The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-04-21
TO EXPLORE GREENI AND.

| WASHINGTON, April 20.-Lieut. Peary,
| of the navy, who will soon start upon an
expedition to the north for the purpose of
exploring Greenland. will carry with him
a handsome flag, which he expects to
plant upon the most northern point of that
| unknown land. The flag is a beautiful one
of silk, about five feet by three on a staff
| surmounted by a golden eagle and was
presented to him by the National Geog-
| raphlcal society, to whom it had been
given for the purpose by Miss Ulrlca Dahl
gren, daughter of the great admiral:
Lieut.. Peary spent 1886 in Greenland,
and makes his second expedition under
graphical society, of this city. the Ameri-
can Geographical society of New York,
and the Philosophical society, of Phlla-
delphia. His trip in 1888 was on foot, his
only companion being Christian Maigaard,
Danish official, as their purpose TO make
the journey with dogs and sledges was
prevented by the desertion of the Esquima
merely Of reconnaissance, as Lieut.. Peary
regards it, but one of splendid preparation
for the present undertaking.
His plan is to have party Of five or SIX
men to be landed at Whale Sound late in
June or early in July. They will remain
there during the summer, putting up
houses, getting supplies, and making
in establishing an advance depot of sup
plies near the southern angle of the Ham
boldt glacier. The winter will be spent in
building sledges, arranging clothing and
travelling equipment, and in practicing
with the immense snow shoes Four or
five of them will start in the early spring
of 1892 over the ice to Humboldt glacier.
leaving the men in charge of the houses at
Whale Sound, then on to Petermann
Fiord, where second depot of supplies
will be established. While one of the
party returns TO Whale Sound the other
two or three will push on to the head of
Sherord, Osborne Fiord, place a depot
there; on to Long Fiord, and thence to the
northern end of Greenland.
The personnel of the party will be the
chief, his assistant, doctor and two or
three others, all young hardy, and active
1t has been discovered from experience
that in active work every increase in the
number of a party is an element of danger
One of the results of the expedition will
be an explanation of the interior of Green
land, an area thirteen times as great as
that of Pennsylvania, where the surface
attains height of 5000 to 1000 feet above
the sea- Experience of explorers has
shown the impracticability of investigat-
ing Greenland along its edges, but its
interior gives an extended easy road of
hard, dry snow. To some this has been
a bugbear, but to a properly equipped
expedition it is the best kind of
road. Fifteen to twenty miles a
day is a reasonable estimate of the
advance to be made, and the whole dis
tance to the northern point and back to
the southern end of Humboldt glacier is
1,2l9 miles. The only disadvantage lies in
the storms, but against the fury of these a
pit in the snow offers sufficient refuge
Other results to be obtained is the solu-
ton of a geographical problem of the
northern limits of the country, the posi-
bility of the consequent discovery of the
best route to the pole, and additions to the
geography, geology, glaciation, ethnology
and natural history of Greenland.