The morning call., 1893-09-07
THE PEARY EXPEDITION.

We have dates from Lieutenant Peary
to August 90 At that time he had estab-
lished his winter quarters at Bowdoin
Bay. WAS building his house and making
all prep9rations for a seven months
siege. 1t was on July Is that he sailed in
the Falcon from ST. Johns, Newfoundland.
He struck across to Labrador and landed
at several points, where he picked up Es-
quimau dogs. On July 81 he made har.
Dor at Upernavik, and thence, coasting
along the west coast Of Greenland past
Cape York, hs made his final landing in
Bowdoin Bay, on Smiths Sound. on Au-
gust 3. This is in a abOut rs deg. north
latitude. Here he set NJ his barracks, So
feet long by II wide. By this time the
building Is probably covered with snow
and will be as warm as building in this
latitude.
As soon as the dark season is over, in
March, be will set out for the point which
he reached last year in independence Bay.
in 81 deg. 81 min. Seven Of his men will
accompany him. OF these he will leave
four at independence Bay, with instruc-
tions to coast the east side of Greenland as
far south as possible, and when their path
is blocked by ice to return directly across
the peninsula to Bowdoin Bay With the
other three be will march north in the
direction of the pole. Higher latitudes
than Independence Bay have been reached
by himself, as well as by Lockwood and
Greeley. He got last year to a point in 80
deg, while Lockwood is believed to have
reached So deg. 30 min. Observations,
however. at such meridians are always the
better for revision, and science will be
happy to nave them verified. lt is reason
ably certain that Cape Washington can
not be much over 400 miles from the pole,
and with Peary's outfit for travelling over
ice and water be may be able to traverse
that distance. He expects to be back by
October. 1894.
The discovery of the pole has become a
matter of secondary Importance since
science has made it clear what the spot
must be like In the days when sober
minded men believed in Symmes' Hole,
and even as late as the per iod when there
were adherents Of the theory of an open
polar sea, actual observation of the locality
seemed necessary to dispel error. Now the
only problem which is left for discovery
TO unravel is the law which governs the
procession of the magnetic pole. Recent
geographers have evolved from calcula-
ti0ns formula which states the rate and
direction in which the pole travels round
its axis. But these statements stand sadly
In need of corroboration. We shall get
some information when the English expe-
dition now in Melville Sound reports the
result of its observations of magnetic vari-
alton; but, Of course, the best evidence on
the subject is only obtainable at the pole
Itself OF the three expeditions now in
the polar regions it is not unreasonable to
expect that at least one will be success ssfuI
in reaching its goal.
The exploration of the east coast of
Iceland is of scarcely less Importance
than the exploration of the Polar Sea. Il
is an absolute fact that we know no more
of that ironbound coast than we did when
Lief the NOrseman discovered America
nearly nine hundred years ago. From the
point which Lockwood christened by the
name of Hazenland to Cape Bismarck the
coast line as marked on the maps is
imaginary. From Cape Bismarck to
knighton Bay. little south of 20 degrees,
the coast has been surveyed with more or
less care and accuracy. and in the main
the line laid down in the map is probably
reliable. South of Knlghton Bay there is
long stretch of coast reaching to about
the latitude of Iceland, where the Ice
cliffs and the fierce northeast gales forbid
the approach of vessels, and no one
knows more of the coastline than is
known of the Antarctic Continent. Yet it
is plain that thorough study of Green
land is the key TO a knowledge of the
glacial age. Such works as Mr.. Wright's
are replete with interesting information :;
hut altar all il ie M oIpIu "A
conjecture based on a few scratches on the
rocks and a few holows in diluyial
plains. Greenland shows us the ice age
as 1t actually existed when the polar
regions embraced the great balk of the
world. We can learn there how the Ice
masses formed, how they melted and how
they travelled. We can deduce the laws of
their own existence. And that informa-