up in a large kennel of wood had often to be dragged out from the snow, which quickly covered them again. The ampu tation of part of two fingers and consequent illness prevented the Duke from going with Captain Cagni on the sled journey, which in one hundred and five days traversed five degrees of latitude, and proved that by this system, under more favorable circumstances, the Pole may some time be reached. Captain Humbert Cagni, of the Italian navy, is the son of a retired general of the army. The scientific studies, the plan, the expense, and the execution of this expedition were by the Duke of the Abruzzi, whose name it will bear. But the actual journey from the ship was made by Captain Cagni, who shares all the honors paid to the Duke and is constantly with him. He set out with twelve men and one hun dred and eight dogs, but the ice was so heaped up that they had to cut it with axes, and the provisions diminished faster than expected. He sent back Lieutenant Querini, with two other men, and this detachment was never heard of again. The family of this brave young officer living at Venice are mourning his death, which now seems certain. Cagni, finding the provisions were still lessening, sent back another party, and kept on himself with his attendant and two Alpine guides. These guides would not turn back, and were determined to reach latitude 87°. So on they went; the ice became smoother and the air milder, so that the sleds went rapidly, and they traveled sometimes twenty-four hours without stopping. No food remained except the flesh of the dogs, a horrible repast, and these were now few, so that return was necessary. The place they reached is neither land nor sea, only a lonesome desert of ice and mist, where no life, animal or vegetable, is visible. Captain Cagni now says that he will never return there, and he remembers with horror his journey back to the ships. He lost all hope of reaching the Duke; only seven of the one hundred and eight dogs were left; the ice on which they found themselves was floating, and often they were swimming in the water. But at last he found his way to the camp, and was received by the Duke and his companions with a perfect ecstasy of joy. The disabled condition of their vessel made return necessary, and prevented them from passing another winter in the Arctic regions, and from attempting other sled journeys. After sixteen days of anxious voyaging through fields of floating ice, they reached Cape Flora, where letters deposited by the seal-fishers awaited them. One of these letters was from King Humbert, and only six days later they heard the sad news of his assassination. At Christiania began that triumphal progress which culminated in Italy. Generous Nansen led the Norwegian nine hurrahs, and King Oscar decorated the explorers with the highest honors in his gift; the Presidents of various Geographical Societies met them there, and an applauding crowd followed them to the Victoria Hotel as victors. The Order of the Seraphim," given to the Duke by King Oscar, is Swedish. This selection caused such jealousy among the Norwegians that on his return to Christiania he will be decorated also with an Order of Norway. Captain Cagni received the Order of Saint Olaf of Norway. The Duke and Cagni, inseparable, pursued their journey to Italy, where a fervent welcome home awaited them. The brothers of the Duke of the Abruzzi, the Duke of Aosta and the Count of Turin, met him on the way-a joyful meeting after such an absence. The population of Turin, not accustomed to easy enthusiasm, gave way to it on this occasion. No expression of love and enthusiasm was wanting. Even the humblest citizens talked of the legend of the Pole with fervent fancy, and admired the simplicity and modesty of the Duke and Cagni, who came back from such a heroic struggle with the elements. The city of Turin, before the departure of the Duke, offered him a medal, which he will now accept, although he at that time refused it. He also then refused promotion in the navy until his return, if he returned. At Rome, where the same welcome was given to the explorers, Luigi di Savoia went to the Pantheon, and, with tears, left a beautiful metal wreath on the tomb of King Humbert, who had been for him a second father, and who had assisted his expedition. At Naples King Victor Emanuel III., waiting at the station, threw his arms passionately around him, and then drove him, with Cagni, to the palace at Capodi Monte. He will now visit Queen Margaret at Venice, and then return to Christiania for affairs connected with his ship and the companions of his voyage. He is to prepare the results of the expedition for publication, but this will require some time. These results are