeded directly to Bass Rock and Shannon
Island withou.t stopping at any intermediate point.

On June 30th, we sighted the Faroe Islands, just
north of Scotland, and from this time on, owing to
almost continuous fog, we saw no land until we reached
the coast of Greenland in latitude 75° north, on the

APPENDICES 285

2ist of Jiily in view of one of our objective points,
namely — Bass Rock.

The conditions encountered and the brief duration
of the journey (the entire trip covering less than two
months) do not warrant a classification of the data
recorded, or a systematic discussion. The following
pages contain only a chronological arrangement of
extracts from the daily journal, showing the character
of weather and ice conditions experienced in the
North Atlantic in mid-summer, with an occasional
reference to matters of more general interest to those
unfamiliar with the regions visited.

June 22, 1905. Left Sandefjord, Norway, at 10:30 p. m. yesterday, a
high southwest wind prevailing. About midnight a defect was
discovered in the boiler, making a return to port advisable. Left
port again to-day at 5.30 p. m. and made good headway down the
southeast coast of Norway with a fair wind and tolerably smooth
sea.

JiHie 23. Made about xoo miles in the first 24 hours out of port. As
wind and current were in our favour we did not use steam. A fine
clear day. Some of the crew understand a little English; the
Captain and First Mate speak the language well enough to make
them companionable.

June 24. A bright clear day with a fresh northwest wind. Used sails
nearly all day, making a course a little south of west. An ex-
ceptionally qmet sea; can scarcely detect the motion of the vessel.
Averaging about 3i knots per hour.

June 25. A quiet fair day, with a favourable wind. Course northwest
to north. The air temperature has been remarkably uniform,
varying less than 1° F. from 11 a. m. to 9 p. m. The humidity
has been high, varying from 92% to gj% of saturation. Cloudy
in the morning, clearing by noon, with a wind from north to
northeast.

June 26. A fine day, bright and warm, with a smooth sea. Active prep-
arations have been going on all day for the expected bottle-nose
whale catch off the northeast coast of the Shetland Islands. The
decks are covered with coils of rope; the guns and hari>oons are
in order, and the small boats prepared for action.

286 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

June 27. A foggy day with occasional short intervals of sunshine. Light
head wind, Steaming north, one half east; just east of the Shet-
land Islands.

June 28. Off the northeast coast of Shetland Islands at noon. A raw
northeast wind, with rain nearly all day, and atmosphere near
saturation point. The sea is high but the Magdalena is remarkably
steady and comfortable under sail. Making but slow headway,
averaging only three knots an hour. Guns and harpoons are in
readiness for whales. Two guns are mounted in the bow and two
in the stern of the boat.

June 29. High northeast winds all day with rain all the forenoon. Heavy
swell and much rolling. Saw two or three bottle-nose whales, but
we were not near enough for a shot. Made but 85 miles in pre-
ceding 24 hours.

June 30. A bright day but plenty of swell and roll. Three knots an hour
seems to be our limit of speed with the aid of engine alone, and
burning three to four tons of coal per day. In sight of the Faroe
Islands all day. Passed the Sunbeam on her way to port, and
requested her captain to report us.

July I. A cloudy day with a southerly wind, enabling us to make a fair
headway under full sail; averaging four knots an hour. Spoke
the Margarite early this morning, a whaler from Tonsberg,
Norway. Her captain reported having caught 28 bottle-nose
whales during the past three months, and that he hopes to get ten
or twelve more before returning to port.

July 2. A cloudy and foggy day, with a light northeast wind. Air tem-
perature from 48° to 50° F, and water about 46° F. Heavy swell
from southwest to northeast. Boat rolling violently. Caught our
first bottle-nose whale this evening. Saw a number during the
day but did not take time to follow them. Most of them were
moving southward. The Captain shot a harpoon into one of
three passing about 150 to 200 feet from the stern of the boat.
These harpoons, made of wrought iron, are about 5 feet long, and
weigh about seven or eight pounds. To the end of the harpoon
is attached a manila rope about seven-eights of an inch thick, and
about 200 feet long; this rope is in turn joined to a heavier rope
of about 2 inches diameter and 700 or 800 feet long. On being
harpooned the whale disappeared with a loud "snort," and did not
again come to the surface for about half an hour. All the rope
had been paid out and another length of about 800 feet attached.
In the meantime one of the small boats, equipped with a har-
poon gun and several hundred feet of rope, was manned and
lowered; the crew rowed in the direction of the line in the water
and waited for the reappearance of the harpooned whale. On

