Page:The frozen North; an account of Arctic exploration for use in schools (IA frozennorthaccou00hort).pdf/159

 On the return trip Peary reduced the weight of the packs by throwing away those articles which he did not expect to need again. On the evening of July 7 the two men began the climb up the slope to the inland ice. At one time they were eight thousand feet above the level of the sea. While they were upon a lofty elevation, a severe storm kept them prisoners in a snowdrift for sixty hours. Peary and Astrup slept most of the time. When the wind died away and they crept out of the drift, dogs and sledges had disappeared. These were soon dug out from the snow, and the journey was resumed.

About this time Peary discovered, to his alarm, that a quantity of his canned provisions had spoiled, and there was danger that he might run short of food. The dogs, too, seemed fagged and low-spirited. They pulled away in a lifeless manner, with drooping tails and as if they were utterly discouraged by this endless journey. So many of them died that only five lived to reach home. When these five dogs at last scented land, they were filled with new life, and dashed merrily along down the slope toward McCormick bay.

One day a number of black spots appeared on the white surface of the snow. These spots proved to be people from the Kite, which had arrived in the bay and was now waiting to carry Peary and his party back to the United States. Peary met the new arrivals joyfully, and soon all were assembled at Red Cliff House. Great was the rejoicing when Peary told of the success of his journey over the inland ice.

The results of this great sledge journey of twelve hundred miles across Greenland were very important. Greenland was proved beyond dispute to be an island. Smaller islands free from ice had been discovered north of Green