e Route, and

rse during the long Arctic night that was approaching. I knew I should not be lonely, for there was a tremendous lot of work to do, although I had unstinted assistance. In every detail, the entire six months of labor including the catching of animals, the drying of meat, the making of such clothes and sledges as would be necessary, and the tes

hambers of my memory and have tried to resolve replies to myself. The attaining of the North Pole meant at the time simply the accomplishing of a splendid, unprecedented feat-a feat of brain and muscle in which I shou

should I succeed, did not concern me; I knew that this

, or why one child preternaturally develops amazing proficiency in mathematics and another in music. Certain desires are born or unconsciously developed in us.

e, not in reaching the goal itself, but in overcoming the obstacles which exist in the way of it. In the battle with these I knew there would be excitement, danger

igantic globe of my world swinging in cloud-swept emerald spaces, and far in the remote, vast, white regions in the north of it, far from the haunts of men, thousands of miles from its populous cities, beyond the raging of its blue-green seas, myself, alone, a wee, small atom on i

and difficult marathon for the testing of human strength, courage and perseverance, of body and brain, which God has offered to man. I could see myself, in my fancy pictures, invading those roaring regions, struggling over icy lands in the dismal twilight of the Arctic morning, and venturing, with a few companions, upon the lif

t, in this effort, I was indebted to no one; no one had expended money for me or my trip; no white men were to risk their lives with me. Whether it resulted in success or defeat, I alone should exult or I alone should suffer. I

; the doing of it was part of me. My plans of action were not haphazard and hair-brained. Logically and clearly, I mapped out

CHASE F

ANNOATOK AND ITS

hich was to be both storehouse and workshop, was a simple matter. The walls were

THE ARCTIC SEA

joints sealed with pasted paper, with the addition of a few long boards. A really good roof was made by using the covers of the

ntage of containing within it all our possessions within easy reach at all times. When an

rding to my plans, each one of us embarking in the Polar journey would have to carry two suits of fur clothing. In the Arctic regions, especially when men are marching to the limit of their strength eve

re inhabitable only in the summer time. For the coming period o

lock every afternoon. Observing this, the Eskimos at once began to present themselves at the tea hour. Fortunately, tea was one of the supplies of which I had brought a good deal

atch the men, too, and see which ones promised to be the best to accompany me. And, what was a m

king new trails. With Annoatok as a base of operations, I planned to carry sufficient supplies over Schley Land and along the west coast of the game lands, trusting that the game along this region would furnish sufficient supplies en route to the shores of the Polar

on my previous knowledge of conditions. I knew from the general reports of the natives, and from the explorations of Sverdrup, that the beginning of the intended route offered abundant game, and the indica

s could afterwards be supported in great measure by the game of the region through which we were to pass, it would be of an importance more vital still. If my information was well founded and my general conjectures correct, I should have adva

night would pass rapidly by. There was much to do, and with the earliest

AIN OF N

HE UNICORN AND OTHER GAME FROM ANNOATOK TO CAPE YORK-EVERY ANIMAL CAUGHT BEARING UPON THE SUCCESS OF THE