principally the determination of the northern boundary of Francis Joseph's Land, and the discovery that Peterman's Land does not exist. The Duke will publish a new map of the region traversed, adding magnetic, meteorological, and astronomical observations. In November the Duke of the Abruzzi and Captain Cagni will be invited by the Geographical Society of Rome to a reception given in their honor on the historic Capitoline Hill. The King and Queen and the members of the Society will be present. THE BLOCKHOUSE AT JOLO HARBOR A T the plunge of the little steamer's ancho and in the still, heavenly coolness of th early tropical morning, we rose fro the steamer chairs upon which we had slept, an stood in our pajamas looking at a rare picture island loveliness. Isles of the torrid zone we not strange to me; from St. Helena to Ceylo from the Eastern to the Western Indies, I ha been tempted, both as boy and man, to follo in the footsteps of our beloved Robinson; bu seldom has the prospect seemed more enticing never has my eye been more charmed with th beauties of an ocean oasis, than that mornin when, with tints of rose and pearl and fawn an sulphur, the sun rose behind the hills of Jold In the clean, clear light of a new day, which brought out each outline and detail with a distinctness almost microscopic, th island rose in slopes and steeps of varied and delightful greenness toward two forest crowned peaks; it fell in valleys, harboring denser, darker foliage, and its unever horizon was fringed with palms and greater trees sharply etched against the luminou east. Tumantangis, the Hill of Tears, was overhung by a fluffy, saffron-colored cloud, and about its neck, like a woolen muffler, lay a narrow band of white mist Backed by this stage-like setting, at the very footlights, as it were, stood the romantic little citadel which Arolas raised against the warring Moros. Its white walls pierced and turreted as in the days of mediæval Spain, ran out into the placid waters of the open harbor, and in the center a heavy iron gate opened upon a white stone pier, cross-shaped at the end, and having on one arm a small castellated blockhouse. Of the buildings but a few could be seen, for the town within the walls lay fathoms deep in the shade of palms, ilan-ilan, and other leafy trees, the scale of greens being relieved here and there by bursts of scarlet from lofty poincianas in full bloom. To 1 Copyright, 1900, the Outlook Company, New York. the right of the town, sheltered by a grove of cocoas, hid the Christian hamlet of Tulai, where faint spirals of smoke announced the day's beginning; on the left straggled Bus-Bus, a Moro village, gray, bare, and built on crooked piles out over the water. Further to the left stood the Sultan's palace, a barrack-like place built for him by the Spanish so that he might live near them, but which he, with characteristic perversity, declined to occupy. As the light increased, a scented breeze came wafting down from the hills, and as if by magic the sleepy harbor awakened. From beneath the nipa thatches of the vintas bright turbaned heads appeared and voices were heard. Rapidly thatches were rolled up, wooden anchors hoisted, sails of rainbow colors spread to the wind, and ere the sun topped the ridge, half a hundred of these picturesque Moro crafts, with tassels flying and lee batangas buried, were speeding to the fishing-grounds. The whole scene, especially the town, suggested a brilliant stage-setting done in miniature. By seven o'clock the doctor came aboard and we were allowed to land. If Jolo looks tiny when viewed from the It is harbor, it seems even more so when one enters its sea portal. At every street junction the four encompassing walls shut out the landscape; and I believe that from the center one might throw a baseball into any corner of the town. laid out, nevertheless, with all the liberality of a great city; and has been so prodigal of space for wide streets, plazas, gardens, and fountains that but little room is left for inhabitants. Though part of the garrison were quartered in the church, and the houses were so full that there was not even an extra bed to be had, the population numbered only about thirteen hundred. Of these more than a thousand were United States troops, and the remainder Chinese (who handle the entire business of the Sulu group), and a few Christian Filipinos and East Indians. No Moros, except the few who form the small police force, live within the walls. Save for the shut-in feeling, which in time must grow very irksome, Jolo, though a toy town, is also a model one. The streets, smooth as boulevards, have cemented gutters on each side and encircling the base of every tree; the Government buildings are of |