APPENDICES 287

rising to the surface about 40 yards distant another harpoon was
sent into his flank. The rope parted and once more the whale
disappeared. On reappearing about half an hour later, a third
harpoon ended the frantic struggle for freedom. The puU on the
first rope which was made fast to the upper deck of the Magdalena
was so great as to bodily move the vessel backward for a short
distance. The prize was now towed along^de the Magdalena, and
by means of knives with long handles (6 ft. to 10 ft. long) the
blubber was removed, hoisted on deck, cut into pieces of about two
to four square feet, and stowed away in one of the thirty-five or
more large iron tanks in the hold. The carcass was left to float in
the sea and was soon the centre of a noisy bunch of hungry sea grills.
The whale was one of medium size for these waters, being 31
ft. 6 in. in length, with a middle circtunference of 10 ft. 6 in.;
aro\md the head (across the eyes) 8 ft. 6 in.: length of upper
snout I ft. ; length of lower snout i ft. 10 in. The average thick-
ness of blubber was 3 inches. The Captain estimated the total
weight of blubber removed at about 1200 lbs., valued at about
$75. The whale "spouted" 3 or 4 times between "soimdings."
The "spout" had the appearance of a cloud rather than a spray.
The "blow" was distinctly heard at a distance of about 800 ft.

July3. A cold disagreeable day. The vessel rolled badly all night, being
without sails to steady her. The first mate reported having seen
a bottle-nose early this morning entirely out of the water, clearing
the surface, he estimated, over a fathom. The captain tells me
they frequently rise entirely out of the water. Making good pro-
gress northward, about five knots per hour. Air temperature and
the surface water, 44® F.

Jaly4. A wet, cheerless day. Brisk to high west winds, and a heavy
sea. Swell from north-northwest. Making good progress north-
ward, however, under full sail; averaging over 6 knots per hour.
The water is 2" warmer than yesterday. Air temperature 39*
to 43°.

July 5. Another raw, disagreeable day, with southerly winds in forenoon,
and northerly in afternoon, increasing in force. Heavy swell from
the northeast. Air temperature 45°, water 45°.

July 6. Creeping slowly northward in a zigzag line, tacking into a north-
east wind; made only 20 knots in preceding 24 hours. A dull
cloudy day, with light and occasionally dense fog. Have had no
sunshine since July ist.

July 7. Cloudy all day, with a brisk northeast wind. We are some-
where in the neighbourhood of Jan Mayen Islands, but exact
location unknown as we have had no good sun observation for
three or four days. The air is not clear enough to see more than

288 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

a few miles. Between noon and 6 p. m. there was a fall in tem-
perature of 2°, without a change of wind. The temperature con-
tinued to fall to II p. M., making a change of nearly 6° since noon.
We must be near the ice fields. There was also a fall of 2° in the
temperature of the water. This would indicate that we are farther
west than indicated by our calculations. Temperature at noon
43°, at midnight 37°; water 4 5°. 5 and 43°. 4 at the same hours.

July 8. A cloudy day with occasional fog. The atmosphere and water
growing rapidly colder. We are probably just to the east of Jan
Mayen Islands, hidden from view by the dense fog. The first
mate reports seeing three or four fin-back whales to-day.

July 9. A cloudy day, with frequent patches of dense fog. Light to
fresh northeast wind and a comparatively smooth sea. With
a humidity of 98% to 100% fog areas form and disappear very
quickly. One moment it is comparatively clear and in the next
we are surrounded by a fog so dense that we can not see more than a
ship's length about us. Tested our speed to-day; with 60 revo-
lutions per minute the best speed we could get out of our engine
was 3 i knots per hour. The first mate reports seeing a school of
about 1 6 large blue whales early this morning.

July 10. A cloudy day with light and occasionally dense fog. Air tem-
perature from 29° F. to 32° F. ; water temperature varying between
31° and 32°. Entered the southern edge of the drift ice early this
morning. It is a scene of marvellous beauty. Honeycombed ice
in the most fantastic shapes, in pure white and transparent greens,
floating on all sides of us. About a mile or two to the west of us
is the white line of pack ice, apparently without an opening through
which we could force our way. The captain thinks it advisable to go
farther north, about latitude 74°, before attempting to enter the
thick ice. Saw a number of seals in the water about 8 a.m.; five or
six of them in line were swimming a hundred yards or so ahead of
us keeping a sharp lookout on our movements. Birds are here in
abundance, mostly the auk and the gull. The air is at times
filled with fine needles of ice. The clouds are thin and low, much
like lifted fog. In the afternoon the fog increased, becoming quite
dense. Went gunning for seals in one of the small boats with the
first mate and three sailors. We rowed over to the edge of the
heavy pack ice, where we saw hundreds of seals on the larger floes.
The roar and splashing of the water as the fioes were tossed about
by the swell is somewhat alarming on first acquaintance, but the
excitement of the hunt readily over-balanced the thought of dan-
ger. We succeeded in getting but two seals. Twoor three jumped
into the water after being shot and sank before we could reach
them. We lost many of them in a similar manner later on. There

