The Fargo Journal. (Fargo, Okla.), Vol. 7, No. 1, Ed. 1 Friday, September 17, 1909 Page: 3 of 8
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1
i
1
Notice to Publishers
Th following account by Command
r Robert E Peary of hla auccoaaful
voyage to the north polo waa laaued
on September 10 by tha New York
Tlmaa Company at tha requeat of
Commander Peary and for hla proteo
tlon aa a book only copyrighted and
axpoeed for aala before any part of It
waa reproduced by any newapaper
In tha United Statea or Europe In
order to obtain tha full protection of
the copyright lawa Tha reproduction
of thla account In any form without
permlaalon la forbidden The penal
tlea for violation of thla form of copy-
right Include Imprisonment for any
poraon aiding or abetting auch viola-
tion Thla article la copyrighted In
Great Britain by tha London Tlmaa
Copyright 190B by the New York
Tlmea Company Thla narrative la
also copyrighted aa a newapapar arti-
cle by tha New York Times Company
REPORT OF THE DISCOVERY OF
THE NORTH POLE by Robert E
Peary Commander 'U 8 N Copy-
right 1909 by tha New York Times
Company
Peary Denies Cook Claim
Battle Harbor Labrador (via Marconi
wireless Cape Ray N F) Sept 19— Do
not trouble about Cook's story or at-
tempt to explain any discrepancies In his
atatements The affair wilt settle Itself
He has not been at the pole on April
tt 1908 or at any other time He has
simply handed the public a gold brick
These statements are made advisedly
and 1 have proof of them When he
makes a full statement of his journey
over his signature to some geographical
society or other reputable body If that
statement contains the claim that he has
reached the pole I shall be In a posi-
tion to furnish material that may prove
distinctly interesting reading for the pub-
lic ROBERT E PEART
Battle Harbor Labrador (via Marco-
ni wireless Cape Ray N F) Sept 9—
The steamer Roosevelt bearing the
north polar expedition of the Peary
Arctio club parted company with the
Erik and steamed out of Etah ford late
In the afternoon of August 18 1908
setting the usual course for Cape Sa-
bine The weather was dirty with
fresh southerly winds We had on
board 22 Eskimo men 17 women and
10 children 226 dogs and some forty
odd walrus
We encountered the Ice a short dis-
tance from the mouth of the harbor
but It was not closely packed and was
negotiated by the Roosevelt without
serious difficulty
i Find Much Water
As we neared Cape Sabine the weath-
er cleared somewhat and we passed by
Three Voort Island and Cape Sabine
easily making out with the naked eye
the hous at H&yes harbor occupied by
me In the winter of 1901-02
Frog Cape Sabine north there was
so much water that we thought of set-
ting the lug sail before the southerly
wind but a little later appearance of
Ice to the northward stopped this
There was clean open water to Cape-
Albert and from there scattered Ice
to a point about abreast of Victoria
Head thick weather and dense Ice
bringing us some ten or fifteen miles
away
From here we drifted south somewhat
and then got aslant to the northward
out of the current We worked a little
further north and stopped again for
some hours Then we again worked
westward and northward till we
reached a series of lakes coming to a
stop a few miles south of the Wind-
ward's winter quarters at Cape Dur-
ville From here after some delay we
slowly worked a way northeastward
through fog and broken Ice of medium
thickness through one night and the
forenoon of the next day only emerg-
ing into open water and clear weather
off Cape Fraser
Strike ice and Fog
From this point we had a ejear run
through the middle of Robeson channel
uninterrupted by either ice or fog to
Lady Franklin bay Hek-e we encoun-
tered both Ice and fog and while
working along in search of a practi-
cable opening were forced across to
the Greenland coast at Thank God
Harbor
The fog lifted there and enabled us
to make out our whereabouts and we
steamed north through a series of leads
past Cape Lupton and thence south-
ward toward Cape Union A few miles
oft that cape we were stopped by im-
practicable ice and we drifted back
south to Cape Union where we stopped
again
' Ship Forced Aground
We lay for some time in a lake of
water and then to prevfent being drift-
ed south again took refuge under the
north shore of Lincoln bay in nearly
the identical place where we had our
unpleasant experiences three years be-
fore Here we remained for severeal
