Nearest the Pole: a narrative of the polar expedition of the Peary Arctic Club in the S.S. Roosevelt, 1905-1906Peary, Robert E. (Robert Edwin)
History
Nearest the Pole: a narrative of the polar expedition of the Peary Arctic Club in the S.S. Roosevelt, 1905-1906
Peary, Robert E. (Robert Edwin)
Arctic regions
Looking out over the ice from the tent, I saw that where we came in,
unpleasant as was the going, was the only practicable place. From where
we came in, clear round the point, was a wide, deep lake.
The march of the 16th was not only uncomfortable but very disappointing.
Near the close of it, the fog rose a little, and showed that instead of
being abreast of Cape Albert Edward as I had expected, we were barely
abreast of the west end of Ward Hunt Island. Our previous march had left
us two or three hours short of Cape Alexandra, and this march had been
short as to distance. Three large streams bothered us, and in crossing
one of them, both my men were taken off their feet, one wet all over,
the other partially, and the sledge nearly swept away, all my strength
just serving to hold it till they could pull themselves out by it, and
then help haul it out. The white dog was fed to the others here.
At this camp the temperature fell well below the freezing point, making
us distinctly uncomfortable. When we began the next march, its effect
was immediately apparent. The snow and the smaller pools were now frozen
firm enough to support sledge and dogs and myself, on snowshoes; the
streams were less in volume, and the fog, its supply of raw material cut
off by the stoppage of evaporation, gave signs of relaxing its grip.
Added to this, a considerable number of the lakes, having found an
outlet, had drained off and were now mere shadows of their former
selves. Matters were mending a little, though we again pitched our tent
in wet snow, somewhat west of Camp Nares. The old black _Sipsu_ dog was
killed here.
Two large streams were negotiated in this march, one by a detour round
where it poured into a crack, the other over a snow arch.
When we began the next march, the sun was breaking through the fog; when
we were off the middle of Markham Bay, he had gained full victory, and
from then on till afternoon, he beat down upon us in a blinding glare
which burned my face and scorched my eyes in spite of my big-vizored
cap.
It gave me the opportunity, however, to see the twin peaks of Columbia
from the west and north, and they are a very striking sight.
After we had our tea, the men went over to the musk-ox meat which we had
left on the outward trip. They were a little anxious as to whether the
foxes had eaten it all or not.
They returned a few hours later, gorged, and with the information that
the foxes had not disturbed the meat, and that there was more than what
we left, Koolootingwah having killed two more musk-oxen here on his
return. They also brought back a hare and one of Koolootingwah’s dogs,
which had slipped his harness and remained with the meat, and was now in
fine condition. All this was very gratifying. The meat allowed me to
remain here two sleeps, which were absolutely necessary for my dogs; the
fresh dog was a very welcome recruit, and I appreciated the hare as an
agreeable change from the dog meat of the previous two days.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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