APPENDICES 289

were scores of them in the waters about us but it is useless to
shoot them under these conditions as they sink within two or
three minutes after being mortally wounded. The movements of
the seals are exceedingly graceful in the water, but very awkward
on the ice. Their antics are sometimes grotesque in the extreme,
following one another in a long line, turning complete somer-
satilts, sometimes forward, then sideways or backward, and
sometimes leaping far out of the water. Took a few pictures of
small ice floes as they moved slowly past us. Some of them are
extremely gracefvd and beautiful in shape, and have the most
delicate shades of blue or green by transmitted light, and ptire
white by reflected light. They are particularly imposing as they
float quietly by the ship on a smooth sea and in a light fog. So
far the floes have been small, not more than six or eight feet high,
and very much honeycombed — evidently in the last stages of dis-
solution. The fog is bothering us a great deal again. We have
not been free from the troublesome and dangerous element for
seven or eight days. To-day we are in latitude 72° north, a little
to the north and east of Jan Mayen Islands apparently.

July 1 1 . Another day of fog and slow progress toward the coast of Green-
land. The fog lifted for a few hours later in the morning, and I
accompanied the ship's carpenter, an experienced sealer, in the
small boat on another seal himt. We brought back only two seals.
It was difficult to get within a reasonable distance of them before
they discovered us and took to the water. The ice floes to-day
are flatter — evidently an earlier stage than those we saw yesterday.
It seemed to me we had considerable difficulty in pushing our way
through the ice, but when I expressed this opinion to the Captain
he consoled me with the remark that we would soon find the floes
forty to fifty times as large. The fog lifted late in the afternoon
revealing a closely packed band of drift ice just to the west of us,
too thick to think of attempting to push our way through at this
point. Saw a large seal jvunp out of the water, the entire body
being at least three feet above the surface. Air temperature 34°
to 36°; water 33° to 34°.

July 12. This morning we found exceedingly dense ice just west of us,
utterly impossible to get through at this point (73° N.) Later
the fog became dense and the wind rose, making it dangerous to
pvish ahead. The Captain left up just enough sail to prevent
drifting, so we remained nearly stationary all day. Just to the
north of us the edge of the ice took an eastward trend as far as we
could see. A long and weary day; we have not had bright sun-
shine, even for an hour, since July isrt;.

290 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

July 13. Another foggy day. The fog lifted somewhat about noon and
we found ourselves almost surrounded by compact ice fioes, too
thick to risk a forced passage. The captain concluded we had
gone far enough north and turned southwestward along the edge
of the thick ice looking for a promising opening to push westward
into the ice field. About 3 p. m. we found a favourable oppor-
tunity and started in ; steering a course northwestward, and mak-
ing fair progress toward Shannon Island, but bumping into large
floes most of the night. We anchored to a floe long enough to fill
our water tanks with delicious fresh water from the numerous pools
of melted snow found at this season of the year on all of the larger
ice floes.

July 14. Another foggy day. Making fine progress through the ice to-
day. The floes are much larger than any we have seen thus far,
one of them measuring four or five miles in length, but the open
water between the floes is growing in extent. We have presumably
been in the region of the midnight sun for some days past, but
owing to fog and cloud we have scarcely seen the sun at any time
of day. Caught a glimpse of the sun for the first time at midnight,
but the break in the clouds was of short duration. In the after-
noon the captain saw a large polar bear on one of the ice floes and
ran the ship to the edge to permit us to give chase. Four of us
followed him through soft snow and pools of water for an hour or so
but he swam to another floe before we could get a shot at him.
Later we saw another bear on a nearby floe but did not feel jus-
tified in taking the necessary time to give chase. We are now in
latitude 73° 30' north, and longitude about 3° 30' west. With a
clear atmosphere we would be able to see Shannon Island to the
west and north of us. Air temperature from 34° to 35°; water
varying from 32° to 34°.

July 15. A little sunshine to-day. Fog lifted for a short time revealing
alto-cumulus clouds in the morning; in the afternoon upper and
lower cirrus visible at times. Wind light to fresh southeast. We
have had practically open water most of the day ; here and there
we met a cluster of small floes, but none to give us any trouble.
Failed again to get a good sun observation at noon, but we are not
far out in our calculations. The water showed a considerable
change in temperature from 9 a. m. to 3 p. m., a rise of 2°. There
is very little animal life to-day — only a few sea gulls. Sunshine
after 8 p. m., but foggy on horizon. A fine exhibition of "trailing
cirrus" clouds at 11 P. M., apparently converging from the zenith
to a point in the west-southwest. About 11 p. m. we passed a
floe on our port side (steering northwest by west) which was larger
than any the captain has seen in his twenty-five years' experience

APPENDICES 291

in North Altantic waters: it was at least ten miles long: from
the crow's nest (135 ft. above deck) the end could not be seen.
Got a sun elevation at midnight, the first reliable observation
possible since June 30th. It is lighter at this hour (midnight)
in my stateroom than at any time, day or night, during the past
fifteen days. The ice floes are getting larger and more rugged,
the surface being covered with a network of ridges from 5 to 10
feet high.

