The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-05-02
ON SLEDS UP TO THE POLE.
Inland Trip Of Lieutenant Peary and
Party to Greenland's Icy
Tip.
Flow the Winter Months We're
Passed Preparing for the
Journey.

= = 80 @&E@
Journey.
The Explorers Plan Of Campaign Against
the Legion sf Arctic Enslnies-The
Ryder Expedition.
The ssven persons who compose the
North Greenland expedition of Lient. r. Il.
Psary, u. s. N, doubtless saw ths sun pesr-
ing above the horizon in the last week OF
February. after . period of twilight and
darkness lastinR about 1870 days, says the
Philadelphia Record. During March the
Welcome sunlight fingered a little longer
with each successive day and early April
ushersd in the period Of active exploration.
Nearly all the expeditions to North Grssn-
land. ate: the lsng night Of comparative
inaction, have set out on their sledeinR sx-
petitions during the first week in April,
and three of them, DR.. Hayes, Capt. Mark
ham and Lockwood, when he started for
the 'Fsrthest North" all began the for
midable wsrk of the season April 8. The
little party passed the LONG winter night at
Fort ConRer. They had N ample supply
of food for one year; that reindeer. fox and
rabbit tracks were numerous around their
camp in July last, and there seemed a good
prospect that the hunters would lay in a
fair supply of fresh meat daring the ten
weeks of daylight remaining; that they
had seven tons of coal. plenty OF the heav-
lest WOODEN clothing, which it WAS hoped TO
supplement by fur garments to DO made
during the winter, an abundance of koro-
sens and oil stoves, and an ample supply Of
reading matter, including an Italian lsxi-
con, which was added 10 the library BY
mistake, and must mildly have surprised
Lieut., Pcary when he opened his boxes.
The party had as reighbors during the
winter the kindly disposed Arctic High
landers. one Of whose settlements, con-
posed Of nine or ten large huts. was on
Herbert island. only a few miles from the
Peary cabin. There was plenty OF winter
work to do. All the men we're exercised.
Norwegian Skis" or snowshoes, whleh
they arc to use ON their journey north.
Then sledges were to be made from timber
that formed part Of his equipment. For
two years before hs went north. Psary wat
experimenting with different woods to fnd
material for his sledRes that would com
hin the greatest t%eughness and liRhtness.
Ills sled Qes differ from those ever used In
Greenland work. except the two he made
for his Journey on the inland ics in 1886.
He has these slsdges with him, and several
others of the same type, though lighter.
were to be made during ths winter. Peary
expected to pack about 200 pounds weight
on each one-msn sledge. The loads consist
of the pemmican, condensed soups. v!ege-
tables and ether articles of food specially
reserved for the slsdge expedition, the
camp equipments and the scientific lnstru-
ment8.
Ihs last DAYS of March, probably, saw
the little party hauling the sledge supplies
up the steep basaltic hill that rises q thous-
and feet above the cabin. At its top they
found their 10y highway. -Four or tive men.
each, dragging a sledge. form the exploring
expedition. Mrs. Psary and Matt Henson,
the colored servant, were left behind at the
cabin. If Peary can reach eighty tive
degrees north latitude, whore nost geo.
graphers think the big island ends, he has
1900 miles of weary sledglnR before him.
Ii is q big undertaking, but he has four aud
u half months in which to do the work. for
he does not expect to break up camp for his
return home before August 10. Wnat II MS
plan of operations?
We find marked OH the map along tho
route to tho north, Humboldt glacier,
Petermann ford, Sherard Osborne ford,
and between Sherard Osborne and Cape
Washington, the farthsst point of land
sighted by Lockwood. is belong aord.
At or near all these points Peary expects to
establish supply depots on the northern
march, 1t has been found. as far as the
inland ice is known, that here and there
nunataks. or points OF land, peer above the
ice sea. Peary will cache his supplies on
these nunataks.
Peary's 200 miles of inland ice work in
sixty-nine degrees thirty seconds north
latitude in 1866. robbed deep, soft snow of
its ~terrors. He believes that with hiH SNOW
shoes and his type of sledge he can make
good progress over soft snow. lie will
doubtless meet crevasses. but with the
Hledgemen roped togethor the danger from
this source will not be great. There will
be days when the party will be snow-bound
and can do nothing except to lash down
their tent and ksep comfortable, il possi-
BILE, in their ~slseping bags. When tho wind
is favorable. sails may be rugged to assist
locomotion.
Peary bases his hopes of reaching the
north end of Greenland upon the theory
that the inland ice practically extends to
the north coast. While a number of geog-
raphers regard this theory as plausible,
General Greedy is of the opinion that this
inland ice does not extend north OF
this view upon tho report of Lock
wood, who Mt his farthest north
found the horizon on the land side
concealed by numberless snow-covered
mountains. sThe intetior,' he wrote, 'ie
n confused rnass of snow-capped peeks."
He added that these mountains made il
impossible to discover the topography of
the region, and it is not at all unlikely
that behind them the inland ice extends
unbrokenly toward tbs north, just as it
docs behind the mountains of South
Greenland. If, however, the ice is not Co
extensive with the north coast, Peary will
not bo able to reach the north end of the
island, and in this event he will try to
trace the northern limit of the ice cap, and
to follow it's edge to the unknown east
coast north OF Cape Bismarck. From the
lofty elevation of the inland ice it is prob
able that he will be able to do more for the
correct mapping OF the famous channel
through Smith sound to the Arctic sea than
any OF his predecessors. Much of the re.
Rion will be spread out like a map before
him, and he is likely to solve the mystery
of Humboldt glacier, believed to be the
greatest in the world. and one of the
mighty fords which penetrate, NO one YET
knows, how far inland.
If PeAry succeeds in his undertaking, and
Lieutenant Ryder, Of the Danish navy,
carries out tho task assigned him of map.
ping the east coast, between franz Jose
ford and Caro- Dan, the year 1892 will set
Greenland practically revealed in all its
outlines. Ryder reached the east coast last
summer, and intended to winter near Cape
Brewster. He is expected to study AND
mn, 6nD milan IF coast line of which th.