w miles and
then to go directly south, all the time traveling in the same direction.

As we passed back along that trail which none had ever seen before or
would ever see again, certain reflections intruded themselves which, I
think, may fairly be called unique. East, west, and north had
disappeared for us. Only one direction remained and that was south.
Every breeze which could possibly blow upon us, no matter from what
point of the horizon, must be a south wind. Where we were, one day and
one night constituted a year, a hundred such days and nights constituted
a century. Had we stood in that spot during the six months of the arctic
winter night, we should have seen every star of the northern hemisphere
circling the sky at the same distance from the horizon, with Polaris
(the North Star) practically in the zenith.

[Illustration: THE RECONNOITERING PARTY AT THE POLE

(On the Sledge are Merely the Instruments, a Tin of Pemmican and a Skin
or Two.) (Note the Firm Character of the Surface Ice. Snow Shoes Were
not Required Here)]

All during our march back to camp the sun was swinging around in its
ever-moving circle. At six o'clock on the morning of April 7, having
again arrived at Camp Jesup, I took another series of observations.
These indicated our position as being four or five miles from the Pole,
towards Bering Strait. Therefore, with a double team of dogs and a light
sledge, I traveled directly towards the sun an estimated distance of
eight miles. Again I returned to the camp in time for a final and
completely satisfactory series of observations on April 7 at noon,
Columbia meridian time. These observations gave results essentially the
same as those made at the same spot twenty-four hours before.

I had now taken in all thirteen single, or six and one-half double,
altitudes of the sun, at two different stations, in three different
directions, at four different times. All were under satisfactory
conditions, except for the first single altitude on the sixth. The
temperature during these observations had been from minus 11 deg. Fahrenheit
to minus 30 deg. Fahrenheit, with clear sky and calm weather (except as
already noted for the single observation on the sixth). I give here a
facsimile of a typical set of these observations. (See the two following
pages.)

In traversing the ice in these various directions as I had done, I had
allowed approximately ten miles for possible errors in my observations,
and at some