Jtily 16. A bright, clear day — the first of the kind since June 30th when
we were off the Faroe Islands. Fog set in again from the south-
east toward evening, and disappeared at intervals to midnight.
The sea was remarkably smooth, and the temperature s\irprisingly
uniform for a clear day, varying less than 3° between morning and
noon. Air temperature about 36° and water about 35°. The ice
was heavier to-day — the floes were large and numerous with rough
hiunmocky surfaces, but we had no diflSculty in picking our way
through them. Came upon a small sealing schooner from Tromso,
Norway, about noon. The harpooner came aboard the Magdalena
and took dinner with us. He stated that they had been in these
waters since April and had a catch of about 600 seals and 19 polar
bears, three of the bears were alive as we saw when we returned
the visit a little later in the day. As the Captain of the schooner
was on his way back to Norway we all sent letters by him. He
had neither chronometer nor sextant with him and seemed to have
very little idea as to where he was or just how he was to get out of
the ice. Captain Tandberg gave him our latitude and longitude
and advised him to take a southeasterly covirse out of the ice. It
is astonishing what some of these Norwegian captains accomplish
every year in these dangerous waters with their small sailing vessels
and scant instrumental equipment. Saw three polar bears on one
of the ice floes but lost sight of them before we could come to a con-
venient anchorage to follow them. Latitude 74" 35' north; longi-
tude 10° 30' west.

|uly 1 7 . We got into a tight place to-day. We are now lying in a narrow
lane between two immense ice fields and surrounded by a dense fog.
We can see only a few hundred feet about us. The day has not
been wasted, however, as we secured four bears. I was the first
to see the bear we got this morning, and had the first shot at him
as he was swimming toward the boat from one of the ice floes. We
lowered one of the small boats and headed him off as he turned
back toward the ice. There were too many hunters in the game and
we riddled the hide with our bullets. Later in the day, as we were
anchored to one of the large floes waiting for an opportunity to
push forward, two bears approached to leeward. When they were

292 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

within 150 or 200 yards of us we opened fire. Before we could
reach them a third bear appeared out of the increasing fog and we
soon added all three to our stock. We are now anxiously waiting
for the fog to lift in order that we may see where we are, and how
to get out of the dangerous position between two large ice floes.
The floes about us are from 7 to 8 feet in thickness, judging by some
of the smaller ones which we have run into and overturned. We
are now in a narrow lane, not over 50 feet wide, where the ice
has been jammed by the grinding of two very large fields, several
miles in extent.

We built a fire on the port floe and put a lot of seal blubber in-
to it in order to attract any bears to leeward that may be lured
by the odour of the burning blubber. The air temperature
ranged from 34° to 37° during the day, and the water tempera-
ture from 30° to 33°. The fog has been dense and persistent to-
day, lifting only at intervals and then only partially.

July 18. We are hemmed in on all sides by immense ice floes. To add
to our difficulties the narrow channel, in which we have been at
anchor since yesterday, began to close up astern. We could move
neither forward nor backward. The two large floes were grinding,
and we were in a dangerous situation. About noon the Magdalena
was nipped and lifted 4 or 5 feet out of the water. She very soon
righted herself, however, and we found to our great relief that the
damage had been small. The rudder chains were torn from their
moorings on the upper deck and the screw socket was somewhat
loosened. About 4 p. m. the fog lifted and revealed open water
just ahead, but the channel leading into it was practically closed
up with small pieces of recently crushed ice. We found on investi-
gation however that the channel was widening, and in a couple
of hours we were enabled to push our way through. Beyond the
channel we found comparatively open water and made excellent
progress the balance of the day. The intense whiteness of the ice
fields and the reflected light from snow covering of the past ten
days caused a severe inflammation of the eyes, accompanied by a
slight fever and headache. By remaining in the darkened state-
room for a few hours my eyes improved and the fever disappeared.
We are now probably within fifty miles of Bass Rock, but the
incessant dense fog has prevented our seeing any great distance.

July 19. Sighted land at about 4 p. m. in the northwest, probably the
mountain peaks on Sabine and Pendulum Islands, just south of
Shannon Island. The water was comparatively open and we made
good progress after the fog lifted, about 8a.m. At noon we were
in latitude 74° 12' north, and longitude 16° 12' west. Spent a large
part of the day in the "crow's nest," about 135 feet above the

APPENDICES 293

deck, tr)dng to identify the mountain peaks along the Greenland
coast. The ice we passed through to-day was largely last year's
ice, very thin and soft, offering very little resistance to the boat's
passage. The floes of this year's ice were also much smaller. From
present appearances we shall be able to get close up to shore in
open water.

