Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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The Conquest By Dr. FREDERICK A. COOK Copyright 1909. by the New York era.ld Company. legistered In Canada In Accordance With Copy righ, Act. Copyright In Mex ico Under Laws of the Republic of Mexico. All Rights Keserved URING two days of etilly blus ter the sleds were forced along with encouraging results, and on the evening of March 26, a pedometer and other method dead reckoning for position. we pl,ced at latitude 84 degrees minutes. The western horizon re persistently undisturbed. A storm, it seemt , was gathering, itit was a long time in coming d. On the evening of the 26th -prepared for the blast and built the stronger than usual, hoping that - borizon would be cleared by a good on the morrow and afford us a of rest. The long, steady marches, ut time for recuperation, had be to check our enthusiasm. the daily monotony of hardship had learned to appreciate more and the joy of the sleeping bag. It rthe only animal comfort which af a relief to our life of frigids, with it we tried to force upon the body in the long marches a anticipation. the evening, after the blocks of walled a dome in which we could .1. las.~ ~~ A heve gie drn of ice. te a istidle i oqec e hoi thrs,an he hepocs quear pathe blerae tripd then nafofte ody gassrouiclye int hevengie rik of ie chrni nth taknrot, and the rcs deiksrobgbean,e oe appetime, for bee ano romfall acge a Tee anu in maou , asno fur stfed osotls er puae halfeinec of the a quickl ie th coag. wAt imak of ie wasd Next tke out, anithet werest toensegn of ts.iPsh eisubstanea. The ppodt was 78olrge, but ai afce.do l bamee and mtal cange ahs plandure which folows to akin rthe tin fl of the ai,ahenoseo gfurncoat'th bindin mas ofc ve sNe the hirt wfdihits iscan abou the ist eemes oere last. Thens.fee of he. agita int f othbanre the hood ad ver te fae, these eir lost warmstese omenta an phas pleasith hi och flows ones onn the_ singo heair, ompaninship gh ars nd thegs blind ray thei ein te un,th ofpeingo driving tn The mineare of Sthem. a ofarhos t, wadeed to hofgae ad timesu utnooneo the peculoiarngr ynt'he windeased come brightasin wth the touch stil oakned own sktein, wles the companionshp the saeds and legs,theyewent amonr eroe fursy mkes eor tew is Inteher of a Stormstuks. winguturseloon ove the oleds, y tewd epassing ofThe bicyt bsn hreisn utemeatue snwer to ging the erein ofuasetr.u ad u tmelestwar wstl daromsneb eningr camp,n the this wer hped tae usesves oftey wet amog ,wand swep thuwndwch folWehd gne mevrey. miles efoeature wast degreesg ouelvesroveran the sba-s Onced thepsing or the dicyeblst.e Tere very litble nowa.ear to logthe ectort o a sfairu a' arc miespt orththe wathrmis efor camttled t thi wer opom te oudnresedts aftery an fwrced 'rstocm. Beoe squal loo spntas and in etn wein whih followe of the Pole +0 e In the Heart of a Storm. + + + New Land Sighted-Mid + Polar Basin a Lifeless T + World oA . O 0 [EIGHTH ARTICLE] + *e ed the hummocks and piled up the snow in large dunes like the sands of home shores. Th snow house wasr not cemented with water. The tone of the wind did not seem to indicate danger, and, fur thermore, we were beginning to real ize the great need of fuel economy. We therefore did not deem it pru dent to use oil for the fire to melt snow, except to quench thirst. Not particularly anxious about the outcome of the storm and with senses blunted by overwork and benumbed with cold, we sought the comfort of the bags. Buried Under the Snow. Awakened in the course of a few hours by drifts of snow about our feet. it was noted that the wind had bur rowed holes in the weak spots through the snow wall. Still, we were bound not to be cheated out of a few hours' sleep, and with one eye open we turned over. Later I was awakened by fall ing snow blocks. Forcing my head out of the ice in cased hood, I saw that the dome had been swept away and that we were being buried under a dangerous weight I of snow. In some way I had tossed ......i.K... Ar a aoatedn sfiientl resonsle to eepal came Eskimo shouts. Violent efforts were made to free their bags. but the snow settled on them tighter with each tussle. I was surprised a few moments later as I was digging their breathing place open to feel them burrowing thriough the snow. They had entered the bag without undressing and half emerged with shirt and pants on, but without feet. After a little more digging their boots were uncovered, and then, with pro tected feet. the bag was freed and placed on the side of the igloo. into It the boys crept in full dress, except coats. I rolled out to their side in my bag. Move on Refre.shed. The air came in hissing spouts, Like jets of steam from an engine, but soon after noon of the 29th the ice under our heads brightened. It became pos sible to breathe without being choked with floating crystals, and as the ice about the facial furs was broken a lit tle blue was detected in the west. The dogs were freed of snow entan glements and fed, and a shelter was made in which to melt snow and make