ks upon the Pole at about four o'clock of the afternoon
of April 7. Some effort has been made to give an adequate impression of
the joy with which that remote spot had been reached, but however much
pleasure we experienced upon reaching it, I left it with only that tinge
of sadness that sometimes flashes over one at the thought, "This scene
my eyes will never see again."

Our pleasure at being once more upon the homeward trail was somewhat
lessened by a distinct feeling of anxiety with regard to the task that
still lay before us. All the plans for the expedition were formulated
quite as much with an eye toward a safe return from the Pole as toward
the task of reaching it. The North Pole expedition has some relation to
the problem of flying: a good many people have found that, while it was
not so very difficult to fly, the difficulties of alighting in safety
were more considerable.

It will be remembered, doubtless, that the greatest dangers of the
expedition of 1905-06 were encountered not upon the upward journey, but
in the course of our return from our farthest north over the polar ice,
for it was then that we encountered the implacable "Big Lead," whose
perils so nearly encompassed the destruction of the entire party. And it
will be further remembered that even after the "Big Lead" was safely
crossed and we had barely managed to stagger ashore upon the
inhospitable edge of northernmost Greenland we escaped starvation only
by the narrowest possible margin.

[Illustration: ATTEMPTED SOUNDING, APRIL 7, 1909]

Memories of this narrow escape were, therefore, in the minds of every
member of our little party as we turned our backs upon the North Pole,
and I dare say that every one of us wondered whether a similar
experience were in store for us. We had found the Pole. Should we return
to tell the story? Before we hit the trail I had a brief talk with the
men of the party and made them understand that it was essential that we
should reach the land before the next spring tides. To this end every
nerve must be strained. From now on it was to be a case of "big travel,"
little sleep, and hustle every minute. My plan was to try to make double
marches on the entire return journey; that is to say, to start out,
cover one northward march, make tea and eat luncheon, then cover another
march, then sleep a few hours, and push on again. As a matter of fact,
we did not fall much short of accomplishing this program. To be
accurate, da