July 20. A dense fog all day. Late in the afternoon and evening the
fog lifted for short intervals. About 4 p. m. we found that we were
about ten miles off the eastern coast of Wallaston Foreland. Owing
to dense fog the captain was not willing to take any risk, so we
remained in practically the same position for twelve hours or more.
The water is practically free from ice as far as we can see along
Wallaston Foreland and Sabine Island. At noon to-day I witnessed
a complete double fog-bow from the crow's nest, with my shadow
in the centre. The outer bow had slight colour, and the inner one
a decided colour. There seemed to be some good- sized glaciers on
Wallaston Foreland, and a number of high mountain peaks,
probably 4,000 ft. to 5,000 ft. high. Since June 30th we have had
but one day without troublesome fog. Air temperature 35° to
37°, and water 32° to 33°.

July 21. We reached our destination to-day, visiting both Bass Rock
and Shannon Island. The day was bright and the atmosphere
remarkably clear, so clear that we were constantly deceived as to
distances. A light northeasterly wind prevailed in the morning,
and a southerly wind in the afternoon with a temperature vary-
ing from 33° to 37°. The temperature of the water ranged from
32° to 35°. The humidity was remarkably high for so bright a
day, being 98% at 8 A. M. and decreasing to 94% by 10 p. m.
The humidity has been uniformly high during the entire month,
only occasionally falling below 95% and then only for a few hours
at a time. During the preceding night we anchored to a large
floe on account of the dense fog. At 4 a . m . the fog having lifted, we
set out for Bass Rock and Shannon Island, both of which now ap-
peared very near. We found the ice conditions much better than we
had expected. There were some large floes, but the captain found
no difficulty in threading his way through channels of open water to
within a mile or two of Bass Rock. Accompanied by the first
mate and three or four sailors I left the Magdalena at about 9A.M.
and we made our way through the rough ice to the two octagonal
sheds on Bass Rock, which contained the stores laid down in 1901
for the earlier Ziegler party. There were no evidences of anyone
having visited the island since Captain Kjeldsen's trip in the
summer of 1903. The supplies and the sheds were in good con-
dition, with the exception of the petroleum which had practically all

294 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

evaporated from the barrels. The stores had not been disturbed.
After leaving a note to the effect that our pary had inspected the
station, and wishing to take advantage of the bright day, we
returned to the Magdalena in about four hours, and immediately
moved northward toward Shannon Island, about 20 miles dis-
tant. We reached our destination at about 5 p. m. without much
hindrance from ice. Here we were even more fortunate as we were
able to get one of our small boats close to shore. We remained on
the island only about an hour. The shed and the stores were in
excellent condition, none of the supplies apparently having been
disturbed. The only evidence of the visit of any human being
was a note by Captain Ole Nasso of the ship Severn of Tromso,
stating that he had been here two weeks ago, and that he had been
on the lookout for the Fiala-Ziegler party.

Bass Rock and Shannon Island,'ilike the rest of the Greenland coast
in this region, are bare rugged rocks, with only a small amount of
snow in protected places. We found a few small willows, about three
inches in height, and clusters of a small white flower, name unknown.
At 7 p. M. we embarked and the captain headed the Magdalena
homeward. We were all greatly relieved and rejoiced to accomplish
the purpose of otir journey with so little difficulty and in so short
a time, and celebrated the event with a feast of good things. A
little later the crew gathered in the bow of the boat and their
spokesman (the carpenter) made a speech congratulating me on
the successful attainment of my object and thanking me for the
refreshments, closing with three cheers for the "Doctor." Not
understanding the language I was for a time unaware that the
ceremony was in my honour as I stood on the upper deck watching
their movements. The first mate, who was standing at my side,
interpreted their remarks and I hastened to acknowledge their
attention.

Some of the smaller ice floes seen to-day along Pendulum Island
were between 15 feet and 20 feet in height — the highest we have
seen thus far. The water is much more open along the coast in this
latitude than we had expected to find it. All the larger floes have
a very rough, hummocky surface, the ridges of crushed ice being
from 5 feet to 8 feet high. The only level ice we saw was the fast
shore ice in the channel between Shannon Island and the mainland.
The current between Shannon Island and Bass Rock is very strong,
setting southward with a velocity of about half a mile an hour.
Along the main Greenland coast several glaciers are visible in the
distance, some reaching down to the water's edge. We have not
seen a single iceberg during our journey.

APPENDICES 295

Jtily 22. Homeward bound. Dense fog until 11 a. m. Took a course
southwest during the morning but soon came to impenetrable ice
and changed to south, following the coast, where the sea was com-
paratively open. Cloudy, with light fog, changing late in the
afternoon to a light mist. The highest floes seen to-day were
about 25 feet in height. No evidences of life on the ice to-day
with the exception of one large seal reported by the second mate
early this morning, and a couple of sea gulls. Ran into heavy
ice again about 6 p. m. Air temperatiire 35° to 37**; water 32"
to 36°. Heading for the Jan Mayen Islands.