tea. A double ration was eaten, and then the sleds began to move again. Soon the sun burst through the sep arating clouds and raised icy spires in' towers of glitter. The wind then ceased entirely, and a scene of crystal glory was laid over the storm swept fields. With full stomachs, fair weather and a much needed rest, we moved with in spirations anew. Indeed. we felt re freshed as one does after a cold bath. The pack had been much disturbed, and consideralh!e time and distance were lost in seeking a workable line of travel. Camping at midnight, we had only made nine miles for a day's ef fort. Awakening in time for observations on the morning of the 30th, the weath er was found beautifully clear. The fog, which had persistently screened the west, had vanished, and land wa.s discovered at some distance west. ex sending parallel to the line of march. The observations placed us at latitude 54 degrees 50 minutes, longitude 95 degrees 36 minutes. A Long Coast Line. In the occasional clearing spells for several days we had seen sharply de fined land clouds drifting over a low band of pearly fog, and we had ex pected to see land when this veil lifted. We had. however, not anticipated tc see so long a line of coast. The land as we saw it gave the impression of being two islinds. but our observation wer insufficient to v: irrant suelh :m asera. They may 1.e islands: they may \e a part of1 a1 larg! hadI EX'eI from sa degrees o mimites in M: de grees 51 minutes, close to the one hun dred and seond meridiana. This land has an irregular mountain ous sky line, is perhaps eighteen hun dred feet high and resembles in itsi upper reaches the highlands of Iei berg island. The lower shore line was at no time visible. From 84 degrees 23 minutes, extend ing to 85 degrees 11 minutes, close to the one hundred and second meridian, the coast is quite straight. Its upper surface is flat and mostly ice capped, rising in steep cliffs to about twelve hundred feet. The lower surface was so Indistinctly seen that we were unable to detect glacial streams or ice walls. Both lands were hopelessly buried under accumulated snows. We were eager to set foot on the newly discovered coast, for we be lieved then, as proved by later experi ence, that these were the earth's north ermost rocks, but the pressing need for rapid advances in the aim of our main mission did not permit of de tours. Resolutions were re-enforced and energy was harbored to press on ward for the pole in an air line. Fair Marches Made. Every observation, however, indicat ed an easterly drift, and a westerly course must be continuously forced to counterbalance the movement. A cur tain was drawn over the land in the afternoon of March 31, and we saw no more of it. Day after day we now pushed along in desperate northward efforts. Strong winds and fractured, Irregular ice increased the difficulties. Progress was slow. In one way or other we managed to gain a fair march between storms dur ing each twenty-four hours. In an oc casional spell of stilVess mirages spread screpus of fantasy out for our entertainment. Curious cliffs, odd shaped mountains and inverted ice walls were displayed in attractive col ors. Discoveries were made often, but with clearer horizon the deception was detected. On April 3 the barometer remained steady and the thermometer sank. The weather became settled and clear. The pack became a more permanent glitter of color and joy. At noon there was now a dazzling light, while the sun at midnight sank for but a few moments under a persistent northerly haze, leaving the frosted blues bathed in noonday splendor. In these days we made loug marches. The ice steadily improved. Fields be came larger and thicker, the pressure, lines less frequent and less trouble some. Nothing changed materially. The horizon moved; our footing was seemingly a solid crust of ice, but it shifted eastward. All was in motion. Often we were too tired to build snow houses, and in sheer exhaustion we bivouacked in the lee of hummocks. Here the overworked body called for sleep, but the mind refused to close the eye. In a Lifeless World. There was a weird attraction in the anomaly of our surroundings which aroused the spirits. We had passed beyond the range of all life. For many days we had not seen a sugges tion of animated nature. There were no' longer footprints to indicate other life; no breath sgpouts escaped from the frosted bosom of the sea. Even the sea algae of the surface waters were no longer detected. WVe were alone, all alone. in a lifeless world. We had come to this mental blank in slow but progressive stages. As we sailed from the barren areas of the fisher folk along the outposts .of civilization the complex luxury of the metropolis was lost and the brain call ed for food. Beyond. in the half savage wilder-* ness of Danish Greenland, there was the dawn of a new life of primitive delight Still farther along, in the ultima Thule of the aborigines, the sun rose over the days of prehistoric joys. Advancing beyond the haunts of man, we reached the noonday splen dor of thought in times before man's