days during a period of constant and
at times violent northeasterly winds
Twice we were forced aground by
the heavy lee we had our port quar-
ter rail broken and a hole stove in the
bulwarks and twice we pushed out in
an attempt to get north but were
forced back each time to our precari-
ous shelter
Heavy Running ice
Finally on September 2 we squeezed
around Cape Union and made fast In- a
sballow niche In the ice but after some
hours we made another Bhort run to
Black cape and hung on to a grounded
bit of Ice At last a little after mid-
night of September 6 we passed through
extremely heavy running Ice into a
stream of open water rounded Cape
Rawson and passed Cape Sheridan
Within a quarter of an hour of the
same time we arrived three years before
—seven a' m September 6— we reached
the open water extending beyond Cape
Bheridan
We steamed up to the end of it and it
appeared practicable at first to reach
porter bay near Cape Joseph Henly
which I had for my winter quarters but
the outlook being unsatisfactory I went
back and put the Roosevelt Into the
only opening In the floe being barred
close to the mouth of the Sheridan riv-
er a little north of our position three
years prior
Put Up for Winter
The season was further advanoed than
In 1906 there was more snow on the
giound and the new ice Inside the floe
bergs was much thicker
The work of discharging the ship was
commenced at once and rushed to com-
pletion The supplies and equipment we
sledgsd across ice and sea and deposited
so shore A bouse and workshop were
American Explorer’s Own Story of His Thrilling and
Dash to the Absolute Apex of the Earth
built of board covered with sails and
fitted with stoves and tha ship was
snug for winter In shoal water whore It
touched bottom at low tldo
The settlement on the stormy shores of
the Arctic ocean waa christened Hub
bnrdvllle
Hunting parties wert sent out on Sep-
tember 10 and a bear was brought in on
the 12th and some deer a day or two
later
- Prepare for Sledge Trip
On September 15 the full work of trans-
ferrlng supplies to Caps Columbia was
Inaugurated Marvin with Dr Good-
sal! and Rorup and the Eskimos took 16
sledge loads of supplies to Cape Belknap
and on the 27th the same party started
wllti lords to Porter bay '
Ths work of hunting and transporting
supplies was prosecuted continuously by
the members of the party and the Eski-
mos until November 5 when the sup-
plies for the spring sledge trip had been
removed from winter quarters and de-
posited at various places from Capo Co-
lon to Cope Columbia
The latter part of September the move-
ment of the ico subjected tha ship to a
pressure which listed It to port some
eight or ten degrees and It did not re-
cover till the following spring
On October 1 1 went on a hunt with two
Eskimos across the field and Pass bay
and the peninsula made the circuit of
Clemanta Markham Inlet and returned
to the ship In seven days with 15 musk
oxen a bear and a deer
Later in October I repeated tbs trip
obtaining five musk oxen and hunting
parties secured some 40 deer
' Supplies Moved to Base
In the February moon Bartlett went to
Cape Hecla Goodsall moved some more
supplies from Hecla to Cape Colan and
Borup went to Markham Inlet on a hunt-
ing trip On February 15 Bartlett left
the Roosevelt with his division for Cape
Columbia and Parr bay
Goodsall Borup MaoMIllan and Han-
sen followed on successive days wltb
their provisions Marvin returned from
Cape Bryant on February 17 and left for
Cape Columbia on February 2L I brought
up the rear on February 22
The total of all divisions leaving the
Roosevelt was seven members of the
party 59 Eskimos 140 dogs and 23 sledges
Make Ready for Dash
By February 27 such of the Cape Colan
depot as waa needed had been brought
up to Cape Columbia the dogs were
rested and double rationed and harnessed
and the sledges and other gear over-
hauled Four months of northerly winds during
the fall and winter instead of souther-
ly ones as during the previous season
led me to expect less open water than
before but a great deal of rough Ice and
I was prepared to hew a road through
the Jagged ice for the firet hundred miles
or so then cross tha big lead
Bartlett Leads the Way
On the laat day of February Bartlett
with his pioneer division accomplished
this and his division got away due
north over the Ice on March L The rest
of the party got away on Bartlett's
trail and I followed an hour later