July 23. Another foggy day, with rain at intervals. The wind was fresh
from the northeast in the forenoon, changing to southerly in the
afternoon. Made but little prog^ress since yesterday owing to
frequent delays on account of dense fog, and the zig-zag course
made necessary in order to dodge large ice floes. Fresh east to
south winds. Air temperature about 35°; water, 34°. We expect
to reach Iceland about the close of the week, where I hope to find
a more rapid means of locomotion back to England or the Continent.

July 24. Passed through the thickest ice of the return trip to-day, about
half way between Shannon Island and the Jan Mayen Islands.
Fortunately found a narrow lane of open water. The day was
foggy with light rain after 8 p. m. Fresh southerly winds.

July 25. Dense fog lifted about noon. A great deal of open water
with only an occasional large floe to divert us from our cotirse
E. S. E. Wind southeast in the morning, changing to east-north-
east in the afternoon, and increasing in force. Air temperature
35°; water 33°.

July 26. Another day of dense fog, with light misting rain in forenoon.
Very little progress since noon of yesterday. A solid belt of ice
ahead of us, which we are skirting to northward to find an opening.
Found open water in our course about 8 p. m.

July 27. Dense fog most of the day. The sea was remarkably smooth,
with a mirror-like surface. Passed through small and moderate
sized slack ice all day long, steering a south-southeast course, with
a speed of about 3 knots an hour. The waters abounded in seal,
and birds were unusually numerous. Speaking of seals the Captain
stated that he and his crew of thirty men killed 999 seals in
twelve hoxirs on one of his cruises. I tried to persuade him to
make it an even thousand but he refused to 3rield. A light misting
rain fell in the morning. Filled one of the ship's tanks with fresh
water from a large floe early this morning. Air temperature, 36°;
water, 34°.

296 FIGHTING THE POLAR ICE

July 28. Passed out of the ice about eleven o'clock last night. I am con-
vinced we entered the ice too far north, and that we would have
found more open water just north of Jan Mayen Islands, and saved
three or foxir days, instead of making for 74° north before attempt-
ing to enter. Dense fog all day, but we made fair progress aided
by wind and current. A smooth sea with a slight swell. Air tem-
perature, 38°; water, 39°; northwest winds.

July 29. A day without fog. The crater of Mount Beren on Jan Mayen
Island was clearly visible this morning above the clouds; we were
about thirty to forty miles south of the islands when the fog lifted
about us. The cone is apparently covered with ice and snow.
The base of the mountain was also visible, and surrounded by ice.
The presence of so much ice at this season would indicate that the
past winter was unusually severe. The captain claims that he
has never seen so much ice on the mountain even in March and
April. A rise of 8° in the temperature of the air since yesterday
indicates that we have passed out of the influence of the ice fields.
Saw two large fin-back whales this morning, moving northward.

July 30. Brisk northeast winds prevailed all day, enabling us to make
fine progress toward Iceland without the use of the engines. Made
about ninety miles in the preceding twenty-four hours, nearly as
much as we made in three days in this region on our outward
voyage. We are making an effort to reach Miofjord, on the east
coast of Iceland, by the 2nd of August in order to catch the steamer
Kong Inge which leaves that port for Leith, Scotland, on the
3d. This will enable me to reach England two or three weeks
earlier than I could by going with the Magdalena to Reykefjord,
Iceland. Saw four or five large fin-back whales to-day, all spouting
vigorously. The spouts resembled so many jets of steam rising
from the surface of the water, gradually dissolving and disappear-
ing entirely in three to five seconds. The captain estimated the
lengfth of these whales at 70 to 80 feet.

July 31. A cloudy day with steady and brisk northeast wind, and a rough
sea. Making excellent progress toward Miofjord, using sails only.

Augfust I. A bright sunshiny day with brisk north to northwest winds,
and high seas. Anchored in Miofjord on the east coast of Iceland
about sunset.

Taking leave of the captain and crew of the Magdalena on the
2d, I took passage on the Danish steamer Kong Inge on the 3d
and reached Leith, Scotland, early in the morning of the seventh of
August.

August II. London. The daily papers yesterday announced the great
news of the safe return of Mr. Champ and his party bringing with
them, from Franz Josef Land, all but one of the Ziegler Arctic
party. Oliver L. Fassig.

APPENDIX NO. V.

WINDS AND TEMPERATURES RECORDED AT
CAMP ABRUZZI, RUDOLPH ISLAND, FROM
SEPTEMBER, 1903, TO APRIL, 1904

FOR MONTH OF

SEPTEMBER. 190S

Total

•

Max.

Min.

Mean,
Max. and

Daily

Max.

Min.

Mean.
Max. and

Daily
Move't

Temp.

Min.
Temp.

of Wind
in Miles

Temp.

