The Siege and Conquest of the North PoleBryce, George
History
The Siege and Conquest of the North Pole
Bryce, George
Arctic regions; North Pole; Scientific expeditions
The party left Dépôt “B” to cross Robeson Channel on the evening of 5th
April. The load was equal to 130 lb. to each man, and 100 lb. to each of
the dogs. Next day one man suffering from rheumatism was ordered to
return to the station; and later another man who had frozen one of his
toes was taken back to Cape Beechy by Lockwood. On the 7th the party
experienced a violent gale, which confined them to their sleeping-bags
forty-five hours.
On reaching Polaris Boat Camp, one of the Hudson Bay sledges had been so
injured by the rough ice that it was practically useless. At this camp
the wind again became very violent, blew down the tent, and one gust
lifted the dog-sledge, with its load of 200 lb., bodily from the ground.
The sledge struck one man, knocking him several yards and injuring him
severely. Two other men, owing to illness, had to be sent back from this
camp.
The party were employed until the 16th April in accumulating at Boat
Camp the stores from the other dépôts, and while this was being done
Lockwood returned to Conger for an extra set of runners, as he was
afraid that the runners of the dog-sledge might break down.
The party started from Boat Camp with 300 rations on 16th April. The
eight dogs hauled about 800 lb., and each man hauled about 217 lb. on
the second sledge. On the third and fourth sledges the men dragged about
150 lb. each. The constant weights of the dog-sledge were 243 lb., and
of the remaining sledges 375 lb.
During the first six days they had to travel over land, and after
tremendous exertions the sea-coast was again reached on 22nd April. The
party arrived at Cape Bryant on 27th April. On this journey one of
Beaumont’s caches was discovered, and the rations found were taken on to
Cape Bryant.
At this point the supporting party were sent back, and Lockwood,
Brainard, and Christiansen, with rations for twenty-five days, set out
on 29th April towards their farthest north. The weight carried amounted
to about 783 lb., and consisted of rations 227 lb., dog-pemmican 300
lb., equipments 176 lb., and dog-sledge 80 lb.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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