The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1892-10-26
IN THE NORTHERN WORLD.
Peary's Description of the Land on
Greenland's Remote Border.

NEW York, October 25.-In an article
in the New York Sun, Lieutenant Peary
gives the following description sof the
land he found after his journey of 1906
miles northward over the interior ice OF
Greenland:
We could plainly see the green rivers
and lakes along the margin of the ice,
| and the murmur OF roaring cataracts
came softly to our ears.
selected the highest convex of cres-
cent moraine which climbed well up in
to the leecap as my landing point and
after wading innumerable streams and
| houndering through a mile of slush,
which covered the lower portion of the
landward slope of the ice, we clambered
| upon the confused rocks of the
moraine and dragged the sledge up
high and dry. Stopping only long enough
to open tin of pemlcan and change
my ski for snowshoes, / left Astrup to
look after the dogs and turn in
and hastened on down to the land for
the purpose of climbing a summit some
five miles from the edge of the ice, which
apparently commanded full view of
the great break in the coast ribbon. A
mile or more of slush, 200 foot slide
down the nearly As degree slope of the
extreme edge of the ice, and my feet
were on the sharp, chaos-strewn rocks
which cover the iceward borders of this
land of rock.
[ lThe fierce July sun, though but little
past the northern meridian, beat down
upon me with oppressive warmth. Be
fore me the warm, red-brown landscape
wavered and trembled in the yellow
light; behind me lowered the binding,
white slope of the ice. Beneath my
feet the stones were bare even of lichens
and had dry, gray look, as if they were
the bones of a dead world.
And yet / felt that with so much
warmth and richness of coloring there
must be life, and, sure enough, hardly
had gone hundred yards from the
edge of the ice when a beautiful black
and white songster fluttered up from be-
hind rock, lowered singing almost
within reach above my head, and then
settled upon bleak stone but a few feet
distant to finish his merry song.
AS l went on numbers of these snow
buntings fitted about me, and hardly
had gone mile before my heart beat
quicker at the sight of traces of musk
oxen. AS I got further away from the
ice and in the lee of the gigantic NOR
aines and tumuli of glacial debris, flow
ers began to appear, purple and white
and yellow, among them my ever-present
brilliant yellow friend. the Arctic poppy.
Still travelling along toward my noun
tain, with eyes constantly alert for musk
oxen, 1 received shock like that of Cru
soc when he spied the footprints on the
beach. In a little level space, sheltered
on all sides, was a large angular boulder
of trap, with one vertical face, and be-
fore this face were number of irregu-
larly arranged stones in rank growth of
vivid green grass. Throughout all the
inhabited shores of Greenland patch of
luxuriant grass is always the sign of
sometime igloo, and it was with pecu-
liar feelings that fastened to, the spot.
A closer examination showed the place
to be musk OK rendezvous. Bits of
their hair and wool were sticking to the
rock and scattered on the ground, a
weather-worn skull lay few yards
away, and the usual growth of grass was
due to the presence of the musk oxen.
From this point on the musk OK trails
were as thick as sheep paths in New
England pasture; and knowing the sa-
gacity of these animals in the selection
use of their paths. But my mountain
seemed to recede as [ advanced, and it
was eight hours before l reached it's
summit, only to find that two OF three
othor SUBMITS intervened between me
and the full view out, through the fault
in the coast line.
The five miles of apparent distance
had heightened out to at least II miles of
actual distance, and most men, less ac-
customed to estimate distance than had
been, would have called it considerable
more
1 was strongly tempted to go
on still further, but the condition
of my footgear precluded it.
The soles of both kamaks were al
ready cut through and one or two edges
of sharp rocks had even reached and cut
my feet. 1t was even questionable
whether could fix up my foot gear to
enable me to get back without more or
less serious injury to my feet.
With the assistance of pair of seal
skin mittens and knit skull cap,
patched up my footgear and, after an
hours rest, started on my return to the
camp on the moraine.
York County Sunday Schools.