For a few moments he did not speak, but turned slowly around, as if desirous of availing himself of the hitherto unknown privilege of looking southward in every direction.
"I'm glad he remembers what I told him," said Sarah.

"He's making it last as long as he can." "As the representative of Roland Clewe, Esq.," said Samuel, deliberately and distinctly, "I take possession of the north pole of this earth in the name of United North America." With these words he unfurled his flag, with its broad red and white stripes, and its seven great stars in the field of blue, and stuck the sharp end of the flagstaff into the deck in the centre of the circle.* [* It must be understood that at this time the seven great countries of North America--Greenland, Norland (formerly British America, British Columbia, and Alaska), Canada, the United States, Mexico, Central America, and West Indies-- were united under one confederated government, and had one flag, a modification of the banner of the dominant nation.] "Now," said he to his companions, "this pole is ours, and if anybody ever comes into this sea from Russia, or Iceland, or any other place, they will find the north pole has been pre-empted." At this three hearty cheers were given by the assembled company, who thereupon put on their hats.
The rest of that day and part of the next were spent in taking soundings, and very curious and surprising results were obtained.

The electric lead, which rang the instant it touched bottom, showed that the sea immediately over the pole was comparatively shallow, while in every direction from this point the depth increased rapidly.

Many interesting experiments were made, which determined the character of the bottom and the varied deposits thereupon, but the most important result of the work of Mr.Gibbs and his associates was the discovery of the formation of the extreme northern portion of the earth.

The rock-bed of the sea was found to be of the shape of a flattened cone, regularly sloping off from the polar point.
This peculiar form of the solid portion of the earth at the pole was occasioned, Mr.Gibbs believed, by the rotary motion of the bottom of the sea, which moved much more rapidly than the water above it, thus gradually wearing itself away, and giving to our earth that depression at the poles which has been so long known to geographers.
Day after day the experiments went on; but Mr.Gibbs and his associates were extremely interested in what they were doing; some of the rest of the party began to get a little tired of the monotony.