Min.
Temp.

of Wind
in Miles

361

132

729

i«5

548

312

196

462

349

435

159

260

— 4

184

293

368

148

501

593

1 1

281

147

394

121

31
24
21
27

17
19
13
13

24
26

17
20

298

234
96

293

563

»4
IS
t6

Mean

Total

Temp.

9.070

226

+ 25.2

+ 15-2

+ 20.3

Aggregate amount of calm weather in month, 3 hours. Maximum
hourly velocity of wind for month and direction, 60 miles, southeast.
Average temperatvu-e for month, +40. Average wind velocity for month,
302 miles a aay. Francis Long. Observer.

FOR MONTH OF OCTOBER. 1903

ToUl

Total

Max.

Min.

Mean.
tiax. and

Daily

Max.

Min.

Mean,
Max. and

Daily
Move't

Temp.

Min.

of Wind

Temp.

Min.

of Wind

Temp.

in Miles

Temp.

in Miles

620

— 12

— 4

173

299

— 9

— 18

— 14

294

242

Zero

— 9

— 5

419

— II

— 4

180

— 2

O15

689

1.249

— 5

227

451

— 9

—17

—13

174

— 8

—16

— 12

615

— 4

Zero

234

551

— 7

— I

427

144

— I

471

»3

256

— I

4
4

Zero

10
10

135
109

54
494

— 3

359

*5
16

Mean

Total

Temp.

9.932

+ 10

Zero

+ 6.7

Number of calms in month, none. Maximum hourly velocity of wind for
month and direction, 72 miles, east. Average temperature for month,
+ 10. Average wind velocity for month, 320 miles a day.

Francis Long, Observer.

FOR MONTH OF

NOVEMBER, 1903

Max.

Min.

Mean,
Max. and

Total
Daily

Max.

Min.

Mean,
Max. and

Total
Daily

Temp.

Min.
Temp.

of Wind
in Miles

Temp.

Min.
Temp.

of Wind
in Miles

Zero

— 18

— 9

192

— 21

—34

—28

128

—14

— 20

—17

242

— 21

—28

—24

141

—18

—28

—23

189

— 4

—25

—14

497

—17

—28

2 2

145

+ 25

— 8

+ 8

553

■>

—15

—27

+19

—16

+ 2

552

— II

— 22

— 16

+18

—16

+ I

636

—18

—26

+ 21

+ 10

+ 15

783

—25

—33

— 29

+ 10

Zero

+ 5

422

—31

—42

-36

+ 10

— 2

+ 4

1,023

—31

—43

—37

III

+ 12

— I

+ 5

919

-38

—47

—42

+ 18

— 2

+ 8

870

— 20

—40

—30

162

+ 11

+ 6

+ 8

1,079

+ 9
+ 27
— II

-36

—14
+ 4
—18

754

+ 9

+ 2

+ 5

398

14
16

19
-25
—30

407
289
303

Mean

Total

—17

— 23

Temp,

Temp.

11,423

— 9

—23

—16

231

— 9

— 21

—14.7

Number of calms in month, none. Maximum hourly velocity of wind for
month and direction, 76 miles, east-southeast. Total amount of wind in
miles for month, 11,422. Monthly mean temperature, — 28.4. Average
wind velocity for month, 381 miles a day. Francis Long, Observer.

FOR MONTH OF DECEMBER, 1903

Total

Max.

Min.

Mean,
Max. and

Daily

Max.

Min.

Mean,
Max. and

Daily
Move't

Temp,

Temp.

Min.

of Wind

Temp.

Min.

of Wind

Temp.

in Miles

Temp.

in Miles

+ 2

— 6

— 2

523

— 5

—18

— 12

467

— 6

—13

— 10

233

—IS

—28

— 2 2

579

+ 2

—16

— 7

413

—17

—32

—24

851

+ S

— 6

— I.

276

—19

—27

—23

279

— 6

— 15

— 10

—18

—25

— 22

870

— 8

-36

— 22

13s

—16

— 22

—19

633

— 22

—35

—28

201

—18

—30

—24

353

—15

—24

— 20

251

—14

—29

516

—15

— 21

—18

882

—15

—26

283

— 9

— 20

—14

734

— 12

— 22

— 17

752

— 3

— 9

— 6

1,087

—16

— 21

— 18

1,761

— 4

— 8

— 6

1,523

— II

— 20

— 16

390

— 4

— 14

— 9

373

—14

— 21

— 18

''5

— 8

—23

—16

555

— 4

—14

— 9

758

Tfi

— 18
—16

-25
—25
— 21

— 22
— 20

773
937
681

Mean

Total

— 6

—14

Temp.

18,280

— 10.4

—21.3

-15.8

Number of calms in month, none. Maximum hourly velocity of wind
for month and direction, 84 miles, south-southeast. Average temperature
for month, — 3 1.5, Average wind velocity for month, 590 miles a day.

Francis Long, Observer.

FOR MONTH OF JANUARY, 1904

Total

Max.

Min.