The party now comprised seven mem-
bers of the expedition 17 Eskimos 133
dogs and 19 sledges One Eskimo and
seven dogs had gone to pieces
A strong easterly wind drifting
snow and temperature In the minus
marked our departure from the camp at
Cape Columbia which I had christened
Crane City Rough Ice In the first march
damaged several sledges and smashed
two beyond repair the teams going back
to Columbia for other sledges in reserve
there
Pass British Record
We camped ten miles from Crane City
The easterly wind and low temperature
continued In the second march we
passed the British record made by Mark-
ham in May 1876— 8220— and were stopped
by open water which had been formed
by wind after Bartlett passed
In tlffTnarch we negotiated the lead
and reached Bartlett’s third camp Borup
had gone back from here but missed his
way owing to the faulting of the trail
by the movement of the Ice
Marvin came back also for more fuel
and alcohol The wind continued form-
ing open water all about us At the end
of the fourth march we came upon
Bartlett who had been stopped by a
wide lake of open water We remained
here from March 4 to March 11
Gets Glimpse of Sun
At noon of March 6 the sun red and
shaped like a football by excessed re-
flection Just raised Itself above the hori-
zon for a few minutes and then disap-
peared again It was the first time I had
seen it since October L
I now began to feel a good deal of
anxiety because there were no signs
of Marvin and Borup who should have
been there for two days Besides they
had the alcohol and oil which were In-
dispensable for us '
We concluded that they had either lost
the trail 'or were imprisoned on an Is-
land by open water probably the latter
Fortunately on March 11 the lead was
practicable and leaving a note for Mar-
vin and Borup to push on after us by
forced marches we proceeded northward
The sounding of the lead gave 110
fathoms
During this march we crossed the
eighty-fourth parallel and traversed a
succession of Just frozen leads from a
few hundred yards to a mile In width
This march was really simple
On the fourteenth we got free of the
leads and came on decent going While
we were making camp a courier from
Marvin came and Informed me he was
on the march in the rear The temper-
ature was 59 below zero
The following morning March 15 I sent
Hansen with his division north to pio-
neer a trail for five marches and Dr
Goodsell according to the program start-
ed back to Cape Columbia
MacMillan Turns Back
At night Marvin and Borup came spin-
ning in with their men and dogs steam-
ing in the bitter air like a squadron of
battleships Their arrival relieved me
of all anxiety as to our oil supply
In the morning I discovered that Mac-
Millan’s foot was badly frost bitten The
mishap had occurred two or three days
before but MacMillan had said nothing
about it In the hope that It would come
out all right
A glance at the Injury showed me that
the only thing was to send him back to
Cape Columbia at once The arrival of
Marvin and Borup enabled me to spare
sufficient men and dogs to go back with
him
On leaving the camp the expedition
comprised 16 men 12' sledges and 100 dogs
The next march was satisfactory as re-
gards distance and the character of the 1
Goal of Centuries Reached By Marvelously Swift
Travel Smooth Ice and Mild Weather
Helping — Sensations of Intrepid
Commander at Climax of
His Life Work
going In the latter part there were
pronounced movements In the Ice both
visible end audible
Boms leads ware crossed In one of
which Borup and his team took a bath
and we were finally stopped by an Im-
practicable lead opening in front of us
We camped In a temperature of 50 de-
grees below
At ths end of two short marches wo
camo upon Hansen and hla party In
camp mending their sledges We de-
voted the remainder of the day to over-
hauling and mending sledges and break-
ing up our damaged ones for material
Make Forced Marches
The next morning I put Marvin In the
lead to pioneer the trail with Instruc-
tions to make two forced marches t f
bring up our average which had been
cut down by the last two short ones
Marvin carried out his Instructions Im-
plicitly A considerable amount of young
Ice assisted in this
At the end of the tenth march latitude
8523 Borup turned back in command of
the second supporting party having trav-
eled a distance equivalent to Nansen's
distance from this far to hla farthest
north
I was sorry to lose this young Yale
