On to the 89th parallel the ice was in large fields and comparatively smooth. The noon observation on 19th April gave the latitude as 29 miles from the Pole, and the longitude 94° 3′. The next march was made under great excitement, and when camp was pitched it was within 14 miles of the goal, in longitude 94° 52′. Shortly after midnight of 21st April the party again set out, and when the pedometer had registered 14½ miles camp was made. The observation here gave latitude 89° 59′ 45″. A distance equal to the 15″ was advanced, the tent was pitched, and a snow-house was built so that the party might stay long enough for two rounds of observations to be made. The temperature was 38.7° below zero. The North Pole had at last been conquered. The struggle which had been carried on more than three centuries was finally over. It had cost many lives and unparalleled hardships before man’s ambition was satisfied. And what a desolate spot to have aroused the competition of nations! No land was in sight, no life had been seen within a long distance of it, and nothing but endless fields of ice and snow stretched away to the horizon. Yet here was the most interesting geographical point on the surface of the earth; here was the axis on which the world turned. Soon after midnight of 22nd April, Dr. Cook and his two companions began their return journey. They set their course along the 100th meridian, and during the first few days, with fair weather and good ice, they succeeded in making long marches. On 30th April the latitude was found to be 88° 1′, and the longitude 97° 42′. As this showed a drift to the eastward, a more westerly course was set. The temperature still remained between 30° and 40° below zero, and the wind was again troublesome. Dr. Cook, with compass in hand, marched ahead of the sledges. Near the 88th parallel very heavy ice was crossed. On the 6th May they were stopped by a very severe snowstorm. An attempt was made to build a snow-house, but the wind swept the blocks away. An effort was then made to put up the tent, but this was found impossible. In sheer despair, they crept under the tent without erecting the pole. For several days the wind was too strong to allow them to travel, and the atmospheric conditions made it impossible to take observations. Added to these difficulties was the fact that the food-supply was running short. On 24th May the weather cleared sufficiently to enable Dr. Cook to make an observation, which placed them on the 84th parallel, near the 97th meridian. The temperature now gradually rose to zero, and caused the formation of a fog which proved a serious obstacle to progress. It was Dr. Cook’s intention to make for his cache in Nansen’s Sound, but when next the sky cleared, after a long struggle, the party found themselves far south, in Crown-Prince Gustav Sea. Open water and broken ice made it impossible for them to reach Heiberg Island.