The Portland daily press., 1894-10-27

min.west longitude To the east stretches
the great sea. Across the bay, to the
north, are uneXplored lands seen only by
Pesry and Astrup, faced by steep brown
bluffs, and separated, as far as Peary could
see. by broad iee-eovered channels. 1t is
his opinion that these lands form an arch
ipelago. the islands being separated from
one another by the channels whose mouths
he discovered. To the west is the strait
that enters independence Bay which Peary
saw far north of him as he marched along
the edge of the ice cap. He thinks that
this strait forms the northern boundary of
the Greenland mainland. Here is an out
line OF the progF0mme of Work he has
formed the two months he expects to
spend in this region:
He desires to explore the unknown land
to the north to determine whether it is real
ly an archipelago and to ascertain its
northern extension. With only two men in
his party he will not attempt to travel
tn of Independence Bay unless the ice
conditions are quite favorable for sledging.
Apparently there is not sufficient snow on
be land itself to make land travel possible
ie must depend upon the channels OF fiords,
nd if, in his judgment after his long study
Of Arctic ice. the conditions are favorable
for dash toward the north, he will make
it. He has great hopes that he may be able
to carry out this part of his programme, but
of course, he cannot tell until he studies
the situation on the ground. The most dis
tant portion of these northern lands he was
able to see, in 1892. was pro badly sixty miles
away.
If 1t is not possible to make sledge jour-
ney north of independence Bay the explorer
will give all his time to the delneation of
the coast line of north Greenland. He will
try definitely to establish the fact whether
the channel leading into Independence Bay
from the west really extends from Lincoln
Sea to the Arctic Ocean. 1t is likely that
this is the case, for though when Peary
skirted the northern edge of the ice cap he
was unable at the distance to see the chan
mel between 40 deg. and As deg. west longi-
tude, he was able, during his eastward
march, to catch occasional glimpses of what
is apparently the same channel through
riffs in the mountains that border it. 1t is
his desire now to prove beyond any doubt
whether this channel, as there is reason to
believe, really forms the northern boundary
of the Greenland mainland.
Mr.. Peary's colored servant, Matthew
Henson. will remain at the camp during the
absence of the expedition, and Hugh Lee,
next to the youngest member of this years
party, will be Peary's companion on the
northern journey. Whatever they may be
able to achieve, We may expect to hear a
good report from this young man. He was
perhaps Peary's first choice, and at any
rate he was one of the two or three young
men whom the explorer regarded as his
most valuable assistant. Peary told Mr.. II.
il. Bridgman of the auxiliary expedition
that Lee was made Of just the~stutf that
produces good toileIs in the Arctic field.
'sLee is mature beyond his years. said the
Lieutenant. HE is one of the quiet get
there sort of men, who, If thing is to be
done, simply do it, and then are ready for
the next duuy." The writer has been per-
mitted by Lees father. Mr.. O. d. Lee of
Meriden, Conn.,. to read an extract from
the diary his son sent home. and from this
it appears that on the very day that Peary
returned defeated from his attack on the
inland ice in April last. Lee wrote that he
hoped Peary would choose him among the
number who would remain another year
and help him to complete his work. Lee
has acquired Considerable skill in the use
of Instruments, and he was Peary's coz
panion late last spring in a rema. ka Bile
journey the explorer made to Cape York,
when he discovered the meteoric, stones
whic h none:of The earlier explorers e yer saw
though Ross reported their existence in
1918. 1t is fortuate fer the explorer that
the young man who is o share his work is
very competent, most willing, and de-
voted most thoroughly to the interests
which he agreed faithfully to promote
when he was selected from among the hun
dreds who wished to be numbered among
Peary's assistants.
Of course, with only one comrade on his
sledge expedition, Peary will not be able to
carry out his entire programme of explora-
tion in north Greenland as he outlined it
last year. He will have to abandon the
idea of surveying the coast line from Cape
Bismark northwest to Independence Bay.
If he is favored with good fortune, how
ever. without which the strongest expedit-
ion can accomplish little or nothing in the
White North, it will not be surprising if he
definitely outlines the north coast of Green
land and tells us something worth know
ing about the islands north of it, Good
Judgment and splendid pluck, nerve. and
endurance are among the qualities he has
devoted to Arctic explorations, and they
will count in next springs results if any
Arctic enterprise could thrive under the
conditions he will meet.