creation. Now, as we pushed beyond the habi tat of all creatures, ever onward. into the sterile wastes, the sun sets. Be yond were night and hopelessness. With eager eyes we searched the dusky plains of frost, but there was no speck of life to grace the purple run of death. In this mid-polar basin the ice does not readily escape and disentangle. it sprobably in motion at all times of the year. and in the readjustment .of the fields following motion and expan sion there are open spaces of water, and these during most months are quickly sheeted with new ice. Measuring the Ice. In these troubled areas we were giv en frequent opportunities to measure ice thickness. and from our observa tions we have come to the cor.clusion that the ice during one year does not freeze to a depth of more than about ten feet. But much of the ice of the central pack reaches a depth of from twenty to twenty-five feet. and occa sionally we crossed fields fifty feet thick. These invariably showed signs of many years of surface upbuilding. It is very difficult to surmise the amount of submerged freezing after the first year. but the very uniform thickness of the antarctic sea- ice leads to the suggestion that a limit is reach ed in the second year. when the ice. with its cover of sniow, is so thick that 'ery little Is added afterward from be Increase in size after that is prob ably in the main the result of addi tion to the superstructure. Frequent fals of snow. combined with the al ternate melting and freezing of sum mer and a process similar to~ lhe uip *building of glacial iCe. nro mai iy re sposibile'for~ thel .rowth in icknes. Tie very heavy. umh.iltin fiohis which ivye eharnete: to ( .a thie nda r ice andJ escape along the east and wecst coasts of Greenland are therefore most y augmented from the smrfae +1The Conquesi . By Dr. FREDERICK A. COOK + Copyright, 1909, by the New York + Herald Company. Registered In Canada In Accordance With Copy 0 right Act. Copyright In Mex + ico Under Laws of the Republic + of Mexico. All Rights Reserved e +*9+++9t++*+*+0+0+0+ OVER the newly discovered coast lines was written Bradley Land, in honor of John R. Bradley, the benefactor of the expedi tion. As we passed north of this land there was nothing substantial upon which to fix the eye. There was at no time a perfectly clear horizon, but the weather was good enough to permit frequent nauti cal observations. The course was lined on uninteresting blank sheets, but there were elusive signs of land fre quent enough to keep up an exploring enthusiasm. Thus day after day the marches were forced, the incidents and the po sitions were recorded, but the adven tures were promptly forgotten in the mental bleach of the next day's effort. The night of April 7 was made notable by the swing of the sun at midnight. For a number of nights it made grim -faces at us in its setting. A teasing mist, drawn as a curtain over the northern sea at midnight, had given curious advantages for celestial stag ing; settling into this haze, we were unable to determine sharply the ad vent of the midnight sun, but here was a spectacular play which interested us immensely. Now the great bulk was drawn out egg shaped, with horizontal lines drawn through it. Again it was press ed into a basin with flaming fires, burning behind a curtain of frosts; blue at other times, it appeared like a huge vase, and it required very little imagination to see purple and violet flowers. The change was often like magic but the last display was invariably 2 face-distorted faces of men or ani mals were made to suit our fancy. We *ad therefore followed the sun'. northward advance-from its first peer at midday above the south ice of th( -- V_............... . '..... .. . ........ ............................ . .............. .... oar gwy to its fwrst of the obedy in midnight suns we had forced a trai through darkness, blood hardening temperature and over leg breaking ir regularities of an unknown world o1 ice to an area 200 miles from the pole The Midnight Sun. Now we had the sun unmistakabi3 at midnight, and its new glory wa: quite an incentive to our life of shiv ers. Observations on April 8 placei camp at latitude 86 degrees 36 mini utes, longitude 94 degrees 2 minutes In spite of what seemed like long marches we had advanced only 10( wiles in nine days. Much of our hart work was lost in circuitous twist: around troublesome pressure lines ani high, irregular fields of very old ice The drift ice was throwing us to th4 east with sufficient force to give u: some anxiety, but with eyes closed tc danger and hardships the doubie day: of fati.eue andJ g!itter o'uickly followed one another. The tempj erature, ranging betweer 36 and 4G degrees below zero F.. kepi persisbintly near the freezing point o: mercuy, an!d. though the perpetua sun ga:ve light and color to the cheer less wastes. we were not impressed wh h any appreciable sense of warmth tdeed, the sunhe:ns seem~ed to makt 12e frost of the air pierce with a mort painful sting. There was a weird phiyv of orgies seemin:Hly miost imnpresdr.e at this ti:e-louds of