Mean,
Max. and

Daily

Max.

Min.

Mean,
Max. and

Daily

Temp.

Min.
Temp.

ofWind
in Miles

Temp.

Min.
Temp.

of Wind
in Miles

— 4

—18

— II

467

+ 14

Zero

+ 7

515

— 6

—31

—18

234

+ 14

+ 8

+ 11

467

— 14

—28

362

+ 22

+ 9

+ 16

747

—15

—32

— 24

226

+ 31

— 6

+ 12

763

—19

-38

— 28

257

+ 26

— 10

+ 8

1. 015

— 8

—40

— 24

321

— 5

—15

— 10

342

+ 4

—27

399

+ 8

—18

— 5

687

—17

—27

2 2

742

+ 3

— 7

— 2

462

—15

—24

358

— 7

—19

—13

478

— 22

—31

— 26

262

—IS

—25

— 20

119

—28

-46

—37

391

— 22

—28

—25

113

—45

—51

-48

287

— 20

—27

—24

788

-48

—52

—50

102

— 21

—27

—24

484

—40
—23

—50
—42

—45
—32

34
237

— 21

—30

—26

302

+ 12

—24

— 6

451

Mean

Total

+ 12

— I

+ 6

108

Temp.
— 8.8

Temp.
—24.9

Temp.
— 16

12,518

Aggregate amount of calm weather for month, 9 hotirs. Maximum
hourly velocity of wind for month and direction, 75 miles, south. Aver-
age temperature for month, — 34. Average wind velocity for month, 404
miles a day. Francis Long, Observer.

FOR MONTH OF FEBRUARY. 19(M

Max.

Min.

Mean,
Max. and

ToUl
Daily

Max.

Min.

Mean,
Max. and

Totol
Daily

Temp.

Min.
Temp.

of Wind
in Miles

Temp.

Min.
Temp.

of Wind
in Miles

—25

—31

— 28

160

+ 4

—37

— 16

478

— 20

—27

—24

259

—25

—45

-35

126

■^

—25

— 18

876

— 6

—25

—16

983

— 15

— 18

897

— I

—17

— 9

619

— II

— 16

443

+ 15

— 6

+ 4

981

— 10

— 17

—14

498

+ 16

—28

— 6

387

— 14

— 18

146

+ 23

—32

— 4

773

— 4

—24

—14

166

+ 5

—17

— 6

413

— 4

— 18

— II

312

4-26

—17

— 4

707

— 10

— 17

—14

378

+ 24

—25

— I

349

— 9

—37

—23

280

— 4

—16

— 10

142

—37

—44
—43
—24

—40
—27
— 10

+ 30

+ 4

+ 17

684

^3
14

+ 4

3°4
464

Mean

Total

—24

—43

—34

205

Temp.

Temp,

13,791

—33

—44

-38

182

— 4.5

— 26.0

-17.8

— 5

—40

— 22

920

Aggregate amount of calm weather for month, 2 hours. Maximum
hourly velocity of wind for month and direction, 66 miles, south-south-
east. Average temperature for month, — 31. Average wind velocity for
month, 441 miles. Francis Long, Observer.

FOR MONTH OF MARCH,

1904

Total

Max.

Min.

Mean,

Max. and

Daily

Max.

Min.

Mean,
Max. and

Daily

Temp.

Min.
Temp.

of Wind
in Miles

Temp.

Min.
Temp.

of Wind
in Miles

+ 23

— 9

+ 7

217

—29

—SO

—40

122

4-10

—29

— 10

295

—29

—16

241

— 9

—37

—23

465

— 8

-36

2 2

522

+ 17

—24

— 4

786

4- 8

— 9

1.093

■?

— 10

-36

—23

406

+ 9

—13

349

H- 2

— 12

— 5

242

—13

-25

— 19

513

+ I

—16

— 8

360

—25

—37

—31

363

—16

—24

— 20

181

— 20

—33

—26

—18

—23

— 20

159

— 20

—30

— 25-

102

—23

—32

—28

— 6

—31

— 18

182

—13

—31

— 22

189

+ 25

— 6

+ 10

367

—15

—45

—30

+ 26

+ 10

+ 18

25s

—41

—47

—44

T,0

+ 10

-24

— 7

484

—33
-38
— 41

—44
-48

—51

-38

—43
—46

51
95

+ 5

—25

— 10

236

Mean

Total

-36

—47

—42

Temp.
— 9.0

Temp.

—25-5

Temp.
— 20.4

8,672

Aggregate amount of calm weather for month, 42 hours. Maximum
hourly velocity of wind for month and direction, 7 2 miles, south-south-
east. Average temperature for month, — 37-8. Average wind velocity
for month, 280 miles a day. Francis Long, Observer.

PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE
CARDS OR SLIPS FROM THIS POCKET

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO LIBRARY

700
1903a
F5

Fiala, Anthony-
Fighting the Polar Ice

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