runner with his enthusiasm and pluck
He had led his heavy sledge over the
floes In a way that commanded every-
one's admiration and would have mode
his father's eyes glisten "
Changes His Plan
- From this point the expedition com-
prised 20 men 10 sledges and 70 dogs It
was necessary for Marvin to take a
sledge from here and I put Bartlett
and his division in advance to pioneer
the trail
The continual daylight enabled me to
make a moderation here that brought my
advance and main parties closer together
and reduced the likelihood of their be-
ing separated by open leads
After Bartlett left camp with Hender-
son and their division Marvin and I re-
mained with our division 20 hours long-
er and then followed When we reached
Bartlett's camp he broke out and went
on and we turned In By this arrange-
ment the advance party was traveling
while the main party was asleep and
vice versa and I was In touch with my
advance party every 24 hours
Moves Expeditiously
I had no reason to complain of the
going for the next two marches though
for a less experienced party less adapt-
able sledges or less perfect equipment It
would have been an Impossibility
At our position at the end of the sec-
ond march Marvin obtained a satisfac-
tory sight for latitude In clear weather
which placed us at 8548 The result
agreed satisfactorily with the dead reck-
oning of Marvin Bartlett and myselfc
Up to this time the slight altitude of
the sun had made It not worth while to
waste time In observations
On the next two marches the going im-
proved and we covered good distances
In one of these marches a lead delayed
us a few hours We finally ferried across
the Ice cakes
Makes Record Run
The next day Bartlett let himself out
evidently for a record and reeled oft 20
miles Here Marvin obtained anothei
satisfactory sight on latitude which gave
the position as 8638 (or beyond the farth-
est north of Nansen and Abruzzl) and
showed 'that we had covered 60 minutes
of latitude in three marches
In these three marches we had passed
the Norwegian record of 8614 by Nan-
sen and the Italian record of 8634 by
Cagnl
From this point Marvin turned back In
command of the third supporting party
My last words to him were: “Be care-
ful of the leads my boy"
The party from this point comprised
nine men seven sledges and 60 dogs
The conditions at this camp and the ap-
parently unbroken expanse of fairly level
Ice in every direction reminded me of
Caghl’s description of his farthest north
Danger Is Encountered
But I was not deceived by the appar-
ently favorable outlook for available
conditions never continue for any dis-
tance or any length of time In the arc-
tic regions
The next march was over good go-
ing but for the first time since leaving
land we experienced that condition fre-
quent over these ice fields of a hazy at-
mosphere in which the light Is equal
everywhere All relief is destroyed and
It Is Impossible to see for any distance
We were obliged In this march to moke
a detour around an open lead In the
next march we encountered the heaviest
and deepest snow of the Journey through
a thick smothering mantle lying in the
depressions of heavy rubble ice
Temporarily Discouraged
I came upon Bartlett and his party
fagged out and temporarily discouraged
by the heartracklng work of making
road
I knew what was the matter with
them They were simply spoiled by the
good going on the previous marches I
rallied them a bit lightened their sledges
and sent them on encouraged again
During the next march we traveled
through a thick haze drifting over the
Ice before a biting air from the north-
east At the end of the march we came
upon the captain camped beside a wide
open lead with a dense black water sky
northwest north affd northeast
The next march was also a long one
It was Bartlett’s last hit He let him-
self out over a series of large old floes
steadily Increasing in diameter and
covered with hard snow
Wind Helps Out
During the last few miles I walked
beside him or In advance He was sol-
emn and anxious to go further but the
program was for him to go back from
here In command of the fourth sup-
porting party and there were no sup-
plies for an increase In the main party
Bartllett Did Good Work
WThen he left I felt for a moment
patfgs of regret as he disappeared in
the distance but It was only momen-
tary My work was still ahead not In
tha rear
Bartlett bad dona good work and had
been a great help to ms Circumstances