steam rose from the frozen seas. In marching' over the golden glitter- snow scalds the face, while the nose is bleached with frnst. The sun rose .into zones of fire and set: Into burning fields of ice, but with pain we breathe the chill of death. In camp a grip of the knife left pain ful burns from cold metal. To the froen finger the water was hot. Witil wie spirits the fire was lighted. while oil (elLighted theC stomachi. lIn dreams j.iVen was~ hot. t he other place wvas cold. Al inre wvas false. We seem ed 10 Oe nringZ the cbilled flame ofa new badn(iS. InI Our 1hard lifte there een-:::dal apearaces were all deOCep to. b>ut death offered only cold comn fort. There was no advantage in sui cide. of the Pole o * North of Bradley Land. Amazing Sensations of Dr. Cook and His Two 0 Companions .v $v 0 0 [NINTH ARTICLE] + + - 0 *+*+*+*+*+*+Ofo+o+o+o+*++ ' We should have enjoyed this curious experience, but- with endless bodily discomforts, combined in aching mus cles and an overbearing languor, there could be no real joys from the glories of nature. The pleadure was reserved for a later retrospect. We now changed our working hours from day to night, beginning usually at 10 and ending at 7. The big march es and prolonged hours of travel with which fortune favored us earlier were no longer possible. Weather condi tions were more important in deter mining the day's run than the hands of the chronometers. When the storms threatened the start was delayed, and in strong blows the march was shortened, but in one way or another we usually found a few hours in each turn of the dial dur Ing which a march could be forced be tween winds. It mattered little wheth er we traveled night or day-all hours and all days were alike to us-for we had no accustomed time of rest, no Sundays, no holiday, no landmarks or mileposts to pass. To advance and ex pend the energy accumulated during one sleep at the cost of our pound of I pemmican was the one sole aim in life. The observations of April 11 gave latitude 87 degrees 20 minutes, longi tude 95 minutes 19 seconds. The pack disturbance of Bradley Land was less and less noted in the northward move ment. The fields became heavier, lar- I ger and less crevassed. Fewer trou blesome old floes and less crushed new ice were encountered. With the im proved conditions the fire of a racin spirit came for a brief spell. Passing Highest Reach. We had now passed the highest reaches of all our predecessors and had gained the inspiration of the far thest north for ourselves. The time SEN'S SOUND. was at hand, however, to consider seri ously the necessity of an early return. Nearly half of the food allowance .had been used. In the long marches supplies had been more liberally used than anticipated, and now our dog teams were much reduced in numbers. A hard necessity had forced the cruel law of the survival of the fittest, for the less useful dogs were fed to the steady working survivors. Owing to the food limits and the advancing sea son we could not prudently continue the outward march a fortaight longer. We had dragged ourselves 300 miles over the polar sea in twenty-four days. Including delays and detours, this gave an average of nearly thirteen miles daily on an air line in our course. There rem.ained an unknown line of 160 miles before our ambitions could be satisfied. The same average ad vance which we had made on the pack Iwould take us to the pole in thirteen da: s. There were food and fuel enough to risk this adventure. WNork r.d Observations. 11th diary of the succeeding days' aI:(]a.:s nr- pear numerous tabu laItions~ e.r r,Z: a::d observations. 1n th niew er:mks the thickness of the ice itvmeaur.ed. The water was ex o:, - 1 'e. The technical details fe:- ': :. a :..:: :ni breaking of ice wre sodid. :md1( some attention was gi ven 1.; thie a!!t ude of uplifted and submecrged irre'gularit ies. -Atmosp~rhei;e. surfa:ce~ water and ice temperatures were taken, the barome ter was no(ted. the cloud formations, weather conditions and ice drifts were tabulated. There was a continuous routine of work which does not appear here. It belongs to the specific details of the history of the explorra ion, which will appear in the later publica tion of scientific data. IThis work, like the effort of the foot in the daily drive of duty, became Imore or less automatic and does not at any time enter as an active part of the story. As we now run along over! seemingly endless fields of ice the physical alpearances come under a careful serutin.y. I watched daily for possible signs of dangerous failure in strength. fo serious disability now meant a fat!al termfinlationl. A diiSaka manh could neither con tinue nor~ return. but every examina to ge nnnther reason to push hu nan endurance to the limit of the ;train of every fiber and cel'. The iard work which foll6wed. under an )ccasional burst of burning sunbeams, )rought intense thirst. Soup a Luxury. Forcing the habit of the camel, we nanaged to take enough water before ;tarting to keep sufficient liquid in the reins for the day's march, but it-was lifficult to await the