They were naturally anxious to get back to the land as soon as possible--now that our work was done.

And about four o'clock on the afternoon of the 7th of April we turned our backs upon the camp at the North Pole.
Though intensely conscious of what I was leaving, I did not wait for any lingering farewell of my life's goal.

The event of human beings standing at the hitherto inaccessible summit of the earth was accomplished, and my work now lay to the south, where four hundred and thirteen nautical miles of ice-floes and possibly open leads still lay between us and the north coast of Grant Land.

One backward glance I gave--then turned my face toward the south and toward the future.
FOOTNOTES: [1] The instruments used in taking observations for latitude may be either a sextant and an artificial horizon, or a small theodolite.

Both these instruments were taken on the sledge journey; but the theodolite was not used, owing to the low altitude of the sun.