had thrust the brunt of tha pioneering
upon him instead of dividing It among
several as I had planned
Hs had reason to take pride In the
fact that be had bettered tho Italian
record by a degree and a quarter and
bad sovered a distance equal to the
entire distance of the Italian expedi-
tion from Frans Josef's land to Cagnl'a
farthest north
I had given Bartlett this position and
post of honor in command of my
fourth and last supporting party and
for two reasons: first because of his
magnificent handling of the Roosevelt
second because he had cheerfully stood
between me and many trifling annoy-
ances on the expeditions
Then there was a third reason It
seemed to me appropriate In view of
the magnificent British record of arc-
tio work covering three centuries that
it should be a British subject who
could boaBt that next to an American
be bad been nearest the pole
Ready for Final Effort
With the disappearance of Bartlett 1
turned to the problem before me Thla
waa that for which I had worked for 32
years for which I had lived the simple
life for which I had conserved all my
energy on the upward trip for which
I had trained myself as for a race' crush-
ing down every worry about success
In spite of my years I felt In trim-
fit for the demands of the coming days
and eager to be on the trail
Ae for my party my equipment and
my supplies I waa in shape beyond my
most sanguine dreams of earliest years
My party might be regarded aa an
Ideal which had now come to realization
—as loyal and responsive to my will as
the fingers of my right hand
Men All Tried and Truei
Four of them possess the technique of
dogs sledges Ice and cold as their heri-
tage Two of them Hansen and Ootam
were my companions to the farthest point
three years before Two others Egtnwuk
and Sigloo were In Clark’s division
which had such a narrow escape at that
time and now were wUHng to go any-
where with my Immediate party and
willing to risk themselves again In any
supporting party
The fifth was a young man who had
never served before In any expedition
but who was If possible even more
willing and eager than the others for
the princely gifts— a boat a rifle a shot-
gun ammunition knives etc which I
had promised to each of them who
reached the pole with me for he knew
that these riches would enable him to
wrest from a stubborn father the girl
whose Image filled hla hot young heart
All Followed Him Blindly
All had blind confidence bo long aa
I was with them and gave no thought
for the morrow sure that whatever hap-
pened I should somehow get them back
to land But I dealt with the party
equally I recognized that all Its Im-
petus centered in me and that whatever
pace I set It would make good If any-
one played out I would stop for a short
time
I had no fault to find with the condi-
tions My dogs were the best the pick
of 122 with which we left Columbia Al-
most all were powerful males hard as
nails In good flesh but without a super-
fluous ounce and what was better yet
they were all In good spirits
My sledges now that the repairs were
completed were In good condition My
supplies were ample for 40 dys and
with the reserve represented by the dogs
themselves could be made to last 50
At a little after midnight of April 1
after a few hours of sound sleep I hit
the trail leaving the others to break
up camp and follow
As I climbed the pressure ridge back
of our Igloos I set another hole In my
belt the third since I started Every
man and dog of us was lean and flat
bellied as a board and as hard
Fine Morning for Start
It was a fine morning The wind of
the last two days had subsided and the
going was the best and most equable
of any I had had yeti The floes were
large and old and clear and were sur-
rounded by pressure ridges some of
which were almost stupendous
The biggest of them however were
easily negotiated either through some
crevice or up some huge brink I set
a good pace for about ten hours
Twenty-five miles -took me well be-
yond the eighty-eighth parallel
While I was building my igloos a
long lead forward by the east and
southwest of us at a distance of a few
miles
Few Handicaps Are Faced
A few hours’ sleep and we were on
the trail again As the going was now
practicality horizontal we were un-
hampered and could travel as long as
we pleased and sleep as little as we
wished ‘
The weather was fine and the going
like that of the previous day except
at the beginning when pickaxes were
