I arrived at Point Moss a little before midnight, after a good but fatiguing march. It was brilliant moonlight, and the twilight arc now swung nearly all the way through north.
March 6th I left Point Moss and headed northward from the land over the Polar pack.
In 1902 it was just a month later that I left Hecla going north. And four years previous, on the 6th of March, I left Payer Harbour with eighteen sledges on a journey which took me to 84° 17′ north latitude; a great march as regards distance and latitude covered.
I quote from my Journal: “If I can do as well this time we shall win. God and all good angels grant it, and let me seize this great trophy for the Flag.”
We were rather late in getting started and it was noon when we left the edge of the ice some two miles north of the land. Here the sun was visible for a few moments through a notch in the southern mountains. Was it a good omen? I thought that it must be.
An ideal day, clear and calm and bitter cold, the southern sky vivid yellow, the northern rose-coloured like my dreams.
The going was good at first though our trail was tortuous, but later became extremely arduous.
Reaching Henson’s first igloo, Marvin, Ryan and I remained and began working upon an additional igloo, while I sent my Eskimos ahead with half-loads to form an advance cache and reconnoitre the ice. They returned with a report that the ice was heavily rafted since yesterday’s party passed and the trail faulted. Two sledges were considerably damaged by the day’s work. My supper and breakfast of tea and raw frozen, musk-ox steak were more than enjoyable.
Again I quote from my Journal: “The battle is on at last. We are straightened out on the ice of the Polar Sea heading direct for our goal.”
The 7th was another fine day, somewhat milder than the 6th with more or less mist hiding the land and partially obscuring the sun. Good going up to the advance loads, beyond which, after some skirmishing, we picked up the broken trail again on young ice. While we were traversing this ice, pronounced movement occurred and leads and rafters began to form about us, sometimes occurring between successive sledges, and it required rapid, effective work to assemble all the sledges upon a fragment of old floe some hundred yards across, where we were compelled to wait some time, until the motion of the ice ceased. When it did so, after another brief skirmish, we picked up the trail north of us, and followed it to the second igloo. Here two Eskimos remained with me, to build an igloo, Marvin and Ryan taking their places with the sledges and returning with the others to bring up the previous day’s advance loads. When they returned they reported the ice still in motion in our rear, and that they had reached the cache just in time to save it from being obliterated by a huge rafter.