“The water had first to be pumped out of the ship to enable us to find the leak on the left side, and this had to be mended as well as that which was visible on the right side; we had then to see if it would be possible to keep the ship dry, and if not, to protect the engines so that they might remain under water during the winter without being injured. Such was the work before us. At that time I did not believe it possible, but Captain Cagni never despaired for a moment of being able to carry it out, and if it was accomplished, it was owing to his strong will and to his perseverance, which was never discouraged by any difficulties.”
Early in the winter, the Duke of Abruzzi, in one of his sledge excursions, had the misfortune to freeze a part of his left hand, which resulted in the loss of the joints of two of his fingers. This unfortunate accident prevented his accompanying the spring sledge journey to the north, for which active preparations were already in progress. The sledges and kayaks were patterned after those used by Dr. Nansen; the former eleven feet five inches long, six inches wide, and six and one-half inches high, with convex runners shod with plates of white metal, and were saturated with a mixture of pitch, stearine, and tallow to render them more slippery and durable.
After careful calculations by Dr. Molinelli, the rations to be carried were estimated at two pounds twelve ounces nine drams per day for each man, consisting of biscuit, tinned meat, pemmican, butter, milk, Liebig’s Extract, desiccated vegetables, Italian paste, sugar, coffee, tea, chocolate, etc.
The first start was made in February, but after travelling in the extreme cold for several days, the party returned and made a fresh start, March 11. The expedition was composed of ten men and thirteen sledges, which, with their loads, weighed five hundred and fifty-one pounds each, and was drawn by one hundred and two dogs.
It had been previously settled to send back detachments, after twelve, twenty-four, and thirty-six days; the last detachment to remain in the field seventy-two days. Cagni, however, modified these plans, and in the meantime the Duke of Abruzzi anxiously waited the return of the first detachment. On April 18, the second detachment returned to camp; they had left Commander Cagni, March 31. The first detachment, consisting of Lieutenant Querini, Stökken, and Ollier, had started to return March 23. An immediate search was instituted for the missing men, but without results. After every effort had been expended, the three men were given up for lost. Meantime, the other supporting parties having returned, anxiety was beginning to manifest itself for Cagni. The day set for his return had come and gone. On May 19, Dr. Molinelli and two companions had set out for Cape Fligely, with provisions for ten days, to look for him. The Duke of Abruzzi anxiously scanned the horizon with his telescope for signs of his missing companions. After an absence of one hundred and four days, Captain Cagni, with three companions, having made a world record and reached 86° 34´, was sighted in the distance and welcomed home by his impatient and enthusiastic companions.
“Although their strength had been much reduced,” writes Abruzzi, “by want of sufficient food, they were not exhausted. The seven dogs which survived seemed much worse; some of them were merely skin and bone. The only part of their outfit they had brought back that was still capable of being of any use, was their tent, and this had been mended. The framework of the kayaks had been broken and their canvas torn, so that they could not be used unless a week was spent in mending them. The sledges which remained had been mended with pieces of other sledges. All that was left of their cooking utensils was the outer covering of the stove, a saucepan which had been mended, and the plates. The Primus lamp had been replaced by a pot, in which dog’s grease had been burned for the last few weeks. The sleeping-bag had been thrown away, and only the thick canvas lining kept. Their clothes were in rags.”
Cagni had advanced under the same trying conditions of hummocky ice, slush, and deep snow that had been encountered by Nansen; he had had the misfortune to freeze one of his fingers, and suffered excruciating pain, necessitating his operating with his own hand and removing the dead mass with a pair of scissors. He had steadily advanced until April 25, 1900.
His return journey covered sixty days under the most alarming conditions; for on May 18, he writes: “I feel more and more every day a terrible anxiety with regard to our fate. After marching nine days toward the southeast, we are nearly on the same meridian,” owing to the southwest drift of the ice-pack. Four weeks more of almost superhuman effort brought them to Harly Island, from which point they made their way to Rudolf Island.
With the achievement of this brilliant record it now remained but to free the Stella Polare by blasting and cutting channels about her snug quarters. The brief Arctic summer having set in, her deliverance at last was secured, and “At half-past one in the morning of August 16, everything was ready, and we steamed slowly away from the shore, giving three cheers as we turned round the ice of the bay which had held us so long imprisoned.”
BALDWIN-ZIEGLER EXPEDITION OF 1900