required This and a brief stop at an-
other lead cut down our distance But
we had made 20 miles In ten hours and
were half way to the eighty-ninth
parallel
Going Improves on Way
Again there was a few hours’ sleep
and we hit the trail before midnight
The weather and going were even bet-
ter The surface except as interrupted
by infrequent ridges was as level as
the glacial fringe from Hecla to Colum-
bia and harder
We marched something over ten
hours the dogs being often 5n the trot
and made 20 miles Near the end of
the march we rushed across a lead 100
yards wide which buckled under our
sledges and finally broke as the last
sledge left it
We stopped in sight of the eighty-
ninth parallel in a temperature of 40
degrees below Again a scant sleep
Successful
and we were on our way once mors
and across the eighty-ninth -parallel
This march duplicated the previous
one as to weather and going The Uat
few houre It wae on young Ice and oc-
casionally the doge were galloping
We made twenty-five mtlee or more
the air the sky and tha bitter wind
burning tha fuce till It cracked It was
like the groat Interior Ice gap of
Greenland Even the natives com-
plained of the bitter air It wae as
keen as frozen steel I
A little longer sleep than the previ-
ous one had to be taken here as we
were all In need of It Then on again
Up to thla time with each successive
march our fear of an Impassable lead
had Increased At every Inequality of
the Ice I found myself hurrying breath-
lessly forward fearing that It marked a
lead and when I arrived at the summit
would catch my breath with relief— only
to find myself hurrying on In the same
way at the next one
But on this march by eoma strange
hlft of feeling this fear fell from me
completely The weather was thick but
It gave me no uneasiness
Before 1 turned In I took an observa-
tion which Indicated our position as 89
degrees 25 minutes
A rise In temperature to 15 degrees be-
low reduced the friction of the sledges
and gave the dogs the appearance of
having caught tha spirits of the party
The more sprightly ones as they went
along with tightly curled tails frequent-
ly tossed their heads with short sharp
barks and yelps
In 12 hours we had made ’ 40 miles
There was no sign of a lead In the
march
Pole Reached at Last
I bad now made my five marches and
was In time for a hasty noon observation
through a temporary break in the clouds
which Indicated our position as 8957 I
quote an entry from my Journal some
hours luter:
The pole at last The prize of three
centuries my dream and goal for 20
years mine at laat I cannot bring my-
self to realize It
It all seems so simple and commonplace-
As Bartlett said when turning
back when speaking of hla being In
these exclusive regions which no mortal
has ever penetrated before: "It Is just
like every day”
Of course I had my sensations that
made sleep' Impossible for hours despite
my utter fatigue— the sensations of a life-
time but I have no room for them here
The first SO hours at the pole were
spent In taking observations in going
soma ten mtles beyond our camp and
some eight miles to ths right of It In
taking photographs planting my flags
depositing my records studying the hori-
son with my telescope for possible land
and searching for a practicable place to
make a sounding
Ten hours after our arrival the clouds
cleared before a light breeze from our
left and from that time until our depar-
ture In the afternoon of April T the
weather was cloudless and flawless
The minimum temperature during the
80 hours was 33 below the maximum 12
We had reached the goal but the re-
turn was still before us It was essential
that we reach the land before the next
spring tide and we must strain every
nerve to do this
I had a brief talk with my men From
now on It was to bs a big travel little
sleep and a hustle every minute
We would try I told them to double
march on the return— that is to start
and cover one of our northward
marches make tea and eat our luncheon
In the Igloos then cover another march
eat and sleep a few hours and repeat
this dally
Double Speed on Return
As a matter of fact we nearly did
this covering regularly on our return
Journey five outward marches In three
return marches
Just as long as we could hold the
trail we could double our speed and
we need waste no time in building
new Igloos every day so that the time
we gained on the return lessened the
chances of a gale destroying the track
Just above the eighty-seventh paral-