melting of the ice it camping time. In two sittings-evening and morn ng-each took an average of three luarts of water daily. This included 'he tea and also the luxury of an oc !asional soup. There was water about verywhere in heaps, but it was in !rystals, and before the thirst could be quenched several ounces of pre 3ious fuel. which had been carried thousands of ipiles, must be used. And till this water, so expensive and so iecessary to us, ultimately became the reatest bane to comfort. It escaped 'hrough the pores of the skin, satu ated the boots, formed a band of ice inder the knee and a belt of frost ibout the waist, while the face was iearly always inca?ed in a mask of cicles from the breath-a necessary art of our hard lot in life, and we earned to take the torture philoso )hically. "From ice it comes, to ice t goes," like the other elements of :he body, when the good preacher pro iounces the last words "from dust to lust." From the eighty-seventh to the ,ighty-eighth parallel we passed for wo days -v%,r old ice without pressure Ines or hummocks. There was no dis :ernible line of demarcation for the lelds, and It was quite impossible to letermine if we were on land or sea ce. The barometer indicated no ele ration, but the ice had the hard. wav ng surface of glacial ice, with only mperficial crevasses. The water ob ained from this was not salty, but air >f the upper surface of the ice of the olar sea makes similar water. The iautical observations did not seem to ndicate a drift, but nevertheless the :ombined tabulations do not warrant :he positive assertion of either land or ;ea for this area. An Air Line Course. This ice gave a cheering prospect. A lain of purple and blue ran in easy indulations to the limits of vision vithout the usual barriers of uplifted )locks. Over it a direct air line course Pvas possible. Progress. however, was ulte as difficult as over the irregular 3ack. The snow was crusted with arge crystals. An increased friction -educed the speed, while the surface, :oo hard for snowshoes, was also too weak to give a secure footing. The oneliness, the monotony, the hardship f steady, unrelieved travel were now teenly felt. It is not often that wan's horsepow r is put to the test as ours was. We vere compelled to develop a working mergy. to the limit of animal capacity. Day after (Lay we had pushed along t the same steady pabe over plains of Erost and through a mental desert. As the eye opened at the end of an. ly slumber the fire was lighted little bylittle, the stomach was filled with liquids and solids, mostly cold-enough to last for the day, for there could be no halt or waste of fuea for midday eeding. We next got into harness and paced ofr the day's punl under the lash of duty. We worked until stand ing became impossible-longer in light winds, shorter in strong winds, but al ways until the feet became numb and heavy. Then came the arduous task of build ing a snow house. In this the eyes, no longer able to wink, closed, but soon the empty stomach complained, and it was filled up again-Dot with things, that pleased the palate, only hard fueli to feed the inner fires, while the ear - sought the soft side of ice to dispel:. fatigue; no pleasure in mental recre- - ation, nothing to arouse the soul froma its icy inclosure. To eat, to sleep, to press bne foot . ahead of the other, was our steady vo eation, like the horse to the cart,. but we had not his advantage of an. agreeable climate and a comfortable - stable at night. Where Madness Sits. Words and pictures cannot adequate-4 I ly describe the maddening influence af this sameness of polar glitter, com bined with bitter winds, extreme cold and an overworked body. To me there was always the inspiration of antici pation of the outcome of ultimate suc ress, but for my young savage com panions it was a torment almost be ond endurance. Their weariness was made evident by a lax use of the whip and an indifferent urging of the dogs.. hey were, however, brave and faith ful to the bitter end. seldom allowing selfish ambitions or uncontrollable passions seriously to interfere with the main effort of the expedition. On the morning of A pril 13 a strain af agitating torment reached a brea r ng point. For days there had been a steady cutting wind from the west.. which drove despair to its lowest reaches. The west again blacLen< d~ o renew its soul despairing blast. T:ie. sun was screened with ugly vapors,.. and the path was as cheerless as the arctic night. No torment could b>e worse than that never ceasing rush of icy air. Ahwe Lah bent over his sled and refused to, move. His dogs turned and looked in-' uiringly. I walked over and stood' y his side. Etukishuk came near and stood motionless, staring blankly at the suthern skies. Large tears fell from' ihwelah's eyes and piled a little frost >f sadness in the blue of his own shad .w for several minutes. . Not a word vas uttered. but I knew that each felt :hat the time had come to free the fet ers of human passions. Slo'yly Ahwe ah said, "Unne sinig pa-oo-ah-tonle .o-doria ("It is well to die-beyond is .mposile").