d him to the shore, where it was
hard to land; the bold sailor, often beaten back, at last succeeded in
clambering upon a rock above the reach of the waves. Then he lost
consciousness, after wrapping himself up in his flag, and he only came
to himself under Duke's caresses and barking. After receiving a few
attentions, Hatteras was able to rise, and, leaning on the doctor's
arm, to go to the launch.

"The Pole, the North Pole!" he repeated as he walked along.

"You are happy!" the doctor said to him.

"Yes, happy! And you, my friend, don't you feel happy at being here?
This land is the land of the Pole! This sea we have crossed is the sea
of the Pole! This air we breathe is the air of the Pole! O, the North
Pole, the North Pole!"

As he spoke, Hatteras was the victim of a violent excitement, a sort
of fever, and the doctor in vain tried to calm him. His eyes were
strangely bright, and his thoughts were boiling within him. Clawbonny
ascribed this condition to the terrible perils he had gone through.
Hatteras evidently needed rest, and they set about seeking a place to
camp. Altamont soon found a grotto in the rocks, which had fallen in
such a way as to form a cavern. Johnson and Bell brought provisions
there, and let loose the dogs. Towards eleven o'clock everything was
prepared for a meal; the canvas of the tent served as a cloth; the
breakfast, consisting of pemmican, salt meat, tea and coffee, was set
and soon devoured. But first, Hatteras demanded that an observation
should be made; he wanted to know its position exactly. The doctor and
Altamont then took their instruments, and after taking an observation
they found the precise position of the grotto to be latitude 89
degrees 59 minutes 15 seconds. The longitude at this height was of no
importance, for all the meridians run together within a few hundred
feet higher. So in reality the island was situated at the North Pole,
and the ninetieth degree of latitude was only forty-five seconds from
there, exactly three quarters of a mile, that is to say, towards the
top of the volcano. When Hatteras knew this result, he asked that it
should be stated in two documents, one to be placed in a cairn on the
shore. So at once the doctor took his pen and wrote the following
document, one copy of which is now in the archives of the Royal
Geographical Society in London:--

"July 11, 1861, in north latitude 89 degrees 59 minutes 15 seconds,
'Queen Island' was discovered at the