lel was a region some fifty miles wide
which caused me considerable uneasi-
ness Twelve hours of strong easterly
westerly or northerly wind would
make this region an open sea
In the afternoon of the 7th we start-
ed on our return having double fed
the dogs repaired the sledges for the
last time and discarded all our spare
clothing to lighten the loads
Sea 1500 Fathoms Deep'
Five ‘miles from the pole a narrow
crack filled with recent Ice through
which we were able to work a hole
with a pickax enabled me to make a
sounding All my wire 1500 fathoms
was sent down but there was no bot-
tom In pulling up the wire parted a few
fathoms from the surface and lead and
wire went to the bottom Off went reel
and handle lightening the sledges still
further We had no more use for them
now
Three marches brought us back to
the Igloos where the captain turned
back The last march was In the wild
sweep of a northerly gale with drift-
ing snow and the Ice rocking under as
we dashed over it
Little Trouble in Leads
South of where Marvin had turned
back we came to where his party had
built several Igloos while delayed by
open leads Still further south we
found where the captain had been held
up by an open lead and obliged to
camp
Fortunately the movement of these
leads was simply open and shut and It
took considerable water motion to fault
the trail seriously
While the captain Marvin and as I
found later Borup had been delayed
by open leads we seemed to bear a
charm and with no single lead were we
delayed more than a couple of hours
Sometimes the ice was fast and firm
enough to carry us across sometimes
a short cietour sometimes a brief halt
for the lead to close sometimes an im-
provised ferry on an Ice cake kept the
trail without difficulty down to the
tenth outward march
First Handicap on Return
Igloos there disappeared completely
and the entire region was unrecogniz-
able Where on the outward Journey
had been narrow cracks there were
now broad leads one of them over five
miles in width caught over with young
ice
Here again fortune favored us and
no pronounced movement of the lea
hiving taken place since the captain
passed we had his trail to follow We
picked up the old trail again north of
the seventh igloos followed it beyond
the fifth and at ths big lead lost I
finally
Eskimos Wild with Joy
From here we followed the captain'
trail and on April tl our sledge
passed up the vertical edge of th
glacier fringe a little weet of Cap
Columbia '
When the laet eledge came up X
thought my Esklmoe bad gone craay
They yelled end called and danced
themselves helpless As Oolnh sat dow
on his sledge he remarked In Kakimot
"The devil Is asleep or having trouble
with hla wife or we never should hev
oome back so easily"
A few hours later we arrived at
Crane City under the bluffs of Cap
Columbia end after putting four
pounds of pemmlcnn Into each of th
faithful doge to keep them quiet w
had at last our chance to sleep
Sleep Finally in Safety
Never shall I forget that sleep at Cap
Columbia It was sleep sleep then turn
over and sleep again We slept glorious-
ly with never a thought of the morrow
or having to walk and too with no
thought that there wae to be never
night more of blinding headache
Cold water to a parched throat Is noth-
ing compared with sleep to a numbed
fatigued brain and body
Two days we spent here In sleeping and
drying our clothes Then for the ship
Our dogs like ourselves had not bee
hungry when we arrived but simply life-
less with fatigue They were different
animals now and the better ones among
them swept on with tightly curled tall
and uplifted heads and their hind leg
treading the enow with plstonllk regu-
larity Shocked by Marvin’s Death
We reached Hecla In one iparch and
the Roosevelt In another When w
got to the Roosevelt I was staggered by
tha news of the fatal mishap to Marvin
He hod either been less cautious or less
fortunate than the rest of us and hi
death emphasized the risk to which w
all had been subjected for there was not
one of us but had been in the sledge at
some time during the journey
The big lead cheated of Its prey thre
years before bad at laat gained Its hu-
man victim
The rest can be told quickly McMillan
and Borup bad started for the Green-
land coast to deposit caches for me Be-
fore I arrived a flying Eskimo courier
from me overtook them with Instruction
that the caches were no longer needed
and they were to concentrate their ener-
