First at the North Pole or Two Boys in the Arctic Circle by Edward Stratemeyer, author of Oliver Bright’s Search, Richard Dare’s Venture, The Last Cruise of the Spitfire, True to Himself, Joe, the Surveyor, Shorthand Tom, Etc.Illustrated By Charles Nuttall CONTENTSPrefaceChapter 1. Andy and His UncleChapter 2. At The Lumber CampChapter 3. Some Papers of ValueChapter 4. Chet Greene’s PastChapter 5. The Man on the LedgeChapter 6. A World-Wide HunterChapter 7. Chet and the MooseChapter 8. A Talk of ImportanceChapter 9. Something about the North PoleChapter 10. Bringing in Some GameChapter 11. A Serious LossChapter 12. A Letter of InterestChapter 13. Barwell Dawson Reaches a DecisionChapter 14. The Fire On The SteamerChapter 15. The Start of the Cook ExpeditionChapter 16. A Trick, and What FollowedChapter 17. An Encounter with IcebergsChapter 18. Shooting Wild GeeseChapter 19. Greenland and the EsquimauxChapter 20. Fast in the IceChapter 21. A Fight with Polar BearsChapter 22. Through the Long NightChapter 23. “North Pole or Bust!”Chapter 24. The Last HuntChapter 25. Crossing the Great LeadChapter 26. On A Floating Mass of IceChapter 27. How Commander Peary Reached the PoleChapter 28. The Top of the World at LastChapter 29. Fighting Off StarvationChapter 30. Home AgainChapter 31. Good News--Conclusion Preface“First at the North Pole,” relates the particulars of a marvelous journey from our New England coast to that portion of our globe sometimes designated as “the top of the world.”Filled with such dreams as come to all explorers, Barwell Dawson fitted out the Ice King for a trip to the north. Because of what had happened, it was but natural that he should invite Andy and Chet to accompany him, and equally natural that they should hasten to accept the invitation.The boys knew that they would have no easy time of it, yet they did not dream of the many perils that awaited the entire party. Once the staunch steamer was in danger of being crushed by an immense iceberg, in which event this chronicle would not have been written. Again, the boys and the others had a fierce fight with polar bears and with a savage walrus. When the ship was jammed hard and fast in the ice a start was made by the exploring party, accompanied by some Esquimaux and several dog sledges. All had heard of the marvelous achievements of Cook and Peary, and all were fired with a great ambition to go and do likewise. With the thermometer often at fifty degrees below zero, they pushed on steadily, facing death more than once. To add to their troubles they had sickness in camp, and snow-blindness, and once some Esquimaux, becoming scared, rebelled and tried to run off with their supplies. Then, when the North Pole was at last gained, it became the gravest kind of a problem how to return to civilization alive.In penning this volume I have had a twofold purpose in mind: the first to show what pure grit and determination can do under the most trying of circumstances, and the second to give my readers an insight into Esquimaux life and habits, and to relate what great explorers like Franklin, Kane, Hall, DeLong, Nansen, Cook, and Peary have done to open up this weird and mysterious portion of our globe.Edward Stratemeyer.November 15, 1909.