The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1891-10-12

desirable to select military man to put at
the head of affairs, he should, at any rate,
have had experience In Northern voyages"
"How do you think MIS-. feary VIII pc able
VIII the peculiar climate be likely to have
"If Mrs. Peary is a woman of good consti-
tuition and in ordinarily good health-and
presume she must be, else her husband
would not have permitted her to accompany
the expedition-I see no reason WHY she
should not be able to stand the winter with
out harm to her constitution. The fact of
the matter is, there Is good deal of exas-
geration In the public mind regarding the
great dangers which necessarily form mart lug o}
an Arctic voyage, and the mortality il alSo
greatly verestimated.
s"I have not tho figures convenient iust
now, but have seen the statistics showing
tnat tne percentage OF deaths among men
VINO have engaged in Arctic explorations IL
much smaller than among those who have
peen members OF land expeditions in mn
knoWn territories; more than that. helieva
enas eus casuaitties are not really more ex
cessspNestnan among mariners generallv,''
but IS IL not fact, doctor, that the entire
history Of the search for the pole IL uarSaS
py the bones of hardy adyenturers which
were ieit TO whlten on those icy shoresP So
many men have lost their lives In the Arctic
mat II seems hard to reconcile the Statement
you nave Just made with the facts as we
In the olden days many lives were Inc,
unnecessarily. and had the leaders of the ex.
peultl0n possessed as much Scientific knowl.
edge as we have today, the mortality wonld
not nave been so great. 1t is also true that
Oh recent years lives have been lost on
notnern Journeys, but frequently that loss
ment. "nase-
The great difficulty which the early expe.
aitions had to contend with was scuryy, ow-
ing to the kind Of food on which the men
ifNeu, the lack OF proper medicines, and the
stood. 'A"e'
but at the present time no properly fit
ted our expedition need carry food which
would be likely to cause scurvy, and, in adj.
dltion, the treatment of the malady is SO well
understood, and science has provided with
so many anti-scorbutIcs, that it would be .
reflection on any medical officer should he
lose any portion Of his crew from scuryy
The Corwin did not lose single man on
either OF her trips, and believe that every
one Of us returned from the North in better
health even than when we left"
DIR. Rose Is, at any rate, an ocular demon.
stration to the virtues of an Attic expedi-
ti0n as preServer OF good health. He is a
splendid specimen OF manhood, slightly
above medium height with the chest develop.
ment of an athelete, and the healthy color OF
man whose bodily functions are perfect,
and who enjoys the best of health. He is a
specialist in mental diseases, and at the
present time the one member of the Royal
Geographical Society of London in Washing
ton. His membership in that society was
conferred upon him because of his voyages
to the Artic and the contributions he has
rendered to science in that.directiop.
The only accomplishment he claims to pos
soss Is that OF being able to swim, aud every
day he regularly takes plunge In the Poto,
mac. 1t Is more than a plunge with him,
however. He thinks nothing of swimming
twice the width of the river at Georgeto WIN,
feat which O. great many professional
swimmers would take pride Ia.
SIS 1t not likely that Mr.. Peary will suffer
severely from the cold?" l asked
II thinklnot," he replied. "Mr. Peary is Of
course, provided with furs and all other
suitable clothing, and from the published
accounts which have read see that they
have plenty Of coal and oil, with warm cloth
ing and no lack of fuel, a good house to
shelter them, and plenty to eat, there is no
reason to apprehend that they will feel the
effects OF the winter.
"Of course, as you know, heat and cold
after all Is purely relative matter. Once
when the Corwin was locked In the ice.
took plunge in the ocean. The Way II
came about was this. remembered having
read that Hayes, the Attic explorer, men
toned In his book that having with a party
claimbed glacier they came to place
where the melting snow and Ice had formed
small pool, and they were so hot and tired
after their climb that he went In bathing In
this little place.
81 wanted to do little bit more than what
nad been done before, and / thought If
Hayes could battle on the top of a glacier
might as well take a plunge in the ocean.
So stripped and went In. must confess il
was rather cold at first but after got back
on the deck Of the ship some of the officers
dared me TO go In again, and as l could not
be bluffed went over the side once more
and swan around to show how much /
could do. The second time the water did
not seem as cold as when first went in.
am happily constituted in being able to
Withstand cold, but you really do not expe-
one might imangine. do not fear so much
for Mrs. Peary's health as do that she will
be very lonely and tired of her surroundings
before the expedition gets ready to leave.
However. presume that the novelty of the
situation and the interest which she takes
In her husbands work will divert her
thoughts and drive ennui away"
is the lieutenants broken leg liable to
cause MIN any trouble, or will the fracture
knit rapidly?"
II do not know how bad the fracture is
as that term, "a broken Leg may mean any.
thing or nothing. 1t is a good deal like the
phrase which every newspaper man seems
TO delight In using nowadays heart fail
IRE. From the published letters from Lieut.;
Peary It Isl evident that he does not regard
the accident as being Of very serious ma
ture, and a simple fracture ought to yield to
treatment as readily where he is as in any
other latitude.
SIN fact his chances for speedy recovery
are better there that they would be else
where. because Of the purity of the air and
the absence Of all germs. In my expert
ence have found that men do not suffer in
the Arctic regions from those diseases which
would be likely to affiict them In a more
temperate climate. Pneumonia and other
bronchial affections are unknown, and so is
rheumatism. Give man sound constitu-
tion, and winter In the Arctic will not
have any injurious effect upon him."
why Is it that men lare willing to take
their lives in their hands and go on these ex-
peditions?"
swell In the first place there is the love
OF adventure; secondly there is the hope Of
adding something to the sum of scientific
knowledge, and then, after man has once
been there, he becomes so fascinated that
he Is willing to go the second or athird time.
1T is difficult to describe in words exactly
what the fascination is. but the rugged gran
dqer OF the Arctic scenery. the surroundings,
which are so entirely different from those
to which man has before been accustomed.
and the very fact that there are dangers and
obstacles In the way which must be met and
over come, all combine to make it ex-
tremely fascinating for man whose tastes
and so strange that it is almost like being
on another planet.
"As for the scientific value of these expe-
ditions, they cannot be over-estmated, and
while. as yet, the great goal has not. been
attained, every time a properly constituted
exploring party goes to the North Pole
science derives a little benefit from 1t al
though the benefit may be small from in.
divlduai effort, the aggregate is large.
Il do not believe that 1t is an impossible
lty to reach the pole, but 1t will nave to be
done through the concerted action of all
nations. A series Of stations will have to
be established and properly maintained, so
that there may always be base of supplies,
and assistance will be close at hand II
succor Is needed"
DR.. Rose has remarkable collection Of
photographs taken In the Arctic. One of
them shows the spar of vessel sticking up
from what looks to be mountain of ice.
That" said the doctor. sis Chamisso
island on Litzebue sound, just under the
Arctic circle. The spar was erected by the
commander of 81. M. s. Blossom In his
search for Sir John Franklin. On the top
OF the spar is the British broad arrow and
On the staff is an inscription stating that
buried under the ground is a document
signed by the Blossoms commander regard
ing his landing on the island.
was curious to unearth that treasure
and, with party of men from the ship,
went to work to disinter it, The gr0und