gies on the Ideal observations etc at
Cape Morris K Jesup and north from
there
Return on Roosevelt Begins
These Instructions were carried out and
after their return in the latter part of
May McMillan made some further tidal
observations at other points The sup-
plies remaining at the various cache
were brought In and on July 18 th
Roosevelt left its winter quarters and
was driven out into the channel back of
Cape Nion
It fought Its way south In the center
of the channel and passed Cape Sabin
on August 8 or 39 dayr earlier than In
1908 and 82 days earlier than the British
expedition In 1878
We picked up Whitney and his party
and stores at Etah We killed seventy-
odd walrus for my Eskimos whom X
landed at their homes We met th
Jeanle off Saunders Island and took over
Its coal and cleared from Cape York on
August 28 one month earlier than In
1906
Praise for His Aids
As to the personnel I have again been
particularly fortunate Capt Bartlett I
just Bartlett— tireless sleepless enthusi-
astic whether on the bridge or In th
crow’s nest or at the head of a sledg
division In the field
Dr Goodsell the surgeon of the expe-
dition not only looked after Its health
and his own specialty of microscopes but
took his full share of the field work of
the expedition as well and was always
ready for any work
Profs Marvin and McMillan have se-
cured a mass of scientific data having
made all the tidal and most of the field
work and their services were Invaluable
In every way
Borup Valuable in Many Ways
Borup not only made the record as to
the distance traveled during the Jour-
ney but to his aslstance and his expert
knowledge of photography Is due what
I believe to bo the unequaled series of
photographs talcn bv the expedition
Chief Engineer Wardwell also of
the last expedition aided by his as-
sistant Scott kept the machinery up
to a high state of efficiency and has
given the Roosevelt the force and pow-
er which enabled It to negotiate appar-
ently impracticable ice
Mr Gusliue tho mate who waa In
charge of the Roosevelt during the ab-
sence of Capt Bartlett and myself and
Boatswain Murphy who was put In
charge of the station at Etah for tho
relief of Cook were both trustworthy
and reliable men and I count myself
fortunate In having had them In my
service
Members of Crew Lauded
The members of the crew and th
firemen were a distinct Improvement
over those of our last expedition Every
one of them was willing and anxious
to be of service in every possible way
Connors who was promoted to b
bos’n In the absence of Murphy proved
to be practically effective
Barnes seaman and Wiseman and
Joyce firemen not only assisted Mar-
vin and McMillan in their tidal and
meteorological observations on th
Roosevelt but Wiseman and Barnv
went Into the field with them on their
trips to Capo Columbia and Condoiv
and Cody covered 1000 miles hunting
and sledging supplies
Supplies Left for Eskimos
As for my faithful Eskimos I liavo
left them with ample supplies of dark
rich walrus meat and blubber for their
winter with currants sugar biscuits
guns rifles ammunition knives hatch-
ets traps etc
For the splendid four who stood be-
side me at the polo a boat and tent
each to requite them for their energy
and the hardship anti toil they under-
went to help their friend Peary to th
north pole
But all of this — the dearly bought
years of experience tho magnificent
strength of the Roosevelt the splen-
did energy and enthusiasm of my party
the loyal faithfulness of my Eskimos
— could have gone for naught but for
the faithful necessaries of war fur-
nished so loyally by the members and
friends of the Peary Arctic club
Thanks to Dead Friend
And It is no detraction from the liv-
ing to say that to no single Individual
has the fine result been more signally
due than to my friend tho late Morris
K Jesup the first president of the cluh
Their assistance has enabled me to
tell the last o2 the great earth stories
the story tho world has heen waiting
to hear for 300 years — the Btory of
the discovery of the north pole
ROBERT E PEARY
t
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Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
White, George A. The Fargo Journal. (Fargo, Okla.), Vol. 7, No. 1, Ed. 1 Friday, September 17, 1909, newspaper, September 17, 1909; Fargo, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc1978012/m1/3/?q=%22%22~1: accessed June 29, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.