Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1892-09-29
THE KITES RETURN.

ne M e. ontNs
Lieut. Peary and Party Arrive Safely Mt
PhfladeIphfa After Successful Expedi-
tion to the Northern Limits OF Green
iand-A Cordial welcome Extended to
the Explorers Mrs. Peary Seems to
Have Enjoyed the Trip-The Missing
Member.
PHILADELPHIA. Sept. a4.-As soon as
it was known here that the Kite had
reached the breakwater, Gavin w. Hart
and DIR. VIM. e. Hughes, of the acad-
envy OF natural sciences, began making
arrangements to receive the explorers.
Shortly after o'clock yesterday morn
ing the tugs Lille NJ. Graham and
Charles Killar, the former bearing the
members of the relief committee of the
academy, consisting of Lawyer Hart,
DIR. Samuel G. Dixon, and Common Coun-
Gilman V. c. Smith, the United Press
representative and others. left Walnut
street wharf. Included in the party on
both tugs, were number of relatives
OF the explorers. Rev. A. N. Kegwin,
of Wilmington. Del, and H. E. Elliott,
of Louisville, KY, were the only MEM
bers of the party who had relatives in
the original Peary expedition. The
former is the uncle and the latter the
cousin of young Verhoeff, the only
member of the expedition who did not
return. Also included in the party
were several who accompanied the
original expedition.
The Kite was first sighted by the
Graham off Einicum island about $50
O'Clock. She was gaily decorated with
flags Of every nation, and as the tug
drew near the first person distin-
guished ON the Arctic vessel was Prof
Heilprin, of the academy of natural
science, the leader of the relief expedi-
ton. Lieut.. Peary was afterwards
seen waving his hat and beside him
stood his wife.
The welcoming party cheered heart
lily and the tug was soon made fast to
the steamer. The first to greet them
were Lieut.. and Mrs. Peary. The lat
ter was attired in black silk and wore
pretty bonnet. Her bronzed face
was wreathed in smiles. and she al
most cried with JOY when handed a
hugh bouquet of roses. She looked
anything but like a woman who had
spent winter in the ice fields of
Greenland, although her tanned fea-
lures were a striking contrast to her
fair face which smilingly acknowledged
the plaudits of the throng at the acad-
envy of music when reception was
given prior to the departure.
The United Press reporter was the
first to grasp the hand of Lieut.. Peary.
"Was your expedition success?" was
asked.
81 think so" replied the lieutenant,
with vigorous grasp of the hand. Il
accom- plished all set out to do"
"Do you believe you discovered the
northern coast of Greenland?''
81 believe SO without a doubt" was
the reply.
"How about the loss of Verhoeff?''
"That is matter which referred to
very fully in my dispatch from St.
Johns. Until l see his relatives shall
say no more"
At this juncture Lieut.. Peary was APP
preached by Rev. Mr.. Kegwin and H.
d. elliott, the uncle and cousin of Yer
hoeff. To them he said after a few
words of greeting:
II will tell You all know later. At
present can only say this: Verhoeff
left camp to go ten miles. He took with
him a Colts revolver, fifty rounds of
ammunition, a compass, an AK, a heavy
suit of clothes and provisions for five
days. After being away for one day he
returned and left word that if he was
not back in four days we were not
to look for him. He did not
come back. and our search failed
to find anything of him. except what
would leave us to think that he had
fallen into an ice chasm on the glacier.
significant fact is that he asked four
of the party if they thought 1 would
allow him to remain behind alone.
; They said: Mo-
"TEanl1 Cod" exclaimed Verhoeff's
uncle. HE is alive, am sure
Elliott, Verhoeff's cousin. also ex-
pressed the belief that Verhoeff was
alive and would turn up all right.
Other members of the expedition re-
fused to be interviewed on the subject,
saying it had been agreed all such in.
formation should be given out only by
Lieut.. Peary.
When asked if he would make an
other trip. Lieut.. Peary replied:
II will If possible
Mrs. Peary said she had pleasant
experience. and saw much that was
strange and new. at was not SO lone
~" she said, ''for there were men
about and the Esquimaux were very
friendly. I used to give them bread and
coffee every morning. and all of the
empty tin cans in which much of our
food had been packed. They were per-
feet prizes to them. They are we'll
meaning people, but SO filthy end
dirty"
Mrs. Peary further said she would
to her husband. She spoke of delight
full snow-shce and toboggan trips and
referred to 2OO-m;le journey she had
taken over the ice. A New Years re-
ception was held to which the Esqui-
maux came
Lieut. and Mrs. Peary went to the
Lafayette hotel; others of the explor-
ers went to the homes of friends, while
some departed for New York.
The decks of the Kite were piled
high with curiosities. Among them
were seven Esquimaux dogs and two
puppies, five of them being the ones
which had accompanied Peary on his
long journey over the ice. They were
all sent to the Geological garden yes
terday afternoon.
All on board were bronzed and tanned
and their clothing showed the hard
ships through which they had passed.
The custom house officials boarded
the Kite below League island, and the
visitors were ordered off the steamer